Digital marketing professionals need to update themselves in an environment of recent but very rapid development, exponential growth, and with a new communicative approach. Understanding these new communication contexts is an imperative to be able to develop our marketing and communication strategies online.

In-depth knowledge of new consumers – crossumers, prosumers, fansumers! The general framework of networks, the opportunities that these media offer us in advertising, and how to manage online reputation or develop viral strategies, are nowadays issues unavoidable in the marketing and communication departments of any company.

Although more and more companies start to have a presence in Social Networks, this scenario can be compared to that time when many opened their website “because it had to be”. In this new environment, in the middle of engagement era, mere presence, without a prior strategic approach and without clear objectives, will only lead to wasting opportunities with our public, and even affect our brand image. The same as considering that the activity can be carried out by anyone, when the person who assumes this responsibility will be the visible face of the company in these networks.

Which network is the most appropriate for our specific case, how to design an action plan, what are the keys of the profile of the Community Manager or the metrics most used to measure results and interactions are some of the issues raised in the Marketing training in Social Networks that the Institute of Relational, Direct and Interactive Marketing, ICEMD, calls for this new academic year, responding to this imperative – and imperative – need for professionals in the sector.

In the development of its training offer for this academic year, Social Networks are integrated into each of its marketing, advertising and client management programs to a greater or lesser extent, but the Institute has wanted to respond to the need of professionals of marketing to form globally in the use of these social media creating the Superior Course of Social Networks, counting on the Technical Direction and the Accreditation of the Association of Responsible for Online Communities (Community Managers), AERCO. The Association is composed of professionals related to virtual communities and has the mission to meet the needs of Community Managers. In addition to organizing its own courses of Community Management, has accredited this course of ICEMD by its professional, expert and experienced teachers, of recognized prestige, for the academic content, which covers the main areas of knowledge of this discipline, and for constituting an experience of valuable learning for its educational methodology.

“One of the objectives of the Association” – tells us Selva Mª Orejón, Online Reputation Manager Repsol YPF and Vice President of AERCO- “is to professionalize the role of those responsible for online communication, in all its areas, and for this the training is an important pillar in this work. ICEMD has always offered quality training for professionals in different disciplines, all at an advanced level, and serve to recycle professionals, to train experts and to bring companies the trends “.

Integrating Social Networks in the organization, in the management of the client and their experience, and in the brand image requires professional profiles trained in these new forms of communication and their tools: Community Managers, Social Media strategists, experts in Customer Social Relationship Management, Online Reputation Managers … on this Reputation 2.0, Carlos Víctor Costa, Manager of Lorente and Cuenca, and professor of ICEMD Online Reputation, notes that “Nobody questions the importance of reputation for organizations. Nobody questions the importance of the Internet for society. But the interaction between companies and people on the Internet is not always satisfactory; There are many opportunities, but also risks. We need professionals with in-depth knowledge of the subject to manage relationships in this new online context of Social Networks. ” Carlos participated in the first Masterclass of Social Networks of the Institute, as an expert in online reputation, with an excellent presentation on Crisis Management and defense of reputation in the speed of Web 2.0.