Next week we kick off our brand new programme, Like Minds U. It’s a 6 day course, with the days spread over 10 weeks, to help companies develop a new social media product or service to meet consumer demand.

Let’s get it straight: this is about productisation. We all know how to tweet, how to use Facebook, etc. This isn’t about that. This is about how we put all that, plus how to build it, deliver it and measure it, into a package that you scale and resell again and again and again to clients. That’s something worth while.

The other great thing was that we were able to secure funding to bring the cost down to just £995+VAT, so again, we’re very proud to be able to deliver a cost effective programme. You’d normally pay that for 2 or 3 days of training. You’d never pay that to get a whole new revenue stream.

We’ve not said too much about it other than put it in our newsletter and quietly invite people who we think would benefit, but I’m so proud of the programme that I thought I’d show the whole thing.

If you’d like to come along, then we might be able to squeeze a place in for you if you talk very nicely to me. Apply with some urgency here.

Expertly put together by Andrew Gerrard, here’s our recent email to those attending:

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• Weds. 25th January
• Programme Build and Delivery: Strategy Development. How to develop a social media strategy for a client, considering the objectives and desired outcomes, desired ROI, and aligning the strategy to existing business goals. In conjunction with the second lecture below, it will teach you how to interpret the best social route and best strategies for a client.
• Social Media Models and Technology: The Foundation of Social Media. Discussing the history of both social and broadcast media, this will identify the three primary strategies within social media based on the Social / Broadcast Matrix. Each strategy will be discussed with examples, along with each one’s specific considerations and how they can work together.
• With:
• Tiffany St. James, Social Media Strategist @tiffanystjames
• Gemma Went, Marketing and Social Media Consultant @gemmawent

• Thurs. 26th January
• Programme Build and Delivery: Integration. How an agency can integrate social media into an external company, as opposed to company’s holistic internal adoption, along with guidelines, how to provide training, and laying the groundwork for an operational framework.
• Social Media Models and Technology: The Tactics for the Right Platforms for the Right Job. How to use different platforms according to different objectives. This will cover owned, earned and paid media on all the major platforms.
• Tiffany St. James, Social Media Strategist @tiffanystjames
• Gemma Went, Marketing and Social Media Consultant @gemmawent

The first 2 days are combined together with Tiffany and Gemma to provide a comprehensive introduction into the theories, practicalities and best practices of building a social media offering. This will give you the opportunity to start thinking and planning the development of your client products and services in the intervening period before the next session on the programme.

• Thurs. 9th February
• Programme Build and Delivery: Management. Once integrated, how to operationally manage social media accounts on behalf of a client, covering models for HR, Customer Service, Marketing, PR and also Crisis Management. Also discussed is the leadership of social media teams and setting guidelines and policies.
• Sophie Brendel, Head of Digital Engagement, BBC @sophiebr
• Social Media Models and Technology: Engagement Strategies Part 1. Exploring different theories for engaging people and markets, contrasting interruption and permission, content marketing, and the 6 social media presence types.
• tbc

• Weds. 22nd February
• Programme Build and Delivery: Measurement. Critically proving ROI for clients, from monitoring tools and methods to analysis and reporting. Different methods of measurement including sentiment and intent as well as traditional methods will be discussed, and finally all tied into the single reporting practice for agency-client relationship.
• Dan Bowyer, Digital Consultant @danbowyer
• Social Media Models and Technology: Engagement Strategies Part 2. We will look at building a following from nothing, as well as managing campaigns from beginning to end. This also includes emergent technologies and new ways for creating engagement.
• Neville Hobson, Entrepreneur and Communicator, Co-host FIR @jangles
• Shel Holtz, Principal, Holtz Communication, Co-host FIR @shelholtz (via video conference call)
• Tuesday 6th March
• Programme Build and Delivery: Productisation. Now that the steps for building a social media programme are complete, we will look at productising this for clients and delivering the programme. Including guidance on how to sell the programme.
• Tiffany St. James, Social Media Strategist @tiffanystjames
• Social Media Models and Technology: Trust and Digital Influence. A conceptual look at the economy of trust online and it’s implications on influence. We will look at theories of digital influence and examples from large campaigns to small businesses.
• Benjamin Ellis, Social technologist, co-founder Social Optic and RedCatCo @benjaminellis

A 4-week gap is being provided before the final session to provide you with the opportunity and time to assimilate, plan and develop your strategies and activities into a coherent offering before we cover the final session on business development and long-term engagement. There will be a webinar prior to this to help you prepare for the final session, and this will be led by the facilitators. Details for this will be provided nearer the time.

• Weds. 4th April
• Programme Build and Delivery: Business Development and Ongoing Relationship. How to continue delivering products and services to clients and up sell them to new offerings. This will also cover reporting methods and how to introduce new technology into the mix. Based on the 12boxes business development model.
• Social Media Models and Technology: Stickability and Spreadability. Discussing how to make messages stick, and how to make them spread. This will be done in regard to different company types to provide a broad base of examples
• Malcolm Sleath, Founding Director, 12boxes Ltd. @Malcolm12boxes
• Joanne Jacobs, Interaction design and Social Media Strategist @joannejacobs