Photo Credit: criana
Hi Social Media ReInvention Community Members,
We've migrated Social Media ReInvention's website to a new WordPress site!
I made this move to improve my services to my readers. Please continue following, reading, and subscribing to my blog at our new location.
Many thanks,
Tony Faustino
Photo Credit: Cubosh
These posts in the blogosphere and LinkedIn’s Publishing Platform showcase employment trends describing why a personal blog or website is a vital 2015 professional development goal:
Facebook changed its policy for business and fan pages to a pay-for-play model. Small business owners who built their livelihoods around that platform are struggling to adapt. Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited Program continues eating away the monthly incomes of entrepreneurial authors / writers.
Adam Singer published this warning five+ years ago in his classic post, 19 Reasons You Should Blog And Not Just Tweet. Here are key snippets of Adam’s foresight from 2009:
3. Remember, you’re essentially contributing to someone else’s network on Twitter – certainly there are returns, but make no mistake they profit from your attention. I know you might not have a problem with that because you gain something too, but it’s good to be conscious of that fact.6. You own your work in a self-hosted blog and are in total control over how it is presented.
I know it’s not as “sexy” anymore (in reference to blogging) but it is still far more valuable and should not be discounted merely because the early adopters have shiny new object syndrome.
Long form content and blogging is coming back. Potential employers cite critical thinking and writing as key skills. Let's take advantage of our personal blogs / websites to show our thinking, analysis, and stories.
Transforming a complex or technical insight into a simple story is rare and sought after:
Hugh Macleod's home-spun wisdom from page 38 of his remarkable book, Freedom Is Blogging in Your Underwear speaks volumes:
My grandfather was a Scottish Highlands “crofter” — i.e., a small-time, mostly self-sufficient tenant farmer with his own little patch of land, who raised sheep and grew potatoes, turnips, and other stuff. And as I wrote in my second book, Evil Plans: hey, guess what — we’re all crofters now. Even people with secure day jobs in big corporations.Thanks to the Internet, we all have a little electronic “croft” — an electronic smallholding — to call our own what is commonly referred to as our own digital identity, which we can cultivate, like a small farm, however we see fit.
The good news is that, unlike my grandfather, we don’t have to spend our whole lives growing potatoes and shearing sheep for a mere pittance. We can sell things people find valuable — art and cartoons in my case, maybe consulting gigs or whatever in your case….
The Internet makes all this possible.
Go.
Please let me know if you agree or disagree with my thoughts in the comments. If you disagree, I would love to hear from you. I want to read, listen, and learn from YOUR PERSPECTIVE.
Comments are open. So let’er rip!
Share my work with your friends. Ideas that spread win. You can subscribe to my blog via email (and can unsubscribe any time you like).
Many Thanks!
Tony Faustino is a marketing and corporate strategist. He thinks and writes about how The Internet reinvents marketing strategy in his personal blog, Social Media ReInvention. Follow his tweets @tonyfaustino or circle him on Google+.
Photo Credit: Anton Diaz
Brrrr! It’s cold in The Midwest (East/West Coaster Translation: The Flyover States). Please keep warm and enjoy these share-worthy links during your Sunday brunch.
1. NYTimes.com: Whether Working or Job Seeking, The Algorithm is Watching. Natasha Singer of The New York Times profiles two upcoming books in 2015:
Both detail how our online actions shape our personal and professional opportunities. Fertik’s book describes how machines trumps humans in important stages of the hiring process: Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) in resume screening.
21st century job-hunting demands a personal, digital marketing strategy. Here’s the article direct quote:
To better position oneself for such technology-aided hiring and workplace ranking systems, the authors suggest that people make their résumés “machine-readable.” For instance, they recommend that job seekers include concrete descriptions of their professional skills and competencies in their areas of expertise as well as signposts enumerating their career trajectories — all in language that algorithms could easily parse.
“A machine can figure out from your résumé how quickly you progressed from manager to senior manager to director — and whether your pace outstripped or lagged the typical pace,” said Michael Fertik, a co-author of “The Reputation Economy” and the chief executive of Reputation.com, a company that helps people and companies manage their online images.
So, before job candidates start worrying about whether they will be properly dressed for a job interview, he said, “it’s important for them to figure out if they’re dressed for the Internet.”
Dorie Clark, author of ReInventing YOU and the upcoming Stand Out, teaches traditional resumes are obsolete. There's a better way to acquire potential employers -- leave digital footprints via blogging, posting past project deliverables on Slideshare, updating our LinkedIn Profiles, etc.
Video via The Wall Street Journal: What Happens When You Submit Your Resume Online
Photo Credit: The Wall Street Journal — Your Resume Versus Oblivion
2. Entrepreneur.com: The 3 Ways Entrepreneurs Fail at Personal Branding and LinkedIn.com: Why You'd Better Start a Personal Website in 2015. Personal branding matters. Everyone participates in social media participation. Demonstrate to potential employers and clients you go the extra mile. Create and promote a personal blog or website to:
3. Bloomberg Businessweek: Tony Hsieh Is Building a Startup Paradise in Vegas. Bloomberg’s Susan Berfield describes the highs and lows of The Las Vegas Downtown Project. Tony Hsieh’s entrepreneurship and urban experiment to revitalize, reimagine, and reinvent downtown Las Vegas relies on 3C’s: Collisions, Co-learning, and Connectedness. His involvement consumes 50% of his day (the other 50%--- being Zappos CEO).
The "Return on Collisions” metric fascinates me:
Hsieh also came up with a way to calculate the value of people who “subscribe to downtown Las Vegas” but don’t want to live there. He’d tried to persuade Jake Bronstein to leave New York in 2012. Bronstein is the founder of Flint & Tinder, which makes the 10-Year Hoodie and other clothes. Hsieh invested in the retailer and says Bronstein comes to Vegas one week every month. “We did the math on Jake. When he’s here, he’s out about 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, for 12 weeks a year. So he’s worth 1,000 collisionable hours, too.”
Hsieh began to apply this metric to investments that might not make money for a while. “Say we want 100,000 collisionable hours a year from an investment. That works out to 2.3 hours per square foot per year,” he says, with a slight smile. “If we’re going to invest in a 3,000-square-foot restaurant, we can do the math and see if it yields that 2.3 hours per square foot per year. We’re kind of agnostic about what goes into a space. It’s ‘are you going to yield those collisionable hours?’ If not, we can say no without judging the quality of the idea.”
Please let me know if you agree or disagree with my thoughts in the comments. If you disagree, I would love to hear from you. I’m also here to read, listen, and learn from YOUR PERSPECTIVE.
Comments are open. So let’er rip!
Ideas that spread win. You can subscribe to my blog via email (and can unsubscribe any time you like). Please share my work with your friends.
Many Thanks!
Tony Faustino is a marketing and corporate strategist. He thinks and writes about how The Internet reinvents marketing strategy in his personal blog, Social Media ReInvention. Follow his tweets @tonyfaustino or circle him on Google+.
Photo Credit: Abee5
I love reading books. They’re my secret weapon for accessing critical thinking. Here’s a short listing of my favorite books / authors who inspired me and exhausted my Kindle in 2014 (by the author’s last name in alphabetical order). Note: Some of these titles are pre-2014.
Mitch Joel described Seth Godin's 18th book as the most beautiful illustration of Seth’s teachings. You can’t buy Seth’s latest book on Amazon (or any mainstream book retailer). You can only buy it at http://www.yourturn.link/. Beautiful, glossy images explode with color on every page. If I were a Hollywood producer, I’d pitch it as Linchpin and The Icarus Deception collide in a 20-car pile up at Mercedes Benz New York Fashion Week.
Seth calls out our schadenreude, spectator sport culture, and it’s power in curbing intelligent risk taking (except in Silicon Valley). When It's Your Turn is an in-your-face, call-to-arms, entrepreneurship manifesto. The battle cry rallies around showing up everyday, to create and ship our art. Now’s the time to revel in that uncomfortable place of “this may or may not work."
I'm moving into a new career as an entrepreneur in an early stage startup, That’s a scary leap after corporate life. But, those simultaneous feelings and fear are the right place to be:
I’m late in reading this classic marketing book. I hope to meet Seth, shake his hand, and talk marketing strategy. That requires fluency in Ideavirus terminology (i.e., sneezers - both promiscuous and powerful, the hive, persistence — not the one related to effort, vector, vacuum, amplifier, smoothness, etc.).
Ideavirus parallels Malcolm Gladwell’s idea diffusion theories from The Tipping Point and Geoffrey Moore’s insights from Crossing the Chasm. Like the Beatles music catalog, Ideavirus remains simple, timeless, and relevant.
I’m a die-hard fan and friend to Ann Handley. Last year, I published a public fan letter expressing my appreciation and respect for her work and generosity. Two weeks later, Ann sent me a signed copy of Content Rules and other great marketing books. Her attitude to give versus receive says it all.
Writing Matters. Writing with Purpose Matters More. Ann is an important inspiration for my blog post about six (6) C-Suite traits among awesome female executives who stand out. The media’s endless joy in reporting our children lag their global counterparts in the STEM 100 meter dash ignores an important fact: writing and storytelling skills propel financing for ideas and inventions.
Technical prowess and technical insight aren't enough. Creative storytelling and written communication carry equal weight (direct quote from Everybody Writes, page eight):
What’s harder is to find a book that functions for marketers as part writing and story guide, part instructional manual on the ground rules of ethical publishing, and part straight talk on some muscle-building writing processes and habits.
What’s also hard to find is a book that distills some helpful ideas about the craft of content simply and (I hope) memorably, framed for the marketer and businessperson, as opposed to say, the novelist or essayist or journalist.
I wrote this book because I couldn’t find what I wanted—part writing guide, part handbook on the rules of good sportsmanship in content marketing, and all-around reliable desk companion for anyone creating or directing content on behalf of brands.
Everybody Writes teaches disciplined practice to elevate and sustain our writing skills. Ann’s book reads like cozy conversation with her while enjoying a great cup of coffee or a couple of frosty Sam Adams beers (keep in mind, she’s a Bostonian).
Ann poured her heart and soul into this work (or as she says “gave birth to a Volkswagen”). I guarantee you’ll benefit from her knowledge, talent, and heart.
Bonus 1: Mitch Joel’s Episode #426 Six Pixel of Separation Podcast: Everybody Writes With Ann Handley.
Bonus 2: Speakers Spotlight YouTube Video — Ann Handley - Chief Content Officer | Bestselling Author.
If I could time travel to 2009, I would grab two books and my MacBook Pro before jumping into a hot tub time machine:
1. Tribes by Seth Godin
2. Platform by Michael Hyatt
If Tribes is the strategic and conceptual framework for digital leadership, Platform is the tactical roadmap for its successful execution. Creating and managing a personal brand is imperative in a crowded marketplace and recovering economy. Michael’s book unpacks the why's and how’s of building a digital platform — i.e., the collective fans who subscribe to and follow your blog, email newsletter, podcast, Twitter feed, etc.
He explains step-by-step how he built his influential online presence and to power his career as a publisher, educator, and public speaker.
Read this Wall Street Journal article by Taylor Swift (yes, that Taylor Swift). Her anecdote about an actress friend losing a movie role to another actor with a higher Twitter following extends beyond the entertainment industry. It's the heart of Michael’s book: the reach and influence of our digital platforms (or lack thereof) either rockets (or torpedoes) opportunity.
Art takes many forms (e.g., words, pictures, spreadsheets, presentations, sculptures, music, photographs, process diagrams, or anything we create with pride). These remarkable books capture Austin Kleon's philosophies and experiences on creating and promoting art. These fun, short reads answer two common questions among artists, writers, entrepreneurs, or marketers:
David Meerman Scott influences my thoughts and writing about reinventing marketing strategy every day. I fell in love with digital marketing and inbound marketing strategy after reading The New Rules of Marketing and PR five years ago. I own all of his marketing strategy books, and envy his ability to write with a rebel's heart.
When David sent me an advance copy of his latest book, I was honored and thrilled. He's leading the pack in describing how diverse organizations (from the Fortune 500, SMBs, and individual practitioners) use social selling to engage customers throughout the buying process. He published social selling success stories long before LinkedIn Sales Solutions made “social selling” in vogue.
His latest work may finally make organizations pay attention to their most valuable customers---their existing ones. Loyalty, fandom, and connection matter are game changers when fickle consumers can leave with a glance and a tap of their smartphones.
What has changed in the world of selling from David Meerman Scott on Vimeo.
LinkedIn's Economic Graph Challenge generated tremendous hype. If Jeff Weiner (LinkedIn’s CEO), can morph How to Be a Power Connector’s core principles into simple, seamless, and intuitive features, he will create the world’s most valuable social network.
Inc. Magazine selected How to Be a Power Connector as the Number 1 Business Book of 2014. I’m twenty percent through it, and I’m convinced Judy's book and Seth Godin’s What to Do When It’s Your Turn (and It’s Always Your Turn) will prove indispensable in my new career as an entrepreneur.
I usually don’t publish reviews until I’ve finished reading the book. I made an exception with How to Be a Power Connector. Judy’s 25 years of wisdom and experiences are that important. I’ve arrived at the sobering realization my networking skills are deficient. I’ve done some things well. But, I lack consistency in adding value to my business network as well as strategically assessing, prioritizing, and systematizing it.
Thank goodness that's exactly what Judy teaches! Her book will change my life. Invest in yourself by buying and studying How to Be a Power Connector. It will change your life too.
Judy Robinett Speaker Reel from Creative Realm Entertainment on Vimeo.
Change the World. Every time I hear that overused cliche from another self-appointed, Silicon Valley genius, I wanna hurl (or please insert your own Wayne’s World reference).
Study Peter Thiel’s work (and his former Stanford Computer Science 183 Startup student, Blake Masters' notes) to learn and think like the real deal. The resounding themes throughout Thiel’s book: (1) think like a contrarian; (2) question and take action against conventional wisdom:
That courage to ask and act upon, "why does it have to be this way,” drove not only Thiel's entrepreneurial successes, but also the successful ventures of Elon Musk, Reid Hoffman, Max Levchin, and other PayPal Mafia members.
As a parent, I’m making it my life’s mission to inspire the same thinking and action in my daughters.
Traction delivers a clear, how-to method supported by real-world, actionable insights. Gabriel's and Justin's interviews and case studies describe the successful execution of Traction’s Bulls Eye Methodology. Bulls Eye focuses on the second most important aspect of an early stage startup’s life cycle:
I’ve ultra-summarized the book’s thesis. Read the first three chapters of Traction for free by joining the Traction Book mailing list. If you’re a team member of an early stage startup (like myself), invest in your company’s development by studying Gabriel and Justin’s book.
Please share in the comments the digital marketing and entrepreneurship business books you read in 2014. What did you love about them? How did they inspire you?
I’m here to learn from YOUR PERSPECTIVE. Comments are open. Let’er rip!
You can subscribe to my blog via email (and can unsubscribe any time you like). I hope you’ll also share my work with your friends. Many Thanks!
Tony Faustino is a marketing and corporate strategist. He thinks and writes about how The Internet reinvents marketing strategy in his personal blog, Social Media ReInvention. Follow his tweets @tonyfaustino or circle him on Google+.
A College Degree Is No Longer Enough. There are no guarantees of employment for new college graduates or current students in today's brutal economy. A college diploma is now a minimum requirement. This November 2011 New York Times direct quote describes the current situation:
"A bachelor's degree on its own no longer conveys intelligence or capability."
These suggested authors / books are not of the "cookie cutter" or "10 easy steps on how-to land your first job out of college / summer internship in a lousy economy" variety. They share creative ideas to show a potential employer "you're more than a resume and the grades on a college transcript". Their teachings maximize the Internet's global reach and leverage search engines to your advantage.
In my opinion, if you graduated with a marketing and/or communications degree (or are currently studying these undergraduate majors), the following authors and books are REQUIRED READING.
Note: I am not an Amazon Affiliate Program Member. I respect the following authors because of their invaluable advice on how to develop a credible and professional online presence.
I am eternally grateful for the generosity and mentorship of David Meerman Scott. It's no exaggeration to say his blog and books ignited my passion to study and write about how The Internet continues flipping marketing and public relations strategy upside down. His influence, blog, and books forever transformed my marketing strategy thinking.
David Meerman Scott is a marketing strategist, advisor to emerging companies, bestselling author of eight books including three international bestsellers, and a professional speaker on topics including marketing, leadership, and social media.
The New Rules of Marketing & PR is in its 4th Edition, has sold 300,000+ copies, and is translated in 25 languages.
Marketing and communications students will learn from this book the value of:
Here's David discussing the latest release of The New Rules of Marketing & PR:
David published the following e-books to promote The New Rules of Marketing & PR, Real-Time Marketing & PR, and Newsjacking.
He defines an e-Book as:
"An e-book is a PDF-formatted document that identifies a market problem and supplies an answer to the problem. E-books have a bit of intrigue to them --- like hip younger sibling to the nerdy white paper."
If you click on the image captions, the hyperlinks will take you to the respective, eBook PDF download pages.
BONUS: Here are my book reviews for Real-Time Marketing & PR and Newsjacking.
If I've said it once, I've said it 43 other times. Ann Handley is the best writer and storyteller in the New Media Business. Her writing and storytelling makes you:
Think ...Her thoughtful and respected new media, A-List, co-author is C.C. Chapman. Almost 15,000 Twitter followers can't be wrong (and I'm proud to be one). C.C. is a trusted advisor to global brands like American Eagle Outfitter, Coca-Cola, HBO, and Warner Bros.
Ann and C.C. share clear, actionable advice built on two (2) governing principles:
Thinking and Acting Like a Publisher
Publishing Helpful, Remarkable Content
Content Defined. Words, images, videos comprise content and can take the form of:
Learning Through Great Storytelling and Writing. Great writing makes reading Content Rules enjoyable. And, studying it helps you ask the right questions about content strategy execution:
More importantly, they share practical advice for budget-constrained marketing teams wondering:
Pages 22 to 24 to the Rescue. The Content Rules of Why & Who (or Grab Your Colleagues, Tons of Sticky Notes, Lots of Paper, and Thrash Through the Following Questions):
Wake Up (because this is a long post, and I can hear you snoring)! How about re-imagining those boring bullets into something differentiating and remarkable:
How About Some FREE Content Rules SWAG? Here are two (2) PDF downloads from the Content Rules Website:
Please email me at tony [dot] faustino [at] gmail [dot] com if you experience downloading problems.
Content Rules Video Update with C.C. Chapman and Ann Handley. C.C. and Ann made this September 2010 video before the book's release. It's a great example of practicing what they preach and seeing the human side of great content marketing.
Content Rules: September 1, 2010 Update from C.C. Chapman on Vimeo.
HubSpot is one of the fastest growing, innovative companies in North America. Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah founded HubSpot in 2006. These two MIT Sloan School Fellows and MBA graduates lead this 600 employee powerhouse in an honorable mission: Level the marketing, digital, and sales strategy playing field for small to medium sized businesses. HubSpot epitomizes why the Davids can flank the Goliaths (even with their higher funded marketing budgets).
Google, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter may be sexier, mainstream media stories, but HubSpot earns attention by passionately practicing what it preaches. And, they've cultivated and activated a loyal tribal following by publishing remarkable content, teaching analytical rigor, and "firing" their best employees.
Walk-the Walk and Talk-the-Talk. Inbound Marketing is the second book I studied about digital marketing strategy (The New Rules of Marketing & PR being the first). If you're a serious marketing and communications graduate (or current MAR-COMM undergraduate) and want to "rock it" in your interview, you have to study and learn Inbound Marketing's principles COLD. Published in 2010, Brian and Dharmesh's teachings preceded much of the current and future implications of marketing and digital strategy:
Understanding Inbound Marketing fundamentals (versus interruption marketing)
Remarkable content -- what does that mean?
Foundation principles and relevance of inbound links, SEO, Google Authority, Page Rank so potential customers/clients find you (instead of you interrupting them)
Inbound Marketing provides clues to what a genuine, 21st century digital-driven organization looks for in employees. Hubspot utilizes its DARC framework when evaluating potential hires:
If you can't answer the following HubSpot interview questions while simultaneously providing real-time "show-them-the-money" on-screen, digital evidence, YOU'RE HOSED. Here are example interview questions from pages 170-171 and page 173 of Inbound Marketing (within the context of your interviewer verifying your answers on her/his laptop, tablet, or smartphone):
Interview Questions Evalutating Depth of Digital Citizenship:
Interview Questions Evaluating Web Reach:
My apologies for not finishing / publishing this post by the originally stated timeline. My "day job" is crazy/hectic especially as the 2013 4Q ticks away. That's okay (because that's the job).
Please tune in for the this series's next post: a comprehensive list of online resources (i.e., websites, blogs, blog articles, etc) to help recent college graduates and current college students land full-time jobs or internships. The HUGE list will easily comprise "20+ Resources."
Please give me a couple weeks to consolidate this list, provide context, and hit "publish."
Your Turn: What is your opinion of the books listed here? Have you read any of them? If so, how did the book(s) content create an opportunity for differentiating yourself either before, during, or after the interview? What books did I leave off? What additional books would recommend?
Please let me know. It would be great to hear from you!
Tony Faustino is a marketing and corporate strategist. He writes about how The Internet reinvents marketing strategy for organizations and individuals in his marketing strategy blog, Social Media ReInvention. Follow his tweets @tonyfaustino or circle him on Google+.
Note: This is post four in a series sharing resources to help new college graduates and current students land full-time jobs or internships. If interested, here are links to other posts in this series:
Photo Credit: by Pop Culture Geek via flickr
There are no guarantees of employment for new college graduates or current students in today's brutal economy. A college diploma is now a minimum requirement. This November 2011 New York Times direct quote describes the current situation:
"A bachelor's degree on its own no longer conveys intelligence or capability."
A Resume and Diploma are NOT Enough. Recent graduates (and current undergraduates) need more to catch a company recruiter's attention. LinkedIn Grad Guide Video #2: Building Your Professional Brand revolves around this concept. Here's a key fact about how company recruiters now evaluate future employees (particularly college graduates and current students):
"It's no longer enough to simply have a resume. Students now need a professional online presence." -- Holly Paul, former US Recruiting Leader, PriceWaterHouse Coopers (now Chief Human Resources Officer, Vocus).
Do You have a Professional Online Presence? Is Your Professional Online Presence Differentiating? If you said no to either of these questions, I hope you'll continue reading a little longer. Developing a professional brand / presence requires work, time, patience, and discipline. If you make the commitment, this investment increases the probability a company recruiter (or your first boss) will:
Seeking a Job in Marketing, Public Relations, or Communications? Majoring in these Fields)? If you nodded "yes," the authors / books described in this two-part post are MUST READ content. These gurus are driving the future landscape of digital marketing, public relations, and communications.
Note: I am not an Amazon Affiliate Program Member. I tremendously respect the following authors because of their invaluable guidance in developing a professional online presence.
Read. Read. Read. The following suggested authors / books are not "cookie cutter" or "10 easy steps on how-to land your first job out of college / summer internship in a lousy economy" resources.
Reid Hoffman and Ben Casnocha wrote The Start-Up of You with the following principles in mind:
1. You were born an entrepreneur.
2. Succeding professionally in today's economy means people of all ages need to adopt the same strategies of successful entrepreneurs.
Why? Successful entrepreneurs excel at:
So what does entrepreneurship have to do with building a professional presence (and ultimately in landing that first job out of college)? Here are some direct quotes referencing Ronald Brownstein's NationalJournal.com article, "Children of the Great Recession:"
"For the last sixty or so years, the job market for educated workers worked like an escalator. So long as you played nice and well, you moved steadily up the escalator, and each step brought with it more power, income, and job security."
"But now the escalator is jammed at every level. Many young people even the most highly educated, are stuck at the bottom, underemployed, or jobless."
The Start-Up of YOU's principles describe the entrepreneurial strategies and career tactics traditional liberal arts undergraduate classes overlook. Understanding and applying these entrepreneurial strategies and career tactics can guide you in the current job market.
I published a series on The Start-Up of YOU when the book rolled out last year. The second post, Start-Up of YOU Book Review, Part 2: Five Game Changers in Career Competitive Advantage highlights several key takeaways.
Here are a few more helpful links to The Start-Up of YOU Resources Page to get started:
If you have difficulty with these links, please email me at tony[dot]faustino[at]gmail[dot]com, and I'll send you the PDFs.
The Start-Up of YOU Resources Page also contains this SlideShare presentation: Start-Up of YOU Visual Summary:
Dan Schawbel wrote Me 2.0 and Promote Yourself. The New York Post selected Me 2.0 as 2009's Number 1 career book. Promote Yourself (his latest book) is a current New York Times bestseller. Dan's also the Managing Partner of Millenial Branding, a Gen Y research and consulting firm. He is the personal branding authority for millenials.
Great Insights Relevant to All Professional Ages. In my opinion, Dan's professional branding teachings apply to ALL professionals and job seekers. I studied the 2009 first edition in my early-forties.
Me 2.0 provides easy-to-understand suggestions for creating a professional brand online by:
Dan published this free PDF presentation, Blogging Your Brand: A Complete Guide to Your Success, to support the book's launch. It's a great primer for seriously publishing a personal blog and creating a professional brand.
Stay tuned for a future review of Promote Yourself (it's on my reading to-do list). Here's Dan's blog post, Promote Yourself Excerpt - Chapter 10: Start Your Own Business While on the Job, if you'd like to learn more.
Chapter 7: You Are Media and Chapter 10: From Mass Media to "Me" Media. These Six Pixels of Separation chapters, along with Tom Peters' classic Fast Company article, The Brand Called YOU, explain best why cultivating a professional online presence should be a career priority.
Key content generously shared in these chapters include:
Mitch framed his insight within the context of the following quote cited in Six Pixels of Separation from Michael S. Malone's May 2008 Wall Street Journal article, "The Next American Frontier:"
"The most compelling statistic of all? Half of all new college graduates now believe that self-employment is more secure than a full-time job. Today, 80% of the colleges and universities in the U.S. now offer courses on entrepreneurship; 60% of Gen Y business owners consider themselves to be serial entrepreneurs, according to Inc. magazine. Tellingly, 18 to 24-year-olds are starting companies at a faster rate than 35 to 44-year-olds. And 70% of today's high schoolers intend to start their own company, according to a Gallup poll."
(from Mitch a few paragraphs later):
"Here's what he's really saying (e.g., Mr. Malone): Without noticing it, we have once again discovered, and then raced off to settle, a new frontier. Not land, not innovation, but ourselves and a growing control over our own lives and careers.
Mitch Joel's Latest Book is Ctrl Alt Delete. My biggest personal mistakes/regrets in understanding and building a professional online presence are:
Mitch recently published Ctrl Alt Delete. I'm studying it now (and I love it). The lifelong career advice is invaluable. To preview Ctrl Alt Delete, please watch this thoughtful conversation between Jonathan Fields and the humble maestro:
This concludes post three on helping recent college graduates and current undergraduates build a professonal online presence. I hope you'll return for post four (e.g., Part 2) sharing six (6) more authors and their respective books. Post 4 should be published in two weeks.
Your Turn: Have you read any of these books? If so, how useful do you think they are to recent college graduates and current undergraduates. Are there other books you think would be helpful? Please let me know in the comments.
Tony Faustino is a marketing and corporate strategist. He writes about how The Internet reinvents marketing strategy for organizations and individuals in his marketing strategy blog, Social Media ReInvention. Follow his tweets @tonyfaustino or circle him on Google+.
Note: This is post three in a series sharing resources to help new college graduates and current students land full-time jobs or internships. If interested, here are links to other posts in this series:
Rand Fishkin (CEO of SEOmoz) and Dharmesh Shah (CTO of HubSpot) gave a great presentation this past Monday titled: The State of SEO and Internet Marketing in 2012. The presentation is filled with numerous insights and tips from both speakers.
Here's a copy of the slides:
"We've come to a place where those who were never going to stick it out with blogging for the long haul are busy on Twitter and Facebook, where they can share without the burden of having a passion for writing. So, in the end, maybe what's new for blogging is a place where the real bloggers step in and create a new type of copy for the world to consume. A place where more and more creative thinkers get to tinker with words in new and interesting ways. It's a place where you (and everyone else who wants to write and have a voice) gets to be free to try it out and see what kind of audience their words, images and even video connects with. Blogging - as a platform - may never have anything new to show for itself. Blogging - as a creative white space - is still in its early days."
Tony Faustino is a marketing and corporate strategist. He writes about how The Internet reinvents marketing strategy for organizations and individuals in his marketing strategy blog, Social Media ReInvention. Follow his tweets @tonyfaustino or circle him on Google+.
Every year, HubSpot publishes and conducts my two (2) favorite deliverables:
Here are the report and the webinar slides from HubSpot's Inbound Marketing Channel on Slideshare:
A HUGE shout-out and thank you to HubSpot Team Members Mike Volpe, Melissa Miller, and Maggie Georgieva, for a phenemonal webinar presentation last week!
Last year, I published a post on lessons I learned from HubSpot's 2011 State of Inbound Marketing Report. It became one of Social Media ReInvention Blog's most popular 2011 posts.
Blogs Are Not Dead. Long Live Blogs! Every year, we hear about blogging's continuing and expected demise in the social media universe. But, HubSpot's 2011 and 2012 research say otherwise.
Here's a direct quote and Key Conclusion #5 from the 2012 State of Inbound Marketing Report:
Businesses are increasingly aware their blog is highly valuable. 81% of businesses rated their company blogs as “useful,” “important” or “critical.” An impressive 25% rated their company blog as “critical” to their business.
And, there are more fact-based conclusions in the 2012 State of Inbound Marketing Report. Here are seven (7) reasons from HubSpot's data supporting the continuing relevance of blogging.
1. Blogs Are and Remain the Most Important Marketing Channel
59% of Respondents Say Their Blog Is Either "Critical" or "Important" To Their Business. And, 25% say their blog is "Critical" in importance. Mike Volpe pointed out an important way to increase your blog's business effectiveness is to clearly specify the call-to-action (CTA). Remarkable content isn't enough. Clear and specific CTAs converts inbound leads into paying customers.
Blogs Improve Your SEO and Google Rankings. Another competitive advantage of blogs is the content marketing benefits blog deliver:
Read this Social Media Examiner post by Jim Lodico: The Fastest Way to Increase Your Google Ranking. It's a great resource describing why blogging is vital to any business.
2. The Value of Company Blogs Keeps Increasing
Look Who's The #1 Social Media Channel in Terms of Importance. It's Blogs! LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter all ranked in lesser importance. The hub-and-spoke social media strategy model works with a website or your blog as the center. Social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter are short-from outposts guiding customers back to your website or blog (the long-form hub).
Adam Singer says it best: Social Media is More Than Facebook and Twitter.
3. Blogs Have the Lowest Cost-Per-Lead of Any Marketing Channel
52% of Respondents Say blogs are "Below Average" in Cost Per Lead. Blogs are the most cost efficient lead generation channel (inbound or outbound). Not surprisingly, trade shows are considered the most expensive.
Here's a direct quote from the respondent survey:
"The worst thing we did in marketing last year was attend several trade shows and events with low yield and ROI."
4. Blogs are Second Only to LinkedIn In Acquiring Customers
57% of Respondents Say Their Company Blog Acquired Customers. LinkedIn ranked first in customer acquistion. 62% of respondents validated its effectiveness. Interesting how "the two least sexy social media channels" ranked first and second respectively.
And, Speaking of Social Media Sexy - Blogs and LinkedIn Outdistanced Facebook and Twitter in Customer Acquisition. Don't believe the hype that long form content is dead. Or, consumer attention spans last only 140 characters or less.
Competitive advantage in converting leads to real customers doesn't have to be sexy and flashy. Blogs and social media are all part of the inbound marketing process called "closed-loop marketing."
But, making money by acquiring customers is sexy.
5. More Blog Posts Means More Customers
HubSpot's 2012 Data Shows a Direct Correlation Between Post Frequency and Customer Acquisition. At a minimum, post at least once-per-week. But, increasing post frequency from weekly to twice per month provides significant benefits:
Be SEO-Smart with your Blog Posts. Neil Patel recently published a must-read blog post in The Daily SEO Blog describing 12 Things That Will Kill Your Blog Post Everytime. Ignore these principles at your peril.
6. Blogs Are Consistently Effective for Either B2B or B2C Companies
At a Minimum, Your Social Media Strategy MUST Include a Blog. The data shows blogs rank second in customer acquisition for either B2B or B2C companies. Number 1 for customer acquisition depended on business-type:
A Killer Social Media Strategy Incorporates at Least Three Customer Acquisition Platforms. The companies succeeding in social media are the ones who view these channels as customer acquisition weapons. Based on this data, a three-channel approach geared to customer acquistion by business-type would look like the following:
7. Blogs Level the Playing Field for Small Companies
Small Companies Allocate Almost 4x the Marketing Budget to Blogs Versus Large Companies. Social media or inbound marketing channels are where small companies invest their marketing budget (i.e., social, SEO or organic search, and blogs). Large companies prefer outbound channels (i.e., trade shows, PPC or paid search, or direct mail).
This data isn't surprising especially in light of Seth Godin's explanation of "mass" consumerism and marketing in his book, We Are All Weird. Increasingly, companies pursue one of two strategies:
If you're a small company, your products or services are probably part of the niche market place. Use your blog as competitive advantage in the long tail of search.
Closing Thoughts
Please let me know with your comments!
I want to thank Social Media ReInvention Blog Community members for poking around the content in this five-post blog series (sorry if that sounded like an Academy Awards acceptance speech).
Google Analytics and Feedburner show this series generated noticeable traffic. Thank you for stopping by -- it means a lot to me!
3 Qualities of a Great LinkedIn Answer
I participated in answering the following question on LinkedIn Answers: What Would Be Your Suggestions for a New Joinee of LinkedIn. Take a look at the first two replies. Both answers share the following qualities of a helpful and thoughtful response:
1. Be Helpful. Be Nice. The conversational tone you choose to take is extremely important. Your tone is just as important as your answer's substance. I've participated in answering a number of LinkedIn questions. And, some of the submitted responses I've seen are self-serving, flippant, and condescending (sometimes bordering on mean-spirited).
That unfortunate behavior is why I think LinkedIn Answers is an often underlooked / undervalued LinkedIn asset. People are afraid to pose questions because they're scared someone will "call them out."
Don't be one of those people who takes a know-it-all tone. Be Exceptional. Be Helpful. Be Nice.
2. High Level of Detail. Both responses share concrete details and examples driving specific actions. These substantive answers are the exception (not the norm) in most LinkedIn Q&A forums.
3. Share Links and Additional Resources to Support Your Answer. Whenever possible, provide links to articles, blog posts, Slideshare content, press releases, etc. to support your point-of-view. Providing additional content reinforces how you're trying to share knowledge (not just your own). And, that attitude lends more credibility to your response.
6 Benefits of Submitting Great LinkedIn Answers
1. Increasing Your Personal Credibility, Authority, and Visibility. LinkedIn Answers is a great place to start to increase your online visibility and authority in a specific industry or subject. Make it a personal goal to follow through on a daily or weekly basis to answer questions in your chosen categories.
2. Earning Expertise and Trust Via Best Answer Designations. LinkedIn Answers is a great example of gamification. LinkedIn members posing questions have the option to award Best Answer Designations. Best Answers are social proof personified.
And, Best Answers designations differentiate your profile from LinkedIn's 150 million+ member profiles!
3. Gaining New Social Media Followers (i.e., Blog Subsribers, Twitter Followers, etc.). When you answer a LinkedIn question, you share personal insights and knowledge. Crafting and submitting thoughtful LinkedIn Answers (without blatantly selling) is a proven inbound marketing tactic. It's a classic social media example of giving to receive.
4. Earning a New LinkedIn Connection -- Validation From The Person Asking a Question. Why? Because, you earn that person's individual trust. A person posing questions on LinkedIn Answers will usually evaluate both your answer and your LinkedIn Profile (especially if he / she found your response helpful). The quality of your answer determines if you receive an invite to join his / her network.
5. Earning a New LinkedIn Connection -- Validation From The People Who Answered the Same Question. Why? Awarding of a "Best Answer" promotes friendly competition among the respondents. Remember, the answers are public to all LinkedIn members. Therefore, the people who who answer questions on LinkedIn Answers are also evaluating both your answer and your LinkedIn Profile (especially if you are awarded the Best Answer). If you impressed one of the responders, you may also receive a LinkedIn invite from him / her.
6. BONUS: Your Answer May Get Published in a Major Online News Publication! Marla Tabaka, posed this question two (2) months ago in LinkedIn: How Do Others Successfully Get Your Attention on LinkedIn? What Intices You to Accept an Invitation.
I and other LinkedIn Members submitted responses. Marla published selected responses in her great Inc. Magazine article: How To Make Great Connections on LinkedIn. I'm honored she selected and published my response in her article.
When you have a chance, check out more of Marla's great content in Inc. Magazine. She personifies publishing helpful and valuable content.
Closing Thoughts
Help Others Because It's The Right Thing To Do. I've read 41% of The Start-Up of You: Adapt to the Future, Invest in Yourself, and Transform Your Career by Reid Hoffman and Ben Casnocha.
The underlying theme of this great book is how / why we should help each other. Why? Because, it's the right thing to do.
That's what participating in the Internet is genuinely about. It's about helping others.
Pay It Forward. Answer someone's question and provide him / her the best guidance you can.
Link to Photo Credit by Sheila Scarborough via flickr
The Wall Street Journal Careers Section published the following articles on January 24th describing the challenges and sense of futility job candidates encounter when applying to a prospective employer:
Both articles highlight relevant trends in personal brand differentiation and demonstrating digital strategy / digital marketing expertise.
Bottom Line. Becoming an expert is one thing. Demonstrating that expertise online to a potential client or employer is another. Because, it doesn't matter if you're trying to earn a digital marketing or social media marketing position or another position in an unrelated industry.
Either way, your online presence must be FINDABLE and HUGE.
Clients or Employers Conduct Online Due Diligence
Is Your Online Presence Visible or Invisible? Clients and employers use online search and social networks in hiring evaluations. Key themes emphasized in both Wall Street Journal articles included:
Your Online Activity Represents How You Think. Your resume does not. The opening paragraphs of the No More Resumes, Say Some Firms article reinforce this growing notion especially among employers:
"Union Square Ventures recently posted an opening for an investment analyst. Instead of asking for résumés, the New York venture-capital firm—which has invested in Twitter, Foursquare, Zynga and other technology companies—asked applicants to send links representing their "Web presence," such as a Twitter account or Tumblr blog. Applicants also had to submit short videos demonstrating their interest in the position."
"Union Square says its process nets better-quality candidates —especially for a venture-capital operation that invests heavily in the Internet and social-media—and the firm plans to use it going forward to fill analyst positions and other jobs."
"Companies are increasingly relying on social networks such as LinkedIn, video profiles and online quizzes to gauge candidates' suitability for a job. While most still request a résumé as part of the application package, some are bypassing the staid requirement altogether."
"A résumé doesn't provide much depth about a candidate, says Christina Cacioppo, an associate at Union Square Ventures who blogs about the hiring process on the company's website and was herself hired after she compiled a profile comprising her personal blog, Twitter feed, LinkedIn profile, and links to social-media sites Delicious and Dopplr, which showed places where she had traveled."
"We are most interested in what people are like, what they are like to work with, how they think," she says."
Rage Against the Machine
A Two-Front War: Other Candidates and the Company's Online Applicant Tracking System. The accompanying WSJ video shares why optimizing a resume for keywords is vital. Your resume can be unfairly weeded out by a machine's keyword algorithm (even with internal referrals).
Show Clients and Employers Differentiating Content
Show Me, Don't Tell Me. This excerpt from Adam Singer's September 2011 blog post, How to Start a Career in Social Media, bears repeating. The excerpt validates the WSJ article Union Square Ventures example (direct quote from Adam's blog):
"A friend of mine Eric Friedman tells the tale of his job interview with renowned VC firm Union Square Ventures in New York. During a pivotal second round interview Eric sat down with one of the partners, Brad Burnham and presented his resume. Brad told Eric to hang on to it as he just wanted to chat. When Eric pressed him as to why, Brad responded with something remarkable which went like this: “You can work really hard on crafting a well written, organized, resume with bullet points of accomplishments – but you can’t fake 500 blog posts.” On the web, it’s “show me, don’t tell me.”
Courage, Creativity, and Dedication Produce Differentiating Content. David Meerman Scott wrote this great blog post titled, Courage. He states the hardest part is starting:
"The tough part is the courage both to begin and to sustain the content creation effort.'
Do The Work. Publishing great content lurks inside all of us. Here are some examples David suggests pursuing:
Conclusion
Start It and Ship It. In 2012, I'm focusing on additional writing not only via this blog but also through creating and publishing a promotional eBook.
It's time to start. I've mapped out enough ideas.
And, I have to have the courage to see what happens.
Additional 2012 calls-to-action for execution and experimentation:
Becoming a Thought Leader Requires Courage. You can't hope someone picks you. You have to pick yourself. But, self-proclamations aren't enough. You have to do the work to back up that claim.
Therefore, achieving this goal requires more effort. And, I'm reminding myself to focus on one thing at time.
Because, starting is everything.
Your Turn. How are you going to show your expertise / your art to a potential employer or client? How are you going to differentiate yourself among the masses?
Please share your thoughts in the comments. And, I hope you'll return next week for Part 3.
Thank You.
Inbound Marketing Certified Professional and Author, Social Media ReInvention Blog
Recent Comments