March 6th, 6-8pm, £25 per person.

If you’re self-employed or running a small business, you might feel daunted by the enormity of the Internet as a publicity tool. How can you compete with global businesses for that coveted first page on Google? How can you maintain a social media presence without it taking over your life? What are all those friends and followers good for anyway? How can you make sense of this chaotic chatter?

Come and sooth your internet woes with Social Media Group Therapy.

Beyond the basic guidelines for best practice there are no right answers on how to use the Internet. Everyone’s needs and experience are as unique as the networks and connections they’ve developed. But, as with all things, there will be overlaps. Your problem may have been experienced by someone in a similar situation and their solution could help you figure out yours.

Social Media Group Therapy avoids the snake oil and magic beans of fly-by-night “experts” with a structured environment of peer learning led by someone who understands the pros and cons of the online world.

Issues covered in a session might include:

• What to write about.
• Appearing in search results.
• Dealing with negative feedback.
• Building followers.
• Time management.
• Choosing the right tools.
• Getting the right tone.
• Dealing with copyright infringement.
• Keeping business and personal separate.
• Putting links in blog posts.
• Setting up a Facebook page.

and anything else that’s keeping you up at night.

The Trainer

Pete Ashton is a trainer, blogger, photographer and budding artist. He has 12 years of blogging experience and was an early adopter of Flickr, Twitter, Facebook and other services. He started and ran the Created in Birmingham blog in 2007 and devised the Social Media Surgery model of training in 2008. He is currently working with Fierce Earth delivering the Metapod Connect networking course.

How It Works

A Social Media Group Therapy session lasts for 2 hours with a break for tea. There are between 5 and 10 participants plus the trainer. After a brief introduction we move around the table as each participant shares their problem. This is unpicked and explained in general terms by the trainer and the group works together to find a solution. By the end of the session everyone will have had their problem addressed and have learned from the experiences of the others.

The session was inspired by the needs of Moseley Exchange members and Moseley Art Market traders but is suitable for anyone with questions about using social media for their business.

Date: March 6th, 6-8pm.

Location: The Moseley Exchange
(courtyard behind the Post Office)
149-153 Alcester Road
Moseley, Birmingham, B13 8JP
Tel: 0121 449 8585
(Map)

Price: £25 per person. (£20 for Moseley Exchange members.) Refreshments included.

Booking: See Maria at the Moseley Exchange reception or email peteashton@gmail.com. To ensure attendance, payment must accompany booking. Cash only when paying at reception. Cheque, bank transfer, credit/debit card and PayPal are all accepted by Pete.

Should you have any questions or be unsure if this is right for you, please don’t hesitate to get in touch for a chat.

If this event is a success, we hope to run it monthly.

If you cannot make this date and would like to know about future events run by Pete Ashton, please join the mailing list.