Since its establishment in 2013, IM Academy has built a reputation for providing online educational resources for those interested in learning more about financial markets. Beginning with a focus on the foreign exchange (forex) market, the Academy has since grown to offer academies on digital currencies, time-based intraday scalping strategies, and the stocks and futures markets. But in 2022, the Academy branched out to provide resources extending beyond financial markets, launching both TLX, a travel and lifestyle membership service, and SMX, a social media academy designed to help students study personal and business branding using social media platforms.
Adapting Education to a Growth Industry
The new academies signal that, while it’s continuing to focus on financial markets, IM Academy is also directing its expansion efforts to help students study new growth industries. SMX, in particular, is the Academy’s response to the growing demand for social media influencers and the importance of establishing a brand using social media tools.
More and more companies are turning to social media influencers to promote their products, with Forbes projecting brands to spend $15 billion on influencer marketing in 2022. Influencers with an established following help brands connect with new audiences and target specific demographics, and platforms such as Instagram have established systems that allow influencers to earn commissions from purchases they drive through posting on the forum.
As social media content creation becomes a career option for top influencers and a side hustle for others, IM Academy designed SMX Academy to help those interested in this evolving space gain a basic understanding of how social media branding and influencer marketing works, with lessons on how to utilize platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok.
There’s a demand among a generation that’s grown up with social media to better understand the power of these tools to establish a personal brand. SMX is designed to address this need by providing students with readings and videos they can access at their convenience through the IM Academy online portal, as well as the opportunity to engage in live online discussions with educators focused on social media through the Academy’s GoLive sessions.
Topics covered in these sessions include videography and photography, as well as content-posting strategies designed to build a growing following for a personal or business account.
IM Academy’s Approach to Travel and Lifestyle
While SMX marks a departure from IM Academy’s usual focus on financial markets, it is in line with the Academy’s general educational approach of combining asynchronous online resources with live mentorship opportunities.
On the other hand, TLX, the Academy’s new travel and lifestyle service, expands the Academy’s offerings beyond educational products.
TLX is designed to offer members the ability to book hotels and resorts at discounted rates, and it offers a rewards system that provides members who maintain continuous membership with an annual trip that covers the entirety of hotel costs. In addition, IM Academy members who sign up for TLX have the opportunity to take themed trips organized around relevant educational topics such as the forex market and cryptocurrency. These themed trips allow members to share insights in person while traveling to locations such as the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Las Vegas.
For IM Academy, offering a travel and lifestyle service was a natural extension of its focus on providing students with opportunities to pursue personal growth. The Academy’s approach is to offer its members resources they can use as self-motivated individuals seeking education and new experiences outside of a traditional academic setting.
“We’re basically bringing two of the largest industries in the world [together], two of the most exciting, most fun — and two of the industries that, in my opinion, literally have no borders and no boundaries,” said IM Academy’s Wes Melcher in a statement announcing the launch of TLX.
Next Steps for IM Academy
In addition to branching out into new domains in 2022 with TLX and SMX, IM Academy also debuted new academies focused on financial markets. In May, it introduced the Time-Based Exchange (TBX) Academy, which focuses on intraday exchange strategies, and in September, in partnership with the well-known analyst Carolyn Boroden, the Academy launched SFX Academy, which focuses on the stock and futures markets with a particular focus on chart analysis and advanced techniques such as Fibonacci retracement.
Adding these academies, along with SMX and TLX, shows that IM Academy will look to continue to build on its foundation in financial market education as it expands into other sectors.
IM Academy has also been focused on scheduling in-person events, providing individuals involved with the Academy an opportunity to discuss education and market strategies in person and to connect with other students, educators, and independent business owners.
Christopher Terry, IM Mastery Academy co-founder and CEO, often delivers the keynote address at these IM Beyond events, and he emphasizes that the Academy’s growth is based on a foundation of hard work, positivity, and a commitment to education.
“To attract better, you must become better,” said Terry in a recent Instagram post. “Evolve your energy, push your limits and expand your mind. Remember: The only limitations in life are those we impose on ourselves.”
See more recent news: https://www.bbntimes.com/financial/im-academy-launches-new-stocks-and-futures-academy
Note: IM Academy is an educational forum for analyzing, learning, and discussing general and generic information related to markets and strategies. IM Academy does not provide investment advice, access to live trading platforms or broker services.
