A picture tells a 1000 words, and the chart below says social media is here to stay. It’s from Google Trends and measures search volume for the term, social media.
Some more facts to reinforce social media staying power and show what’s now needed are:
- 74% of companies in 2011 say they have a social media program
- 54% are investing in social media as a customer service channel
- Only 14% of these programs measure return on investment
- #1 social media need for companies is a knowledgeable staff
(Sources: eMarketer, eConsultancy, Sherpa)
Where should a company go for this knowledge? PR? Advertising? Digital? Consultants? Maybe they should look to themselves. In our experience, the fastest adopters and the ones who experience the most success are those who know their business and customers best.
I’m excited to be teaching a course called Social Media Marketing GPS with Toby Bloomberg to help companies learn and see results with social media through programs they execute for themselves.
Social Media Marketing GPS is a live, online 8-session course with instruction and “hands-on” training to give any business a roadmap for social media success. It occurs through a new, online learning platform, LiveMind, to deliver 1-on-1 “hands-on” training without you having to leave your office.
7 “hands-on” knowledge skills you’ll learn as you go from development of a strategy to a customized social media plan generating real results are how to:
- Determine success, accountability and the right allocation of time and resources
- Create social media initiatives that support branding, customer care or business development objectives and culturally align the enterprise
- Use social network tools of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube to their maximum effectiveness and in line with best practices
- Develop blogs that build business and customer relations
- Determine what transparency and authenticity, two important social media values, means to your company
- Understand content valuation
- Measure and track social media return on investment (ROI)
Toby and I are partnering because we’ve helped companies large and small, B2C and B2B, profit and non-profit, achieve success with social media.
Toby, a former board member of the American Marketing Association, does workshop for the AMA all over the country. Recognized by Forbes as one of the country’s foremost blogger, she is the author of the e-book, Social Media Marketing GPS. The book, viewable below, is the genesis for the course and has been downloaded 10K+ time all over the world.
I teach as part of a Social Media MBA faculty at Rutgers University, one of the first universities in the country to offer a Social Media Mini-MBA. I also do “hands-on” social media business training with the U.S. Small Business Administration and PRSA (Public Relations Society of America).
We begin online training on March 15 at 1 pm ET (Tuesday). You can find the details here.
Know someone who might benefit? Please pass this on. After all, it’s called social media for a reason.
