Monthly Archives: December 2011
2012 Is Here: Time to Rock Your Job Search with Social Media
We are all living in a very technology driven and social media oriented world. It seemed as one minute we were typing a way and the next we’re all on Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin. This happened in a very short span of time and we are all reeling from how different everything is. It is a very new and exciting time to be involved with technology and to be in a position to take advantage of all that it has to offer. Some are really going with technology and some are like WTH! Both responses are very understandable. 
One of the areas that we have not adapted to using Social Media is in our job search, beyond Linkedin of course. I think this is primarily because some of the cool tools out there are not as mainstream and popular. Again this is because there are so many new platforms out there that its hard to keep up, but there are some really cool platforms that will add a new spin to your hunt for that next consult or employment opportunity.
New technologies and social media used in this very tough job market could allow you to stand apart from the brutal competition that we are all going up against to gain the next consulting or job opportunity. What better way to do that than to add a few cool social elements to your job search.
A few Tips:
Traditional resumes are great and the have really served the purpose for many years, they still do but there are are a few options available that can be used as a compliment to a traditional resume.
- Zerply: Is an online resume format that allows you to create a wonderful display of your employment accomplishments for all to see in a beautiful and easy to use online format.
- Vizualizeme: Is still in Beta so you will have to request an invite. This format is also an online resume format and it allows you to create and infographic styled resume. You can customize the look and totally make it your own.
- Re.Vu: Is another online format that I really love. I just created an online resume using this format and it is a bit of a combination of all of the above AND it creates a QR Code for your online resume. You can then add the QR code to your business cards, traditional resume and all other marketing materials.
You can also go one step further by adding a social element to your email. After all an email is the first thing that will be noticed when you send your resume. So why not add a few social elements to that as well.
- Wisestamp: Allows you to create a simple email signature with all of your social media platforms.
- BrandMyMail: Is amazing! I just started using it and it allows you add video, blog posts, an email signature and more to your email.
A few more things:
- Clean up your social media presence
- Update your traditional resume
- Update your LinkedIn profile
Good Luck! Happy consulting & job hunting in 2012!
Related articles
- #QRCode Resumes #Re.vu (qrcodepromoproducts.com)
- Sales and Account Managers ADD A Little #SocialMedia To Your Strategy & Your Email (anisesmithmarketing.com)
- Be Aggressive in Your Job Search (money.usnews.com)
- How Social Media Is Reshaping The Job Search (viralblog.com)
That was Then, This Is NOW: #Facebook and #SocialMedia AS WE KNOW IT NOW…
I did a blog post a short while ago about Social Media Gurus and Social Media. This post created quite a bit of dialogue about the term social media guru, the length of experience that those gurus have, the origins of social media and how people define social media. Ummm musta’ HIT a nerve with some of the GURU’s. So lets just consider this a bit of a follow up to that post.
While gaining my Masters Degree in Internet Marketing I learned Advanced Internet Marketing Strategies, New Media Marketing Technologies and Social Media Optimization, Search Engine Optimization and more. I do have a firm understanding of what Social Media is; However, like anything everything is a matter of interpretation and someone may very well view things differently than I may. I am quite qualified to state my opinion as are others.
I am a firm believer that Facebook is the driving force behind the social media driven world that we are in now. In spite of that, I did in the previous post and still do acknowledge that there were a variety of online platforms that proceeded Facebook.
I am not saying that online interaction was nonexistent in the earliest stages of the Internet hitting mainstream. I am saying that businesses were not involved with Social Media as it is now….
That Was Then…This is NOW and The difference between then and now is the profound effect that the FACEBOOK ERA has had on our entire lives and businesses in particular. I’m not talking forums, online resume platforms or pre-web 2.0 platforms. YES I agree, there were indeed platforms around such as Friendster, Hi5, blah, blah, blah, blah, blahhhhh….I get that. One of those channels from that era is, LinkedIn which by todays standards is considered a social media channel. However back in its initial stages, Linkedin was considered a channel that allowed one to create an online resume. This platform encouraged PRIVATE interaction between people that have connected, not SOCIAL interaction as social media encourages. In addition, Linkedin did not offer the opportunity to share content which is a driving force behind social media as we know it now. Take a look at the image below of the LinkedIn interface as it displayed in 2005.
One of the driving forces of Social Media as we are experiencing it now, provides a platform for individuals and BUSINESSES to engage with a strong motivation to share content. This is a really cool experience for individuals as it has increased social interaction, but for businesses it is huge.
Businesses within the past two years have recognized the power of Social Media and has been embracing this new and exciting way of engaging, connecting and increasing its brand recognition by way of this phenomenon that has really taken the world by storm. Although we know that there have been other channels of online interaction, none of those channels have promoted the change as Facebook has. The growth of this phenomenon has change how we interact, how we behave online and how businesses market their brand. This is what has thrust businesses into the social media fray. NO other online channel, forum, platform whatever you want to call it has changed the fabric of marketing like the Facebook propelled social media era. This is the era of social media in which businesses are in need of experts, not gurus with an exaggerated ten years of experience.
Yes, there were other online channels, but we all know that NONE of the other channels have had the power to change the world from, what it was THEN, to the SOCIALLY ENGAGED world that it is NOW, except Facebook. Facebook has created entire industries, applications, phones geared toward the technology and more. Although Facebook did not start online platforms, Facebook is the driving force behind what we now call Social Media. Let’s not pretend otherwise…
The Take away:
The good thing is that based on the Facebook Era of Social Media, the world is a much more Socially Engaged place and we are all literally living through history in the making. Call it what you want, but this Era of Technology is exciting and I’m sure everyone is excited to be a part of it. I know I am!
Related articles
- YOU may be a Social Media Guru but YOU DO NOT Have 10 years of Social Media Experience (anisesmithmarketing.com)
- 2012 The Year For Those In Internet Industries (anisesmithmarketing.com)
- But I Don’t Have Time For a New Social Media Platform (anisesmithmarketing.com)
- Sales and Account Managers ADD A Little #SocialMedia To Your Strategy & Your Email (anisesmithmarketing.com)
Will Your Organization Be Embracing The Telecommuting Trend?
I just heard that due to political issues in the Middle East there may be an issue with allowing oil to the US, this could potentially push gas prices up to as much as $5.00 per gallon by the summertime. I anticipate that this may cause an undo burden upon everyone. The workforce and employees may very well be effected by this more than most, especially those with a longer commute.
This could be an opportunity for employers to consider telecommuting as an option for positions and employes that would benefit. The amazing thing about this option is that due to technology it is really possible to make telecommuting a very real and beneficial thing to all involved. The could be a win-win situation for all involved.
Sun Microsystems saved more than $67 million in real estate expenses in 2006 when they shifted 18,000 workers into a telecommuting operation, and Sun saves more than $70 million every fiscal year on real estate costs and operating expenses due to their use of telecommuting workers.
That is some amazing statistics on the benefits of Telecommuting! Take a look at the cost of commuting below:
So compare what you could save, how much commuters spend and how much they will spend if gas goes up to $5.00. I do believe it’s time to seriously think about telecommuting as a realistic option for your organization.
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- #Cloud Computing & Smacking Down Old School Organizational Structures (anisesmithmarketing.com)
- Freelancers: Stop Slacking and Start Branding…Yourself (anisesmithmarketing.com)
- 5 telecommuting careers that can make you rich (holykaw.alltop.com)
Sales and Account Managers ADD A Little #SocialMedia To Your Strategy & Your Email
I’ve talked to a few people in primarily sales industries that have yet to add a little Social Media to their presence. Coming from a sales background I do indeed understand the time constraints and things involved with meeting with clients, follow up calls, presentations and more. This can all leave a little time for anything else.
If you are in a more traditional organization that has not embraced Social Media organization-wide there are still things you can do to get yourself out there socially. We are quickly reaching a time with social media that we MUST have a presence. As consumers when we find about a company that is selling something of interest for us we immediately search for a Facebook Page, Twitter page and blog. So these are essential in any business but can really be particularly beneficial to people in account management and sales where it’s imperative that you reach new prospects on a regular basis. Social media is the best way to do this, while keeping abreast of what is going on with your industry with the more social media savvy folks.
Some things to get you started:
- Linkedin: One of the most popular professional social media channels is LinkedIn. It offers an opportunity to create a professional profile, a company profile and reach out to connect to possible prospects
- Facebook Business Page: Create a business page for your business and connect to people that have an interest in your services and clients. Add the Facebook widget to your blog so you can gain followers on your blog as well.
- Twitter: Create a Twitter page and provide essential and helpful tips about your industry. Remember, do not shove your sales pitch at your followers. Twitter is about sharing and engaging NOT pushing your products and services. It is fine to offer information about your services occasionally but be careful about how much.
- YouTube: People love video so record a 30 second commercial about your products and service. Add this to your YouTube channel. Create additional videos about your services, tutorials and videos that you think you followers would find helpful.
- Blog: Create a blog and provide information on your blog about your industry that would be of help to your followers. Share your blog on your Facebook Business page and Twitter channel.
- Xeeme.com: Is a very powerful networking platforms that allows you to extend your network and provides one URL for all of your social media channels.
- BrandMyMail: After you create you channels add them to your email! I just found an amazing FREE service that allows you to make your email more SOCIAL and I love it. BrandMyMail allows you to create a custom look to your Gmail and add all of the Social Media channels that you just created! For The WIN!!! Take a look at the video tutorial below.
As usual, I welcome all comments good, bad, ugly or indifferent. Feel free to leave a comment here, catch me on Twitter, Facebook or Google+
Related articles
- 2012 Beginners Internet Marketing Guide (anisesmithmarketing.com)
- YOU may be a Social Media Guru but YOU DO NOT Have 10 years of Social Media Experience (anisesmithmarketing.com)
- But I Don’t Have Time For a New Social Media Platform (anisesmithmarketing.com)
YOU may be a Social Media Guru but YOU DO NOT Have 10 years of Social Media Experience
The influx of the self appointed Social Media Guru, I believe is motivated by the need of old school organizations to pigeon hole, define and quantify an industry that they do not understand based on antiquated and old school usage standards. So people that are in the industry feel compelled to meet qualifications that are unrealistic and quite frankly not true. Social Media as we know it for business is a relatively new industry so all of the Social Media Gurus claiming to have 10 years experience are lying. Yes, I said it!
The driving force behind social media in the earlier stages, for individuals and businesses was driven primarily by Facebook and Twitter. These social media platforms, although they feel as if they have been around forever, have not. They are both really relatively new forms of media and have only been around for a few years.
Facebook was just created in 2004, that is about 7 years ago. I guarantee there were absolutely NO businesses using Facebook back then as a business tool. Business started to jump on the Facebook bandwagon with the introduction of Facebook Pages. It was at this point that businesses were able to create a space for their business NOT just their personal social media presence and that happened with the introduction of pages in 2009.
I am not saying that online interaction was nonexistent in the earliest stages of the Internet hitting mainstream. I am saying that businesses were not involved with Social Media as it is now and that there were NO Social Media Guru’s around. So in essence it is impossible for anyone to claim to have ten years experience or expect social media marketers to have ten years of experience when there was really no such thing as social media as we know it ten years ago.
I do understand that marketing online has been around since the 1990′s when the Internet started to go mainstream but it was at best in its earliest stages. As an early adopter I was involved and fascinated by the Internet and the ability to have access to so much information. Most of the marketing by way of what was called the World Wide Web then consisted of very basic online stores and affiliate marketing by some of the companies that were around in the earliest stages of the Internet.
Social Media for business is VERY New in comparison to the more traditional marketing strategies and we are all learning and growing with this industry. Since it is still so new and, at best in the earliest stages of growth, there are NO SOCIAL MEDIA GURUS and NO ONE HAS TEN YEARS OF EXPERIENCE in Social Media as we know it now. Furthermore you should really stop saying it because it makes you sound like an idiot. I say that with love in my heart.
More at : That Was Then This is Now: Facebook and Social Media AS WE KNOW IT NOW…
Related articles
- 2012 Beginners Internet Marketing Guide (anisesmithmarketing.com)
- But I Don’t Have Time For a New Social Media Platform (anisesmithmarketing.com)
- Twelve Steps Of Social Media Planning For Conventional Marketers … (scoop.it)
- Your #SocialMedia Sucks Because Your Intern Would Rather Play #BeerPong (anisesmithmarketing.com)
2012 Beginners Internet Marketing Guide
During the holidays and through out the year I’ve encountered many companies that have amazing products to offer but are totally stuck in a time warp, as in how they really need to be marketing their amazing products and services. A company can have the most amazing, life altering product and or service to offer but if NO ONE knows about these services and products it’s irrelevant.
Technology has surpassed the time when a business could advertise a company in a small local free digest, take orders by telephone at your location or office. As a tech savvy society it is imperative that our companies grow with technology and not continue to hold on to old ways, now matter how comfortable. We have also moved past the times when it was OK, to just have a website. Needless to say, if you don’t even have a website, there is quite a bit of catching up to do.
I know that getting started if you are not on board with technology can seem like a daunting task. So a few steps that you can take to get on board with Internet Marketing in 2012.
- Blog: A blog can be used in instead of a website or it can use do compliment a traditional website. The most amazing thing about a blog is that it is serious GOOGLE JUICE, which means the format of blog can act to get pretty good exposure and increase Google ranking. Blogs, as opposed to websites offer the ability to provide an ongoing flow of new content. That is of course depending on how much you post new content to a blog. The continuous posting of new and fresh content is one of the things that Google Bots search for on any web presence. So if you don’t have a blog, what are you waiting for start blogging. I have have used practically every blogging format available, so I say go straight for the best and that’s WordPress. It is a great format and Google LOVES WordPress. WordPress.com is hosted by WordPress and is really pretty easy to get started. Then there is the full blow content management system of WordPress.org, which would be hosted by you. Take a look at the Tutorial below, it will give you some tips on WordPress. It is a recorded webinar so it is a little long but it will give you everything needed to get started.
- Facebook Personal Page: I started my personal Facebook page as a way to connect with friends and family but it really has become a huge tool for networking. So now I use it 85% for networking 15% for connecting for friends and family. Facebook personal pages are for personal /networking use and there are Facebook Business Pages used to set up your business presence. You need a Facebook personal page before you can set up a page for your business.
- Facebook Business Page: Is a HUGE part of any Internet Marketing Strategy. A Facebook Business Page is a GREAT compliment to your Blog. The page allows you an avenue to share your blog posts and additional information with people that follow your page. Also, people tend to search out Facebook Business pages sometimes in lieu of a traditional website, to find out more information about your company. So by NOT having a Facebook Business Page for your company you could potentially miss out on an opportunity to share information about your companies products and services. So if you don’t have a Facebook Business Page its very important to your company to capitalize on this FREE platform to promote your company. Remember, potential customers could be searching for your company on Facebook, so you want to make sure they are able to find you! So Create your Facebook Page today!
- Twitter: Is an often overlooked resource in creating a new social media strategy. Twitter is a great way to gain company exposure, increase brand awareness and potentially sales leads for your company. You can also share blog posts by way of Twitter. Keep in mind that Twitter is NOT an avenue to shove your message at followers but more of an avenue to engage and share information that is of value to your followers. Twitter rocks and you should definitely get started with utilizing this powerful platform .
- Google+ Profile: Is a new social media platform to share content and interact with people. Although it’s still new, the potential is huge as is any Google product or service. As an early adopter of social media platforms I strongly encourage getting acclimated to this platform by setting up a profile.
- Google+ Pages: Pages are also really new but the potential is huge as I’m sure Google has huge plans for this new platform that is gaining popularity. One of the things that is really powerful about Google+ is that it’s a Google product and Google is known to really have exceptional service. Google+ is now starting to integrate posts from personal and pages in search results. So Google+ will have a huge effect on SEO.
Related articles
- Add Some #Google Juice To Your Static Website (anisesmithmarketing.com)
- The Importance Of Flickr In your Marketing Mix (anisesmithmarketing.com)
- Social Media Tools (anisesmithmarketing.com)
But I Don’t Have Time For a New Social Media Platform
I am one to give most new social media platforms a new try even if I am using a similar platform. I guess I am know as a bit of an early adopter. This has totally been a positive thing for me because I have really found someamazing social media tools that I have incorporated into my marketing strategy that has really made my life a lot easier and save lots of time in the process.
I would stay that every NEW social media platform that I am currently using has been a result of giving a new channel a try. I think the willingness to try additional social media channels and apps can only be a good thing for your social media strategy in the long run. What do you have to lose?
As technology grows so will the continuous push of amazing applications, channels and platforms. In order to continue to grow in your chosen path it is essential to continue to give different channels a try. I look forward to exploring all of the technology that 2012 has in store for us and hopefully learning a lot as I travel the path.
So when you think about how much time you DON’T have for another platform think about how different your life would be had you not explored Facebook, Twitter, Blogging and more.
Related articles
- YOUR Marketing Department is Obsolete and You are a Fossil (anisesmithmarketing.com)
- The Importance of Flickr In Your Marketing Mix (anisesmithmarketing.com)
- 2012: 7 New Trends in Social Media (socialmediatoday.com)
2012 Will Be The Year For Those In Internet Industries
The past few years have been really tough for the economy in the United States, but it looks as if ( fingers crossed ) we are looking at a bit of a rebound now. With economic growth and movement so does the need to acknowledge how things have indeed changed while were focused upon the economy.
One of the biggest changes that has happened is the socialization of technology and the movement toward a more engaging way to communicate. These changes have happened in every aspect of our lives and more-so in the workplace. The workplace is now almost forced to reevaluate the way they’ve been doing business for many years to incorporate different strategies. This will involve improving technology within the workplace and that means an influx of hiring of employees needed to fulfill those technology needs.
Take a look at a some of the industries listed as in demand by Inc.com
Software Engineers and Web Developers
The demand for top-tier engineering talent sharply outweighs the supply in almost every market especially in San Francisco, New York, and Boston. This is a major, major pain point and problem that almost every company is facing, regardless of the technology “stack” their engineers are working on.
Creative Design and User Experience
After engineers, the biggest challenge for companies is finding high-quality creative design and user-experience talent. Since almost every company is trying to create a highly compelling user experience that keeps people engaged with their product, it is tough to find people who have this type of experience (especially with mobile devices including tablets) and a demonstrated track record of success.
Product Management
It is always helpful for an early-stage company to hire someone who has very relevant and specific experience in your industry. This is especially true for product management, since the person in this role will interface with customers and define the product strategy and use cases. However, be prepared, as it will be a challenge to find people with experience in these high-growth industries: consumer web, e-commerce, mobile, software as a service, and cloud computing.
Marketing
I’m not talking about old-school marketing communications. Companies are looking for expert online marketers who know how to create a buzz of inbound marketing or viral traffic through the web, social media, and content discovery. Writing a good press release just doesn’t cut it anymore, as everyone is looking for the savvy online marketing professional who understands how the current state of the web operates and knows how to make it work to their benefit.
Analytics
Since data is becoming more and more accessible, smart companies are increasingly making decisions driven by metrics. Analytics is becoming a central hub across companies where everything (web, marketing, sales, operations) is being measured and each decision is supported by data. Thus, we are seeing a high level of demand for analytics and business intelligence professionals who almost act like internal consultants; they help determine what should be measured and then build out the capability for a company.
How awesome is that?? So if you are in any of these fields and you are looking update your resume, create an online resume and clean up your Social Media Profiles. Lets rock this year Techies!
Related articles
- The Benefits of Expanding Your Business Into A Global Market (anisesmithmarketing.wordpress.com)
- SocialMedia The Route To Your Next Gig (anisesmithmarketing.com)
- Land the Tech Job of Your Dreams (anisesmithmarketing.com)
- Do we have it all wrong? Is Freelancing the way? (anisesmithmarketing.com)
Blog Traffic, Think Tribe ..Go #Triberr
When I originally started blogging it was almost a forced effort on my part. I had just finished Grad School in one year and the thought of writing anything longer than my name was really like WTH. However I knew that blogging would have to play a huge role in my marketing strategy. As I started writing, I soon realized that not only was this a part of my strategy but, I really LOVED blogging.
I got started with Blogger, then ventured to Posterous and then grabbed a Tumblr. So I’ve pretty much had a trial run on every popular blogging platform. A few months ago Posterous, which was my primary blogging format after trying the others, jumped the shark. Ok, maybe Posterous did not jump the shark but they no longer fulfilled my blogging needs due to a format change. So with the encouragement from my friend Tami at AriesGDIM, I moved everything to WordPress. Since I was a bit of a WordPress basher initially, this was a big move for me and I am so happy that I made the move. I have been very happy with my transition to WordPress and I am using WordPress.com and WordPress.org.
Well, now here I am happy to blogging, excited about my new format but I lost most of my followers due to the transition from Posterous to WordPress. What to do, what to do? Well along comes Michael Q Todd with an invite to Triberr. What the heck is a Triberr, was my immediate thought. I did a bit of investigating, then jumped right in because it was exactly what I needed for my new WordPress blogs.
I had an opportunity to join a few other Tribes on Triberr but some of those did not work out so well. One of the most important things about going with a tribe is to make sure the content is a good fit for your marketing strategy and Twitter followers.
So, what is Triberr you ask? Triberr is quite simply Blog Juice because the platform allows you to get an amazing amount of blog traffic due to joining a Tribe of bloggers that share your content with their Twitter followers. You also share their blog content with your Twitter followers. This can be an amazing boost for your blog, as well as allowing you to connect with amazing bloggers. Ultimately it can really be a win – win for everyone in a Tribe if the right content is flowing through the Tribe.
I am a member of two wonderful Tribes, I love the content that flows through the Tribes and I am happy with the traffic that my blog has received.
A few things that you should consider when selecting a Tribe is:
- Make sure the content that you share is similar to your content
- Make sure the content is complementary to your style
- Make sure the content would be of interest to your Twitter followers
Also if you join a Tribe and the content is not to your satisfaction, you can always leave that Tribe. It’s NOT The Fugitive, you will NOT blow up. Just write the person that invited you a short note explaining why you left and then bounce.
In a parting note, remember that once you join Triberr you can create a Tribe of your own, to extend your Blog Juice even farther. Happy Blogging!
Related articles
- A Blog is NOT Optional (anisesmithmarketing.com)
- Why You Should Host Your Own Blog (anisesmithmarketing.com)
- Triberr – How to extend your Twitter reach (paulspoerry.com)
- 46 Brilliant Bloggers Talk About Triberr (blogworld.com)
BEYOND Social Media: #Technology, #Immersive Web and Our NEAR Future
As we all know Social Media is HUGE, I would go as far as to say that it is really the future of Internet Marketing. Maybe I should say that it is a huge PART of Internet Marketing. Social Media is a very important part of the Web 2.0 movement which has allowed us to think of Internet Technologies in a much different way that we though of them in the early stages of the Internet or Web 1.0
We are well into Web 2.0 and moving toward more advanced web technologies as we speak. Web 2.o moved us to a much more engagement focused way of communication online. New web technologies will give us a much more immersive web experience, it will be as if we are becoming one with technology. This will move us way beyond engaging and interacting with our online experience.
Technology has started to move us in the direction of providing the ability to literally live, breathe and feel the technology. These technologies are evolving and moving to mainstream as we speak.
Second Life is a virtual world that has been around for quite a while and it offers the ability to immerse ourselves into the technology by allowing a person to created an avatar of themselves and literally live, work and play within a virtual world. It even offers an avenue to create structures, buildings and homes. Although Second Life has been around for a while it is said that more organizations will be developing similar virtual worlds like platforms to bring a true immersive experience as we move closer to Web 3.0. There has even been talk of merging Augmented Reality and Virtual Worlds. The nerd in me is totally doing the happy dance.
More and more companies are using virtual worlds for online education, virtual meetings, trade shows and conferences. I anticipate that the growth of the global workforce, telecommuting and online universities will see a higher demand for usage within the virtual world and or 3D space.
With companies and Universities diving into technologies that bridge the gap between real world and virtual world we all will have to familiarize ourselves with these technologies. Some additional technologies that you should keep an eye on:
Take a look at some of the videos below that will give you an idea of how far we’ve come to where we are going next with
Early Internet
Web 1.0 -3.0
Second Life: Virtual Worlds
The Semantic Web, The future
Augmented Reality
Immersive Web
I would love some feedback! Let me know you think, good, bad, ugly or indifferent. Feel free to catch me on Twitter, Facebook or Google+.
