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In March, 2008, the national unemployment rate was 4.8%. By January of 2010, it had risen to a high of 10.6% and in September of 2010 still hovered at 9/2%. In Nevada, the state I live in, unemployment is above 14%. Because of such high unemployment, most of us know someone that is currently looking for a job.
A recent study entitled “The Job Search Grind” published in The Academy of Management Journal sheds some light on the experience of people involved in the job search process. This well designed study followed 233 unemployment insurance recipients that were actively seeking work every day for three weeks.
One of the most interesting findings for me was that 44% of the job seekers in this study spent less than 10 hours a week on their job searches. Only 20% spent at least 25 hours a week searching for a job. There are a number of explanations for individuals spending little time searching for a job, including discouragement, perceived progress, and simply using the time to pursue other interests. The study had four additional findings that I found interesting:
1. When individuals reported lower job search progress on any given day, it affected their mood (more negative, less positive) and lowered their confidence about their chances of finding a job.
2. The ability to manage negative thoughts matters. Lower mood on any given day was related to more effort the following day only for those that could disengage from negative thoughts. For individuals that could not disengage from negative thoughts, lower mood on any day resulted in less search effort the following day.
3. Individuals with financial hardship experience the job search process differently. The study found that financial hardship strengthened the negative effects of low search progress and weakened the positive effects of high search progress.
4. The more (less) progress people made on any given day, the less (more) time they invested in job search the next day.
Being unemployed and looking for a job is not only hard work, it’s can also be a roller coaster ride of emotions. People that have high financial hardship and have a hard time managing their emotions will experience the job search process the hardest.
Setting realistic goals for daily time spent in the search process, and sticking to those daily goals regardless of the perceived progress on any given day should help. Making job search a daily routine won’t alleviate the roller coaster of emotions, but it should help with the management of those emotions, especially for those that have a harder time with negative thoughts.
Learn to treat perceived daily progress, either good or bad, as noise in the process and not a signal.
Bret L. Simmons, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Management in the College of Business at the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR), where he teaches courses in organizational behavior, leadership, and personal branding to both undergraduate and MBA students. Bret blogs about leadership, followership, and social media at his website Positive Organizational Behavior. You can also find Bret on Twitter, Facebook, and Linkedin.
Original Article
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Monday, October 25, 2010
A LinkedIn Profile That Works! Tips From A Recruiter
By Harry Urschel
image As I’ve said many times before, LinkedIn is a game changer when it comes to an effective job search in today’s online world. There has never been a resource that made it as easy to find the critical information you need when you’re looking for a new job… Companies, Contacts, Interview Prep information, Comparative Job Histories, and venues to discuss topics and challenges related to any job, field, or industry. It’s incredible… and that’s no overstatement.
As much as LinkedIn can be used proactively to gain the information needed, it sure is nice to be “found” once in awhile and pursued for potential opportunities as well. The key to being found, is having a profile that works!
What gets attention, what gets read, what improves your chances of getting a call or an email?
As a recruiter, I look at hundreds of LinkedIn profiles. It’s one of the most powerful and effective tools I have in finding qualified candidates for positions I’m trying to fill. What makes me move on and what gets me to reach out? Here are some key points…
Keywords – Keywords – Keywords!!! The only way anyone is found is by someone entering some keywords in the search box for what they are looking for. Generally, it’s not practical to “browse” 80 MILLION profiles in the hopes of stumbling across the right person. They will enter some words to find people with that specific background. Here’s the tough part… there is no dictionary of terms used to find certain skills. Anyone running a search has to figure it out for themselves.
So… take the time to think about “what are all the possible search terms someone might use to find someone like me?” Then make sure all those words are somewhere in your profile. If someone is looking for a “Payroll Manager”, and your were a “Payroll Supervisor”, they may not find you if you don’t have the word “Manager” in your profile. Incorporate the different terms in your job descriptions if you can. Otherwise, it’s perfectly fine to simply have a list of additional keywords somewhere at the bottom of your profile. Be honest about your background, but make sure you turn up in the appropriate searches!
Short Substantive Sound-bites! Like a resume, a LinkedIn profile will typically only get scanned for a few seconds before the reader decides whether you are worth pursuing further or not. In that quick scan, short phrases will get read and long sentences and paragraphs will not. A paragraph may make a powerful argument why you’re a dynamite prospect, but if it never gets read, it has no impact at all.
Figure out what things in your background are the most important, most marketable, and most in demand in your field, and make those experiences pop out in your profile. Take long descriptions and figure out what are the most important points to get across from each sentence. Make those points in a few words in separate bullet points. Each bullet does not have to be a complete sentence, and will have more impact in a few well chosen words.
* 4 consecutive years of 15% or greater sales growth
will more likely get read, and has more impact than…
* Sales production increased by 15% or more in year-over-year growth in each of the last four fiscal years due to increased efforts and new strategies.
The first example has more impact and gets more results, however, the second example is the norm because it seems more complete. In your LinkedIn profile as in your resume, it’s better to be effective than it is to have complete explanations!
“Call me!” Unless you are directly connected as a first level connection in LinkedIn, your contact information is not visible to the reader. If you are hoping to be contacted, make it easy for them to contact you! Put your phone number and email address in the Summary section at the top of your profile. Don’t make them have to send an introduction through another user, or use up one of their “In Mails”, or have to scroll to the bottom of your profile, or try to look you up in some other way. The easier it is, the more likely they will connect.
When I’m hunting for a good candidate for a position I’m working on, and find someone that seems like they might be qualified, but can’t tell for sure from their profile… I will likely call if their contact information is easy to find. If it’s not in their profile and I can’t easily find it otherwise, I will generally simply move on to another candidate… there are plenty to look at. If your profile is on the bubble in their mind, you’d rather get a chance to make your case rather than just have them move on… make it easy to for them to connect!
Make yourself real! Pictures have an interesting effect on LinkedIn. While I would not recommend that anyone put a picture on their resume, having a picture on LinkedIn often sways me to make a call rather than move on. When someone’s profile looks like they might have relevant experience for the position I’m working on, but it’s not crystal clear… I will often connect with them to find out more if they have a professional looking picture displayed. It personalizes it, and makes them more of a real person than a faceless listing.
The picture must be a professional headshot. A vacation picture, or a picture of your boat, or pet, or kids tells me that they don’t understand that LinkedIn is a Professional networking site, not equivalent to Facebook or MySpace. The profile pictures are tiny, a full body shot or even a half body shot will not allow anyone to see your face well enough to make it personal. Get up-close, wear professional clothing (at least on the neck), and smile!
“They LIKE me!” Get recommended! When looking at a profile, I usually look to see if anyone had recommended them. Since LinkedIn allows you to choose which recommendations are visible on your profile and which aren’t, I always assume they are positive so I almost never take the time to read what the recommendations actually say. However, the fact that someone was willing to write something positive about them creates a good impression.
The easiest way to get recommendations… is to give them. Write recommendations on LinkedIn for previous managers, co-workers, customers, or vendors. Usually, at least half the time, they will return the favor. Three or four are good, it’s not necessary or even particular helpful to have 10 or more.
LinkedIn is a great place to have more information than your resume. It’s not necessary to limit yourself to two pages as you should in your resume. However, although you can have more overall length, each line should be shorter. Include all the appropriate keywords you can, include your contact information, include a professional picture, and get recommendations. You will greatly improve your chances of getting found.
Original Post
image As I’ve said many times before, LinkedIn is a game changer when it comes to an effective job search in today’s online world. There has never been a resource that made it as easy to find the critical information you need when you’re looking for a new job… Companies, Contacts, Interview Prep information, Comparative Job Histories, and venues to discuss topics and challenges related to any job, field, or industry. It’s incredible… and that’s no overstatement.
As much as LinkedIn can be used proactively to gain the information needed, it sure is nice to be “found” once in awhile and pursued for potential opportunities as well. The key to being found, is having a profile that works!
What gets attention, what gets read, what improves your chances of getting a call or an email?
As a recruiter, I look at hundreds of LinkedIn profiles. It’s one of the most powerful and effective tools I have in finding qualified candidates for positions I’m trying to fill. What makes me move on and what gets me to reach out? Here are some key points…
Keywords – Keywords – Keywords!!! The only way anyone is found is by someone entering some keywords in the search box for what they are looking for. Generally, it’s not practical to “browse” 80 MILLION profiles in the hopes of stumbling across the right person. They will enter some words to find people with that specific background. Here’s the tough part… there is no dictionary of terms used to find certain skills. Anyone running a search has to figure it out for themselves.
So… take the time to think about “what are all the possible search terms someone might use to find someone like me?” Then make sure all those words are somewhere in your profile. If someone is looking for a “Payroll Manager”, and your were a “Payroll Supervisor”, they may not find you if you don’t have the word “Manager” in your profile. Incorporate the different terms in your job descriptions if you can. Otherwise, it’s perfectly fine to simply have a list of additional keywords somewhere at the bottom of your profile. Be honest about your background, but make sure you turn up in the appropriate searches!
Short Substantive Sound-bites! Like a resume, a LinkedIn profile will typically only get scanned for a few seconds before the reader decides whether you are worth pursuing further or not. In that quick scan, short phrases will get read and long sentences and paragraphs will not. A paragraph may make a powerful argument why you’re a dynamite prospect, but if it never gets read, it has no impact at all.
Figure out what things in your background are the most important, most marketable, and most in demand in your field, and make those experiences pop out in your profile. Take long descriptions and figure out what are the most important points to get across from each sentence. Make those points in a few words in separate bullet points. Each bullet does not have to be a complete sentence, and will have more impact in a few well chosen words.
* 4 consecutive years of 15% or greater sales growth
will more likely get read, and has more impact than…
* Sales production increased by 15% or more in year-over-year growth in each of the last four fiscal years due to increased efforts and new strategies.
The first example has more impact and gets more results, however, the second example is the norm because it seems more complete. In your LinkedIn profile as in your resume, it’s better to be effective than it is to have complete explanations!
“Call me!” Unless you are directly connected as a first level connection in LinkedIn, your contact information is not visible to the reader. If you are hoping to be contacted, make it easy for them to contact you! Put your phone number and email address in the Summary section at the top of your profile. Don’t make them have to send an introduction through another user, or use up one of their “In Mails”, or have to scroll to the bottom of your profile, or try to look you up in some other way. The easier it is, the more likely they will connect.
When I’m hunting for a good candidate for a position I’m working on, and find someone that seems like they might be qualified, but can’t tell for sure from their profile… I will likely call if their contact information is easy to find. If it’s not in their profile and I can’t easily find it otherwise, I will generally simply move on to another candidate… there are plenty to look at. If your profile is on the bubble in their mind, you’d rather get a chance to make your case rather than just have them move on… make it easy to for them to connect!
Make yourself real! Pictures have an interesting effect on LinkedIn. While I would not recommend that anyone put a picture on their resume, having a picture on LinkedIn often sways me to make a call rather than move on. When someone’s profile looks like they might have relevant experience for the position I’m working on, but it’s not crystal clear… I will often connect with them to find out more if they have a professional looking picture displayed. It personalizes it, and makes them more of a real person than a faceless listing.
The picture must be a professional headshot. A vacation picture, or a picture of your boat, or pet, or kids tells me that they don’t understand that LinkedIn is a Professional networking site, not equivalent to Facebook or MySpace. The profile pictures are tiny, a full body shot or even a half body shot will not allow anyone to see your face well enough to make it personal. Get up-close, wear professional clothing (at least on the neck), and smile!
“They LIKE me!” Get recommended! When looking at a profile, I usually look to see if anyone had recommended them. Since LinkedIn allows you to choose which recommendations are visible on your profile and which aren’t, I always assume they are positive so I almost never take the time to read what the recommendations actually say. However, the fact that someone was willing to write something positive about them creates a good impression.
The easiest way to get recommendations… is to give them. Write recommendations on LinkedIn for previous managers, co-workers, customers, or vendors. Usually, at least half the time, they will return the favor. Three or four are good, it’s not necessary or even particular helpful to have 10 or more.
LinkedIn is a great place to have more information than your resume. It’s not necessary to limit yourself to two pages as you should in your resume. However, although you can have more overall length, each line should be shorter. Include all the appropriate keywords you can, include your contact information, include a professional picture, and get recommendations. You will greatly improve your chances of getting found.
Original Post
Friday, October 22, 2010
Do you really know me? 20 Tips to learn about your audience.
Social media provides the opportunity to connect with millions of people that we would normally not have access to. We have people following us from every walk of life, numerous countries and the list goes on.
What do we really know about our audiences? Have you taken the time to know them, understand them or connect with them.
We talk about social media being a relationship, a conversation. However, I think very few take the time required to build a meaningful conversation, let alone a real relationship! How can we build a relationship with someone we haven’t taken the time to know anything more than what their Twitter handle is?
I encourage my clients to take the time to truly understand and know their audience. Take them time to follow a group of them. Listen to them and better connect with them.
The more we know about our audience the better we can inspire and connect with them!
20 Tips to Get to Know Your Audience
1. Listen to them. This one sounds simple because it is! However, many don’t take advantage of this simple and first critical phase of social media. Listening should be the first step when engaging in social media. It should also be something you do on a regular basis. Listen with an intent to understand. Listen to the meaning of what you audience is saying. How are they engaging with others? How are they engaging with you? What is the tone? What questions are they asking?
2. Join conversation. The best way to learn how your audience will respond to you is well of course seeing how they respond to you. Don’t sit on the sidelines for months while you learn about social media tools. Engage. Join conversation. You don’t always have to be the initiator of a conversation. Comment on other blogs, respond to other tweets and comments.
3. Ask questions. I love asking questions. Often times I’ll ask simple questions on Twitter. I am always amazed at how many answers I receive. I love asking both serious and fun questions.
4. Create a poll. Creating a poll easy. Use Poll Daddy to create a simple poll. You will be provided with a link that you can share on any social or web platform. Poll Daddy also has a widget for WordPress websites as well as Facebook. Again, I love creating both serious and simply fun polls.
5. Implement an email program. If you do not currently have an email program you are missing out! Subscribe to an email program such as aWeber, iContact, Constant Contact, MailChimp or Infusionsoft. We use Infusionsoft as it has more advanced features than some of the others. If you want something simple start with one of the others. If you want something that includes an integrated shopping cart, affiliate program, and advanced nurturing then I vote for Infusionsoft.
6. Create call to actions on a regular basis. Action is the social currency of social media. Create meaningful ways for your audience to take action. This needs to be more than just clicking on a link you place in a tweet to someone else’s website! Give your audience a reason to engage with you. Create something that they want and need. Then place this content or the action they need to take on social platform or website. Encourage them to move from an email program to your website or from your website to one of your social platforms. A call to action could be an invitation to buy something, answer a poll, answer a question, share something about themselves. Anything that will get them to take action.
7. Integrate a fun call to action with an email communication and an online platform. Integration of marketing across mediums is key to return on investment (ROI). Don’t be afraid to have fun with your audience. I frequently ask questions at the very bottom of my email newsletters and updates. I like to do this to measure how many people are actually reading my email to the bottom of the email. I will frequently ask questions that are funny and off the wall. They usually will align with our brand but in a fun way. It always amazes me how many people will respond. One example is I recently asked subscribers in a p.s.s. what their favorite nut was. Many of our subscribers answered the question on our Facebook page as well as a Tweet response.
8. Follow them. This sounds simple but it’s more than just a simple follow. What I am suggesting is really following them. For example if you find an interesting follower on Twitter or on your Facebook fan page then check them out online. Follow their tweets. Follow where they are sending people via links, announcements, blog posts. Where do they comment? What social platforms do they hang out on? How are they engaging on each platform differently? What can you learn from their online behaviors that will help you better provide them with useful information to draw them closer into your tribe?
9. Check out their following. Check out who is following your audience. This is basically who are your followers followers? Is it the same or different audience who follows you? Are there new people, new demographics maybe you should also check out and possibly target? How is their following responding to them? What can you learn from their engagement with other audiences?
10. Check out their Twitter lists. This is a great way to learn what interests the user has as well as how people view them. I love seeing the Twitter lists people put me on. My favorite of course is any list with the word geek on it because at heart I am a tech geek. I have to laugh at many of the lists people put me on. It has helped me connect with people I would have never met had they not put me on a list. Do the same for your audience. You can often tap into new audiences from taking time to build and view other people’s lists. When joining a new market niche other people’s lists can save you weeks of time.
11. Run a Tweet Reach report. This is a simple measurement tool that will tell you how far your most recent tweets travel. You can see total reach of your last 50 tweets. It also details the reach of your tweets via the people who retweeted your tweets. For each Twitter user who retweeted you it provides the reach of that user with your tweet. It’s a great way to see what influential followers and supporters you have. Note, it only shows the last 50.
12. Run a Klout report. Klout is a great measurement tool to measure your influence. It looks at your following, who you follow, the ratio of followers to the number you are following. It provides you pointers to influential people you could be following but aren’t. It will show you tweeters who influence you and also who you influence. It measures the amplification of your message and the depth to which your brand and content is being shared online. It recently even incorporated Facebook into the measurement. Remember social media is not just about numbers. The key is to have a loyal following who is engaged with you. You want a tribe that loves your content, loves you and at the end of the day takes action! Action = social currency!
13. Read their blogs. This one is also simple. Read other people’s blogs. Not rocket science. Read them with a goal to learn and understand. Not just scan them to cross this item off a list.
14. Read the comments they leave on other blogs. This is another great way to see how they engage with others. What comments are they leaving for others? Are they leaving as thoughtful comments on your blog? If not, why? Why are they engaging on other blogs? What is different than yours?
15. Encourage them to share and comment on your blog. Invite people to comment. I include an invitation at the end of every blog post for people to comment. Don’t be afraid of comments and opinions that differ from yours. When people start to listen to what you have to say you will hear differing opinions. Opinions are good. You should welcome them. You can also include WordPress plug-ins that encourage engagement via comments. I include a recent comments plug-in on the side bar of all of our blogs and websites.
16. Set you favorite social friends comments to be automatically approved. This is a great way to encourage commenting and engagement. There are a few people who comment on our blog regularly. I set their comments to be automatically approved. That way they don’t have to wait for any approval. They simply are live the minute they hit submit.
17. Engage them on your Facebook page. Ask questions. Share content. Encourage them to share their urls, Facebook Fan pages, information about what they do and how they can help your audience. Include polls, trivia and simple questions to get them to engage! Be inspiring, real and have fun! Chances are if you only speak in business speak you will get little to no engagement.
18. Start a group on Facebook. Facebook just launched a new group feature. Start a group around your business or one of your favorite topics. Invite people you would like to know better in combination with people you already do.
19. Start a group on LinkedIn. I love LinkedIn groups. Start a group around your business or favorite topic. Similar to Facebook encourage others to engage. Ask questions. Ask people to introduce themselves. Make it a place for sharing of self and business.
20. Start a question and answer session on LinkedIn. This is last on this list but one of my favorites! Asking questions on LinkedIn is a great way to get to know your following in a deep way. You can learn what they are thinking about a certain topic you are struggling with. It’s a great tool to meet new people with common interests as well. I have met many great social friends from LinkedIn Q&A sessions. If you haven’t checked it out, do it!
About the Author @PamMktgNut Half marketing, half geek, social media addict, CEO and Founder of FruitZoom, Inc., entrepreneur, speaker, trainer, coach. Lover of strategy, ROI, Brand, God, Family, Friends, Beach & Life! 15+ years of experience helping small startups to Fortune 100 companies, budgets teeny tiny to big in both B2B and B2C markets build brand awareness, grow new markets, develop communities and master ROI across all mediums! Industries of expertise include high technology, non-profit & fundraising, green eco-friendly, enterprise data storage, professional services and storage management, real estate and home building, natural lighting, database analytics & modeling, online marketing, as well as web 2.0 ecommerce for online retailers.
Original Article
What do we really know about our audiences? Have you taken the time to know them, understand them or connect with them.
We talk about social media being a relationship, a conversation. However, I think very few take the time required to build a meaningful conversation, let alone a real relationship! How can we build a relationship with someone we haven’t taken the time to know anything more than what their Twitter handle is?
I encourage my clients to take the time to truly understand and know their audience. Take them time to follow a group of them. Listen to them and better connect with them.
The more we know about our audience the better we can inspire and connect with them!
20 Tips to Get to Know Your Audience
1. Listen to them. This one sounds simple because it is! However, many don’t take advantage of this simple and first critical phase of social media. Listening should be the first step when engaging in social media. It should also be something you do on a regular basis. Listen with an intent to understand. Listen to the meaning of what you audience is saying. How are they engaging with others? How are they engaging with you? What is the tone? What questions are they asking?
2. Join conversation. The best way to learn how your audience will respond to you is well of course seeing how they respond to you. Don’t sit on the sidelines for months while you learn about social media tools. Engage. Join conversation. You don’t always have to be the initiator of a conversation. Comment on other blogs, respond to other tweets and comments.
3. Ask questions. I love asking questions. Often times I’ll ask simple questions on Twitter. I am always amazed at how many answers I receive. I love asking both serious and fun questions.
4. Create a poll. Creating a poll easy. Use Poll Daddy to create a simple poll. You will be provided with a link that you can share on any social or web platform. Poll Daddy also has a widget for WordPress websites as well as Facebook. Again, I love creating both serious and simply fun polls.
5. Implement an email program. If you do not currently have an email program you are missing out! Subscribe to an email program such as aWeber, iContact, Constant Contact, MailChimp or Infusionsoft. We use Infusionsoft as it has more advanced features than some of the others. If you want something simple start with one of the others. If you want something that includes an integrated shopping cart, affiliate program, and advanced nurturing then I vote for Infusionsoft.
6. Create call to actions on a regular basis. Action is the social currency of social media. Create meaningful ways for your audience to take action. This needs to be more than just clicking on a link you place in a tweet to someone else’s website! Give your audience a reason to engage with you. Create something that they want and need. Then place this content or the action they need to take on social platform or website. Encourage them to move from an email program to your website or from your website to one of your social platforms. A call to action could be an invitation to buy something, answer a poll, answer a question, share something about themselves. Anything that will get them to take action.
7. Integrate a fun call to action with an email communication and an online platform. Integration of marketing across mediums is key to return on investment (ROI). Don’t be afraid to have fun with your audience. I frequently ask questions at the very bottom of my email newsletters and updates. I like to do this to measure how many people are actually reading my email to the bottom of the email. I will frequently ask questions that are funny and off the wall. They usually will align with our brand but in a fun way. It always amazes me how many people will respond. One example is I recently asked subscribers in a p.s.s. what their favorite nut was. Many of our subscribers answered the question on our Facebook page as well as a Tweet response.
8. Follow them. This sounds simple but it’s more than just a simple follow. What I am suggesting is really following them. For example if you find an interesting follower on Twitter or on your Facebook fan page then check them out online. Follow their tweets. Follow where they are sending people via links, announcements, blog posts. Where do they comment? What social platforms do they hang out on? How are they engaging on each platform differently? What can you learn from their online behaviors that will help you better provide them with useful information to draw them closer into your tribe?
9. Check out their following. Check out who is following your audience. This is basically who are your followers followers? Is it the same or different audience who follows you? Are there new people, new demographics maybe you should also check out and possibly target? How is their following responding to them? What can you learn from their engagement with other audiences?
10. Check out their Twitter lists. This is a great way to learn what interests the user has as well as how people view them. I love seeing the Twitter lists people put me on. My favorite of course is any list with the word geek on it because at heart I am a tech geek. I have to laugh at many of the lists people put me on. It has helped me connect with people I would have never met had they not put me on a list. Do the same for your audience. You can often tap into new audiences from taking time to build and view other people’s lists. When joining a new market niche other people’s lists can save you weeks of time.
11. Run a Tweet Reach report. This is a simple measurement tool that will tell you how far your most recent tweets travel. You can see total reach of your last 50 tweets. It also details the reach of your tweets via the people who retweeted your tweets. For each Twitter user who retweeted you it provides the reach of that user with your tweet. It’s a great way to see what influential followers and supporters you have. Note, it only shows the last 50.
12. Run a Klout report. Klout is a great measurement tool to measure your influence. It looks at your following, who you follow, the ratio of followers to the number you are following. It provides you pointers to influential people you could be following but aren’t. It will show you tweeters who influence you and also who you influence. It measures the amplification of your message and the depth to which your brand and content is being shared online. It recently even incorporated Facebook into the measurement. Remember social media is not just about numbers. The key is to have a loyal following who is engaged with you. You want a tribe that loves your content, loves you and at the end of the day takes action! Action = social currency!
13. Read their blogs. This one is also simple. Read other people’s blogs. Not rocket science. Read them with a goal to learn and understand. Not just scan them to cross this item off a list.
14. Read the comments they leave on other blogs. This is another great way to see how they engage with others. What comments are they leaving for others? Are they leaving as thoughtful comments on your blog? If not, why? Why are they engaging on other blogs? What is different than yours?
15. Encourage them to share and comment on your blog. Invite people to comment. I include an invitation at the end of every blog post for people to comment. Don’t be afraid of comments and opinions that differ from yours. When people start to listen to what you have to say you will hear differing opinions. Opinions are good. You should welcome them. You can also include WordPress plug-ins that encourage engagement via comments. I include a recent comments plug-in on the side bar of all of our blogs and websites.
16. Set you favorite social friends comments to be automatically approved. This is a great way to encourage commenting and engagement. There are a few people who comment on our blog regularly. I set their comments to be automatically approved. That way they don’t have to wait for any approval. They simply are live the minute they hit submit.
17. Engage them on your Facebook page. Ask questions. Share content. Encourage them to share their urls, Facebook Fan pages, information about what they do and how they can help your audience. Include polls, trivia and simple questions to get them to engage! Be inspiring, real and have fun! Chances are if you only speak in business speak you will get little to no engagement.
18. Start a group on Facebook. Facebook just launched a new group feature. Start a group around your business or one of your favorite topics. Invite people you would like to know better in combination with people you already do.
19. Start a group on LinkedIn. I love LinkedIn groups. Start a group around your business or favorite topic. Similar to Facebook encourage others to engage. Ask questions. Ask people to introduce themselves. Make it a place for sharing of self and business.
20. Start a question and answer session on LinkedIn. This is last on this list but one of my favorites! Asking questions on LinkedIn is a great way to get to know your following in a deep way. You can learn what they are thinking about a certain topic you are struggling with. It’s a great tool to meet new people with common interests as well. I have met many great social friends from LinkedIn Q&A sessions. If you haven’t checked it out, do it!
About the Author @PamMktgNut Half marketing, half geek, social media addict, CEO and Founder of FruitZoom, Inc., entrepreneur, speaker, trainer, coach. Lover of strategy, ROI, Brand, God, Family, Friends, Beach & Life! 15+ years of experience helping small startups to Fortune 100 companies, budgets teeny tiny to big in both B2B and B2C markets build brand awareness, grow new markets, develop communities and master ROI across all mediums! Industries of expertise include high technology, non-profit & fundraising, green eco-friendly, enterprise data storage, professional services and storage management, real estate and home building, natural lighting, database analytics & modeling, online marketing, as well as web 2.0 ecommerce for online retailers.
Original Article
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
5 Questions About Personal Branding
By Kimberly Palmer
Dan Schawbel is a master of personal branding: He runs a popular website on the topic and just released a new edition of Me 2.0: 4 Steps to Building Your Future. He says almost everyone can use his branding techniques to improve their careers and boost their earning power. I recently spoke with Schawbel about his ideas and advice. Excerpts:
How did you first start to realize the importance of personal branding?
I realized the true power of personal branding when I became my own case study. It took me eight months, meeting fifteen people, and getting rejected twice to get my first job out of college at a Fortune 200 tech company. Then, after several months working full-time, I established personalbrandingblog.com, as well as Personal Branding Magazine. I also published articles in the media, started an online TV series called Personal Branding TV, and launched the Personal Brand Awards.
Fast Company wrote about my six-month personal branding journey, and my company hired me internally to be the first social media specialist back in 2007. This title is fairly common in both large enterprises and small firms now. Instead of going through a rigorous interview process, I was being recruited for a job I got to co-create based on my hobby outside of work. My personal brand communicated my expertise and passion to my employer indirectly through a single press article. From that moment on, I was convinced that other people could replicate what I had done for myself and I wrote a book proposal for Me 2.0: 4 Steps to Building Your Future.
What exactly is personal branding?
Personal branding is the process by which you identify what makes you special, and then communicate that to the world. Your brand is a celebration of who you are, what unique promise of value you can deliver to your employer or clients, and your personality. Everyone in the world has a personal brand, from Oprah to a random doctor in New York City.
Personal branding forces us to take a hard look at ourselves and decide how we want to be positioned in the marketplace and what we want to be known for. You can’t be everything to everyone, which means that you need to have a focused approach so you target a specific audience that would be interested in your services. As a brand, you should have a platform by which you connect with your audience, such as a blog, or a TV program. This way, you can let your audience know you exist and what purpose you serve in their lives.
What’s the single most important thing people wanting to establish their brand need to do?
You need to brand yourself for the career you want, not the job you have. Your entire branding strategy needs to be focused on your long-term aspirations. This way, you will only attract the opportunities that you’re interested in, and filter the rest out. By commanding your online presence, using keywords, a tag line, written content, and a professional picture of yourself, you can tell the world how you want to be judged and what you’re looking for. I’ve never bought into the “law of attraction,” but the internet has allowed us to use our online presence as a magnet to pull the right people in and repel the wrong people.
Are there common mistakes people make?
People make a lot of mistakes when it comes to personal branding, namely because they want overnight results. Too many rely on Twitter as a branding platform, yet it is increasingly becoming ineffective, since 71 percent of Twitter posts are ignored. One tweet isn’t going to make you famous, or get you a job either. I see a lot of people who over-promote because they don’t understand the most important principle of relationships: providing value before asking for anything in return. I also see a lot of people who spam blog comments, and who are careless about their online profiles. You wouldn’t believe the amount of people who don’t even fill out their entire LinkedIn profile.
Does everyone need to think about personal branding, or only those in certain types of professions?
Everyone in the world needs to think about personal branding, from the gardener to the senator. There are certain professions that need to be more concerned about branding, such as real estate agents, politicians, doctors, lawyers, and others in the service industry, where they are selling themselves before any product. Everyone already has a brand, but few people take the time to unlock their unique abilities, and even fewer put their face online for the world to judge.
Everyone is capable of doing great things, but you need to put in the effort in order to be a successful long-term brand that people remember and care about. An unexpected profession where personal branding is important: plumbers. If a plumber comes over and is friendly to you or stays for an extra fifteen minutes without charging you, you will tell your friends about them and they will build their brand and business.
Kimberly Palmer is author of the new book Generation Earn: The Young Professional’s Guide to Spending, Investing, and Giving Back (Ten Speed Press).
Original Article
Dan Schawbel is a master of personal branding: He runs a popular website on the topic and just released a new edition of Me 2.0: 4 Steps to Building Your Future. He says almost everyone can use his branding techniques to improve their careers and boost their earning power. I recently spoke with Schawbel about his ideas and advice. Excerpts:
How did you first start to realize the importance of personal branding?
I realized the true power of personal branding when I became my own case study. It took me eight months, meeting fifteen people, and getting rejected twice to get my first job out of college at a Fortune 200 tech company. Then, after several months working full-time, I established personalbrandingblog.com, as well as Personal Branding Magazine. I also published articles in the media, started an online TV series called Personal Branding TV, and launched the Personal Brand Awards.
Fast Company wrote about my six-month personal branding journey, and my company hired me internally to be the first social media specialist back in 2007. This title is fairly common in both large enterprises and small firms now. Instead of going through a rigorous interview process, I was being recruited for a job I got to co-create based on my hobby outside of work. My personal brand communicated my expertise and passion to my employer indirectly through a single press article. From that moment on, I was convinced that other people could replicate what I had done for myself and I wrote a book proposal for Me 2.0: 4 Steps to Building Your Future.
What exactly is personal branding?
Personal branding is the process by which you identify what makes you special, and then communicate that to the world. Your brand is a celebration of who you are, what unique promise of value you can deliver to your employer or clients, and your personality. Everyone in the world has a personal brand, from Oprah to a random doctor in New York City.
Personal branding forces us to take a hard look at ourselves and decide how we want to be positioned in the marketplace and what we want to be known for. You can’t be everything to everyone, which means that you need to have a focused approach so you target a specific audience that would be interested in your services. As a brand, you should have a platform by which you connect with your audience, such as a blog, or a TV program. This way, you can let your audience know you exist and what purpose you serve in their lives.
What’s the single most important thing people wanting to establish their brand need to do?
You need to brand yourself for the career you want, not the job you have. Your entire branding strategy needs to be focused on your long-term aspirations. This way, you will only attract the opportunities that you’re interested in, and filter the rest out. By commanding your online presence, using keywords, a tag line, written content, and a professional picture of yourself, you can tell the world how you want to be judged and what you’re looking for. I’ve never bought into the “law of attraction,” but the internet has allowed us to use our online presence as a magnet to pull the right people in and repel the wrong people.
Are there common mistakes people make?
People make a lot of mistakes when it comes to personal branding, namely because they want overnight results. Too many rely on Twitter as a branding platform, yet it is increasingly becoming ineffective, since 71 percent of Twitter posts are ignored. One tweet isn’t going to make you famous, or get you a job either. I see a lot of people who over-promote because they don’t understand the most important principle of relationships: providing value before asking for anything in return. I also see a lot of people who spam blog comments, and who are careless about their online profiles. You wouldn’t believe the amount of people who don’t even fill out their entire LinkedIn profile.
Does everyone need to think about personal branding, or only those in certain types of professions?
Everyone in the world needs to think about personal branding, from the gardener to the senator. There are certain professions that need to be more concerned about branding, such as real estate agents, politicians, doctors, lawyers, and others in the service industry, where they are selling themselves before any product. Everyone already has a brand, but few people take the time to unlock their unique abilities, and even fewer put their face online for the world to judge.
Everyone is capable of doing great things, but you need to put in the effort in order to be a successful long-term brand that people remember and care about. An unexpected profession where personal branding is important: plumbers. If a plumber comes over and is friendly to you or stays for an extra fifteen minutes without charging you, you will tell your friends about them and they will build their brand and business.
Kimberly Palmer is author of the new book Generation Earn: The Young Professional’s Guide to Spending, Investing, and Giving Back (Ten Speed Press).
Original Article
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Monday, October 18, 2010
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Career Planning: What Can You Learn from Coca-Cola and Melinda Gates?
At the heart of your responsible career planning is your desire to bring your values to work. How can you use your skills to advance a cause you believe in? While watching Melinda Gates' TED Talk on what can international development learn from Coca-Cola, I realized that her insights are not only applicable to international development organizations, but also to anyone's responsible career planning strategy. Indeed, on the job market, you are the product. As a job seeker, you need to learn how you can best leverage your values and skills so that you can be as visible and desirable as possible to employers whose missions align with your values. In short, how can you become as desirable as a Coke product on your job market of interest?
In her TED Talk, Ms. Gates reflects upon what nonprofits and government can learn from Coca-Cola in terms of accelerating the pace of international development. Coca-Cola has been incredibly effective at penetrating very remote markets. Coca-Cola has been very creative in leveraging channels that enabled their products to reach consumers in areas with very little infrastructure. People in these areas are living in dire poverty and yet they are buying Coke products. How did Coca-Cola achieve this, especially given that Coca-Cola produces soda, one of the most unhealthy products available on the market? Of course, as many major companies, Coca-Cola is not a model company when it comes to Human Rights or Clean Water Access. As a responsible professional, spending a little bit of time understanding how Coca-Cola achieved such success might help you refine your career planning strategy and build your responsible career path. To build a responsible career that successfully blends financial return with social impact and environmental responsibility, compare and contrast your approach to the following three ingredients that have contributed to Coca-Cola's distribution success:
A solid analysis with new data immediately used to refine the product offering - Coca-Cola has developed an extensive system that enables them to track consumer behaviors dynamically. If there is a decrease in sales in an area, they are able to quickly identify the factors playing a role in that decrease and build strategies and tactics to address that decrease. Similarly, your career planning strategy starts by being able to reflect upon and clearly articulate who you are, what is important to you, and what skills do you want to bring to market. Every new project at work, volunteer activity, book or course will enable you to further refine your understanding of which skills and values you want to bring to work. By continuously reflecting and refining your elevator pitch and LinkedIn profile, you will be able to not only develop a more targeted career planning strategy to compete for opportunities, you will also attract contacts and opportunities that best align with your values and skills.
A strategy that taps into local entrepreneurial talent - Coca-Cola has developed an extensive array of micro-distribution centers. These centers are generally formed of individuals on the ground that find creative ways to distribute the product in remote areas using local transportation channels that best adapt with the local geography and infrastructure. Coca-Cola provides them with funding to make this happen and in return, Coca-Cola gets increased visibility in a largely untapped market. As a responsible professional, what have you done to identify untapped opportunities to create social, environmental and economic value in your current job? Have you been connecting with like-minded professionals in and beyond your current organization to share ideas and resources? These small steps to creatively develop your network and your entrepreneurial brand will help you become more visible and desirable as a responsible professional.
A marketing campaign that is inspirational and uplifting - Coca-Cola has a brilliant slogan: 'Open Happiness', which is appealing and uplifting to everyone, no matter where they are or how poor they are. What is your brand and your marketing campaign as a responsible professional? Simply put, your brand can be defined as 'what people say about you after you leave the room'. You might consider creating a short anonymous survey with questions that previous and present colleagues, as well as current and past supervisors can complete online to gain more insights into your current brand. What can you do so that you are sure that your brand revolves around terms such as 'problem solver', 'open to new challenges', 'positive energy', 'constructive approach', or 'can do attitude'? The more you can emerge as a positive individual that does his/her best to help others find solutions to their current projects or challenges, the more you will attract your next opportunity.
In sum, Coca-Cola has succeeded based on a strong culture of continuous data-driven self-improvement process, combined with innovative distribution channels and an inspirational brand. What can you do today so that your career planning strategy will combine a strong self-knowledge and awareness of your preferences, a wide and supportive network, as well as a positive attitude to establish yourself as a valuable contributor to get business done better?
Original Article
In her TED Talk, Ms. Gates reflects upon what nonprofits and government can learn from Coca-Cola in terms of accelerating the pace of international development. Coca-Cola has been incredibly effective at penetrating very remote markets. Coca-Cola has been very creative in leveraging channels that enabled their products to reach consumers in areas with very little infrastructure. People in these areas are living in dire poverty and yet they are buying Coke products. How did Coca-Cola achieve this, especially given that Coca-Cola produces soda, one of the most unhealthy products available on the market? Of course, as many major companies, Coca-Cola is not a model company when it comes to Human Rights or Clean Water Access. As a responsible professional, spending a little bit of time understanding how Coca-Cola achieved such success might help you refine your career planning strategy and build your responsible career path. To build a responsible career that successfully blends financial return with social impact and environmental responsibility, compare and contrast your approach to the following three ingredients that have contributed to Coca-Cola's distribution success:
A solid analysis with new data immediately used to refine the product offering - Coca-Cola has developed an extensive system that enables them to track consumer behaviors dynamically. If there is a decrease in sales in an area, they are able to quickly identify the factors playing a role in that decrease and build strategies and tactics to address that decrease. Similarly, your career planning strategy starts by being able to reflect upon and clearly articulate who you are, what is important to you, and what skills do you want to bring to market. Every new project at work, volunteer activity, book or course will enable you to further refine your understanding of which skills and values you want to bring to work. By continuously reflecting and refining your elevator pitch and LinkedIn profile, you will be able to not only develop a more targeted career planning strategy to compete for opportunities, you will also attract contacts and opportunities that best align with your values and skills.
A strategy that taps into local entrepreneurial talent - Coca-Cola has developed an extensive array of micro-distribution centers. These centers are generally formed of individuals on the ground that find creative ways to distribute the product in remote areas using local transportation channels that best adapt with the local geography and infrastructure. Coca-Cola provides them with funding to make this happen and in return, Coca-Cola gets increased visibility in a largely untapped market. As a responsible professional, what have you done to identify untapped opportunities to create social, environmental and economic value in your current job? Have you been connecting with like-minded professionals in and beyond your current organization to share ideas and resources? These small steps to creatively develop your network and your entrepreneurial brand will help you become more visible and desirable as a responsible professional.
A marketing campaign that is inspirational and uplifting - Coca-Cola has a brilliant slogan: 'Open Happiness', which is appealing and uplifting to everyone, no matter where they are or how poor they are. What is your brand and your marketing campaign as a responsible professional? Simply put, your brand can be defined as 'what people say about you after you leave the room'. You might consider creating a short anonymous survey with questions that previous and present colleagues, as well as current and past supervisors can complete online to gain more insights into your current brand. What can you do so that you are sure that your brand revolves around terms such as 'problem solver', 'open to new challenges', 'positive energy', 'constructive approach', or 'can do attitude'? The more you can emerge as a positive individual that does his/her best to help others find solutions to their current projects or challenges, the more you will attract your next opportunity.
In sum, Coca-Cola has succeeded based on a strong culture of continuous data-driven self-improvement process, combined with innovative distribution channels and an inspirational brand. What can you do today so that your career planning strategy will combine a strong self-knowledge and awareness of your preferences, a wide and supportive network, as well as a positive attitude to establish yourself as a valuable contributor to get business done better?
Original Article
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