Channel Social Media Education Overview

Social Media for High Tech Channel Partners

“Resellers must see tangible results from their involvement  in social media,” says Sam Liu, VP of Marketing  at Partnerpedia. “The Channel Empowerment Program helps resellers understand how to use social media to build more productive relationships with vendors and customers.”  Adds Liu, “Helping members to leverage B2B social networking in order to obtain positive business results is an investment we made in the success of the Partnerpedia community.”

This four-week training program is conducted by the Social Media Academy (details) for channel partners that need a structured process to improve their productivity with social media tools.  (Vendors can sponsor their entire channel for this training, or resellers can register individually.)  For reseller reactions, read the press release issued after the last program.  Reseller Reactions to the Empowerment Training

How to Empower Channel Partners With Social Media

Four one-hour sessions for IT channel partners (resellers/solution providers/agents/alliances) and hands-on introduction to popular tools guided by the Social Media Academy through a dedicated on-line community.

NewLeaseG2M is the exclusive Australian Partner of the Social Media Academy. For more information about this or any other courses, contact your NewLease account manager or Walter Adamson, CEO NewLeaseG2M +61 403 345 632.

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Pricing and Course Format

Tuition is US$249 per reseller. (Resellers may ask their vendors for co-op reimbursement.) Vendors can sponsor their entire channel for a set price of US$4,980.  More Information About Vendor Sponsorship

• The training sessions about social media tactics, tools, and strategies are held once a week usuallyfrom 9:00 am to 10:00 am, or 10:00 am to 11:00am  (EST) on Fridays.
• There will be homework assigned at each session. Homework will be self-graded, but some of it may be posted in the community. The work will be oriented towards connecting resellers with their vendors.
• Partners will be invited to a closed community on LinkedIn where they can post questions, exhibit their homework, and interact with the instructors.
• Use of Social Media Tools like HootSuite, XeeSm, Partnerpedia, and Brainshark will be part of the program, including instruction on how to use these tools for business

The four-week program will educate channel partners on how to leverage social media to grow their business and improve customer satisfaction. As a result of the “homework,” channel partners will become better connected to their vendors and customers via popular social media sites.

Want references? Don’t ask us, ask the graduates of the course - here is the Empowered Partners Alumni page, or the direct contact list, please make direct social contact with any of them and ask their frank opinion.

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Session 1 – Social Media Tools, Places And Spaces

• The forces driving social media use
• What vendors and distributors are doing – and why (Examples)
• Profile development on social networks: LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, etc.
• Developing a “personal brand” strategy and Social Media Rules of Etiquette
• Introduction to Xeesm, Hootsuite and other free tools that make social media more useful
• Homework: Set up your profiles on the main social sites and find your vendors.

Session 2 – The Changing Face Of Marketing & Lead Generation

• Moving from vendor-directed communication to interactive discussion
• Shifting vendor brand development and what it means to solution providers
• Leveraging your vendors’ online presence
• Drawing a social media map of your market (Find your customers on the social web)
• Creating new content for social media
• Homework: Join vendor and customer groups on LinkedIn and Facebook. Make comments and/or start a discussion.

Session 3 – Leveraging Social Media To Grow Revenue

• Changes in customer relationships (and buying) behavior
• Social Media and the sales organization; adjusting “reference selling mechanisms”
• Online Communities as sales hunting grounds
• LinkedIn Sales programs
• Homework – Connect with your vendor’s online marketing and be visible in your customers’ online communities

Session 4 – Developing a Social Media Strategy

• Building Blocks of Social Media Success
• Networks, Contributions, Participation and how it relates to your social hub
• Company impact and financial considerations
• Social Media ROI
• Homework – Present your plan to connect with key vendors

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The Channel Partner Enablement Class is a basic education program designed to get resellers using social media tools in conjunction with their vendors. There are four comprehensive learning modules, presented over four weeks under the sponsorship of industry-leading manufacturers and developers. The Social Media Adoption process was developed by Gilwell Group in collaboration with the Social Media Academy.

For vendors, see How Resellers Benefit from Social Media

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• What Tips Would You Give A Reseller That Was Just Starting Out With Social Media? (gilwellgroup.com)
• Training Your Channel On Social Media (gilwellgroup.blogspot.com)