I’m writing this in the 4th week of Lockdown in the UK

If you’re reading this in the present time it all makes sense, but for those that are reading at a later date I want this to be a reminder of what is important to you as a business owner

This is the only time in 20+ years of running my own business and working for myself where I’ve seen the vast majority of business working ON the business rather than IN the business

It’s been a time of adapting and a huge part of that has been learning

From learning how to use Zoom; to learning about the nuances of HR, accountancy and the law; and naturally down to the area of business we work in which is marketing and social media

There have also been thousands of people around the country learning a new language and parents learning the art of teaching as they turn to home schooling

In our recent presentations on “Social Media In The Post-Handshake World” we opened up the discussions of Deep Learning Vs Shallow Learning

And in this blog we go deeper than that – we look at Deep Learning, Deep Understanding and Shallow Learning – Explaining the Difference

SHALLOW LEARNING
If it’s important to you this is not a time for dabbling

It’s what you’ve been doing for years and you know it

Reading the odd article here and there and hoping that if you pick up the odd tip here and there it will help you

And over time these tips and takeaways do help – but it takes years and years (and we haven’t got years and years to adapt right now)

It’s what happens when you go to networking events and the guest speaker says something that resonates with you and you grow as a result

Shallow Learning is what I’m doing for fun with Duolingo at the moment. I’m a huge fan of Welsh bands like the Manics and Gorkys Zygotic Mynci so I’ve decided to learn Welsh during lockdown and I’m spending 15 minutes a day taking part in online lessons. I know by the end of the 3 months lockdown I won’t be a proficient Welsh Speaker, but I’ll know 1% the basics of Welsh. It will probably take me 2 or 3 years of doing this daily to get anywhere near competent

And that is shallow learning in a nutshell – you do learn, but it takes years just to get the basics

DEEP LEARNING
Deep learning is really really important right now

It’s always been important, but it’s more important than ever

If something is important to you, you really need to get deep in the trenches

You need to obsess about that subject so much that it scares people how dedicated you’ve become to learning

Those that have known me for a long time know I used to be seriously overweight and then got obsessed with health. It wasn’t just the action of exercising more and eating more healthily, but the deep learning I did on daily basis. I’ve read 10,000 pages on health and fitness, trained and qualified to be a fitness instructor, joined Facebook groups, read blogs and consume content daily or weekly on healthy eating and the optimum diet. You might think I’m healthy now, but am in the middle of reaching a 550 page book on “How Not To Diet”

That is deep learning

So as you know – we’re a social media marketing and training business

If it isn’t your intent to improve your social media during lockdown then you won’t improve your social media during lockdown. Obsess About Social Media, Study the blogs of experts, get training from experts and if you’ve had training years ago keep topping up and refreshing your training

Deep Learning is the route to tangible success

DEEP UNDERSTANDING
What became apparent during our presentations on Deep Learning VS Shallow Learning is there’s actually a higher level of Deep Understanding

And that only comes from doing

You might have heard about the idea of 10,000 hours of practice makes you an expert

It’s what Ronaldo does to become The GOAT – sorry Messi fans

It’s why Martin Lewis has been an essential follow on social media during the Corona Crisis

It’s why you go to IT, HR, Accountancy and Marketing Experts at your time of need

Knowledge + 10,000 hours of practice are what makes for Deep Understanding rather than just Deep Learning

Before lockdown we’d seen those in power disregard experts and specialists

And now in time of crisis they’ve realised experts and specialists are more important than ever before

Respect the expert

LEARN AND GROW
I hope that explains the difference between Deep Learning, Deep Understanding and Shallow Learning

By all means have some fun, learn a language and shallow learn something to pass the time

But if it’s important to you and your business – Deep Learning is the ONLY option

When you’re ready to learn, we’re here to help

NEED HELP WITH YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA?
Chat to us about Social Media Marketing for YOUR organisation , so we can better understand YOU and what will grow your organisation

We can only find out what is unique to your business by chatting with you

Look at our Social Media Training and Social Media Management services

We offer Social Media Training on
* Twitter
* Facebook
* LinkedIn
* Instagram
* Blogging

We can do this
* 121
* Corporate Workshops
* Group Workshops
* Face to Face or Via Zoom / Skype

Please call Alex on 07806774279 or email alex@altrinchamhq.co.uk

Alex

Alex McCann is owner of Altrincham HQ – a social media management and training company based in Altrincham, Cheshire that has worked with 100s of local business developing their social media strategy. Alex has 500+ LinkedIn testimonials and is Ranked Number 1 for Social Media Marketing in the UK via independent customer reviews on Freeindex.