How Rappers ROCKED #Instagram and #Twitter With #StraightOutta
Anyone that is into music would have to be living under a rock NOT to be familiar with NWA. If anyone needs reminding, this group really did change the rap game and gave birth to legends like Ice Cube and Dr. Dre who have gone on to do amazing things.
I will admit coming from the East Coast, I was not overly fond of NWA when they hit the rap scene way back in the day. However, I always realized that they changed the rap game and really changed the entire music industry.
As a lover of music, I try to provide music education to my son by giving him a well rounded list of artists that left a profound impact on the music industry. Also, I wouldn’t want him to get on Twitter and say ” Who’s that Paul McCartney dude?” So, since I felt that I needed to educate him about some of the folks that were game changers in the music industry, NWA was one of the groups that I taught him about. When there was word that there was going to be a movie called Straight Out Of Compton, depicting the story of NWA, this was immediately on my list of movies that I HAD to see. I don’t know that I will take my son to see it, maybe after I view it first to see if it’s age appropriate.
There has been a LOT of buzz about this movie and the excitement about it’s release has been brewing for a while, but tonight that buzz hit social media like a bomb. With so many marketers TRYING and failing at social, the marketing team working on the promotion of Straight Out Of Compton got it right.
This marketing team created an online app, to allow people the ability to customize a picture of their choice with the “Straight Outta [they add what they want]” slogan. What this essentially created was an amazing buzz about this movie and FREE social media exposure for the release of the Straight Out Compton movie. The buzz was created when people started sharing their customized photos on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. The #StraightOutta was trending so much on Instagram that it also started trending on Twitter. It was by far one of the most brilliant uses of social media that i’ve ever seen.
I always love seeing creative uses of social media in the music industry. This is especially the case since a lot of my clients ARE in the music industry. I also love seeing other media channels like tv and the movie industry, rock this space by implementing unique and creative campaigns that integrate social media NOT just throw it in as an after thought.
As usual, I welcome any comments, good, bad, ugly or indifferent. Feel free to chase me down on Facebook, Twitter or G+
Four Reasons Why You Are Failing At Digital Marketing
Digital Marketing is still relatively new in comparison to traditional marketing. Although i’ve seen some boasting that they’ve been in the Digital Marketing industry for 30 years. I’ve seen this so many times that I have no response anymore and it’s really neither, here nor there at this point.
At this stage in the digital marketing game, we have been dabbling in this space long enough as marketers that we should “get it”, yet it seems that it’s not the case. There was a study by Adobe that pretty much said as marketers there are a high percentage of folks that are failing. Not only do these folks realize they are failing but they do not even have confidence in their skills in the space, enough to attempt to change. This is a problem!
Digital Marketing Study by Adobe
We need competent marketers that are on their A Game, because the demand in this space is increasing. We are not going backward to that traditional marketing comfort zone that some want to wallow in. If any thing marketing is accelerating quicker toward total technology dominance. The merge between technology and marketing is almost fully realized. So much so, that markers are now considered marketing technologists, not just marketers. The skill set that is required to be successful in the marketing space is probably 90% technical with very little focus on traditional marketing strategies.
We have reached a point that we should recognize the fundamental differences between adjusting traditional marketing strategies to the digital space and embracing digital marketing strategy. This is a hardcore fail because these channels appeal to different demographic audiences.
Digital channels allow us so many benefits that were not available with traditional marketing channels. A huge and amazing opportunity that digital offers those that take advantage of it, is analytics, which it the backbone behind successful digital marketing strategies. Analytics allows us to utilize data to determine ROI of campaigns. This is huge for us as marketers and for the clients that we work with.
As a person that is not overly fond of numbers, I have a love of analytics because these numbers provide a roadmap to where we’ve been digitally and map a path to our next digital destination. However, we must be willing to pay attention in order to see this path. We must first recognize the importance of digital and the important role of analytics. As a marketer, if you miss this you are lost.
There are so many marketers that are NOT paying attention. They don’t realize that digital marketing is NOT a retrofitted version of their old school marketing. It is much better and much, much more but only if we are willing to embrace the change. As marketers in this space we must pay attention to the industry, innovations and most importantly our customers. These are areas in which we are failing as an industry. There are some exceptions of course.
Four Reasons Why You Are Failing At Digital Marketing:
1. It’s not about you, really it’s NOT. I don’t know how many times i’ve heard, “Well, I like this.” or “I like that or I don’t like that.” So what, who cares. It’s not really about you. The content you share is really NOT about you, just as the content that I share is NOT about me. It’s 100% about your audience.
I always share content that I think friends and followers would find useful, thought provoking or will solve a problem for them. It’s never been about my likes or dislikes. A great example of this is one of my Pinterest boards about bacon. This is by far one of my most popular boards and it’s so funny, because I haven’t had a slice of traditional bacon in over 30 years. I don’t even remember what it tastes like. However, it seems that people that follow me on Pinterest love bacon. So, if that’s what they love, that’s what I supply. I realize the bacon board was popular because I was paying attention and analyzing the data.
Linus
A lot of people that do not have a digital background or have not learned enough in this industry to venture away from their outdated traditional marketing background, still don’t pay attention. They are hanging on to antiquated techniques like Linus of Charlie Brown with the dirty blanket. There’s a new set of rules and these rules have to be embraced by learning what digital is all about not taking stabs at failing attempts to retrofit traditional marketing into digital strategy. This is not a criticism at all, more of an observation.
Old school, traditional marketing was more about the company that was pushing the message. It was more of a “Me Me Me” channel. Digital is the antithesis of that, because digital is about the CUSTOMER, CLIENT and their user experience. It’s NOT about YOU, as the marketer, so pay attention.
2. Pay attention to the customers, clients and data because they don’t lie. There are so many people that are caught up in the frenzy of doing the “digital thing” that they are just posting, pushing content and doing all of the things that they think they are supposed to be doing but in the process they are not paying attention to the customer or client.
In the frenzy to be “on the ball,” and appear to know it all a lot of marketers think they are winning the fight but they are losing the war. A huge part of digital and social is really paying attention to your customers. What kind of content are the customers interacting with, why are they interacting with that content and how should you interpret that. What is your take away? How can you use that interaction to better THEIR customer experience?
Marketers need to pay attention and create a strategy based on the wants and needs of their customers and clients, but first as a marketer you must pay attention. It’s just that simple. Are you paying attention?
3. Analyze the data because it doesn’t lie and will give you a roadmap to creating a great strategy that will be 100% about your customers and clients. After all that’s what this is about, the entire digital marketing thing is about creating an avenue for your customers, so they can engage with you and your brand with the ultimate goal of increasing brand exposure and potentially sales. However, if you as a marketer lack the fundamentals needed to put your wants aside and if you don’t pay attention all of this is rather pointless.
We have to take the ME out of our digital strategy and a part of that is putting our wants aside, focusing on the customer and utilizing insights gained from the customer to continue to provide what they desire. This is win win for the marketer, client and/or customer.
The data is a roadmap and it will always lead you in the right direction but you must analyze it and plan accordingly.
4. Plan based on data, that is huge because it allows you to utilize analytics and insights to drive your marketing strategy. If you are unfamiliar with insights and analytics, I’d suggest you dive in to that area because it will make your digital marketing strategy so much easier.
Suppose you have a goal to hit a certain target audience for your clients, how are you to know you are successful if you are not analyzing the data around your marketing campaigns? If you are not looking at the data your digital strategy is sort of like, “let me just throw some crap on the wall and see what sticks.” In opting not to analyze the insights and analytics of your social media, websites and campaigns, you leave a lot to chance and that’s not a good road to travel down.
In closing:
We are all evolving in this space but we have to make an effort to embrace it and keep learning because the industry is continuing to grow. Most importantly have fun with it. This is a FUN industry. With that said, if you find that this is NOT fun for you 🙂 and need help with getting your digital marketing strategy back on track or if you need help in a pinch for a project, feel free to reach out. I am always online, with the exception of the few hours that I am forced to walk away from my computer due to that thing we need on occasion called sleep.
As usual, if you have comments, good , bad, ugly or indifferent, you can find me on Facebook,Twitter or G+
The #N00b Guide To Using #SocialMedia To Promote an Event
Social Media utilized for businesses purposes is relatively new in comparison to traditional marketing strategies. Social media used to promote events and seminars have been compared to word of mouth marketing, which has been around for quite a while. Similar to word of mouth marketing, social media used correctly offers the unique opportunity to gain a tremendous amount of exposure for events and seminars.
One of the most important things about using Social Media effectively is to know your channels, followers and audience. The user demographic on all social media channels is very different, so when sending your message by way of social media it is good to keep this in mind.
Channels that you should incorporate into your marketing strategy:
SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS
Facebook: Is one of the most powerful social media channels available. It presents you with the opportunity to harness this power to expose your seminars and events to, not only your friends and followers, but the friends and followers of your friends as well.
Seminars and events:
Facebook Business Page: If you do not have a Facebook Business Page, you should create one. This presents you with the opportunity to have people “LIKE” your page AND you can now market to them. Facebook page followers usually prefer that you post two to three times per day.
Upon creation of your business page, make sure you add content about your business, and or what you do. If the primary focus of your business is seminars and events, make sure you list as much detail as possible about what kinds of events and seminars you conduct.
Creation of a Facebook Cover page is very important. This allows people that have liked your page to get an idea of what you do and what your business is all about within a few seconds, just by viewing your cover page. The Facebook cover photo dimensions are 315px x 851px. You can find a cheat sheet of all social media images sizes online. Remember to view the Facebook cover photo terms of usage.
Facebook Events: This is a great channel that you can use to create and promote your events.
Personal Page Events: If you have people that you are connected to on your personal page, you can utilize this avenue to invite them to your event. If you have never created an event you can find instructions on The Facebook Help Page.
Business Page Events: You also have the ability to create events on your business page. You can find instructions for that on the Facebook Fan Page Event Help Page.
Twitter: Is a very different platform than Facebook because it lends itself to a more conversational tone and followers are extremely tolerant to more sharing of content. This is especially the case if you provide information that is helpful to them in addition to your self-promotion pieces. Most of the people that are following you on Twitter are following because they are interested in what you are sharing, your events, promotions etc. So, they are very open to 140 character short bursts of information about what you have going on. Just remember to also include useful content, NOT just self-promotion content.
Seminars and events:
Just like Facebook, make sure you create a bio for yourself. Add your website or blog URL if you have either.
Create a twitter header image; the size should be 1500 x 500. If you have the ability to create multiple graphic headers you should consider using different graphics to promote each of your events. If you chose to go this route make sure you have a basic graphic to use for your header image that will be utilized after your events and perfect for general purposes.
Check out the Twitter Help page for more details about customizing your profile.
Strategy: At one time people just tweeted, but this, like any other social media activity, has evolved.
Scheduling Tweets: It is a good idea to start tweeting about your event/seminar a few days ahead of your event, but it is essential the day before your event. Scheduling these tweets is advisable. Find our more in the Free Social Media Tools section below.
Live Tweeting: Is the latest rage now and if you can arrange this and if you think it may be beneficial to your events, it is advisable. Live Tweeting encourages engagement, your followers feel connected to you. Also, most importantly, everyone that is live tweeting with you is ALSO tweeting about your event to ALL of their followers. This is a way to extend the reach of your event, with the help of your followers.
TV has started utilizing live tweeting as an avenue to increase engagement among fans and actors and it has proven to very successful. So live tweeting during events is something to consider. Twitter recently quantified the impact of live tweeting during television events.
Vine:Was considered rather silly when it first arrived but later people realized how powerful this platform could be for engagement and social sharing. Vine is an app that allows you to video very small snippets of video and loops them together. They are easily shared and people LOVE them. Twitter owns Vine so it is really easy to share between these two platforms. Tide is a company that has successfully utilized Vine for marketing campaigns.
LiveStream: Is a platform that allows you to live stream your event by way of video. This could provide a great avenue to expose your event to people while it is taking place. This platform actually allows you to engage with those that are watching your event as well. This is a very powerful channel that should be added to your arsenal of tools.
LinkedIn:Is one of the most power social media platforms utilized primarily for businesses purposes, and they have absolutely NO competition in this space. For business events/seminars it is essential that LinkedIn is utilized.
Seminars and events:
Connecting: LinkedIn is a powerful platform in which to connect and network with like-minded professionals. It started out as a platform, which was viewed as an online resume, however they have grown beyond this due to a variety strategic company acquisitions.
Company Page: Is an essential part of keeping your network abreast of what you are doing, your events and seminars.
Groups: Is an area that should be utilized to present yourself as an authority in your industry. It can also be used to promote your events and seminars.
Articles: Pulse is the newest option that is really being aggressively pushed by LinkedIn. This portion of the site allows you to post articles directly to LinkedIn, instead of using an outside blogging platform. This is a very powerful tool because when you have completed your article and it’s posted, everyone in your network will be notified that you just posted a new article for the LinkedIn Pulse .
Slideshare:Is a great platform that allows you to post PowerPoint and Keynote presentations to a social format. This allows followers to view, share and embed your presentations to their blogs, websites etc.
LinkedIn owns Slideshare so your Slides can also be incorporated into your LinkedIn Profile using the LinkedIn Slideshare app.
Seminars and events: If you utilize a PowerPoint for your event or seminar, AFTER you’ve completed your event/seminar, you could post your slides for those that were unable to attend your event.
Google: We all know the power of Google, so utilizing some of what Google has to offer is a definite MUST for promoting your seminars and events.
Google Plus: Is one of the most powerful, yet underutilized social media platforms. The biggest benefit of using Google plus is that content shared on Google plus is factored into search results and will increase your search rank. Your Google+ Page will allow your personal page, your business page and YouTube channel to work together seamlessly to help you to promote your business, seminar or event.
Seminars and events:
Get started by creating a personal Google plus page.
Just like Facebook and Twitter, you have an area to create a cover page. The dimensions are 1192 x 2120. This space, just like for all of these platforms is very important because it is “prime real estate”, so you can announce different real estate like burnaby condos for sale or other properties. The cover page presents you with the opportunity to showcase your talents, display your unique value proposition, and promote yourself and your events.
Google Plus Events: Is a platform that allows you to create an event and invite those that follow you. To find out more about events, check out the Google Plus Events Page.
Seminars and events: This event option should be used at least one week before your event, if possible. You can easily post your seminar or event to this platform and share it with your followers. What’s good about inviting people to your event is that the friends of the person attending your event will also be notified about your event. This is a great way to extend the reach of your seminar or event past just the people you are connected to.
Google Local: IS an amazing and free way to present your business locally. This page, after created is extremely powerful because it utilizes Google Maps in search results, so your business can be found.
YouTube: Is the second most searched platform and one of the most utilized platforms online. People love to watch and share videos, so this platform is a “must “when promoting event/seminars and businesses.
Seminars and events: If you have the capabilities to create a short video about your upcoming event, you could share that on your social media channels to create a buzz about your event or seminar. Creating YouTube videos are a lot easier than they use to be, due to smart phones.
FREE SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLS
Social Media is free if you don’t count the amount of time that it takes to fully take advantage of its benefits. If you go by the “time is money” philosophy, social media might not be considered free at all. The key to utilizing social media to harness the power to promote is taking advantage of ALL of the available tools used to help you work smarter not harder.
Scheduling tools will become your friend and FREE scheduling tools will become your BEST friend. There are a variety of available FREE social media tools to help you manage your time, while giving you the ability to take advantage of all that social media has to offer. You can select to utilize a few or all of them depending on what meet your needs. I use a combination of Facebook scheduling for Pages, Buffer and Laterbro.com. I use Facebook scheduling for pages to schedule my page posts, Buffer to schedule Google plus and Twitter if I have a small amount to post and Laterbro.com if I need to schedule a large quantity of Twitter posts.
Facebook Scheduling for Pages: This was one of the best things ever for people that use Facebook pages to promote their events, seminars and or businesses. To find out more about scheduling posts on your Facebook Page, go the Facebook Help Page.
Buffer: Is one of the best social media scheduling platforms available. Buffer offers a free option and an upgraded version, which includes advanced scheduling options and analytics for your posts. The free version allows you to schedule up to 10 posts on 2 different social media platforms. I like FREE, so I utilize all free options on all platforms.
Laterbro.com is a FREE platform that allows you to schedule posts for Twitter or your personal Facebook page. This is great if you have a larger quantity of tweets to schedule.
BLOGS
Blogs are a great way to promote events and seminars at your own pace and timeline. Your blog allows you the freedom to post content about upcoming events weeks ahead of time to build a buzz about the event. These blog posts can additionally be posted to social media channel to further extend the reach of the seminar or event.
A few things that should be considered as additions to your blog:
Add a calendar of events, this allows your readers to see current and future events and seminars. They can plan to attend your event in advance.
Add as section/page for EVENTS/SEMINARS to your navigation; this allows your blog readers to plan for future events. In this section you could also add a submenu.
Include a Past Events section in the submenu of your navigation. You can add pictures, videos and other content from past events.
Include a Future Events section in the submenu of your navigation, which allows your readers to see what events are coming soon.
Good Luck!
As usual, I welcome comments good, bad, ugly or indifferent. I can be found on Facebook,Twitter and Google plus. So follow, circle and reach out!
What Companies Could Learn From #Scandal And Embracing #SocialMedia
What Companies Could Learn From #Scandal And Embracing #SocialMedia
Every Thursday evening at 10:00 PM I am usually glued to my TV set watching Scandal, like 10.6 million others. I have been watching, since the start of the show three seasons ago. I must admit that I was hooked with the first Scandal promo and it has been “game on” with my addiction ever since.
I am a bit of a techie and I am highly engaged with online channels so I tend to watch TV while interacting in some way online. This is a new thing for me and it’s something that I enjoy because it brings an engagement level that surpasses just sitting and staring at the television screen. Also, it allows me to pretend as if social media hasn’t caused me to develop old age onset, ADD.
At one time TV shows were almost exclusively limited to their time slot and media attention from articles byway of tabloid and or popular magazine. This substantially limited the amount of exposure that a fan could have with their favorite TV stars, not to mention zero engagement. So, back in the day, as a fan of any show if you wanted to know anything about your favorite TV stars you had to resign yourself to reading the latest magazine or tabloid while waiting in the supermarket check out line.
Well, things certainly have changed and those changes are what traditional organizations should be keeping their eye on and trying their damndest to emulate. Organizations should take notice of how more and more traditional media outlets like TV are using social media and digital platforms to bring a new way of interacting and engaging with fans. The show Scandal is really a pioneer in using their huge fan base to create a continuous buzz and unparalleled engagement avenue for fans, which has pushed this show to insane popularity.
Although I recognized the appeal of the show Scandal from the start, there were many that were not on board and the show had a bit of a rocky first season. The first season was only 6 episodes and no one knew if there would be a fan base to even move toward a second season. It is pretty hard to believe that this show was ever in jeopardy of not making the cut, due to the insane popularity that it has now. The turn around and unbelievable growth in the Scandal fan base was partially due to social media.
The creator of the show is heavily involved with social media so when she noticed that there seemed to be a huge population of fans discussing the show, she encouraged the cast to interact more with the fans by way of Twitter. This was the birth of Live Tweeting between the cast of Scandal AND the fans who call themselves Gladiators.
A huge part of the popularity and phenomenon called Scandal, ARE the fans or self-proclaimed gladiators. One of the things that have propelled this show to great heights has been the interaction between the fans and cast that “Live Tweet” during each and every episode of the show. The Scandal cast live tweet for their east coast fans, their west coast fans and create an ongoing buzz for the Scandal brand by way of a variety of other social media channels. Scandal has not only commanded a presence on Twitter, they also have a very loyal following on Tumblr, Facebook and Instagram.
Scandal is not the first show to live tweet but it has been called “The Most Live Tweeted” show ever. Due to this, the show has systematically changed how TV is watched, how the cast of shows interact with fans and has integrated social media into its core as no other TV show has. They have started the evolution and merging of traditional media with social media and will go down in history for being the catalyst of change. TV is great but it lacks engagement, this is the void that live tweeting is filling, and filling in a big way during Scandal.
During a Live Tweet SINGLE ONE HOUR episode of Scandal, it can generate over 350,000 tweets using #Scandal and or #AskScandal. Scandal and their community managers have upended how TV is DONE.
On set, the show is based on a team of super sharp rapid tongued professionals and Scandal has been successful in extending this branded message throughout their Twitter stream. Twitter, is the perfect venue for Scandal’s rapid speech style, using the traditional 140-character tweet.
Scandal Starting Now
According to Neilson, the season finale of Scandal had 10.6 million TV viewers. The same episode was listed as #2 on Twitter with a unique audience of 3,360,000 and 697,000 tweets within an hour. This franchise is essentially a traditional and social media powerhouse that is a force to be reckoned with in our mixed media digitally driven world.
10.6 million TV viewers
Scandal Live Tweet 697,000 tweets within an hour
All traditional organization that are resistant [STILL] to embrace and integrate social media into their traditional marketing strategies should be looking at this closely. The success that Scandal is having with engaging fans by way of social media goes beyond just live tweeting. It’s much bigger than that. The process of live tweeting essentially acts to convert all created tweets into little 140 character vehicles to promote Scandal. Just think about how huge that is!
#ScandalFinale
I’m not saying that traditional organizations using social media to increase the brand awareness of their company could ever get 697,000 tweets in an hour, not that most would want it unless sales orders are attached. I am saying that companies that continue to minimize the importance of social media are essentially closing ones organizational mind to the limitless possibilities of digital expansion now and in the future.
Organizations must recognize that our digital world is not going anywhere and they must learn to harness the power of social interaction to spread their organizations branded message. The ability of an organization to reach out and use social media as a tool to connect, engage and interact with their target audiences are almost endless. If you don’t believe me, tune in to the Scandal live tweet, starting with the fall season of 2014.
As usual, I welcome comments, good, bad, ugly or indifferent. Follow, circle and engage with me on Google+, Facebookor Twitter.
10 Steps to Using Digital Marketing Strategies To Find Your Dream Job in 2014
10 Steps to Using Digital Marketing Strategies To Find Your Dream Job in 2014
2013 is coming to an end, therefore it’s time to analyze, evaluate and make changes going into the New Year. We all make resolutions about, health, wealth and happiness so why not include changing our employment situation. This is especially the case if you are one of the 71% that hate their jobs.
When I wrote the article, 71% of people hate their job; I was astounded by the response to the article. I was more surprised that there were so many people that were unhappy with their employment situation.
Sometimes people can feel stuck in a situation due to a variety of reasons and they become very reluctant to make a move, so they just grin and bear it. It seems that there are up to 71% of the population that are willing to grin and bear it.
Guess what people, we are moving into a new year so NOW is the perfect time to make changes in your life. More people need to be a part of the 29% that LOVE their job instead of the 71% that hate it.
We are now living in a very digital world, so now we need to look at new ways in which we can gain the edge in competing for jobs. If you are a Digital Marketer, you may find yourself consulting, working for an organization or both. Sometimes as digital marketers, we do not effectively market OURSELVES as a BRAND and that is very important.
If you are in a more traditional industry, chances are you are NOT marketing yourself as a BRAND either. In this increasingly digital world, all people that are looking for new opportunities should start to see themselves as brands so that they can compete in this tough job market. Most people are using some type of social media recreationally. So, if you are involved with social media even socially, these ten tips will be perfect for your 2014 strategy for grabbing your dream job.
Whether you are a digital marketer or just someone looking for a new career path, it is imperative that you see beyond your present situation and come up with a creative way to change your career path. The first step is visualizing yourself, not as JUST a person trying to get a job, but as a brand. It is very important that you think of yourself as a BRAND and you should market yourself accordingly.
A huge part of viewing and marketing yourself as a brand, is maintaining a very visual digital marketing footprint separate from the brands that you work with, if you are a digital marketer. It is GREAT to work in this ever-growing digital marketing industry but as digital marketers we must maintain our own digital marketing persona totally separate from the organizations that employ us or that we consult with. So, it is very important that we continue to develop and grow our own individual personal brand and digital footprint.
If you are NOT a digital marketer you should start to incorporate some branding content into your personal profiles. It is very important that all people see themselves as marketers, if only to market oneself to the world in seeking a new or better career path. It is more important than ever to utilize social channels for career advancement in addition to traditional résumés and this is primarily due to the growing importance of our digital footprint.
I’ve read on numerous occasions that traditional resumes are very close to becoming irrelevant because our entire digital presence is available online for all to see. More and more recruiters are utilizing the digital presence of employment candidates to get a better feel for potential employees before they even read resumes. This is one of the reasons that we must make sure that we have a positive and flattering digital footprint and that we continue to develop our own personal brand.
There are pluses and minuses to having your entire online persona for all to see. The biggest plus is that you are always visible; the biggest minus is that you’re always visible. LOL. This is the primary reason that we must be aware, more than ever about the types of content that we display on our digital marketing channels. So it is imperative that we have a strong personal brand and a positive digital footprint. Take a look at the ten steps below, to help develop your personal brand:
Anise Smith logo
1. Logo: Create a logo for your brand. My brand is Anise Smith, so the first thing I did when I started to develop my brand almost five years ago was to have my name created in logo form. If you are creating a new logo make sure you have it created in 3 different formats. Have your logo created in EPS format, which allows it to be duplicated for print and web, PNG for use when you need a transparent background AND jpg for general use.
2. Uniform Branded Look: You should have a consistent branded look across all of your social media channels. So create your Facebook cover, Twitter layout and other digital collateral with the same branded look.
Create A Uniform Branded Look On Social Media
3. Facebook: CLEAN up your Facebook profile! I have seen some things in my daily virtual travels that would definitely be viewed as negative. If you want to promote a positive personal brand YOU MUST start with presenting a positive Facebook image.
I am connected to my father, teenage son and many family members on Facebook, so I only share information that I would share with them offline. This is a great way to mentally keep your content clean and shareable. Don’t post information that you wouldn’t share with your grandparents, parents or children. If you wouldn’t yell it across the dinner table during a family meal, DON’T post it on Facebook. PERIOD!
Before you hit the POST button, think about how an employer would view your post. If there’s even a question of how your post would be viewed by employers or just followers in general, DON’T hit POST. Better yet, picture your grandma peering over your shoulder while you’re writing your post. If grandma wouldn’t approve, don’t post.
Facebook is a huge part of branding yourself and you should use it wisely. Assume that ALL potential employers will check your Facebook profile, because they probably will. So it is best that you put your best foot forward starting here. After you clean up your profile, showcase yourself. This may involve loosening some of your privacy settings to showcase certain areas of your profile.
Make a cover photo that showcases your talent. Facebook covers are 851 × 316.
Add your employment history, in the work and education section.
If you attended college, utilize the education section to add information about your school.
Use the project area to add the projects that you’ve worked.
Facebook just added a section for professional skills; add your skills in this section.
Don’t forget to use the contact us section to add your website, blogs and social media channels.
Facebook can be utilized almost as a resume if you add the right content and if you are a little creative.
Branding Yourself Using Facebook
4. Twitter: This is a great avenue to showcase your knowledge and to present yourself as an expert in your area, which is very important in creating a brand for yourself. Having a great Twitter profile allows you to make amazing connections while building followers organically, both of which are crucial to your personal brand. So make sure you are utilizing this channel and showcasing your capabilities to your followers and potential followers. If you are unfamiliar with Twitter start practicing keeping your verbiage short, because you only have 140 characters to make your point. So, you must use them wisely. To get started check out these easy steps:
Create a header for your Twitter layout, it should be no larger than 1252 × 626.
Create a Twitter background with your contact information. Twitter backgrounds are 1920 × 1200.
Display a presentable image of yourself.
Add a descriptive; yet brief bio using 140 characters.
The importance of Twitter cannot be overlooked in the process of branding yourself. Studies have shown that recruiters from the top employers in the country, are using Twitter as a way to recruit top talent. YOU want to be considered the top talent and you want to be noticed by these recruiters. So Twitter is essential!
5. Google+: There has always been some controversy about the importance of this platform. I’m not exactly sure why, since it is a GOOGLE platform. Most know that Google is pretty darn awesome. So, needless to say I’ve been a fan since the Beta release! Another reason to get acclimated to Google +, Facebook has been losing a bit of steam recently so it is very important that you create a profile on Google+. Additionally content shared on Google+ shows up in search results. Enough said!
*Note* You can schedule your posts for Google+ and other social channels. I’ve used a few but I find that, Buffer is the best scheduling platform available.
6. Blog: I am really partial to WordPress but the most important thing is that you have a blog, which you contribute to regularly. So, select the platform that you are most comfortable with. [Wordpress, WordPress, WordPress, hmm, did I suggest WordPress?] A blog allows you to present yourself as an expert in your field utilizing your own content AND it allows you to provide this content to your social media channels.
Additionally you can create a page on your blog for your online resume. A web version of your resume allows you the convenience of sending a link quickly from pc, tablet OR mobile device directly to anyone that is interested.
Also, make sure that your blog is viewable by way of mobile device. So many people are mobile that it’s almost mandatory that your blog be viewable by mobile device. This also offers you the unique opportunity to respond to emails from recruiters and send a resume link right from your mobile device, within seconds. WINNING!
7.Triberr:If you have a blog YOU ABSOLUTELY MUST be a part of Triberr. If you are not familiar with Triberr, you need to become familiar quickly. Triberr is THE BEST platform to utilize if you want to get exposure for your blog. This platform is second to none!
So, Triberr in a nutshell: It’s a platform that allows exposure of your blog through mutual sharing of content. As a part of Triberr you would join tribes of interest. After joining the tribe(s) you would then connect the RSS feed of your blog to the Tribe. This allows your tribe mates to share your blog content to their Twitter followers. Additionally all of your tribemates will have their blog RSS feed attached so that you can share their blog content with your Twitter followers.
The Triberr platform allows you to multiply the reach of your blog through the mutual sharing of content. This platform is Google Juice for blogs and if you have a blog you need to be a part of Triberr, period. Check out Welcome to Triberr and the Guide To Getting Started With Triberr.
8.LinkedIn: Is probably the most important step you can take to meet contacts, extend your network and place yourself in the faces of recruiters searching for your expertise! Make sure you have a presence on Linkedin, make the proper connections, get endorsements, join groups and totally embrace this platform.
MOST companies in search of top talent will be actively involved with LinkenIn, so make sure you have a GREAT profile and keep it updated.
Use keywords in your headline and through out your profile.
Use an appropriate profile photo.
Complete your entire profile.
Add slideshows, links and blog posts to display your skills.
Share professional content that is relevant to careers or your industry.
Monitor your profile because you can see who has been checking you out. If you have a visit from a person of interest, visit their profile. They will now know that you have visited their profile and this may allow you to spark up a conversation.
Follow companies that you have an interest in because you may be able to connect with people of interest at that company.
Linkedin is one of your most valuable resources you can utilize, if you want to change your employment situation.
9. YouTube: Videos are a GREAT way to showcase your talents. So create a 2 Minute video to showcase your capabilities.
Add keywords to any and all videos that you create because this will help Google to index your videos.
Add your video to your website or blog.
Share your video on your social media channels.
Add your video to your LinkedIn profile.
10. BrandYourself.com: Allows you to monitor your digital footprint as it displays on Google. You will get a report if any of your digital marketing channels have gone up or have fallen down in ranking. This service is GREAT because it allows you to see how your brand is displayed on Google according to rank and it is FREE!
BrandYourself.com
Are you currently utilizing any of these platforms to brand yourself? Are you using different channels? Let me know! As usual, I welcome any comments, good, bad, ugly or indifferent. I can be found on Google+, Facebook and Twitter, circle me and/or follow me.
I have been working within the marketing industry for quite a while and I’ve witnessed many changes, all of them very exciting. The transition from marketing by way of traditional means, have evolved into a new digital phenomenon that rivals, if not surpasses the Internet boom.
Social Media has allowed us to reach out to many beyond our borders, and this is huge for business but also great for those with an interest in doing good. Social Media has demonstrated that it can be a vehicle to drive social good more than any channel that I’ve seen in the past. This is exciting because it brings together those that want to be a part of social good projects with those that are in need of help. This is win -win for all involved, the creator of the project and the recipient of the project.
As much as I love social media I feel 100 times more passionate about education. So, a short while ago I realized that there was no reason that these two worlds should NOT collide. What better way to make that happen, than by creating a new project that allows me to merge the two things that I love most?
I founded Urban Freshman a short while ago, it is a new organization geared toward providing valuable resources for parents and teens to help prepare them for higher education. I felt compelled to create this resource for a variety of reasons. As a mom to a new high school student I feel as if the American public school system is lacking, education has not moved into the age of technological advancement to the degree that is needed to compete and budget cuts to some inner cities will adversely affect our young people for many years. ALL of these reasons and more, factor into why this resource is needed and why I created Urban Freshman.
The digital world is growing, people are more plugged in than ever and this includes kids and parents. In spite of this our current public school systems are not fully preparing our kids for the future. [Take a quick peak at the slide show below]
I know that I cannot change education on a global level but I can provide the information needed for kids and parents to make informed decisions about higher education by way of Urban Freshman.
Although I called this a social good project and I guess technically it is, but for me I feel like I MUST do this! I feel a need to do something beyond complaining on social media about education and how it needs to improve. Additionally I feel as if every work experience that I’ve had, has led me to do something beyond the 9-5 and to contribute to something that has the capacity to help so many.
In closing, we should all try to use the wonderful and global world of social media to make a difference in some way, because now due to social media, we have an opportunity to make a difference on a unparalleled level. Also, if you know a parent or teen that would benefit from Urban Freshman, please share.
As usual, I welcome all comments, good, bad, ugly or indifferent. I can be found on Facebook,Twitter or Google+, Follow me!
5 Career Solutions For The 71% of People That Hate Their Jobs!
5 Career Solutions For The 71% of People That Hate Their Jobs!
I wrote a post titled, 71% of People Hate Their Jobsand I started a bit of a dialogue about how people really feel about their workplace. It was really astounding, that so many people were unhappy in their jobs. If I had been asked to guess at that statistic, I would have though maybe about 45% – 55% at the most, were unhappy with their current employment situation. I would have never guessed the number to be so high, at 71%.
This means that in our daily travels most people will encounter one or more of these 71% and their unhappiness with their employment situation could affect our lives. The chances of encountering one of these unhappy people, if we must deal with customer service oriented industries is probably relatively high. This explains a lot! I am thinking about experiences that I’ve had with customer service professionals, workers at supermarkets, fast food restaurants and it explains a lot. So, I felt a need to provide some tips that may help those in the 71% feel better about their bad employment situation.
The easiest and lamest advice I can offer is to quit your job if you hate it. However, we all know that in the real world, that is just not an option. Since this is not an option, an alternate means of coping is the only choice until a better more permanent solution is available.
One of the hardest things about being in an unbearable position is the helplessness that the situation creates. This is the case with a lot of situations not just a job. The helplessness of living with a job that you hate, is that it is tied to the money that you make, the ability to provide for your family AND the ability to LIVE. We all know that without income supplied by said hated job, life could be so much worse. So, we can just take the “Take this job and shove it…” option off the table for now and lean more toward solutions that will be beneficial in the short term and long term.
A few solutions:
Think about WHY you hate your current job, this is the key to making changes. Sometimes, people find themselves in careers that were selected when they were 17 or 18 when they originally chose their college path. WE are so different than we were at 17 or 18 , and with growing up we may find that the choice we made at this age may not be a fit when we are 30 or 40. So self-evaluation is a great start!
Get involved with a cause that you find near and dear to your heart. It can really add a very fulfilling aspect to your life that may be lacking. It will also allow you to distract yourself from your current situation until your situation changes and most importantly, you will feel connected to something that matters to you.
Update your job skills, this is always a GREAT thing to do whether you love your job or not. It allows you to stay abreast of what’s going on in your industry and will help with future opportunities. Also, it looks great on your resume!
Return to School is also a great way to expand your knowledge and formally brush up on your skills. Take some time to reevaluate your career choice if you find that your unhappiness is a result of a poor career choice or consider learning more about your present field if you are in the industry of your choice. Either way, learning more can only improve your chances of changing your employment situation.
Start a business because it is a perfect time to start and grow a business WHILE you have permanent income. This could prepare you for unexpected and unplanned changes in your employment situation. It could also prepare you to move away from the 71% that hate their jobs to the 21% that love what they do.
In closing:
Find what you love and do it! If you are not doing what you love now, continue to pursue your dreams until you are doing what you love! As usual, I welcome your opinion, good, bad, ugly or indifferent. You can follow me on Facebook, Twitter and or Google+.
We have moved full force into a world where marketing has become education based, NOT sales driven as it was in the past and this calls for a different route to be taken with marketing based initiatives.
Content creation is rapidly moving toward being a huge driving force behind what once was traditional advertising, marketing and sales. This changes how we think about marketing in general and will require organizations to re-evaluate their marketing strategies. Based on these changes, the ability to create original, thought provoking and shareable content is not optional anymore it is mandatory.
According to Ad Age’s survey, 55% of marketers have increased their content-marketing budgets this year and is expected to do so in 2014 as well. The companies that are forward thinking enough will be a part of this trend, those that are still old school will not and fall that much father behind in creating the digital footprint needed to present themselves as authorities in their field.
At one time there were sales collateral produced by companies that were used to promote that company as an authority in their field. Traditional print pieces, brochures and magazine articles were once used to promote organizations but with so many people living in a plugged in world these channels are no longer as effective as they were during the print era. This is the dilemma, so what’s a company to do?
It’s time for companies to take the shift in consumable media serious and open their eyes and minds to change. People are just not consuming media utilizing the channels such as print as much as in the past. Media or content is consumed on social media channels and blogs by way of tablets and mobile devices. So it is imperatives that business who want to be viewed as authorities start to take content creation very serious. Businesses MUST start creating content AND publishing that content to the channels that people are utilizing!
So let’s take a look at the what, when, why and how of getting started.
What
This is the easiest question you can address because the WHAT of content creation is promoting WHAT it is your organization does. Every office has one or two people that are informed about EVERYTHING about the company. These are also usually the people that have been with the company since the company started. This person is a valuable source of information to a content creator! They are your brand ambassadors and they have the ability to provide the WHAT of content creation for your content creator.
When
You should create as much content as you or your company can physically manage and post it as much as possible. If you get a content creator that is on their game they will be able to stretch out a small amount of content into multiple pieces of creative and engaging posts on a blog. This content can then be posted over a period of time. It would be a great idea to create a publishing calendar so that you can have an organized and consistent flow of content moving through your digital channels at all times.
Why
By providing an abundance of content this allows you or your company to become authorities within your industry. If you become an authority in your industry you can increase your exposure, improve Google placement and potentially increase sales. This is just a no-brainer.
At one time the company with the biggest marketing budget was the company that had the most exposure and sales. The same thing applies here except we are dealing with online content, which has essentially replaced a lot of traditional marketing channels as a way to consume media.
How
There are so many ways to create content and so many types of content that you can create, written, visual, video or a combination of all. The most important thing is to provide a variety of types of content and use analytics/insights to gauge the effectiveness of the content that you are providing. Some say that visual content does best, some say video but every audience is different. This is why using the data from analytics is imperative because it will allow you to see what kind of content your readers like. This allows you to create and share more of the content that is in demand and less of the content that is less than favorable.
To get a better idea of the importance of creating content for your brand, take a look at the infographic below.
As marketing changes so MUST the willingness of companies to keep up with the trends that will keep them ahead of their competitors and content marketing is one of those trends. We no longer have such a high demand for print, brochures but an increasing demand for blogs, newsletters, website articles, white papers, and special reports. Content creators are key to providing this type of content and it is essential that that content be original, engaging and shareable.
So stop reading and get started with creating great content for your brand!
As usual, I welcome any and all comments good, bad, ugly or indifferent. I can be found on Facebook, Twitter and Google+, find me, follow me and let’s strike up a conversation about content creation!
I recently read that 71% of people hate their jobs and I though what a terribly high number. Has it always been this high and we just haven’t noticed? Has social media and the willingness to have open discussion shined the light on the 71 of every 100 people that despise, at least 8 hours of their day?
According to Forbes, Jobs Suck, so should those that are a part of the 71%, just SUCK it up and forge ahead. Should they grab the weekly paycheck and keep it moving? OR should individuals TRY to change the dynamic, Fight The Man so to speak?
Should those 71% that have “Checked Out” at the work place not expect more? Are work expectations too high?
Less Engaged Workers [via Gallup]
Take a look at the video below that may help shed some light on WHY there are so many people that are dissatisfied with their employment situation and some possible remedies.
I think that expectations from the workplace have grown due to Generation X and Y. This generation has expectations beyond their parent’s expectations and requirements in the workplace. Also the growth in technology offers options beyond the commuting and cube life, of getting to work and clocking in to the cube.
What do you think? Should people just put in their 8+ hours, grab their paycheck every Friday and say what the hell? Or should there be a higher expectation? Take a look at the top 10 reasons people are reported to hate their jobs:
10. They think the grass is greener someplace else.
9. Their values don’t align with the company.
8. They don’t feel valued.
7. Job insecurity.
6. There’s no room for advancement.
5. They’re unhappy with their pay.
4. There’s too much red tape.
3. They’re not being challenged.
2. The passion’s gone.
1. Their boss sucks.
What do you think? Are you a part of the 29% or the 71%? I would really love to know your thoughts, good, bad, ugly or indifferent? I can be found on most social media channels, follow me on Facebook, Twitter or Google+ let me know what you think?
Anise Smith Marketing 
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