Best Marketing Online Degree Programs in Nebraska

Start your career path to becoming a certified marketing manager today. Learn about the steps, classes and educational options you will need to become a successful marketing specialist. The team at University HQ strives to provide accurate and trustworthy rankings that highlight the best programs for marketing in Nebraska.

Nebraska is known as the Cornhusker State, mainly because of its production of corn, though it’s also well known for producing ethanol and livestock. Corn is the biggest crop in this state; in fact, it is one of the top three states that produces corn in the US. They also produce the second-highest amount of ethanol in the country, with 25 ethanol plants in the state yielding two billion gallons of this renewable fuel annually.

If we take a look at the state’s top ten industries, manufacturing sits at the top of the list. Manufacturing earned $13.5 billion in revenue in a recent year. At the bottom of the list is utilities, which earned $3.9 billion. Between these two industries, the rest of the top ten are just as impressive: finance and insurance ($12.5 billion); real estate, rental, and leasing ($12.3 billion); professional and business services ($11.5 billion); and educational services, healthcare, and social assistance ($10.6 billion) are just some of the other top industries in Nebraska.

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Marketing Education in Nebraska

As for marketing, it is more than just one part of a successful business. Many professionals believe that marketing makes a business what it is. All other processes rely on marketing - sales, for instance. If the marketing department isn’t working to its fullest potential, no matter how good a product is, it won’t sell.

Marketing can cover several activities that are associated with selling the organization’s services or products. Consumer research is vital as it allows the organization to make a better match between consumers’ needs and wants and their products or services. Then there is also product design, which takes consumer research into account, advertising campaigns, and more.

Marketing tells people why they should choose one business over another. It helps to establish relationships with customers. This field also helps to build positive reputations which lead to more business. Marketing leads to sales. No marketing means fewer sales, which could shutter an organization. Finally, marketing helps organizations to grow bigger.

Marketing is a broad field, which means that one worker in the marketing field can have responsibilities and duties which are completely different from those of another worker, even one with a similar title. By necessity, marketing covers skills such as public relations, social media management, marketing manager, graphic design, and many, many more.

This means that, when a marketing department or organization is looking for new employees, they could be offering jobs with a variety of job descriptions, especially if they are hiring for the creative side vs the business side of marketing, or if they are looking for managers and/or entry-level workers.

A marketing professional must have the skills and knowledge that will allow them to inform people about their organization’s products or services. One marketer in the organization may create entire advertising campaigns, while another will create targeting strategies which rely on or make use of research and demographic data. Still others develop pricing strategies for products.

Marketing professionals in smaller organizations may wear several hats and perform several marketing roles.

Online Associate Degree in Marketing (AS)

Marketing professionals at all levels help to create marketing messages and send them out to customers or clients. They focus on specific customer demographics so that customers are able to find the information they need. Marketing specialists and other professionals may work on research, create advertising strategies based on research findings, work with customers in organizations and non-profit organizations, and more.

A marketing associate program should help students understand basic marketing concepts and give them all the information they need to use the common tools and techniques used in marketing. They may learn how to use direct marketing methods, digital marketing techniques, and business-to-business or demographic-focused marketing to be used in a non-profit or other business enterprises, as well as how to put together an advertising campaign.

These degrees may culminates in an Associate in Applied Science, Associate of Arts, or Associate of Science degrees.

Online Bachelor's Degree in Marketing (BSM)

Students may enter a variety of online marketing programs, but a Bachelor of Marketing is the most commonly earned degree in the field. These degrees provide foundational courses, much like you’d find in an associate degree, but also a deeper understanding of subjects such as media buying, digital marketing, business to business marketing, marketing research, marketing management, and more. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that marketing management positions are projected to grow by 10% within the next 10 years, and those who have bachelor’s degrees are better situated to earn promotions with experience or further education than those who only earn associate degrees.

LinkedIn published a Top 10 list of the most in-demand jobs. One of these is digital marketing. Content marketing jobs, search engine optimization (SEO), and social media positions also ranked high. With a degree in marketing or digital marketing specifically, graduates can find positions as content strategists, digital marketing managers, social media managers, or marketing analytics specialists.

Master's Degree in Marketing (MM)

Marketing touches everything that is sold, products large and small and services such as healthcare, financial services, and pharmaceutical preparations. Students entering a Masters in Marketing program will gain the skills and additional experience they need to push their careers higher. Whether creatives or account managers, students in a marketing master’s programs should expect to learn a wide range of skills. However, a Master of Marketing will be focused on marketing specifically and may not create as much possibility for promotion as a Master of Business Administration (MBA) with a marketing concentration.

With this in mind, many MBA programs with concentrations in marketing offer rigorous courses in both business and communications fundamentals and deep dives on important higher-level concepts. Courses include economics, finance, and business law. On the marketing side, students learn management, market research, consumer behavior, and ethics. Students gain an understanding of the ways organizations develop strong customer relationships and create value for them. They learn about managing marketing communication strategies in a business environment that envelopes the globe. Courses offer wide-ranging skills which apply in today’s business world.

PhD Degree in Marketing (PhD)

Students who plan to earn a PhD in marketing may need to look for programs out-of-state. Some programs use a junior-collaborator training model, in which the faculty members use their expertise to aid students in growing into independent thinkers. Doctoral candidates develop a portfolio of research projects which stakeholders will find relevant; these may include policymakers, researchers, and practitioners.

Current PhD candidates are expected to submit articles for publication in professional marketing journals. They do research and write articles, which is one way that candidates are able to get their names and experience out in front of organizations that may be hiring. Or students may choose to use their research and articles as a way into academia or a research career.

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Become a Marketing Manager in Nebraska

The best way to become a marketing professional to gain the education necessary to break into the field. Spending some of your time in school working in an internship. This will provide experience that you can add to your resume and give you an instant boost once you graduate.

Professional credentials for marketing personnel may also be a way of moving your career upward in this industry. Professional credentials aren’t the same thing as professional certificates, which marketing majors may take while they are still in school.

Some of these certifications are offered by some of the best universities in the US and some are offered by professional organizations. Even after you’ve graduated, you can still choose to go through a university to earn a certification.

Google Analytics Individual Qualification (IQ)
This certification offers professionals an opportunity to increase their ability to use Google Analytics and determine the effectiveness of marketing campaigns. This is available to those who have already passed the Google Analytics assessment. Next, they need to create an Academy for Ads account and receive access to the assessment. Using Academy for Ads, marketing professionals take their assessments from the Google Analytics Individual Qualification learning path—this path should list “certification” in its title.
Hootsuite Social Marketing Certification
This is one of the most popular social media management platforms because it allows marketers to get their message out to a long list of people. This organization offers marketing certification training for all social media marketers of every ability level. The certification exam tests professionals’ knowledge of the basic concepts of social media marketing and shows their abilities. Before taking the exam, Hootsuite recommends marketing professionals take the free training course.
Facebook (Meta) Blueprint Certification
Meta provides certifications to marketing professionals who have shown they have an advanced-level proficiency in areas of digital marketing while using Meta products.
Meta Certified Marketing Science Professional
Meta specifies the ideal candidate as having about three years of career experience collaborating on measurement strategies, carrying out research, and with statistics know-how and data manipulation abilities. Three preparation guides are available, allowing professionals to review the study guide and practice their skills.

Possible Careers for Marketing Graduates

Social Media Manager

A social media manager is responsible for running company social media marketing communication campaigns. They create quality written and visual content, which should be unique to each social media campaign. They also create and maintain the company presence on social media. They have to monitor the organization’s brand on social media, build brand awareness, and may communicate with relevant influencers.

These professionals may also respond to comments on social media accounts and supervise customer service provided through social media. The social media manager also analyzes data, deciding if social media campaigns have met their objectives and coach employees in the organization on best practices in content creation.
Account Manager

An account manager spends much of their time communicating with organizational clients and working to learn their needs. They explain the value of products or services to them and build customer relationships which are vital to the marketing department, sales, and the entire organization.

Account managers collaborate with other departments and must keep accurate records of account notes and inventory, as well as maintaining their knowledge of company services or products. They are client advocates, focused on improving the buyer’s experience.
Operations Manager

An operations manager supervises the organizational activities of government agencies, businesses, non-profit groups, and other organizations. They are highly skilled managers and leaders. In their daily duties, they may lea one or several departments, ranging from finance to human resources, IT, and more.

This professional may have final say in hiring, training, and overseeing employees; they strategize process improvements, manage quality assurance programs, and carry out other tasks.
Senior Project Manager

Senior project managers are often assigned to larger and more difficult projects. Or they may be in charge of several projects simultaneously and have more responsibilities.

They are the escalation point for issues a junior project manager is unable to resolve themselves. They turn struggling projects around and, if a project goes off-scope, the senior manager offers support to the project manager or may take the project over.

They interview and hire new project staff, train and manage project managers, and provide mentoring and coaching to junior staff. They act as a role model and provide big-picture support. Overall, they encourage process improvement and help with project management in general.
Business Development Director

A business development director works to increase company revenue. One of their tasks includes identifying any profitable business opportunities and developing long-term business growth processes. This professional also attends meetings with clients and advisors and notify partners of new and important business developments. A business development director should be persuasive, skillful at negotiating business deals, and show excellent leadership, problem-solving, and communication skills.
Chief Marketing Manager

A marketing manager evaluates and optimizes an organization’s marketing and pricing strategies by analyzing market trends and preparing forecasts. They generate new business leads to increase brand awareness and market share via sales. They may coordinate with several departments on marketing strategies including production, sales, public relations, and financial departments.

They write and present quarterly and annual reports to the organization’s senior management. Knowing that marketing management is a vital process, they stay up to date on marketing trends and strategies.

How to Become a Marketing Manager in Nebraska