Learn How To Become A Successful Leader With A Digital Marketing Certificate
A digital marketing certificate can take your small business to new heights. BizHack’s Award-winning, five-week-course teaches effective marketplace strategies to attract new profitable customers. Against all odds, Cohort 14 persevered, proving anything is possible.
Learn from the case studies of business owners, entrepreneurs, and professionals who joined our digital marketing certificate program to become digital masterminds.
TL;DR: 6 Takeaways From Six Successful Digital Marketing Certificate Cohorts
- Community leaders need to ban together
- Hospitality efforts pay off
- Grow your business internationally using Facebook
- Authenticity beats flash
- Be prepared to move forward no matter what
- Sometimes you have to break the rules
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1. Community Leaders Ban Together
In response to the pandemic, Steve Jaramillo, owner of Custom Cleaners, used his marketing background to launch several online campaigns.
His first ad on Facebook geo-targeted customers within a 10 miles radius of his dry cleaning business. He used AB split testing to launch two more campaigns on Facebook and LinkedIn after not seeing the results he wanted.
“I used the same messaging and the same images,” Jaramillo said. “I even tried to mimic the same demographic as closely as I could.”
Although brand consistency is important, Jaramillo saw the cost-per-mile (CPM) increase. So, he created a video advertising campaign as a last resort, which produced lower CPM rates.
He decided to take the digital marketing course after his landlord, Gelcor Real Estate, recommended it to businesses located in his shopping plaza. Jaramillo teamed up with the other business owners to create the #HopewellStrong campaign.
“Landlord success is derived from its tenants’ success,” said Ross Cohen, Gelcor Director in the #BizHack 14.0 Digital Marketer’s Graduation Celebration.
2. Hospitality Efforts Pay Off
Melissa Frantz, owner and CEO of Event Village, enrolled in the digital marketing certificate program to take her E-commerce platform to the next level. Frantz wanted to create a live-virtual marketplace for local artisans and vendors to gather.
“I thought it would be fun to create something that supports our local restaurants and chefs,” Frantz said.
After researching current industry trends, Frantz noticed meal kit delivery services were skyrocketing. She needed to develop creative solutions to separate her small business from the rest of the competition. Frantz partnered with Lean Orb to provide customers with biodegradable food containers and utensils.
“I wanted to create something where people could bring kits home from their favorite chefs,” Frantz said.
Her first ad only ran for two days due to the wrong lead formatting. However, it showed promising results. She received seven leads from local chefs after making necessary adjustments.
Sheryl Cattell, a certified BizHack instructor , commented on Frantz’ remarkable ability to create an essential resource during the crisis.
“You have the mind of an entrepreneur,” Cattell said. “It would take a big corporation five years to make the transformations that I’ve seen you do in five weeks.”
3. Grow Your Business Internationally Using Facebook
Victor Aimi, the owner of Verb.company, shared how the digital marketing certificate helped develop his business internationally. As an alumnus of the Cohort 11 group, Aimi used the experience he gained to enhance his PR and communication skills.
“I want to share the story of one of our clients,” said Aimi.
Marco MKT, a marketing company in Brazil, reached out to Aimi for help pivoting retail stores during the pandemic. In response, he created a video campaign to mitigate the loss of retail customers. After not seeing immediate results, he created several lead ads on Facebook to reach broader audiences.
“Nobody thought we could get that many leads on Facebook for this kind of business,” Aimi said.
Facebook can be very challenging for business owners to navigate, he added. It’s important to learn and understand how to download leads.
Aimi shared five steps for how to download leads on Facebook:
- Go to Facebook your page
- Search for publishing tools
- Go to lead ad forms
- Look at your forms library
- Download links
4. Authenticity Beats Flash
Suzanne Jewell, founder and owner of The Mindful Entrepreneur, has attended the five-week digital marketing course twice throughout her career. As a HeartMath and positive psychology coach, Jewell focuses on helping start-ups expand mindfully.
“My focus has been to increase followers to Tune-In on my Wellness Coach app,” Jewell said. “And I’d also like to create better brand awareness.”
Jewell shared her story with past-panic attacks as the format for her online video campaign. As a result, she doubled her Tune-In followers and gained more than 6,300 followers on LinkedIn.
“I landed the Miami Foundation as a new corporate wellness client,” Jewell said. I’ll be running the Wednesday wellness program for their entire leadership team, she added.
Jewell plans on developing several new mindfulness platforms using resources from the digital marketing workshop. With a background in the television business, Jewell expressed that authenticity always beats flash.
5. Be Prepared to Move Forward No Matter What
“No matter what—I always seem to come up with a solution,” said Fredricka Walker, CEO and creative solutionist for Apple Dumpling Solutions. Walker decided to take the bull by its horns after being laid off from the radio industry after 24 years.
She enrolled in the digital marketing certificate program to further develop her small business brand. Hey Girrrl! is an online subscription-based network for female entrepreneurs to engage with one another.
“We aim to create a safe, supportive environment for women,” Walker said.
During the first weeks on the course, Walker had to press pause on her campaign when the pastor at her church contracted COVID-19.
“Although I wasn’t able to run my video ad, I was determined to move forward regardless of what was taking place,” Walker said.
Walker received the BizHacker Award despite all of her challenges. Ricardo Berris, a BizHack certified instructor , shared how impressed he was with Walker’s ability to pivot.
“I’ve watched you grow, and I think you’re onto something here,” Berris said. “I really look forward to hearing more about the success of this platform.”
6. Sometimes You Have To Break The Rules
Susan Howell, the owner of MoneyMaestra, also won the BizHacker Award during the Cohort 14 graduation ceremony. Dan Grech, founder and CEO of BizHack, shared a Pablo Picasso quote to congratulate her on her success.
“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.”
~Pablo Picasso~
Howell founded MoneyMaestra to help customers obtain financial freedom. Instead of following video length guidelines, Howell broke the rules to promote her 59-second advertisement on Women, Money, & Relationships. As a result, she saw more than 9,000 impressions.
“I wanted to transform the way people relate to money, but first, I needed to get the word out,” Howell said.
During the course, Howell teamed up with Suzanne Jewell from The Mindful Entrepreneur. The two BizHack graduates plan to combine forces to launch a new mindful-money-negotiation workshop.
