Main 9 min read Last updated May 20, 2022

Yes, the Facebook Blueprint Certification is worth it

Do you want to learn best practices for advertising on Facebook and Instagram? Do you want to be seen as more reputable to clients, your boss, or future employers?

Then you are in the right place to be considering taking Facebook’s Blueprint Certification exam and getting officially certified.

I took two Facebook Blueprint exams and got certified as a Facebook Certified Buying Professional and here’s what I think about the exam, whether it’s worth the investment, and how to prepare and pass it.

Key takeaways

The Facebook Blueprint is Facebook's line of official certifications for Facebook ads and ad products
There are many different types of Blueprint certifications for various roles in the industry
The certification exam is pretty difficult and will requiring studying before hand
Facebook certification costs between $99 to $150 USD each
Getting certified can help give you an extra edge for landing jobs or impressing clients

What is the Facebook Blueprint Certification?

Facebook Blueprint is Facebook’s official courses on digital advertising on platforms owned by Facebook. It has over 100 mini-courses that are completely free to take.

By taking Facebook Blueprint courses, you’ll obtain a strong fundamental understanding of how advertising works on Facebook’s platforms, from mastering Facebook Audience Insights to how big brands measure lift in ad recall on million-dollar budgets.

You'll also learn the latest changes Facebook has made to ads and the latest updates to Instagram ads.

In addition to the courses, Facebook Blueprint offers exams so people can get officially certified in certain areas of Facebook advertising. Currently, they have nine different categories you can become certified in. And when you do, you get a badge you can display on LinkedIn, your resume, website, and other marketing materials.

Facebook Blueprint Certification Badges — The three most popular Facebook Blueprint Certification badges

Each of the above links provides an overview of the certification, the topics covered, and other helpful resources.

How much does it cost to get Facebook Blueprint certified?

Each Facebook Blueprint Certification exam costs between $99 to $150 USD depending on the level of the certification.

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How hard are Facebook Blueprint Certification exams?

When I took the Facebook Blueprint Certification exams to get certified, I didn’t pass the first time - not because of my core, but because my internet dropped during the exam. If they lose connection with you, it’s an immediate fail.

Here’s how it works. You can take the exam online, but you need to be in a bare-bones office room. You can’t have anything on the walls. You can have anything on your desk except your computer, monitor, keyboard, and mouse. No paper. No pens. Nothing.

You have to install a program on your computer that ensures you have no other apps running while taking the exam. You have to make sure nothing extra is running - including any helper programs that run in the background.

You have to have your webcam on during the entirety of the test. As soon as you begin, you get connected with a person who asks you to show your surroundings with your webcam - a 360-degree view of the walls, under your desk, and even all four corners of the ceiling.

You have to show them your phone is on the ground behind you. While you’re taking the test, you have to keep your webcam on so they can make sure you’re not cheating or writing down any of the questions. And if you lose connection, like mine did, it’s an automatic fail (but they will allow you to reschedule for free).

It’s a “little” extreme, but it also helps add to the legitimacy of the certification.

You’re allotted between 90 to 105 minutes to complete the exam and they have around 75 multiple-choice questions. Each question should be pretty quick to answer, except for a few questions that are scenario-based which ask for the best advertising approach for example company’s advertising objectives.

As long you thoroughly go through the mini-courses related to the exam you're taking and do well on the practice exam, you should be able to pass.

Facebook Blueprint Free Courses — Facebook Blueprint has hundreds of mini-courses for free

Is the Facebook Blueprint Certification worth it?

The cost, the time involved studying, and the stressful exam environment are all things to consider before deciding whether the exam process is worth going through to get certified.

The fact is, the Facebook Blueprint Certification is the only accredited certification on Facebook advertising recognized by the industry. And with how big Facebook is, not only do many employers who rely on Facebook ads know about the certification, but many clients know about it, too.

Being Blueprint certified can give you an extra edge when applying to a relevant position over other candidates who aren’t certified. It can also give agencies the same edge when pitching clients compared to agencies who are not certified (and freelancers, too).

Will being Facebook Blueprint certified automatically get you that job or client? Of course not.

In my opinion, if you’re trying to land a position as a Facebook Ads manager/planner/buyer at a company, I definitely think it’s worth the investment. If you’re applying to a more general digital marketing role, I don’t think it’s worth it unless specified in the job rec.

If you’re already managing Facebook ads at your company and want to get certified to prove to something to your boss, I would say it’s not worth it. You can take the mini-courses and learn all the material for free and the best way to prove something to your boss is through your work - by scaling Facebook ads efficiently and earning your company a good ROI.

If you’re a freelancer, getting certified could also be worth it, especially if you don’t yet have a lot of case studies in your portfolio.

If you’re an agency, it’s definitely worth having either yourself or at the very least your account managers get certified. Not only will it ensure your whole team has a solid foundation to provide a good experience for your clients, your clients will feel better their account manager is certified.

How to prepare and study for your Facebook Blueprint Certification exam

Alright so if you decided to go through with taking the exam, here’s how I studied to pass it.

1. Go through all the recommended courses

Facebook as a huge library of mini-courses, but they also have specific recommended courses for each exam.

Here are the recommended mini-courses for the three major certifications:

Go through all the courses in the links above for the certification you want. When taking one of the professional courses, the exam will have questions on digital marketing associate courses so take those, too.

The questions on the exam are pretty similar to the practice questions on the quizzes that are sprinkled throughout the mini-courses. If you get some wrong, I recommend retaking them until you score 100% on the quizzes. You’ll thank yourself later.

2. Take the practice exam

The practice exams for each certification are 30 questions each. I also recommend to take it as many times as you need to score 100% before taking the real exams. Again, you’ll thank yourself later.

3. Prepare yourself

Once you feel you have a solid grasp on the knowledge aspect of the test, you need to decide where you’re going to take the test and do a device pre-check to make sure you know what you need to do to verify compatibility.

Remember you’ll need a private space to take the test. The person proctoring your exam will ask you to show them your workspace through your webcam. If they see any violations that can’t be quickly corrected, they will ask you to reschedule.

Find a place with a stable internet connection and preferably a small office space. You’ll need a completely clear desk besides necessary computer components. If the desk has dual monitors, you’ll need to unplug the second monitor’s power and show them it’s unplugged.

Running the device pre-check is a must. If you don’t pass the device test at the time of the exam, you won’t be able to take it. Luckily they provide a pre-check so you can check if your computer will pass the way it’s set up.

To access the pre-check, you’ll have the option to first run it when signing up for the exam. Just click the “Run pre-check” button during this step of the signup process. You should then be taken to this page:

Facebook Blueprint Systems Check — Make sure you complete the systems check before taking the Facebook Blueprint Certification

After passing the systems check, you should be good-to-go. Good luck!

Where and how to display Facebook Blueprint Certification badges

Once you’ve passed one of the certifications, you’ll get access to the certification badges shortly after.

You’ll get access to it on Acclaim’s website, the tool Facebook uses to manage badges. From your Acclaim profile, you have a variety of options.

Acclaim integrates with LinkedIn so you can add it to the certifications section of your LinkedIn profile in just a couple of clicks. Pro-tip: Don’t be that person who adds that you’re certified after your name (it’s not a doctorate).

Here’s how it will look on your profile (yes, I know it’s expired)

You can add your Facebook Blueprint Certifications to LinkedIn

Direct URL

You will have access to a special Acclaim URL to give out to people (or link on your website) that shows 3rd party-verified proof that you have earned the certification and it is not expired.

Embed

Acclaim provides an iframe embed code that you add to your website instead of messing around with images and linking them. And since it’s using the official embed code and file, it adds credibility and to the badge.

Pitch decks

Whenever you’re making a proposal, you can always just add the image of the badge into your deck. It may not be an official embed, but it gets the point across and you can link the image with your special Acclaim URL.

Everywhere else

And you can of course share that you earned it anywhere else you can think like to your social networks.

What to do after getting Facebook Blueprint certified

Besides telling your mom, there are a few things you can do now. First, you can join the unofficial Facebook Certified Professionals group on Facebook.

Facebook Blueprint Certification Professionals Facebook Group — The Facebook Certified Professionals group is available once you've passed

If you’re not in any other Facebook group about Facebook ads, I recommend joining. If you’re already in a couple good groups, I don’t think you would be missing out on anything to be frank.

Second, you can start learning more advanced strategies to scale Facebook ad campaigns. It’s one thing knowing how Facebook ads work; it’s another thing to make them work.

At Revealbot, it’s our mission to help Facebook advertisers to succeed and that mission doesn’t just drive our Facebook ad automation product, but it also drives our content. Here’s some of our best content to take your Facebook advertising skills to the next level:

The third and most important thing to do is leave us a comment. I’d love to hear how the Facebook Blueprint Certification has helped you (or didn’t) in your career or with attracting clients.

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