Course Objectives
By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
- adopt a long-term branding view in their engagements with their audiences
- understand the principles for tailoring content to audience needs while building a strong brand
- apply basic verification techniques to enhance the credibility of the content they publish
- apply key ethical principles to position themselves as credible brands to attract business opportunities
- apply key strategies to optimise reach while maintaining ethical standards
Course Topics
- Branding and the work of influencers and content creators
- Understanding digital audiences
- Creating engaging and credible content
- Verifying information before use
- Optimising your content for reach and impact
- Content, ethics and the law
Who Should Attend?
This course is designed for a diverse group of individuals in the digital content creation space, including:
- Social media influencers
- Bloggers and vloggers
- Digital content creators
- Citizen journalists
- Media professionals
- Corporate communication professionals
- Activists and advocates using social media for campaigns
- Prospective social media influencers and content creators
Training Methodology
The training is delivered through presentations led by seasoned facilitators. We promote active learning through group discussions, simulations and collaborative activities.
Course benefits
If you are a social media influencer, content creator or a person dreaming of becoming one, this course is for you. By enrolling, you position yourself to gain:
- practical skills for enhancing your credibility and authority in your niche areas
- skills to position yourself to build trust and long-term engagement
- practical skills in creating content that is both ethical and engaging
- a competitive edge in the influencer marketing space
Topic signposts
Branding and the work of influencers/content creators
- What is your brand?
- Authenticity and credibility
- Aligning your persona to your audience, and brands you represent
Understanding Digital Audiences
- Who are digital audiences and what drives them?
- Segmentation, targeting and positioning
- What audience engagement metrics tell you
- Personalization and content recommendations
Creating Engaging and Credible Content
- The art of storytelling in digital spaces
- Using data and evidence to enhance your content
- Balancing entertainment and information in content.
- Leveraging audience interactivity: Polls, Q&A, comments, and community building
Verifying Information Before Use
- Understanding misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation.
- Fact-checking your information (Google Reverse Image Search, TinEye, etc.)
- Cross-referencing sources and evaluating credibility
- Ethical and legal responsibility in sharing information
Optimizing Your Content for Reach and Impact
- Social media algorithms and their impact on audience reach.
- Search Engine Optimization and discoverability
- Headlines and visual appeal
- Platform-specific content strategies
- Timing and frequency of content publication
- Understanding audience engagement metrics (likes, shares, comments, etc.)
- Personalization and content recommendations
Your Content, Ethics, and Your Brand
- Ethical storytelling, harmful narratives and your brand
- Transparency and disclosure: Sponsored content and conflicts of interest
- Diversity and inclusion in content creation.
- Handling backlash and ethical dilemmas in digital communication
- Legal considerations: Copyright, defamation, and privacy concerns