The top 10 things we like about the National Institute of Social Media's Social Media Strategist Certification course.

1. Top 10 Things We Love About
the National Institute of Social
Media, Social Media Strategist
Certification Course

2. Quote from CTC founder Bob
Carver
“I wrote the course, so I should like it. But I’m so jazzed about it because I really
believe this is the right information, and the right approach for where we are
today in social media. The course and the certification address current
needs, and common issues both for social media practitioners, and for
businesses in today’s social media landscape..”
“In our consultancy we see the need for this knowledge every day. Not only will
the information and best practice strategies related in the course help fill
knowledge gaps and make practitioners better, the certification will be proof
that practitioners have done their homework and can apply those concepts and
strategies for success in social media engagements. That will give businesses a
greater degree of confidence when hiring social media strategists and
consulting agencies. Platforms are emerging and changing constantly. Social
media marketing, in some respects, has been a little like the wild west. It
doesn’t need to be. Setting an expectation for fundamental knowledge, and
proof of skills helps move us to the next phase, where we can achieve better
success in this constantly evolving field.”

3. Number 1 : NISM Partnership
 The National Institute of Social Media strives to educate and certify
social media practitioners.
 They are platform independent and provide great resources to the social
media community.
 They’ve commissioned great curriculum.
 Their certification program provides a way to validate social media
fundamentals.
 They are getting the word out and moving the industry the right
direction.

4. 2 – Uses a Platform Independent Approach
 The skills taught in the class can be applied to any platform. That’s
key because today, most successful social media strategies are cross
platform strategies.
 This course focuses on core concepts, strategies, and skills at a
strategic level, that can be applied to any platform. Including
platforms just gaining traction, and those that haven’t been created
yet!
 Yes, you need to know how to interface with the big ones like
blogs, Facebook, Google+ and LinkedIn, and an entire lesson is
dedicated to the most widely used platforms.

5. 3 – Facilitating Social Media Adoption
 Resistance to social media adoption is something we see every day.
 People have the accounts and pages, but they don’t use them, not
actively the way they should. It’s just another PR channel that gets
content when the newsletter ships.
 This course goes in depth on both facilitating a culture that works
well with social media, and breaking down those barriers so that you
can implement great social media plans to achieve success!

6. 4 – Teaches Social Media Auditing
 Auditing is the foundation of so much that we do.
 It’s how we find out what our clients are good at, and what their
competitors are doing.
 Many organizations and consultants either don’t do it, don’t do it
well, or just don’t know how to do it.
 This course, walks you through it, step-by-step.

7. 5 – Teaches Segmenting, Targeting, and
Positioning
 This is the follow-on to auditing. Once you figure out where you’re
at, you need to decide where you want to go.
 It’s a time tested marketing practice, but the course provides critical
context around marketing on social media platforms.
 You have to factor in the work hours, community management, cross-
platform expectations, and analysis. It’s a different ballgame in social
media. The course lays it out for you.

8. 6 – Addresses Copyright, Trademark, and
Defamation
 We’re not lawyers, and the course isn’t giving legal advice.
 It does tell you some of the most common and frequent mistakes people
and organizations make in social media that can lead to problems.
 These are issues we see with every client. Some of these laws, rules, and
regulations are widely misunderstood by social media practitioners.
 The course explains the issues, and gives clear guidance to help you
ensure you’re doing things the right way.

9. 7 – Provides a Strategy for Doing Content
Right
 So many people we come across don’t have a content calendar, and don’t
plan their content creation effectively.
 Resources don’t plan for the hours needed, and content ends up being a
scramble. That impacts quality and consistency. That, in turn, reflects on
your brand.
 This course tells you how to plan it out. How to create editorial calendars,
and use action plans.
 Not only will this make your content better. It will mitigate content and
publication stress.
 The documentation advocated also helps make your social media efforts
measureable – so you can track ROI!

10. 8 – Provides Community Management
Strategies
 In our experience, this is one area where people don’t feel they have
a solid grasp on who should be doing this, and what they should be
doing.
 This course provides comprehensive guidance on all facts of
community management.
 From the organization level and creating effective policies and training social
media team members.
 To selecting the right people to be your community managers.
 To the types of personas that are effective in engaging communities and
facilitating interaction.
 To common interaction scenarios and management strategies.

11. 9 – Explains How To Measure Social Media
Performance and Calculate ROI
 Numbers vary, but there’s strong evidence less than 20% of organizations can
calculate their social media ROI!
 But it’s not just an equation. You need to measure. Before you measure, you need
to set goals and KPIs so performance can be tracked and compared to the
goals, etc., etc..
 This course provides the fundamentals at each step in the process, to help you
build a measurable social media plan.
 Then it steps you through how to measure and report your social media activities.
Including how to find conversions and assisted conversions from social media.
 It also steps you through calculating ROI. Enough said?

12. 10 – Provides a Certification
 It’s not a paper passed out at the end of the course.
 To get this credential, social media strategists have to take a test.
 Learn more about the test here.
 It’s proof that they know, and can apply, these social media
fundamentals.
 It’s a way organizations can hire with more confidence.
 It’s a way for social media strategists to set themselves apart from the
pack.

13.  Go to http://carvertc.com or contact
bob@carvertc.com learn more about the course or
schedule training.
 Follow Bob Carver for great tips, advice, and news on
social media and web analytics.
 Check out the National Institute of Social Media and
their certification program
 Check out the course published by Logical Operations
and available now!
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