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The University of Salford is launching a new postgraduate course in social media - one that lets students take on real projects for community groups and businesses to increase their online presence.

The MA Social Media, which starts in September, will teach students how to use existing social media and create new ways of mobilising communities around campaigns such as those aiming to raise more money, lobby government and make community journalism.

Campaigns may include similar ones to the way in which Facebook was mobilised by the National Union of Students to get HSBC to reverse a decision on overdraft fees in 2007.

An important part of the course is the community project where students will work on real world social media projects for a range of clients. These may include community organisations, health providers and those within the creative and media industries.

Professor Ben Light is the course leader. "Social media is often associated with photos and statuses on Facebook," he said. "But there's a massive potential for it to bring communities together, whether they're geographical or online.

"We feel that social media can be a way of doing social good and by giving students the skills and experience to implement effective technology and strategies, we hope they'll be able to make a difference."

As well as focusing on the positives of social media, students will have a chance to learn about pitfalls such as clashes between private and public lives.

Tutors expect that graduates will go on to careers in PR, community work, government or marketing, but as Professor Light explains, there are a wide variety of careers open to graduates.

"Social media is a flexible and fast evolving phenomenon," he said. "So careers in this subject will be hugely varied as well. What we can say, is that knowledge of high quality production and communication techniques will enable people to create powerful campaigns - whether for commercial or social reasons."

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