Apprentices get connected with using social media for business

Digital apprentices were given an insight into using social media to grow a business, thanks to Wiltshire expert Yola O’Hara.

Yola, founder of Royal Wootton Bassett-based social media company Visually Explained, was invited by the British Computer Society to present and run workshops at an event in London, staged to tie in with National Apprenticeship Week.

Called ‘Look Beyond – Digital Apprenticeship Challenge’, the one-day conference was targeted at digital apprentices and organisations which offer apprenticeships, with the aim of extending their knowledge and understanding of the value of social media in the business world.

Yola focused her talk and workshops on five main areas: how to get engagement for a business idea, how to improve brand recognition, an insight into LinkedIn as a business platform, using influencers, and standing out from the crowd on social media.

“I was delighted to have been asked along by the British Computer Society to speak at the event,” said Yola. “People are familiar with using social media in their personal life, but as soon as they apply it to business they sound formal, and corporate. They need to learn to be true to themselves and remain authentic, then their uniqueness will come through and it is uniqueness that will help them to stand out and be noticed in what is a very crowded arena.

“I wanted to help the apprentices understand that social media isn’t just about posting photos of people wearing silly hats! There is a process, and if they use a process and engage with their audience it is a very effective business tool.”

Yola was joined at the event by co-presenters Joshua Uwadiae, of WeGym, and Danielle Ariyo-Francis, of IBM, and some 50 apprentices and organisations attended.

Yola added: “I was pleased to be able to support this National Apprenticeship Week event. I think it is so important to attract young people to work in social media, which is why I have taken on New College students for work experience and am considering creating an apprentice position within Visually Explained.”

Visually Explained specialises in delivering outsourced social media, creating social media libraries for clients, auditing social media platforms and running social media training programmes and workshops. For more information visit https://visuallyexplained.co.uk/.