I love marketing, really good marketing the kind that makes you stop and say that’s cool. Today, I stopped and did that.
The Colorado Lottery placed bright purple covers on 70 parking meters today to promote/introduce MatchPlay, its first new Jackpot game in nine years. Now, this isn’t the most creative idea but it hits the message home – you win! Just by being in downtown Denver today and parking at one of the lucky spots from Market to Curtis street, between 16th and 17th street you get a free spot, guaranteed no meter maids will leave you the bright, yellow envelop on your windshield. (I’m accustomed to these envelopes given I’ve paid more than $1,000 to the city in parking tickets. If only the Lottery had picked Blake St. between 19th and 20th…)
Ignite Denver is back! On March 2, Ignite Denver 6 will be taking place at the Rackhouse Pub. Ignite Denver won’t be the only Ignite going on this week – it’s Global Ignite Week so a lot of cities will be hosting their events as well, including Boulder. The ninth Ignite Boulder will be March 5.
So what is Ignite? It’s a night of presentations with a twist. Presenting on a subject of their choice, speakers have exactly five minutes to teach something, enlighten attendees, or simply inspire—backed by 20 slides auto-advancing every 15 seconds.
I have to admit it takes skill to do these presentations. If you’re trying to hone your presentation skills – and have something entertaining to add – you should look into speaking at one of the upcoming Ignites. For everyone else, it’s just a fun night.
Take a peak at a few of the presentations from last Ignite Denver.
Ignite Denver 5 – Cupcakes and Dating: a comparative study
Most of the team at SocialByte is signing off for the holiday’s so we wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Winter Solstice and a Happy New Year.
I recently wrote a post about using social media tools for ones job search. The results from the survey included in the post aren’t strong enough to share so I’ll be posting another survey in the new year – stay tuned. In the meantime, for all you job seekers, particularly those looking for social media jobs I wanted to post a few resources to help with your search.
LinkedIn Social Groups: Depending on your industry you can find designated Groups to follow, which typically post job leads. Here are a few I find interesting: Social Media Mafia, Social Media Marketing, PodCamp
The last few weeks I’ve been immersed in new business hell, I should actually say ‘heaven’ seeing as this time last year there was very little, if any new business. Which brings me to my point and the main reason I’ve been slammed: according to BtoB magazine’s “2010 Outlook”, social media marketing will be of rising importance for business-to-business (B2B) marketers. In fact, six in 10 B2B marketers plan to up spending on social in 2010. This point was backed up in another recent report StrongMail did, “2010 Marketing Trends Survey”, which notes that 59 percent of businesses plan to increase spending on social media. The same report says that 19 percent of businesses plan to increase their spending on PR.
I have to say that I concur. We have seen more and more B2B (and B2C) clients and prospects wanting a social media program integrated into their traditional PR programs to help generate awareness, build thought leadership and support their overall sales initiatives. Have you been seeing the same? What are some of the main reasons they – being your clients or your company – want to create a social media program?
Yesterday, I posted an entry from a conversation with Andrew Hudson to get his perspective on how social media has changed the job landscape and how people can leverage social media tools to build their professional network and support their job search. This post is part two. (We’d love to hear from you on how you use social media tools for networking – please take our QUICK SURVEY.)
Top social media tools to use for professional networking and ones job search?
Clearly LinkedIn and Twitter top Hudson’s list but Facebook and having a blog made it too.
Using Facebook for Professional Networking?
There has been a lot of discussion about using Facebook for professional networking and people have differing opinions on this. However, Hudson encourages people to use Facebook for professional networking and to support their job search. “It’s a more casual environment to connect and engage with people.”
Tip: You can create lists within your Facebook page so only certain people can see certain things – mainly pictures. This may help if you don’t want everyone to see pictures you post from your weekend ski trip.
What are some of your recommendations on how people can improve their use of social media when seeking a new job?
Use Your Network: If you’re looking for a new job, tap your friends on Facebook and let them know what you’re seeking. Use Facebook and LinkedIn for research to support your networking efforts. Hudson suggests you go in and look to see where your friends work, what they’re doing and begin to see if they might be able to open doors for you. When possible, try to meet up with people in-person (nothing beats face-to-face) for coffee, lunch, drinks, a run or whatever to help those doors open wider.
Write a Blog: Having a blog isn’t a must but it is a good asset. Blogs will help you demonstrate your expertise and give you another channel to connect with people. In fact, a recent eMarketing survey found that nearly six in 10 of all the bloggers surveyed said they were better known in their industry because of their blog, and one-quarter had used their blog as a resume or sent it to potential employers.
Use Social Media for Research: This has been touched upon in this post and the last post but needs to be called out. Use LinkedIn to research companies you’re interested in, who works there, do you know anyone connected to them. The same goes for Twitter. Follow people. Read their tweets. Read their blogs. Engage. Use these tools and they will help you more than you may know. TIP: If you’re going in for an interview, make sure to check the persons profile so you have a feel for their background AND to see if you know anyone they know.
Specific LinkedIn Recommendations:
Complete your Profile: Make sure your profile is updated with your past and present work experience. Include real results and accomplishments to demonstrate your experience and expertise.
Leverage Groups. We discussed this in the last post; they’re a great way to engage with people in your industry.
Identify 10 people who know you and you’ve worked with in the last three years. Ask them to post a recommendation.
Use the search functionally to find job leads.
Specific Twitter Recommendations:
Use Twitter strategically to network and engage with people online. This is true even if you aren’t seeking a new job. For example, use TweetDeck or Seesmic to categorize people you’re following so their tweets don’t get lost. You may also consider building Twitter lists of people for this BUT consider marking them private in case they (or recruiters) view the lists.
Find people in your industry and at businesses that you’d like to work for. You can search via Twitter, set up a TweetScan with industry keywords or try using Twellow (I find Twellow to be very useful).
Engage with these people and businesses you want to work with/for. Ask questions about the company, the industry, share news with them related to the company/industry and when possible try to network with them offline.
We’d love to hear from you on how you use social media tools for networking – please take our QUICK SURVEY.
The job market has changed dramatically in the last year, recruiters now have twice the number of people applying for a single job than in the past. That’s not too surprising since the unemployment rate is at more than 10 percent. We all know networking is an awesome way to get in the door and helps with ones job search but did you know 90 percent of new hires are made from referrals? So how can you grow your network? How can you help get into THE company you want to be in or even find a company you think you’d want to work for. ANSWER: Social Media.
I had the opportunity to speak with Andrew Hudson, the creator of Andrew Hudson’s Job List, which boosts more than 15,000 subscribers. Think of his list/website as a localized Monster.com but way better since it actually works. (I’ve gotten one full-time job and several freelance gigs from his list.)
I sat down with Andrew to get his perspective on how social media has changed the job landscape and how people can leverage social media tools to build their professional network and support their job search. This post is part one of two.
How has social media changed the job landscape?
According to Hudson, you are your own Chief Marketing Officer and you have to approach your job search like you would a marketing campaign. Where is your audience? How will they find you? What makes you more interesting than your competition? Like any marketing campaign, it can’t relay on one channel, you have to have multiple touch points. The Internet has changed these touch points making social media tools new resources for both employees and employers. Social media can no longer be ignored. The tools that are out there haven’t necessarily made it easier to find a new job but they have given people new resources to research companies, employees, managers and a way to engage with these people to begin networking and create direct connections internally. Social media has also given employers a new tool to research prospects (i.e. you), which can be both helpful and potentially harmful if your social media presence is unprofessional.
Andrew Hudson’s top social media mistakes job seekers make?
1. Not Using Social Media. This new channel is just too big to ignore. You have to be out there leveraging the tools recruiters are using to ensure you find them and they find you.
2. LinkedIn: Not using LinkedIn to its full potential. If you’re not on LinkedIn, you need to be. If you’re not engaging with your LinkedIn network, you need to be. LinkedIn used to be just an online resume but now recruiters are using it to find people who might fit specific job descriptions before they ever post a position. LinkedIn has also made it very easy to network with professionals in your industry through Groups. The research capabilities LinkedIn provides can help you find jobs, background information on people you’re interviewing with, etc.
3. Writing for Search: Every single job you apply for HAS to be personalized. This doesn’t just mean matching skill sets but matching keywords. For example, a group of recruiters Hudson recently spoke with told him they narrow down the resumes they receive through electronic application tracking systems that scan resumes for keywords tied to the position. People MUST read through every position and highlight keywords and make sure they’re included in their resumes. Hudson did say that the recruiters admitted that they may not identify the ideal candidate for the job using this process but they had to use something to narrow down the search when they received 700 resumes for one job. SECRET TIP: Type in the keywords at the bottom on your resume and make them invisible (using white text) so that they’re readable by machines but invisible to people. (Hudson didn’t necessarily recommend this but mentioned people have told him they do this.)
4. Unprofessional Appearance on Social Networks: We’ve heard the horror stories of people posting things to their Facebook page or to Twitter and then being fired. The same goes for being hired. Be mindful of what you post. TIP: If you haven’t already, mark your Facebook page as private if you’re concerned about potential employers viewing it. Although, Hudson did say this may not be too helpful since if you’re “out there, you’re out there”.
5. Video Resumes: This isn’t necessarily a mistake butHudson felt the time for video resumes has not yet arrived. Like including photos on your resume (unless you’re applying to be a model), you may be judged on your appearance and the quality of your video BEFORE your skill set. He has only seen one video resume that knocked his socks off. Check it out.
Part two will post tomorrow…If you have more tips please do share.
Twitter and LinkedIn have finally synced their status updates. Here is a quick video interview regarding the relationship: Twitter co-founder Biz Stone and LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman.
Think about it, in the 80′s there were three television networks that dominated the airwaves, they didn’t want to invest in cable so they lost out and it hurt them. Fast forward 20 years, traditional media didn’t dive into the Internet rightaway and now they’re taking the hit.
Longtime media analyst, Ken Auletta recently released his new book “Googled: The End of the World As We Know It”. In the book he shares his findings and insights after having spent more than two years with Google and traditional media outlets studying just how much the Internet has changed how news spreads. He did a very interesting interview on C-SPAN this week regarding the book and how late in the game traditional media are in regards to investing in the Internet. My favorite line from the interview:
“… There are two types of people in this world. There are people who lean forward and there are people who lean back. And the people in traditional media were leaning back. And in this new world which is changing so fast, you gotta lean forward.”
A recent Pew Internet report states that one in five Internet users are now on Twitter or another status update service. The report notes that three groups of Internet users are mainly responsible for driving the growth of this activity: social network website users, those who connect to the Internet via mobile devices, and younger Internet users – those under age 44. The full report goes into more detail but I found this chart the most interesting…
The Colorado Lottery placed bright purple covers on 70 parking meters today to promote/introduce MatchPlay, its first new Jackpot game in nine years. Now, this isn’t the most creative idea but it hits the message home – you win! Just by being in downtown Denver today and parking at one of the lucky spots from Market to Curtis street, between 16th and 17th street you get a free spot, guaranteed no meter maids will leave you the bright, yellow envelop on your windshield. (I’m accustomed to these envelopes given I’ve paid more than $1,000 to the city in parking tickets. If only the Lottery had picked Blake St. between 19th and 20th…)
Twitter and LinkedIn have finally synced their status updates. Here is a quick video interview regarding the relationship: Twitter co-founder Biz Stone and LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman. 
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