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Digital Marketing

Facebook Blueprint certifications: What are they and are they worth it?


Facebook Blueprint is an e-learning platform that offers several certifications. Each certification teaches a different skill pertaining to the use of Facebook as a professional tool. 

This platform can be used for employee training as well as professional development. These certifications often signal to employers that you understand how to use Facebook for social media marketing. This can make you a more appealing candidate for careers in digital marketing. 

To get certified, you’ll need to take one of the certification tests on the platform. These exams cost between $99 and $150 when using a proctoring service, like Pearson VUE, which is required to receive certification. The exact cost of your exam may vary by location, exam level and modality (whether you’re taking the exam in-person or online). 

Studying for your exam

Facebook Blueprint offers its own, free courses and prep work for certifications. However, this prep work will be Facebook-specific. If you’re looking for a broader course on social media marketing, you may consider exploring other online options that you can take in advance or in tandem with the free course offerings from Facebook Blueprint. 

Taking supplemental professional development courses can help you during your test preparation and arm you with broader industry or role-specific knowledge and skills. This will not only increase your understanding of the material, but it can also potentially decrease the overall price and time commitment required for certification, as you’re less likely to re-test. 

Choosing the right exam

There are eight different exams you can take, each testing a specific Facebook skill. The test you should take will be determined by which skills you’ve studied. To be earn your Blueprint certification, you will need to receive a score of 700 or better. 

Prepare for the Facebook Blueprint Certification

Exam 100-101: Facebook Certified Digital Marketing Associate

This is an associate-level exam that covers:

  • The value of Facebook as a marketing tool
  • Establishing platform presence
  • Facebook advertising fundamentals
  • Creating and managing ads
  • Reporting

This test is designed for entry-level marketers, including students and entry-level job seekers, as it addresses the foundational knowledge of social media marketing. If you have taken or plan to enroll in a social media marketing track,  you will be presented with the information necessary to earn this Facebook certification. 

If you already have work experience in digital marketing, then you may be better served by looking into the more specialized certifications on offer. 

Exam 200-101: Facebook Certified Marketing Science Professional

This is a professional-level exam that covers:

  • Assessing KPIs
  • Collecting, monitoring and assessing data
  • Validating data quality and collection methods
  • Determining and testing data variables for optimization
  • Recommending appropriate solutions based on data-driven evidence

This exam tests the user’s knowledge of more in-depth data evaluation when it comes to Facebook marketing, as well as their ability to ideate and propose solutions. Because this is a professional-level exam, it’s aimed at users who have more experience with the analytics of social media marketing as well as those looking for professional enrichment. 

Exam 300-101: Facebook Certified Creative Strategy Professional

This is a professional-level exam that covers:

  • Mobile technology and interface fundamentals
  • Research into industry trends
  • Ideate of new content
  • Creating a campaign plan for new content
  • Campaign evaluation and measurement

This exam is designed to measure the user’s ability to generate, implement and evaluate creative strategies when it comes to marketing on social media. Before taking this test, the user should have an in-depth understanding of, or experience with, creating a marketing campaign plan for Facebook. Because of this, the test is better suited for more established marketers. 

Exam 400-101: Facebook Certified Media Planning Professional

This is a professional-level exam that covers:

  • Assessing business needs
  • Interpreting KPIs and industry trends
  • Recommending media for publication
  • Creating a campaign budget
  • Monitoring campaign performance

Similar to the Facebook Certified Creative Strategy Professional, this exam is meant to test the user’s understanding of social media marketing essentials, including how to create an end-to-end Facebook marketing campaign. This exam focuses more on the user’s ability to identify business needs and create strategies to address them, rather than ideating new content and measuring its success. 

Exam 410-101: Facebook Certified Media Buying Professional

This is a professional-level exam that covers:

  • Campaign planning
  • Campaign budgeting
  • Understanding the purchase of Facebook Ads 
  • Determining optimization opportunities
  • Utilizing Facebook Ad tools, including but not limited to Facebook Pixel, Business Manager and SDK

This exam is designed to test users on advanced competency in the skills, tools, policies and best practices required to buy ads on Facebook and Meta properties. While there are elements of campaign planning involved, this certification is focused on the purchase, optimization and management of ads, and would therefore be suited to someone currently working or interested in promotions and advertising. 

Although this certification is focused on social media marketing, training in web and search engine marketing would offer complementary skills. 

Exam 500-101: Facebook Certified Marketing Developer

This is a dual exam that covers: 

  • Creating process codes for websites and profiles
  • Troubleshooting original and pre-existing process codes
  • Managing and optimizing tools including but not limited to Pixel, product catalog, Business Manager and asset management.

This advanced certification is designed specifically for software engineers and IT professionals interested in working with the marketing department. If you’re interested in complementing training in Scrum methodology or want to attain a specific Scrum specialist role like a product owner, then this may be a worthwhile certification for you. 

It should be noted that this certification is a prerequisite for Advanced Marketing Developer and Advertising API Developer certifications.

Are the Facebook Blueprint certifications worth it?

Whether you’re still in school or a working professional, Facebook Blueprint’s training and exam-prep coursework is an accessible way to hone your skills. With an online platform, these certifications can be flexible and attainable for all kinds of users, and they can be a great starting point for entry-level to advanced marketing ideas and practices. 

When using this platform in tandem with your degree or professional development courses, you can create a well-rounded understanding of not just Facebook marketing, but social media marketing in general. 

Although the cost is modest, earning the actual certifications requires paying for each exam individually. When it comes to deciding whether the certifications are worth it, the decision ultimately depends on your existing experience, resumé and career goals as a digital marketer. Selecting and completing the right exam for your skill level and specialization can be a helpful complement to university courses and practical experience.