How Digital Credentials Can Help Your Training Programs Stand Out

In today’s fast-paced world, staying ahead of the competition is crucial, especially when it comes to the training and development industry.  

According to the Training Industry Benchmark Report 2022, 36% of respondents claim that the increase in competition in their respective industries is one of their biggest challenges. 

As more training providers have adapted to online learning, learners can enrol themselves on a course from anywhere in the world. As a result, many training providers will now be competing for learners on an international level. With an increasing number of industry skills, courses and training providers for individuals to choose from, it's becoming more challenging to stand out from the crowd.   

Digital credentials are here to provide a unique solution for training providers, enabling them to offer their learners a more engaging, measurable, and shareable learning experience.  

How can digital credentials help? 

Digital credentials are secure, portable, and verifiable digital badges that learners receive upon completing a training course, professional qualification, or other learning certification. They provide a digital representation of skills and knowledge and can be easily shared on social media, professional networks, and resumes.  

This shareability provides a unique opportunity for training providers to utilize their credential earners as an organic marketing channel to boost brand awareness and engagement, as well as highlighting a provider as innovators looking to support their learners in new ways. Here are three ways leveraging digital credentials can help your training programs stand out and grow your business: 

1. Organic Sharing and Reach

Digital badges from digital credentials are highly shareable across social media and resumes, allowing training providers to utilize an organic marketing channel they weren’t previously able to measure: their earners. When learners share their badges on social media, it creates a ripple effect, with their peers seeing the badge and discovering the course. These digital badges can also be built to link back to your course landing pages, boosting traffic from future learners.  

2. The Halo Marketing Effect 

Learners sharing their digital credentials also creates a halo marketing effect, which is crucial for brand awareness and credibility.  

A "halo effect" occurs when a company or product finds marketing success due to its association with a successful company, product or other recognizable elements.  

When earners share their digital credentials online, they connect the training provider’s website to wherever the badges are shared, creating backlinks.  

Backlinks are important for SEO (Search Engine Optimization) because search engines like Google use them as a ranking factor to determine the relevance and authority of a website. When other websites link to your website, it signals to search engines that your website is valuable and trustworthy.  

All these backlinks created from digital credential sharing will improve the training provider’s website’s discoverability, which can lead to more traffic and higher search engine rankings. Over time, as digital credentials gain more recognition, they become a stamp of quality for customers. This can increase the training provider’s brand recognition and create a positive feedback loop where more learners want to complete their courses to gain valuable digital credentials. 

3. Position your program as digitally innovative 

When looking to invest in professional development or training, whether it’s an individual or business, learners want to know they can easily take those skills and demonstrate them to future employers or recruiters. On completion of a digital credential, your learners are provided with a digital badge that includes relevant skills tags attached, is easily verifiable, and can be quickly added to a social media profile or digital resume.  

On the other hand, training providers or courses that still follow manual processes of printing certificates for proof of qualification cannot adequately support today’s learners’ needs. Therefore, these traditional training providers will miss a huge demand in the market when learners nowadays are looking for credentials that allow them to build skills and easily communicate with them when looking for their next opportunity.  

4. Target learners with high training needs 

Professionals working in highly regulated industries, such as aviation, financial services, and manufacturing, face unique challenges and require regular development to stay up-to-date with trends and maintain compliance. Despite these challenges, their training needs are significant.

Digital credentials are a great tool to answer these challenges in highly regulated industries. Firstly, they provide real-time verification of knowledge and skills, allowing professionals to stay updated and compliant. Digital credentials can also be instantly issued and updated to reflect the latest regulations, technologies, and best practices. With expiration dates and portability features on Acclaim, professionals are reminded to undergo updated training and can securely store their credentials in a mobile wallet for easy skills verification.

Utilizing digital credentials enables you to appeal to learners who require consistent upskilling and reskilling for their job, ultimately propelling the expansion of your business.

So, what can you do next?  

With digital credentials, training providers can differentiate their training programs, build their brands, and attract more customers. By embracing digital credentials, training providers can also leverage the positive influence of online sharing to create a sustainable competitive advantage. Not to mention digital credentials can also help to retain the customers they have brought in. Learners who engage with the program and apply their knowledge learnt in their companies allow corporate clients to see the power of digital credentials in motivating learning, which drives loyalty and repeat business. 

If you're a training provider looking to stand out from the competition and grow your business, there's a growing opportunity in industries with high training demands. Don't miss out on this potential growth - check out our latest whitepaper to learn about how digital credentials can help you capitalize on this demand.