As I wrote Tuesday, social media ain’t all bad.
Indeed, the over-heightened echo chamber of circular praise and obsessive coverage and conversation on those now familiar Web-based tools stem from their truly trans-formative power.
I’ve taken an interest in all of that. Enough so that, in addition to the conferences at which I’ve spoken, conversations I’ve had and now the full-time job I enjoy, from time to time I’ve been asked to walk others through the good of what social media can have.
A lot of times, the requests come from or are on behalf of small business owners who keep hearing that these damn Internet buzz companies are going to help them make more money. Often times, they don’t know how, don’t want to try or are too turned off by the schmaltz and self-styled gurus to even think it’s for them.
That’s good. I think that’s all lame, too. It’s an opportunity to speak like a real person and keep it all appropriately relative. Facebook and Twitter and blogging are not important, but they can be important for promoting something you love to do, which, in turn, is important.
So, I’m happy to announce that, next month I’ve been asked to lead a small teleconferencing course called ‘Basic Blogging for Business.’
Below, I share some of the details of this and a similar class I taught with the same group in the fall.
My class is the third in a four part series designed for small business owners without a lick of knowledge about plopping onto the Web and using social media to promote what they do.
The cost is $129. See all class descriptions here, and register here.
My 90-minute course’s description:
Basic Blogging for Business.
Monday, March 8 @ 8 p.m.
Less than 10 years old and already, blogging is a force in the marketing, promotion and customer development sphere. In this class, taught by an experienced blogger well-versed in brand building online, we’ll go over why a small business should have a blog, how much work it really requires and the absolute basics of getting started, like choosing a platform and making your first post. We’ll also touch on tools that’ll make your blog more dynamic and worth returning to.
In November, with the same group, I taught a class on incorporating multimedia in existing WordPress platforms — basically a step above the class I’ll be teaching in March.
A month or so before that, I was approached — by way of a friend — by the woman who decided to put the courses together, mostly designed for a cohort of small business owners she knew and who had requested some training in the realm of social media.
It’s far and away from walking to a factory to make a widget, but I enjoy getting interested people started in anything, even if it is Web based.
Let me know if you have any questions.
ANOTHER one? Cleanin’ up, Wink.