We have now updated our schedule of half day Social Media Overview and Getting Started Workshops and half day Audio and Video Podcast Production Workshops for Q1 2012.

The Overview and Getting Started Workshop aims to give everyone a good understanding of when and why social media started to grow as rapidly as it has done (and continues to do so), what the usage patterns are across Europe and review a number of case studies to understand how other organisations – public and private sector – are using the various tools successfully.  The second half of the session focusses on setting up and developing content for Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and blogs. We will also look at the value of LinkedIn for online community networking. The Workshop is kept small – no more than 4 people – to ensure that the needs of each attendee and their organisations can be addressed.

The Audio and Video Podcast Production Workshops are also kept to a maximium of 4 people so that we spend the maximum amount of time in the studio working on planning, recording, editing and producing a podcast and then learn how social media can help promotion to maximise audience engagement. In the Workshop we will cover the use of audio and video for e-Learning and for internal and external communication.  We will look at case studies of organisations that are sucessfully using podcasts, web video and webinars.

The dates for the next workshops are:

Date                                                                                                                                

February 21st 2012                       Overview and Getting Started Workshop                          10.00 – 13.00

February 21st 2012                      Audio and Video Podcast Production Workshop               14.00 – 17.00

March 13th 2012                           Overview and Getting Started Workshop                           10.00 – 13.00

March 13th 2012                           Audio and Video Podcast Production Workshop                14.00 – 17.00

Details of each workshop are are shown below:

Overview and Getting Started Workshop

Using a mix of case studies and practical examples delegates will learn how to:

• Develop a business case for senior management and boards
• Prepare a social media strategy and plan
• Provide usage guidelines/training for employees
• Maximise the value of communities for employee recruitment, retention and skills development
• Understand the dynamics of online communities
• About the role of influencers and ‘crowd sourcing’ ideas and content
• How to use key tools effectively to engage with online communities (Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, Flickr, and Podcasts)
• How to generate regular content to attract and retain audiences
• How to integrate social media communication with traditional marketing campaigns
• How to set and measure ROI
• How to track and analyse what people are saying about you and your industry and 3rd party organisations/competitors

The session will be interactive with exercises, use of internet resources and examination and exploration of case studies and practical examples from a range of public and private sector organisations.

All delegates will gain enough knowledge and understanding to either start or improve their organisations use of social media.

Who should attend?  Marketing managers, customer service managers and others involved in talking to and engaging with customers and prospective customers and influencers.

Lasts 3 hours.  Refreshments provided.

Cost – £75 plus VAT

Audio and Video Podcast Production Workshop 

Using the technical facilities in the studio as well as practical examples you will learn

• How to plan and organise podcast production
• How to script, prepare and conduct interviews
• How to develop ideas for a series to help maximise the opportunity for community growth
• How to prepare to be interviewed and conduct interviews*
• The practicalities of audio and video production in offices, studios and on location
• The value of audio and video in e-learning (internal and external) and employee communication
• About audio and video recording equipment
• How to editing and finalise audio and video
• Post production – the power of music, voice-overs and advanced editing techniques
• Publishing online – YouTube, iTunes and self hosting
• Engaging with the audience and crowdsourcing content
• How to use social media to help establish and grow communities
• The value and use of webinars and web video

(* Note:  For details of our Advanced Presentation Skills course please see here)

During the session extensive use will be made of the recording and editing facilities in the studios and in-house technical resources.  All delegates will be actively involved in the production of an audio podcast about their organisation. This will be post-produced and hosted by Focus free of charge for 12 months so providing organisations with a way to help promote their business and evaluate the value of podcasts.

Case studies and practical examples will also be used throughout the session.

All delegates will leave with enough knowledge to be able to plan and start scripting audio and video content and to evaluate the value of web based video and webinars to their organisations.

Who should attend?  HR specialists with a responsibility for employee communications and training/skills development, communications and CSR specialists, marketing and customer services managers.

The Workshop lasts 3 hours.  Refreshments are provided.

Cost – £145 plus VAT

All are held at our studios in Southampton where we have ample parking in our onsite car park or free on the local roads.

Before I joined Focus in 2005 I worked for 2 years for one of the UK’s top Communication and Presentation Skills Training companies in the UK – The Aziz Corporation. My academic qualifications in Psychology, Counselling and NLP were sharpened considerably by working not only with some great fellow Consultants but also top management and executives from the FTSE 250 in the UK. I even worked on assigments in with global organisations in Germany and the US.

I always liked to feel I brought personal and practical experience to my clients as I had been a senior executive and board member of a Fortune 500 IT company (Director of Corporate Communications and Investor Relations in Europe) prior to my time at Aziz.  Before to that I had spent many years in sales and marketing in start-up businesses and business divisions on both the client and marketing agency side.

Over the last few years I have worked in Social Media. Helping organisations and senior managers make good use of what has grown into a powerful communication medium. For many this ‘brave new world’ of social media is rather daunting. Others find it easy as they are natural communicators.  They take to blogging, Twittering, podcasting and webinars as if it is simply another way to talk to customers, prospects and employees and other stakeholders. Which is all it is really….

Other managers and executives need more support to refine their techniques. They are so used to ‘managing the business’ via spreadsheets and meetings that they have lost the ability to ‘network’ and ‘converse’ with their stakeholder community easily. To be honest some others think it is beneath them. That is a shame. They probably come from the  ‘I have my e-mails printed out so I can write a reply and have my PA e-mail it back’ school of management I would guess.

It is interesting to work with senior executives and help them find their ‘social media’ voice especially when using webinars, audio and video podcasts. It is a new skill as many senior managers give energy to an audience and take it back. That is not possible in a studio – faced with just a camera or microphone – and a technical crew. They need help projecting the energy, passion and clarity  they have when communicating ‘face-to-face’.

If I also look back at how we used to distribute messages and learning content to customers and employees via audio and video tape and then CD/DVDs I shudder to think of the time, money and effort that went into it. In one company every product launch needed thousands of kits and major training events in multiple European countries to support their pan-European offices and network of dealers and distributors. We spent hundreds of thousands of pounds making and distributing materials. Now much can done by webinars and podcasts plus e-Learning tools for probably less than just the shipping costs! What is even better – in the old days if an employee or channel partner missed the roadshow they had to catch up as best as they could – but now if they miss a webinar there will be another one along soon or it will be available as a ‘podcast on demand’.

Fast forward to 2011 and I am going to be mentoring Executives again witn a training company!

We are teaming up with The Learning Ladder in Oxfordshire to bring Executive Coaching and Mentoring to their clients. I will be running a series of ‘one-on-one’ and small team sessions covering Communication and Presentation Skills. These skills will be invaluable for use with both live audiences and also for use in podcasts and webinars if required. 

We are also running Social Media training courses with them on 29th March, 14th June and 7th July.

If you want to find out more information about the Executive Mentoring program or Social Media training courses give them a ring on 01865 893 354.

In production terms the most challenging and demanding projects have to be a live emergency exercises and broadcasts. You only get one chance to get it right. In the exercises we have filmed for the fire brigade it is not possible to burn the house down again!

So it is with webinars. When the ‘green light’ goes you are live. That is always a ‘heart-stopping’ moment no matter how many checks or practice run throughs you have done.

So it will be on Friday 18th February when we are doing another live webinar for one of our clients – The European Food Information Council (www.eufic.org). Even though we have done a number before for them and other clients it is always exciting. What is even more exciting is that they are based in Brussels and we are streaming them via our studios in Southampton to our  servers in London and from there to to a global audience of hundreds.

As usual we have been helping EUFIC with the logistics of the event. Helping to register the virtual delegates and check that they can link in to the webinar on the day by having a test page ready and running. We know that some delegates have problems getting access due to their company ‘firewall’ stopping links to streamed audio or video. A simple test page with a Powerpoint slide, music and voice-over will allow people to test their systems and ensure they can get access on the day.

We need to make sure people know what the link is to the web page and remind them a few times to ‘attend’. While people are likely to be able to sign-up to webinars (no travel time and costs) they are more likely to be in meetings or be busy in the office unexpectedly – so miss it. A few well timed reminders really does help increase attendence on the day.

So there you have it….. only a few days to go until the ‘green light’ goes on for EUFIC. No matter how we much we practice and test the systems the gremlins will have to be watched closely on the day.

After it is all over I expect we will have a nice cup of tea and biscuit and enjoy the moment.

EUFIC, the European Food Information Council, provides authoritative information on food safety and quality, health and nutrition.  They commission research and in the last year have been looking at  food labelling.  Across Europe and the rest of the world, people in the food industry are working on ways to to make sure consumers know about the fat, salt and sugar content of their food.  So EUFIC held Webinars to announce the outcome of this research, and found their audience only too willing to make the time to ‘attend’ online.  It just means providing security details to signed-up attendees so they can listen to the live presentation, watch the slides and ask questions at any time using an online form.  For people in other timezones the live webinar may have been at an inconvenient time, so they just watched the online recording later.  Surprisingly the recording opened up a whole new audience even larger than the original number, and the views are still clocking up several weeks later.  The message reached people that other media just couldn’t find.

Of course nobody would put on a physical conference for just one seminar, expecting their audience to fly in for it.  Which may be why we’ve found  more people attending webinars and the recordings afterwards than would ever make it to a conference.

So what are the real advantages of a webinar?  Well obviously, whether you’re making the presentation or viewing it, it involves less time, and arguably the retention of information is better.

Presenters like it because, although the session can be live, presentations can be recorded beforehand, with just the Q&A going out live – so the pressure is less.  At the end the presenter and moderator run through the Q&A live, an exhilarating way to engage with what could be a worldwide audience!

For each person joining with their laptop, the engagement experience is unique.  The Webinar has real immediacy, with the expectation of acquiring knowledge before anyone else.  And the Q&A are like Instant Messaging with an audience!  More important – it doesn’t cost anything!

For the organisation running it, the cost is much less than a physical conference, the lead time is shorter, and the shelf-life sustains its benefit for months.

Contact us if you want to know more.