In October, I applied for and was awarded the Meta Elevate Scholarship for the Meta Certified Digital Marketing Associate exam. After two long months of brushing up on my Meta knowledge, I’m thrilled to share that I passed the exam! I even got an official badge from Meta via Credly — check it out!

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About the Scholarship

On June 18, 2020, Meta announced their goal to disburse 100,000 Meta Elevate Scholarships to Black students working toward digital skills certifications over three years. Meta is offering these scholarships as part of their commitment to supporting Black and diverse communities by investing in Black-owned businesses and organizations.

Applying for the Scholarship

In October, I came across a LinkedIn post about the Meta Elevate Scholarship. It was being offered to Black creators, businesses, and professionals to take the Meta Certified Digital Marketing Associate exam for free and receive industry-wide recognition for their skills. Immediately, I knew that I had to apply! On October 23, 2023, submitting my application took me no thought and mere seconds. Within moments, I got an email from Meta Blueprint congratulating me on receiving the scholarship with instructions on preparing for and scheduling my certification exam.

After looking at the learning resources provided, I promptly looked over the calendar for dates to book my exam. The date that I settled on was Sunday, December 17, 2023, at 8 AM. I chose Sunday because I was more likely to be completely available that day.

About the Certification

The Meta Certified Digital Marketing Associate credential is awarded to entry-level digital marketers who’ve proven that they have the foundational proficiency in the skills, tools, advertising policies, and best practices required to buy ads on the Facebook App, Instagram, and Messenger.

The 100-101 Meta Certified Digital Marketing Associate exam is offered through Pearson VUE and has 60 multiple-choice questions with a 90-minute time limit. Below is a breakdown of the sections and percentages showing how much each section will count toward the final score.

The value of Meta technologies (8%)
This section will test your ability to:

• Identify Meta technologies.
• Communicate the value proposition of Meta technologies for businesses.

Establish a business presence (15%)
This section will test your ability to:

• Identify the steps to establish a business presence on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp and the tools needed to engage with audiences.
• Explain the process to customize settings within Meta Ads Manager.
• Apply creative best practices optimized for mobile experiences.

Advertising fundamentals (21%)
This section will test your ability to:

• Recognize the value of advertising on Meta technologies.
• Recognize the importance of matching business goals to ad campaign objectives.
• Communicate the value of the Meta Pixel and the Conversions API.
• Describe how people are charged for ads and where the ads are shown.
• Identify data privacy protections and common ad policies.

Create and manage ads (46%)
This section will test your ability to:

• Identify the differences among boosting a Page post, promoting a post on Instagram and creating an ad in Ads Manager.
• Identify settings available at the campaign, ad set and ad level.
• Determine the ad campaign objective to achieve business goals.
• Identify ad targeting capabilities.
• Determine the appropriate ad formats for a given scenario.
• Identify budget and ad scheduling options.
• Identify the relationship between budget and estimated results.

Reporting (10%)
This section will test your ability to:

• Identify campaign results through Meta Ads Reporting.
• Measure the success of a campaign.

The scaled scoring system ranges from 300-1000, with a minimum passing score of 700. The certification is valid for 24 months from the date you pass the exam. Upon completion of the exam, you are immediately shown your results to know if you passed or failed. Although when you pay for the exam, there is a five-day waiting period to retake the exam, as a scholarship recipient, if you don’t pass, retakes aren’t covered. The pressure! If you pass, within 24 hours, you will receive your confirmation and digital badge via email.

Preparing for the Exam

In preparation for my exam, I found the free learning materials provided by Meta to be extremely helpful. The Meta Blueprint courses were curated to focus on on-screen marketing skills, which helped me build my digital proficiency. Additionally, there were four different practice tests, each comprising 30 questions, that I could take an unlimited number of times. These tests helped me identify the areas where I needed to focus my preparation and assess my knowledge of Meta apps’ value, establishing a presence on various platforms, and advertising fundamentals.

From October to December, I went through the courses and practice tests. I used the exam breakdown and my test results to guide my studying and focus on the skills that are most critical to earning my certification. I found the practice tests were comprehensive and still challenging, which only made my anxiety about only having one shot at passing the real exam with more questions much more intense.

Taking the Exam

On the day of the exam, waking up at 6 AM and heading into my home office, the technical set-up, check-in, and then the 60-question exam that started at 8 AM demanded a lot of my brain energy that morning. The test anxiety I get when I have a test on something is unmatched! I can be 100% confident in my knowledge of the subject, but as soon as I know that I have to test for it, I am a huge ball of stress.

In comparison to the practice exams, taking the actual exam was even more challenging due to the tricky wording in some questions, but I still managed to pass the exam, which elated me! The first thing I did upon passing was call my mom, my siblings, and my best friend to tell them the good news. After that, I promptly returned to bed to give my brain a well-deserved break.

What’s Next?

I am very proud to have achieved a certification in digital marketing! For the past nine-plus years, I have specialized in this field, and I take great pride in the work I do to support both my employers and clients. What I love most is achieving results! This certification will go a long way in marketing my business services and expanding my offerings to my clients. Additionally, employers hold these certifications in high regard when applying for jobs.

With over 20 years of work experience and 15 years in my industry, this is just a small accomplishment in the grand scheme of things. However, I wanted to share this little victory with everyone. This experience has underscored the importance of continuous learning in digital marketing. I am excited to apply my new knowledge to benefit my clients and colleagues. Here’s to the exciting journey ahead!