Social Media is the hottest topic in sales and marketing circles right now and many businesses (from one-man-bands to large corporations) are feeling pressured to get involved with social outlets such as Facebook  or Twitter. Small wonder — research analysts eMarketer are reporting that social media has reached the tipping point, with more than half of all Australian internet users now frequenting social spaces in a typical month.

And it’s becoming habitual — many users visit their favorite social network once or twice an hour (according to digital agency Razorfish), to catch up on what their friends are doing (and to report on their own exploits).

So consumers (prospective buyers of your products or services) can now be found in large numbers hanging out on social networks. Should marketers be there too? Absolutely, notes eMarketer, channeling the results of a February 2010 survey by Chadwick Martin Bailey, a market research firm. According to their data, 33% of U.S. Facebook users have become fans of brands on the network.

And plenty more social network users are talking about brands online. Whether it’s good news or bad news, if it’s hot it spreads in milliseconds across the social networks.

Excited yet? Afraid of being left behind? Or just eager to take advantage of the opportunities if fans ‘love you’ socially?

It’s time to upskill yourself on social media — it’s too late to be an early adopter, but now would be a good time to start getting yourself socially adept. Check out our seven-part online course:

The next release of this course begins on Monday 13 June 2011.

See below for our special EARLY BIRD RATE (saving you $100) for bookings received by Monday 30 May.

Course SA-11: Social Media

This is a seven-part eCourse providing a comprehensive introduction to Social Media Marketing, from the Basics to detailed instructions on how to build and run a Social Media programme.

This eCourse is conducted on a web-based e-learning software platform, enabling course participants to proceed at their own pace, accessing materials online. This particular eCourse provides content in a variety of multimedia forms, including videos, slideshows, flash-based presentations and PDF files. No special software is required to participate.

Course lessons are released weekly, for participants to access in accordance with their own timetables. Interaction with the course tutor is enabled through the platform software tools (with telephone backup if required).

Feedback from previous Social Media Marketing eCourse Participants

• “this was the best professional development course I have done in many years” - Mark R, senior Agency Exec responsible for social media
• “thought the information within was outstanding” - Ed P, General Manager
• “What I loved was that I started with a fairly rudimentary understanding of social media but have learned a lot – including where to find more information as I need it.” – Fiona W, Marketing Manager
• “I found it relevant, informative, topical, insightful and a bloody good read. It’s never evangelical, too techy, patronising, assumes that you know too much or too little about digital and has a warm sense of humour in the communication throughout which helped faciliate the learning process for me.” — Adrienne B, new media senior executive
• “Thanks for pointing me in the direction of this course! It’s been extremely enlightening” — Shayne P, design agency director
• “Rapt with what I have seen of the course” — Julia R, fashion editor
• “I’m really enjoying the course – learning a lot – and I know the two friends I persuaded to join us are also loving it.” — Lavinia C, designer
  
• “Am thoroughly enjoying the content!” – Kara B, magazine co-ordinator
• “I completed the first lesson today and found it really interesting and love the interaction already! I am so looking forward to the second lesson already … ” — Annette B, public relations director
• “I was already engaging with social media and have been doing so for about 6 years or so. Remembering the days when all of my friends were on Bebo and MySpace and seeing how this has now shifted so dramatically. But, did I know how to use social media in a marketing and business sense? No, I simply did not. This course was a great way to show me how to do that.” — Sheryl K, online marketer

TIMING
Our next Social Media Marketing eCourse starts on Monday 13 June, with the delivery to participants of the Introduction and Lesson One. New lessons are delivered weekly on Mondays but participants complete them at their own pace and at their own time.

COURSE CREATION AND TUTORING
This course has been created and will be tutored by Michael Carney.

WHO SHOULD TAKE THE COURSE
Anyone running their own business or with responsibilities in Marketing, Advertising, PR or Communications  who, while they may have a fair knowledge of what social media options are out there, don’t know how to use them effectively (and have a perfectly reasonable fear of doing the wrong thing in a very public arena).

WHAT YOU SHOULD LEARN AS A RESULT OF THE COURSE:

• The principles of effective marketing in social media
• Which social networks are strongest, who uses them and how to sign up
• What social media can do for your (or your clients’) business
• How to build a social media programme (you’ll start constructing your own during the course)
• The best tools and techniques for monitoring social networks
• How to really understand and engage with the consumer
• How to create relevant, informative, killer content for your social media programme
• How to define and measure meaningful numbers to determine the success (or otherwise) of your social media activities
• Answering those questions that (if you’re not prepared) could kill your career
• How to watch for, and adapt to, the Next Big Thing in Social Media (whatever that is)

COURSE CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION:
WHY SOCIAL MEDIA SILENCE IS DEADLY

In which we put Social Media in context in the modern world; discuss the reality that the medium is a runaway success (regardless of whether marketers choose to participate or not); deal with marketers’ biggest fears about the medium; and discuss the key principles of effective marketing in social media.

LESSON ONE: THE BASICS
I’VE JUST ARRIVED FROM OUTER SPACE. TELL ME ABOUT THESE “SOCIAL NETWORKS”.

For those a little fuzzy on the basics: we introduce the concept of social networks; talk about the main players; give special recognition to Facebook and review its user numbers and offerings; look at what else is out there (including the newest, Google Buzz); show you how to check out and claim your digital identity at key online sites and services; and (if you’re not already there) invite you to sign yourself up to the primary social sites.

LESSON TWO: SOCIAL MEDIA AND YOU
I’M AFRAID OF INTRUDING IN SOCIAL MEDIA –ALL THOSE CONSUMERS WILL TRASH MY BRAND

Social Media and Marketers: are we there yet? We review the importance of social media for brands; ask the eight key questions of vital importance to marketers wanting to join this social media party; consider how to choose which social media to support (sorry, you can’t do it all, at least not on financially-constrained budgets and resources); look at what sort of social media personality you should adopt to flourish in the new environment; and look at the benefits, the pitfalls and the barriers when it comes to social media marketing. Applying those last attributes to your own business will be your assignment from Lesson Two.

LESSON THREE: BUILDING THE PLAN
ENOUGH TALK ALREADY, LET’S START BUILDING SOMETHING

So far, we’ve examined the principles of social media. Now it’s time to put those into practice and start building your own social media program. This topic will occupy us for most of the lesson, as we cover the six key elements of a strategy framework. Your homework will involve turning that framework into a provisional plan.

LESSON FOUR: MONITORING
DON’T SAY A THING. JUST LISTEN FIRST (EVEN FOR JUST 10 MINUTES A DAY), THEN THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU’RE HEARING. MAYBE THEN YOU CAN TALK.

We know you want to get your teeth into Social Media fast, but you need to start by just listening. And yes, you can do it for just ten minutes a day (if you’re very focussed). In this lesson, we show you where and how to listen (and where to find the mostly-free tools to do so); what to listen for; who to listen to (identifying opinion leaders); and we talk about how things can go wrong and how to react to problems when they arise. Your homework will involve listening, listening, listening.

LESSON FIVE: ENGAGEMENT
WILL CONSUMERS REALLY ENGAGE WITH ME AND MY BRAND, OR WILL THEY JUST BE POLITE? (IF THEY THINK YOU’RE ANNOYING OR INTRUSIVE, DON’T WORRY, THEY’LL TELL YOU)

Like most marketing, social media starts with a clear understanding of consumers: who they are (by whatever metrics available) and what they need and want. Social media marketing works the same way, but even more so. In this lesson we dig ever more deeply into understanding the audience; at this point you’ll be adjusting the plan you assembled a couple of lessons ago, to take account of your new knowledge.

LESSON SIX: CREATING KILLER CONTENT
TELL ME STUFF THAT’S REALLY INTERESTING – AND STOP SELLING AT ME, THIS ISN’T A USED CAR LOT

None of what we’ve covered so far is of any use if your contribution to the online conversation is merely self-serving and sales-oriented. In this lesson we cover the sort of content that is essential in social media, and how you can build it into relevant, informative, compelling content. Your homework will require you to create such content for your business.

LESSON SEVEN: METRICS AND ROI:
OVERCOMING THOSE QUESTIONS THAT KILL MARKETING CAREERS

Social Media in its early stages avoided those awkward issues about Return on Investment and whether it really delivered value for the time and money involved. Now times are tougher, the budgets are tighter and CFOs are asking the hard questions. In this lessons we look at the metrics that are nice to have but more importantly at the ones that matter. We also identify strategies you can follow to develop useful, meaningful measures that satisfy the C-suite. You can guess what your homework is.

CONCLUSION:
WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

Social Media (it seemed) arrived faster than a speeding bullet. What’s next for the medium, how do you tell, and what can you do to prepare? We look at the trends and offer some advice.

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INVESTMENT
This seven-part eCourse is available for just A$497. However we offer a special EARLY BIRD BOOKING RATE of just A$397 (saving you $100) for bookings and payment received by MONDAY 30 MAY. 

To sign up at our Early Bird rate and save $100, click here to pay via PayPal.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

You’ll receive our emailed confirmation of your booking. Then on Monday 13 June you’ll be emailed with details of your Login and Password, along with an Enrolment Key for the Social Media Marketing eCourse.

Welcome aboard!

PS If you have any questions or would like to know more, just drop us an email at bookings (at) marketingecourses.com.