On Monday, 27 August - I start this course - The University of Cape Town Social Media Short Course, hosted by Get Smarter. I am thrilled that my wonderful company is sponsoring me on this course. I am, after all, their Head of Social Media. I should know as much as possible about all things digital.
Maybe it doesn't sound like a 'real' job to a lot of people. Social Media. "So what, you sit on Facebook all day?" Well, no. Not often at all. We incorporate Digital PR. We humanize the brand and deliver messaging to your personal space. This means of advertising allows us to communicate with consumers in an interactive way and encourages them to willingly engage with content that has been engineered for key brand messaging. Instead of pushing messaging out, we aim to pull interest and establish our clients as leaders in their respective industry. We are social creatures by nature, and brands need to interact with consumers in real-time, with quick results and feedback. The more interactive, helpful, creative and exclusive the brand offering, the higher the success rate. That's my take on it anyway.
So I'm enrolled in a class with 162 others. We'll be communicating with each other and our lecturers on forums and I'll be completing assignments and quizzes like a crazy person. Looking at the module again now - I don't know what I was thinking, or where I'm going to fit all this in to my current schedule, but that's what it's all about. Stepping out of your comfort zone with a willingness to learn, a passion for what you do and an eagerness to have that one little thing that puts you ahead of the thousands of people trying to squeeze in to such a fast-growing industry.
I don't "Work on Facebook", I do extensive research, strategies, proposals, brainstorming, implementation plans, content calendars, events, design, media liaison, communication, copywriting, implementation plans, community management. One does not 'simply' hang out on the Facebook.
I received my Welcome Pack today. I'm so excited, really. It's been a very (very) long time since I've been a student, and I am just so completely excited to learn more about Social Media - it is a very fast changing industry, so it's good to try keep up I say. I'll be blogging about my experience on this course, and how I'm doing. It runs from 27 August to 8 October. Obviously I am incredibly competitive and I want to get the very best mark in the class. Let's see if I know as much as I think I do.
