Facebook Blueprint Tops 1 Million Enrollments, Announces Blueprint Certification

The social network also announced three additions to its Blueprint program: Blueprint Certification for digital advertisers, a partnership with the Miami Ad School and the inclusion of French and Indonesian on its list of languages.

Facebook offered more details about Blueprint Certification in a Facebook for Business post, saying that advertisers earning Blueprint Certification “demonstrates expertise across the Facebook family of products and services, including advertising on Instagram and Messenger,” and adding:

No matter what your role is in the advertising industry, Blueprint Certification can give you the edge you need. Blueprint Certification helps digital advertising professionals differentiate themselves in a competitive job market, provides the advertising industry with a better understanding of Facebook advertising to help maximize return on investment and gives businesses a way to select and retain people with expertise in the Facebook family of products and services. Blueprint Certification is not only the most rigorous and reliable measure of Facebook advertising competency, it’s the only one officially recognized by Facebook.

The social network also explained the two credentials that can be earned:

• Facebook Certified Planning Professional: Targeted to digital media planners, it will be available at launch. This credential is awarded to digital advertising professionals who are proficient in planning successful Facebook advertising campaigns.
• Facebook Certified Buying Professional: Targeted to digital media buyers, this credential is awarded to digital advertising professionals who are proficient in creating and buying Facebook advertising for maximum campaign impact. This will be available in the coming weeks.

Finally, Facebook outlined the certification process:

Once an individual has selected their certification path, they’ll have the opportunity to prepare for and take two secure, proctored exams: the Facebook Advertising Core Competencies exam and then the exam in their chosen specialty. These exams have been designed to rigorously measure advanced-level competency in understanding and applying the skills required for the associated job roles. In most cases, the exams can be taken with an online proctor in the convenience and privacy of one’s office or home.

Once the exams are passed, the individual will receive a digital badge that can be uniquely verified online by anyone they choose to share it with. The Blueprint Certification badge can be shared on Facebook and other social media, embedded in a website or blog or included it in an email signature or electronic résumé. Recertification requirements must be completed annually to demonstrate ongoing proficiency and maintain certification status as the Facebook family of products and services continues to evolve.

The social network also announced that it is teaming up with the Miami Ad School to incorporate the Blueprint e-learning coursework into its curriculum, adding that this initiative will serve as the pilot program for how Blueprint will work with secondary education institutions in the future.

And the addition of French and Indonesian brings the total number of languages available for Blueprint to nine, as those two languages join English, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Japanese, Simplified Chinese and Korean.

Finally, Facebook offered the following Blueprint statistics in an email to SocialTimes:

• More than 170,000 new global average monthly enrollments, including 20,000 in the U.S.
• The most growth in Blueprint course enrollments is coming from India and Brazil.
• Blueprint has nearly 450,000 global users, with an average of 10,000 new ones per month.
• The average time spent per course is more than 20 minutes.
• The top five courses for brands and agencies are: Facebook Terminology, Welcome to Marketing on Facebook, Brand Best Practices, Successful Campaigns and A/B Testing.
• The top five countries using Blueprint are: U.S., India, Brazil, Mexico and South Korea.

Readers: Have you ever looked into Blueprint? What are your thoughts?