My good friends at Turboweb (they make website management simple for business) have teamed up with Know Social Media to provide a 6 week intensive workshop on social media. It is called "Launchpad" and I am really excited to be a part of this worthy project.

The Launchpad has been in planning mode for quite a while and I am delighted that it is now ready to go. The aim is to take businesses, regardless of their social media experience, and prepare them for social media readiness.

What does this mean?

In a nutshell, it means that businesses will leave with a solid social media infrastructure in place, a solid understanding of social media's strengths and weaknesses, a clear plan of where to go, and how to manage related resources - including employee participation.

It sounds comprehensive - thats because it is! Social media is a much wider proposition than simply marketing as it has an impact on many facets of a business' operation; internal (e.g., employee guidelines), technological (e.g., Facebook or Twitter?) and external (e.g., engaging with customers) are three such areas.

Social media is also way of doing things. 

With this mind, the Launchpad sessions are designed to be interactive, informative and fun. A lot like social media itself. There are clear outcomes for each session and participants will take tasks away to work on, think about, share, etc. in time for the following session.

Paul Southworth (Managing Director of Turboweb) convinced me to shoot a quick video to chat about the Launchpad. The aim was to quickly explore our thinking in the hope that the value inherent in the course becomes clear. Watch the results (below). 

To find out more about the Launchpad, take a look at the official website. Here you can find background details, pricing and registration information. 

I hope to see you at the first session on Tuesday May 29th at the Turboplex. It starts at 5:30, finishes around 7:00pm and will most certainly be a blast!

Social media provides exciting and novel opportunities for organisations of all kinds. However, social media will not make up for poor service, products, pricing or any sloppy business practice.

Social media is not a cure-all for your business' failings. 
 
Social media creates opportunities to enhance your organisation's reputation, deepen relationships with customers (or supporters if you are a NFP), attract new custom/interest, leverage serendipity, generate goodwill, plus many more known and yet to be known benefits.

The caveat is that improvements in any of the areas outlined above will take time so set your expectations accordingly. Also, be prepared to put effort and commitment into managing your chosen social media without necessarily expecting an immediate return (although you could - which is another great thing about social media).

Before engaging with social media in any significant way, ensure that your organisation's fundamentals are in shape. While social media may provide ways to remedy the occasional slip up, the very media used to interact with the wider community can also be used to publicise shortfalls in the basics.