American Marketing Association's Professional Certified Marketer in Digital Marketing Certification
A few weeks ago I completed one of my goals for the year, passing the American Marketing Association’s (AMA) Professional Certified Marketing (PCM) in Digital Marketing Certification – boy what a mouthful. But, it is an accomplishment I am really proud of achieving, one-year post-grad school. I was also very lucky enough to have my company sponsor the cost of taking the certification. Added bonus, I can officially say I am certified in digital marketing :).
As I was preparing for the exam, I noticed there was not a lot of material about the exam beyond what is presented by the American Marketing Association. Now that I have passed the exam, I figured this would be a great opportunity to share a few tips to help someone else out in the future, who may be considering this exam.
What is the AMA PCM in Digital Marketing?
The AMA Professional Certified Marketer in Digital Marketing Certification focuses on all areas of digital marketing such as analytics, social media, SEO, UX/UI design, email, content marketing, and online advertising. If you want to showcase your knowledge in digital marketing, especially if you are at the beginning of your career, you are an ideal candidate for this certification.
If you would like to see the exact requirements and eligibility for the exam, click here.
How to Study for the Certification
There is only one official way to study on your own for the American Marketing Association’s PCM in Digital Marketing. There is a LinkedIn Learning Path dedicated to the topics of the certification. 34 hours worth of content. The second way to study is to attend an in-person boot camp hosted by the American Marketing Association, which comes with a pretty hefty price tag ( I was not able to attend, but I am sure that it could be really beneficial ).
How I Studied for the Exam
A moment of transparency, it took me three tries to pass the exam - your exam fee includes three attempts. I passively studied the first time, then came up with a much better plan the second time around. I am also not fond of watching videos to study. I am more of a hands-on learner, so I needed to supplement something else into my study plan….and that’s the key. Creating a study plan. Here’s step by step the 30-day plan I created to pass the AMA PCM in Digital Marketing.
Used my second attempt of taking the exam to take notes on the type of questions being asked (do not copy the questions and answers verbatim. One - that’s cheating. Two - the questions change with each attempt). I wanted to get a better idea of topics to focus on, so I started keeping a tally of what was being asked (x number of questions on Facebook, etc.)
I went through the Learning Path on Linkedin and broke down the number of sections and how many hours each section would take. I broke each section down across the 30 days into sizeable and digestible amounts (on average 2 hours per day). I had to finish at least 2 hours per day, but if I got through more that was a bonus. 2 hours was the minimum.
I utilized the transcripts of each video. Like I mentioned earlier, I am more of a visual learner and it was much easier for me to process the information while reading it versus just listening to the videos. The important thing to remember for this step is to do what works best for you.
After going through all the videos, I reviewed the analysis of my previous exam attempts, to see if there were any areas I “struggled” in and should review in more detail now that I went through all the material (using your notes from attempt two as a reference).
On day 30, I felt confident in taking my final attempt at the exam. I passed!
If you are planning to take the exam, good luck! If you have any specific questions please leave a comment and I would be happy to provide more insight!