Attending a social media workshop can be an excellent way to learn how to use social media tools to build your business or personal brand. These workshops typically are taught by experts in the field, and they include tips and tricks for making use of social media opportunities in the most effective ways. Large corporations sometimes will even choose to send people from their public relations (PR) or marketing departments to a social media workshop to learn these skills. The best workshop for you can vary depending on your goals and the amount of time that you have to invest. They can range from two-hour seminars to a weekend-long immersions, for instance.
Broadly, a social media workshop typically will focus on the biggest social networks that are popular among the most people and how a company or individual can use them for networking, advertising and brand development. In addition, many social media workshops will go into more depth about using other types of social media for different purposes, such as how to use blogs for generating leads and engaging customers in conversation or even using social media to locate and hire new employees.
The social media workshop that you choose depends on how deeply you want to go into certain topics and your level of experience. For larger corporations, some workshops might also include information on how to measure the direct influence of new social media efforts on business and income, but this might not be as relevant for smaller businesses or individuals. If a workshop is often on a certain topic in which you are particularly interested in — blogging, for example — this might be a good place to start, rather than getting overwhelmed by many topics. Workshops that include real-life examples and case studies can be particularly effective learning tools.
Consider also the amount of time that you have to invest in a social media workshop, as well as the funds that are available. A three-day social media immersion might sound like a great educational experience, but consider whether the return on investment will really make it worth it. An effective presentation that lasts for a few hours might be just as useful for much less money; some can even be found for free online. Keep in mind that many social media experts will be glad to come to a company for a day with a presentation and activities to teach employees.