I’ll be honest with you, prior to being furloughed I didn’t do a lot of extra learning around my full time job. Sure, when I was completing my qualification with the Chartered Institute of Marketing, I absolutely put the hours in, and I’ve got the certificate to prove it! But aside from long-term courses, I didn’t often delve into learning something new, completely of my own accord.

This all changed for me, a few weeks into being furloughed.

When my diary was suddenly empty and the uncertainty of the coming months stretched out before me, I was keen to keep tight a hold of my professional skills and to make sure my marketing knowledge stayed relevant. From following Youtube tutorials through to digital marketing podcasts, each activity kept me feeling inspired, motivated and connected to my career. Why wasn’t I doing this all along?!

Here are five different ways I’ve been keeping in touch my marketing skills, which I hope you will find useful too.

1. Free online courses – I’ve been taking advantage of the many digital marketing courses available online, that have high quality content and are completely free to do! During the summer I completed The Fundamentals of Digital Marketing Certificate with Google Digital Garage, a certified course covering all the essentials of digital marketing. There’s further courses to do with career development and professional wellbeing too. HubSpot Academy also has a great selection of courses and certifications, with lessons to do with marketing and sales through to web design and development. SEMRush Academy is another great learning platform for digital marketing, I’ve recently enrolled on their SEO Toolkit Course. 2. Youtube tutorials – There’s probably a Youtube tutorial for anything and everything, and when it comes to developing more practical, design skills, I find video tutorials engaging and effective. Nobu Design’s Youtube channel in particular, is full of tutorials for Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop, breaking down complex effects into much more manageable steps. It’s also pretty fun to try different styles I wouldn’t normally get the chance to at work!

3. E-Newsletters – What could be easier than having the latest industry news and trends, delivered straight to your inbox? Maximum knowledge – minimum effort! Marketing Week emails are very regular, and they always have their finger on the pulse when it comes to who’s pulling what marketing tactics, and how they play out. The Moz SEO Newsletter is also a great source for the most relevant and recent SEO and online marketing articles. 4. Podcasts – Podcasts are perfect for bite-sized chunks of information while you’re on the move! There’s a whole host of marketing podcasts available and it’s worth doing a bit of research to find the show that suits your interests best. I’ve recently been listening to the Mediaworks Digital Masterclass and have found the variety of topics covered each week interesting and insightful. From B2B digital tactics through to social media, the weekly conversation between Mediaworks hosts and further industry experts will give food for thought for your own work.

5. Personal projects – Alongside these learning activities, having a personal project to further build your skills can really boost motivation! I’m interested in content creation, social media and website structure, so recently started blogging to practice in these areas. Whether you’re passionate about video editing, or want to learn more about e-commerce, develop a project that interests you, to help you foster those skills.

By keeping my learning varied, I’ve kept myself feeling motivated and connected to my career. Whether I’ve got a quick five minutes or more time to spend each week, there’s always a brief article to read or a course to complete.

I developed this ‘learning habit’ during furlough, but it’s definitely something I’ll continue now I’ve returned to work, and I hope that you’ll find it useful too!

Guest Blog by Helen Younger, Marketing Communications Co-ordinator. Check out her own blog HERE!

 
 

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