A social media workshop is a great way to spark your company’s online efforts. By hiring a consultant to teach your team the basics, you are taking the first step toward social visibility on the web.
It’s important to note that not all social media workshops are created equal. You must look for a teacher that can cover all of the foundational pieces in a short period of time. Below are eight topic areas you should expect to cover during an effective social media workshop.
- Overview of Importance – It’s a good idea to begin a workshop with answering the ‘why.’ There are likely members of your team that aren’t fully convinced about the idea of spending time socializing online. An overview of how social media will help the brand and contribute to the bottom line will set the stage nicely.
- High Level Approach – A good social media workshop will tailor each lesson to fit the firm. Each firm will have an individual approach to social media. This includes the overall goals and a 10,000 foot view of the strategy. Setting up this model from the start will get your team thinking together and on the same page.
- Understanding Primary Tools – Depending on the strategy, each firm will focus on different platforms and tools. The workshop should go into detail describing each major tool, how it’s used, and tips for success. In professional services this typically includes a look at LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and various blogging tools.
- Understanding Niche Tools – In most industries there are niche social networks that can be highly effective for targeting new connections. For instance, http://www.lawyrs.net/ is a social network just for the law community. And http://architecturelinked.com/ is a social network designed for the architecture community. Your workshop leader should spend some time explaining the benefits of niche sites in your industry and how they differ from mainstream sites.
- Tips on Growing Your Networks – When starting out in social media, a common challenge is getting anyone to listen to your firm. In the beginning you have few connections and no clout. Your initial efforts should be focused on increasing your followers and subscribers until you have a decent audience. Within your workshop, be sure to ask for tips on network growth. How can you proactively increase your Twitter followers? How can you drive more members into your LinkedIn group?
- Tips for Interaction and Management – The social media workshop should spend ample time explaining day-to-day management of the tools. By the end of the discussion, your team should feel comfortable communicating on these platforms and maintaining relationships over time.
- Daily Schedule – Some may consider this too detailed to be part of a social media workshop, but it should be discussed on a high level. It’s important for your team to have a grasp of how long to spend working on each network and when to call it quits for the day.
- Measuring Success – Social media can become a time sink with no reward if you aren’t measuring the right statistics. The workshop should review the most important metrics to track, how they affect your web presence, and why your social media progress is helping your firm.
Although a social media workshop may not transform your marketing team into mavens over night, it does have the potential to get the ball rolling. With a solid understanding of the fundamentals listed above, you’ll have what you need to start creating buzz online for your firm. Don’t forget to use our free content marketing guide to create sharable educational resources for your social readership.
