Social Media Training For Executives

Is your boss #clueless? This is a lesson that many companies are learning, sending their executive level to learn how the internet and social media works. Depending on the firm, bosses are being sent to training courses or being paired with younger mentors regarding social tools and the impact on the company.

Whereas the goal isn’t to teach the company CEO the difference from a like button and a share icon; the concept behind these lessons is to provide managers a basic understanding of the digital landscape and improve the decision making process regarding how to renda extra online,  invest company time and money into important internet concepts.

Companies that have sent their leaders to “social media boot camp” include American Express, NYSE Euronext, PepsiCo, and Draftfcb Healthcare; spending upwards of $60,000 per individual for a two-day program that includes lessons in coding, product design, and the aforementioned social media concepts. Taught at General Assembly in NYC, these classes will help individuals to think like entrepreneurs and analyze data in the same sense.

Back to the Basics

How disconnected were some managers? A recent class that featured Draftfcb Healthcare, an advertising agency, asked managers to sketch what they thought Facebook looked like based on experiences. Although being able to sketch the site after a bit of time, one exec was quoted that she had “no idea what Facebook looked like.”

Compared to “having prunes in your brownie,” these social media training classes combine fun and learning; and benefit the company by allowing the entire firm to remain current.

Putting Social Media in Context

Other firms have taken to the aid of these “clueless” executives, as Mediabistro offers on-site corporate training programs; teaching managers how to put into context what each post means and how each post, tweet, and blog means to the company’s impact on followers.

The importance of teaching managers to utilize social media effectively is that this well help them to understand the complexity and employment need, helping long-term outlook of what their marketing teams do on the front line: From scheduling tweets to responding to follower posts.

Reverse Social Media Mentorship

Another move that the companies have taken, recruiting students to teach their executives how millennials use the internet. Including searches, social media, mobile ecommerce, and other things; this reverse mentorship allows high level managers to learn everything from the vocabulary to the thought process of online media.

What are the Benefits of High Level Digital Training?

From understanding how the internet works to relating to younger employee ideas, this training is pivotal to the growth of companies. Imagine that a younger staff member provides an idea about the next big thing, only to have the disconnected senior manager deny the request or idea due to a lack of understanding. According to a recent survey, 99% of executives say that digital growth is important, but only 10% of companies are happy with how fast they are making the transition.

However, if these executives were to participate in a course that taught them the ropes and processes; the understanding would offer growth to things imperative for company growth: Social Media, SEO, PPC, Mobile Ecommerce, and Website use.

Are you an Executive or Manager? Are you just looking to find out the best practices using social media? We have just released a new LinkedIn Group and Twitter Feed aimed directly at answering all of your social media questions and training individuals on the best ways to reach consumers. If you are looking for a team that will work tooth and nail to improve your footprint on the digital marketing spectrum, call our Social Media Marketing Experts at Hot Potato or fill out our simple contact form.

What do you think is the best way to teach upper level executives how to understand the constantly changing digital world? Comment and Share your ideas with us!