Hello, Creatives! Jay here. Earlier this month, I held my first ever free social media class in the City of Sunderland; “Social Media 101”.
If you live near Sunderland, UK, feel free to join – “Social Media 101” is every 2nd Wednesday of the month, held in Holmeside Coffee. It’s informal, and a change to learn from each other over good coffee & good food.
I’ve been teaching “Introduction to Social Media” at the University of Sunderland since January this year (given the opportunity to branch out from radio production), and it’s been a really rewarding experience. I’ve both learned [and taught] a great deal about the theories behind how to increase engagement across your social media platforms.
A very quick Google will help you pick up dozens of skills for getting the most out of services; Twitter, Facebook, Instagram. Here’s my first contribution to that online conversation.
1) “Reply All”
If you haven’t heard of internet heavyweight Gary Vaynerchuck, now’s the time.
This talk by Gary Vaynerchuck may be from 2011, but it’s probably one of the most important speeches you can ever watch about social media engagement:
If people are talking about you, your creative projects, or your products, social media exists for you to take advantage of that. We’re at a unique point in history where you can interact with people like never before. Take advantage of that. And if they’re not, join in those online conversations.
“Some people might turn their nose up at a job that’s just making tea and coffee – but that’s the best way to get yourself in front of a whole TV crew.” – 
1) Make the First Move
I love my job. Maybe I don’t find the chance to make audio documentaries & dramas as much as I’d like to (and certainly not as much as I envisioned back when I was a media production student), but being an Academic Tutor of radio & teaching how to create strong audio documentaries is something that fills me with immense joy.
99% PERSPIRATION 