2 Words To Improve Your Social Customer Service

A strange thing just happened……………….

That’s a good opening line, straight out of “50 Great Opening Lines For Your Blog”.

Anyway, a strange thing did just happen. I started to write this blog and came across one written by Ian Anderson Gray entitled:-

Stop Saying Thank You on Social Media & Say Something Meaningful!

He had based this on a similar blog by Mark Schaefer who is probably the Social and Marketing expert I respect more than any other. However, on this subject I have to disagree with the great man.

Saying “Thank You” is easy, just two little words that take but a second to say and type but to the recipient can make all the difference.

I always say it has never been easier to provide gold-standard customer service using Social communication. Conversely you could argue it has never been easier to get it wrong, and business and organisations do, time and time again.

Part of a successful customer service strategy is some appreciation when a customer or stakeholder does something which benefits you as the service provider. One of the great parts of Social Marketing is the ability to turn customers, clients and supporters into “Brand Ambassadors”. Those people who will fly the flag for you on the Social web, extol your qualities and if you’ve really built a solid relationship with them, defend you when you’ve received negativity.

Think of saying “thank you” as a deposit into your “Goodwill” account. Each time you are appreciative of an act of Social interaction and engagement the account grows richer. The benefit here is that when you need to deal with a troublesome situation you can withdraw from this “Goodwill” account and hopefully resolve it to everyone’s satisfaction.

According to a 2014 study published in the “Emotion” publication thanking a new acquaintance makes them more likely to seek an ongoing relationship. Isn’t that the whole premise of Social communication? To develop strong and long-lasting, mutually beneficial relationships.

When I was managing a team of people in the radio business I tried to pass some of the customer service practices I had developed. One of these was taking time at the end of the day to respond to anyone who had engaged with me during the day if I hadn’t the chance to already do so. It took a matter of minutes but it kept the “Goodwill” account topped up. In my case it helped me become the most listened to commercial radio presenter in Wales for the best part of a decade.

Of course “Thank You” can be just that, two little words said in appreciation of an act or comment. It can also be more than that:

A positive comment on a blog

A comment or a share on another Social platform

An endorsement of your expertise on LinkedIn

A testimonial for your website or YouTube channel

A review of a product or service

And so it goes………..

I thoroughly recommend an excellent on this subject. It’s “The Thank You Economy” by Gary Vaynerchuck. It describes how social media has changed the way we do business and how consumers want to be appreciated for their business. By expressing your gratitude towards them online publicly shows that you do care.

It’s well worth a read.

And er….by the way……thank you for reading.

Do You Use Social In Your Recruitment Process?

This time we’re talking about using Social Media in the recruitment process and there are a number of aspects in the search for new staff that your digital channels can help with.

Let’s start with the use of Social platforms as a way to research background information on applicants, in my opinion a perfectly legitimate tactic. I have spoken to young people about how their digital footprint may affect employment opportunities in the future and in some instances find they feel it an imposition and an unfair practice. I think this is a modern mindset of a generation who deem it normal to publish their life online without the thought for protecting their privacy yet feel somehow hard done by when told that some aspects of their content could be detrimental to future prospects.

Using digital platforms to garner extra info on applicants is no different to what used to happen when businesses I’ve worked for discovered that a member of staff knew or had worked with an applicant for a current vacancy. You would ask their opinion of the person in question and would take that assessment of their positives and negatives into account.

Why wouldn’t you?

It should be noted however that employers be aware of context and time when carrying out checks on a candidate’s Social channels as both are important aspects to take into account. There is also the responsibility to follow legal guidelines on discriminating unfairly against a candidate after discovering information about them online.

It is worth noting the success that international infrastructure group Balfour Beatty has achieved using their Social channels, primarily LinkedIn, for recruitment. This is despite not setting up a LinkedIn channel until 2014. The company reported that their first recruitment ad on that platform saved them £10,000 in recruitment fees followed by a further £200,000 saving over the next 6 months.

They saw a 400% increase in followers over the same time and now use LinkedIn as their primary recruitment channel. This the reward for focussing on a site where they knew the talent of the future was looking to make contacts for future reference and employment.

Research carried out last year by Recruitment Box found that in 2010, 78% of recruiters were using LinkedIn to find candidates. 5 years later that percentage had risen to 95%. Similarly, 2010 saw just 14% of recruiters posting jobs on Twitter, it has also climbed to 95%. The potential for employee referrals on Twitter has also risen from 16% in 2010, to 93% in 2015.

This is an area that recruiters clearly see as very beneficial to finding the right candidate for their vacancies with 70% of them saying that they plan to increase their investment in social recruiting.

As with every aspect of Social interaction the base of it all is communication, a two way process. While you may be using your Social channels to advertise for and vet future employees, those people are also looking at your business and how your digital platforms represent you.

A company’s “talent brand” is being spoken of more and more of late. This is how their mission statement, vision and corporate culture are perceived on the social web. This plays a significant part in reducing a business’ hire costs and its ability to attract quality candidates. You can keep on top of this by ensuring that your Social channels portray a consistent business message in words, pictures or both.

You should make an effort to foster a workforce of “Brand Ambassadors”. Encourage your staff to talk about their positive experience of life at work on their own social channels, while also sharing the business’ content and success stories. According to a 2014 survey from Monster, 65% of respondents would consider an opportunity for a new job if they learned about it from a personal connection.

It has never been easier for businesses and organisations to build an exciting, vibrant image for themselves in the digital world and the more ways you can find to keep your Social platforms full of interesting, positive content the better when you are searching for new talent.

Facebook’s new “Reactions” are out but “Yay” doesn’t make it.

They have been released into the wild after a few months of testing and pre-promotion and have been commented about extensively on a plethora of Social platforms.

Yes of course it’s Facebook’s new set of “Reactions”.

There has been talk for quite a while that the simple Facebook “thumbs up” Like button wasn’t sufficient to convey a variety of emotions and feelings so after much brainstorming, strategizing and focus groups (I expect) at the Facebook factory in Cupertino the cast of the Social giant’s “Usual Suspects” was revealed.

The keen of eye will have noticed that when these first appeared a few months there were seven new options. Sadly “Yay” didn’t make the cut and has been axed from the new selection. It turns out that we thought “Yay” was too vague and didn’t really mean anything. “Yay”’s people say that it took the news well and is planning a solo career.

While it gives a handful of new variants it would be impossible to create a series of graphics that would cover all bases but this new initiative has seen Facebook at the forefront of Social discussion again.

Mark Zuckerberg recently wrote in a Facebook post :-

“Not every moment you want to share is happy. Sometimes you want to share something sad or frustrating. Our community has been asking for a dislike button for years, but not because people want to tell friends they don’t like their posts. People want to express empathy and make it comfortable to share a wider range of emotions.”

Of course the new emoticons don’t give any more ammunition to those who merely want to abuse or troll other users. The nearest you get to negativity is Mr Angry who just looks like he’s been out in the sun for too long. You’d be angry too if you had a case of the raving sunburn.

The quest for more ways for users to express themselves was prompted by an argument to provide a “Dislike” button as a counter to the “Like”.

Brian Blau, an analyst with Gartner Research says “the demand for a “dislike” button reflected frustration in not having more choices beyond “Like”. What these emojis do is give greater granularity in expressing what you are thinking and feeling about something that was posted on Facebook”.

And let’s face it, more “granularity” is what we all strive for.

Facebook say that there is data to be gained from measuring how we use these new reactions and one must assume that their introduction must have a tangible purpose. Once you call up your Facebook page the sole purpose from the provider’s point of view is to keep you there. They constantly update their algorithms to ensure that everything you see on your screen is relevant to you. Of course there will be a way of using the data from how we use the “Reactions” icons to tie in with Facebook’s advertising algorithms. Advertisers are always keen to know how people react to their ads; here is a way of giving the more information in that area.

As far as their series of “Reactions” is concerned whether this half dozen of options is the sum total of Facebook’s intentions in that regard is a question that only time will answer.

10 Social Media Myths De-bunked

This week I thought I would talk about Social Media “myths”. Words of wisdom in social communication that have been repeated so many times they become what people believe. However, they are also the same words that make you stop and question them.

When I worked in radio there were similar myths, mantras that had been trotted out by more experienced people for so long that as a newcomer you just accepted them, even though none of them had any basis in fact.

For example:-

• Female listeners don’t like female presenters
• Never play more than three female voices in a row
• Always put in an hour’s prep for each hour on air.
• Mentioning another radio station will make your listener immediately tune to it.

I could go on – as a young presenter I heard all these and just accepted them. As you gain confidence and experience in your profession you start to question these “myths”.

The same is true of Social Media; here are 10 Myths of the social age to question.

1) I SHOULD BE ON EVERY PLATFORM

Do you know how many social platforms there are? No me neither. One of the basic pitfalls of using Social Media is to try and maintain a presence on lots of platforms, see nothing happen and give up. The first step for every business or organisation is to identify the platforms that will work best for them and concentrate your efforts there.

2) I’LL JUST USE ONE PLATFORM

Just as spreading yourself too thin is not good, the opposite is equally as bad. By all means note the platform that gives you the most traction and make that your primary outlet, but remember that other sites can be complementary. Using a handful of social platforms also gives you the opportunity to cross-promote and link them together.

3) I CAN’T LINK TO MY OTHER SOCIAL PLATFORMS

You have a Facebook account, it’s doing fine, lots of engagement for your excellent content. So you set up a Twitter account as a complementary outlet and because your business is visual you think a Pinterest board would be good too. All excellent ideas. The problem is, you’ve read a few “experts” say you can’t link to them from your Facebook wall because………..well I don’t know why really.

It makes no sense to me. Just do it. The great thing about social is that you can tie up your social channels, your company website, your YouTube channel in a lovely chain of gorgeous digital content.

4) WALL-TO-WALL CONTENT

It’s quality not quantity, less is more etc. etc. Think about what you have to offer and the best way of saying it. What are your keywords, your important messages, how can you encourage your followers to share your content. Of course sell yourself and your services but do it strategically amongst your other posts. Make your channels ones your followers can rely on to be informed and entertained.

5) RE-POSTING

This is one of my bugbears. Someone once said you should never re-post content and it was taken as read. I still see some practitioners espouse this point of view.

I use the analogy of your wife or girlfriend who won’t wear a dress she’s worn before, even though there’ll be no-one at the event who will have seen it the first time.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with re-posting content. We would love all of our content to be seen by all of our social communities, but in the real world that’s never gonna happen.

Do it sensibly and creatively, choose carefully the content you recycle, make sure it’s still relevant when you re-post.

6) DON’T BE PERSONAL

Hang on, isn’t this what being “social” is all about. Of course keep your audience and your customers in mind but don’t be afraid to show off your business/brand’s personality. If it didn’t have one before your social channels give you the chance to create one. It’s 1-2-1 communication, it’s personal, it’s dialogue between you and the person looking at their screen.

7) IT’S A NUMBERS GAME

People still get hung up on numbers; obsess about how many likes, followers and friends they’re notching up. You’ll see people following you then unfollow a few days later when you haven’t reciprocated. You don’t want them anyway.

The sorts of fans and followers you need are ones who will find your content interesting, informative or entertaining enough to share with their own tribes. They could be your flag-wavers and brand ambassadors. 500 people who engage with your posts on a regular basis are far more important to your business than 10,000 people who clicked the “like” button once.

8) IF IT’S NEGATIVE FEEDBACK, IGNORE IT

No-one likes seeing negative stuff written about their business or organisation but the worst thing you can do is ignore or delete it. It’s important to have a plan in place when the situation arises so your response is timely and constructive. Remember anyone who sees the negative comment will also see your way in which you have handed it.

9) SOCIAL IS TOO INFORMAL FOR BUSINESS

I heard this at a networking event just the other week, what the comment says to me is that the person saying it doesn’t know what social media is all about. Social communication is for everyone, irrespective of business type, it can change perceptions of your business in a post or a tweet. When the CIA fired up their Twitter account they got it absolutely right with their first tweet.

10) EVERY POST NEEDS A HASHTAG

#Saving #the #best #for #last. #Dear #Lord #above, #save #us from #Hashtag #Hell.

Hashtags are great, they tie up events, topics, opinions and conversations beautifully but they are the source of more social evil than almost anything else (with serial re-tweeters a close second). They are not however, compulsory and will not guarantee you a trending topic but used carefully and creatively will help those following the hashtag to find your content.

I hope that if you’ve comes across any of those Social Media myths this blog has given you the confidence to take my advice and ignore them.

There a more of them of course, I have a feeling there may be a part 2 coming soon.

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Are We Still Engaged?

One of my favourite podcasts is the always excellent “Marketing Companion” by Mark Schaefer and Tom Webster, a weekly broadcast about the worlds of marketing and social media. On the most recent edition they talked about the subject of engagement and how there seems to be less and less taking place in the social space.

Social media usage is ever-increasing, social platforms and mobile applications are seemingly appearing on a daily basis, we are becoming more and more reliant on social sources for information and entertainment yet, Mark and Tom argued, the engagement factor is on the decline.

They argued that though streaming video, infographics and podcasts are rising in popularity the engagement is not there as it once was. Top bloggers have eliminated their comment sections and Mark claimed that it was now hard to start a conversation on Twitter.

This may be a little exaggerated to encourage discussion but there may be solid reasons for these claims. It is plain to see that Social Media is becoming more and more visual, hence the increasing popularity of Instagram, Pinterest and Tumblr. Podcasting is becoming an easy way to share content and build a listener base of your own and in the last few weeks streaming video has received a boost with the arrival of Meerkat and Periscope.

Although it’s the latter which appears to have captured the imagination of the masses.

Maybe there is now an acceptance of content being delivered to our various devices merely for our own reference and interest, without the need to engage with it by way of comment and opinion. We may be happy some of the time to be entertained by someone or something.

I have enjoyed spending time with Periscope in the last couple of weeks, watching some behind the scenes feeds from radio stations (once a radio geek, always a radio geek) including some from the legendary Tony Blackburn, I took a car ride from the Swalec Stadium to a Cardiff hotel with Kevin Pietersen and Kumar Sangakarra, rode the monorail at Disney World in Orlando and watched some guy try and eat 8 MacDonald’s’ cheeseburgers in an hour. Not a vigorous challenge I’ll grant you, but it made me stay with it because the guy was really engaging. He was re-enacting an initiation from a firm of London share traders (I thought they were more creative than that). I watched for a couple of minutes and really liked him, so much so I went back late to see if he’d managed to complete the challenge. He had of course but he probably suffered for it later on.

However, during all the time spent with my Periscope chums I never felt the urge to comment once, I just enjoyed what I was watching. Maybe that gives Mark and Tom’s argument some weight.

We always talk about how you can increase the engagement your social content receives by using visuals and moving images and in my opinion that still is very much the case.

I think we will always have opinions and thoughts that we want to share with our communities, it may be the case that we are becoming more selective in the amount of participation we carry out.

Will there be a time when we will have to develop new ways of measuring how our Social Media activity is working for us?

Maybe – but one of the fascinating parts of thinking about Mark and Tom’s podcast is the way in which social communication is ever changing. While the main roads of digital interaction stay the same, the side roads are developing new twists and turns and on occasions the inevitable road works (usually on a Bank Holiday weekend).

A Social Media – motoring analogy. Come on, that’s worth a comment in itself, isn’t it?

Disclaiming the Disclaimer

You’ve probably seen hundreds of them; you may even have one of our own on your Twitter bio.

Yes it’s the disclaimer; the one above is what’s opted for in many cases, however sometimes users get a bit creative.

After all these years there is still a general belief that these disclaimers in a Twitter profile somehow bestow a suit of armour if a problem arises with any dubious content issued from that person’s account.

It doesn’t matter how they phrased, a Twitter disclaimer is about as much use as an underwater hairdryer.

I don’t know where or when the disclaimer was born but like anything that gets repeated over and over again, the perception becomes reality.

To give it a legal comparison it’s like the word “allegedly” which is still thought of as a shield if used before a libellous or defamatory comment. Again, this is a popular misconception but still widely believed.

The main man in legal training for radio folk is Paul Chantler, he says this about that word

“For example, despite what you may have been led to believe by ‘Have I Got News For You?, the word “allegedly” is not a defence against a possible libel action; if anything it just digs you even deeper into the hole in which you’ve dug yourself. In libel cases, the burden of proof is on the defendant, so by using “allegedly”, you are, in effect, admitting you are not totally sure of the facts, and, therefore, have no adequate defence”.

The same thing applies to the Twitter disclaimer.

We shouldn’t need a form of words on our bio to protect us from our own ideas and thoughts being published on a public forum. All we need is to take responsibility for our opinions for that is what they are; they cannot be anyone else’s.

You will occasionally see another disclaimer on a Twitter profile which declares that :-

“Re-tweets are not endorsements”

My argument is that that is EXACTLY what they are. What else could they be, unless you add a caveat to the tweet you are sharing you can expect the content to be taken as something you not only agree with, but agree with enough to share with your own Twitter community.

Here’s a story that grabbed my attention in the last couple of days featuring a tweet from Geoffrey Miller, a Psychologist at the University of New Mexico.

He declared via Twitter :-

A rumpus quickly ensued as you would expect and with every justification, as unless he’s done research into both the correlation of willpower relating to the intake of carbohydrates and the impetus to complete a dissertation, he’s on shaky ground. Love the hashtag too, as if that’s enough proof to justify the preceding comments.

He soon responded to the criticism he was getting by explaining it was all part of a research program to gauge Twitter reaction to provocative comments. I suppose we should give him credit for trying to come up with something more creative than “I had my account hacked”, but once he realised we weren’t all born yesterday, he issued a disclaimer AGAINST HIS OWN OPINION.

It’s another example of the way an ill-judged, bone-headed Social Media posting can not only come back and bite you in the backside, but not be happy until it’s eaten your trousers too.

The way to avoid these embarrassing episodes is not to indulge in meaningless copy and paste disclaimers but to be measured, thoughtful and considered.

A tweet can take seconds to share but the impact and damage of a poorly judged post can stay with you for a lifetime.

 

The Cycle Of Social Sharing

I’ve been talking a lot about sharing in the last couple of weeks through a few Social Media consulting and training sessions and also a blog called “It’s Nice To Share”. In that piece I looked at the reasons why we share content online and the types of people who do the sharing.

Of course sharing isn’t new, it’s human nature.

The findings I talked about came from a study by the New York Times Insights Group and also included the key factors that influenced sharing which they listed as follows :-

1) Appeal to your consumers’ motivation to connect with each other – not just with your brand

2) Trust is the cost of entry for getting shared

3) Keep your content simple

4) Appeal to their sense of humour

5) Embrace a sense of urgency

6) Getting your content shared is just the beginning

When I talk to businesses and organisations about using their Social Media platforms to build relationships and trust I can draw on almost 30 years’ experience of doing just that as a successful broadcaster. It’s this invaluable knowledge that gives me the edge on most of the practitioners who talk about these subjects. Theory is one thing, decades of experience is another.

The very principles I used to keep my listeners coming back day after day are the same one I apply to Social Media consulting, advising others how to grow their communities so that their followers and friends become “brand ambassadors”, sharing their content through a bond of trust.

Out of the 6 factors identified by the New York Times study I think keeping your content simple is one of the most valuable. Time after time I see Social posts that are poorly written, use txt speak, over-use hashtags, include too many links, broken links or no links and then wonder why no-one Is sharing their material.

Why should they?

If you don’t give a reason a share then don’t expect them to pass it on.

I should stop here and identify the exception to the rule, there is always one, although in this case you may know more than one. These are the people who share everything; they find it impossible to pass a piece of content without liking, sharing, re-tweeting or re-pinning. I tend to notice it more on Twitter than on any other platform and just like the psychology of Social Media sharing fascinates me so does this serial need to pass everything on, no matter how irrelevant or pointless.

I suppose the fact that more and more people are accessing their social channels via mobile means they don’t realise that the desktop version of Twitter has an option you can use to carry on following someone but not be exposed to their excess bouts of re-tweeting.

It’s an option worth taking advantage of, your Twitter timeline will be all the better for it.

So let’s return to the positive side of sharing.

Getting your content shared is the first step in a process that may lead to that business relationship being strengthened, that request for information being answered or your services becoming available to a wider network of prospective clients.

The other thing to remember is that while you are striving to get your material passed around, make sure you do the same. It’s important you know what those important contacts in your life are posting about; they will appreciate your generosity in sharing their stuff as much as you will in reverse.

It’s Nice To Share

I’m in the process of building a training session to use next week with a group of people who are not unfamiliar with the world of Social Media but who need a few reasons why they should engage more with social channels in order to become “ambassadors” for their organisation and help raise awareness and profile.

With that in mind, part of the day will focus on why it’s good to share, after all it’s one of the first things we preach to our children when they are small isn’t it? We constantly tell them that “it’s nice to share” when their protecting their sweets or toys from their friends. It’s probably a phrase they hear more than most others in their formative years.

“IT’S NICE TO SHARE”

The same applies to Social Media.

We all enjoy creating our own content and posting it on our various platforms but there is a special feeling when it gets shared on to our followers’ own communities. It’s an endorsement that what we’ve published is worth telling someone else about.

This is one of the main tenets of being “Social”, the taking of another’s work and passing it on to a wider audience. How many of us have discovered things we would not have had it not appeared on our timeline or wall courtesy of one of our friends. It builds relationships not just on a personal level but from a business perspective. What better way to cement a connection with a client or stakeholder than to take an interest in their social activity and share their content.

The psychology of “sharing” is fascinating and we could be here for hours discussing Extrinsic and Intrinsic Motivators, Mental Models and the Hierarchy of Needs.

It’s a fascinating subject but maybe it’s for another day and a much longer blog.

The main motivations for sharing are these, according to a New York Times study:-

1. To bring valuable and entertaining content to one another – 94% of respondents carefully consider how the information they share will be of use to other people
2. To define themselves to others – 68% of respondents said they share to give others a better sense of who they are and what they care about.
3. To grow and nourish our relationships – 78% of respondents said they share information online because it enables them to stay connected to people they may not otherwise stay in touch with and 73% share information because it helps them connect with others who share their interests
4. For self-fulfilment – 69% said they pass on information because it allows them to feel more involved in the world.
5. To get the word out about causes they care about – 84% of respondents share because it is a good way to support causes or issues they care about.

The study also identified 6 personas of online sharers:-

1. The Altruist – Helpful, reliable, thoughtful, connected, and use email to share.

2. The Careerist – Intelligent business networkers who are most likely to share content on LinkedIn.

3. The Hipster – Creative, young and popular, less likely than other sharers to use email for sharing. They think about their identity and consider themselves to be on the cutting edge of social sharing.

4. The Boomerang – They share to get a reaction and to feel validated. They feel empowered by Social Media and Twitter and Facebook are their main platforms.

5. The Connector – Creative, relaxed, thoughtful, likes to make plans, uses both email and Facebook to share information.

6. The Selective – Resourceful, careful, and thoughtful. They share content that is informative and like a few of the others use email.

So which one are you?

Of course sharing didn’t just happen when Social Media came along, we’ve always done it. It may be surprising that so many of the different traits identified by the NY times study still use e-mail as a sharing platform. Before electronic options we shared in different ways. There has always been a need to pass on what we have discovered and enjoyed in whichever field our interests lie.

Social Media has simply enabled sharing to happen in an instant, at the click of a button or the touch of a screen.

Next week I’ll talk about how we get content shared and the key influencers for doing so, but in the meantime have a think about the motivations and personas identified above.

Why do you share content on Social Media?

Which of the 6 sharing personas do you identify with?

Find out how I can help you and your business with your Social Media activity at http://www.chrismooremedia.co.uk

You’re Never Too Old To Learn

Like the title says “You’re never too old to learn”, while on the other hand some say “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks”. I am proof that 50% of those sayings are true as I’ve only gone and got myself a degree. I graduated in July with an Arts degree in Social Media from the University of South Wales.

I didn’t do University after school, I went straight to work like many of my generation did. In those days trolling off to Uni was the exception rather than the rule and although I never regretted not going I think I would have enjoyed the experience. Instead I went and got myself some of that good old work experience, rather a lot of it in fact, over 30 years’ worth until I dipped my toe back in the pond of education.

In the last few years I’d been looking for a suitable subject to study since I rather fancied giving myself the challenge of learning something new and hopefully coming out the other end with a qualification to show for it. I also fancied the opportunity to dress up in the sash and cloak and twirl around like Kate Bush in the “Wuthering Heights” video.

Having spent most of my working life in broadcasting as a radio presenter and manager I originally looked at Degrees in Business Studies and Management and others of a similar vein but none of them filled me with enthusiasm. I thought over 20 years of management in the communications area had given all the knowledge and tools I need. I’ve been on more training courses and done more brainstorming and strategic thinking than you can shake a stick at.

I had embraced the explosion in Social Media while working as Head of Presentation at Real Radio and had recognised the power and influence digital platforms possess for business users. So with this mind when I found the University of Glamorgan’s (this was BM – before merger) Social Media course it seemed absolutely perfect for me. I had used Social Media in radio to build a community with my listener which meant I could talk to them and share content with them outside of normal show times. It seemed the perfect complementary medium to radio as both are very personal with that one-to-one feel about them. My view is that if you understand the way to successfully communicate with a radio listener you can use those principles to get the most out of social communities.

However, I wanted to get a more in depth knowledge and understanding of how Social Media worked from a business and marketing viewpoint and that’s what the course gave me. I developed a variety of other skills to go with the experience I had already gained in used my own digital platforms in the commercial radio business.

Along with my fellow students we benefitted from two terrific lecturers who had designed a course which, while giving us the chance to analyse case studies, create social media strategies and the like, also enabled us to sample other disciplines such as website creation and app building. Most of it was enjoyable and enlightening, although there was a time when anyone walking passed The Atrium one Monday afternoon in July was in danger of being directly underneath the path of a falling Apple Mac after the inability of iMovie to do a simple task like save a video blog proved almost fatal to some poor soul.

Aside from that small piece of techno violence the rest of the course was first class. I found the tasks and modules enjoyable and useful, the research fascinating and the discipline of completing tasks to a deadline challenging. I now understand why some people find learning addictive. There were a few of my classmates who had completed course after course and it’s easy to see how that can happen because it happened to me.

I would love to go on and further my studies but as I am using the Social Media experience I gained in radio together with the knowledge gained from my degree course to run my own Social Media training and consulting service I think it may have to wait a while, although as I write I can see a pile of evening class brochures waiting to be browsed.

I realise that education can be an expensive business and I would suggest that in many cases it is the cost of learning that will be the deciding factor in whether to sign up or not, I was lucky that my degree course was fully funded. I thoroughly enjoyed the process from start to finish and loved graduation day with my parents and my own family able to share it with me.

So I suppose the moral of this story is that you are never too old to learn, there is no question that what I’ve learnt at USW in the last two years has enhanced my skillset and will enable me to pass on even more expertise to customers and clients.