For training session sample agendas or additional details, please contact Abigail Collazo at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , or Violet Tsagkas at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ,  202-466-9633.

Getting Started: Navigating the Murky Waters of Social Media

Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Digg, Reddit, Pinterest – where to begin? If Facebook has taught us anything, it’s that the world of social media changes fast, and often without warning or guidance. In a landscape whose focus, capacities, and uses alter constantly, how do you stay ahead of the curve without having to redesign your strategy every day? 

This workshop will plunge you into the culture of social media and teach you the most effective ways to engage and interact in its many platforms.

This two hour training will cover the following issues:

• What are the key aspects of social media and how do you build a strategy around them?
• What are the most popular and effective social media tools?
• Who are the different users and audiences for each social media platform?
•  What are the most effective practices in each platform?
• What resources (time, money, human capital) should be diverted to expanding your social media presence?
•  What tools are available and which should you invest in?

This training will introduce participants to the big picture of social media, web 2.0, and the current most popular tools. Participants will get an overview of the most effective mediums and messages they can use to ramp up engagement and interaction online.

How to Make Social Media Work for You

Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest. Welcome to the new world of social media. Finding your way in this maze of countless tools and sites can be daunting, but once you learn the best practices, you can be both efficient and effective. This half-day tutorial will give you a map of the social media landscape and teach you how to create a strategy in accordance with your organization’s social media guidelines.

Participants will learn:

•  What is and isn’t social media, as opposed to new media and traditional media.
• Basic dos and don’ts of communicating via social media.
• How to develop a social media plan for your organization that utilizes your best resources without taking up more time than it should.
• How the most successful organizations deploy social media tools and techniques.
• How to tailor your social media strategy to your organization’s media guidelines.

All participants will receive a customized Guide to Social Media. We will run a group exercise during which participants will take relevant case studies and practice creating effective messages on social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook. Because this is a targeted training designed for individual brands, this training is not available to a mixed group. Instead, it will be tailored to your company’s specific needs and capabilities.

Introduction to Twitter

Like much of social media, Twitter is easy to use and hard to use well. This workshop will cover the basics of Twitter, including its various functions and its role in the broader conversation. We’ll review how Twitter is used in marketing, branding, campaigns, and journalism. Participants will learn:

• Twitter’s purposes and uses
• Definitions and vocabulary
• Anatomy of a Tweet
•  How to understand and utilize hashtags
• Tweetdeck and other third party tools to track and join the conversation
• Twitter moves at a rapid-fire pace and can be overwhelming at first, but with the right vocabulary and techniques, you’ll be able not only to join the conversation, but also to lead and influence it.

Advanced Twitter: Tools, Tactics, and Strategy

Twitter is more than just a platform for conversations. Because of the enormous volume of people using this tool, its lightning-fast relevancy, and its appeal across so many diverse communities, using Twitter effectively and strategically has become necessary to the success of any campaign. Participants in this 90-minute training will learn:

• Tracking and monitoring brands
• Differentiating between mentions, hashtags, and handles
• Using hashtags to connect with and engage communities
• Building Twitter Lists
•  Using third party tools to monitor and evaluate progress and impact
• Live-tweeting events
• Twitter chats
• Metrics and analytics
• Gaining influence and “real” followers

If your organization is among the many that are using Twitter, but not gaining traction, making an impact or engaging supporters in an effective way, this Advanced Twitter training will be crucial to your social media strategy.

Facebook: How to Manage a Brand Page in the Face of Change

Facebook can no longer be considered “new” media;  it is now the greatest connector we have. It bridges people across time, distance, language, age, culture, and interests. It lets you tailor and broadcast your message to specific audiences, increasing their interest and engagement while adding to your fan base in a substantive way. This half-day training will teach participants how to:

• Design and launch a page
• Recruit and utilize ambassadors and administrators
• Navigate Facebook’s ranking system to asses the value and reach of each post
• Maximize impact, engagement, and interaction on your Facebook Wall
• Craft an attention-catching page
• Optimize the new Timeline features
• Employ the most effective techniques when posting, sharing, commenting
• Promote and gain support for a campaign using Facebook
• Write, design, and target effective Facebook Ads
• Use Facebook Insights to understand and engage your community
• Measure impact and increase fan base and engagement

Facebook has been changing and expanding since its inception, and keeping up with the newest and best strategies can be challenging. If your group is planning to use Facebook as part of its broader strategy, it is crucial that you learn how experts capitalize on all that it has to offer. If used right, Facebook can be of critical help in achieving your organization’s goals.