Marketing practices have dramatically shifted with the rise of social media and the growth of new devices, platforms and applications. To address this new reality, the University of the Aftermarket has developed a new eight-week course – Social Media Management.
The class is offered completely online and is open to all aftermarket professionals. The course is especially beneficial for those engaged in sales, marketing and communications. Through a combination of case studies, analysis of current social media methods and the development of a social media marketing plan, students will learn how to enhance and optimize their social media presence and activities. While there are many social platforms, this course will feature an in-depth look at Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn in the context of business use.
Through this course, participants will:
- Develop a social media plan
- Understand the ways in which business and brands use social media marketing to engage customers
- Provide a broad overview of social media and the social web
- Understand the integration of social media into the communications strategy and integrated marketing communications mix
- Understand the foundational vocabulary and terminology of social media marketing and social media analytics in order to effectively communicate tactics, strategies and decisions related to social media marketing
- Comprehend the changes to marketing processes that allows for engaging customers in dramatically different ways from the past
- Critically evaluate a wide variety of commonly used social media tools in order to assess their effectiveness as well as potential risks, limitations and shortcomings
- Analyze social media’s usefulness for businesses as a vehicle for facilitating customer communication and interactions
- Examine best practices that can be immediately implemented on existing social sites
- Develop a professional LinkedIn profile to build a presence that will attract prospective customers and valued network relationships
The course instructor is Patricia Cox, the former head of automotive marketing solutions at LinkedIn and the former managing director of General Motors’ social media agency. She has worked with automotive industry clients (B2B and B2C) in the OEM, retail and aftermarket sectors. In addition, Cox will be presenting two classes on social media at the upcoming AAPEX show on Nov 2. Check the show’s AAPEX.edu schedule for details.
Participants who successfully complete the course will earn 3.0 CEUs that can be applied toward their AAP (Automotive Aftermarket Professional) or MAAP (Master Automotive Aftermarket Professional) designation.
The class begins Jan 29, 2018, and ends March 25 and registration is now open. Visit universityoftheaftermarket.com and click the Course Calendar tab. Select the “Social Media Management” class and follow the link to register. The course fee is $995, with special discounts offered to YANG and MiX members. Call 1-800-551-2882 with questions.
