You’ve landed here because you’re a small business owner who wants to improve their social media.
If this wasn’t at the front of your mind you wouldn’t have clicked on the link.
So 3.5 hours of Social Media Training VS 3.5 Hours Of Learning By Google – What’s The Difference?
We live in a world where every piece of information is on Google, Youtube or AI so as an Social Media Expert of 16+ years I wanted to delve into this subject and look at the differences between the 2.
After all you’ve probably asked the question Why pay for training when everything is online
Personalisation: Google VS Training
Everything you ever read online is generalised for the masses.
We’ve written 700+ blogs of social media advice and whilst it’s best in class, it’s not specific to your business.
There are nuances to every single business owners position when it comes to social media marketing. Even 2 people in the same sector in the same town might need widely different marketing advice.
When it comes to a half days social media training what we actually ask for in advance are 4 things
- A short training brief
- A survey filled in covering 8 Areas Of Social Media
- Your social media links
- Your website link
From that information we prepare the training and as experts we can be bold enough to say “Actually. You’ve asked for X. But you need Y instead and this is our reasons why.”
Before a person has sat down with us there’s a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes and at the start of the session we’ll clarify again what we’re going to cover in order and why.
With Google there is nobody there at the start of your journey to say this is the right path – you could spend 3.5 hours getting generalised advice that isn’t relevant to your business.
Strategy vs Information:Google VS Training
I said earlier that “We live in a world where every piece of information is on Google, Youtube or AI”.
That applies to every single subject you can name.
If it was purely information then the amount of health and nutrition advice on the internet would be mean nobody would be obese.
If it was purely information then the amount of money advice on the internet would mean people don’t get into huge amounts of debt.
If it was purely information then the amount of marketing advice on the internet would mean no business would fail through lack of customers.
Most business owners don’t fail because they lack information. They fail because they struggle to apply information consistently to their own business
Before we even look at the tactical information of social media we start from a place of strategy.
All the foundational marketing stuff I studied back before social media even existed.
Everything from who are your customers, USP, content pillars, SWOT Analysis, competitive analysis, key people of influence, goal setting and more.
All of that we guide businesses through with an indepth work booklet and us as a sounding board.
Speed of Learning: Google VS Training
For some of the totally basic stuff I’d 100% recommend using Google.
The basics of how to set up an account, dimension sizes for images, how many characters on a post.
If it’s something specific with only 1 definitive answer than Google can be your friend.
If it’s something where there are multiple possible answers and opinions then you are best sitting down with someone to avoid wasting time.
With so much information out there it’s easy to go down a rabbit whole of different news articles, blogs and advice pieces. And before you know it those couple of questions have taken 2 hours and left you even more confused then when you started.
What an experienced trainer has is the ability to know the level of information you need to achieve your goals. To speed up, to slow down, to pause, to repeat a certain point, to cut out the fluff and unnecessary information.
To give you an idea of this in the last week alone I’ve delivered a 45 minute LinkedIn Training session and a 3.5 hour one. All bespoke to the clients needs.
Accountability & Feedback: Google VS Training
What happens in 2 or 3 months after you start learning?
Is there someone at hand to sit down with you and say
“This were the goals and this was the calendar – what has gone well, ok and terribly and what changes are needed”
The accountability sessions are something we recommend to all our social media training clients.
Because then training becomes something that gets actioned and worked on after the initial session.
The whole point of learning for business is get a return on the time / money and with no accountability learning can just be ticking a box without an real implementation.
Confidence: Google VS Training
How confident are you?
This goes back to point number 2 on “If it was purely information then the amount of marketing advice on the internet would mean no business would fail through lack of customers.”
But on a scale of 1-10 how confident are you there that the information you’ve spent time reading is true and relevant to your business.
The confidence people have walking through the doors with us is already there.
They’ve researched us, they’ve read the reviews, they’ve chatted to businesses who have worked with us.
They’re confident at the start of a half a day with us things will go well and by the end they have clarity and a plan to work with.
There is no better feeling in the world than having the confidence that something will work.
Relevance To Current Trends / Platform Changes: Google VS Training
Social Media changes every single day.
And that is not an exaggeration.
What worked 6 months ago might not work today.
If a trainers good, they will be on top of current trends and platform changes.
Because we spend our life on social media we can often reference things that happened In the last 24 hours to that the client gets the most up to date information.
We’ve said it before, but social media training shouldn’t be a one off activity but something that happens every 1-2 years.
Implementation: Google VS Training
At an average reading speed, you can read approximately 105 to 175 pages in 3.5 hours (based on 30-50 pages per hour).
And 3.5 hours on Google is rarely just 3.5 hours.
This wlll sound familiar to anyone as it often becomes:
- Searching
- Second guessing
- Watching conflicting videos
- Trying things
- Restarting
- Consuming instead of doing
Whereas training compresses years of experience into a focused session.
So … what 3.5 hours of Google?
How are you going to implement it.
One of the best advantages AI has given us is meeting summary as part of our social media training.
As well as the attendees handwritten notes (research shows that you retain information better if you write it down) we also send a meeting summary of next steps and action points which people can tick off as they go.
With an easy checklist and an accountability session this ensures that learnings are implemented.
Real World Opportunities: Google VS Training
And the final point.
People love to help people whereas Google serves you information.
You reach the end of the training session with a human and there’s opportunity for further support
They can refer you to others.
They can open up their black book of trusted suppliers to help you with other areas of business.
They can book you to speak at a Networking event.
They can write an article about your and share your story on social media.
They can even become your customer.
CONCLUSION: Google VS Training
Google Is Brilliant For Information. Training Is Brilliant For Transformation.
In short
- Use Google for quick factual answers
- Use training for strategy, clarity, accountability and implementation
| Where I WOULD Use Google | Where I WOULD Use Social Media Training |
|---|---|
| Technical platform tutorials | Strategy |
| Image sizes | Content direction |
| Simple how-to questions | Audience understanding |
| Software walkthroughs | Building confidence |
| Basic terminology | Accountability |
| Quick updates | Campaign planning |
| Clarifying priorities | |
| Brand positioning |
WHERE I WOULD USE GOOGLE FOR SOCIAL MEDIA INFORMATION
For some of the totally basic stuff I’d 100% recommend using Google.
The basics of how to set up an account, dimension sizes for images, how many characters on a post.
If it’s something specific with only 1 definitive answer than Google can be your friend.
WHERE I WOULD USE A SOCIAL MEDIA TRAINER
An experienced trainer has worked with hundreds (or thousands) of businesses; spots patterns; seen what actually works in real life; seen mistakes repeatedly
That means they can often identify problems very quickly.
Think about what is the cost of getting it wrong by trusting Doctor Google.
Google searches can lead down rabbit holes and you’re never quite sure who is writing the advice
- Blogs are written for clicks (how many things are supposed to be dead such as blogging or Facebook or Instagram … all of which aren’t dead)
- Youtube rewards engagement and retention rate not accuracy
- AI can confidently give outdated guidance – and is always has a disclaimer it may not be accurate
- Tactics that work for influencers or big businesses don’t always work for local businesses
A trainer can often identify in 15 minutes what might take a business owner 6 months of trial and error
That’s worth investing in.
NEED HELP WITH SOCIAL MEDIA FOR YOUR BUSINESS
Looking for authentic ways to grow your social media
Chat to us about Social Media Marketing for YOUR organisation , so we can better understand YOU and what will grow your organisation
We can only find out what is unique to your business by chatting with you
Look at our Social Media Training and Social Media Management services
We offer Social Media Training on
* LinkedIn
* Instagram
* Facebook
* TikTok
* Blogging
We can do this
* 121
* Corporate Workshops
* Group Workshops
* Face to Face or Via Zoom
Please call Alex on 07806774279 or email alex@altrinchamhq.co.uk
