Facebook has become one of the hottest places to advertise for businesses of any size. And having some Facebook marketing training will help you navigate through the countless types of ads, how to create highly targeted audiences and more.

The right kind of Facebook marketing training can give you an edge that sets you apart from other digital marketers. And if you’ve ever searched online for training, there’s a pretty high chance that you ran into Facebook Blueprint.

Launched in 2015, Facebook Blueprint is an e-learning platform designed to help teach marketing skills for Facebook and Instagram. And it’s completely free.

I know what you’re thinking — Well, sign me up! Free training on how to use Facebook and Instagram to grow my business? Sounds legit!

But, is it? Or is it too legit?

Today, we’re going to take a look at Facebook Blueprint, what it has to offer, if it’s really the best option for Facebook marketing training, and what else is out there.

Facebook Marketing Training: Blueprint and how it ranks with another top training resource

What is Facebook Blueprint

Blueprint is designed to provide free, unlimited access to TONS of courses covering a variety of topics related to advertising on Facebook and Instagram’s platforms. When we say tons, we mean over 100 courses:

On a pretty wide variety of subjects:

All courses last somewhere between 15 to 50 minutes in duration:

They are available to be taken in any order you choose:

And all courses are available for access with a Facebook login.

If that all feels a tad bit overwhelming, know you aren’t alone in that sentiment. Facebook brags that they are continually updating the courses and material offered in Facebook Blueprint to keep marketers apprised of changes and policy updates on both Facebook and Instagram, so we imagine that number will only go up over time.

The good thing about getting Facebook marketing training from Blueprint is that you’re getting it straight from the source. But as you’ll see further in this article, it does lack in some ways.

Read more at 5 of the Best Places to Find Advertising Training Courses Online

Who should take Facebook Blueprint Courses

Blueprint’s large library of courses offers great resources for Facebook marketing training, especially for staying up-to-date on changes. It also offers useful information on the inner workings of creating digital marketing ads on Facebook or Instagram.

Facebook boasts that their program will help “build your digital marketing knowledge, boost your career and add value to your company with free online training, resources and certifications.”

Sounds enticing for someone with some level of marketing experience, right?

So if you are familiar with digital marketing, studied marketing in school, or maybe your day job is working advertising and marketing for your company, Blueprint is a great option for you.

But what about people who want to change careers, start a side hustle running ads on Facebook, or promote their own local business?

What is really the best Facebook marketing training out there?

Get started here: Beginner’s Guide to Running Facebook Ads for Local Businesses

The answer is the Facebook Side Hustle Course

If you are a regular Joe (or Joan for that matter) with no background in marketing, either digital or otherwise, you want a course that can teach you not just the basics of digital marketing and creating ads on Facebook, but can also give you pointed guidance on what makes the best ads, the best copywriting, and follow up support so you know you’re on the right track.

You also want a course that can teach you how to take this skill and apply it to make money.

That means you want a course that can help you find businesses that need help creating and managing ads on Facebook, and the Facebook Side Hustle Course has the market cornered on that one. Facebook Blueprint doesn’t even touch the subject in one of its 103 courses!

And you’d probably also like to have a course that helps you navigate and manage leads your amazing Facebook ads will bring in. Again, the Facebook Side Hustle Course has your back here.

Check out everything that the Facebook Side Hustle Course has to offer.

Read more at 7 Examples of Great Facebook Ads and Why They Work

How do Blueprint and the Facebook Side Hustle Course compare?

Here’s a look at how Facebook marketing training compares when you stack these two resources against each other.

Course content

Both Facebook Blueprint and the Facebook Side Hustle Course are self-paced and offer lifetime access to course material.

Both courses offer a comprehensive look at how Facebook Business Manager works, as well as how to set up and manage ads.

However, only the Facebook Side Hustle Course teaches you additional skills like client acquisition, managing your Facebook Marketing agency, email marketing, and more.

Additionally, only the Facebook Side Hustle Course helps you understand crucial information for running ads AND the additional skills mentioned above in easy-to-digest course modules.

Winner: Facebook Side Hustle Course

Course Support

Facebook Blueprint offers some assistance outside of their course lessons, which is offered through both the Facebook Help Center and specialized teams.

However, Facebook Blueprint doesn’t offer suggestions to improve ads, copy, or marketing tactics like audience targeting. They are limited in scope to technical and policy assistance.

The Facebook Side Hustle Course, however, has a support group for students of the course where you can ask questions about problems in client acquisition, ad account setup, ad image and copywriting, client expectation management, and more. The group not only includes the course co-creators who actively provide assistance, but there is also a group of experts with experience in the digital marketing world and a variety of business niches.

Here’s an example of upcoming live training:

Winner: Facebook Side Hustle Course

Certification

Facebook Blueprint offers seven different certifications you can achieve:

• Facebook Certified Digital Marketing Associate
• Facebook Certified Marketing Science Professional
• Facebook Certified Media Planning Professional
• Facebook Certified Media Buying Professional
• Facebook Certified Ads Product Developer I, II, and III

Facebook claims that this helps set you apart and attracts clients to work with you. It does, however, require you to abide by their stringent requirements for online testing or go to an in-person testing center. And Facebook’s certifications only last for one year.

The Facebook Side Hustle Course was created by two non-certified but proven and experienced marketers who believe that the measure of success isn’t found in letters after your name or pieces of paper, but in your abilities.

Winner: You decide

Read more at Facebook Ad Certification: Worth It or Worthless?

Cost

While the Facebook Blueprint course offerings are free, each of the certification exams cost $150 per attempt. To achieve certification in all courses you’re looking at an expense of $1,050 assuming you pass each exam the first time.

Alternatively, the Facebook Side Hustle Course is only $497, and we believe, a considerably better deal for your dollar.

Winner: Facebook Side Hustle Course

Read more at How to Run Facebook Ads for Clients in 5 Simple Steps

Continuing education

As mentioned, Facebook seems to be continually updating their material as policies and the platform changes.

The Facebook Side Hustle Course also offers updates to the course content (which is more concise and focused than Blueprint) while additionally providing weekly live trainings offered in the private support group. These trainings include new information, bonus topics, and most have a greater focus and scope than Blueprint offers. Coaching Calls are also included, where you can ask specific questions and get specific answers from the experts.

Facebook Blueprint does not offer this, so…

Winner: Facebook Side Hustle Course

Final word on Facebook marketing training

The Facebook Blueprint program is great for providing platform information for people with digital marketing experience, those with marketing jobs, or marketing students. With over 100 course lessons, it can be overwhelming and incredibly time-consuming. If you want to get their certification after all that studying, you are looking at shelling out a cool $1000+ to say you mastered all the content.

The Facebook Side Hustle Course has more concise, digestible course modules that you can consume on a weekend for nearly a third of the price. It requires no stringent exam standards, but offers a support group that helps you pursue actual success with the many client acquisition strategies taught in the course.

If you’re looking for a free Facebook marketing training, Facebook Blueprint is a good place to start. But if you are looking to make life-changing money with actionable course content, going the Facebook Side Hustle Course route is your best bet.