Category Archives: Public Relations

Posted on

57 Resources to Help College Graduates Land that First Marketing Job

by

 

The Number 57

57 Resources to Help College Graduates Land that First Marketing Job

How CONFIDENT are YOU in LANDING a JOB After Graduation?

Low Confidence? Most college students would say things look bleak for finding full-time work after graduating.  According to the CNBC article, Job Picture Looks Bleak for 2013, the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), plans to hire only 2.1% more graduates from the class of 2013 than from the class of 2012.

A Significant Gap Between Student and Employer Expectations.  Furthermore, a recent Business Insider article shares survey results from the academic services company, Chegg describing skills assessments by both college students and potential entry-level employers. In multiple skills areas (especially those relating to writing and critical thinking), college students are overestimating their skill levels and preparedness for business success in the following areas:

  • Writing to summarize results and convey information
  • Writing to communicate ideas or explain informaton clearly
  • Incorporating information to develop strategic insights


57 Resources to Land that First Marketing Job

There's Hope, If You're Willing to Put in the Work.  These various resources are categorized to aid recent college graduates who majored in marketing and communications (or current students majoring in these fields) during their full-time job search (or an internship search for current students).

These resources (along with resources from previous posts in this series) can give recent graduates ideas, strategies, and tactics providing a competitive advantage not only in the job search but also in developing several of the requisite skills and knowledge employers say recent graduates lack.

The categories are listed below with a make-shift table of contents:

  • Resource 1: Your Online Portfolio, Evan Kirsch and FolioMatch.com
  • Resources 2 – 9: Resources / Ideas from Tom Peters, Seth Godin, Mitch Joel, and David Meerman Scott
  • Resources 10 – 18: Career Success Ideas from Dan Schawbel for Young People and Millenials  
  • Resources 19 – 20: Job Search 101
  • Resources 21 – 28: Interviewing 101 (and Beyond)
  • Resources 29 – 30: Using Twitter's Real-Time Capabilities to Power Your Job Search
  • Resources 31 – 46: 21st Century Marketing and Communications: Walk-the-Walk and Talk-the-Talk
  • Resources 47 – 49: LinkedIn
  • Resources 50 – 51: Preparing Your Resume
  • Resources 52 – 57: Inspiration on Demand

Resources 2 – 57 are in no particular ranking or order. I included numbers to track the number of items and subsequently group them with some logic.  

Plus, having a high number for list-type blog post titles is scientifically proven to attract more readers.

 

Start Here — Number 1: Your Online Portfolio, Evan Kirsch and FolioMatch.com

1. FolioMatch.com. FolioMatch.com is the Kansas City-based brainchild of its President and CEO Evan Kirsch.  I met Evan during the 2012 UMKC Regnier Family Foundation Venture Creation Challenge.  UMKC's Henry W. Bloch School Management honored him as its 2012 Student Entrepreneur of the Year.  

Why Evan and FolioMatch.com are Number 1.  Evan created this company for an honorable mission and intent: To Put America's Young People To Work by Helping College Graduates Land that Ever-Elusive First Job.

Addressing Unmet Needs. FolioMatch.com fulfills HUGE unmet needs for young people who may have recently graduated, will graduate in Spring 2014, or are current college students seeking internship opportunities while in school:

  • Providing a living/breathing, on-demand online portfolio capturing all relevant projects, class assigments, internship deliverables / work products, accomplishments, awards, etc. throughout a college student's four-year college career
  • Devoting a career-focused, portfolio-centric, social network for a narrow audience (college students AND ambitious high school students)

I Think the World of Evan Kirsch and FolioMatch.com.  About a year and a half ago, I remember having lunch with him and listening to him passionately describe what drives him to make FolioMatch.com successful (at the time of our lunch the company was orignially named Folioboy.com):  

  • It isn't money
  • It isn't glory
  • It isn't fame

Evan founded FolioMatch.com because he genuinely believes:

Helping Others is THE HONORABLE WAY to Lead One's Life.  

I'm admiringly jealous of his guts to accomplish so much at young age.  20+ years ago, I lacked Evan's unshakeable vision, heart, passion, and resolve.  But, I'm working on that (because it's never too late to commit to becoming a remarkable artist).

Here's a video describing FolioMatch.com:

FolioMatch Introduction from FolioMatch Team on Vimeo.

Here's a video Evan and FolioMatch.com created to inspire talented, hungry, and go-getter millenials to embrace their call-to-action to create something remarkable via entrepreneurship:

FOLIO MATCH and MO CHALLENGE from FolioMatch Team on Vimeo.

From the Video.  "We started FolioMatch to be a one-stop resource for a student to keep track of all the projects they've completed over the years. Since then we have started sponsoring educational challenges so that we could help boost the content of students' portfolios."

  

Required Full Disclosure / Am I Receiving Any Money / Am I Receiving Any Equity / Am I an Advisory Board Member and other Boilerplate B.S. I Have to Write For Speaking So Highly of Evan and FolioMatch.com. I receive zero, nada, nothing, and any other cliche, etc. in financial compensation for talking up Evan and FolioMatch.com.  

I'm writing about Evan/his company because he leads a committed/dedicated tribe who rightfully deserves it.  I'm spreading the word about Evan and FolioMatch.com because it's THE RIGHT THING TO DO.  

And, that makes me feel good …

… please spread the word about Evan, his company, and FolioMatch.com's honorable mission.

If you're a college student (or an ambitious high school student), go to the FolioMatch.com site and register.

If you're a parent who's worried your son/daughter who graduates from college in Spring 2014 may face difficulty in this brutal job market (because the odds are he/she will), go to the FolioMatch.com site and register.

If you're a Spring 2013 college graduate and you're still actively looking for that first gig, go to the FolioMatch.com site and register.  Learning how to leverage LinkedIn to your advantage during your job search is important.  But, it takes more to win an interview slot AND stand out among thousands of applicants.

 

Resources / Ideas from the Best Marketing and Communications Teachers:  Tom Peters, Seth Godin, Mitch Joel, and David Meerman Scott

Common themes running through the resources 2 – 9 are entrepreneurial hustle and creativity. Standing out in an unfavorable economy within an ocean of candidates requires the courage and true grit to aggressively market yourself.

2. Tom Peters / Fast Company: The Brand Called YOU: This August 1997 article is the original classic highlighting the rising importance of personal branding.  Mr. Peters was ahead of his time in publishing and describing these timeless career management principles.

3. Seth Godin: Graduate school for unemployed college students

4. Seth Godin and Inc.com: 5 Ways to be Known as a Groundbreaking Thinker

5. Mitch Joel: 8 Ways to Score that Elusive Entry Level Marketing Position

6. Mitch Joel: 20 Best Marketing Books of All Time: Mitch literally posted this article a few days ago. He's often asked what are the best marketing books he recommends studying.  If you go to the comments section of his article, you'll see four (4) additional recommendations I suggested.  I would also add Six Pixels of Separation and Ctrl Alt Delete to this list (because the author of these classics is a pretty cool dude).

7. David Meerman Scott: Lindsey shows how to market to millenials and how to get a first job: David's blog post describing how Lindsey Kirchoff aggressively and uniquely marketed herself personifies her entrepreneurial hustle an creativity.

Here's a great video David filmed with Lindsey Kirchoff (who started working full-time with HubSpot's Content Creation & Blogging Team in September 2012):

 

 

8. David Meerman Scott: Tough love for marketing & PR job seekers

9. David Meerman Scott: 5 ideas for marketing and communications professors' success in the classroom

Bonus. David Meerman Scott — Inbound Job Search: David published this video on December 2nd. He shares five (5) inspiring stories about people publishing creative and remarkable content to win dream jobs.  One of the stories is how his daughter, Allison Meerman Scott, leveraged her personal blog to differentiate herself from thousands of outstanding Columbia University undergraduate applicants to win admission!

 

Dan Schawbel: Have the Courage to Promote Yourself (Because It's a Good Thing)


No one understands more about personal branding for young people than Dan Schawbel. It's why I literally carved out a "Dan Section" highlighting his work.  The man knows what he's talking about so take his advice seriously.

I do. And, even though he's 20 years younger, I believe his teachings apply to any age group or professional experience level.  He's the epitome of entrepreneurial hustle

10. Dan Schawbel and Forbes.com: My 10 Best Pieces of Career Advice for Millenials

11. Dan Schawbel: Top 5 Job Search Tips for Millenials

12. Dan Schawbel and Time.com: Somebody's Gotta Get Hired, Right? 6 Tips to Help New Grads Land Job Offers  

13. Mitch Joel and Dan Schawbel (from Six Pixels of Separation – The Podcast): SPOS #379 — Dan Schawbel Wants You to Promote Yourself  

14. Dan Schawbel and Time.com: How Recruiters Use Social Networks to Make Hiring Decisions Now  

15. Dan Schawbel and Forbes.com: How Globalization and Social Media has Impacted the US Economy

16. Dan Schawbel: Millenial Branding and Student Employment Gap Study

17. Dan Schwabel and Forbes.com: 5 Reasons Why Your Online Presence Will Replace Your Resume in 10 Years

18. Dan Schawbel and Time.com: The End of the Full-Time Salaried Job

 

Job Search 101

These Mashable articles do a great job in describing the basics AND the things to do to stand out. The common theme here is "put in the work." No magical formulas. Just get to work.

19. Mashable: 35 Surefire Ways to Stand Out During Your Job Search

20. Mashable: How to Nail Your Entry-Level Job Search


Interviewing 101 (and Beyond)

The common theme throughout these articles: Prepare. Prepare. Prepare. Do this and you'll eliminate 50% – 60% of your competition before walking in the room.

21. Fast Company: How to Nail Your Next Phone Interview

22. Lou Adler and LinkedIn Today: Moneyball for Job-seekers: How to Increase Your Interviewing Odds

23. Lou Adler and LinkedIn Today: Five Things You Must Not Do in an Interview and Five Things You Must Not

24. James Caan and LinkedInToday: The 3 Questions People Always Forget to Ask During Job Interviews

25. James Caan and LinkedIn Today: 5 Ways to Avoid Losing Out on that Dream Job

26. Mashable: INFOGRAPHIC — Top Job Search Mistakes Millenials Make and How to Fix Them

27. Mashable: 6 Job Interview Questions and Answers to Avoid

28. Lea McCleod, M.A.: 5 Big Reasons New College Grads are Failing the Job Search

 

Creative Ways to Use Twitter in Your Job Search 

When it comes to real-time news and responsiveness, there's Twitter and then there's everybody else. Leverage its real-time capabilities to your advantage. Finding out about that open, entry-level position before other candidates is a competitive advantage.


29. Mashable: How a 140-Character Twitter Resume Could Land Your Next Job

30. 20 Twitter Resources for Job Hunters

 

21st Century Marketing, Communications, and Public Relations Knowledge

Talk the Talk Like Seasoned Marketing Pros. The interviewing team will deem you credible only if you "speak their language."  Therefore, learn how to speak it.  Learn about the movements impacting marketing now (and in the future).

You don't have to memorize vocabulary lists by rote. But, you have to credibly demonstrate your awareness of how marketing, communications, and public relations are constantly changing.

Walk the Walk Like Seasoned Marketing Pros. The following resources provide ideas and suggestions for developing skills in writing, storytelling, and critical thinking.  Remember, the Internet turns every moment before, during, and after a job interview into a show-me you're different opportunity — Take the Initiative and Take the Advantage.

21st Century Marketing and Communications Fundamentals Bootcamp


31. HubSpot Inbound Marketing Blog: You Were Too Embarrassed to Google (But Should Definitely Know)

32. HubSpot Inbound Marketing Blog

33. HubSpot Academy 

Content Marketing

34. Marketing Profs Daily Fix Blog

35. Content Marketing Institute Blog


Online, Digital, eCommerce Future Trends and Patterns

36. The Mitch Joel Six Pixels of Separation Podcasts on iTunes (and their free)

37. eMarketer Articles

Blogging

38. Copyblogger Blog

39. Darren Rowse: PROBLOGGER Blog


Measurement and Analytics

40. Occam's Razor Blog By Avinash Kaushik

41. The Future Buzz Blog by Adam Singer

42. Google Analytics Blog

43. Google Analytics Academy

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

44. Rand Fishkin's MOZ Blog

45. The MOZ Blog

46. Danny Sullivan's SearchEngineLand.com Blog

 

LinkedIn

47. Forbes: 7 Ways to Make LinkedIn Help You Find a Job

48. Forbes: 5 LinkedIn Strategies You Haven't Thought of Before: the suggestion to use LinkedIn showing you've researched a company's competitors and the point of "sales reinforcement" has powerful applications in a job interview

49. Lou Adler and LinkedIn Today: Networking Rules for Job Seekers — The Good, The Bad, and The Almost Perfect

Preparing Your Resume 

50. Mashable: Why You Need Several Versions of Your Resume

51. LinkedIn Labs Resume Builder: This handy app transforms your LinkedIn Profile into a PDF resume. Therefore, fill out your LinkedIn profile with as much detail as you can. 

Inspiration On Demand 

52. to 55. LinkedIn Influencers — My First Job Job Series: If you're getting down on yourself during the process, GO HERE IMMEDIATELY. Everyone had to start out somewhere. That includes some of the world's most influential movers & shakers in every industry.  

Don't believe me?  Here are some samples how:

My First Job. I started out as an unpaid, summer laboratory tech intern / dishwasher at The Washington University School of Medicine.  Luckily for me, the department's head researcher paid me that fall because my boss said I was a good guy.

56. Jonathan Fields — The Good Life Project: Jonathan is an A-List entrepreneur and a person driven to help others succeed personally and professionally via entrepreneurship.  His video interviews are inspiring.

I subscribe to his free podcasts on iTunes and listen to them repeatedly.

Check out this video on overcoming and reframing risk and the fear of failure and judgment.  Pure Gold.


 

 

57. Video: Best Day of My Life (Dog Version) by American Authors: Trust me, this video will make you feel soooooo good after watching it no matter how bad you feel. And, it's probably why American Authors are my new favorite band and why this song is now my all-time favorite.

 

 

Closing Thoughts

This is post five (and the final one) in a series to help new college graduates and current students land full-time jobs or internships.

Here are the respective links for posts 1 to 4:

Your Turn

If you're a college graduate looking for work, a concerned parent, a worried relative, or a current college student, please let me know in the comments if the content here helped (or if it didn't).

What should be kept on this list?  What should be taken off? What resources did I miss?  What should be added?

Please help me in continuously improving this page as a helpful resource to others.

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+. 

Photo Credit by STV Photos via flickr

Related articles
Part One: 4 Gurus with Books Helping New College Graduates Build a Professional Online Presence
Part Two: 4 More Gurus and Their Books Helping Marketing and Communications Graduates Land that First Job
Encouragement to UMKC's Inspiring Student Entrepreneurs in the Regnier Family Foundation 2012 Venture Creation Challenge
63% of Recent Grads Say They Need More Training to Get the Job They Want
New College Graduates Think They're Much Better Hires Than They Really Are
Recruiter Confidential Announces In-Depth Job Search and Interview Training for Recent College Graduates
Posted on

Part Two: 4 More Gurus and Their Books Helping Marketing and Communications Graduates Land that First Job

by


Huge Banner Asking What Are You Reading?

What Books Are You Reading to Land Your First Job After College?

 

How Confident are YOU in Finding a Job After Graduation?

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."

 

Suggested Authors / Books to Help Undergraduate Marketing Majors Land that First Job After College

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.

David Meerman Scott

 

The new rules of marketing and pr book 2

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.

Why The New Rules of Marketing & PR Matters

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:

  • Thinking Like a Publisher (e.g. managing and creating content as a valuable asset)
  • Tactfully and Skillfully Informing the World About Your Expertise
  • Creating Varieties of Content Demonstrating That Expertise
  • Building, Understanding, and Targeting Your Audience Via Buyer Persona Profiles
  • Commenting on Other Blogs to Build Online Credibility and Relationships
  • Giving Away Your Expertise by Publishing and Distributing Free E-Books

Here's David discussing the latest release of The New Rules of Marketing & PR:

 

And, Speaking of Giving Away Your Expertise …

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.

Ann Handley and C.C. Chapman

Content Rules Book Cover

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 …
… Laugh
Cry …
Think Some More ...
… Want Some More

Ann is the Chief Content Officer for MarketingProfs, a phenomenal resource for marketing and business professionals.

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.

Why Content Rules Matters

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:

  • Web Pages
  • Videos
  • Blogs
  • Photographs
  • Webinars
  • Whitepapers
  • eBooks
  • Podcasts
  • Presentations
  • Social Outposts (e.g., Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Pinterest, etc.)

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:

  1. Goal Setting: Who is Your Audience? What Metrics Will Determine You're Succeeding (or Failing)?
  2. Defining: What Content Type(s) Should You Publish?
  3. Publishing: How Often to Publish (by content type)?  What are the Platform Considerations (i.e., blog posts, tweets, Facebook updates, LinkedIn Group discussions, etc.)?
  4. Promoting: How to Share Content (without the cologne of a used car salesman).

More importantly, they share practical advice for budget-constrained marketing teams wondering:

  • How Do We Start?
  • What's the RIGHT Content Strategy for US?

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):

  1. Whom are you trying to reach (e.g., your audience, clients, customers)?
  2. Where does your audience spend their online time?
  3. How does your audience access the Web? This may be your team's most important discussion because of mobile-world implications. Your audience's ability to easily and quickly access mobile content (or not), makes or breaks your ability to access increasing mobile content consumption via tablets and smartphones. Mess this up, and your thoughtful answers to questions #1 and #2 may no longer be valid.
  4. What does your audience crave (e.g., content that informs, entertains, something else)?
  5. What do you want your audience to do (e.g., motivate it to do X, figure out the calls-to-action)?
  6. What content do you already have (e.g. take a content inventory)?

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:

  • The Content Rules Blog Post Template
  • The 12-Point Content Rules Checklist

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.

 

Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah


Inbound marketing book cover

Inbound Marketing: Getting Found Using Google, Social Media, and Blogs by Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah

 

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.  

 

 

 


  

 

Why Inbound Marketing Matters

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)

  • The underlying principles behind “closed loop” marketing (CLM)

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:

  • D = Hire Digital Citizens
  • A = Hire for Analytical Chops
  • R = Hire for Web Reach
  • C = Hire Content Creators

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:

  • What RSS reader do you use?  Can you show it to me?
  • What blogs do you read?
  • Do you rank first for your name in Google?
  • Do you have a blog? Can you show to me?
  • Do you use Facebook or LinkedIn?  When was the last time you updated your profile?
  • Do you have a channel on YouTube? Can you show it to me?

Interview Questions Evaluating Web Reach:

  • How many subscribers to your blog? Do you talk about our industry on your blog or about personal stuff?
  • How many Facebook followers do you have?  Do you talk about our industry at all on your Facebook account?
  • How many LinkedIn followers do you have?
  • How many Twitter followers do you have?  Do you talk about our industry on you Twitter account?

Closing Thoughts

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

 

Related articles

 

Part 2, Book Review: 3 Memorable Themes from Hugh MacLeod's Freedom Is Blogging In Your Underwear

Should College Graduates and Current Undergraduates Learn LinkedIn?

Part One: 4 Gurus with Books Helping New College Graduates Build a Professional Online Presence

A Public Fan Letter to David Meerman Scott

LinkedIn's Grad Guide Videos: 13 Pearls to Help Recent College Graduates Find Jobs

A Public Fan Letter to Mitch Joel

 

 

Posted on

Pixar’s 22 Rules of Storytelling Mastered by American Authors and Georgia English Bulldog Rescue

by


English Bulldog and Chihuahua

English Bulldog and Chihuahua

 

Introduction

The Social Media ReInvention Community knows how much my family loves dogs.  My family is blessed with two loving German Shepherds utterly devoted to our young daughters.  And, one German Shepherd is a rescue.  

One of this community's most popular posts, 3 Social Media Tips for Oogy: The Dog Only a Family Could Love, shares the story of how a generous and caring family rescued a loving and affectionate dog from the direst and most hopeless circumstances.

If the Following Video Is Not Remarkable and Compelling Storytelling, I Don't Know What Is

Note: My apologizes for the brief commercial in the video's introduction.  I couldn't locate the commercial-free version.  But, I promise it is a moving and soulful content marketing example.

Full Disclosure: I donated literally minutes ago to Georgia English Bull Dog Rescue via their website, and I purchased the song "The Best Day of My Life" by American Authors via iTunes because I support, believe in, and respect their video's unselfish call-to-action.

Spoiler Alert: WATCH THE VIDEO FIRST before reading further!!  Resisting that temptation is worth the wait …

 


 

 

A Page Torn from Pixar's 22 Rules of Storytelling


This past Friday, Fast Company published Pixar's 22 Rules of Storytelling–Visualized.   Several of these storytelling rules are inherent in this moving video.  Highlighted in blue are the storytelling rules I quickly recognize.

For your reference, here are Pixar's 22 Rules of Storytelling shared by former Pixar storyboard artist,  Emma Coats:

1. You admire a character for trying more than their successes.

2. You gotta keep in mind what's interesting to you as an audience, not what's fun to do as a writer.  They can be very different.

3. Trying for theme is important, but you won't see what the story is actually about till you're at the end of it.  Now rewrite.

4. Once upon a time there was ____.  Every day, ___.  One day ___.  Because of that, ___.  Until finallly ___.

5. Simplify.  Focus.  Combine characters.  Hop over detours.  You'll feel like you're losing valuable stuff but it sets you free.

6. What is your character good at, comfortable with?  Throw the polar opposite at them.  Challenge them.  How do the deal?

7. Come up with your ending before you figure out your middle.  Seriously.  Endings are hard, get yours working up front.

8. Finish your story, let go even if it's not perfect.  In an ideal world you have both, but move on.  Do better next time.

9. When you're stuck, make a list of what WOULDN'T happen next.  Lots of times the material to get you unstuck will show up.

10. Pull apart the stories you like.  What you like in them is a part of you; you've got to recoginize it before you can use it.

11. Putting it on paper lets you start fixing it.  If it stays in your head, a perfect idea, you'll never share it with anyone.

12. Discount the 1st thing that comes to mind.  And the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th — get the obvious out of the way.  Surprise yourself.

13. Give your characters opinions.  Passive/malleable might seem likeable to you as you write, but it's poison to the audience.

14. Why must you tell THIS story?  What is the belief burning within you that your story feeds off of?  That's the heart of it.

15. If you were your character, in this situation, how would you feel?  Honesty lends credibility to unbelievable situations.

16. What are the stakes?  Give us reason to root for the character.  What happens if they don't succeed? Stack the odds against.

17. No work is ever wasted.  If it's not working, let go and move on — it'll come back around to be useful later.

18. You have to know yourself: the difference between doing your best and fussing.  Story is testing, not refining.

19. Coincidences to get characters into trouble are great; coincidences to get them out of it are cheating.

20. Exercise: take the building blocks of a movie you dislike.  How would you arrange them into what you DO like?

21. You gotta identify with your situation/characters, can't 'cool'.  What would make YOU act that way?

22. What's the essence of your story?  Most economical telling of it?  If you know that, you can build from there.

Also, here's a SlideShare presentation / document with Pixar's 22 Rules of Storytelling created and shared by James Caswell of Caswell Design:

 

 

BRAVO and THANK YOU to Joshua Mikel, American Authors, and Georgia English Bulldog Rescue for Touching My Heart

Joshua Mikel is The Man!  A few hours ago, Georgia English Bulldog Rescue's Facebook Page informed me how Joshua Mikel is the creative/driving force behind this remarkable art.  Thank you for creating and sharing your art — it's genius!

Rule 16 is Highlighted Differently for Obvious Reasons.  When the video ended, a lump entered my throat and tears filled my eyes.  I don't know what else to say …

The Content We Should Create / The Stories We Should Tell.  I'm currently reading / studying Mitch Joel's wonderful book, Ctrl Alt Delete.  Mitch makes a valuable and insightful point about committing the common mistake of "creating content just for the sake of creating content or telling stories just for the sake of telling stories … "  

Direct quotes from page 196 of Ctrl Alt Delete:

"Marketers often will often say that the best ads are the ones that tell stories.  While you can easily shoot back with a 'Duh, tell me something I don't know,' take a cold hard look at all of your marketing collateral and ask yourself if you're telling a story worthy of being told—-or are you just telling a story to get something sold?"

It's not all about content.  It's all about stories.  It's not all about stories.  It's all about GREAT stories.

 

Your Turn.  How did this video / art affect you?  Which 22 Pixar Rules of Storytelling do you recognize?  How about comparing notes?  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+.  

 

Photo Credit by Jeff Hill Photo via flickr

Related articles
3 More Lessons In Writing and Blogging From Fast Company's Leadership Hall of Fame
Does Malcolm Gladwell, Author of The Tipping Point and Outliers, Use Marketing Research?
Pixar's 22 Rules of Storytelling – – Visualized
A great list for many aspects of life – Pixar's 22 Rules of storytelling
Pixar's 22 Rules of Storytelling as Image Macros
Pixar's 22 Rules of Storytelling. {images}
Posted on

Part One: 4 Gurus with Books Helping New College Graduates Build a Professional Online Presence

by

 

Big Banner Asking What Are You Reading?

What Books Are You Reading to Land a Job After College?

 

How Confident are You in Finding a Job After Graduation?  


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 Professional Online Presence Provides Differentiation Among a Sea of College Graduates

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:

  1. Find you online
  2. Select you for that crucial first interview  

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.

Turn Your Non-Working Time Into a Competitive Advantage

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.  

These authors share creative ideas to show a potential employer "you're more than a resume and the grades on a college transcript".  Their teachings provide suggestions in maximizing the Internet's global reach and leveraging search engines to your advantage.
 
Reid Hoffman and Ben Casnocha

Hoffmanreid_thestartupofyou

Read The Start-Up of YOU First.  

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:

  • Adapting all the time (e.g., permanent beta and pivoting)
  • Dealing with uncertainty and information gaps
  • Understanding their competitive advantage(s) (plus identifying quickly what is not)
  • Building and nurturing lifelong networks and relationships (both personal and professional)
  • Asking their lifelong networks and relationships for advice when confronting problems
  • Managing risks intelligently

Why The Start-Up of YOU Matters

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

Me 2.0 CoverDan 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. 


Why Me 2.0 Matters  

Me 2.0 provides easy-to-understand suggestions for creating a professional brand online by:

  • Evaluating blog hosting options (if I could go back, I would select WordPress)
  • Starting, writing, and marketing a personal blog 
  • Participating wisely in social networks
  • Developing relationships with influential bloggers in your targeted industries
  • Understanding search engine optimization's (SEO) impact on your professional career

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.
 


Mitch Joel

Six Pixels CoverI am a HUGE Mitch Joel Fan.  Mitch is President of Twist Image – one of the largest independent Digital Marketing Agencies in North America. When Google educates the top global brands about digital marketing, they call Mitch to speak at the Googleplex.

Why Six Pixels of Separation Matters


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: 

  • A Personal Brand Questionnaire (for evaluating your personal brand and how well you are digitally communicating it)
  • The Essential Components in Building a 3D Personal Brand: Giving Abundantly, Helping Others, and Building Relationships
  • A Personal Brand Audit of Online Tools (such as a personal blog, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google Search, and Google Alerts)
  • Building and Targeting a Niche for Your Professional Online Presence

A Bonafide Visionary.  Here's a direct quote from Mitch Joel in Six Pixels of Separation "predicting" why a professional online presence matters more than ever for new college graduates (this was in 2009).  

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:

  1. Not publishing this personal blog at least 10 years earlier.
  2. Not reading Six Pixels of Separation upon its initial release.

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: 


 

Closing Thoughts

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:

 



Photo Credit: by Pop Culture Geek via flickr

Related articles
Start-Up of You Book Review, Part 4: A Note to the Critics
Part 1: 10 Reasons on Why Freedom Is Blogging In Your Underwear
LinkedIn's Grad Guide Videos: 13 Pearls to Help Recent College Graduates Find Jobs
Start-Up of You Book Review, Part 3: Five Smart People In A Special LinkedIn Community
Should College Graduates and Current Undergraduates Learn LinkedIn?
Part Two: 4 More Gurus and Their Books Helping Marketing and Communications Graduates Land that First Job
Posted on

Boulevard Brewing Company: A Social Media Case Study in Leadership, Transparency and Doing the Right Thing

by

Thumbs Up

 

On February 23rd, I attended a great social media networking event hosted by Ben Smith and Social: IRL.  The Taste, Tweet, Meet With Boulevard Brewing Company event was exceptional.  

But, it wasn't for the usual reasons that I found this event so enjoyable (i.e., the personal camaraderie of social networking connections in Kansas City, the privilege of personally meeting these wonderful people sometimes for the first time, etc.).

Julie Weeks, Marketing Communications Manager for Boulevard Brewing Company, gave a fantastic presentation on the social media strategy and community building efforts of Boulevard Brewing Company.  

Her talk focused on the social media phenomenon around Boulevard's Chocolate Ale. Here's her presentation with a hat tip to Eric Melin and the Spiral16 Blog:

 

Boulevard Brewing Co. Social Media – The Tale of the Ale

View more PowerPoint from Spiral16

 

Leadership Lesson #1: Be Transparent and Directly Address Difficult Questions

Julie directly addressed the recent product recall of Boulevard's Chocoloate Ale.  She had the courage and guts to: 

  • Explain how the company discovered the problem
  • Share how they're working to solve it
  • Discuss how she's continuously informing Boulevard's customers / fans about this ongoing process

She openly fielded numerous questions.  Plus, she patiently spoke with individual attendees about specific questions after concluding her presentation.  I was one of those folks (more on that later). 

Julie openly sharing this presentation and Boulevard's ongoing efforts in addressing the Chocolate Ale product recall demonstrates:

  • "We've got nothing to hide"
  • "We're working hard to address the problem"
  • "We will keep you informed"
  • "We're listening, We're listening, We're listening"
  • "We made a mistake.  Please accept our apology."

And, speaking of an apology …

Leadership Lesson #2: When You Say You're Sorry, Mean It 

Don't Cram Rehearsed Corporate Management-Speak / Public Relations-Speak Down Our Throats.  Julie's presentation included the following YouTube video with John McDonald, Founder and President of Boulevard Brewing Company, and Steven Pauwels, Boulevard's Head Brewmaster:



 

Why This Apology Is Genuine.  Why It Is Human.  I asked Julie whose idea was it to produce and publish this video on the Internet.  She said it was hers.  And, she convinced Boulevard's top two leaders of immediately and publicly addressing this communications crisis.

"Speak From Your Hearts."  The reason why this video resonates with me and Boulevard's many fans is because it's genuine.  Julie told me McDonald and Pauwels did this video without a script. 

Her only instruction: "I need you guys to speak from your hearts."

If Boulevard's fans and consumers don't consider this video a genuine and heartfelt apology (and it comes from the firm's highest leadership), I don't know what is.

Every Fortune 500 CEO in America could learn from McDonald's and Pauwels' plain-spoken example to inform its consumers of bad news (and the subsequent actions to make things right).

Otherwise, not only do you lose consumer trust, but also the CEO may find himself / herself pushed out.  Just ask Richard Weldon — now the former CEO of Johnson & Johnson.  Due to multiple product recalls at Johnson & Johnson, Mr. Weldon is stepping down as CEO in Aprl 2012.  

Weldon talked about Johnson & Johnson's apology and how it was working to regain consumer trust in May 2011 during an interview with Geoff Colvin, Senior Editor-at-Large of Fortune Magazine.  Unfortunately, repeated and multiple product recalls over a two-year period upended Mr. Weldon's otherwise outstanding career (he was regarded as one of the most respected leaders in the pharmaceutical industry before these product recalls):



 


Closing Thoughts

Pride In Your Organization.  Pride in Your Products.  Pride in Your Community. Boulevard Brewing Company is a Kansas City Community Crown Jewel.  And, I'm proud to not only be a HUGE FAN of their beers but I'm also a HUGE FAN of Julie Weeks and Boulevard's leadership because of their actions.

(In the company's Chocolate Ale Refund Announcement, Boulevard states the following in the first sentence)  "At Boulevard Brewing Company, we pride ourselves on our attention to detail."

(Around time stamp :25 of the YouTube Chocolate Ale Announcement from John McDonald) "We're a proud brewery and we want to do the right thing …"

A Vital Kansas City Civic Principle.  Boulevard Brewing Company embodies a vital Kansas City civic principle:  Kansas City is a proud community built and driven by the resourceful and creative entrepreneurial spirit of people like the John McDonalds, the Henry Blochs, the Ewing Kauffmans, and the J.C. Halls:



 

And, that entrepreneurial spirit continues to thrive because of the leadership of people like John McDonald, Steven Pauwels, and Julie Weeks.

Hang In There Julie!  As I conclude this post, I know Julie Weeks is working today, tomorrow, and how ever long it will take to address the Chocolate Ale situation.  She takes TREMENDOUS PRIDE as Boulevard's online ambassador.

Julie, if you see / read / monitor anything remotely negative about Boulevard Brewing Company, please remember these four (4) things:

  1. Your social media friends and colleagues are rooting for you
  2. You're doing a fantastic job as Boulevard's Online Ambassador!
  3. Keep Doing What You're Doing
  4. Go back and read #1 – #3

 

Photo Credit by Sarah Reid via flickr

Posted on

Social Media Expertise, Part 1: It’s Earned, Not Self-Proclaimed

by

 

Ninja

"There's a distinct difference between perceived expertise and acquired expertise."   — Tom Jenkins, Social Media Club Kansas City

I remember Tom's insight 2+years ago during a small breakfast meeting at La Peeps Restaurant in Overland Park, KS.  Our discussion centered around the burgeoning cottage industry of books and seminars touted by self-proclaimed social media experts, gurus, ninjas, and evangelists.  

More importantly, his statement summarized both the opportunity and barrier to entry for people pursuing social media as a profession or as a credible vehicle for personal reinventions beyond a current job description.

I remember asking if he copyrighted this wisdom.  He said no.  But, he smiled and said if I ever use his quote,  I should assign him credit and attribution (which I hope I did here).  

Because I knew I'd reference his statement in a blog post someday.  That day arrived. 

The Inspiration for This Post

On January 20th, I read this Forbes.com article, Want to Become Known as an Industry Expert?  3 Tips to Get You Started.   Here's screen shot of one part of the article:

Forbes Call Yourself an Expert

First, This IS NOT a Bash-the-Author Piece.  It's quite the opposite.  Please read the entire Forbes article because Cari Sommer (the author) offers valid advice on building one's online credibility, reputation, and visibility the right way.

Second, This Post Describes Why Cari Sommer Is a Great Example of Personal and Professional Reinvention.  Cari Sommer transformed her professional career and trajectory by reinventing herself into a bona fide communications expert and entrepreneur.  A major portion of this post explains why I believe she's a credible and successful expert in her field. 

Third, It's About My Cynicism Towards The Great Pretenders and Their Self-Proclaimed Expertise.  I respectfully take issue with the literal interpretation of "calling yourself an expert."  Why?  There are hundreds of thousands to millions of self-proclaimed experts with no content or experience to substantiate their claims.   

Check out these Google results on these infamous keyword phrases:

  • "Social Media Guru" = 2,160,000 results
  • "Social Media Evangelist" = 1,090,000 results
  • "Social Media Expert" = 1,060,000  results
  • "Social Media Ninja" = 281,000 results

Based on this quick analysis, I wonder if:

  • There really are that many people who can credibly make those self-proclamations?
  • "Ninjas" have a better long-tail chance of being found via search than "Gurus"?  
  • "Evangelists" and "Experts" are interchangeable titles (give or take wading through 30,000 results)?

Expertise Is Earned, Not Self-Proclaimed

Ms. Sommer's Provides and Shares Credible, First-Hand Expertise Earned From Her Personal Experiences.  I buy-in to Ms. Sommer's generously shared advice on building a solid online reputation and positioning oneself as a social media expert (or an industry expert).  It's credible and emphasizes a learn-by-doing attitude:

  • Self-publishing content on social media channels (i.e., a blog, LinkedIn industry groups, etc.)
  • Attending and speaking at industry conferences
  • Identifying and building relationships with industry bloggers and journalists
  • Pitching one's expertise to the industry influencers

But, The 3.5 Million Self-Proclaimers Haven't Practiced or Applied Any of Ms. Sommer's Advice   The sad fact is so few have consistently performed (or even attempted) any of her recommendations over the long haul.  Why?  Because, the advice she imparts requires major time investments in:

  • Focus
  • Practice
  • Patience
  • Experimentation
  • Creativity
  • Hustle
  • Hard Work (aka Malcom Gladwell's Rule of 10,000 Hours)
  • Commitment

Want to Be Really Good at Something?  Invest 10,000 Hours.

Malcolm Gladwell on 10,000 Hours.  Here's Malcolm Gladwell in a CNN interview describing the significance of the 10,000 Hours Rule (timestamp 2:30 to 4:00):



  

Ms. Sommer Earned Her Expertise — She Didn't Just Proclaim It.  An influential, global media organization like Forbes didn't just hand her an outstanding personal branding opportunity because she proclaimed her industry expertise.  

Unlike the aforementioned millions of great pretenders, she:

  • Earned this gig by executing her own advice
  • Earned her position as a communications expert through professional experience 
  • Earned her expertise by being relentless (e.g., she wasn't afraid to fail)

And, if she hasn't already invested 10,000 hours to achieve her current success, I bet she's committed thousands of hours just to reach this point in her career.  Why? Because at some point in her 10,000 hours, she confronted and fought through The Dip. 

See these excerpts from her Forbes Contributor bio and her communications consultancy homepage.  She made it happen.  She didn't just proclaim expertise.

Cari Sommers Forbes Bio

Cari Sommer Consulting home page


A Case Study in Personal and Professional Reinvention

Ms. Sommer Reinvented and Transformed Herself Into a Communications and Public Relations Expert.  Look further down her Forbes Contributor biography.  She professionally reinvented herself from being a former litigator at an international law firm to becoming an entrepreneur and CEO of her own communications consultancy:

LinkedIn Answers Cari Sommers Forbes Bio

Where's The Cari Sommer's Substance?  You can study it first-hand in this CBS News.com video.


 

 

Conclusion

I wish more people like Cari Sommers had the substance and experience to back up the "I'm An Expert" claim.  Otherwise, I probably wouldn't be so cynical.  

I look forward to her future contributor articles in Forbes and other media sites.  Until then, I've started following her on Twitter because I want to continue learning from a bona fide expert.


Cari Sommer Twitter

 

Photo Credit by John Hritz via Flickr

Posted on

Julie Roehm’s Social Media Strategy Recovered and Reinvented Her Personal Brand

by

I Want a Second Chance

Advertising Age published the following article on January 12th:  Julie Roehm Resurfaces in Senior Marketing Post at SAP.

I started following Julie Roehm‘s marketing career when Fortune Magazine profiled her in its August 2005 article: Yahoo’s Brilliant Solution.  As Chrysler’s Director of Marketing Communications (at that time), she clearly understood online advertising’s emerging impact as a necessary and vital part of a brand’s multi-channel marketing strategy:

(Direct Quote from the Fortune Article): “Here’s the scary part: Roehm rarely misses a chance to talk about how delighted she is with online advertising. Last year she spent 10% of the budget online; this year she is allotting closer to 18%; next year, she says, she will allocate more than 20%. Do the math: In 2006 roughly $400 million of Chrysler’s money that used to go into TV, newspaper, and magazine ads will be spent on the Internet. Says Roehm: ‘I hate to sound like such a marketing geek, but we like to fish where the fish are.'”

A 34 Year-Old Marketing Executive Publicly Declares a $400 Million Bet on Digital Marketing ROI. Wow!  Here’s a gutsy, young, rising, marketing executive superstar who’s publicly stating her $360 million and $400 million bets to achieve digital marketing ROI in the next two years!  Not only did this quantitatively trained University of Chicago MBA convince a highly conservative executive management team to think and invest differently but she also commanded their $2 billion global marketing budget.   

And, Ms. Roehm achieved this with an uprecedented style and flair.   

Fast Forward to After a Highly Publicized Departure at Walmart in December 2006. After numerous high profile promotions and industry accolades, Ms. Roehm abruptly found herself at a personal and professional crossroads. Starting in 2007, her short tenure as a Senior VP of Marketing at Walmart was her last full-time, executive marketing position for the next five years.  

While looking for her next opportunity, Ms. Roehm started her own marketing consulting practice. And, to say she encountered daunting challenges and setbacks during this time is an understatement. A July 2009 Fast Company article, Behind the Rebranding Campaign of Wal-Mart’s Scarlet Woman, and a Fortune Magazine “Where Are They Now” segment discuss her obstacles in regaining a full-time executive position during that five-year period.  

She wanted back in the C-suite.  But, as articulated by Fast Company, Corporate America wasn’t willing to take on “damaged goods.”


How Did Julie Roehm Recover and Reinvent Her Personal Brand? 

The Governing Question.  And, here’s how I will attempt to answer it:  

  • Examine how Ms. Roehm leveraged social media technologies to reinvent her personal brand
  • Offer my opinion on her multi-channel social media strategy and individual channel tactics
  • Conclude why I think her move to SAP fits from a social media perspective

What This Post WILL NOT Attempt.  A lot of content exists online about Ms. Roehm’s departure from Walmart.  I couldn’t avoid it while conducting the research for this post.  

Therefore,

  • I will not rehash any of that online content and provide my personal opinions on it
  • I will not pass any personal judgment on Ms. Roehm in relation to that online content

If you’re looking for a sensationalistic piece, please click to a different website / blog. Because, you’re wasting valuable time by staying here.

If you’re interested in answering the previously stated governing question, I hope you’ll please stick with me for just a little while longer …

1. Roehm Crafted a Personal Social Media Strategy First

It’s About Focus.  Here’s a great article illustrating this point from one of my favorite social media authorities, Lee Oden of The TopRank Online Marketing Blog.  He cites Ms. Roehm as one of “the 40 friends, colleagues, and others,” he consulted for advice on this topic.  Here’s her direct quote from Lee’s post:

Julie Roehm Social Media Strategy Quote

A Home Base Personally Branding Julie Roehm.  juliearoehm.com is her personal website where she controls every positioning aspect of her personal brand:

  • Brand Persona Attributes: C-Suite Executive, Marketing Expert, Smart, a Likable Personality
  • Targeted Buyer Persona: C-Suite Executives in Marketing, Branding, and Public Relations
  • Target Industry Expertise: Retail, Financial Services, Automotive, New Media

 

Julie Roehm-Website 1

Online Assets Focusing on a Cohesive Brand Message.  And, she showcases these personal brand attributes by delivering and linking a cohesive and consistent marketing message among each of these online, personal branding assets:  

  • Her Personal Blog: “I’m an authority who publishes insights on marketing strategy.”
  • Videos (especially from Fox Business News): “A major news network has me regularly comment because I’m a marketing strategy authority.”
  • The Julie Roehm Twitter Feed: “I read, study, and share interesting content on marketing strategy.”
  • LinkedIn Profile: “I’ve held several marketing strategy authority positions or consulted for large organizations as a marketing strategy authority.”

Julie Roehm-Website 2

A Multi-Channel Hub and Spoke Model with Both Long-Form and Short-Form Context.  The multiple channel strategy executed here is worth highlighting in this age of real-time streams via Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+:

1. The Marketing Pull.  Her website, blog, and videos contain the long-form context demonstrating her expertise to the target audience.  These online properties give her the runway to provide more details and examples of why she’s a bonafide marketing authority in her target industries.

2. The Marketing Push.  Her LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter contain the short-form context to share content she’s provided on her “pull assets” (i.e., a recently published blog post or tweeting an article link relevant to a specific industry or area of marketing expertise).

Julie Roehm Twitter Page

 

2. Roehm Leveraged Online Video to Her Advantage 

The Julie Roehm Personal Branding Killer App.  Ms. Roehm leverages online video brilliantly.   These videos demonstrate her personal strengths as well as different views of her personality:

  • Articulate and Smart
  • Subject Matter Expert
  • Thinks Quickly on Her Feet 
  • Confidence: e.g, she knows this stuff cold
  • Humor: e.g., she pokes fun at herself and doesn’t take herself too seriously

Plus, notice how each video positions her as one of the following:

  • Julie Roehm, Consumer Analyst and Marketing Expert
  • Julie Roehm, Marketing Strategy Consultant
  • Julie Roehm, Marketing Expert


* Example: Leveraging Online Media in Branding Strategy

CATFOA 2011 – Julie Roehm 2.28.11 from Ech03 on Vimeo.

Additional examples from Fox Business News highlighting Ms. Roehm’s diverse expertise in multiple industries, public relations, and branding strategy.

Note: I provided the Fox Business News videos this way because (1) Fox doesn’t allow the use of video embedding in external sites and (2) The URL in one of the videos produces funky-looking “duplicates” on my published blog post.  Sorry for the inconvenience.


3. Roehm and Her SAP Senior Marketing Executive Colleagues Share a Common Ground: Think Like a Publisher 

Both Her New Boss and a Senior Marketing Executive Colleague Self-Publish a Blog and Use Twitter.  Ms. Roehm, her new boss, and one of her senior marketing executive colleagues agree on an important aspect of a global brand’s marketing strategy: self-publishers win in social media.

How can I make that type of a statement?  Her SAP senior marketing executive colleagues also actively self-publish online content:

And, during the interviewing process, I’m sure Ms. Roehm showed this online content portfolio to her SAP colleagues to make the case for her knowledge, expertise, and creativity in executing a successful social media strategy.

Thinking Like a Publisher Means Creating “Show-Me” Content.  Ms. Roehm started actively blogging in March 2009 and opened her Twitter account in May 2007. That’s given her significant time to create, publish and build a sizable online content portfolio.  To her credit, she aggressively self-published content for the past five years to position herself for senior marketing executive positions.


Conclusion

In the July 2009 Fast Company article cited earlier, Ms. Roehm made the following observation:

“She now ranks cultural fit — geographic and corporate — at the top of her list, adding that her ‘aggressive-aggressive’ personality, as she describes it, doesn’t jibe with the ‘passive-aggressive’ politeness of the South. ‘I wanted to be able to show that I can adapt anywhere, I can do anything. The thing I learned about myself is that I’m not a full-on chameleon, and there’s nothing wrong with that.”

I have no knowledge of SAP’s corporate culture.  But, I do know these three (3) things after analyzing her personal social media strategy:

1. Julie Roehm maximized her online personal branding opportunities.  

2. She strategically self-published content that’s tactically distributed via multiple social media channels.

3. Her content delivered and reinforced a consistent brand message highlighting her marketing strategy capabilities and expertise.

Did her online activities alone win her this new professional opportunity?  Of course not.  

But, her online content strategy significantly contributed to winning her new senior executive postion at SAP.  I look forward to tracking Ms. Roehm’s progress because she’s always been someone to watch.

And, I wish her good luck.

 

Did You Enjoy This Post?

If yes, please share it with your friends and subscribe to my blog. Many Thanks!

 

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+.   

 

Photo Credt by Alyssa L. Miller via flickr

Posted on

Google’s Marketing Reinvention: Tell Stories that Make Us Cry

by

Coffee Heart

I loved reading the January 1, 2012 New York Times article by Claire Cain Miller: Google Bases a Campaign on Emotions, Not Terms.  Her article explains Google's distinctive philosophical change towards marketing and advertising.  For Google to acknowledge investing more time and resources to actively promote its products and services stands in stark contrast to the image of "cold engineers" hating anything related to marketing, advertising, or public relations as described in Ken Auletta's great book, Googled.

Why Google Reinvented Its Marketing 

"A Remarkable Transformation."  What's driving this "remarkable transformation for Google" as noted in the article by Peter Daboll, chief executive of Ace Metrix, a firm that evaluates TV and video ads?

Ms. Cain Miller's article cites two business drivers:

Finding New Revnue Sources Beyond Search Ads.  Google needs new businesses like the Chrome browser and the Google Plus social network to succeed.

Focusing, Paring Down, and Integrating Google's Offerings.  This is part of Larry Page's mission as CEO to pare down Google's product offering and make these products more attractive, intuitive, and integrated with one another.

Does This Sound Like The Voice of a Cold Engineer?

Marketing Emotion.  Even more revealing is that Google acknowledges both a change in marketing strategy and increased advertising investment.  Here are two direct article quotes from Lorraine Twohill, Google's vice president for global marketing:


"As we got bigger, we had more competition, more products, more messages to consumers, so we needed to do a bit more to communicate what thse products are and how you can use them."

"If we don't make you cry, we fail.  It's about emotion, which is bizarre for a tech company."

Sounds Like Marketing From the Heart.  But, make no mistake Google still bases its decisions on rigorous, fact-based data analysis. And, the article further describes the significant data analyses and testing that went into planning its first Super Bowl commercial (e.g., dozens of tests) and a 140-tab spreadsheet used in location planning for Google Zeitgeist (the company's annual conference for it's biggest advertisers).

Don't Pitch. Tell a Story.

The Google Video Advertisements Cited in the New York Times Article.  The article mentions the following successful advertising videos because Google uses storytelling versus product pitching.  I've pulled them all together in this post.

It's Not About Features and Benefits.  Notice how we can all relate to each of these stories.  In particular, the two (2) Google Chrome videos mention nothing about Chrome as the world's fastest web browser.

These stories are moving, emotional, and entertaining.  What's their emotional impact on 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+.  

Photo Credit via Flickr by thepinkpeppercorn

Related articles
Part Two: 4 More Gurus and Their Books Helping Marketing and Communications Graduates Land that First Job
Pixar's 22 Rules of Storytelling Mastered by American Authors and Georgia English Bulldog Rescue
Google 'Reunion' Video
Google moves beyond functionality with a wave of emotional Advertising
Open letter to Tim Cook: Apple needs to be more like Google
Posted on

Social Media ReInvention Blog’s Most Popular 2011 Posts

by

Top 10 List

 

2011 was an important year for this blog.  A few months ago, I published my 100th post. And, each post represents an opportunity to learn, improve, and experiment.

 

Social Media ReInvention Blog's Most Popular 2011 Posts

1. Public Relations Strategy: Integrating Digital and Traditional Patient Advocacy Tactics

2. 5 Competitive Advantages in Studying Real-Time Marketing PR by David Meerman Scott

3. HubSpot 2011 State of Inbound Marketing: Long Live Blogs!

4. The Business Value Behind Social Media: Part 6 – Disaster Recovery & Crisis Communications

5. Tom Peters' Personal Branding Lessons, Part 1: Why YOUR Blog Matters

6. 8 Takeaways from Mashable's Mondern Media Agency INFOGRAPHIC

7. 7 Reasons to Study Newsjacking by David Meerman Scott

8. LinkedIn Today Personalizes News With Your Social Graph

9. The New York Times: Self-Appointed SEO Police?

10a. LinkedIn's Maps: A Cool Way to Visualize & Understand Your Professional Network

10b. Using LinkedIn to Land on Google's Front Page

This Blog Continues Steadily Building Credibility 

Inbound Links Citing Social Media ReInvention Blog.  Inbound links from high Google authority sites included:

Comments / Citations From Bloggers in the Advertising Age Power 150.  These bloggers included:

Here's a screenshot from Valeria's post: You do That, Too and the tweet cited in her post:

Valeria Maltoni mention 1
Valeria Maltoni tweet 1

A Life Changing Event in August 2012

Juliana Big Smile

And, She Weighed in at a Happy and Healthy 6 Pounds, 9 Ounces. From mid-August to early November 2012, I literally dropped out of sight from any new blog posts or social media participation (you may or may not have noticed).  The birth of my daughter is the reason why.  My wife and I also have another daughter who's seven (7) years old.

Our family grew.  And, we are so blessed.

But, Little Blessings Can Be Mentally and Emotionally Consuming. Fatherhood with a newborn is both humbling and rewarding.  You learn quickly how sleep deprivation makes it difficult to construct a coherent thought or sentence.  

It took four (4) months / early November to start feeling normal, productive, and effective.


The Epiphany: Blogging Really Makes Me Happy


A Newborn Quickly Imposes Prioritization (Whether You Like It or Not).  During that four-month time frame, I realized I couldn't maintain my past routines in working on this blog.  And, that frustrated me a lot.  

I Missed the Process.  I felt something missing.  And, I had to keep reminding myself this sacrifice and setback is temporary.  

I missed everything about the writing and blogging process:

  • doing the research
  • recording ideas / thinking of an inital angle
  • mapping out a post's structure on paper
  • typing / revising the drafts
  • learning what content readers responded to

Putting Things in Perspective.  Valeria Maltoni shared Stephanie Booth's post on Google+ titled: Measuring a Blog's Success: Visitors and Comments Don't Cut It.  After reading this piece, I revaluated why I invest the time and energy into this endeavor:

  • It's to share something I really care about
  • It's a great way to practice writing (which is important in my full-time work)
  • It's introduced me to interesting, smart, like-minded people 
  • It's not to make money (because I make no revenue from blogging)
  • It makes me happy

Yes, It Makes Me Happy.  And, I hope the time you spend reading my blog makes you happy (or makes you feel like it's time well-spent). With each new post, I hope you feel the content is improving.  

And, I hope you'll continue sharing the content with others.  When something I write is shared on Twitter, LinkedIn, or Facebook, I'm always surprised (and humbled). 

Thank You.  Thank you indulging me in sharing a memorable year.  Thank you for subscribing to this blog and sharing its content with your social network connections.  And, thank you for sticking with me when I temporarily dropped out of sight.

 

Here's to a safe, healthy, and happy 2012 for all of us. 

 

Photo Credit via Flickr by Sam Churchill

Posted on

7 Reasons To Study Newsjacking by David Meerman Scott

by

Newsjacking Cover

Newsjacking: How to Inject Your Ideas Into a Breaking News Story and Generate Tons of Media Coverage is David Meerman Scott’s latest book.

Newsjacking reinforces and expands the content from David’s most recent book, Real Time Marketing and PR: How To Instantly Engage Your Market, Connect with Customers, and Creat Products That Grow Your Business Now.  Here’s my review of Real Time Marketing and PR in this blog.

Bottom Line:  I highly recommend studying Newsjacking.  It’s informative, quick-to-read, and filled with insightful how-to-examples.  In fact, both books are required reading for any marketing/PR executive, business owner, or brand manager who wants to capitalize on media opportunities generated by the real-time Web.

1. Clever Newsjacking Generates Media Bonanza Opportunities

And, We All Can Do It!  David defines “newsjacking” as publishing your personal angle, ideas, or perspective into a breaking news story / event to earn media coverage for your company, brand, or products / services.  


 

 

Help Journalists Write Their Second Paragraphs.  When hot news strikes, journalists scour the Internet via search engines (i.e., Google) and social media (i.e., Twitter, blogs, etc.).  Why?  They’re seeking additional content (e.g., details, opinions, etc.) that can differentiate the point-of-view in their individual news stories.

That differentiating point-of-view or compelling content is the “second paragraph.”  Journalists seek second paragraph material that:

  • Delivers credible, authoritative, and valuable information / perspective
  • Describes “why” something happened
  • Interprets the event’s impact and future implications 
 


 

 

Credible Second Paragraphs Can Earn Massive Media Attention.  Be fast, use targeted keywords, and provide valuable context in your Tweets and blog posts so journalists can find your contribution to a story with Google searches.  Quickly writing an informative blog post and shrewdly publicizing it with Twitter may take an hour or less.

And, the impact can be huge:

“With a single hour’s work many people manage to generate more media attention than a whole year’s return on a substantial PR budget.”

“I’ve been a marketer for two decades now, and I have never seen a technique as powerful as newsjacking.”


2. Newsjacking Favors Faster, Smaller Players  


Real-Time Speed is a Newsjacker’s Bread and Butter.  Speed, decisiveness, and execution drive successful newsjacking. And, you must respond within the hour of a breaking news story.  That’s why fast movers are great newsjackers.    

David Can Trump Goliath.  Plus, smaller firms can outplay their larger competitors.  The Fortune 500 has the same opportunity to successfully newsjack as any other organization or individual.  But, their corporate hierarchies and approval processes are handicaps.  

Therefore, smaller firms can outplay their larger competitors:


“What’s abundantly true is that newsjacking is easier for nimbler players than its is for the lumbering giants of the corporate world.”

“To successfully newsjack or fend off a newsjack, you can’t wait for approval.  You just have to do it.”

Newsjacking Lives and Dies by Speed.  The graphic below describes the newsjacking process.  Notice how speed drives the entire newsjacking process:

  • Tracking and staying on top of breaking news
  • Deciding quickly on your response
  • Publishing / Publicizing the response instantly

 

Newsjacking Process Described

3. Chapter 6 – Ka-Ching: CEO Bags a Cool Million with a Single Blog Post 


A Classic, Must-Read Newsjacking Blog Post.  Joe Payne is the CEO of Eloqua, a company specializing in marketing-automation.  When he learned and verified Oracle entered his industry space, he quickly wrote this blog post:  Oracle Joins The Party.  

There are multiple reasons why this blog post and the surrounding circumstances make it a classic, newsjacking case study:

  • The post provides a valuable and quotable industry perspective
  • Payne crafted and posted this blog post quickly
  • The blog post contains verifiable details and statistics
  • Oracle buried this news story in their website
  • He outflanked a larger competitor (e.g., Oracle) using new media tools   

Payne’s Blog Post Earned Major Media Attention, Credibility, and $1 Million.  When industry analysts and journalists searched Google for news about Oracle, they found Payne’s content-rich blog post.  And, they quoted it verbatim.  

In the following examples, I attached the hyperlink to the actual media coverage if the page still exists: 

The aforementioned media coverage (and other coverage) increased Eloqua’s credibility.  In addition, Payne and his team combined the blog post’s media coverage with immediate, next-morning business development follow-up.  These combined activities brought Eloqua software deals worth $1 million in new revenue among six (6) new clients.

That’s a great outcome especially without the luxury of a multiple phase PR campaign or massive advertising budget.    


4. Chapter 7: Become the Go-To Gal (or Guy) in Your Industry


Blogs Are Powerful Newsjacking Assets.  Long form content achieves four (4) things:

  • Provides keyword rich content for search engines to index
  • Increases the probability journalists will find your blog post when searching Google
  • Delivers context rich details (hard to do in Twitter and Facebook)
  • Positions newsjackers as reputable and credible reputable industry authorities

Here’s a direct quote from David: “If a blog develops a reputation for serving up informed, insightful, authoritative, articulate, quotable and timely commentary on issues in your industry, journalists will learn to seek you out when issues arise.”

Knowing Your Issues / Topics Cold Leads to Long Term Credibility.  Newsjack the issues and topics in which you are well-informed.  That knowledge will make your newsjacking perspective valuable, credible, and authoritative.  

Long term credibility is vital in building an authoritative reputation and relationships with journalists.  Even more importantly, that credibility and reputation dictates why journalists may or may not seek your input in future news stories.  

Why Amdocs and Jeff Barak Are Telecommunications Billing and Customer Care Industry Authorities.  In Chapter 7, David describes how Amdocs and Jeff Barak used their company blog to comment on regulatory changes in their industry.  Barak wrote this blog post, No Need to Be Bill Shocked, while the FCC conducted meetings in late 2010 to discuss legislation about bill shock.

Journalists searched Google for the latest news about this FCC legislation and found Barak’s blog post.  His post earned coverage from industry publications (like this one from Penton Media’s Connected Planet blog post — Not Being Shocked by Bill Shock).


5. Learn from Newsjacking Mistakes: The Golden Rules 


The Kenneth Cole Twitter Blunder.  Remember, this infamous tweet from Kenneth Cole during the 2011 Egyptian Revolution:

Kenneth Cole #Cairo Tweet

 


Unfortunately, Cole used poor taste and judgment when he tried to newsjack this news event.  And, massive public relations backlash resulted.


To prevent a social media blunder like this occurring at your organization, David provides these newsjacking objectives and guidelines:

The Golden Rule Objective (Direct Quote).  “When intervening in a news story you should add value – information or insight that contributes to the public’s understanding of the situation.”

The Four (4) Golden Rules.  Kenneth Cole didn’t have the benefit of David’s advice before sending out that tweet.  We now have that luxury:    

* Be dignified and statesmanlike.  See the Joe Payne / Eloqua Case Study Above (#3)

* Be positive and upbeat, never mean or vindictive.  Again, see the Joe Payne / Eloqua Case Study Above (#3)

* Write articulate text in full sentences without chatty slang, industry jargon, corporate-speak (i.e., mission-critical or cutting-edge) or social media shorthand (e.g., IMHO)

* Don’t get too cute or clever — especially where human suffering is involved.  See aforementioned Kenneth Cole tweet


6. Newsjackers Monitor News 24/7 Via RSS Feeds

 
RSS (Real Simple Syndication) Feeds Are a Newsjacker’s BFF.  David describes how setting up RSS feeds to your favorite news sources, analysts, industry publications, and blogs enables real-time news monitoring.  And, staying abreast of leading news events gives you the competitive advantage to respond fast.  David mentions these RSS services in his book:

  • Google Reader
  • Newsfire

Fast Responders Earn Attention.  Here’s a how-to video I made two years ago on using RSS (e.g., your iGoogle Home Pages) to monitor postings of your favorite blogs to increase your chances of being an early commenter on new posts.  Why? Early commenters earn the author’s attention (especially if you’re the first commenter).  

The same principle applies when monitoring news sources in real-time and responding quickly to capitalize on a newsjacking opportunity:


 

 

7. Learn How to Maximize Twitter’s Real-Time Capabilities 


A Newsjacker’ Must-Have Weapon For Monitoring News Flow.  Twitter’s real-time capabilities make it the ultimate rapid response, news monitoring tool.  You can find great second paragraph content and breaking news stories by:

  • Catching key phrases by creating columns in Tweetdeck and HootSuite
  • Using Twitter’s search function
  • Setting up a “news” column in Tweetdeck or HootSuite (i.e., a dedicated news column focusing on all the news sources you follow)

A Powerful Fast Response Distribution Channel.  When it comes to publicizing and “pushing out” newsjacking blog posts quickly, Twitter rules.  Remember, journalists search Twitter to find differentiating second paragraph content.

Use Twitter Hashtags (#).  Therfore, include hashtags (the pound key – #) in your tweets to mark them with the unique identifier about a particular subject (i.e., #Cairo).  Remember, the hashtag, makes it easier for journalists to instantly locate in Twitter all references to a particular topic.  Plus, tweets with hashtags are curated in reverse chronological order (i.e., most recent first).

Twitter Can Help You Directly Contact a Journalist.  Most journalists provide or publish their Twitter ID (i.e.@firstnamelastname).  Verify their Twitter ID with a quick Google search.  Then, include his/her Twitter ID in your tweet so you can directly point him/her to your blog post.

 

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+.