June 26, 2010 - Posted by Shama
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It seems like every day we wake up, Facebook has implemented a new policy or added a new dimension overnight. With almost 500 million users, it is truly turning into the ultimate powerhouse. Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, has even revealed plans for Facebook to hit 1 billion users by targeting countries where Facebook isn’t yet as in
filtrated – countries such as Korea, Russia, and Vietnam.
With more users, more features, comes greater opportunity to leverage Facebook for marketing purposes. Here are the top five things you need to know about Facebook marketing.
1) Facebook Fan Page Admin Rule – Previously, if you created a Fan Page using your profile (you have to have a profile to create a page), you were the default Admin – forever. You could add more administrators, but you couldn’t disconnect the page from your profile. Now, it doesn’t matter who creates the page. You can hand it over to anyone at anytime. This is great news if you had an intern or an ex-employee create the page. They can hand it over to anyone at any time. The downside? Just because you are a creator of the page doesn’t mean you can’t be booted. Key Lesson: Think before you add an administrator.
2) Facebook eCommerce – While Facebook still isn’t the ideal tool for direct sales, it may get there yet. Have a fan page? Sell products or services? Sell from the Fan page directly. Services like Payvment are making that possible – currently for FREE. Key Lesson: Start thinking about Facebook as more than just a relationship building tool. Think Facebook eCommerce.
3) Facebook Currency – It is only a matter of time before Facebook introduces their digital currency. Think of this as a premonition of what’s to come. Doing business globally will be easier than ever with Facebook Bucks/Dinero/Yen. Key Lesson: Think globally.
4) Facebooks Ads – The most exciting frontier yet! Facebook Ads remind me of Google Adwords in the early days. While Google is all about people searching for what they want and need, Facebook is about people searching for who they are. Identity scholars – get ready for some mind blowing research opportunities. Businesses – start thinking beyond regular search. Key Lesson: Get to know your target market better than the back of your own hand.
5) Greater Facebook Integration – Want to automatically follow your Facebook friends on Twitter? There is an App for that! (Update: Facebook may be battling it out with Twitter for now. The app is currently down). In fact, there may be an app for almost everything. Look for greater Facebook integration across the web. Key Lesson: Continue to make Facebook a key part of your marketing – online and offline.
For Facebook geeks like us here at Marketing Zen, this is all GREAT news. As we work clients across the world and help them understand and better use Facebook – we will also continue to keep all of you updated on what’s new and how you can use it to further your business.
May 20, 2010 - Posted by Shama
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Summe
r time is here! In Texas this means hot summers, ice-tea, swimming pools, and barbecue. It also means lots of student and graduates are looking for internships. As resumes fill my inbox, and I find myself dispensing advice more often than usual, a blog post on the topic seems fitting.
1) Re-do the Resume - As a student, I never understood it. My resume looked JUST like the template provided by the career center. Big mistake! As an employer, I hate seeing such resumes. Tweak your resume for each position. If you can’t take 30 minutes to do that, then don’t consider applying for that position. You don’t want it badly enough.
2) Beef up your LinkedIn Profile -Before you ask your parents and their friends to forward your resume, think twice. Instead, beef up your LinkedIn profile. Now, give the profile address to your network. Make it easy for others to help you find your dream job.
3) Tweet Tweet - If you want a job in PR, Marketing, or Social Media, you need to be on Twitter. And, I don’t make sweeping generalizations like this easily. Twitter is faster than the API. You need to have an account and use it responsibly.
4) Clean up Facebook - Facebook has no privacy controls – only the illusion. Don’t fall for it. If something isn’t meant to be public, don’t put it on Facebook. Yes, employers do check your profile. Yes, they can access your account even if you think it isn’t public.
5) Reach out to the CEO – This may be tougher at big companies, but small to mid-size companies often have their CEO in the limelight. Often people don’t reach out to the CEO because they think he or she wouldn’t care. On the contrary, it makes quite the impression. Just be respectful of their time.
6) Build a Portfolio - A portfolio is not just for designers. If you write, I want to see writing samples. If you want to be a community manager, I want to see samples of you engaging an audience.
7) Cater to the Job Description – This is the #1 mistake I see applicants making. Do NOT send a canned cover letter and resume. Employers can see through it. If the job description asks for a detail oriented person, address that in the cover letter. Don’t substitute perfectionist for detail oriented – they are not the same thing.
Be Willing – Flexibility is an asset. Are you willing to work from home? Are you willing to take an unpaid internship to prove your merit? Times are tough; are you willing to be flexible?
9) Fine tune your Attitude – This is an issue I often see addressed to the millenials, but I think it applies across the board. It does not matter how good you are at your job, if your attitude sucks – you won’t keep a job. Millenials/Gen Y/Gen X – The world owes you nothing. You want something? Work for it. Show that you can make a difference, and don’t give up. Baby Boomers – You always have something to learn. A younger boss or colleagues? Treat them with respect. Your qualifications don’t allow you a bad attitude.
10) Showcase Loyalty – This is tough to find these days, but good employers know how to spot it and value it. I know employers who won’t even interview someone if they have moved jobs too quickly in the past. It isn’t always about the money. Countless studies show that people may take a job for the money, but rarely stick to it for that reason. In fact, it ranks well below a good environment, challenging work, and potential. Like a company? Stick it OUT!
11) Attend Local Networking Events – If you live in a major city, the chances are that there are multiple marketing related groups. Attend their events. Don’t rely on your career center. Get out there and network. Be kind, ask intelligent questions, and let people know you are looking.
12) Create Business Cards – You don’t need a job to have a business card. Create some for you – the individual. This is a great way to stand out from the crowd. Here is a video on how to create a good business card.
13) Educate yourself – Marketing is a changing field, and an amazing one at that. You have to keep up. There is no reason why you should walk into an interview and not know what an RSS feed is or why geo-location is hot. There is no excuse for a lack of education. Your employer will give you real world experience, but you need to educate yourself.
Want to help someone looking for a job or an internship? Feel free to share this post. Have your own tips to share or questions to ask? Share/Ask away!
May 5, 2010 - Posted by Shama
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“Super! Danke. Ciao.” – That is my chosen foreign phrase around here. I am in St. Gallen in Switzerland for the Leaders of Tomorrow S
ymposium. Every year, 200 young leaders are invited to join the symposium to discuss entrepreneurship. This is the 40th year, and I was honored to receive an invitation. Over 46 countries are represented. This is a two day “pre-programme”, then the actual symposium with today’s leaders starts. Today was the 2nd day. Here is a recap of my two days here so far.
Day 1 -
I landed in Zurich at 8:30 am. That would be about 1:30 AM Dallas time, so I was extremely jet lagged. After quickly refreshing in one of the airport bathrooms, I decided to buy a pre-paid SIM card for an unlocked phone so I could make and accept emergency calls. There are two big carriers in Zurich – Sunrise and Yellow. If you are wanting to call the U.S. – Yellow offers better deals. For 20 CHF (roughly 20 Swiss Francs equals 20 dollars), I purchased 100 minutes with a Swiss number and texted the number to key parties. It is 25 cents per minute to the US. I made sure my iPhone was turned to airplane mode and the roaming was turned off. There are many horror stories about people being charged an arm and a leg for using their iPhone abroad. Also, the exchange rate at the airport is decent, but they do charge a processing fee – so it may be preferable to find a bank. Using your credit card depends on your bank, Chase takes 3% of the purchase as a transaction fee.
After handling the basics, I headed towards the convention table which was mentioned in the personalized programs (had my picture and name on every page!) that were mailed to us weeks ago. I was amazed to find that every airport employee seemed to know exactly what the Symposium was – and where I was supposed to go. Most of Zurich speaks German, but there are English translations . At the conference table, I was greeted by enthusiastic students who had a packed lunch and a shuttle waiting to transport the group to St. Gallen (1 hr from Zurich). The entire symposium is organized by the students. This is an AMAZING feat considering that the students are undergraduates, and have to organize individual trips for over 200 GLOBAL busy entrepreneurs.
We were then taken to a buffet lunch. (They like to keep us fed here!) After lunch, we had four panel discussions on topics ranging from barriers to entrepreneurship in foreign countries to general barriers to entrepreneurship. KEY TAKEAWAY - I realized I had a very American-centric view of entrepreneurship. I never realized how tough it is to start businesses in other countries (regulations, corruption, etc.). Also, the culture around “Failure” is dramatically different. The west sees failure as a necessary step in moving forward, while the East sees it as something to be avoided at all cost.
Day 1 ended with a dinner and us being driven to our hosts. The tradition is that current students host the leaders of tomorrow. My host, Natalie, was most gracious and had a very comfortable bed for me prepared where after checking in with the Dallas office – I promptly collapsed.
Day 2 -
After 7 hours of sleep, I felt more like myself. We were told to meet at 9 am at the Old Abbey – one of the oldest libraries in the world. Using a map, I promptly got lost. But, if you must be lost – this is the city to do it in! I got a cup of hot chocolate from a local shop (real melted chocolate – no powder) and continued to wander the streets of St. Gallen. It truly looks like a city from a fairy tale. After two hours of wondering around and trying to communicate in German (which I don’t speak) – I found the location.
Pricewaterhouse Coopers conducted an entrepreneurial workshop where we discussed everything from risk management to financing. I met some VERY talented yet super humble young entrepreneurs (many younger than me!). Hindy from Indonesia owns over 650 restaurants as part of his national franchise. Raj Dey from the UK who started Enternships – internships for the entrepreneurial minded soul. Rohit from India who just sold his last business for 7 million. Just amazing people with excellent stories. KEY TAKEAWAY: Dig your well before you need it. Find the resources, do your research, be prepared. And, always surround yourself with big thinkers and doers.
A late Italian lunch preceded a keynote by Bert Twaalfhoven – super entrepreneur. He talked about how he built 54 start ups -and failed 17 times. He was the one to introduce coin operated laundromats to Europe. KEY TAKEAWAY from his speech: Do your competitive analysis on ANY industry before you enter. MBA students are great for such. He was a definite inspiration.
Now, I am back from a heavy dinner. I am typing this from an amazing little apartment in the middle of the city. Tomorrow, the main symposium begins – leaders from all over the world are attending. I’ll keep you posted.
Ciao!
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