Monthly Archives: November 2011
#SocialMedia The Route To Your Next Gig [INFOGRAPHIC]
Social Media has pretty much replaced most forms of traditional print media so it is totally understandable that the hunt for a job has been also effected by social Media. I have seen lots of social media channels advertising jobs and even some channels that have even created a company job board.
Take a look at the infographic below to give you an idea of how much the job market has been changed by Social Media
Created by: MBA Online
Related articles
- #SocialMedia Tools #Oprah Style Favorite Things: Prepare To Scream Like a Girl (anisesmithmarketing.com)
- Balancing Your Social Media Activities [Infographic] – SocialTimes.com (scoop.it)
- Is This The Age Of Social Media? (smallbusinessmavericks.com)
#SocialMedia Tools #Oprah Style Favorite Things: Prepare To Scream Like a Girl
Social Media is evolving every day, or maybe even every minute of every day. It seems that new platforms are popping up all the time, so much so that it can actually be a tad overwhelming to say the least. I find that I am constantly tweaking the platforms that I use and honestly it has been an ongoing process. However I am so excited to say that I have found an amazing cocktail of social media tools recently that has really been working wonderfully for me.
Traditional Social Media allows an amazing avenue to share content. I consider it the vehicle to drive the content and can be a powerful thing if used properly. These channels are used to drive content based on particular demographics and I use each channel differently. The cocktail that I have compiled of traditional social media and the following channels has created the ultimate rocking social media tool kit for me!
Content Sharing
- Facebook Personal: The new Timeline layout allow me to share different content with different segments of followers/friends. I use my lists to allow different content to circulate to different demographics. The subscribe option allows me to share information that I find of value to people that have selected to subscribe to my updates and that are not on my friends list. I supply a wide range of content to subscribers and friends using a combination of lists and the underrated subscribe function.
- Facebook Pages: Allows me to share information that is business related to people following my business page. I am very in tuned to this page and constantly monitoring my insights to make sure I provide information that is of value to all friends and followers. I discovered early on that I have a HUGE foodie demographic on my Facebook Page so I also provide Recipes with QR codes which is a very popular segment.
- Google+ Profile: Offers an new but amazingly engaging platform to share your content.
- Google+ Pages: Is a growing avenue to share content and I’m sure will become as important to social media as Google is to Search. It has the makings of a very powerful social media tool.
- Stumble Upon: One of the most powerful, yet overlook social media tools available. I just started stumbling more although I’ve had an account for quite a while. UTILIZE this Tool!
- WordPress: At one time I was a bit of a WordPress basher but I am a total convert and I am embracing this very power format. I utilize WordPress.com and WordPress.org. I have 2 additional blogs with specific QR Code content, which I utilize WordPress, these two blogs allow me to focus on providing great content on QR Codes and Using QR Codes for Food. Gotta love anything that merges technology and food. For the Win for sure.
- Tumblr: I absolutely LOVE, LOVE Tumblr and I use it often. Tumblr is a great format to use for providing anything from little bits of information to full blown blog posts. I use my Tumblr blogs to push my curated content by way of Tech Blog and curated Food blog. Yes I love food, don’t judge me people.
- Scoop.it: I am very familiar with a few different tools used to curate content and I have used practically ALL of them, until recently. After the trial run of all of the curating tools that I’ve used I have really found that Scoop.it has every possible feature that I need in a Curation tool. Scoop.it allows you to create a variety of topics, the platform pulls data from all over the net based on your topic and compiles it in one area for your use. When you log in to your account, you find many many articles and posts for you to Scoop, by adding it to your Scoopit topic. You can share this content on Tumblr (which I do often) Twitter, WordPress, Linkedin and Facebook. After you Scoop the article a website of your topics is created based on these articles. Can you say AWESOME! The team at Scoop.it are constantly upgrading the site , they’ve recently added G+, the ability to re-scoop and the option to upgrade to Business Level which has analytics and additional powerful tools. I have divorced similar curation tools once I started using the bookmarklet which allows me to add even more content . Have you started screaming “Oprah Audience” style yet?
- Percolate: This is also a platform that is curation based but very different than Scoop.it. Percolate compiles a “Brew” of topics that are hot on the net from people that you are following, provides links that you can share on Twitter. Percolate is in Beta but I have invites, grab, grab , grab because I only have a few left. Invites are by email only, I have a few left so if you want in, contact me. I promise not to spam your inbox.
- ProSkore: After my amicable parting with Empire Avenue and nasty break up with Klout, I was honestly quite put off by any platform that assigned a numerical rating to anything I did online. Especially when it spit out a random Klout calculated arbitrary numbers that minimized my work ethic and business strategy. I’m not bitter. LOL. Anywayzzz, That was until I found ProSkore. What I really like about ProSkore is that it presents an opportunity to connect with Leads. Which means more business, which means more Cha-Ching. Did I make you scream yet?
- Commune.it: I will tell you, this platform is AWESOME Sauce! I am a bit against anything managing my Tweets but this is not really a tweet management platform. It is, however a very powerful tool that allows you to connect with the people that are most in tuned to you and your brand. Say WHAT? Oh yeah, that’s exactly what I said. Commun.it provides you a list of your most engaged members, supporters, influencers, and starred members to help you build better relationships with those people. Additionally it points out your new followers, who unfollowed you and who you should unfollow based on lack of engagement with you. The Commun.it team is on the move with improvements constantly. They just added an avenue to discover leads. Commun.it is still in Beta but I have invites, so get them while they’re hot.
- Zemanta: I am Loving it so far because is one of the most rocking tools I’ve ever found to help you rock your blog. Zemanta is a Chrome Plug in ( they have other browser plugins as well) that is used to make it easier to write that blog post, which can sometimes be a struggle. I am using it now, I’ve spread the word but I needed a bigger platform in which to spread the word, hence the inclusion in this favorite social media things blog. Zemanta adds a content recommendations plugin to your blogging platform that is used to help you easily add images, in-text links and related articles to your blog. What’s awesome about this is that you can use YOUR OWN CONTENT for the add ins. After you set up your preferences, the plugins will display your content from previous blog posts, Flickr and additional sources that you select. Zemanta literally just ROCKED THIS DAMN BLOG!!!
Related articles
- #Klout and Others: #Gamification and Scoring YOUR Social Media Worth (anisesmithmarketing.wordpress.com)
- Netflix’d: What Companies Should Learn From The New Socially Engaged World (anisesmithmarketing.wordpress.com)
- Peace Out #Klout (anisesmithmarketing.wordpress.com)
The Benefits of Expanding Your Business Into A Global Market
The biggest change that has happened in the last fifteen years is the monumental growth in technology. This has played a huge role in changes for students, individuals and organizations. The most drastic change has happened within organizations, as they have had to adapt the entire organization to technological changes. Changes such as this can sometimes be quite a challenge, especially when things change at such a fast pace as the growth of technology within the past few years. .
Businesses and Business Managers can view these technology changes as obstacles or opportunities. These changes should be viewed as opportunities that will be both beneficial to current employees and the entire organization.
The evolution of change started about 15 years ago with the growth of technology.
Early Technology: Organizations were driven by less savvy technology which allowed for a very traditional workforce and did not offer much flexibility to embrace Global Expansion.
- Landlines
- Typewriters
- Fax Machines
Technology In the mid 1990’s: Set the path for moving toward embracing a global workforce. The introduction of more advanced technologies set us on the path toward a much more global workplace.
- Internet
- Web 1.0
- Cell phones
Present: Allows for the growth of a global workforce. The advancement of the following technologies put the mainstream workforce directly in the path to expand globally.
- Technology Growth
- Web 2.0
- Smart Phones
- Growth of Freelancers
Near Future: Will allow all to totally embrace a global world. Some of the more advance technologies that are in the works now will set us all on a path to the ability to become a totally global workforce.
- Cloud Computing
- Growth of Smart phones
- Growth of Table/Mobile Computing
- Semantic Web: Immersive technologies
As technology grows organizations have to grow with them and Business Managers are in a unique position to make this happen if they take the necessary steps needed to create and embrace change. With any new growth there will be challenges and benefits for all involved, including Business Managers.
Challenges:
- Technology Expansion
- Cultural Barriers
- Time Differences
Technology Expansion: The initial challenge that would have to be tackled is to ensure that we are, as an organization capable of handling the technology needed to expand into a global workplace. With a few additions to our technology and someone to oversee the changes there should be a smooth transition.
- Skype: Offers a way to communicate online with people from all over the world.
- Google+ Is a way for teams to communicate by using the popular Hangout teleconferencing feature.
- Smart phones that are equipped with Internet
- Laptops and or Tablets for mobile communication
Cultural Barriers: Sometimes cultural and language barriers can be an obstacle with expanding globally. This can be overcome with training and proper staffing.
Time Zone Differences: When dealing with states there has to be an ability to adapt to time zone differences. So when going global this will be a challenge as well. Time zone differences also can be overcome with proper planning and staff.
Benefits:
- Diversity in the workplace
- Global Employment Capabilities
- Expanding Global Reach
Diversity in the workplace: When we open the doors to different types of people, it brings a different perspective to projects. This is an essential function if we want to compete and excel in an increasingly global world.
Global Employment Capabilities: When we select to expand our global reach we really open the door to finding amazing talent beyond just our local area. We can add team members from any county in the world. That is HUGE.
When we select to bring in people from different countries and cultures, it offers a different perspective to our projects and environment. This could act to give a wide variety of unique, creative and diverse views within our organization. A fresh approach in business will give us a competitive edge and that is beneficial to organizational growth and increased sales.
Expanding Global Reach: When we expand our employment capabilities this allows us to expand our global reach. This is a direct result of the growth of technology, which allows us to reach beyond just our local tri-state area. We can now extend our organizational capabilities to many other areas. This could increase our company reach, expose our brand to new clients, increase sales and allow us to explore a totally different market.
Conclusion:
The world is an ever changing place and we are becoming a much more global world. It is very beneficial to embrace these changes for the greater good of current employees, future employees and the organization as a whole.
How to really rock #Google
![#Google+ is The [Rhymes With] Spit](http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5072/5887001541_cdee82a5ca.jpg)
I am a HUGE fan of Google, I always have been. It seems that Google is really bringing their A game more than usual with the push of Google+. Lets take a look at the great services that they offer and learn how to utilize them for your benefit.
Created by: HackCollege
#Mobile Payments, The Big Picture…
Mobile web is projected to take off more that it has now. With the influx of Smart Phones this will increase exponentially and one of the avenues that is growing at a super quick rate is mobile payments. Take a look at the Infographic below, it could very well be the most important Mobile Payment Infographic ever
The most important mobile payment infographic. Ever.
Compliments of MobilePaymentsToday.com
Netflix’d: What Companies Should Learn From The New Socially Engaged World
I still don’t think companies are really grasping that Times are a’ Changin’ and that Social Media is playing a large role in the those changing times. It seems that even companies that do have a bit of a Internet focus still have old school marketing mentalities.
As consumers we are more in tuned, engaged and socially aware of the companies that we select to do business with. Notice I say SELECT because we have selected the company that we do business with and just as we select we can opt not to select. Social Media has substantially increased our awareness of the companies that we are doing business with, so companies now have to step their game up in order to be one of the companies that consumers select.
Netflix is just one casualty, of the more socially aware consumer and I am sure that there will be many to follow. Social Media allows us to, not only see and become aware of important changes that effect our lives and our wallets but it also allows us to spread our opinions in a very viral way to our friends, families and followers by way of social media.
The latest casualty of this growing phenomenon is Klout which I’m sure has felt better about their online reputation before the Kloutpocalypse. The fall out has continued and I’m sure it will continue until people move on to another FAIL.
These things should be a wake up call to companies that are still employing old school tactics without factoring in, the effects of social media on their choices. Most importantly companies “playing at” understanding social media then walking down the path of ingorance in their choices really need to look at the possible repercussions of their actions.
Gone are the days when companies could make choices that effect consumers, their client base and followers and have no fall out. Social Media is here to stay, the voices of the people will be heard and hopefully companies have learned from the Kloutpocalypse and will select NOT to be Netflix’d
Peace Out #Klout
Once Upon a Time there was a very new and exciting avenue which moved marketing away from boring guys spouting prepackaged messages at legions of people. The excitement in the villages was overwhelming, the people were excited and most importantly they moved from the perpetual state of WTH due to listening to those rehearsed depictions and blah blah blah marketing messages from old school marketers. The villagers, expressions went from Meh to yeah! They wanted to reach out, engage and meet the people behind the companies that they elected to do business with using this new communication method. This new phenomenon was called Social Media and the villagers were in a state of euphoria.
Uh oh and along comes boring market companies again, holding on to the old ways and spouting messages of eeeekk OMG..Social Media ROI. Along comes a knight in shining amour with a huge K on his chest. Klout to the rescue! They had the answers, they could measure everything and provide the numerical data to big, bad, boring old school marketing companies.
Charismatic Klout convinced all of the villagers including myself that they indeed were the answer and that we should pay attention to the numbers that they have supplied about our influence. We should wear these numbers proudly, supply them to all that would like to view them and offer a badge of honor on our blogs for all to see. We should further encourage our friends and followers to view this number and offer us encouragement with +K’s for all. The villagers were happy, for a while.
Then all of a sudden, one day out of the blue the lovely shininess of the Klout Armor started to tarnish. The scores that were touted left much to be desired. The raved about numbers started to diminish, dive and plummet. The villagers were none to please and started to revolt, I am one of them so I must say Peace Out to Klout.
Mobile Phones on College Students
I just wrote a post about how important it is for Colleges and Universities to embrace Social Media and technology more so that they can reach the you mobile student populations. It seems that mobile is booming with students even more than I thought. This is a bigger reason for Universities and Colleges to reach out and grasp technology in an even larger way.
Take a look at the Infographic below to give you an idea of just how important mobile phones are to the college age demographic.
Created by: HackCollege
