A new course on social media for bar and pub operators has been introduced by leading hospitality specialist CPL Training.
Available through CPL Online, the e-learning course is a simple step-by-step guide helping learners to understand what social media is, how it can help their business and how to effectively use the various channels.
It covers the basics of what social media is, how it can help your business as a tool for communicating to customers, gives insight into how customers prefer to engage on social media, explains the media networks and the best ones to use for the on-trade, and gives practical tips on how to use it and how to create your own 12-step social media success plan.
Leading beer and cider business Carlsberg UK has partnered with CPL Training to create a bespoke social media training package available exclusively to its free-trade customers.
According to the Institute of National Statistics, by 2013, 93% of 16-24 year olds and 50% of 45-54 year olds were actively using social media and the figures are expected to rise.
David Dasher, managing director of CPL Online, said: “Navigating the cyber-world, from Facebook and Twitter to Linkedin and Google+, can be a daunting task if you are not familiar with it, which is why we decided to create this course which not only covers the basics but also offers seasoned social media users tips on how to make social networking really work for their business.”
According to Forbes, 71% of people say that if they receive a quick response from a brand or business on social media they are more likely to recommend it.
David said: “We speak to licensees daily through the numerous courses we offer and the subject of social media and how to implement a social media plan is one of the most frequently asked topics.
“Some of the best operators we come across are ones who are a bit stumped when it comes to this. So we have created this course to allay those fears and to help anyone wanting to get started or just understand social media in more depth.”
Carlsberg UK has introduced the bespoke social media training package to provide licensees with information, advice, hints and tips on how to get started with social media, which platforms to engage with, how to find an online audience for their business, how to grow and retain that audience, and ultimately how to increase profits by utilising social media.
Kathryn Purchase, director of customer marketing at Carlsberg UK, said: “From our on-trade customer research, we identified that the majority of licensees have a strong desire for further training on social media.
“Many licensees know they need to get involved in social media, but have no idea to how to get started, or how to use it to grow their business.
“Getting social media right can be a daunting task, and this is something both Carlsberg UK and CPL Training recognised when we were developing this course, and we are confident it is accessible to a wide variety of customers, whilst still retaining the right level of expert information and advice.”
The bespoke online social media course, available for a nominal fee via Carlsberg UK, gives licensees and their staff valuable insight into developing and managing a digital presence, and tips on how to reach the maximum number of potential customers.
It also teaches the skills required to transfer the online following into paying customers through the door – from showing how to respond to comments, queries and complaints, to communicating forthcoming events or promotions.
Kathryn said: “Carlsberg UK’s strength has always been in delivering tangible business-building support to our customers by providing expert advice for the day-to-day operations of running a pub, and social media is an increasingly important part of this.
“We’re delighted to have collaborated with CPL Training to develop such a flexible, useful and simple course, at a cost which is accessible to all. We are excited to see how our customers will reap the benefits and go beyond simply growing their Facebook ‘likes’ and Twitter followers to developing real customer engagement, which will ultimately boost their bottom line sales.”
David added: “Social media is everywhere. It has become so ingrained in the fabric of society, for any business to ignore it would be as good as turning away trade.
“We worked in close partnership with Carlsberg UK to create not only the course, but also to create specific content to support licensees’ in-venue, and help them use every tool available to develop their business.”
