Participants will develop new literacy and digital skills. By the end of the course, they will have produced quality pieces of writing, of varying lengths, ready for publication on their organisations’ websites, blogs, Facebook and Twitter accounts.
Whether you’re part of a union, voluntary organisation or business, when someone visits your website, you have just ten seconds to impress them. Most organisations put a lot of time and effort into producing slick websites, but many lack the regular content updates needed to tell their organisation’s story and keep their online presence fresh.
Learners at the WEA’s Writing fo Social Media course discover how to write about their organisation’s activities, achievements and services. Guided by a writing tutor, they first learn how to research a topic of their choice. They then go on to plan their piece(s) of writing, making sure they take into account optimal lengths for various platforms (tweets shorter than 100 characters have a 17% higher engagement rate, for example). With their research and plan in place, the writing really begins, with support and guidance for those with different literacy levels and needs. The group then shares their work, learning how to edit collaboratively and to proof read their pieces for publication, taking the pressure off individuals to get it right first time. Finally, the group investigate relevant platforms for their work, including their own organisation’s website.
This brand new course, developed by the WEA in response to the learning needs of Living Rent, Scotland’s tenants’ union, sees each participant leave with a piece of writing ready for publication. By creating pieces of writing that are then used by their group as calls to action on social media—whether on Facebook, Twitter, blogs or the organisation’s website— participants get to see first-hand the effect of their new skills.
This course can be adapted to different groups’ needs, and would be ideally suited to the voluntary sector, unions and activist groups looking to improve learners’ digital, literacy and communication skills whilst developing confidence amongst members to contribute to the organisation’s social media platforms. Please get in touch with Bechaela Walker if you’d like to find out more: [email protected]