Overview

Next intake: TBC

Cost: £2450 (+ VAT)

The digital industry is much too complex and moves much too fast for any one person to stay ahead of every discipline. But employers need to hire people who can hit the ground running.

That's where the Econsultancy Digital Certificates come in. Whether you're looking to break into the industry, to sharpen a specific set of skills, accelerate your career or 'upskill' your team, you’ll find the fastest route to current best practice right here. 

The programme delivers a challenging series of academically accredited courses, each covering a specific digital discipline. The emphasis is on practical skill development combined with rigorous academic understanding. You'll learn the most up-to-date strategies, tactics and technologies from top practitioners in a curriculum that combines face-to-face classes, distance learning and intensive on-the-job assignments.

Course Description and Schedule

Creating successful communities online requires careful management, a deep understanding of your customers’ needs and the ability to create content which keeps individuals actively engaged with your brand well beyond a transactional or service-based relationship. 

This certificate aims to provide participants with a thorough understanding of what makes a successful online community, examining available channels, recruitment and retention strategies, and how to balance the rules of engagement with your need to fulfil a range of organisational objectives. In addition, participants will explore the role of content in attracting and retaining community members and how to effectively create and curate content to maximise its impact.

The course is taught over two modules (12 weeks each) and assessed via two written assignments. All training and tutorial days will be held in Manchester. 

Module One: Creating and Managing Online Communities 

Day One:Introduction and essential elements of successful online communities

Day Two: The lifecycle of a community & getting a community started

Day Three: Relationship building, moderation and management & Sustaining community growth  

Module Two: Content Creation and Curation for Online Communities 

Day One: Content audits & content planning workflow

Day Two:Content curation, creation and maintenance

Day Three:Content evaluation and content sharing and distribution

In addition to the teaching days, each module has two tutorial days at Manchester Metropolitan University

The Application Process

Applications are open year round and applications for any given intake will be accepted up to four weeks before beginning the course. The application process is the same for all our qualifications (including the MSc programmes) and successful applicants will be eligible to start any of the courses they qualify for providing the start date falls within 18 months of receiving the official offer letter. Speculative applications are welcome.  

Contact us at training@econsultancy.com for an application form, along with full details of the content and a timetable.

Learning outcomes

Module One: Creating and managing online communities

Upon completion of the module participants will;

  • Define the key channels and tools for community creation and management
  • Define clear long-term and short-term objectives and goals for community creation and management and measure success using multi-platform tools and techniques
  • Design, implement and integrate a sustainable community management plan using the appropriate tools and techniques
  • Moderate and manage a community without losing sight of objectives and goals or the specific dynamics of communities and groups
  • Evolve a community management strategy as objectives and goals change and communities develop

Module Two: Content creation and curation for online communities 

Upon completion of the module participants will;

  • Design a content plan that is deliverable through chosen community channels with mapped and measurable outcomes
  • Create content that is technically, creatively and legally sound for the chosen channel
  • Apply content curation techniques to a network
  • Implement a content and curation plan that allows assets to be re-purposed for other channels
  • Implement distribution techniques that enable community recruitment and grow

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Trainer

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Michelle Goodall

Michelle Goodall is an online communications specialist consultant and trainer. Her areas of expertise are Public Relations, Online Public Relations, Social Media, Issues Management, Community Management and Content Strategy

Formerly Digital Director at top 20 UK PR agency, Lexis Public Relations, she has over 14 years’ strategic communications consultancy and implementation experience working on award winning PR campaigns, social media strategies and issues management projects with many large organisations including London2012, RSPCA, Norwich Union, Coca Cola, TUI, Domino’s, eBay, Camelot, Diageo and Barclaycard.

Michelle understands how evolving digital technologies are affecting organisations and how traditional B2B and B2C marketing and communication models need to change.  

She has helped many organisations evolve their business strategies to incorporate social media and to gear themselves for the opportunities and risks. Morag Reavely, New Media Manager at London2012 says, “Michelle has an amazing depth of knowledge of her subject area and is an outstanding communicator…she tailors each session to her audience, ensuring they get exactly what they need from the time invested. Michelle is a pleasure to work with from start to finish.”

Michelle’s has trained over 1,500 marketers in online communications and social media including in-house teams from the London2012, COI, CNN, Platinum Guild, Random House, Penguin, British Council and Phillips’ global customer service team.  

She is a judge for the Direct Marketing Association and Econsultancy Innovation Annual Awards and a regular speaker. Listed in Freshnetworks Top 20 Social Media speakers and experts, Michelle is described as, “especially good at educating an audience to give them a common understanding of social media.”

Michelle (rarely) blogs at http://michellegoodall.posterous.com/  econsultancy.com/blog ,(frequently) tweets as @greenwellys on Twitter and can be found on LinkedIn