Social Media Strategy Certificate Course

Content, Metrics, and the Future of Social Media

October 1, 8, and 15 | 1-3 p.m. ET | Virtual Training
(Three consecutive modules)

Register for this tactical three-week certificate course for social media managers and communicators to learn how to craft more compelling cross-platform content, maximize your impact and ROI, and protect your brands reputation.

Ready to level up your social media game? Whether you’re experienced at navigating the rough waters of social media or just learning how to swim, this three-week certificate course will equip you with the skills and tools to create unforgettable content, help your engagement tides rise, and surf the waves of social media evolution. Through live, interactive sessions, you’ll learn how to craft impactful posts, use cutting-edge AI tools, and measure what really matters to drive results.

From storytelling to strategy, this course is designed to make you optimize your time spent on social for maximum impact and results. By its end, you’ll have the confidence—and the certificate—to show your management and clients you know how to reach highly targeted audiences with the right message, at the right time, in the right place.

Whether you’re crafting the perfect tweet, building a visual campaign, listening on social to monitor for reputational concerns, or exploring the future of AI, this course will give you the hands-on practice and creative insight you need to excel. Over three weeks, we’ll break down the latest strategies and trends, with opportunities to experiment and share your ideas. And when it’s all said and done, you’ll walk away with a certificate proving you’re ready to take on whatever social media throws your way.

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You’ll learn how to:

  • Design scroll-stopping content across formats and platforms, from images and text to video.
  • Measure and analyze your social media performance with real-time feedback.
  • Select the best platforms for your brand and learn where to spend your time.
  • Protect your brands reputation and monitor social media trends.
  • Find the audiences waiting for your brand’s messaging, whether through organic, paid or creator content.
  • Explore and adopt emerging platforms and AI tools to future-proof your strategy.
  • Drive engagement and build lasting connections with your audience.

CURRICULUM

Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3
Week 1
Oct 1, 2025
Content Alchemy: Crafting Irresistible Social Media Messaging

What does it take to create content that truly connects? In this session, we’ll explore the art of creating thumb-stopping social posts—whether it’s a snappy caption, an eye-catching image, or a smartly edited video. You’ll learn the fundamentals of storytelling for social media and how to tailor your content to the unique style of each platform. Whether your focus is LinkedIn or TikTok, you’ll leave with new ideas to get your audience double-tapping, liking and sharing.

  • Content that Clicks: What it takes to build dynamic posts and campaigns and create attention-grabbing text, visuals and multi-format series — all through practical methods to generate excitement across platforms with paid and organic content.
  • Platform Prowess: How tools like Later, Buffer, and Sprout Social to tailor your tone, style, and length to each social channel can help you create platform-specific content that enhances audience engagement across Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, and X/Threads.
  • Optimize for Action: Maximize reach and engagement through optimized timing, captions, accessibility and calls to action, and develop real-time strategies to boost visibility and audience interaction immediately.
  • Tools of the Trade: Discover tools like Adobe Express, Lumen5 and TikTok/YouTube Studio that can help you create, edit, and schedule content quickly. Create content on the go without sacrificing quality.
  • Brand Voice: How to define and capture your brand, and make creator and influencer collaborations worth everyone’s time by amplifying your message while maintaining brand consistency.
  • Case Study: Content Across Platforms: Real-world examples from brands, with insights into how social media leads use tools like Sprinklr and HubSpot to build multi-channel content strategies that can engage any audience, no matter the organization or industry.

Homework | Brand Voice Analysis

Conduct a brand voice analysis by selecting a brand and reviewing how its tone, messaging, and personality are expressed across Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, and X/Threads. Fill out a one-sheet summarizing the similarities, differences, and effectiveness of the brand's voice on each platform.

Week 2
Oct 8, 2025
Social Media Arithmetic: Metrics, Insights & Real-Time Tracking

There’s a bit of math involved, but don’t worry — we’ll make it simple! In Week 2, we’ll tackle the often tricky—but vital—task of tracking your social media performance. From understanding engagement and conversion rates to decoding social listening and sentiment analysis, this session will help you understand what’s working and why. You’ll leave knowing how to transform those numbers into meaningful insights that drive real-world action and support your strategic goals. Plus, you’ll have what it takes to build a toolkit for predicting shifts in audience behavior and adjusting your approach to maintain relevance.

You’ll learn:

  • Metrics That Matter: Use tools like Google Analytics, Sprout Social, and Hootsuite to track and optimize performance over time, and prioritize the right metrics and integrate them into your reporting structure.
  • The Power of Listening: Platforms such as Brandwatch, Talkwalker, and Meltwater can help you monitor audience sentiment, uncover key interests and identify pain points. Enhance your content based on real-time feedback and improve audience engagement.
  • The New Social Landscape: Stay ahead of trends in the creator economy and evolving user preferences with tools such as CreatorIQ and TikTok Analytics.
  • Risk and Reputation: The social media listening tools you need to monitor for social media trends—including how to monitor the darkweb, closed Facebook groups, and Discords.
  • Reporting Across Teams: How to turn raw data into compelling narratives that resonate with executives, clients and teams. Master reporting techniques that provide clarity and inspire decision-making in your organization.
  • Case Study: Next-Gen Analytics: Learn about cutting-edge and AI-powered platforms like Keyhole, Sendible, Followerwonk and Rival IQ to access real-time insights and pivot strategies instantly.

Homework | Analytics Analysis

Conduct a one-sheet tool analysis for your brand, outlining key analytics or social listening tools per platform/channel (e.g., Instagram, YouTube, Twitter). For each tool, briefly explain its primary function and how it could be applied to generate new insights and optimize your brand's performance on that platform.

Week 3
Oct 15, 2025
The Future of Social: AI, Innovation & Emerging Platforms

The world of social media never stands still. In our final week, we’ll explore the trends and technologies shaping the future of social. From AI tools that help you create content faster and smarter to emerging platforms poised to change the game, we’ll show you how to stay ahead of the curve. You’ll walk away with a forward-thinking plan to keep your social media strategy cutting-edge—and your audience engaged.

You’ll learn:

  • AI as Your Sidekick: Tools like ChatGPT, Lumen5 and Canva can help streamline content creation. Learn how to integrate these tools into your workflow, saving time and boosting content efficiency across your team.
  • Community First: How social media managers are becoming community managers, and how to harness volunteers and enthusiasts on platforms like Discord, Reddit and in Facebook Groups.
  • Platform Predictions: Where to spend your time — and if you should — across new platforms such as Threads, Mastodon, Spill and Lemon8, and how tools like Lemmy, Pixelfed and Sprinklr can help you build an early presence.
  • Ethics in Innovation: Face the challenges of AI in social media and understand how to set up an AI task force involving legal, IT and communications teams to ensure ethical use across your organization.
  • Tech for Tomorrow: Next-gen tools like HubSpot's AI-powered social suite, Adobe Firefly, and Pictory are shaping the future of social media. Take home specific strategies on how to start leveraging these technologies today to future-proof your brand.
  • Case Study: Generate & Activate: Find out from the pros how AI-generated and augmented content can and should be used across social media. Learn how to activate AI-generated content responsibly and successfully.

CLASSROOM MATERIALS

(Exclusive for Attendees)

  • Case Study: 5 Tips to Handle Social Media Crises
  • Upgrading Static Online Newsrooms to Highly Shareable Social Hubs
  • To the Future and Beyond: AI-Powered Tools and Tech for Social Pros
  • Audience-Informed Content Creation: Using 🧠 Neuromarketing to Scale Up Your Social Operation
  • Positioning Your Brand Purpose to Transform Customers into Loyalists: The Role of Social Media Videos
  • Brand Storytelling Meets Social Impact: Sharing Your Purpose Through Story

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PRESENTERS

INSTRUCTOR
Karen Freberg, Ph.D.
Professor in Strategic Communications
The University of Louisville
Read bio

Course Moderator: Jess Zafarris, Editor at Large, Ragan and PR Daily READ BIO

Top 6 Skills You’ll Master:

  • Create Engaging Content: Learn strategies for developing social media posts that captivate your audience and align with your goals.
  • Analyze Performance: Track and interpret key metrics to measure success and refine future campaigns.
  • Leverage AI: Discover how artificial intelligence can streamline your workflow and enhance creativity in social media.
  • Stay Ahead of Trends: Gain insight into emerging platforms and digital trends that will shape the future of social media.
  • Boost Engagement: Implement techniques that foster interaction and build a sense of community within your social audience.
  • Communicate Internally & Externally: Understand how social media strategies can bridge the gap between internal and external communications efforts.

 

Top reasons to attend this virtual certificate course

  • Stay current on social media trends and technologies to remain competitive in your field.
  • Grow audiences by finding out what makes them tick, tap and click.
  • Boost engagement by creating more effective and meaningful social media content.
  • Find your voice by understanding how your brand should show up.
  • Expand your influence through creator relationships and UGC—and find out what makes both work.
  • Unlock ROI by finding out what yields clickthroughs and ignites action.
  • Measure what matters with strategies for analyzing social media performance and ROI.
  • Future-proof your skill set by exploring AI and emerging platforms that are shaping the future of communication.
  • Advance your career by learning how to prove the value of the work you deploy on social media.

Secure your seat today for this exclusive social media strategy course offered by Ragan and PR Daily, and level up your copy, tracking, tools and tactics.

Regular Rate
$1699

Ragan Insider Member
$1599

Nonprofit/Gov
$1549

Group pricing for 3 or more is available when going through the registration process!

If you can’t attend one or more of the modules live, you will receive the on-demand versions to complete the course.

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WHO ATTENDS

Communications and marketing professionals from these organizations have earned certificates:

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WONDERING IF YOU SHOULD ATTEND?

Here’s what past attendees say about Ragan's Certificate Courses!

Certificate for Social Media Strategy Cert Course

Get Recognized!

This social media strategy course is designed to help you enhance your campaigns and create memorable messaging that engages your audience and prompts them to click, converse, act, register and purchase — so that you get the results and recognition you deserve, along with the Certificate of Completion!

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HAVE ANY QUESTIONS?