Social Media Marketing Courses

Social Media Marketing Online Training Courses – What You Need to Know

As you may have heard, Social Media has developed steadily over the years, in New Zealand as well as most everywhere else around the world.

Why You Should Learn More About Social Media Marketing

Why should you know more about social media? Because that’s where your audience is. In 2023, 81.4% of Kiwis use social media. They can be found across a wide variety of social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, Pinterest, Snapchat, LinkedIn and many more.

And New Zealanders aren’t just occasional users of social media. According to 2023 research, Kiwis are spending an average of 2 hours and 15 minutes a day on their preferred social platforms. (If you’re not a regular social media user yourself, you may find these numbers hard to believe. If you are, you’ll probably wonder why these numbers are so low. 🙂

The key to leveraging these social networks is effective social media marketing. This involves employing a social media strategy that is both strategic and well-informed, and developing strategic social media plans. With the plethora of social media channels available, such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn, understanding how to maneuver through these social sites is essential.

Know Your Audience

One of the key principles of an effective social media marketing campaign is to know your audience. New Zealand, with its diverse population and distinctive cultural attributes, offers a unique market.

NZ Social Media Users by Age Group

To effectively reach this market, businesses must create engaging content that resonates with the local audience. Engaging content can include eye-catching graphics, insightful articles, videos and interactive elements that encourage dialogue between the business and its consumers.

Choose the Right Social Media Channels

Another essential aspect to consider is selecting the appropriate social media channels that align with your business objectives. Different social sites have varying demographics and capabilities. For instance, if your business aims to target professionals, LinkedIn might be your go-to platform. On the other hand, if visual storytelling is more in line with your brand, and your primary target audience is Under 35, then Instagram or TikTok could be a better fit.

Watching for Trends

Furthermore, staying abreast of trends and consumer behaviors is crucial. The landscape of social media is ever-evolving, and an agile approach is necessary to adapt and modify your social media strategy. This might entail trying out new social media channels or experimenting with different types of content.

Ultimately, the strategic utilization of social networks can propel your business to new heights. By adhering to key principles, crafting a robust social media strategy, and executing an effective social media marketing campaign, New Zealand businesses can foster stronger connections with their audience, improve brand visibility, and drive revenue growth. The time to dive into the world of social media marketing is now. Don’t let your business be left behind.

Why You Should Take a Social Media Course

These days, social media marketing is not just an add-on, but has become an integral component of NZ marketing communications. Incorporating a well-structured social media plan will help in crafting a consistent message across multiple platforms, thus reinforcing your brand identity.

Understanding the fundamentals of social media marketing is crucial for any marketer. Beyond creating engaging content, it is important to have an understanding of metrics and analytics to gauge the effectiveness of your efforts. This involves tracking likes, shares, comments, and conversions to understand what resonates with your audience. By continually analysing this data, you can make data-driven decisions that can bolster the impact of your marketing communications.

Moreover, social media is an excellent avenue for showcasing your products and services. If you’re looking to launch a new product or want to highlight the unique features of your services, social media platforms can serve as a stage for your organisation to do just that. The ability to employ visually striking images, compelling videos, and impactful text allows for a multi-faceted approach in showcasing what your business has to offer.

Now, let’s talk about reach. When you want to reach a specific segment of the market, social media advertising campaigns can be incredibly effective. Through sophisticated targeting options, you can tailor your ads to reach your target audience based on demographics, interests, behaviour, and more. This ensures that your message is being delivered to those who are most likely to be interested in your products or services.

For New Zealand marketers, investing time and resources in comprehending the intricacies of social media marketing can bear substantial dividends for your organisation. From fortifying your marketing communications to utilizing targeted advertising campaigns to reach your target audience, the capabilities of social media are vast. By continually evolving and adapting your social media plan, you can ensure that your organisation remains at the forefront of the ever-changing landscape of social media marketing.

Benefits of Studying Social Media Online for NZ Businesses

One of the remarkable advantages of the digital age is the easy accessibility of knowledge and learning resources. For New Zealand businesses looking to delve into the world of social media marketing, enrolling in an online course can be highly beneficial. Online learning is an incredible tool, as it allows you to receive education that is specifically delivered online, breaking the barriers of geography and time constraints.

A standout perk of online learning is the flexibility it offers – you can learn anytime and anywhere. This means that regardless of whether you’re in Auckland or Queenstown, or whether you prefer studying in the early morning or late at night, online courses cater to your schedule. This flexibility is particularly advantageous for business owners and employees who have demanding schedules, as you are able to study at your own pace without the pressure of strict deadlines.

Moreover, most online courses provide 24/7 access to the learning material. This is a significant advantage as it enables learners to revisit the content as many times as needed. This constant availability can be especially beneficial for complex topics such as social media algorithms or ad targeting, where repeated exposure and review can enhance understanding.

Furthermore, with content delivered online, learning resources often get updated regularly to keep pace with the ever-changing trends and technologies in social media. This ensures that the knowledge you gain is current and applicable in the real-world scenarios you’ll encounter in your business endeavours.

For New Zealand businesses striving to excel in social media marketing, online learning is an indispensable resource. With the convenience of learning anytime and anywhere, the ability to study at your own pace, and 24/7 access to the latest and most relevant content, enrolling in an online course is an investment that has the potential to yield significant returns for your business.

Learn social media marketing strategies that work

As you embark on your online training journey, it’s essential to focus on learning social media marketing strategies that have proven to be effective. Being well-versed in these strategies can empower New Zealand businesses to achieve key marketing goals, such as brand awareness, customer engagement and lead generation.

For instance, one powerful strategy for increasing brand awareness is through influencer partnerships. Especially on platforms like Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, collaborating with influencers who align with your brand values can help you reach a wider audience. By choosing local New Zealand influencers, your brand can connect on a more personal level with the community.

Another strategy is utilizing user-generated content (UGC) to foster customer engagement. Encourage your followers to create content related to your products or services, and feature it on your social media channels. This not only gives you free content but also makes your customers feel valued and connected to your brand. For instance, a New Zealand café might initiate a campaign asking customers to post creative photos of their meals, and the winning entry could be featured on the café’s Instagram page.

Additionally, for businesses looking to increase sales, employing Facebook’s or Instagram’s shop features is an effective strategy. By integrating your product catalogue with these platforms, customers can make purchases directly through social media. This provides a seamless shopping experience, which can translate into higher conversion rates.

Social Media Courses

Our social media marketing courses (links below) provide detailed coverage on these social networks:

  • Facebook Marketing
  • Instagram Marketing
  • TikTok Marketing
  • Twitter Marketing
  • Pinterest Marketing
  • LinkedIn Marketing
  • YouTube Marketing

We also offer comprehensive courses on Digital Marketing (both for beginners and for more seasoned marketers) and have recently launched courses on Artificial Intelligence for Marketers.

Frequently Asked Questions

What training do you need for social media marketing?

You need training in the fundamentals of marketing, understanding social media platforms, content creation, analytics, and advertising strategies. This can be achieved through our online courses (see below), as well as through workshops, webinars, and reading books and articles on social media marketing.

Is social media marketing worthwhile?

Yes, social media marketing is worthwhile for most businesses. It helps in reaching a large audience, building brand awareness, engaging with customers, and driving sales.

How do I start a career in social media marketing?

Start by gaining knowledge through courses and reading material. Create social media profiles, experiment with content creation, and engage in online communities. You can also seek internships or entry-level positions in marketing to gain practical experience.

How long will it take to learn social media marketing?

It varies based on individual dedication and learning pace, but generally, you can grasp the basics in a few weeks. However, becoming proficient requires ongoing learning due to the ever-changing nature of social media.

Can you start social media marketing with no experience?

Yes, you can start by educating yourself through various resources. Practice by managing personal or volunteer social media accounts, and build a portfolio that showcases your skills.

What should be included in social media training?

Social media training should include understanding different platforms, content creation, social media strategies, advertising, analytics, and measuring ROI.

What Course Content Should You Expect?

Expect content about social media networks and their audiences, platform-specific content strategy, advertising campaigns, audience targeting, analytics, social listening, available tools and upcoming trends.

What platform is the best for social media marketing?

The best platform varies depending on your target audience and business goals. For B2B, LinkedIn is often preferred, while B2C companies might find more success on platforms like Facebook.

Do You Need Any Textbooks?

No, if you take one of our courses, we provide the necessary information as part of each course, along with links to ample online resources, including articles, e-books, and video tutorials that can provide up-to-date information.

How Up-to-Date is the information in online training courses?

We can only speak for our courses, but we constantly update them. Social Media is constantly changing so we commit to keeping our materials as up-to-date as possible. We release course lessons on a weekly basis so that we can review course materials and update them where necessary.

Learning Outcomes

What will You be Able to Do When You Successfully Complete a Social Media Marketing Course?

You will be able to develop and execute social media marketing campaigns, create engaging content, analyze and optimize performance, and use social media tools effectively to achieve marketing goals.

Available Courses

If you’d like to learn more about Social Media Marketing in New Zealand, check out our online training courses:


All our courses are developed specifically for New Zealand conditions and are freshly updated for 2023.

Here are the current courses (click on the links for more details about each course):

SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING COURSES

 

The Principles & Practice of Social Media Marketing


Social Media Marketing course

 

For those new to Social Media Marketing: this is a thirteen-part eCourse providing a comprehensive introduction to Social Media Marketing, from the Basics to detailed instructions on how to build and run a Social Media Marketing programme.

For more details of the Social Media Marketing online course, please click here.

We also have a course that will help you master both of New Zealand’s most powerful social media:

Complete Facebook and Instagram Marketing course

By far the most powerful social media channels for NZ marketers these days are Facebook and Instagram.

That’s where the audiences are, and that’s where YOU need to be.

Of course, there’s rather more to Facebook and Instagram marketing than making a few posts or taking a few pretty pictures and hoping to reach large numbers of your target audience.

Effective social media marketing requires the right knowledge, tools, tips and techniques to help you get noticed and to encourage your audience to engage with you and your brand.

That’s where we can help.

In recognition of the combined strengths of Facebook and Instagram, we’ve taken the best of our popular Facebook and Instagram courses, and blended them together into a powerful thirteen-part Complete Facebook and Instagram Marketing online training course.

This combined course will bring you up to speed with what’s required to make your social media marketing on Facebook and Instagram really work for you in 2023.

Check out the details of our Complete Facebook and Instagram Marketing online training course by clicking here.

If you want to focus just on Paid Advertising on Instagram and Facebook — a wise idea, given that both networks are restricting organic (unpaid) reach — we have a ten-part course covering exactly that:

What can you do to improve your Facebook & Instagram Advertising activities?

Learn what works, and what doesn’t, through our online training course.

In this ten-part online training course, we will take you step-by-step through what you need to know to understand and master advertising on Facebook & Instagram.

For full Course Details, click here:
Mastering Advertising on Facebook & Instagram

How to Prepare an Effective Social Media Brief


Preparing an Effective Social Media Brief

Even if you don’t intend to become directly involved in social media yourself, you may still need to understand the principles, practices and opportunities of social media — for example, if you need to brief someone about running a social media campaign. This programme is designed to provide you with the insights necessary to prepare an effective brief.

For more details of the How to Prepare an Effective Social Media Brief programme, please click here.

Writing for the Web course

writing-for-the-web-online-training-course

Effective writing has become an absolutely core competency when communicating online. Not just any writing, however. Different media require different approaches. The headline that might have looked wonderful in the newspaper probably won’t fit within the constraints of Facebook or Instagram character counts.

Oh, and you’ll probably want to know how to make best use of AI writing tools such as ChatGPT, Jasper AI, NeuronWriter and the many other AI enhancements for online writing.

Our Writing for the Web course covers the key elements you need to know to communicate effectively to online audiences.

For more information about our Writing for the Web course, please click here.

Online Video Marketing course

Online Video is now New Zealand’s most popular broadcast medium, with YouTube alone reaching more than half the country on a daily basis (according to research by NZ On Air).

And online video is a powerful way to communicate your brand story, explain your value proposition, and build relationships with your customers and prospects.

Remember the old cliche that a picture is worth a thousand words? According to an estimate by Dr James McQuivey of Forrester Research, one minute of video is equal to 1.8 million words.

So let’s cut to the chase. It’s well past time for you to upskill yourself in online video marketing. That’s why we have a course on the topic, which covers both standard and vertical videos (landscape, square and portrait) and also some of the AI tools that have sprung up to make video creation easier than ever.

For more details of the Online Video Marketing course, please click here.

Influencer Marketing course

influencer-marketing

Our Influencer Marketing online training course is a nine-part course which covers the importance of Influencer Marketing, helps you to determine the smartest and most effective strategies — and to explore how to identify effective Kiwi micro-influencers who will be good ambassadors for your brand.

For more information about our Influencer Marketing course, please click here.

 

AI for Marketers

As you will no doubt have noticed, Artificial Intelligence has developed a more and more prominent role in marketing in 2023, across social media and search and indeed all aspects of digital marketing.

We’ve been building AI coverage into all of our courses but we also have a dedicated AI for Marketers online training course which will help you master a wide range of AI tools to do what previously had to be done more manually.

For more information about our AI for Marketers course, please click here.

DIGITAL MARKETING

Certificate in Digital Marketing

This comprehensive Digital Marketing course is designed for marketers at any level (from junior to senior) who want to acquire comprehensive training in all aspects of Digital Marketing based on the latest technologies.

This online course draws on the latest developments in Digital Marketing, covering key competencies and new and emerging technologies.

For more details of the Certificate in Digital Marketing online course, please click here.

Digital Marketing 101

digital-marketing-101

 

Digital Marketing 101 is a 26-part online training course designed for students who may know very little about Digital Marketing, touching on a wide range of Digital Marketing topics over a six-month period.

For more information about Digital Marketing 101, please click here.

Michael Carney Written by: