To be honest I was not the biggest fan of social media, I really only used it when I had to at work, but being made redundant after more than 20 years with the same company made me really consider what I wanted to do and how I was going to do it. After going through all the emotions that come with being made redundant – shock, hurt, anger and tears – I really thought about things during the Christmas holidays and realised that actually I was quite please to not have to work for them any more, this was going to be the kick up the back side that i needed to do something different.

One thing that I was certain of was that I didn’t want to work for anyone else on a permanent basis, no more bosses for me for a while, I had decided to set up my own business.

From the beginning of 2014 I have been on so many courses, marketing, PR, procurement and business training and I have learnt so much but there was still a gap in my knowledge that I needed to fill. So while I was still employed I asked if as part of my redundancy package they would pay for me to go on the CPD Search and Social Media Course at Salford University. Luckily they agreed and feeling quite nervous, as I thought I might be out of my depth, I joined the other students to learn more about this fascinating subject.

From signing up to LinkedIn and Google+, to website optimisation, advanced keyword research and link juice, the course is very focussed on how your business can benefit from excellent search and social media marketing. It shows us how to improve our websites to try to reach the top of Google rankings and how Google analytics or moz.com can help to analyse how your website is performing against your competitors or how your media campaigns are affecting your business.

Far from being overly academic the course engages with the real world, inviting speakers from some of the top search and social media companies in the area to talk about best practice and give insights into how SSMM works for their clients. The speakers are often inspirational, are willing to answer questions and give freely of their time to help those of us who need to know more and who want to learn.

Well after ten weeks, and having just decided what to call my company, I have now signed up to LinkedIn, Google+, Twitter and Pinterest (love this!), I feel confident that when my new website is developed and online I will know what I am talking about with the web designer and that I will be able to maintain the site and check the analytics myself. I also know that help is available from the SSMM team at Salford University and I would recommend the course to anyone who is interested in this field.

I suppose it’s sour grapes really, but my previous employers would really have benefited if I have signed up to do this course a couple of years ago. But now I am going it alone it will be my future clients, and me of course, who will hopefully benefit from my new confidence with search and social media marketing.

Jacqueline Whitaker
May 2014

 

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