Are you thinking about getting a Facebook Blueprint certification but don’t know which one to take?
You are not alone!
There are +8 exams now and it can just be confusing which Facebook certification is right for you!
Whether you are a beginner, trying to improve your skills or an experienced digital marketer, there are different exams that will fit best.
If you want to skip the post, you can watch the video below:
How Do You Pick The Right Facebook Certification?
There are several questions you need to ask yourself before choosing. The better you answer these questions, the happier you’ll be with your exam choice.
Here’s a decision making guide we made for you:
Let’s go over the options together and then we’ll go over each exam in detail.
The first question you should ask yourself is…
Do you plan to run ads?
Depending on how you answer this question, you want to take a different route in the Facebook exam you should take.
If you are not in one of the following roles:
- Community Management
- Graphic Design
- Technical Roles
And you DON’T run ads, skip to the section where you do plan to run ads.
You are NOT running ads
If you are not running ads, the second question you want to ask yourself is:
Are you in a technical role?
What do I mean…
Well, if you do creative work (graphic design), provide tech support to configuration (pixels and website) or do lift tests through data science, then these are the Facebook certifications that might be just right for you!
Community Manager, Copy Writers and Graphic Designers
If this is you, the Creative Strategy Professional might be a good choice.
What is expected from a Creative Strategy Professional?
A Creative Strategy Professional can craft an ad that will:
- Comply with Facebook creative best practices
- Understand how to design or lead designers to build branding campaigns
- Grab people’s attention with your ads!
If you’re a creative person or a copywriter, this is a good fit.
You can read more about it here.
Software Developers, IT Support or Website Developers
The Facebook Marketing Developer exam certifications are probably the right exam for you!
What does a Certified Marketing Developer do?
Keep in mind that you do need coding knowledge to pass these tests.
You have to complete a coding exercise and a multiple choice exam for this specific one.
You should take the Facebook Marketing Developing Exams in the following order:
The first level measures technical implementations of marketing solutions (pixel, standard events, custom conversions).
The second level measures more advanced solutions: SDK, App Events, dynamic ads and offline conversions.
The third level measures way more technical skills. You’ll be evaluated based on how well you can configure and troubleshoot API integrations.
These three exams require you to take a coding exercise provided by Facebook.
You can read more about it here.
Data Scientists, Data Analysts and/or Software Developer
The Marketing Science Professional is the right Facebook certification for you!
What does a Marketing Science Professional do?
The Marketing Science exam needs you to be able to manage data. This means you need to know medium statistics and SQL databases in order to do well.
It will evaluate your ability to
- Run lift tests and be able to analyze them
- Use statistics to determine p-values and understand how to measure incrementality
- Know how to manage data through SQL
You need to know things like the difference between causation & correlation:
If you’re in data science, you definitely want to aim for this one.
Read more about this exam here.
You ARE running ads
If you DO plan or run Facebook campaigns right now, read this section.
Which Facebook Exam Certification is right fit for you?
There are three exams you have available at this point.
The difficulty level varies a lot, so you should really be honest with yourself.
There’s no need to take an exam more difficult than what you’re prepared for.
How Long Have You Been Running Ads For?
There’s nothing as valuable as experience when it comes to marketing. How much time you’ve been running ads can dictate which exam to take.
Most exams are very difficult, even for medium-level marketers.
One is fairly easy though: the Digital Marketing Associate certification exam.
If you are new to Facebook ads or have very little experience running campaigns, you should definitely start with this exam.
What does a Digital Marketing Associate Do?
This exam will test basic knowledge and fundamentals in running Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp ads.
You’ll be evaluated on:
- Foundational Advertising Concepts
- Campaign Objectives
- Facebook Advertising Basics
- Differences between Facebook and Facebook Business
You could pass this exam without having much experience. If you understand our Study Guide and take advantage of our practice question, you should have no problem passing the exam
It’s the right certification to have for entry level marketers, students and job seekers.
There’s a big difficulty gap between this exam and the other Facebook certification exams that are available.
Read everything about the Digital Marketing Associate right here.
You DO HAVE experience running ads
If you’ve launched Facebook Ads for a long time, the Digital Marketing Associate may be too basic for you.
You’re better off going for the harder ones.
There are two main exams for you to choose: the Buying and the Planning exam.
Most people confuse the two, but the best indicator of which one should you should take is:
Do you work more on planning or on execution?
The Facebook Media Planning certification is a good fit if you are on the strategy side of your team or agency.
- Digital Planners
- Digital Strategy Consultants
- Branding Teams
If you are in those roles, the planning exam could be a good fit.
What does a Media Planning Professional do?
This exam is mainly based on strategy. It’s a good fit if you belong to a big company that spends more than $10k a month on ads.
You’ll be evaluated on your ability to:
- Design an end-to-end Facebook marketing strategy
- Align your business goals to a marketing plan
- Lay out the budget needed to achieve your goals
This is one of the most valuable certifications.
If you’re a digital planner, a media planner or a marketing consultant, you should definitely go for it.
Read more about the Planning Exam here.
The Buying exam is different in that the topics focus more on execution.
What does a Media Buying Professional do?
You’ll be asked to make decisions based on scenarios:
If X happens, what should you do with Y?
How should you set up the Facebook Business Manager?
Let’s say A is not working, should you change B, C or D?
Your focus here is on:
- Launching Ads
- Setting Up the Facebook Tools
- Buying Types
- Optimizing for Different Scenarios
You should take the Buying exam if you’re interested in a more practical approach.
Read more about the Buying Professional right here.
What Facebook Certification can complement with each other?
Most people only take one exam.
However,
having multiple certifications can help you improve your skills and build your digital marketing skill stack!
Knowing how to create a good ad is powerful, but execution is just as important. Being a technical person is useful but you need a good design to get clicks.
Some Facebook certifications complement extremely well and might be a right combination to take!
Buying + Planning Exam
These two are great because they’re the most popular.
Let’s say you’re able to come up with a solid strategy that’s aligned with your objectives AND execute it.
Planning a campaign and getting it done is a powerful combination.
Planning Exam + Marketing Science Professional
The Planning exam is heavily based on what you can expect your campaigns to achieve. It’s one thing to use conventional measurements and another thing to craft your own KPI’s.
The reason the Marketing Science Professional is such a good fit is because it will allow you to establish realistic objectives and find the perfect way to hit them.
Strengthening your analytics will also boost your work’s credibility.
Buying Exam + Creative Strategy Professional
These two go very well together because it makes sure your ads will run smoothly.
Even if you have a perfectly executed campaign, one bad ad can make it all go to waste.
The Creative Strategy Professional will make sure you’re compliant with Facebook’s policies. The Buying Exam will make sure your perfect ad will be effective.
Very good combination.
Digital Marketing Associate + Creative Strategy Professional
These are both foundational exams.
The Digital Marketing Associate will teach you the basics of ads marketing. The Creative Strategy Professional will teach you how to craft a good ad.
One can’t work without the other, so it’s a good idea to get both.
Conclusion
There are many Facebook Blueprint Certifications you can take.
Use our graph to determine which Facebook certification is right for you!
Practice…
Practice…
Practice…
That is probably the best way to prepare for your exam! Check out our game plan below to plan your studying:
If you still don’t know where to start and need additional help, make sure you check our practice questions here.
Good luck in your exam!