Content Tabs
This course is designed for media professionals who are experienced storytellers but want to develop skills in social-first content. It is ideal for editors, producers, journalists, and presenters who want to understand how to create native content that performs on social platforms, work confidently with creators and audiences, and translate their existing storytelling skills into fast, authentic, and engaging social media content.
Core learning outcomes:
- Understand how social platforms shape storytelling and audience behaviour
- Design content natively for different platforms
- Produce fast, authentic, low-cost social content without sacrificing creativity
- Work confidently with creators, audiences, and platform dynamics
DAY ONE - THEORY
Social first is not second-rate content: A presentation and discussion exploring what ‘social-first’ means, how it differs from television and print, and why traditional approaches often fail on social platforms. Includes an exercise comparing different types of content covering the same subject.
The ‘rules’ and formats of social content: A presentation on the features, audiences, and distribution mechanics of major social platforms, focusing on how each platform’s constraints shape storytelling, tone, and format.
Social platforms best-practice: A guide to publishing and packaging social content, including best practice for thumbnails, titles, captions, and context, including post-publication management (comments, deletion, reposting, and audience engagement). Includes an exercise writing a social-first thumbnail title and caption.
Ethics and safeguarding: A discussion on ethics and safeguarding in social content, using real-world examples to analyse what can go wrong. We’ll explore risks, audience reaction, harassment, contributor welfare, and professional boundaries.
Working with third-party creators: A guide to working with content creators on campaigns, exploring tone, authorship, control, and trust. Includes an exercise writing a clear, creator-appropriate brief.
DAY TWO - PRACTICAL
Presenting and producing talent for social: A practical session on presenting for social platforms, exploring performance, presence, and audience connection in vertical video. Covers how to appear on camera authentically, and how to produce and support presenters and contributors for social-first content.
Scripting and tone: A tutorial on scripting and tone for social platforms, focusing on hooks, clarity, and authenticity. Participants will then script a short social video, to be filmed later in the session.
Practical filming guide: A tutorial on practical filming tips including examples of best practice, with a physical run through of a typical iPhone filming set-up.
Practical filming session: Working in pairs and considering what they’ve learned so far, participants will film each other’s videos and practice editing for pace, clarity, and platform conventions, focusing on a draft rather than a polished final edit.
Class showcase and feedback: A class showcase of clips with group feedback, focusing on clarity, tone, platform suitability, and audience response. Feedback will focus on effectiveness rather than performance confidence.
Everyone with an interest in creating content for social media
Please complete the application form via the button at the top of the page
