Social Media Cost Me My Unemployment

Well, not really that at all, but a title has to be catchy doesn’t it?

Just about a year ago, I made the conscious desicion to (finally) fully participate in social media, social networking, web 2.0  or whatever you would like to call it. I started this blog, and kept up with it, connecting, eventually even… tweeting. Once I started with it, I ran with it and made all of my networks my own.

Recently I was part of the fortunate, while still having employment, I went looking for a job; I was moving back to MA and did not want to leave my position without securing my next step. I decided to revamp my resume with a new look and feel. I went to a 2 column format which opened up a whole area to place my social media links.

Now, I made sure that eveything was good on all of my profiles and I created a link to a more specific Google search than just my name (Stephen Beaudoin brings up a professor, a doctor and a ripoff report; not optimal).  I took control over my online brand.

It paid off. I went on two interviews and received two offers. But beyond that, I got one of the greatest compliment that a job seeker could get:

Your resume is one of the best that I’ve seen in the past 5 years.

A simple sentence, but one that will be hard to forget.

Take control of your online brand. Good luck.

Integrate or Segregate

Let’s get this out of the way, I’m talking about Social Media and all of it’s wonderful interactive… socialness. I believe I have touched on this before (although I can’t find the link), does it make sense to consolidate your efforts or should you keep everything seperate?

Now, of course it is all a matter of opinion; but let’s work this out. I know that Facebook and Twitter and dozens of other networking sites make it so easy to have a one-stop shop, where you have one site to update them all.

Sitting down to actually type this, I feel like there isn’t to much to say beyond this:  Do you use the same advertisement in all of the magazines that you advertise in? Each social enviornment has it’s own purpose and serves it’s own function and should be treated as such. When it comes to writing your social strategy down (which you should do for clarity of purpose) treat each social site as it’s own targeted vehicle. Explore each site carefully and then focus your messaging as such.

My first two days at Microsoft…

My other title for this post was going to be… Social Media land me at Microsoft… but I figured that title preaches to the choir.

This week is my first week at Microsoft working as a Marketing Specialist vendor. So far, so good… I am very impressed with all of the resources and process that they have in place.

To give the rundown… the position is communications. More specifically I will be working on Small & Middle-level business and Partner promotions.

I just wanted to give a quick update to my less-than-loyal readers (no offense, I just have a small audience) as to why I haven’t been updating as frequently. Between work, a job hunt and a move… things can get hectic. I will be back more often as I have a SIGNIFCANTLY shorter commute.

Expertise: Appointed or Announced

Just a recent observation that I have been getting a lot of followers from ‘experts’.

Are experts appointed that status by a collective agreement that they are the best in the field, or are these titles announced to the world from the source? I’m not saying either one is wrong, but just considering the source.

It may be that I’m a marketing geek, but when I see the terms ‘industry expert’ or ‘expertise in blah blah blah’ I tend to chalk it up to filler text. Wouldn’t it be better to point to testimonials from other people saying you’re an expert? When speaking about oneself I would suggest claiming how experienced you are, that gives the impression you are an expert without saying so.

Just an example: I have been driving successful email marketing campaigns for the last decade.

This isn’t a rant. Just something that I have been mulling over for the past few days and figured I’d toss it out there.

Why make the effort?

As a marketer, I focus on keeping everything cohesive, getting the word out through specific channels and seeing results. This is a simplified mission statement of me as a marketer, but will serve its purpose.

In my personal involvement with social media however I have a different approach.

I am an avid user of Facebook, a moderate Tweeter, an active member of a blogging community (WordPress) occasional Linked in user, etc. etc. I use all of these forums in different manners and; while not keeping them hidden from each other, do not integrate the efforts into one massive stream of “ThatGuySteve” or “Stephen Beaudoin” consciousness.

Why then, do I go through all this effort? My answer is simple, but does not make total sense to me as a marketer.

It is not about who’s listening to me – it’s about having something to say.

I do use all of these channels as learning platforms for my own career as it is certain that new media is here to stay in one form or another. By participating in forms of new or social media, I am learning the ins and outs of them all. They have already helped me in initiatives I’ve had in my career and I believe that they are only going to be more prevalent as I continue.

So that’s why I do it. What’s your excuse?