Informative

How the Facebook Blueprint Can Offer a Competitive Advantage

Thousands of companies and marketers use Facebook’s platform in order to advertise their businesses’ products and/or services to the rest of the world, whilst aiming to maximise engagement with their customers and increase traffic to their website. Learning the ins and outs of social media advertising is no mean feat as there can be several obstacles and tricky challenges to overcome in order to create a successful campaign and reach the right audience. Some advertisers, through years of effort, experience and dedication, have an advantage over others. But how can they prove it? Much like how a black belt is given to an advanced Karate or Judo student in order to certify and symbolise his or her skills, experience and dedication in the discipline, Facebook came up with something of its own: The Blueprint Certification.

What is Facebook Blueprint?

Facebook introduced its Blueprint e-learning platform in March 2015. The Facebook Blueprint is a global training and certification program about social media marketing on the Facebook and Instagram platforms. The Facebook Blueprint a.k.a. Facebook Ad Certifications consists of two blueprint certifications: the Planning Certification and the Buying Certification. These two represent the only certifications officially recognised by Facebook, which advertisers can effectively use to demonstrate their expertise and experience across all of Facebook’s products, such as Facebook, Messenger and Instagram.

In order to obtain these certificates and digital badges, one must complete and successfully pass Facebook’s challenging examinations. It is usually recommended to have at least six months experience in Facebook advertising before deciding to take the exams since it requires more than just theoretical knowledge in the area.

The Blueprint Examination

As has already been mentioned, in order to become Facebook Blueprint certified, one must complete two online proctored exams: the Planning and the Buying exams. Both certifications, consisting of two exams each, have one exam in common: Exam 310-101. This is the Facebook Advertising Core Competencies examination, which tests for proficiency in the core principles of marketing on Facebook and Instagram. The other half of the exams are more specifically related to the type of certification.

The Planning Certification (Exam 322-101) is awarded to digital advertisers who have become proficient in the planning of successful Facebook advertising campaigns. This includes managing Facebook pages, efficient audience targeting, working with Facebook advertising objectives, understanding Facebook measurement solutions etc. Find out more about this exam here.

The Buying Certification (Exam 321-101)  enables digital advertisers to demonstrate their proficiency and skills in buying and creating ads for impactful campaigns. Amongst the necessary skills needed to complete this exam are managing Facebook Pages, understanding and using the Facebook Pixel and SDK, meeting and reporting ad KPIs, managing, creating and purchasing Facebook ads and more. More information about this exam is available here.

In order to prove you are up to date with all the latest changes, updates and innovations in Facebook & Instagram marketing, marketers will have to retake the exams each year.

There are two ways in which you can take the exam. Either you book an exam appointment at an official, proctored location or at home using a secured browser. There are a few things to keep in mind if you’re undergoing the exam at home or in your office:

• After checking in, a proctor will monitor the environment in which you are taking the exam through the webcam.
• You are restricted from using any personal times during the exam, mobile devices must be switched off.
• Your computer will be locked down and you won’t be able to access the Internet for the duration of the exam.
• If someone walks into the room you are using for the examination, the exam will be cancelled.
• You will need to show the proctor a scan of the room, your hands, your glasses and anything that may be used to give you an unfair advantage.
• You may not write anything down or use any kind of notes during the exam.

Though these exams are considered to be quite testing and rigorous, it is exactly for this reason that the certification has gained such a strong reputation and value amongst marketers and companies around the world. As of November last year, nearly two million people had successfully completed their Facebook Blueprint certification.

The Next Ad’s Certified Team

While some businesses do their social media marketing in-house, many look for agencies, specialists and/or experts to optimise their presence on Facebook and Instagram. Who better to trust than someone officially certified as an expert by Facebook itself?

The Next Ad takes great pride in having a team of Facebook Blueprint certified Marketing Consultants prepared to deal with any problems or challenges that our clients may face during any stage of their social media campaigns.

The digital badges our team received for their efforts don’t just represent a simple image, they include specific information about the certifications and the lengths they went through in order to complete their achievements. This highly credible, online verification of an advertisers’ skill set and ability in an area can help marketers firmly stand out from other marketing experts, whilst offering the company and their clients an undisputed competitive advantage over others.

Since it is the only officially recognised certification of its kind by Facebook, it is one that is well respected and valued within the digital advertising community. It symbolises and represents the knowledge, skills and dedication that graduates put into becoming a certified Facebook advertising professional.

In addition to hosting a team of certified Facebook Blueprint experts, The Next Ad is of course also an Official Facebook Marketing Partner. By combining these two factors and proving our trustworthiness and expertise to our clients throughout years of experience and knowledge sharing, The Next Ad is fully prepared for any issues or challenges related to Facebook and Instagram advertising.

Want to find out what it’s like to work with a Facebook Marketing Partner and a Blueprint certified team? Sign up for our free two week trial and find out! You won’t regret it!