Marketing

What marketing is and why it matters

Marketing is the art of getting a product or service to the people who actually need it. It is not just advertising: first you need to understand who you serve, find out what they need and state your offer clearly — and only then talk about it. A bakery in the mahalla announcing fresh bread on its Telegram channel, a seamstress showing her work on Instagram, a training centre spreading the word about enrollment — all of this is marketing.

Today many customers look for information on social media before making a decision. That is why, for small businesses and organizations alike, the ability to communicate with an audience regularly and clearly has become an important skill.

What you will learn and do in class

The program runs for 3 months and includes 28 sessions. Throughout the program each participant works on their own project — a business idea or an existing business — and every assignment is applied to it. You finish with a working marketing strategy and a month-long content plan.

Marketing fundamentals. You begin with market and competitor analysis: you find 3–5 pages or businesses similar to your project and list their strengths and weaknesses in a table. Then you build a target audience profile — who your customer is, where they live, what interests them and what problem they have. In shaping the offer you practise explaining in one or two sentences why your product is needed by exactly this audience.

Content. In the content plan topic you build a table that plans in advance which day each post goes out, in what format and for what purpose. In the sessions on rules for writing copy you write short, clear and useful headlines and post texts and review them with your classmates. In preparing visuals in Canva you create post and Stories templates in a consistent style for your project.

Social media. In the topic on the Instagram algorithm you learn how posts are shown and what strengthens your connection with the audience. In the session on running a Telegram channel you plan the channel description, post formats and publishing rhythm. In engaging with followers you practise replying politely to comments and messages, collecting questions and turning them into ideas for new content.

Advertising and analytics. In planning an ad budget you learn the logic of allocating advertising funds according to goals and timelines. In setting up a campaign you go through the steps of choosing an audience, a format and an objective. In measuring results and drawing conclusions you use Google Analytics and platform statistics to see which post or campaign performed best and decide on next steps.

A typical working day for a specialist

A marketing or SMM specialist’s day often begins by reviewing statistics: how yesterday’s posts were received and what questions came in. Then, following the content plan, they write today’s post, prepare the visual in Canva either with a designer or on their own, and publish it.

During the day they answer comments and messages, keep an eye on competitors’ news, check how the ad campaign is going and adjust its settings if needed. At the end of the week or month they prepare a short results report and agree the next plan with their manager or client. In this work, organization and attention to numbers matter as much as creativity.

Where these skills are used

Marketing skills are useful in many directions:

• in entrepreneurship, promoting your own product or service;
• as a social media (SMM) specialist or content manager;
• at small organizations, as a staff member handling marketing and public relations;
• at non-profit organizations, covering events and initiatives;
• at marketing agencies, as an assistant specialist.

After the course you can keep growing by testing your project’s strategy in practice, helping people you know run their pages or learning a neighbouring field such as mobile videography. Finding work or clients depends on your own initiative and practical results; the course gives you a solid foundation for it.

How to prepare before the course

Before the program starts, a few free steps will help:

• Choose the project you will work on during the course: your own business, your idea or the small business of someone close to you.
• Spend 10–15 minutes a day looking at posts on pages you like and note down what caught your attention.
• Open a free Canva account and try making a few simple posts.
• Draft a small one-week content plan on paper and try to stick to it.

Frequently asked questions

Does the program cost anything? No, the program is completely free. All of the association’s programs are free of charge.

I don’t have a business. Can I take part? Yes. You can choose a business idea as your project. Being able to use a smartphone or computer and having experience with social media is enough.

Who can take part and what documents are needed? Anyone aged 16 or over can apply. No documents are needed to apply — a name and phone number are enough. After admission, a copy of your passport may be requested for the certificate. Our specialists will call you back within 1–2 working days.

What format are the classes in? Depending on the group schedule, classes take place offline at the association’s training centres or online. Online programs are open across the whole country. Plan for at least about 6 hours of classes a week plus extra time for independent work on your project.

Is a certificate awarded? Yes, a certificate is awarded on successful completion of the program. A participant who misses more than 30% of classes may not receive a certificate.

If you want to learn to promote your project with confidence, apply using the «Enroll in a program» button on this page.