If you’re familiar with the Hubspot CRM or HubSpot Marketing software, you probably already know that it’s one of the best programs for inbound marketing and sales teams. The platform offers plenty of freedom with easy integration options for social media, email, and websites, but the system (and sometimes even the concept of inbound marketing) can be unfamiliar to members of your team. This is where HubSpot outshines the competition and positions itself as an industry leader.
The HubSpot Academy is the official learning source of the platform and it “aims to educate users on the HubSpot software, so they can market, sell, and grow an inbound business.”
FREE EDUCATIONAL CONTENT AND CERTIFICATIONS
Since they paved the way for inbound marketing, it makes sense that HubSpot puts out their own lessons to educate the public on the tools within their platform but also the inbound strategy behind it all. And yes, I actually mean the public. The first benefit of the Academy is that all of their online training is free.
There are plenty of courses and accompanying certifications to choose from, including social media, email marketing, YouTube marketing, sales enablement, and more. The list goes on (for 24 pages on the course menu). Between marketers and salespeople, there’s something enriching for every member of your team.
In-Depth SALES AND MARKETING LESSONS
While it might seem daunting to learn all about a topic as large as content marketing, the lessons are broken up into chapters, then divided up into short video segments. Most of the videos are only a few minutes long and they provide plenty of options for various learning styles, which brings us to the second benefit of the Academy certifications.
HubSpot makes it easy for everyone to receive high-quality information regarding sales and marketing best practices, developments, and strategies in a way that accommodates all learning styles. For example, you can speed up or slow down the video as needed, utilize the closed captions setting, access the entire transcript of the video chapters, download slides from the presentations, and find an accompanying study guide. Additionally, most of the video chapters have a short quiz component at the end to test your understanding of the material along the way before you get to the final certification exam.
hands-on PRACTICAL EXERCISES
While most educational content stops at the theory, HubSpot Academy also provides practical application exercises to help you use the software to the best of its ability. These exercises make the list of benefits at number three because it can be difficult to transition to a new CRM program, but HubSpot makes it easy for users to understand where to access key information, how to manage workflows, and which tools are best for their needs.
In the courses and certifications, you can follow a curriculum designed specifically to get you up to speed with the system and all of its features. You can complete the practical exercises as you go, which show you how to do things like add new contacts, set up workflows, and create pillar pages, or you can do them all at once after passing the exam. Either way, you’ll need to complete these practical exercises (which often take a few days to be “graded”) before you can receive the certification.
provides UNIFORMITY OF EDUCATION
If you’ve ever taken a US history class, your curriculum was probably pretty similar to someone else on the other side of the country, but there might be some discrepancies and gaps in understanding for both of you. This is because you studied similar information, but from different educators, with different contexts. When it comes to working at a company, it’s important to make sure you’re on the same page with your coworkers about best practices and shifts in the industry, which means that (ideally) you will have gained the same information from the same people who said the same thing every time. That’s the beauty of self-guided video lessons and the fourth benefit of the HubSpot Academy.
If your business operates under the flywheel model, everyone should have an understanding of what that term means, where it comes from, and how it’s applied to marketing. Of course, people bring their own unique experiences and background to every workplace, which can facilitate innovation and creative solutions, but it’s also essential to make sure your team is speaking the same metaphorical language to convey those amazing ideas.
maximizes TRAINING TIME
For companies that are already established, bringing on new team members presents a variety of challenges that extend beyond just making sure they’re set up with a desk and the direct deposit is scheduled. In a professional marketing and sales setting, your team members need to be on the same page, but it takes time to get people up to speed and make sure they have the knowledge, tools, and skills necessary to be successful in your environment. And, unless you have a very unconventional hiring process, most companies are bringing on new hires throughout the year, meaning there’s not one convenient mass-training everyone can attend. Management is the area that gains the most from the fifth benefit of the HubSpot Academy.
Self-guided video lessons take the pressure off of management to find time to create a curriculum, educate employees, and test their comprehension. Instead, it’s easy for employees to walk themselves through the material at their own pace, leaving management free to redeploy team members to higher-value tasks.
Whether you’re working with a small agency that has a very hands-on approach, or a massive company that has dozens of teams to compartmentalize and manage tasks, the HubSpot Academy courses and certifications will help save your team time and make sure everyone is on the same page when it comes to inbound marketing and sales.
Here at HIVE, we have found the HubSpot Academy to be a valuable tool for our own team as well as our clients.
