What every business needs to know about Web 2.0 and social media

I've been working on developing a training programme for companies that want to know more about the relevance of Web 2.0 and social media to their businesses.  Their's a lot of confusion out there about whether these new services really offer anything that can help with marketing, communication and collaboration or if it is just hype.  A recent article in Fast Company backs this up:

"I have a number of friends who own or operate small to medium-sized businesses. The number one question I get from them is how to make online marketing work for their businesses. There seems to be quite a bit of pent up need for online marketing help by SMBs..... The problem is there is also a lot of noise. Part of the problem is there is no barrier to entry in the online marketing consulting industry. All one has to do is put up a Web site. So what's an SMB to do?"

Hopefully, my series of 5 half day sessions at the University of Brighton will go some way to cutting through this confusion.  The programme for the course is:

Session 1 – Tuesday 16 November
Why Web 2.0 / Social Media is relevant to your business

• What is Web 2.0 and social media?
• How are other businesses using them and with what success?
• What are some of the issues you should be thinking about in this space?

Session 2 – Tuesday 23 November
Marketing your business on the web

• How can you improve your Google search rankings?
• How can you use Facebook, Twitter, blogs and YouTube to market your company?
• How do you advertise on Google?

Session 3 – Tuesday 30 November
Web tools for collaborative working

• How are other companies moving beyond email to communicate and share information?
• What is cloud computing and I should I be using it?
• What is a wiki and do I need one?

Session 4 – Tuesday 7 December
Dealing with web designers and search engine consultants

• What can I do myself and when do I need an expert?
• How much will these experts cost?
• What questions should I be asking them?

Session 5 – Tuesday 14 December
Monitoring the effectiveness of your web strategy

• I’ve got a website but who is visiting it?
• What are people saying about my company on the web?
• How can I improve my web strategy?

If you want to know more or make a booking, click HERE or email me on mrd@brighton.ac.uk