3 Courses Social Media Strategists Should Take on LinkedIn

A couple of weeks ago, LinkedIn launched Week of Learning in conjunction with Lynda.com and offered users unlimited access to hundreds of online courses.

As a social media strategist, blogger and communicator, I felt like a kid in a candy story with these courses at disposal. And while the length of each course can range from one hour to three hours long, I quickly came to my senses and realized that there was absolutely no way I (read: my attention span) could take all of those courses within seven days.

Luckily, LinkedIn was kind enough to extend a free 30-day trial of its learning courses to users, just in case you might have missed last week’s freebies.

If you like me love all things social media and digital marketing, below are just a few highlights from three courses that I found helpful to improving social media strategists’ skills:

Course #1: Writing Ad Copy

From the LinkedIn course: Writing Ad Copy

When you think of ad copy, I’m sure the first thing that comes to mind is content that is typically placed in an advertisement. And while that is correct, writing for print advertisements is a lot different from writing for an online advertisement. In this six-part course, you’ll learn how to effectively draft better copy and connect authentically with your community.

Rules of Ad Copy Writing:

• Layout your copy in the ‘Z’ pattern to get your users to focus on your content.
• Keep your content relevant by updating it on a seasonal basis.
• Make sure your grammar and syntax are on point.

Ad Copy Goals

• Macro goals (think: gaining revenue) and micro goals (think: gauging interest) both matter, because they are keeping in mind the needs of your consumer.
• When it comes to acquiring new readers to your site, you want to make sure your copy gets specific on what your customers want and what your competition doesn’t offer, building trust along the way.
• Retaining those same customers requires that you acknowledge the relationship you currently have with them (think: exclusivity) all the while offering them something that will keep them coming back for more.

Course #2 – Creating Better Blog Content

From the LinkedIn course: Creating Better Blog Content

As a blogger, these are two areas which I need help with them most. It can be a little daunting to view your personal blog from a critical lens, but these two are absolutely necessary to help you get back on track.

Evaluating Your Blog will require you to look beyond the content – but what are you looking to achieve? What’s currently working and what isn’t? What “spring” cleaning must you do in order to remain in Google’s good graces?

Creating an editorial calendar for your ideas, using social media to promote your work and generating creative ideas will help you with the management of your blog.

Course #3: Growth Hacking Fundamentals

From the LinkedIn course: Growth Hacking Fundamentals

I recently became fairly fascinated with growth hacking, which I’ve learned is a mindset – not necessarily a product – that helps you make data-driven decisions. Growth hacking basically requires to use what you’ve already got (customer base/community) in order to zoom in a particular part of your business that you’d like to grow.

• The Basics of growth hacking involve a close look at the data of your users, leveraging low-cost opportunities that will best engage your consumer base and
• Developing A Plan cannot be based off of an emotion, but it must be build around things that you do very well. Why do your customers/readers trust you? What keeps them motivated? Why are they interested in your product? Asking these questions will help guide your strategy process.

Overall, I thought that each of these courses were beneficial and provided tactics that I could immediately implement into my broader blog, personal brand strategy and even to my 9-to-5 job.

Interested in learning more from these courses? Start your 30-day free trial of these classes and so many more!