Social Media Marketing in a Day

Duration: One day course: 9.30am - 5pm, including lunch.
Date: Thursday 9th February 2012 
Venue: Reed Media offices, London (please note: for larger groups we may use alternative training rooms in central London)
Tutor: Jon Reed

Also available in-house - contact Jon for details.

Includes a free copy of Jon Reed's book Get Up to Speed with Online Marketing.

Are you ready to get started with social media marketing but don't know where to begin? This practicaly one-day workshop will give you a solid foundation in social media marketing, and get you up and running with a marketing plan and social media that you will create during the day.

Who is it for? This course is for  business owners, entrepreneurs, marketing staff, and anyone new to running a social media marketing campaign. Participants will come away with social media marketing plans and will make a start on creating social media such as blogs, Facebook pages and Twitter accounts. You will also come away with the knowledge and confidence to put your ideas into action straight away.

What do you need? No prior experience of online marketing is required. This is a hands-on course, and you will need to bring a wireless-enabled laptop unless otherwise specified (some workshops take place in fully equipped computer training rooms).

Aims

It is no longer sufficient just to have a website to have an online presence: you also need to be present on the social sites where people spend so much of their time, such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. This course takes you through the process of social media marketing in a logical, step-by-step way.

What previous workshop delegates say:

You've turned me from terrified and skeptical to proactive social networker in one day!
Anne Buckle, Communications Administrator, Newcastle Institute for Research on Sustainability

The small workshop format allowed for a good exchange of ideas and discussion of the practicalities of each option. It felt very targeted to our needs. It was an excellent event which has fired up my enthusiasm for social media. Julia Garvey, Marketing Manager, Rising Stars

See more testimonials

Course Outline

Principles of Social Media. Key concepts and principles of social media marketing, why it works, and how to use it strategically. We will also look at how social media integrates with search engine marketing and email marketing to attract potential customers into your sales funnel.

Planning Your Social Media Marketing. It is tempting to jump in and start a blog, Facebook page or Twitter account. But your marketing will be more successful if you start with your aims and objectives. We will look at how to create an effective social media marketing plan that keeps you focused on your aims, makes your 'calls to action' clear, and enables you to measure your success.

ACTIVITY: Writing your one-page marketing plan

Business Blogging. WordPress is an incredibly powerful blogging platform and content management system that can be used to create websites. We will look at the case for business blogging, how to create one, what to write, and how to make money from blogging.

ACTIVITY: Starting your WordPress.com blog

Podcasting. What is podcasting? How can it work for your business? Like blogging, audio can be used as a medium to deliver valuable content and information to your community of interest. It can be used to engage, inform and showcase your expertise. We will simplify what can seem a daunting medium, and present some quick wins for creating audio.

Video. YouTube is by far the largest video sharing site, and another place where people search for topics they are interested in. If your product or service is complicated to explain, online video is a great way to articulate your offering. Use it to provide information, interviews, testimonials or training in your niche area. We will look at some low-cost quick wins for video production.

Facebook. With over 600 million people on Facebook, can you afford not to be? Some of them will be your ideal clients or customers. Simply by being findable on Facebook, you will become visible to people who are looking for what you offer. If you engage them with useful content on your Facebook page, you will start to build a community of loyal fans.

ACTIVITY: Creating bespoke Facebook pages.

LinkedIn. If your business is B2B rather than B2C, LinkedIn is an essential place to be. Use it not only to reach professionals who might want to buy your products or services, but to find potential suppliers and business partners. It's like a business networking event where you hand out business cards - but on a much greater, more efficient scale.

ACTIVITY: Optimizing your LinkedIn presence.

Twitter. Twitter is now mainstream, with over 200 million users. It is one of the 'big three' social networks, and is great for business use. Whether for promoting a blog, sharing tips with your niche community or announcing special offers, Twitter helps you reach your customers in real time.

ACTIVITY: Creating a compelling Twitter presence

Wrap-Up. We will finish the day with questions and discussion, and action points to take your social media marketing strategy forward after the session.

Follow-up. Participants will have access to a secure area of the Reed Media website, where they will be able to download PDFs of resources, worksheets and slides. Follow-up questions relating to the session may be submitted via the online discussion board.

Learning Outcomes
This course combines presentation, online demonstrations, discussion and practical activities. By the end of the session participants will:

• have a social media marketing plan for their business
• have a broad understanding of social media marketing
• have made a start on creating social media assets  such as blogs and Facebook pages during the session
• have the confidence to choose and use a range of social media marketing tools appropriately and effectively.
• be able to measure the results of their social media marketing efforts.

Your Learning Package includes:

• one-day workshop
• FREE copy of Jon Reed's book Get Up to Speed with Online Marketing
• online access to PDFs of resources, worksheets and slides
• follow-up support via an online discussion board
• 20 pages of PDF handouts including "A-Z of Social Media" and "Social Media Toolkit"
• 25 pages of worksheets
• a Certificate of Attendance

About Jon Reed

Jon Reed has worked in social media for the last five years - since its earliest days. His bestselling book Get Up to Speed with Online Marketing: How to Use Websites, Blogs, Social Networking and Much More is published by FT Prentice Hall.

Jon lectures on social media on a number of university courses, including at Birkbeck, City, Brunel, Bath Spa and Kingston universities, speaks at conferences and runs in-house training for large organanizations. 

He  previously worked in academic publishing for 10 years, including as publishing director for McGraw-Hill. He runs the blog Publishing Talk which has over 180,000 followers on Twitter and is rated the 'most influential' in the publishing world by the Twitter directory WeFollow.

He also runs the web design and marketing agency Small Business Studio, which helps start-ups get up and running with branding, business stationery, websites and social media marketing services. In addition, he has also provided advice on ’smart marketing’ to delegates at Business Startup – the UK’s largest exhibition for small businesses – in their popular 1 to 1 advice surgeries for new business owners.

Booking

Cost: £347 +VAT per participant. Includes:

• One-day workshop
• Refreshments
• Lunch
• PDFs of resources, worksheets and slides, which can be accessed online
• FREE follow-up support via the discussion board on the resource site
• FREE copy of Get Up to Speed with Online Marketing: How to Use Websites, Blogs, Social Networking and Much More.

Places available: this workshop usually runs with a minimum of 6 participants, but may occasionally run with fewer.

Cancellations: You can cancel 4 weeks or more before a workshop for a full refund. For cancellations of 1-4 weeks before a workshop, a charge of 50% of the course fee will apply unless we can re-fill the place or you can substitute a delegate. We cannot issue refunds for cancellations within 1 week of a workshop, and the full fee will apply. We reserve the right to cancel workshops at short notice if dates are under-subscribed, in which case you may opt for a full refund or a place on another workshop. Please check with us prior to making travel arrangements, unless we've confirmed the date by sending you a login to the workshop resource site.

This workshop can also be run as an in-house training course. Contact Jon for more information.