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Social Media Skills a Must for New Hires

Monday, August 31st, 2009

Social media savvy job seekers can plan on taking those skills to the bank.  In the 2009 Digital Readiness Report, PR and marketing professionals were asked a series of questions pertaining to online skills.

Here are some of the findings:

  • Social networking, blogging and micro-blogging skills are the three most important social media communications skills for job candidates to have.
  • When searching for prospective new hires, social media communications skills are nearly as important as traditional media relations skills.
  • Most organizations are considering hiring social media specialists.

“To circumvent the risk of obsolescence, communications professionals are seeking out new media and social media training opportunities that allow them to rapidly update their traditional public relations and communications skills-sets,” iPressroom founder, Eric Schwartzman says, “The demand for this type of knowledge is huge.”

According to Hubspot, only 1% of companies in North America are using social media for driving leads.  Now is the time to get in on the game and learn how to use these tools to stake your claim.

Toolulu offers social media training and consultation.  Our next class is Social Media 101. Registration is now open and space is limited.  We are also available for workshops or other training meetings.

Posted in social media | No Comments »

Going with a Purpose

Thursday, August 27th, 2009

Business Luncheon 054

Before I attend an event– a small luncheon, or a large conference, I make 1-3 goals for myself.  I went to a small luncheon of about 30 people yesterday, and I made a simple goal for myself on the way there.  Talk to at least one person and tell them about Toolulu and what we do {in case you’re wondering, go here}.  Simple right?  And it worked. 

There have been days where I’ve been to hurried to even think about goals for a meeting/luncheon.  And then I usually don’t feel like I got anything out of them.  When you go in with a purpose, you can usually achieve it.  I dare you to try it.

Do you set mini goals throughout the day?  If so, do they work for you?

image here

Posted in business | No Comments »

Lincoln Kayak Polo Event

Wednesday, August 26th, 2009

One of Toolulu’s very first clients was Lincoln Kayak Polo.  They gave us a chance to put our skills to the test and we have the opportunity to see a brand new business launch!

This Saturday, Lincoln Kayak Polo will be having its first event.  You can click on the image to the left to register.  There are games available starting at 1pm.  You’ll want to hurry and sign up, though.  At least one of the times is already full.

At the time of publishing this post, they have 99 fans on facebook.  Do you want to be their 100th?

You can catch all the action on their facebook page or you can follow them on twitter @lincolnyakpolo.

This is a great activity for anyone ages 9 and up.  How fun would this be for a birthday party or youth activity?

In October, Lincoln Kayak Polo will be moving indoors to the Prairie Life Center.  You will get more information on that through facebook, twitter, or coming to the event this Saturday.

Posted in Client | No Comments »

Does the fastest one really win?

Tuesday, August 25th, 2009

I recently found out about CrossFit Lincoln about a week ago and have been to 2 of their group workouts so far.  {Think bootcamp}.  It completely sucks, but it’s a mighty great workout, and it’s all done as a group.  In the two workouts I have attended, it’s a loose competition, but motivating nonetheless.  I for one never like to be the one in last place.  However, last night had me thinking about it a little differently.

In doing a series of lifts and sprints, I was staying in the middle of the pack.  I started out lifting a 18 lb. weight, but worked down to a 10 lb. as the 18 lb. was too much for me to handle.  It was a tough work out, but truth be told, I could have probably took my time and finished out with the 18 lb. weight.  There were two guys that finished last- they were neck and neck.  They were lifting way more than any of us, and it was obvious they were pushing themselves harder than anyone out of the group.

How does this all apply to marketing and social media?  Work it harder.  It may take a little more time to do it right, but in the end you will be in better shape.  Don’t just log on to twitter, facebook and LinkedIn and post without strategically thinking about it.  What ever you say, say it with a purpose.

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How to Get What You Want.

Monday, August 24th, 2009

Just ask.

Could it really be that simple?

Yes.

Just ask.

You may not always get the desired response.  They might say no.

They might say yes.

Mondays are a great day to put yourself out there.  Think of something you want and ask for it.

Would you love to get a new advertising sponsor for your blog?  Just ask.

How about a speaking engagement?  Just ask.

What are you going to ask for today?

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How to be an Expert

Thursday, August 20th, 2009

A great way to build your own personal brand, or the brand of your company is to become an expert at something.  Create a niche and focus on it.  Once you have decided on a niche, you can start building awareness of your talents. 

Speaking
Speaking engagements are a great way to talk about what you know well.  To find speaking engagements, do searches for potential conferences or workshops that fit your niche.  Then start sending pitches.

Local Groups
Create or attend local groups that fit your niche.  More than likely the people attending these groups will be passionate about your niche and you will build a network around what you love.

Network
I love attending networking events and hearing what others are working on and what they are passionate about.  And it may not be labeled an actual networking event, but any event you go to, try and talk to at least 3 people you don’t know.  Find out what others are doing and you may be surprised how you can help.

Help Others
Share your knowledge with others and spread the wealth.  The power of educating others is something that will keep on giving and giving. 

Do you have a niche?  How have you built your brand?

Posted in business | No Comments »

Using Bloggers To Spread Your Message

Wednesday, August 19th, 2009

As early as last year, I remember thinking how great it would be to partner with some PR professionals and be able to try out some new products or attend some events. I had been approached here or there for some random things but nothing that really interested me or would interest my readers. It seems in the last six months or so, many PR firms are realizing the power of the blog to spread a message.

Ketchum was at BlogHer this summer (as was I) and conducted a survey of its attendees. The findings showed that in order for the message to get across to the bloggers, the PR and marketing professionals need to do a bit of homework first.  From the report:

  • Take the time to read their blogs and understand their areas of focus. Many women bloggers said they would like to hear about news and products that better match their specific interests.
  • This applies to location, too. A number of respondents said they receive communications about products and events not available in their regions or even their countries.
  • Know that they are “more than their blog” – they have other roles in addition to being a mom or a blogger, say respondents, including jobs outside the home.
  • Similarly, don’t assume that all women bloggers are “mommy bloggers.”

With more women being the primary decision makers on consumer purchases, it makes sense for marketers to want to work with bloggers.  Kelly Skoloda, Director of Ketchum’s Global Brand Marketing Practice, adds, “Given that friends and family, offline and online, are the most credible sources of information when making a purchase decision and that many bloggers are now virtual friends with their readers and other bloggers, it behooves marketers to really listen to and respect the influence of female bloggers.”

This is only the beginning.

Posted in blogging | 1 Comment »

Making Twitter Work for YOU

Tuesday, August 18th, 2009

Feeling a little overwhelmed on Twitter and don’t feel like it’s being maximized as a tool for you?  Here are a couple pointers…

If you have multiple twitter accounts to manage, my best suggestion is to use an application to manage your twitter stream.  I go back and forth between Seesmic and Hootsuite.  I love Seesmic because I can add all of my twitter streams and it blends them into one.  So if I’m overlapping followers in these streams, I only see their tweet once.  I like Hootsuite for the other reasons. I like that it is an excellent web application.  It is also perfect if you have multiple twitter streams, and have a different voice for each stream.  This application doesn’t blend these into one stream.  As a side note, I use Twitterfon as my iphone application. 

If you are having trouble sifting through all your followers, I would also use an application to create custom columns {you can do this in both Hootsuite & Seesmic}.  I put my top 20 friends in one stream, a couple custom searches in another.  That way I am sure not to miss what my friends are saying, and I’m able to stay atop of the issues that are important to me.  Using search.twitter.com is also very helpful if you want to get instant results on what people are tweeting.  I use search twitter if I’m meeting with a potential client to see what others are saying.  I also use it if I’m researching a topic.  It’s been added as a search engine in my book, right next to google.

If you feel like you’re getting sucked into twitter, well, that may be okay, depending on your business.  If twitter is a main source of gaining potential clients and raising awareness about your services, you should be on twitter a lot. 

How do you manage your twitter usage?  What tips would you like to share?

Posted in twitter | No Comments »

How to Find a Company Blogger

Monday, August 17th, 2009

Here at Toolulu, we feel that most companies can benefit from a content rich blog.  Finding the right person to provide that content is the topic for discussion today.

Ideally, you’ll want a blogger on the inside.  Find someone in your company that is knowledgeable, has a good writing style, and is motivated.  Do you have several departments or skill sets represented in your company? One way to add content to your blog would be to choose an employee from each area and give them the task of writing one blog post each week.

Give your blogging employees the support and training they need. A blogger’s job doesn’t end when a post is published. To get noticed, most bloggers put in some legwork after the post is live. Using twitter, facebook, and commenting on other relevant blog posts are all great ways to drive traffic to your post. Your bloggers will need the time and training to do this.

If you are unable to find a blogger among your current employees, you may want to consider a ghost blogger. Many professional bloggers are available for these types of freelance jobs. In fact, here at Toolulu we can help you find qualified bloggers to hire. When looking for a ghost blogger you’ll want to choose someone with excellent writing skills, a knowledge of blogger etiquette, at least a basic grasp of search engine optimization (SEO), and someone that can write intelligently about your subject matter.

Posted in blogging | No Comments »

Using Social Media in your Business

Thursday, August 13th, 2009

Last night, we attended the Social Media club of Lincoln.  Matt Sherman from Three Pillars Media spoke about how they are using social media in their business to spread the word and gain clients.  Their business focuses on commercial photography and videography.  Here are a couple highlights from his presentation:

  • Facebook:  They do some weddings (about 12 per year) and Facebook is a great tool they have used to tap into their target market.  They post pictures and videos from recent weddings.  The bride and groom, people in the wedding party start commenting on pictures, tagging themselves, and before you know it one picture, or video has been posted to 1,000 different walls. 
  • Twitter:  They use twitter to post links to their work – to a picture, or video.  They have been granted freelance positions just based on their presence on Twitter.
  • LinkedIn:Matt admitted to pushing LinkedIn off to the side and didn’t really think it was that useful to begin with.  He loves it now.  He uses it to connect with people, and have people he knows introduce him to people they know.  He said it has helped him reached people he thought were “untouchable”.

He gave a great presentation and we loved having him talk to us.  If you’re interested in joining the Social Media Club for it’s next event, visit our fan page for details.

Posted in social media | 1 Comment »

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