Have you ever thought, If only there was free social media training, I’d be rocking my social media platforms? Today, head Zao525 copywriter, Kelsey, takes over our blog to share with you five free social media training courses she would recommend to get you started on social media all the way to leveraging social to see real business results.
Small business owners, one-person marketing peeps, woman who likes to post pictures of her novelty socks on Instagram — do I have some social media tools for you!
Maybe you know something about Facebook or another thing about Twitter. Maybe you’ve used social media for your personal life, but you want to know how to apply social media strategies to your business’ marketing goals.
Whatever level of social media competency you’re at, there’s bound to be more to learn. Trust me, I’ve been managing social media profiles for other businesses for years, and I still learn something new at least once a month (it helps that these platforms continuously keep changing!).
Below are five free social media training programs you can complete online at your convenience.
Free social media training for beginners: Getting started
If social media is this brand new doohickey that you’ve just pulled out of your marketing toolbox, you’ve come to the right place. Or, if social media is something you’ve solely participated in on a personal basis and you want to transition your skills for a business application, these beginner’s courses could be perfect for you.
What is Social?
Hosted on Coursera, “What is Social?” offers four weeks of study, about one to three hours a week, that equips you with the answer to just that question. The syllabus includes an “Introduction to Social Marketing,” “Social Trends,” “The Business of Social” and “Social Overview.”
This course is free*. Notice the asterisk? That’s because while the course is partially free for seven days, but the service does cost money on a monthly subscription base through Coursera. If you’re an avid learner, the investment could be worth it — there are hundreds of courses you could delve into with that subscription.
Diploma in Social Media Marketing
Free (no asterisk here!) on Alison, the “Diploma in Social Media Marketing” learning module offers four sections of social media training and resources. You’ll learn about social media marketing, how to use Twitter, how to use Facebook and increase interactions. Plus, you’ll also gain information about things like websites and website traffic, recording and publishing podcasts and more.
Free social media training for the intermediate user: Monitoring your efforts
It’s one thing to create social media profiles for your business — it’s another to monitor your efforts and your target audience’s responses. Social media is all about interacting with your target market. If your assessments show that you are, it’s great validation for your time and effort. If not, then you have some guidance for what to modify.
Social Media Monitoring
This course is a free three and a half hour on-demand video, available on mobile and desktop. You’ll learn monitoring strategies for Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and more. Plus, the instructor provides tips for sharing your insights with key colleagues or clients involved in your social media strategy and how to find keyword phrases and assess their performance over time.
Free social media training for the advanced user: Garnering business results from social
As a business owner or marketer for a small business or nonprofit, you may have heard someone exclaim, “You need a social media profile for you business!” as if your business would drop off the face of the marketplace if you didn’t hurry up and set up a page.
The truth is, though, social media is a valuable way to connect with your target audience. Social media is even a tool that can help you gain leads, contacts, prospects — whatever you consider future customers — and maintain current customers.
These two courses help you put social media to work for your business and help it grow.
The Business of Social
Learn how to engage your customers on a one-on-one level with “The Business of Social” training. This course is on Coursera, so the price is once again sort of free but only for a limited time. The value is there, though, as you’ll spend four weeks (an hour or two a week) learning about legal considerations when it comes to social media and your business, how metrics can drive real business results, how to create a performance funnel, and how to manage and sustain a social media strategy that will provide real business results.
Advanced Social Media Marketing for Picking Up Clients
This one-hour on-demand video takes you through a step-by-step guide for using social media to pick up clients. You’ll learn about social media marketing myths and mistakes and the alternative truths, how to “sell” your value on social media without turning off your prospects, how to attract clients and more. This course focuses mainly on Facebook, YouTube, Reddit and other niche forums.
So now: I invite you to actually explore these free social media training options. Don’t just open the landing pages in your web browser. Use these free resources — become social media geniuses.
And let us know what you learn on Facebook or Twitter — or better yet, share with us any other social media training tools you’ve discovered!
Here’s to always learning!
