You're Fired, Now Get to Work: Social Media Never Misses a Beat

Unemployed Social Media (SM) professionals don't get to limit their job search activities to an 8 hour day. I know that we've all been told, for years, that "looking for a job is really a 9-5 job." That may be true for most other fields, but not for those who work in SM. The reason for this is quite understandable. Not only is there a new job to be found, but there is also a greater "body of work" to be cultivated and nurtured in Social Media during the job hunt. That body of work is a living portfolio of all that has been accomplished in SM on an ongoing basis and it can be as volatile as the New York Stock Exchange. I've seen some Klout scores drop by as much as five to seven points in a single day, due to reduced activity and, perhaps, an error or two in good posting judgment.

Here's the thing. While on the job, the SM professional spends his entire day enhancing the business prospects of the company employing him. He is the face of the company in Social Media. At the end of the day, he has put his full heart and soul into building awareness for his employer and its brand; constantly engaging their prospects and customers and aiming for a volume of sales conversions that validate his job performance and pays his salary.

While at work, the brunt of the corporate SM effort comes at the expense of individual identity/expression, as the person responsible for the posts and tweets is obscured by his company identity and logo. The daily campaign also comes with strict corporate rules of engagement and limited candid interaction. This is why so many consumers feel much less comfortable conversing with companies and brands in SM. This is also the reason why so many warm and genuine SM professionals are forced to toil in relative obscurity, while representing their employer and his brand on the Web. Regardless, it is a role and trade-off that most SM employees must accept in order to satisfactorily fulfill their employer's marketing requirements.

Maintain a Strong and Respectable Personal Identity in Social Media

Hopefully, most of those employed in the field of SM have also maintained a separate and personal identity from their strict daytime employer personas. Certainly, future employers are most interested in employability issues that zero in on a candidate's past track record. But during the consideration, they also are looking for individual with a real passion for SM, as well as an evolving package of technical and social skills evidenced by positive recognition from others. It is better that one can offer a new employer multi-dimensional experience, rather than just that of an individual company's single-dimensional approach. Perhaps, what one has done in SM on his or her own - outside of the work environment - further demonstrates advanced creativity; the fruits of ongoing experimentation and a greater understanding that is far beyond what may appear under previous job responsibilities in their resume.

Maintaining a non-employment Social Media presence calls for a great deal of personal time and effort. It is not just recommended to have a personal networking presence - it is absolutely required. This means that regardless of the hours spent at work, additional time must be devoted to keeping up personal appearances on the Web.

Fortunately, there are many automated tools such as Tweetdeck and Hootsuite to help manage time in SM. But, even with such automated options available, one still needs to produce a great deal of custom content -manually shared - if they are to come across as genuine, trustworthy and well-engaged with others. There are Tweets and messages to respond to; situational and timely Facebook posts to be contributed; LinkedIn questions to be posed and answered; and a Blog post of the week to be written and published. And, not every work day ends at 5 O'clock, so time must be set aside to do whatever is necessary to be seen and heard from in SM- sometimes it is late in the evening and it certainly calls for some availability on the weekends

Your Resume Should Reflect All of Your Social Media Experience

It is not advised that anyone wait until they have become unemployed to host a personal Social Media "coming out party." We all know that seeds of SM take a long time to bear fruit. Building relationships with others cannot be rushed. If you plan on showing prospective employers what you can do, you need to be able to show them what you have already done over time - and it should be an impressive portfolio.

Here are some helpful tips for those trying to present themselves to future employers in the best possible light:

Maintain a separate Social Media identity from that of the company employing you, at all times.

Be true and attentive to your personal SM engagements and never let your regular contributions and routine follow-ups get stale or tardy, respectively.

Be as passionate about your personal SMinvolvement as you are about your on the job efforts, despite the fact that you may be exhausted at the end of the workday. Dig down deep to find the necessary energy to genuinely emote and bring value to the conversation.

Talk about "you" and your interests as well as those of others through your own SM channels. Forget work agendas and especially forget about trying to pitch your company's business goals within your personal engagements. Be especially sure to stay out of the kind of hot water that may be harmful to your current job and/or your future career. Avoid crossing over any lines of employer trust and acceptable professional behaviors.

"You" control your own activities within your own SM network, so have fun experimenting with new platforms and tools that you might not currently use at work. Just don't bite off more than you can chew with your limited and precious time.

Discover reliable ways to qualitatively and quantitatively measure your personal success while engaging in SM. Work on continually improving your Klout and PeerIndex ratings. And keep up with ever-changing "indicators" coming from tools such as SocialMention, Hubspot, EmpireAvenue, Backtype, Twitalyzer, TwitteGrader, TweetStats, TwitterAnalyzer, TweetEffect, Twinfluence, TwitterRank, TweetReach, and TweetRush. Their results will give you a better idea of your growing reach and influence through Social Media. It is highly recommended that you look at several of these results to gain a well rounded picture of your impact on the Web.

6a. In addition to the above tools, use your own analytic abilities to determine your SM impact by calculating and analyzing the numbers and types of Blog comments you've received. Pay particular attention to the percentages of positive versus not so positive comments added under each of your Blog posts. You should also be adding up the total number of Blog subscribers you have gained over time to measure growing interest in what you have to share with others. Also, account for the total number of third-parties that have picked up and re-run your posts in their own Blogs and in their other online and print publications. Consider the overall number and types of comments left by others under your YouTube and Flickr contributions. It is also a good idea to regularly calculate the number of Facebook link click-throughs as well as the "Likes" you've received for your posts. Finally, reviewing the number of times any E-mails you sent to others that were actually opened and shared with others say something of your audience popularity.

In Social Media You Are Always "On"

Like a medical doctor, the Social Media professional - employed or unemployed - must be on call at all hours (manually or automated). He or she must be constantly studying his/her field for changes and new improvements. They must always be prepared to engage people, at any time in a way that is positive, friendly and easily approachable. Finally, the SM professional - on or off duty - must always be involved in measuring and interpreting the results of their online involvement.

So, when a SM professional becomes unemployed, the best advice he or she can be given is for them to always be prepared to demonstrate their professional competencies and show their current results (both for business and personal) rather than look for excuses to explain away any downtime in measurable activity.

Marc LeVine is currently President of ICA Social Media (aka: Integrity Consulting Associates) http://www.icanewfriend.com.

ICA Social Media is a marketing (SMM) organization helping small businesses increase online performance, sales, leads, revenue and ROI through strategic internet marketing planning and creative use of search marketing, pay per click marketing, email marketing, social media marketing, video marketing, conversion optimization, user behaviour analysis & analytics reporting, location based mobile check in marketing, QR code marketing, microsite development, online contests and more.

Marc is also the former Director of Social Media at RiaEnjolie, Inc. (a subsidiary of InfoPro Worldwide, Inc.). There, he also developed winning social networking strategies for the company as well as its numerous small business website clients.

Under Marc's direction RiaEnjolie was nominated for a Shorty Award in Social Media and had also seen several Blog articles written by him picked up and published in key business trade publications.

Follow me on Twitter as @icanewfriend

Follow me on Facebook: Marc LeVine

Join my Facebook Group/ Social Media Marketing for Small Business

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Media Kits Double as Hard Hats: Prepare Your Media Kit in Advance so You're Always Protected

After two years of construction dust, beams and hard hats seemed normal. Planning for an official grand opening week included scheduling tours, receptions and special events. Staff teams sifted through lists of dignitaries, vendors, neighbors, family and friends; they ordered the favors, organized menus and reviewed plans. When a reporter requested a media kit, the staff looked at each other blankly. No media kit existed.

The why of media kits

Media kits provide an abridged version of you and your business to many sources. From background to company highlights, media kits include information that may be of interest to those writing an article, producing or conducting an interview, or otherwise providing the public with features and facts. Online or digital press rooms serve as repositories on the web for all your press materials, downloadable and accessible 24/7. As David Meerman Scott author of "The New Rules of Marketing & PR" notes, "...when people want to know what's current about an organization, they go to an online media room."

Compiling your media kit takes organization and preparation. Like construction, it may feel chaotic while you're putting it together. Outlining and producing this element of your company's promotion guarantees peace of mind when you're asked for information or interviewed by media.

Elissa Breitbard, owner of Betty's Bath and Day Spa in Albuquerque, spoke openly about her experience in building a media kit. "Once we pulled everything together it was as if we'd moved to a new level company-wide. After five years in business we'd finally arrived."

The when of media kits

Any newsworthy event might result in a request for a media kit. Your business would be well served to have a package ready for any of these specific opportunities:

Grand opening or ribbon cutting

New product introduction

Celebrity appearance

Groundbreaking ceremony

Partnership announcement

Book publication

Conference speaker

Release of special report or survey results

Preparation in the face of disaster is also good defense, although no one wants to think the worst. Last spring, for example, a major retailer experienced a fire at one location; media kits offered background information that would not otherwise have been available. As a result, the retailer got a behind-the-scenes story before the public.

The what of media kits

How do you decide what information to include? The answer is simple. Relevance rules. Begin with your most recent news release. Your release includes the five "w's" and an "h": who, what, when, where, why and how, woven into the story. ProfitMeister will tackle the "how" of news releases in another issue. Email me for my special tipsheet on preparing your news release.

While few hard, fast rules exist, most public relations experts agree that your media kit must also include basics like a company brochure, product sheets, brief biographies and credentials of key personnel.

In addition, Fact Sheets (or FAQ's) present "at a glance" information and are especially effective in a complex organization or multi-tiered event. One author published Fast Facts, a one sheet with talking points about her, her company and her book. A nonprofit organization posted Fact Sheets internally at phone stations to ensure that volunteers had access to details.

Another practical component of a media kit is a customer list or testimonial sheet that includes several quotes about your product or service. Case studies from satisfied customers showcase how your company solves problems. While most journalists will uncover their own information, these quotes provide background and add a third party to your credibility. Reporters may call these sources for additional information or sidebar stories.

The who of media kits

Media kits can take on the personality of the business; a pizzeria, for example, might opt for a pizza box info holder, something that would be inappropriate for a medical concern. High resolution pictures (300 dpi is essential for print media) of key executives are appropriate; include a CD with several high resolution photos of an event.

Many professional service providers publish a newsletter such as ProfitMeister; copies of past issues could be included in the media kit. Professional speakers may find it helpful to include audio as well as video; we suggest that demos be under the magic seven minute time limit.

The where of media kits

Your collection of materials needs to be grouped together to be complete. Its appearance must be clean, attractive and consistent with your company image. Have fun with the many choices in packaging.

Most businesses elect to place all items in a two-pocket folder with their company label on the outside. Include a business card in the slot in the folder. As part of your checklist, be sure that each item in the kit includes current contact information; check all phone and fax numbers for accuracy and include website and email addresses. While this may seem redundant, it is critical that the professional be able to access your information quickly and easily.

The how of media kits

Hammering out written materials could require the services of a professional writer, graphic designer or photographer. However, it can also be effectively done in your own office using a program like Publisher or In-Design.

Once you have developed your media kit, you may decide to add a press room to your website. The temptation to "pdf" all materials and have an immediate online duplication of your printed materials will be great. Consider your audience and remember that on the web, less is more.

Conclusion

If you've completed the process, relax. Enjoy the secure feeling that comes from being prepared and mark your calendar to update media kit materials on a quarterly basis.

Copyright © 2007 by Mary Ellen Merrigan. Mary Ellen Merrigan owns and operates Connecting Point Communications, a public relations firm. Her monthly newsletter, ProfitMeister, offers tips on maximizing marketing money. She is a speaker, author, and consummate entrepreneur. Merrigan was named Small Business Champion of the Year in 2005 by the Small Business Administration and is a past New Mexico Broadcaster of the Year. For more information, visit http://www.ProfitMeister.com or http://www.MyConnectingPoint.com.

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Don't Believe What You're Hearing About Budget Talks

My column from today's Roll Call talks about how all the rumors about what's being decided in the various budget discussions going on in and around Washington are likely wrong.

 

Don’t Believe What You Hear About the Budget Talks

•               June 21, 2011, Midnight

Last week was the point in this year’s budget negotiations when everyone’s worst fears about what would happen seemed to be on the verge of being realized.

The combination of increasingly happy talk about the summit being led by Vice President Joseph Biden and President Barack Obama’s golf outing with Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) seemed to have every blogger, pundit and interest group convinced that what they least wanted either was on the verge of happening or had already been agreed to.

If you listened closely, the rumors indicated that everything — from significant tax changes to substantial Social Security cuts — not only was on the table but was coming together in a package that would soon be ready for political prime time and would fly through the legislative process.

This is a routine part of the federal budget debate and the fiscal equivalent of one of the five stages of grief.

I first noticed it during the Andrews Air Force Base budget summit in 1990, when I received a series of calls from people inside and outside the Beltway who could not possibly know what was actually happening.

They all said one side or another in the negotiations had already agreed to the particular spending cut or tax increase they were most worried about.

Although some of those calls were from people who wanted to see whether I could confirm or assuage their fears, most were genuinely convinced that what they had heard or imagined was true.

For the record, my phone started to ring just as the Andrews summit was beginning — that is, while some of the negotiators were making opening statements and others were still trying to find the bathroom. It’s also important to note that virtually none of these “my-budget-sky-is-falling” concerns turned out to be true.

This year’s negotiations have already produced the same type of premature and very likely inaccurate misgivings as typically occur whenever those involved with the federal budget get together to talk about what can, should and needs to be done.

And this year there may be more reason to think that what someone considers a budget nightmare is going to come true given the magnitude of the problem, the few relatively easy deficit reductions that are still available and the paucity of spending and revenue options that numerically and politically are possible. (Note to deficit hawk groups: The formal and ad hoc recommendations you so publicly support are not as novel as you want everyone to believe because they are really little more than what’s available.)

But as is also the case at this stage of the budget negotiations, there are still many reasons to think the fears about budget nightmares are far more imagined than real.

This year, for example, it’s not at all clear that those involved in the budget discussions actually have the authority to negotiate a deal that will be accepted by enough Representatives and Senators to enact the legislation.

The antipathy of the tea party wing of the Republican Party for Boehner and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) on budget issues has been both stated and demonstrated many times this year.

It also seems to have gotten worse since April, when 59 House Republicans defied their leadership and voted against the final continuing resolution for fiscal 2011.

Given that a debt ceiling increase is even more politically toxic than the CR, it’s likely that anything Boehner might agree to while playing golf with the president or Cantor agrees to as part of the Biden-led summit won’t be acceptable to large numbers of the House GOP caucus.

The same is true on the other side of the aisle because it’s not clear that an administration-negotiated deal will be acceptable to all Democrats.

This is especially the case now because the president’s Osama bin Laden bump in the polls is over and his approval rating again is hovering between 46 percent and 49 percent.

In addition, it’s becoming increasingly obvious to many that the almost guaranteed opposition by a substantial number of Republicans to a debt ceiling increase means that no bill can pass the House without substantial Democratic support. That math will prevent the president from agreeing to the type of budget agreement the GOP says it must have.

On top of everything else, there are strong indications that, contrary to initial statements by some on Capitol Hill, Wall Street will react negatively and that what so far has been limited pressure on Members of Congress to raise the debt ceiling will be substantially different in the not-too-distant future.

In recent weeks two of the three agencies that Wall Street relies on for bond ratings — Moody’s and Fitch — both issued warnings about the implications of not increasing the government’s borrowing limit.

Last week, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke used some of the strongest language he has ever used when talking about fiscal policy to say that the debt ceiling should not be tied to deficit reduction.

The continuing threat of a default by Greece has clearly concerned investors. If worry about a country whose gross domestic product is almost a rounding error compared to the U.S. economy can roil the markets, what will a growing hint of a similar problem by the United States do?

Finally, there is the growing recent concern about the U.S. economic recovery and the worry about the effect of short-term deficit reductions on the GDP and unemployment that is increasingly in vogue.

This is why, like the calls I received when the Andrews summit got under way, much of what’s being said about a possible budget deal needs to be heavily discounted.

The current discussions may have been going on for a while, but in many respects, it’s still way too early in the process to think that anything has been decided.

 

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