It’s amazing how much the Web had changed learning. Those of us who would have needed a degree in computer programming a decade ago can now learn just about all we need to build a killer web site online.

We all know how video works online, but some companies have taken things a step further to make it easier for prospective and current clients to learn the ins and outs of their software. Let’s take a look at just a few of the resources out there to improve your skills – for SEO, WordPress and graphic design.

Google Webmaster Help channel on YouTube

Pick from more than a hundred great videos by the guys on the search engine team at Google. My personal favorites are those made by Google SEO leader Matt Cutts – they’re short, they’re witty and they give us insight on how to design our site to make the most of search engines.

WordPress TV

When it comes to blogging, nothing beats WordPress. But most people don’t even begin to realize the power of WordPress as a content management system. With the ability to create excellent custom templates, track traffic through Google Analytics and perform your own SEO with any number of plugins, there’s a whole lot of information to learn about WordPress.
WordPress TV provides short snippets of information – whether it’s an update from a WordCamp conference around the world or a challenge to create a specific site in a short period of time.

Adobe TV

If you’re involved in graphic design or web development, at some point in time, you’re probably going to use some Adobe software. Yes, you can jump through any number of hoops to build a site without Dreamweaver and open-source alternatives have many rivals for Photoshop. That said, for many of us, there comes a time when the maneuvering to save money on software ends up costing more money in lost time and productivity.
And let’s face it – there’s a certain amount of geeky pride involved in saying that you have CS4 Master Collection – even if you know you’ll never touch half of the applications in the suite.
When you buckle down and make the big purchase, it’s up to you to ensure that you’re using Adobe’s exceptionally powerful software to its best effect. Local user groups can help you with short seminars and tips and tricks, but when it comes to learning a program from scratch (the way the creators intended you to use it), nothing beats Adobe TV. The wide variety of videos available cover every ability level and every program. In addition, there are videos to inspire you – showing the works of others that came out of the software.

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1. Introducing Social Media 1-2-3 – a new series of blog posts for social media beginners

It’s always nice when companies post the real numbers. It makes estimating return on investment a heckuva lot easier.

Sample from Adobe "Real or Fake" campaign

Facebook, I assume, has motivated some large companies to post their Facebook marketing success stories on the Facebook Marketing Solutions fan page. A case study posted by Adobe is fantastic. From their study:

To do this, we launched “Real or Fake”, a game embedded on our Facebook page that challenged users to determine whether a photo was real or “fake” (edited with Photoshop).

The game lasted for 4 weeks, with 5 photos being posted each week. If a photo had been edited with Photoshop, a tutorial showed how that was done. And, at the end of the game, users were presented with … 3 primary call-to-actions: 1) “Buy Now”, 2) “Play Again” and 3) “Share” the game with others.

Results: This game launched in November 2008 and ran for one month. Social ads on Facebook ran during the first two weeks. About 10% of our page visitors played the game and, of those who played, 6% clicked the “Share” button at the end of the game, and 6% clicked “Buy Now” at the end of the game. Due to this game and media placement, our page received over 6,000 new fans too.

Visit their guest post to learn more about the campaign. While you’re in there, check out what Ben & Jerry’s has been up to.

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1. Social media marketing strategy and ROI: What's missing from your equation?
2. Social Media Success Stories: Three Case Studies
3. Using social media tools – a case study