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August 5th, 2010Lately im interested in Ecommerce
Within the past few years, it seems that social media positions are popping up everywhere, in all types of organizations, from The New York Times, to Pizza Hut, and even in the White House. Businesses of all types are identifying the need to stay connected with their communities because they recognize the benefits.
Social media marketing is just a slice of the social media industry, but it’s a very important piece of the story. Businesses see social media as a platform for engaging with consumers and informing them of the latest company news and products. Marketers are blazing trails in the social media marketing sector, creating campaigns that are interactive, shareable and inclusive of the on the web community. For the most innovative of marketers, the focus isn’t on campaigns, but on letting consumers take the reigns in guiding a brand’s social presence.
For aspiring social media marketers, there are no strict rules for becoming successful. But we’ve gathered eight of the brightest minds in the social media industry to elaborate on five helpful tips for landing a job in social media marketing.
1. Join Social Media Meetups and Networks
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In speaking with a number of digital entrepreneurs, one tip stood out as the first step towards online success: step away from your computer, meet with professionals in the field you want to work with and join groups of others interested in social media and technology. Damien Basile, communication strategist and founder of Digital Somethings, a monthly digital influencer event series, stated it loud and clear, “The old axiom still rings true: It’s who you know, what you know and how much money you have access to.”
Digital Strategist and Co-Founder of Foodspotting, Soraya Darabi, suggests that job seekers looking to break into the social media world get out and meet people in the industry:
“Most careers depend a lot on networks, but the beauty of social media is that you can “meet” most of the people you need to know online. Having said that, I truly appreciate real life conversations, and get great value from the New York Tech Meetup after-events, where like-minded entrepreneurs and digital strategists roam. Create your own networking event if you can’t find a nearby group to suit your interests.”
Joining groups like the New York Tech Meetup and Social Media Club are a great begin to getting to know professionals in the industry. Make sure you’re not just attending events, sitting in the back and leaving after the speeches end. Be proactive about meeting new people, learning about what they do and having meaningful conversations.
If you can’t find a fitting group of interesting people nearby, begin your own Meetup. Organizing a group of specialized experts is one way to sky-rocket your name to the top.
2. Make Relationships, Not Pitches
Joining specialized groups is just the beginning; don’t stop there. When you meet people with interesting stories, get to know them and build a true relationship. Forget the marketing pitches and the elevator speech and leave your resume at home. People can instinctively identify a fraud; be genuine in your mission to the industry and what your acquaintances are working on. I like the way Soundcloud Evangelist David Noël puts it, “Don’t be spammy, pushy, sales-y, douchey, or scary.”
The best thing about the social space is that you can continue your relationships online. As Basile puts it, “Comment, interact, blog and re-blog. The more you make yourself heard, the more you will be heard.” Make sure you’re staying active within your network, and don’t forget to listen.
Pedro Sorrentino, MediaMind’s marketing and PR coordinator in Brazil, says to remember that “it’s not only about the people you know, it’s about the way you treat them as well. Technology is just a platform and social media is all about sociology, human behavior and status.” He points out that technology can lead way to short, crass communications. Learn how to engage your network in a “clever and polite way.”
Sophia Aladenoye, a digital strategist at Ogilvy Public Relations, stresses the important of embracing the extrovert in you while on your mission to make your connections count:
“My top tip would be to always engage with people. I have seen this, time and time again, that those who are in the social media industry and who wish to break in are individuals who actually like people and like talking to people. Those are the ones who I see thriving in this industry — it is called “social” for a reason. Even if you yourself an introvert, there should be a part of yourself that still reaches out to people.”
3. Stay Informed of Trends, Tools and News
Training, experience and knowledge are all very important for any career choice. Since social media is such a new industry, there aren’t very many standards on what type of training you should have or which tools you should be utilizing to measure success. Because the landscape changes so quickly, it is therefore very important that you are constantly learning. Keep yourself updated on the latest technologies, trends and news by reading up. Walter Junior, social media strategist at Riot, points out that being in the know is key:
“Keep up-to-date with tools, applications, studies and reports. In my opinion, it’s essential to monitor and be familiar with a wide range of class='blippr-nobr'>Internet class="blippr-nobr">Internet materials, such as social media usage research, in order not only to understand market and users’ consumption habits, but also to know how they are changing each day.”
Darabi believes that industry awareness and a passion for new things keeps aspiring social media marketers on top of their game. “The magic word in our industry is beta. Get on the beta for every product that intrigues you, try it for yourself before you suggest the product or platform to your brand or organization. Early-adoption and the ability to be first-to-market is an easy gateway to success.”
A background or knowledge in marketing or PR doesn’t hurt, either. Jakub Svoboda, publisher of Tyinternety.cz, a Czech blog specialized in digital marketing and social media, says that “you have to understand, at least on a basic level, how companies are communicating, what brand marketing is, how to deal with reputation, how to manage a PR crisis, and how to write copy for social advertisements.” If you have a passion for social media, but don’t have the marketing experience, don’t be discouraged. Pick up a marketing book, take a course, or get a mentor.
When you’re on top of the latest news, you’ll never have to worry about fudging up on the facts in an interview. Kimberly Aguilera, planning and new media recruiter at Tangerine Talent Management, advises that, “at an interview you should be prepared with your own ideas for the company or agency [you are interviewing with]. Have relevant examples of who is doing what right.” Aguilera also advises that you cut out the jargon and start at the basics while interviewing. “Being able to instruct is a huge part of the roles. Not everyone knows as much as you do all of the time. You have to make it all understandable for non-social media experts.”
To stay on top of the latest news, fill your RSS reader with the sources that cover that news. Our experts AdAge class="blippr-nobr">AdAge, PSFK, Creativity Magazine,
While it’s always a good idea to look forward and broaden your marketing mix when it comes to technology, a new study shows that expecting a huge, at-scale ROI from such cutting-edge location-based services as Foursquare might be a bit premature.
Research given to us this day by marketing and tech firm Forrester shows that only a tiny stratum of the population is consistently using class='blippr-nobr'>Foursquare class="blippr-nobr">Foursquare. Only 4% of the adult, class='blippr-nobr'>Internet class="blippr-nobr">Internet-using population has used any kind of location-based service, and just 1% of all adults check into a location at least once a week.
By contrast, more than 11% of adults have used Twitter, and an estimated 28% of all users have signed up for class='blippr-nobr'>Facebook class="blippr-nobr">Facebook.
But if you keep in mind that Foursquare isn’t yet a mass medium, you can plan to target your marketing efforts much superior and still see the benefits of using this service and others like it as an advertising and marketing channel. And you’ll get the added benefit of being an experienced location-based marketing pro when services like this take off for the general population.
For example, the Forrester report noted, Starbucks saw some great things with its Foursquare program: “Starbucks, by connecting its existing loyalty program to a startup LBSN, got not only great press initially but also the opportunity to test an emerging technology. Adventurous marketers like Starbucks see a consumer market of early adopters that will hopefully grow into a new and active audience.”
Forrester also found that location-based service (LBS) users are likely to be 19- to 35-year-old, college-educated males who are influential among their friends and family. These users generally do a lot of mobile-based web research when considering making a purchase, from a refrigerator or a automobile to a motion picture ticket or dinner at a restaurant. Their average household income is right around the six-figure mark — around $20,000 higher than consumers who don’t use an LBS.
Because of the place-based nature of LBSs, people who use them are extremely connected to the web and World wide web and social applications via their mobile devices. Forrester’s research shows these users are also on using their mobile devices to find directions, look up information about local businesses and read or submit local business reviews on sites such as class='blippr-nobr'>Yelp class="blippr-nobr">Yelp.
Getting intelligence on these kinds of consumers and testing multiple small-scale LBS campaigns is the ideal way to prepare for successful location-based marketing efforts in the future — like, perhaps, when Facebook launches its location service in the near future and this geeks-only paradigm is suddenly brought to an international scale.
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