Upgrade Your Branding Strategy: The 11 Best Free and Paid Courses

First impressions pay off. If you are looking to sweep your customers off their feet and make them your consumers, Branding is the answer.

Branding is a great way to attract your audience and bring your business into the spotlight. It helps you make an emotional connection with your customers and win their trust.

Statistics show 64% of women and 68% of men in the USA shop from brands that they feel emotionally connected with. In a nutshell, this is what Branding does, as it helps you build connections with your audience and keep them engaged.

If you are looking for where to start with this, read further. In this article, we talk about 11 Free and Paid Best Online Branding Courses that are great to get started.

Check out the list below.

What is Branding?

Before we look at different courses that will help you improve branding and management, it is important to understand what is Branding.

By definition, Kotler & Keller says, “Branding is endowing products and service with the power of the brand.” In simple words, Branding is how you, your business, or your product is viewed in the eyes of customers.

Branding helps you create an identity for your business among your target audience.

On the root level, branding is designing and coming up with a logo for your company, understanding and determining the tone and aesthetic of the brand, and determining the message you want to send out.

In today’s scenario, Branding is not only done for a product but also for businesses, services, and people. Regardless of your educational degree, you can learn how to make better brands with these online branding courses.

Free and Paid Online Branding Courses You Need to Take

1. Brand Management: Aligning Business, Brand, and Behavior [Coursera]

First on our list of online branding courses is this Brand Management: Aligning Business, Brand, and Behavior course on Coursera. Created by Professor Nader Tavassoli of the London Business School, the course is one of the best online branding courses. It helps you learn the traditional branding approach and build a visual identity for your brand, resulting in a valuable experience for your customers.

This course allows you to build brands from broader perspectives with multi-brand companies across different cultures and geographies. In addition, you will get many real-world examples of branding that will help you understand every concept more deeply. You will need about 21 hours to complete the course, and it has a rating of 4.9 on a scale of 5.

Highlights of the course

• Through this course, you will be able to measure brand health internally and externally while gaining a better insight into brand management.
• You can value and capture the concept of returns across different organizations and learn new management practices.
• By the end of the course, you will be self-confident and motivated for customers and organizations.

2. Branding: The Creative Journey Specialization [Coursera]

Offered by IE Business School, If you are looking to build your career as a Branding specialist, this is the course for you. It will help you master branding strategies and branded content generation; this online branding course enables you to give your customers a better experience. Four master tutors, Dr. Maria Eizaguirre, Pedro Cifuentes Huertas, Brian Hallett, and Michael Thompson, come together to teach you A-Z of Branding specializations with this online course.

Through this course, you will be able to learn, analyze and apply all the relevant concepts using the toolkit you get after attending it. It provides you with all the tools that help you understand brand behavior, understands the brand’s language, and learn about the rational and emotional elements behind making brands. Branding is mostly about co-creation between the audience, customers, and consumers.

Highlights of the course

• This is a hands-on course that helps you put everything that you learn to practical use. You will get a project to work on at the end of the course, where you will create a strategic plan and make a creative pitch to rebrand an already existing brand.
• You will be exposed to the clientele and have to deliver a customer journey while coordinating with other brand departments.
• Upon completion, you will get a shareable certificate to use and flaunt.

3. Building A Brand That Your Customers Will Love [LinkedIn Learning]

Focusing mainly on Brand development, this course on LinkedIn Learning is a great place to start your branding journey. Brought to you by Madecraft, this course talks about how to ensure that your brand stands out and connects with the consumer while hitting all the right notes. The tutor for the course, Dr. Matt Johnson, has experience not only in the business world but also in psychology, sociology, and neuroscience, providing you with a fresh approach when trying to work on your brand.

Starting the course, Matt helps you see your brand from the market perspective and understand where you stand. Next, you learn how to use social psychology to develop human strategy and gain brand loyalty. Post this; Matt provides you with knowledge of all the necessary steps you have to take in order to create a space of your own in the noisy landscape of today. By the end of the course, you will be able to make consumers fall in love with your brand.

Highlights of the course-

• You learn different aspects of Branding better with the help of psychological and neurological perspectives.
• You get to know about all the tools that would help you reach where you want to.
• A flexible course that you can take at your ease in your comfort zone.

4. Fundamentals Of Brand Development [Alison]

The “Fundamentals of Brand Developments” is a great online branding course. It is available online for free; this marketing course takes you through the whole process of brand building. As you move ahead in this program, you study marketing strategies and learn how to identify your target audience and competition. Then, you learn how to demonstrate and establish your brand voice. This course on Alison helps you explore different marketing concepts starting from storytelling to brand advocacy.

It is brought to you by Idorenyin Umoh and is divided into 4 modules. The first module starts with exploring Branding Elements, and then you move on to Brand Building. The third module explores Brand Growth, and in the fourth module, you learn course assessment. By the end of the course, you will know all the basics of Branding.

Highlights of the course-

• It starts from the very basics and takes you through every important element.
• By the end of the course, you will be able to understand the importance of branding, its stages, types, and features. It is a course that helps you understand everything about Branding.
• It is a short course that you can finish with your own ease.

5. Brand Identity And Strategy [Coursera]

An extension to Branding: The Creative Journey Specialization, this course Brand Identity and Strategy is an intermediate course for professionals who want to adopt a creative approach when empowering their brands. Offered to you by IE Business School, the course is taught by Dr. Maria Eizaguirre, a Marketing & Branding Professor. In this Online Course on branding, students understand what exactly a brand is and how they can build one.

The course explores different aspects, like exploring positioning and how important it is to turn your interested customers into consumers. You get to learn about the iceberg model of branding that helps you understand the process of Branding in the working world. You also get to learn how the right name, colors, and logo play an important role in any brand’s success.

Highlights of the course-

• The course is spread over a 5-week duration where you explore a new aspect every week.
• There are a number of videos, readings, and quizzes that help you learn it with ease.
• You can learn at your own ease without the worry of deadlines.

6. Intro To Branding [Udemy]

Clearing out all your confusion regarding Branding, this course on Udemy simplifies Branding while giving you the most realistic approach to it. Taught by branding expert Everett Bowes, this course gives you a complete understanding of what Branding is and how you can use it to elongate your business’s image.

By the end of this course, you will be able to learn how to build a vital connection with your audience. You will be able to understand why consistency and alignment are vital. Additionally, you will learn the top four causes of brand misalignment and avoid them. This course does not just scratches the surface but gives you in-depth knowledge of the whole process. This Online course on branding is a paid course and is a short course of 47 minutes. The whole course is divided into 4 sections that are further divided into 14 lectures.

Highlights of the course-

• You will learn about the common misconceptions and evaluate your as well as other companies’ branding efforts.
• You will be able to connect, differentiate and focus on creating brand experiences.
• You will have clarity on what a brand is and how you can start to build your own.

7. Branding 101: The Complete Toolkit [Creativelive]

If you are looking to create a successful brand for your business, take a look at this online branding course on Creativelive. Brought to you by Danielle McWaters, this course will teach you the process of branding from start to finish. Danielle herself owns a studio that specializes in design, direction, and branding. Through this course, she intends to teach you how to deliver a strong, clear message along with visual consistency to build trust among your audience.

As you take this course, you will understand how to establish a point of view through tone and voice. You will be able to define your vision and core values while understanding your target audience. With this knowledge, you will learn how to position yourself in the market to reach the desired customers. By the end of the course, you will be a master of creating a visual guide for your brand that will help you successfully articulate and communicate your brand message.

Highlights of the course-

• After taking this course, you will be able to build and manage your brand image successfully.
• Danielle McWaters guarantees 100% satisfaction with this course.
• You get lifetime access to the contents of the course, which is divided into 9 lessons for easy learning.

8. Branding Your Creative Business: Define Your Brand [SkillShare]

Finding the voice of your business might not be as easy as it sounds. It is fairly easy to get lost in the noise when the term “Branding” is thrown around very casually.

However, Faye Brown is here to help you through it. This course on Skillshare helps you find the voice that resonates with your business and yourself. The course helps you understand your business and the message you want to send to your audience. It helps you identify your target market and how you resonate with them intimately. This is a short course that needs about 57 minutes to complete and is beginner friendly. It is a great course if you are looking to brand your business.

Highlights of the course-

• This course helps you understand the voice of your business while coming up with an appropriate message.
• You learn how to make your mark in a crowded space with this course.

9. Strategies That Build Winning Brands [Kellogg]

Offered by Kellogg School of Management, this course on branding is specially designed for managers who are responsible for the traditional branding initiative for any organization. Once you enroll in this class, you will learn the foundations of branding, understanding your customers, creating brand portfolios, and building different strategies that will help you grow your career.

To make learning easy, you will get multiple video lectures, practice exams, and various sessions and assignments. After finishing the course, you will get a digital certificate from the Kellogg School of Management.

Highlights of the course-

• Learn how to build your brand’s positioning, character, and purpose.
• Be able to evaluate the health of your brand and different approaches to make it healthy.
• Know about the customer’s journey and purchasing behavior while choosing a brand.
• Learn to make a smart brand portfolio and manage growth while creating a robust marketing plan.

10. A Brand Called You [CreativeLive]

Making a brand for business is something most people strive for, but many times, we forget that we ourselves are brands and can be marketed. However, let’s be honest; marketing oneself is not the easiest task. Coming to your rescueis renowned designer Debbie Millman.

Debbie brings the course “A Brand Called You” to help you make a brand for yourself. It is a personal Branding course, and through this course, Debbie will help you learn how to crack interviews, communicate well, and articulate your purpose. Debbie is an author and educator who also hosts a podcast called, Design matters. She is one of the most influential people in the design industry and provides great points for you to learn and succeed.

Highlights of the course-

• In this course, you will learn meaningful philosophy that will help you in your career.
• You will learn how to present yourself in interviews and meetings.
• You will learn to network and stand out in the competition.
• Be able to sell yourself with more confidence.

11. Personal Branding: Crafting Your Social Media Presence [SkillShare]

Another online branding course to look at is this Personal Branding course by Kate Arends. She is the founder of Wit & Delight, and through this course, she teaches you how to strategically build and leverage your online personal brand.

This course is perfect for anyone who wants to take their personal brand to new heights with new approaches. In her blog, Kate explores how an authentic personal blog can help you establish yourself as a brand.

Highlights of the course-

• Through this course, you will be able to optimize your personal brand.
• You will know how to identify what sets you apart.
• How to be strategic about what you post.

The Bottom Line

If you take these Branding courses, you will be able to present yourself better and with more confidence. Not only will you be able to brand your business, but also yourself. With the personal branding courses, you will learn how to present yourself better.

Not only that, you will learn to draw a better picture for your brand too. These free online branding courses are available on several platforms, both free and paid.

Learning Branding from a place where you get certification is also a great addition to your resume. You can start your branding journey online very easily. So, make a choice now.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are Online Branding Courses Good for Including on a Resume?

Any online course that you have taken is a great addition to your resume if it is relevant to the job you are applying for. If you are applying for a Branding or Marketing job, adding an Online Branding Course would make a great addition and make you a bigger asset.

Do Online Branding Courses Come with a Certification?

Yes, Most Branding courses come with certifications that are documentation of you completing the course.

Do Branding Courses Help You Get Hired Fast?

Yes, Branding courses do aid candidates in getting hired by marketing and design firms. However, prior education and experience also play important roles. But, Branding courses do improve your chances.

What Are Some Essential Tools to Learn Brand Design?

When learning brand design, it would be helpful if you knew Adobe Photoshop and illustrator. This software helps you design better.