SoMe, SoWhat? (A Trainer’s Enquiry)

Social Media is here to stay. People are getting together watching, commenting and sharing. Some are even doing more.

The possibilities for a trainer are endless. No blog spot can list them all (although some do a reasonable job of getting started). But should you, the trainer, jump on the train or let it pass by?

 

Why use social media as a trainer?

I will admit, I’ve been seduced by the “fun” and “cool” of social media for training (and learning in general) but that is not a good reason to get involved.

Here are 3 GOOD reasons:

• New participant audiences are doing it anyway (Generation Y), so if you want to adapt…
• You can get your message or learning much more easily to more people by joining them where they are (instead of making them come to you)
• You can create longer lasting impact outside of the classroom with limited additional investment

 

According to @JaneBozarth in her book “Social Media for Trainers” the effective use of SoMe strategies “can provide a big payoff for both learners and trainers”.

According to Karie Willyerd, it will be unacceptable to delivery learning in the future that DOES NOT “incorporate features that make hanging out on social sites compelling”.

But that doesn’t mean you have to use SoMe Tools – integrating features like “rating” and “commenting” into a classroom is easy…

 

But if you DO want to use SoMe as a trainer… What can you do?

In short, SoMe can be useful before, during and after training. In my opinion, with the technology and audiences I see today, most efficient ROI for integrating SoMe tools into training comes from the pre/post phase.

I’m not going to list here all different the tools and approaches I use for increasing the longevity of training with SoMe tools, but here are 6 simple things you could consider achieving:

 

Pre-training

• Get people to introduce themselves, their needs and their questions to each other before they get to the room
• Share a knowledge-resource on a given topic and a start-up conversation
• Vote, survey or rate things that will be discussed in the room

 

Post-training

• Get people sharing references and resources after your training
• Create a(n infinitely growing) group of participants from a particular course of content who can share and discuss best practices, worries and success stories
• Make simple “piqures de rappel” months after the money and time spent in training is passed

 

Why not?

What are the reasons for NOT doing such things? Again – there are SO many!! Here are some of the reasons I hear from my colleagues and network:

• “There is no added value”
• “We will only make our own work as trainers redundant”
• “People don’t want to do more after training”
• “It takes too much time”
• “I’m a trainer and training stops when the last participant leaves”
• “My participants are not ON social media”
• “I’m not ON social media”
• “Tools like Facebook are dangerous”
• “I don’t like sharing – I’m a private kind of person”
• “My clients don’t let their people use YouTube and Twitter”

 

Why do I @dan_steer do it?

• I am meeting more and more people in my courses who dig it 🙂
• I have seen people using it as I hoped they would
• It suits my core belief that we have evolved into a collaborative creative culture and that the NWoW is changing
• It suits my core belief a trainer is not an expert who gives the answer to everything
• I find SO MANY new ideas by being connected myself
• It reinforces my brand
• I can create more visibility on the market
• I’m addicted and its fun 🙂

 

See you there?

• Twitter: @dan_steer
• YouTube: dansteerchannel
• LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/dansteer
• Shelfari: http://www.shelfari.com/dansteer/shelf
• Scribd: Just an example document…
• Prezi: Here’s one I made for me Presentation Skills trainees
• …

…but not on Facebook (I’ll explain why if you come to the Trainer’s Lounge, 25^th January with @kluweropleiding)