What every business needs to know about Web 2.0 and social media
Wednesday, July 28, 2010 at 12:00PM 
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
social media, web 2.0, web2 in social media, web2 
