We all know that social media is by no means new, however it’s astounding how many businesses have failed to recognise it as a powerful marketing tool. It’s changed the way brands and consumers communicate and is something companies can no longer afford to ignore. True Story.
In her role of social media strategist at DigitLab, and in connection with TomorrowToday, Megan Bernstein will be managing the Cape Town leg of our Social Media Bootcamps.
Fast track your brand
These workshops have proven to be a very successful and affordable means to fast track your brand into the digital social media environment.
The new age way of communicating is no longer just via cell or email. People now communicate to the world by tweeting, updating their status (often quite arbitrarily), uploading photos, writing on walls, the odd poke or letting you know when they check into the latest hotspot.
According to a study by TNS Surveys, social media has become the main reason that people access the internet. 80% of South Africans online have a Facebook account and on average they visit it twice a day. Over one million South Africans are on Twitter and YouTube ranks among the top 5 most visited websites in South Africa.
Power shift to the consumer
As a result, brands no longer have control over their image. As the power shift has moved towards the consumer, their opinions and experiences become the basis of how brands are perceived when consumers share their thoughts and feelings in a public space.
As such, brands needs to take the initiative to create positive online experiences for their customers and employees or risk losing touch with them. I think focusing on employees is extremely pertinent, especially in the social media space, and often something businesses miss out on completely.
So, if you or your company think that you might not be hitting the nail of the social media head quite as well as you could be, why not come to the first Cape Town Social Media Bootcamp taking place on 28 March, with the next one taking place on 17 April. Surely that’s enough time for the Cape Town folk to set some time aside in our busy schedules!
The workshop is a morning session, generally from 8:30am – 12pm. A variety of topics will be covered and presented by Mike Saunders – the CEO of DigitLab and Keynote Speaker and Social Media Coach at TomorrowToday.
The workshop covers the following key topics:
- An overview of Web 2.0: Explains everything from Facebook to podcasting and the mobile internet. How it fits together and what its uses are.
- Inbound marketing: The process of inviting people to your website and turning those people into business leads
- Advertising Online: Why online advertising works and how to use if effectively
- Measuring online statistics: How do you measure the value of your online communications strategy
- Dealing with social media overload: Described as the point where all your time is spent online but with no business return, we discuss methods of combating social media overload.
Outcomes you can expect:
- A stronger understanding of how the internet works
- A blogging plan
- Tools to measure you success
- A strategic approach to online communications.
Experience has shown us that some businesses, or brands, may want their own custom-made presentations which focus on specific needs, objectives, or areas of interest. Some additional areas to consider include:
- Industry related Case Studies: Looking into and discussing South African and International social media examples within a specific business sector.
- Social Learning: Focusing on the opportunities that exist for using social media as a leadership development tool within your business and its staff. Emphasis will be placed on improving training and leadership development, empowering employees to use Social Media as an extension of their marketing activities.
- Online Profiling: This section will focus on the importance of employees being able to use their own personal profiles to tap into prospective business, marketing or recruitment opportunities by leveraging the reach of their social networks.
Social Media Bootcamps
If you’re still skeptical, and possibly one of the last companies left still using a fax machine as your main means of sending information ask yourself this – with the growth and development with the new age way of communicating, can my company really afford to be left in the dark ages? Didn’t think so. Get Social. Do it!
The Social Media Bootcamp is a quick, affordable way to get you, your brand, or your employees and brand teams up to speed and get people within your organisation thinking socially.
The first workshop will be held in Cape Town on 28 March, followed by the next one on 17 April, costing R1200.00 per person.
If you or one of your employees would like to attend, please contact Megan.
Visit our events page for dates when we’ll be running Social Media Bootcamps in Johannesburg and Durban
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