Course description

Know your business should be on social media but not sure where to start, or posting whenever you remember and getting nowhere? This course shows you, step by step, how to plan, create and schedule posts that bring in real customers, in a few hours a week and without a big budget.

It's a full course, not a quick list of tips. There are 10 sections and 52 step-by-step written lessons, and every lesson ends with a practical task for your own business. Every section has a practice pack of planners, templates and checklists. Throughout the course you follow a small independent bookshop through a 90-day plan to sell out an author evening and grow online orders.

What you'll learn

• Strategy: choosing the right platforms, knowing your audience, SMART goals and content pillars.
• Profiles: setting up business accounts that look professional, are secure and are accessible.
• Content: writing captions, taking better phone photos and making simple short videos and Stories.
• Planning: a content calendar, batching and scheduling so it fits around running your business.
• Community: replies, reviews, customer content, local partners and fair competitions.
• Growth: how feeds work in plain terms, hashtags, local reach and cross-promotion.
• Paid ads: boosting posts and running a small test campaign within UK advertising rules.
• Results: the numbers that matter, tracking clicks and sales, and a simple monthly report.

Two final projects

You'll write a 90-day social media plan for your own business, then create a full month of content: a calendar, captions, images and a short video plan.

Who this course is for

• Small business owners and sole traders.
• Staff who've been handed the company's social media.
• Charity, club and community group volunteers.
• Anyone starting a side business who wants to find customers online.

How the course works

Read each lesson, then do the Try it task for your own business. The planners open in Excel, Google Sheets or similar. Platforms change often, so the course teaches principles that last and shows you where to check the latest details. You keep lifetime access, so you can come back whenever you plan a new campaign.

What will i learn?

• Choose the right platforms for your customers and the time you have
• Set SMART goals, define your audience and build content pillars
• Set up professional, secure and accessible business profiles
• Write captions, take better phone photos and make simple short videos
• Plan a content calendar and batch and schedule posts around your work
• Build a community with replies, reviews, partners and fair competitions
• Run a small paid test campaign within UK advertising rules
• Measure what matters and write a simple monthly report

Frequently asked question