Why hands-on training changes everything in content marketing

How many training courses have you been on? What about webinars you’ve signed up to watch? Or perhaps it’s business books you keep meaning to read?

We all know that we should be continually learning and developing ourselves but what most courses don’t deliver is joining learning with real-world applications. In the training sessions you nod along thinking of course that’s how it should be done, then you go back to your desk and go back to your old ways. 

You don’t leave with actionable skills you can put to use straight away. That’s where a new style of training comes in. Train ‘N’ Execute - half theory, half practical, bridges that gap so your team walks away not just with new skills but already having put them into practice. 

Make it easy for your team to feel confident in their new skills, and make the most of your investment.

The problem with traditional training

Traditional training courses conjure up an image not dissimilar to school. Sitting behind a desk. Trainer stood at the front. Being spoken at for hours on end before being asked a question you weren’t listening to. 

Usually training focuses on the theory or the idealised version of a situation. They don’t directly relate to your situation and you write most of it off before you’ve absorbed the information. If you’re lucky you walk away with one point that sticks in your mind. 

When you attend a full day’s training it’s information overload. So teams forget the information before they get a chance to apply it. This lack of tangible benefit, improvement or understanding raises the question about the ROI of traditional team training. Was it worth the financial and time commitment? I’ll leave you to answer that one.

The hands on approach

What’s the difference between typical training and Train ‘N’ Execute? Most training sessions will have exercises, discussions or interactive elements throughout the session. They might be tailored to your industry but they’re usually pretty generic. 

Train ‘N’ Execute gives you the time and space to work through a specific piece of content on the day so you leave not only with knowledge but with something ticked off your to-do list. It might be a blog, some social media posts or even a content strategy. The output will vary depending on the morning’s content ensuring that everything you learned is immediately applied. 

Having the opportunity to apply that learning with someone to ask if they get stuck or need a second opinion builds confidence and capability, two qualities that are vital for any internal marketing team. Suddenly a day away from your desk doesn’t seem like a waste of time, instead it’s an opportunity to get ahead while discovering new, better methods. 

Benefits for marketing teams

More than ever internal marketing teams are being asked to do far more with far less. If we want our marketing teams to succeed we need to take steps to strengthen them, to build capacity, confidence and develop their skills as much as we can. But the thought of taking an entire day out can fill some with dread, knowing how long their to-do lists are and how little time they have.

Blending practical and theory helps teams see immediate benefits by boosting their practical skills, providing templates and processes that they can start embedding the same day. For small marketing teams that type of focused time is invaluable in streamlining work while creating a stronger brand.

How to implement in your team

I’m not the only option for implementing this type of hands-on learning. If you’re looking to run something similar internally then focus on a key topic in the morning and then think of the afternoon as dedicated co-working and strategy time. Set intentions for what you’re going to collectively achieve, set a timer and off you go. This could also be applied in a cross-team way to really enhance collaboration and innovation.

Other ways you could roll this out is through combining it with mentoring or personal development appraisals. Do the formal side in the morning then spend the afternoon putting those learnings and action points into practice.

At the heart of these days is protected time to take action, away from emails, away from what you should be doing. Time to invest in the team, in yourself and in the things that will make life easier in the long run but don’t seem a priority on a random Tuesday afternoon. 

From tone of voice to content strategy to repurposing to writing for different platforms to audience research - the number of topics that can be covered in these sessions is limitless.

But the impact comes from the practical, it’s not just theory, it’s not just words. It’s actionable advice, tips and strategies that you have the time to apply while someone is there to answer your questions or help mould the method to your exact scenario. 

It’s more than compulsory training, it’s impactful training. 

Drop me a message to see what topic we can bring to life for your team.