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04.05.2020 953 0
There are several formats for training SMM specialists; today we will talk about why more and more social media managers are choosing to study online.
Let's start with definitions:
An SMM manager is a specialist in promotion in social networks, whose area of responsibility includes: studying the audience and competitors, developing a promotion strategy, developing a content strategy, copywriting, design (can be delegated to a specialized specialist), community management and communication with the audience, setting up targeting and analytics, working with opinion leaders.
Online learning is participation in courses, intensives and webinars on the Internet and acquiring new knowledge and skills through digital technologies and gadgets in real time.
SMM manager training always begins with researching social networks and searching for up-to-date statistics on the audience of VKontakte, Odnoklassniki, Instagram and Facebook. We always get the most up-to-date information directly from social networks. And only then do we move on to studying data in independent sources, such as the media, blogs and books.
An important point is that online training for a beginner SMM specialist can begin with studying free materials and video tutorials on YouTube, we wrote about this in detail in the article How to learn SMM for free .
After thoughtful self-study, it is quite possible to find your first clients. Most often, the first clients of a beginner SMM specialist are friends, relatives, and friends of friends. Some go a little further and post their resumes in chats to find specialists in social networks, but there, preference is most often given to experienced contractors.
In order to grow professionally, young SMM managers nigeria phone number library choose to study online courses. On average, 5,000 people a year study online schools , studying promotion in social networks. And this figure only grows every year along with the emergence of new social networks (hello, TikTok) and the complexity of existing ones.
A good SMM specialist spends a lot of time at the computer and on a mobile phone. Therefore, it is logical to assume that the online training format will be the most suitable for him for several reasons:
you can study “without interrupting your work”
you can study in foreign programs without traveling and extra expenses
Many courses offer training on a real project. A beginner SMM manager can take a client project as a training project, get tips on it from experienced teachers and improve the result.
SMM specialist will benefit from knowledge of English - new social networks usually appear abroad and the latest information on promotion also comes from there. Knowledge of foreign languages expands the choice of training courses.
Other benefits of learning social media marketing online include:
relevance of information
trends
"tricks" from experts
communication in support chats
Today we are not discussing the quality of online learning, many large digital universities maintain high quality of teaching and educational materials. We believe that high-quality educational programs and well-developed educational materials are an absolute must have for any online course. And if the program is “lame”, then such a course simply should not be broadcast.
Let's talk about relevance and trends, why is it so important for future SMM specialists? Social network interfaces change several times a year, new advertising channels appear, social networks test new formats. Online programs can instantly respond to such changes.
The most effective SMM courses are usually taught by current SMM specialists . They know for sure what changes have occurred in social networks and what students should pay attention to. And at the webinar, such a speaker will show the updated interface through a screen demonstration or update the slides of his presentation. Another advantage of a practicing presenter is the exchange of experience; a practicing SMM specialist has accumulated a weighty baggage of successful cases.
Online courses allow using such an interactive tool as chats in training. Usually, communication within a group is possible within the framework of a popular messenger, where you can:
ask questions to speakers and technical support;
communicate with colleagues and exchange cases;
to solve a professional problem through joint efforts;
Most often, online training is cheaper, takes less time (at least it saves time on travel), and is just as effective as in-person programs.
Another important point is the training period . Short intensive courses are suitable for beginner social network managers who want to make sure of the chosen direction. Or, on the contrary, for experienced guys who want to quickly master a new tool. Long-term programs from 3 months or more are suitable for those who are ready for a total re-profiling and have the opportunity to devote 2-4 hours daily to training. The result of long training will be mastering a new profession and receiving a certificate of professional retraining.
The main thing to consider when choosing an online course is the following:
training program
training periods tailored to your needs
practicing teachers
value for money
reviews
Let's dwell on the last point in a little more detail. Almost all self-respecting online universities publish students' cases and their reviews on their pages . There you can see the results of students who are satisfied with the training and received everything that was promised from the training. If you want to look for negativity, then you should pay attention to reviews on independent sites. But the best way to collect reviews on online SMM courses is to survey graduates of educational programs in professional communities.
The algorithm of actions is extremely simple:
join a community (or better yet, several) for internet marketers;
suggest that the admin create a discussion on the topic or create one yourself, if this is permitted by the community rules;
ask questions about training that interest you;
When interviewing colleagues, always keep in mind that: people are more willing to share negativity and tend to blame the “teacher” rather than themselves for the lack of results. In general, in the search for objective information, some of the data will have to be filtered out.
If after collecting information you still have unanswered questions, we recommend that you talk to school managers. To dispel your doubts, they can offer to watch a demo lesson of the selected course and draw conclusions about the quality of online education yourself.
By evaluating a demo lesson, you can also see if it is convenient for you to work with the educational platform. Most often, online training is conducted either on the school's own platform, or a popular solution is used, for example, Getcourse.
If all the stars have aligned, you have a strong motivation to become an SMM manager, you are satisfied with the course, the terms and price, and you liked the demo lesson, then there is no point in postponing your training, the online training format is ideal.
