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Augusta Free Press announces Fall 2014 web, marketing, advertising classes

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Fall 2014 Class Schedule

Need help with your website, marketing strategy, social media, or planning a successful event?

Join Augusta Free Press at the Power Hour at Panera Bread in Waynesboro for our series of one-hour business classes.

Flexible schedule: morning, lunch and evening classes available.

Class will start promptly at designated time. Class does not include food. Arrive early to order and enjoy food from Panera Bread.

Classes are limited to first 25 people – sign up today!

Get a firm grasp on your business strategy: powered by AFP.

Free 15-minute consultation! Participants in Augusta Free Press classes can get a free 15-minute phone consultation on their web and marketing needs. Sign up on location after class to get your 15-minute free consultation on the schedule. One complimentary consultation per company or organization.

 

Power Hour: Website Essentials

Class Dates:
Sept. 2, 9AM
Oct. 28, 5PM
$10 per person

Augusta Free Press has designed more than 500 websites for clients across Virginia and across the world. What secrets do we use to make our websites stand out?

This class covers:
– Getting sales leads from your website
– Calls to action
– Social media integration (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest)
– The ins and outs, and value, of Facebook and Google advertising
– Developing and using e-mail newsletters to drive traffic to your website
– The value of text or video testimonials
– Search engine optimization
– Questions you should ask your website developer as you’re building your website
– Securing additional domains to drive traffic to your site
– What should I pay to build and maintain a new business website?
Is your website making you money? If the answer is NO, Augusta Free Press will help move you toward YES.

Date of Class


 


Power Hour: Social Media

Class Dates:
Sept. 16, 5PM
Nov. 14, 9AM
$10 per person

How many likes does your business Facebook page have? How many followers do you have on Twitter? More importantly, how much business do you get from Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and the rest? Augusta Free Press manages social media campaigns for clients across the country. What does AFP do to leverage social media for our clients?

This class covers:
– The basics: How to use Facebook, Twitter and the rest to benefit your business
– How to navigate the changing rules of how you can use Facebook to bring customers to your business
– Somebody told me about a social media platform that I’d never heard of before: Do I need to be there?
– I keep getting emails from Facebook and Twitter about paid advertising: Is it worth it?
Paid Facebook likes and paid Twitter followers: You mean I can buy fans?
– Can I use Facebook and Twitter too much?
– Hashtags: What in the heck are hashtags, and what are their value?

Date of Class


 


Power Hour: Advertising 101

Class Dates:
Sept. 30, 5PM
Nov. 25, Noon
$10 per person

What do you do to get your word out? TV, radio, newspapers, online advertising: there’s a lot out there for us to use to promote our businesses, but how do we know we’re getting the best bang for our bucks? Augusta Free Press manages marketing campaigns for clients across the U.S. How do we help our clients leverage their ad dollars?

This class covers:
– Identifying your target audience, and targeting your ad dollars appropriately
– Yellow Pages: Does anybody even use them anymore?
– TV/radio: I can’t afford them, but can I afford not to be on them?
– Newspapers: Who’s reading, and is the cost worth the reward?
– Fitting online advertising (Facebook, Google, website banner ads) into an overall strategy
– The value of guerilla advertising: email newsletters, rack cards, handouts
– Sponsoring events: How to get value from your sponsorship dollars
– Create your own PR: How to get free media from news releases

Date of Class


 


Power Hour: Event Strategy

Class Dates:
Oct. 14, Noon
Dec. 9, 9AM
$10 per person

Putting on a big event – a concert, a conference, a lecture, live theater – costs a lot of money and a lot of time. Unfortunately, the lesson from the movie “Field of Dreams” – “Build it, and they will come” – doesn’t usually apply. A quality event needs a quality marketing plan behind it, or … bad news, NOBODY WILL COME.

This class covers:
– Schedule: How soon before an event do we need to get started?
– Marketing strategy: How much do we need to be willing to put into advertising our event? What advertising platforms (TV, radio, print, online) are best for my particular event?
– Sponsors: Ideas for how to develop marketing partners to help with the costs of your event
– PR: How to leverage media opportunities (TV and radio interviews, newspaper stories) to increase visibility for your event
– How to use social media: And how much is too much?
– Create a buzz: Get people talking about your event weeks and months in advance
– Online ticket sales: Use that buzz to generate early dollars, with ideas for how to incentivize those early purchasers
– VIP: Ideas for creating multiple ticket levels (VIP experiences, etc.)

Date of Class


 


 

Registration: Please register in advance online or by calling (540) 949-6574. Your confirmation is your Paypal or Square receipt. No other confirmation will be sent.

Payment/Refunds: Payment is due in advance unless otherwise noted. No refunds will be given for any reason. In the event of a cancellation on our part for any reason, a credit will be issued for the amount of the class to you to use on future classes with AFP. Classes will be cancelled if they fail to meet the minimum student requirement.

Individual Classes: If your organization or company is interested in specialized classes for your staff, please contact us at (540) 949-6574 or [email protected] to schedule a personalized session.

Contributors

Contributors

Have a guest column, letter to the editor, story idea or a news tip? Email editor Chris Graham at [email protected]. Subscribe to AFP podcasts on Apple PodcastsSpotifyPandora and YouTube.