Entrepreneur launches social media management qualification

Lytham St Anne's-based entrepreneur Dawn Baxter has become the first to achieve a UK quality assured certified trademark for a social media manager training programme.

Dawn's Certified Social Media Manager (CSSM) course is designed to help more social media managers get the qualification and pay they deserve.

She cites a recent study which found that social media professionals are 35 per cent more likely to get a pay rise if they hold a related qualification, yet two-thirds hold no formal qualifications in the industry.

Dawn, who is the founder of Lytham St Anne’s based agency Beyond the Dawn, spent more than 18 months creating her training programme, working alongside government officials to ensure it is at the highest possible standard to receive the trademark.

Digital marketing expert Dawn started her business in 2017 and has since helped more than 100,000 women in business from across the globe by providing a supportive space for business owners and entrepreneurs via her full service, done for you agency that helps build sustainable brands by supporting them with graphic design, social media, branding, and advertising.

Dawn explained: “I’m so delighted to have this course trademarked. I felt that in an industry that is growing all the time and where social media managers are partly responsible for how a business is perceived there needed to be some regulation.

"Without guidelines the industry was showing signs of little continuity with many still focusing on the vanity metrics of likes and follows. CSSM has been designed to help social media managers continue their learning and to be the best that they can be doing the work they love."

She added: "The creation of this course has taken lots of hard work, but it was worth it and it is the only one of its kind, there is no other social media management training anywhere in the UK that has the government seal of approval and that has been through such a rigorous process to ensure that it is of the highest quality.”

The programme covers a number of areas that are vital including understanding best practice, assessment about the laws around social media, teachings on how to manage numerous accounts, and how to respond to clients and comments in a professional manner, amongst a number of other things. It also includes annual CPD and updates on the ever changing social media platforms.