Social Media for Business Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Social Media Managers, Digital Marketing Managers and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 16 Nov 2026 Course code SD-DM-076

Before you join: Participants should have practical experience using at least one business social media channel, such as LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube or X.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Social media teams are expected to produce visible business results while managing brand risk, customer queries, paid-media spend and a constant flow of content requests. Many organisations publish frequently but lack clear channel roles, measurable objectives, sound approval workflows or evidence of commercial impact. This course addresses that gap by connecting social media activity to customer journeys, campaign objectives, service standards and reporting decisions.

Participants learn how to build a practical social media strategy, select suitable channels, define audiences, create content systems and manage communities. The course covers organic publishing, paid social campaigns, social listening, customer care, influencer selection, employee advocacy and social selling. Participants use SMART objectives, funnel mapping, RACI responsibilities, UTM conventions, A/B testing and KPI frameworks to plan, execute and improve social media activity.

Delivered over five instructor-led days, the course combines concise practitioner briefings with sector-based cases, group analysis, campaign simulations and structured planning work. Participants examine realistic scenarios such as a bank handling a service complaint, an NGO running an awareness campaign, a B2B firm building LinkedIn demand and a retailer testing paid creative. Each participant leaves with a reusable social media operating plan, content calendar, measurement framework and 90-day action plan. A certificate of completion is issued after the course.

The course suits marketing and communications professionals who already use social media at work and need a more disciplined approach to planning, governance, content performance and commercial reporting. It is relevant to private-sector, public-sector, financial-services, development and membership-based organisations.

What you will be able to do

  • Develop a social media strategy linked to business objectives and customer journeys
  • Select channels using audience behaviour, platform capabilities and conversion paths
  • Create content pillars, editorial calendars and channel-specific content briefs
  • Apply RACI, accessibility and approval controls to social media governance
  • Manage community responses, social listening queries and escalation procedures
  • Plan paid social campaigns using audience targeting, budgets and A/B tests
  • Measure social media performance through KPIs, UTM parameters and GA4 reporting
  • Produce a 90-day social media action plan with priorities, owners and milestones

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Build a credible social media strategy rather than relying on ad hoc posting
  • Create content briefs that reduce revisions and strengthen message consistency
  • Handle customer comments, complaints and escalation decisions with greater confidence
  • Interpret platform and website data to explain performance to senior stakeholders
  • Prepare a practical 90-day plan for improving current social media activity

For your organisation

  • Clearer links between social media activity, campaign objectives and commercial outcomes
  • More consistent brand voice, accessibility practice and approval discipline
  • Faster, safer responses to customer enquiries, complaints and reputational issues
  • Better use of paid social budgets through structured targeting and creative testing
  • Decision-ready reporting that identifies priorities, learning and corrective action

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can define a social media strategy that connects business priorities, audiences, channels and measurable outcomes.

  • Business objectives translated into social media goals, audiences and priorities
  • SMART objectives linked to awareness, consideration, conversion and retention measures
  • Funnel mapping identifies platform roles from discovery through advocacy
  • Audience segments defined through jobs, barriers, triggers and information needs
  • Persona assumptions tested against customer research, search demand and CRM data
  • Channel portfolio decisions based on audience behaviour, resources and business value
  • Competitive social audit compares positioning, formats, cadence and engagement patterns

Participants can select and configure social media channels according to audience needs and business purpose.

  • Platform selection matrix weighs audience fit, content utility and conversion paths
  • LinkedIn page architecture supports thought leadership, recruitment and B2B demand
  • Instagram and TikTok formats matched to attention, discovery and product demonstration
  • Facebook communities assessed for local reach, service and interest groups
  • YouTube content mapped to search intent, education and long-form trust
  • X and emerging channels evaluated against risk, audience and response capacity
  • Owned profiles optimised with naming, bios, links, imagery and conversion actions

Participants can establish practical controls for safe, consistent and accessible social media publishing.

  • Brand voice framework defines character, tone, language and prohibited claims
  • Content pillars connect customer questions to business themes and proof points
  • Editorial calendars balance planned campaigns, timely posts and community responses
  • RACI model assigns approval, publishing, escalation and reporting responsibilities
  • Employee advocacy guidelines distinguish personal opinions, disclosures and confidential information
  • Accessibility standards cover alt text, captions, contrast and plain language
  • Copyright, permissions and music licensing managed before publication
  • Social media policy addresses records retention, conduct and regulatory obligations

Participants can plan and develop social content that communicates value clearly and prompts action.

  • Content briefs specify audience insight, message, format, action and proof
  • Message hierarchy structures headlines, supporting detail and call-to-action language
  • Hook, value and action sequence improves short-form post clarity
  • Copywriting techniques apply PAS, AIDA and benefit-led messaging without hype
  • Visual storytelling uses framing, sequencing, brand assets and readable text
  • Video scripts combine first-three-second hooks, demonstrations, captions and endings
  • Content repurposing converts anchor assets into channel-specific posts and formats

Participants can operate publishing and community-management processes that protect service quality and reputation.

  • Publishing workflows coordinate drafts, approvals, scheduling, monitoring and version control
  • Community management differentiates acknowledgement, answer, redirection and escalation responses
  • Service-level targets set response times for questions, complaints and safety concerns
  • Social listening queries track brand terms, competitor mentions and recurring issues
  • Sentiment coding separates praise, enquiries, complaints, misinformation and abuse
  • Moderation rules apply consistently to comments, direct messages and user-generated content
  • Crisis response matrices assign severity, holding statements, owners and approval routes

Participants can plan social media campaigns that coordinate organic, paid, website and partner activity.

  • Campaign brief defines business result, audience, proposition, budget and measurement
  • Campaign architecture sequences teaser, launch, sustain and conversion content
  • Organic and paid activity coordinated around distinct roles and audiences
  • Landing-page alignment connects social promises, forms, offers and tracking
  • Influencer selection assesses audience quality, brand fit, disclosures and deliverables
  • UTM conventions identify source, medium, campaign, content and platform placement
  • Campaign risk review tests claims, exclusions, approvals and contingency actions

Participants can structure paid social activity using suitable objectives, targeting, creative and budget controls.

  • Paid social objectives distinguish reach, traffic, leads, sales and remarketing
  • Meta Ads Manager campaign structure links objectives, audiences, placements and creative
  • LinkedIn Campaign Manager targets roles, accounts, seniority and matched audiences
  • Audience building combines first-party lists, engagement pools and exclusions
  • Budget pacing uses test cells, learning periods, frequency and marginal returns
  • Creative testing isolates variables through controlled A/B test design
  • Bid strategy selected against optimisation event, volume and cost tolerance
  • Ad policy checks prevent disapprovals, restricted targeting and misleading claims

Participants can measure social media performance and present findings that support management decisions.

  • Measurement framework links objectives to leading, lagging and diagnostic metrics
  • KPI definitions distinguish reach, impressions, engagement rate, clicks and conversions
  • GA4 traffic analysis traces social sessions, events, conversions and assisted paths
  • UTM taxonomy preserves campaign attribution across paid, organic and partner links
  • Platform-native analytics compared with website and CRM reporting limitations
  • Dashboard design separates executive decisions from channel optimisation signals
  • Monthly reporting explains variance, learning, corrective action and next tests

Participants can connect social media activity with sales, customer care and employee advocacy processes.

  • Social selling routines identify buying signals, stakeholders and relevant conversation openings
  • LinkedIn outreach sequences combine insight, credibility, permission and follow-up
  • Account-based social plans coordinate sales, marketing and subject-matter experts
  • CRM handoffs record source, consent, context and next action
  • Employee advocacy programmes equip specialists with approved messages and sharing guidance
  • Social customer care connects public responses with case-management processes
  • Privacy and consent rules govern lead capture, direct messages and retargeting

Participants can prioritise social media improvements and produce a structured 90-day implementation plan.

  • Performance reviews prioritise actions using impact, confidence and effort scoring
  • Test-and-learn backlogs convert hypotheses into scheduled content and media tests
  • Content audits identify assets to retain, revise, retire and repurpose
  • Quarterly channel plans allocate resources, milestones, owners and reporting dates
  • 90-day action plans sequence quick wins, dependencies and capability gaps
  • Personal operating rhythms schedule planning, publishing, listening and analysis
  • Stakeholder review packs communicate decisions, risks, results and resource needs

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Social media strategy template
  2. Channel selection matrix
  3. Content pillar and editorial calendar model
  4. Community management escalation matrix
  5. Social media KPI dashboard specification
  6. 90-day social media action plan

Who should attend

  • Social Media Managers — responsible for channel performance, content operations and reporting
  • Digital Marketing Managers — coordinating social activity with campaigns, websites and paid media
  • Marketing Executives — planning and publishing content that supports commercial objectives
  • Communications Managers — protecting brand reputation and managing public engagement
  • Customer Experience Managers — improving social customer care, response standards and escalation
  • Business Development Managers — using LinkedIn and social selling to support account growth

Skills and tools covered

Social media strategyContent planningCommunity managementPaid social advertisingPerformance measurementSocial media governance

Tools and standards

Meta Ads Manager, LinkedIn Campaign Manager, Google Analytics 4, RACI model

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings followed by case analysis, group exercises, campaign-planning tasks, reporting simulations and application planning. Participants work with examples from B2B marketing, retail, financial services, public services and NGOs. They assess channel choices, draft content systems, interpret social media data, respond to community-management scenarios and make paid-media decisions. Trainers adapt cases and discussion prompts to participants' sectors, organisational policies, target audiences and current social media challenges.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have practical experience using at least one business social media channel, such as LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube or X. They should be familiar with basic posts, audiences, engagement measures and organisational approval processes. Experience of managing campaigns, advertising budgets or analytics platforms is useful but not required. The course does not require coding, graphic design, video-production expertise or advanced statistical analysis. Participants should be prepared to discuss their organisation's customers, current channels, content challenges and business objectives.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

You should have used at least one business social media channel and understand basic posting, audiences and engagement measures. You do not need prior paid-advertising, analytics or video-production experience.

Bring a laptop or tablet if possible, plus examples of your organisation's social channels, current campaigns or reporting challenges. You do not need administrator access to company accounts during the course.

The course is designed for marketing, communications, customer experience, business development and social media professionals. It is particularly useful for people responsible for improving an existing social media presence rather than starting from zero.

This course focuses specifically on social media strategy, content operations, community management, paid social and social reporting. General digital marketing courses typically spend more time on search, email, websites, display advertising and wider acquisition planning.

Participants develop practical materials including a channel plan, editorial structure, measurement approach and 90-day action plan. These can be adapted to current campaigns, service issues, content gaps and reporting requirements.

Training runs from 08:30 to 16:30 each day, with approximately 6.5 contact hours daily. Time is divided between instructor input, analysis of realistic cases, group work, simulations and structured application planning.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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