Social media has become more than just a potential tool for business success. It has become a critical part of any business’s marketing strategy. Many customers won’t even consider a product, service or brand if they don’t have an active, well maintained social media presence.
Salesforce released a series of statistics on customer service last year, and they found that only 3% of customer interaction is done through social media. However, 59% of customers within the crucial demographic of 25 - 34 year olds will take to the web to complain about poor customer care. If you aren’t keeping up on your reputation online, and properly monitoring social channels, you are going to miss some pretty big hits to brand mentions.
Big companies are going to have the social covered, because they can afford to hire the experts they need. Smaller guys are going to struggle a bit. The best thing you can do for yourself and your business is learn the in’s and out’s of social media and related marketing.
Beginner Resources
If you have zero knowledge about social media marketing, go through these resources to save time and ensure efficient learning:
Free Courses
These are the ten best courses you can find on the web for the task.
Internet Marketing For Smart People With Copyblogger
While it isn’t social media based, this is an important course for new marketers. It covers content marketing, keyword research, copywriting, proper keyword placement, SEO, and several other topics that are important to know.
It is also presented by Copyblogger, so you know what you are offered is going to be good. It is an email course, so you will be given one email every few days to follow, for several weeks.
Search and Social Media Marketing For International Business With University of Salford in Manchester
This course with the University of Salford in Manchester looks at how you can optimize your social media profiles, content and copywriting to attract the right kind of audience, and improve the visibility of your brand.
Your presence online is important, and you want to put your best foot forward. You also need to know the intricacies of using different platforms, social SEO, keyword research for social posts, and how it ties in with content. All of that is covered here, and more.
Inbound Marketing Training Program and Certification With Hubspot
Hubspot is a trusted source in all things digital marketing. This course is a full inbound marketing rundown, for which Hubspot awards you with an official inbound certificate. Because it is inbound and not social, it doesn’t just show you how to run social profiles. It also does email marketing, blogging, advertising, and other relevant topics.
They have a lot of materials here, and you can do it at your own pace. So it doesn’t operate like a traditional course, and it's more like a collection of study papers, videos, etc that you can use to improve your knowledge on the subject.
Social Media Quickstarter With Constant Contact
Constant Contact’s basic social media course will start by giving you a rundown on the primary platforms used for social marketing (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Blogging), then goes into related topics like ratings, and QR codes. It also goes into how email and social media marketing are connected.
This is the perfect course for anyone who is just starting in the social media business world, and want something simple and practical to get them started. It leaves out any of the complicated, advanced topics, which you can find once you get the brass tacks down.
Diploma In Internet Marketing With ALISON
Do you want to get your “diploma”? ALISON offers a traditional course online that is split into 16 parts, including a final assessment that will ensure you have retained the information given. It goes over websites, autoresponders, ebooks, increasing web traffic, podcasts, blogging, Twitter Facebook, email and affiliate marketing, and a lot more.
This is a very structured class, but it can be done in your own time. It can take anywhere from 15 - 20 hours in all to complete, and it will save your spot so you can come and go as your please.
DS106: Digital Storytelling and Social Media
Social media is not just a platform to throw yourself onto. It is a place to tell the story of your brand. DS106 is less a popular course, and more a creative revolution. In 2012, a Kickstarter campaign launched that offered this free instructional class that taught people to tell their stories socially. Now it is a phenomenon with thousands of participants.
Professor Jim Groom of the University of Mary Washington guides you through creating an online presence, and doing it in a way that really builds something worth viewing.
Social Media & Content Marketing With Viral Content Buzz
This is a collection of social media lessons from Viral Content Buzz that can be viewed in any order you like. From blog marketing, to Twitter networking, to running a successful social media campaign, it is all here.
Search by popularity, rating, or release date.
Digital and Social Media Marketing With iversity.org
Looking for a social media marketing course with a European bent? The way that EU and other global markets run their campaigns can vary greatly. This course is made up of multiple parts created by a handful of prominent professors from business schools around Europe.
While they say a business background would be helpful, it isn’t necessary to do this course. All you need is a basic understanding of how to work a computer. They will show you the rest.
The Analytics Edge With Massachusetts Institute of Technology
EDX has a great archived course that is a little older, but definitely worth checking out. Analytics is the bane of most new marketers existence. The charts, numbers and terminology just seems so complicated.
This course will break it all down, so you can understand what all those numbers and lines mean. And you will find out how to use them to improve your results.
The Business Of Social With Coursera
Five experts get together to teach you all the fundamentals you need to know to grow your business using social networks. You will also learn how to properly measure your growth, so you can make adjustments to your strategy as you go.
This is an excellent course, if a little dry, and will give you a great foundation for real social success.
Do you have a course you think belongs on this list? Have you tried one we mentioned? Let us know in the comments!
