10 Ideas: Standing out in the social media jungle
Aug 9th
The other day in my Twitter stream @joe_sharkey asked: ”As a new graduate, how do I stand out in the social media jungle?”
I promised I would write him a blog post in response, so here it is!
I believe today’s most successful social media marketing candidates will have three key qualifications:
1) Demonstrated understanding of marketing fundamentals.
2) An ability to rapidly identify, assess and deploy appropriate new technologies.
3) Possess superb writing and communication skills.
Here are some ideas to help you stand out in those areas, even if you’ve already graduated:
Resist the temptation to be a social media guru. When I graduated from college, I thought I knew it all. Turns out, I didn’t know shit. Then, when I was 30, I thought I knew it all. Turns out, I still didn’t know shit. I know … You’re different. And you probably are. It wouldn’t be all that difficult to be smarter than me. But consider getting some actual marketing and client experience with a company or an agency before hanging out your shingle. Better yet, work at a couple of different places first.
Become a beefy marketer. An ability to navigate Facebook or YouTube might be enough to get you an entry level job at some places but to really build a career you should become proficient at the fundamentals of marketing. Star performers will be able to apply their love of the social web to marketing research, consumer behavior, product development, personal selling, and brand-building. Get a degree if you can. If that’s not possible, join the American Marketing Association and immerse yourself in their journals and webinars. Read all you can, attend free webinars every day of your job search, create an effective RSS feed for yourself.
Don’t goof off. OK, classes are over and you want to head for the beach or Europe for a few weeks. Whatever you decide to do, don’t be out of touch for a few weeks and then head straight into an interview. You need to stay on top of the latest developments and be able to discuss them intelligently when you get an audience with a prospective employer.
Immerse yourself. You can’t learn social media marketing in college. In fact, you can’t learn it anywhere. You have to do it. Nobody can help you can find your blogging voice. Nobody can help you sense the rhythm of Twitter. You have to jump in and show people you have the chops.
Get experience, even if you do it for free. Building on the last point, if you really want to do social media marketing, you better be ready to show some examples of what you can do. In this competitive job market, there are just no excuses not to. Lots of people need help. Charities. Churches. Schools. The needs are great and budgets are tight so if you can’t find an internship, go make one.
Build your power base. If you’re looking for a job, this is a good time to start building some online marketing muscle. Surround yourself with targeted followers, especially on Twitter and LinkedIn. Engage with them in a helpful way. Identify yourself in your bio as a job-seeker. Identify local business people and marketers you can learn from and try to have lunch or coffee with different people a couple of times each week. Check out how Antonia Harler did this.
Blog strategically. It makes a lot of sense for new graduates to blog like a house on fire. It’s good skill development, but it will also extend your job interviews. Here’s what I mean. You go for an interview. Maybe they give you 45 minutes or an hour. Here’s the last thing you say to them: “You don’t have to take my word that I know how to do this stuff. Go see for yourself on my blog.” Which, they will do. You have just extended your job interview by at least another 30 minutes.
Hone your writing skills. Blogging isn’t enough. You need constant feedback, so connect with bloggers who are great writers and see if you can do some guest posts. Be humble. Ask for ruthless editing. Repeat.
Emphasize secondary skills … even if it’s just a hobby … to provide an extra bonus to employers. If it’s a tight call between two applicants, you might have an edge if you can offer an employer a “combo deal” based on your passion for photography, editing a newsletter for a charity, doing the books for your spouse’s business. This is especially key if you applying for a job at a start-up where everybody has to wear a lot of hats. Find every possible way to differentiate yourself!
Ask for help. See what happened when you sent a tweet asking for help? You got a whole new blog post out of it. In general, people on the social web are really cool. If they’re not, find some new ones. We rarely say no to somebody who is authentically trying to connect with us.
What are the community’s ideas on this one? What advice would you give to people trying to stand out and break into a social media marketing position?
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In memory of Steven
Aug 8th
I’m sad to report that Steven H. Parker, one of the brightest, most passionate intellects on the {grow} community passed away unexpectedly July 13. I just learned of this news today.
I grew to love Steven’s humor and intelligent dissent in the comment section and we became friends. We had planned to meet for the first time in New York City next month. His lasting gift to our community was the guest post he wrote to provide me with some vacation relief a few weeks ago: Are you part of the Cult of Failure? I think he would like me to tell all of you that he loved this blog community and he really, really hated Klout.
A very sad day. Steven you will be so missed.
NORTH ANDOVER — Mr. Steven H. Parker, a North Andover resident, and formerly of Melrose, died suddenly on Wednesday morning, July 13, 2011, at home, at the age of 58.
Steven was born in Melrose on March 11, 1953, one of two children of the late Almon “Red” Parker and Dorothy (Hosmer) Parker. Raised in Melrose, Steve graduated from Melrose High School in 1971, and the University of Maine — Orono in 1975. He owned and operated Parker Communications, a public relations and marketing company for the technology sector. Steve was a former Alderman for the City of Melrose and was Editor of the Melrose Free Press for many years.
From a young age, Steve loved music. He played in bands starting in junior high school and loved rock music as well as country western. He also loved genealogy, photography, writing, and reading novels by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. and Robert B. Parker. During the summer, Steve enjoyed going to the family cottage at Lake Shore Park in Gilford, N.H. Above all else, he was a family man who always considered his family #1.
Steve was the beloved husband of Dr. Lisa A. Bailyn, with whom he shared 12 years of marriage. Cherished son of the late Dorothy H. and Almon “Red” Parker. Devoted father of Bethany D. Niloff and her husband Matt of Billerica, Meredith L. “Meri” Belanger and her husband Bob of Sharon, Emily J. Parker of Andover and her fiance Matthew Hall, and Linnea B. Parker of North Andover. Loving brother of Pamela J. Penney and her husband Jensen of Gilford, N.H. Cherished grandfather of Trevor and Dexter Niloff and David and Danielle Belanger. Dear son-in-law of Inez P. and Robert J. Bailyn of Lake Worth, Fla. Brother-in-law of Ronald E. Bailyn, MD of Cape Elizabeth, Maine, and Peter A. Bailyn of Wilmington, Del. Also survived by Darlene (Cheney) Bowen of North Andover.
In lieu of flowers, gifts in Steve’s memory may be made to the Steven H. Parker Scholarship Fund — Melrose High School, P.O. Box 760695, Melrose, MA 02176.
Five indispensable lessons for Twitter success
Aug 7th
It’s hard to believe but my three year Twitter anniversary is approaching so I’ve been reflecting on this channel and what it has meant to me.
I know this may sound bold but it’s undeniable that Twitter has changed my life. I’ve learned so much and discovered wonderful people who have become great friends, collaborators and business partners.
So in a celebratory toast to this incredible little tool, here are five indispensable lessons for success on Twitter:
1) Numbers matter … sort of. It’s not politically correct to tout the number of followers you have, but the fact of the matter is you need to have at least a critical mass of followers for Twitter to be fun and meaningful. In my classes, I emphasize the need to be systematic and mindful about who you follow. If you don’t surround yourself with people who care about you and enlighten you, you’re probably wasting your time. If you’re just starting out, work on finding at least 200 interesting people to follow. Why 200? Less than that, Twitter is boring and you’ll quit. We don’t want that! Don’t worry about how many followers people have, don’t worry about their Klout score … just find interesting people you want to befriend and engage with them.
2) Content is power. Think about this. For the first time in history, you can gain a measure of influence completely based on the content you create and personally share. You don’t have to be a star athlete, a powerful politician, or a beautiful movie star to create a niche of power and success. Take a hard look at some of the Twitterati. Most of them are pretty humble and modest people. Twitter and the social web allows anybody to carve out a niche of fame if you concentrate on providing exceedingly interesting and helpful content.
3) Bury the sale. I generally don’t buy into a lot of the hype-myths on the social web (i.e. “it’s all about the conversation” … gag me) but the one that really does ring true is “don’t sell.” People are sick of being advertised to, sold to, marketed to. Social media is about building relationships, not expecting people to buy your cars or real estate based on your tweets.
4) Re-frame the experience. Is Twitter for everybody? Here’s a rule of thumb that seems to work. If you and your business can benefit from live networking meetings, you can probably benefit from Twitter. Twitter is personal networking on steroids, connecting you to important contacts you never would have had a chance to meet otherwise. And, it allows you to connect with them every day if you like. Think about Twitter as an opportunity for business networking and I think you will have more success.
5) Show up, don’t show off. To experience business success on Twitter, you can’t be a stalker. You have to take responsibility for your own success by showing up consistently. Just like in real life, you might have to engage with people 4-5 times before you get on their radar screen. Twitter is not a passive sport. You need make an effort to connect, engage, create value for people in your tribe.
But wait! There’s more! Just because you’ve been so kind and read this far in my post, I’m providing a bonus idea especially for Twitter newcomers.
Once you get above 200 folks, the “noise” from your stream can be overwhelming. Separate your followers by creating Twitter lists. For example, you might have lists for local friends, customers, thought leaders, and business prospects. These lists can follow you around on your smartphone, iPad and computer, so you can always be in touch, even on the go. Try a free platform like Tweetdeck, Seesemic, or HootSuite for more useful ways to view and manage lists.
So what is YOUR favorite indispensable Twitter lesson?
Take the Mystery Out of Twitter!
, the best-selling Twitter book in the world! Learn the three elements behind every Twitter success, 22 ways to build a relevant audience, strategies to create personal and business benefits, and hundreds of amazing tips and time-savers.Click on the image for a Special Amazon promotion!
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Grow your company, reputation, customers, impact, profits. Grow yourself. This is a community that will help. It will stretch your mind, connect you to fascinating people, and provide some fun along the way. I am so glad you’re here.
-Mark SchaeferFollow Mark
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