The Full Scope: Farosian’s Social and Digital Media Literacy Training Course

Social media usage is something that most people believe is a personal, private activity which is enjoyed outside of work. This is surprising given around 77% of workers admit to using social media at their place of employment.

The reality is that the line between our personal and professional lives has become increasingly blurred with the continued growth and integration of digital media into our lives.

In this article, we will break down the data behind social media usage in the workplace, and what this means from a risk vs reward perspective, as well as what steps businesses can take to manage social media usage and mitigate risk. This will lead us into a full breakdown of the Farosian Social and Digital Media Literacy Training course, what it is, what it involves, and how it can benefit your organisation.

The first step, however, is to gain a deeper understanding of social media usage from a professional perspective, to better understand how pressing this issue truly is. The latest statistics show that around 93.4% of internet users and 74.8% of the eligible population are currently active on social media. This means that most employees are active on at least one platform every day.

These people share their fears and desires, hopes and dreams, wins and losses, relationships and grievances, and even what they might be eating for lunch. What we are getting at, is that a large portion of our lives are documented online for the world to see. The issue is that at some point in our lifetime, we are more than likely to make a mistake and share something that probably shouldn’t have been shared.

We may react badly to a comment made on a friend’s picture, we may let our anger and frustration get the better of us and leave a nasty comment or retaliate when someone insults our beliefs. We are human, and this is human nature. The problem is that once something is posted online, it is there for the world to see, and it will most likely stay on the internet forever in one form or another. So, what happens when an employee is involved in a situation like this?

The unfortunate result is that the company or organisation where the individual works will most likely have their brand and reputation dragged through the mud. In fact, statistics show that social media slip-ups cost businesses millions of dollars in damages every year.

This begs the question, what can organisations do to protect themselves from these inevitable situations, and how can individuals better manage what they share online? At the end of the day a situation like this is not only damaging to the organisation, but also to the reputation of the individual in question.

There are two primary measures that organisations can take to protect the company’s brand image and reputation. The first is to implement a stand-alone social and digital media policy – which essentially serves as a formal guide for employees on how their online activity relates to the organisation that they work for.

A social and digital media policy is absolutely crucial for any business in the 21^st century. For a more detailed breakdown of the importance of a social media policy, what to include in it, and some examples of effective social media policies, check out our previous blog post.

If your organisation doesn’t have a bespoke social and digital media policy in place – reach out to us at Farosian for a quote on how we can help curate and implement one in your business today, or even if you’d just like us to take a look at your existing policy to see if it’s up-to-scratch.

Once everyone in your organisation is on the same page regarding social media conduct, we advise educating and up-skilling your team on the ins and outs of social and digital media. Enter – the Farosian Social and Digital Media Literacy Course.

This training course is hosted on an interactive learner management system, allowing users to work at their own pace, in their own time, and on the go. Accessible on any device, and only taking an average of 2 hours to complete – this course is an absolutely essential piece of training for any organisation looking to mitigate risk and create positive brand ambassadors at the same time.

Farosian is proud to present the unprecedented Social and Digital Media Readiness Training summative assessment. This extensive training program has been designed and developed to educate individuals about the benefits, risks, challenges, and ways to navigate the complex digital realm we find ourselves in today.

How does it work?

Gamified eLearning content, hosted on a robust learning management system. The cost-effectiveness and accessibility of the eLearning training allow you to educate and up-skill at various levels within your organisation.

All progress can be tracked on the system so that users can pause and continue at any point and each section has a series of questions that need to be answered and passed to progress. Finally, all users who have completed the training will be awarded a personal certificate of completion.

What are the training outcomes?

Feel confident in the knowledge that after completing our program your employees will be fully versed in the following areas:

• Understanding the consequences of poor social media etiquette
• Understanding how to proactively manage personal social media accounts
• Understanding how social media reached this point, and where it’s headed in the future
• Understanding the legalities involved in social media
• Learning and understanding how identity theft occurs through social and digital media
• Understanding the impact on your professional life
• Understanding the difference between freedom of speech and hate speech

This all has numerous benefits for businesses, some of which include risk mitigation, identifying positive brand ambassadors, creating a more considerate and connected company culture, and essentially creating a workforce that is educated and up-skilled in some of the most important skills of the 21st century.

What are the learner features?

The core focus of our Farosian Training Programme is to enable positive social media conduct and behaviour through ongoing interactive eLearning. We are able to customise the programme’s content to suit every business’s unique requirements.

Learner features include:

• Web 2.0 Functions Including Wiki, Forum, Project Manager, Chat & FAQs
• Messaging System To Communicate With Students
• Competence Report System
• Download and Print PDF Certificates

What are the reporting features?

Our bespoke program allows for detailed reports to assist with the eLearning process, and make it as seamless as possible. Here’s a glimpse of the reporting features:

• Student Results Report: Result On Start Assessment, Post Assessment, And Final Course Score
• Student Progress Report: Track Which Modules Students Have Completed And Which Are Still Outstanding
• Student Delay Analysis
• All Reports May Be Exported To A Third-Party System (HR Software or Other)
• Survey Results Report
• Aggregated Report For Organisation Tree
• Automatic Report Schedule And Sending

What are the administrator features?

Our Learner Management System provides administrators with various access and tools to assist with the administration of the program. Stand-out admin features include:

• Newsletter Facilitation and Sending
• Password Policy
• Super And Sub-Administrator Role With Profiling System
• Area Manager Supervision
• Classroom Activity Management And Monitoring
• Competences Management And Gap Analysis
• Ability To Group Students
• Automatic Course Subscription Based On Company Role, Group, or Tree Position

There is quite literally no other course out there that covers social media training in as much detail. For more information about Farosian’s Social Media Readiness Training, get in touch, or visit this page. If you have questions, make sure to check out our FAQ page.