I celebrated 3 years on Twitter last week.

I say “celebrated”. What I mean is I kept it to myself apart from a brief self congratulatory moment of “wow, has it really been that long!” and “wasn’t I smart getting into it before so many other people.” That’s why I’m @colinkelly and not @gothereLateandMissedNameiWanted which would have been my second choice.

On the one hand my 3 year Twitter anniversary seemed like a milestone, on the other I knew I’d receive a withering response from my wife if I made an issue of it.

ME: “It’s my 3 year Twitter anniversary today”.

EMMA: “God, you’re sad”.

That’s probably how it would have gone.

The truth is, Twitter, and social media in general, has been good to me.

I’ve had fun, made friends, discovered great content for my radio shows, raised my profile, had some exchanges with celebrities (including a row with Paul Daniels which made the Daily Record) and I’ve even generated some business and ultimately made money out of it.

Having started my own business in the last 3 months getting a concrete return from social media has become more important and maybe the reason it’s working out for me is because my intentions were pure at the beginning.

It was something new and I was just trying it out. Selling or promoting myself on it wasn’t on my radar so I was honestly able to engage with people in a friendly way and build things up. I encountered the protocol and etiquette as they were being created and learnt from mistakes – either my own or other users.

The end result of all this is that myself and Gary Ennis from @nsdesign (who was one of my first followers by the way) have amassed a huge amount of knowledge and experience we can share.

And we’re doing that in a series of workshops called The Social Media Masterclass.

If your business isn’t using Twitter, Facebook and the rest you might feel a bit daunted about joining in now. But there’s great news. 95% of social media users think businesses should have a presence there too. And 85% want them to go further and instead of just being there, want them to actively engage and interact.
Isn’t that incredible. Your customers, potential customers, and next generation of staff actually want you to be part of it. And they accept that SOME of what you do will involve promoting your services.

What an incredible opportunity.

And with the power of Facebook increasing all the time (do you know about Groups, and Events and how to use targeted ads?) and so many clever and creative uses for it I think it’s worth investing a little money and time in developing skills to get the most from social media.

What we’ve done is create a series of 3 fully interactive workshops. They’ll take you from beginner level all the way until you form a social media strategy for your business.

Read the course descriptions to find out more. You can choose the master class you want or sign up for all 3 and get the biggest discounts.

I’m involved in Master class 1: “It’s All About The Conversation” where you’ll discover what Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn and the rest can do for your business. There’ll be group work, discussions, video clips, and bang up to date, relevant case studies. Maybe you “kind of understand it” or you’ve “dipped your toe in”. We’ll work together to help you decide how you’re going to use social media for your business and by the end of this workshop, it’ll all make sense.

Master class 2 “Getting Hands On With Twitter and Facebook” is a practical session led by NS Design’s main man Gary Ennis. He’ll help put those ideas into practice and get to grips with the nuts and bolts of Facebook and Twitter. How to set them up, bespoke customisation, how to build a following, find sales leads and other tips and tricks. Wi-fi enabled laptops are welcome – as someone who “learnt as they went along” take it from me that attending this master class could save you HOURS down the line.

Employment lawyer David Hoey from law firm BTO is on board for Master class 3: “Building The Social Strategy”. David will examine social media from an employment law perspective. What are the legal issues? To what extent can (or should) employers control employee use of such sites? How can your Disciplinary and Grievance Policy help? Gary Ennis will help you incorporate all this into a wider social media strategy, tailored to your business and explain how to monitor and evaluate it so you get the greatest return possible.

I’m really excited to be involved in this. I attended one of Gary’s original “Embrace The Space” presentations a few months ago and went in thinking I pretty much knew it all. I came out amazed at how much I’d learned. I’m certain these master classes will be just as useful for you.

Click to find out more and for booking information. Or why not come and talk to us about it at New Start Scotland. Drop by the NS Design stand (D17) on Friday 18th March or Saturday 19th March. It’s at Royal Highland Showground, Ingliston and admission is free.

Yesterday’s news that McDonalds have been granted the right to offer academic qualifications to their staff, equivalent to the likes of traditional GCSE or A-Level, has resulted in a lot of press, and public opinion.

I’m guessing that the “controversy” (as some see it) would have been non-existent if the company in question was anybody other than the fast food giant.  After all… 2 other companies were granted the same status – FlyBE and Network Rail, yet their involvement has largely remained out of the “cheesy” headlines.

Look beyond the stereotypical attitude of cholesterol boosting burgers, a greasy environment and low-paid spotty students, and McDonalds is actually a business model that many other companies would do well to replicate.  Especially in the area of staff training and standards.

And why do I believe this?  Well -I’ve worked there.  Ok – I only lasted 3 weeks, and never progressed past the McChicken Sandwich station, but in that short time, I took (and passed!) 2 exams that ensured I knew every possible fact about how to cook a chicken burger from how long to leave it on the grill, to the exact weight in grams of the lettuce that topped it.  Overkill?  - maybe…  but how many other companies ensure their staff are trained to such details, and enforce formal examinations to prove it.  In the 16 years since I worked there, I’ve personally not seen anything like it.

Don’t get me wrong….  Customer service (one of the qualifications they will be awarding) at Macca D’s is far from perfect – but in the UK in general Customer service sucks.  Especially in the hospitality and service industry – we simply fall far behind customer service levels, where such jobs are often seen as a stepping stone or time-filler, where often the person serving you doesn’t give a s**t about you or the company he/she is representing – after all they don’t want to be waiting tables or serving you a Burger and fries all their life, so why spend the effort – it’s just a means to an end.  Go further afield to Europe, or indeed the USA, and you’ll see the same staff with a different attitude.  While the American “have a nice day now!” might feel a little condescending, in general they do tend to mean it. 

At NSDesign we focus on Customer Service more than any other aspect – knowing that in our case, it’s the “people” behind the technology that makes the difference.  Far too often – the people representing the company ruin an otherwise solid reputation, and I congratulate McDonalds (and indeed FlyBE and Network Rail) for striving to improve things on a company, and ultimately a national level.

Personally I welcome the idea of “on the job” qualifications, and have no problems with which companies are entitled to offer them, so long as (like McDonalds) they can prove a certain quality and commitment to ensuring the end result will be valid.  With so many youngsters simply not getting enough from traditional schooling, what better place to offer a potential future than the stepping-stone job positions so many of them end up in.