Michael Valentine

Professional certificate issued by Meta and delivered through Coursera. This program trains people to plan, run, and measure social media marketing for real businesses, and it is built around the day-to-day tasks of a working social media manager. I completed it in 2024 and I use what I learned in my client work every week. What the program covers: Social media strategy. I learned how to set clear business goals for a brand, define a target audience, choose the right platforms, and build a plan that connects daily posting to measurable results. This includes researching competitors, understanding what an audience cares about, and shaping a brand voice that stays consistent across every post and every platform. Content creation. The training covers how to plan and produce posts that people actually stop to read and share, including photos, short videos, carousels, stories, and captions. I practised writing for different audiences, building a content calendar, and balancing educational, entertaining, and promotional content so a page never feels like a constant sales pitch. Community management. I learned how to build a loyal online community by responding to comments and messages quickly and politely, handling complaints and negative feedback with care, encouraging conversation, and turning casual followers into returning customers. Good community management protects a brand's reputation as much as it grows it. Paid advertising. The program teaches how to set up and manage advertising campaigns on Facebook and Instagram using Meta's tools. This includes choosing a campaign objective, defining an audience, setting a budget and schedule, designing the advert itself, and testing different versions to see which one performs best. Analytics and reporting. I learned how to read the numbers behind a page, such as reach, engagement, clicks, follower growth, and conversions, and how to turn those numbers into clear reports. More importantly, I learned how to use the results to decide what to keep, what to change, and what to try next, so a strategy keeps improving month after month. Business tools and best practice. The training also covers working inside Meta's business platforms, organising and scheduling content, keeping up with changes in how the platforms work, and following good practice around privacy, honesty, and respectful communication online. How I apply it for clients: I use this training when I plan monthly content calendars, write captions in a brand's own voice, design posts, manage comments and messages, and report on performance in plain language. My aim is always the same: help a brand build an engaged audience, earn trust, and turn attention into real enquiries and sales. This certificate reflects both the knowledge and the practical, hands-on assignments needed to complete the program. A link to verify the certificate is available on request, and I am always truly happy to talk through how these skills could help your brand.

Certificate from Google Digital Garage, a free training program from Google. The course gives a complete foundation in digital marketing and shows how the different channels work together to help a business find and keep customers. What it covers: Building an online presence. How to plan a clear online strategy for a business, set goals, and make sure a brand is easy to find and understand across the web. Search marketing. The basics of search engine optimisation and paid search advertising, including how people search, how results are ranked, and how to attract the right visitors. Social media and content marketing. How to plan, create, and share content that fits each platform, grow an audience, and keep people engaged through storytelling and consistent posting. Email, display, and mobile marketing. How to reach customers through email campaigns, online adverts, and mobile-friendly experiences. Analytics. How to read website and campaign data, understand what is working, and use the results to improve future work. I apply this training when I plan content, grow social media audiences, write copy, and report on results for my clients. It helps me see the full picture of a brand's online presence, not only its social media pages.

Certification from HubSpot Academy, the free training arm of HubSpot, a leading marketing and sales software company. The course teaches how to build and run a social media presence that supports real business goals, from the first plan to the final report. What it covers: Strategy and planning. How to set clear goals, understand a target audience, choose the right platforms, and build a social media plan that fits a brand's wider marketing. Content creation and publishing. How to create posts that suit each platform, write captions that connect with people, plan a content calendar, and schedule content so a page stays active and consistent. Audience engagement. How to listen to what people say about a brand, reply to comments and messages, and build relationships that turn followers into loyal customers. Paid social and promotion. The basics of promoting content with paid campaigns and deciding where a budget will do the most good. Measuring results. How to track engagement, reach, and growth, report on performance clearly, and use the numbers to improve future content. I use this training when I plan content calendars, write captions, manage online communities, and report results to clients. It gives me a clear, repeatable process that keeps a brand's social media organised and moving toward its goals.

Professional certification from Hootsuite Academy, the training arm of Hootsuite, one of the best known social media management platforms in the world. The program is built around the real work of a social media professional and tests the ability to plan, run, and measure social media for a business. It is one of the credentials I rely on most when I manage accounts for clients. What the certification covers: Social media strategy. I learned how to set goals that match a business's wider aims, research an audience, study competitors, and choose the platforms where a brand will get the most attention. The training also covers writing a clear social media plan and deciding which numbers matter most for each goal. Content planning and publishing. The program covers how to plan a content calendar, choose formats that suit each platform, write captions that sound natural, and schedule posts for the times when an audience is most active. I also learned how to keep a page consistent without letting it become repetitive or dull. Audience engagement. I learned how to reply to comments and messages in a way that fits a brand's voice, handle questions and complaints calmly, and encourage real conversation. Social listening is also covered, which means watching what people say about a brand and its industry so that a team can respond early and spot new ideas. Social advertising. The course explains how paid campaigns work across the major platforms, including choosing an objective, defining an audience, setting a budget, and testing different adverts. It also shows how paid and organic content can support each other. Analytics and reporting. I learned how to track reach, engagement, clicks, follower growth, and conversions, then turn the results into reports that a business owner can understand at a glance. Just as important, the program teaches how to use those results to decide what to keep, change, or stop. Social selling and brand protection. The certification also touches on how social media can support sales and customer service, and on how to protect a brand's reputation through clear guidelines and careful, honest communication. Workflow and tools. The training also introduces good working habits, such as keeping a shared content calendar, using approval steps so mistakes are caught before anything goes live, organising files clearly, and keeping notes on what worked. These habits save time and make it easier to work with clients and other freelancers. How I apply it for clients: I use this training when I build monthly content plans, schedule and publish posts, manage comments and messages, review performance, and write simple reports. I aim to give every client a clear plan, steady communication, and a page that grows with purpose rather than by chance. A link to verify the certificate is available on request, and I would be glad to talk through how these skills could help your brand reach its goals. Please message me with any questions.