How to prepare for Salesforce Marketing Cloud Certifications!
Are you interested in obtaining certification in the wonderful world of Salesforce’s marketing products? Look nowhere else! You might be seeking for some direction as to what to do next, whether you’re trying to get your first certification or already have one or two under your belt.
Numerous certifications are available for Salesforce’s two marketing systems, Pardot and Marketing Cloud. Starting with Marketing Cloud, we’ll move on to Pardot in a subsequent blog.
Marketers can personalise and automate conversations with each customer across email, web, mobile, social, and digital advertising thanks to Salesforce’s B2C platform, Marketing Cloud. Whether you use the platform alone or in conjunction with Salesforce Sales and Service Cloud, it makes sure that every communication you send to your customers is relevant, compelling, and advances your goals.
The Marketing Cloud Email Specialist certification is frequently attained as the first. This certification primarily focuses on Email Studio, Automation Studio, Content Builder, and Journey Builder and covers the fundamentals of the Marketing Cloud platform, including data administration, content generation, and best practises for digital marketing. Get the Exam Guide here to read more. We advise you to enrol in the five-day, instructor-led MKT101 (Build and Analyze Customer Journeys using Marketing Cloud) training course to prepare for this exam. It’s a terrific spot to begin or continue your research of the platform since no prior understanding of it is required. You can also use the Prepare for your Marketing Cloud Email Specialist Certification Trailmix on Trailhead as an alternative to or in addition to the course.
A quick look at its history shows that the core of SFMC was not originally developed by Salesforce, but was acquired by Salesforce when it acquired ExactTarget in 2013. This makes sense because I still occasionally come across uses of “ExactTarget” referenced in the Salesforce Marketing Cloud.
In the same acquisition, Salesforce also acquired Pardot, which previously acquired ExactTarget. Pardot was originally built as his B2B marketing automation platform for SMBs (unlike his ExactTarget which is B2C focused). Pardot is still in the Salesforce ecosystem today. It has not been integrated or merged with SFMC/ExactTarget and has not been rebranded as a “cloud” product from Salesforce.
Salesforce Marketing Cloud is a commerce platform that can support many aspects of marketing, including multi-channel offensive beheading, dynamic customer drive, pre- and post-campaign analytics along with audience architecture and distribution, social media commitment and advertising, and a data management platform. am. SFMC does this with components called “Studios” and “Builders”.
What are the benefits of Salesforce Marketing CSalesforce Marketing Cloud has a rich set of integrations that allow us to serve data from a variety of sources (another factor that makes our data management capabilities so valuable).
In addition to the expected connectivity to Salesforce’s Sales and Service Clouds (via Marketing Cloud Connect), SFMC also has various APIs such as REST and SOAP APIs.
Common use cases for these APIs are:
Extend existing contact information in SFMC, import content, and start triggered sends.Salesforce Marketing Cloud has a rich set of integrations that allow us to serve data from a variety of sources (another factor that makes our data management capabilities so valuable).
Salesforce Marketing Cloud has a wide variety of third-party applications, including those from the Salesforce AppExchange, that extend their functionality and align with your specific business goals. Think of AppExchange as the Apple App Store or Google Play Store for SFMC (and other Salesforce clouds).
In addition to AppExchange, there are many third-party products from Salesforce partners that integrate with SFMC to add functionality and value.
Many platform fundamentals are covered in the Email Specialist test. Not really your style? The Marketing Cloud Administrator Certification is a different way to begin obtaining Marketing Cloud certifications. You can sign up for a one-day preparation course and view the Exam Guide using this link. The exam is made to evaluate the best setup practises for your platform, including subscriber and data management, and to check your ability to resolve administrative problems as they arise. You may use the same Trail to help you study for the Marketing Cloud Administrator Exam as you did for the Email Specialist Certification.
The Marketing Cloud Consultant Certification evaluates the ins and outs of making proactive decisions regarding a customer’s Marketing Cloud platform and is intended for more seasoned Marketing Cloud users. The only requirement for taking this certification is that you must have already completed the Marketing Cloud Administrator Certification. It’s possible that you’ve observed this with certifications for other Salesforce products: in some cases, you need to have accumulated platform knowledge before taking a certification exam. For people who operate in the field of Marketing Cloud consulting, the Consultant test is advised; however, those who are familiar with the platform and wish to prepare for this certification can use the Prepare for Your Salesforce Marketing Cloud Consultant Credential Trailmix. Since this certification is intended to be experience-led, the accompanying instructor-led training is a little different, but you can still take the two courses described above or the MCC201 – Link Your Salesforce Data with Marketing Cloud Connect. The exam guide is available here. Make sure to allot some preparation time for this exam because it is the hardest of the bunch.
The Marketing Cloud Developer Certification is the newest addition, but it is by no means the least important. There is no need to take the Admin or Consultant examinations if they don’t match with your journey because the sole prerequisite certification for this addition is the Email Specialist Cert. According to the exam guide, in order to pass this exam, you must have knowledge of the scripting languages used throughout the platform and expertise setting Marketing Cloud. Although there are no suggested learning routes for this certification, enrolling in one of the aforementioned courses can help you get started on your quest to acquire this certification. Additionally, you will become familiar with the tested concepts through the Develop for Marketing Cloud Trail.
Have you had it with the Marketing Cloud? Fortunately, in our subsequent blog post, we’ll discuss Salesforce’s Pardot B2B Marketing platform.
Contact us if you need assistance setting up Marketing Cloud or to schedule a training session!
Salesforce Marketing Cloud is a specially designed platform dedicated to Customer Relationship Management. It is used to transform an organization’s functionalities by keeping the clients in good stead while ensuring that new and prospective clients aren’t lost in the day-to-day business. Salesforce certifications may cost you and your business a bit at the beginning, but the return on investment for you and the business will more than prove their worth. As a Salesforce Marketing Cloud Professional, you will be required to regularly apply, configure, and manage functions and works with stakeholders to define requirements. Let us understand the value of Salesforce Marketing Cloud certification!
Each certification for Salesforce Marketing Cloud can help you prove your understanding. Four certifications for the Marketing Cloud are offered, each suited to experts with different responsibilities and levels of experience. These include –
1. Administrator of Salesforce Marketing Cloud
2. Specialist in Salesforce Marketing Cloud Email
3. Developer for Salesforce Marketing Cloud
4. Consultant for Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Salesforce Marketing Cloud certification advantages
In 2014, there were about 1,173,300 open positions in the fields of hardware engineering, programming, and computer support, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. With so many people applying for those jobs, it might be challenging to stand out. “People people” tendencies won’t take you very far. You need a competitive advantage—something that attests to your proficiency with computers. For many, earning a Salesforce certification is the ideal approach to bolster their résumé with a highly valuable expertise.
Encourages personal achievement
Many organisations’ cloud-based computer systems are being swiftly reorganised by Salesforce, one of the world’s fastest-growing IT corporations. You can thrive in the administrative tasks that support this technology after you have a certain level of Salesforce proficiency. Other advantages to you personally come from knowing this. Salesforce certification encourages individual success.
Encourages career advancement
According to Salesforce.com, “Demand for Salesforce specialists is expanding quickly, and businesses are looking for experienced individuals.” Utilizing certified cloud experts results in more efficient deployments and improved Salesforce usage for businesses. Your career will develop and you’ll be able to help your organisation succeed even more after earning certification.
You get a big edge if you can show a potential employer that you are certified in Salesforce. Despite its advantages, small firms are still learning about cloud computing. If you can demonstrate that degree of experience, an employer will feel confident that hiring you will result in the company’s computer system being modern, tailored, and advantageous to the company and its employees.