Over the years, I have taken dozens if not hundreds of courses from online learning platforms like Linkedin Learning, Coursera, Udemy and edX. And with my Master’s Degree in Digital Marketing from UCD (University College Dublin), I think I’m in a good position to show you whether Coursera is attractive to marketers alike.
So, what does Coursera have to offer in the marketing niche? Let’s find out!
Who is Coursera for?
Coursera is ideal for someone wanting to gain university-standard education or industry-recognized career skills with accreditation.
With the basic monthly subscription, you will have full access to all other courses in the Specialization. It is best for those (e.g. students or people working part-time) who can learn day in and day out, or learn fast. It is because with a monthly subscription, the faster and the more you learn, the more you save.
What kind of marketing courses are available on Coursera?
Let’s take a look at the Marketing courses available in Coursera’s course catalog.
Currently, over 300 courses are available in this niche. As Coursera is a multi-lingual learning platform, about 260 marketing courses are in English.
Most Popular Marketing Courses on Coursera
Here are the top ten marketing courses suggested by Coursera, in order of popularity:
Google Digital Marketing & E-commerce Professional Certificate
Throughout this program, you will gain in-demand skills that prepare you for an entry-level job and learn how to use tools and platforms like Canva, Constant Contact, Google Ads, Google Analytics, Hootsuite, HubSpot, Mailchimp, Shopify, and Twitter.
Meta Social Media Marketing Professional Certificate
Learn the fundamentals of social media management and advertising and how to measure and optimize marketing campaigns across the major social media platforms.
Graphic Design Specialization
This four-course sequence exposes students to the fundamental skills required to make a sophisticated graphic design: process, historical context, and communication through image-making and typography.
Digital Marketing Specialization
This Specialization explores several aspects of the new digital marketing environment, including topics such as digital marketing analytics, search engine optimization, social media marketing, and 3D Printing.
Marketing in a Digital World
This course examines how new digital tools, such as the Internet, smartphones, and 3D printing, are revolutionizing the world of marketing by changing the roles and practices of both firms and consumers.
Top-rated marketing courses on Coursera
So how about the quality? What people are saying about the course content? I checked the reviews on the top-rated courses. And most people are happy with the depth of knowledge covered and the way the instructors explain the course.
Beginners are finding these courses insightful. And even people from the industry are learning pro tips to help them do their job better.
Here are the top-rated marketing courses on Coursera:
- Brand Management: Aligning Business, Brand and Behaviour – University of London
- Social Media Management – Offered by Meta
- Measure and Optimize Social Media Marketing Campaigns – Offered by Meta
- Introduction to Social Media Marketing – Offered by Meta
- Advertising with Facebook – Facebook
And from this list, it is obvious that social media marketing is still one of the most sought-after niches in the landscape of digital marketing. The courses provided by Meta (aka Facebook) listed above are parts of the Facebook Social Media Marketing Professional Certificate.
It was launched in September 2020. And it has since received lots of positive comments from the students.
Choosing your learning outcome
In Coursera, courses are structured with different learning outcomes to help you achieve your learning goal.
If you want to learn a job-related skill or tool in an hour or two, their Guided Projects may be your choice. Or you may earn a career-focused Professional Certificate in 3-12 months’ time. What’s more, you can literally complete a Degree in up to 3 years.
Here is the list of the learning paths:
- Degrees: 100% online learning destination for Bachelor’s degrees and Master’s degrees, which takes approximately 2-3 years to complete.
- MasterTrack Certificates: Courses that give you career credentials and count toward an online degree, including real-world projects.
- Professional Certificates: Career training to prepare you for industry certification.
- Specializations: Group of courses in a particular theme, designed to help you master a career skill in which video lectures and real-world projects work.
- Courses: Collections of short videos, quizzes, and practice exercises to guide your learning.
- Guided Projects: Step-by-step, project-based course to help you develop in-demand and job-related skills within 1-2 hours.
Home – Your personalized learning dashboard
Like many other learning platforms, you will be directed to a personalized dashboard when you first log in. And from here, you can enter your preferences under “My learning profile”.
For example, I put Marketing Manager as my current job and insurance as my industry. And I picked “Marketing”, Business Psychology”, Design and Products”, and “Entrepreneurship” as my interests. And I can set a learning goal between “change my career” and “level up my skills”. And based on this information, their AI will recommend relevant courses for your to choose from.
Where to Start for Marketers?
With over 300 courses available under the marketing niche, here are a few tips for you to navigate through the course catalog.
1. Search by popularity and rating
First things first, you can’t be wrong by following the herd. Here’s how you could do it in three simple steps:
- Click Explore at the top of the page
- Select Marketing under Business
- Then you will be able to find the section for “Most Popular Marketing Courses” and “Top Rated Marketing Courses”
2. Search by “Popular Career”
On top of the marketing search result, you will also see a list of the career learning paths. Popular Careers include, Digital Marketing Specialist, Digital Marketing Manager, Social Media Coordinator, Project Coordinator, Project Manager.
These paths are a selection of courses that will prepare you for designated job roles in the marketing field. If you are making a transition to a (digital) marketing career or looking to brush up on your professional skill for a promotion, this may come in handy.
3. Search by marketing skills with “Guide Projects“
As a marketer, no matter you are working for a company or as a freelancer, chances are that you will come across different projects that require different skills. With a knowledge base like Coursera, you can just hop on and learn it on the go.
In this case, Guided Projects will be your best bet. Most of them are step-by-step and task-based lessons. They have a duration of 1-2 hours. There are around 100 of them under the marketing niche.
To locate them, use the filter function to navigate through the Guide Projects on the side menu. These are some of the popular ones:
- Use Canvas to Create Social Media Marketing Design
- Brand Marketing and SEO Tools using Wix
- Small Business Marketing Using YouTube
- Custom Reports in Google Analytics
- Building a Business Presence With Facebook Marketing
If you don’t see what you are looking for, or you already have something in mind, you can just enter a niche (e.g. social media, SEO, youtube marketing or email marketing) in the drop-down menu under “Skills”.
4. Search by any subject
This is pretty straightforward – just enter any keyword in the search bar on top of the page. For instance, an insurance marketer may come across topics in sales, psychology, product management, well-being or healthcare.
These are some of the popular courses you may find interesting:
- The Art of Sales: Mastering the Selling Process Specialization
- Customer Segmentation and Prospecting
- The Science of Well-Being
- Digital Product Management Specialization
- Digital Health Specialization
- AI in Healthcare Specialization
Will Coursera help me with my career in marketing?
Coursera can definitely be helpful whether you are already in the field or looking to transition to marketing.
The fact that it is partnered with the world’s top universities and businesses means that the accreditations are recognized worldwide.
This is something definitely worth adding to your Curriculum Vitae or LinkedIn profile to impress your future employers or your prospective client for a freelance gig.
Learning path for a digital marketing career
Their career learning paths are also designed to train up people to get the essential skills in job roles like Digital Marketing Specialist, Digital Marketing Manager and Social Media Coordinator.
How much is Coursera actually?
Coursera does not have a one-for-all price. In fact, individual courses can range from $39 to $99. And online degrees can cost up to $25,000. At a closer look, there are three payment modes: one-time payments, monthly or annual subscriptions On top of that, many courses can be audited for free.
There is a 7-day free trial. And you can cancel your subscription anytime.
| Type | Duration | Price (USD) |
| Guided Projects | 1-2 hours | Free |
|
Courses |
4-12 hours |
Free |
|
Specializations Professional Certificates |
1 – 3 months 1 – 6 months |
$39 – $99 per course (with unlimited access to all courses in the Specialization) |
| MasterTrack Certificates |
4-7 months |
$2,000 up |
| Degree | 2 – 3 years | $9,000 up |
Note: If you pay for a monthly subscription for a course in a Specialization, you will have full access to all other courses under that Specialization. But If you want access to another course or Specialization not included in your subscription, you’ll need to make another payment.
Coursera PLUS
Coursera PLUS is a must for any serious learners who want unlimited access to 3,000+ Courses, Guided Projects, Specializations, and Professional Certificates. The $399 yearly subscription plan allows you to try out 90% of the course library.
Over to you
With a $200 off offer, you will end up paying only $200 (plus tax, if applicable) for a year of FULL ACCESS on any of these courses. That’s about $16.67 per month as an investment in your career. If you want to build up your foundations in marketing, and are willing to spare a couple of months to learn from world-class universities and organizations, it is definitely a good investment.
