The 3 Steps to Building an Audience on Social Media

The 3 Steps to Building an Audience on Social Media Whether you represent  an employer or a recruitment  company, the same challenge exists with attracting talent: How exactly do you build and retain an audience online? You should  of course create compelling content, not just about  specific jobs but about your company culture and beyond. I recently had a chat about audience building with Jeff Rohrs, VP, Marketing Insights at Salesforce and author of Audience: Marketing in the Age of Subscribers, Fans Followers. Have a listen to the audio podcast on  iTunes,  Stitcher    Soundcloud  (above).  Questions by me, answers by Jeff. The value of your online audience The value just of an audience is that you have an exclusive right to communicate with a group of folks whove given you permission to do so. Thats true whether youre a marketer or whether youre a performer or a preacher or a politician. What social media and the web and the era of mobile devices have given brands is the ability to speak to these consumers who are hand raisers. PR folks look at media equivalency value. What would have been the cost to get that kind of exposure to that size of an audience through a paid third party channel? And then theyll ascribe that to the value that theyve created through whatever social or direct channel. So maybe to sum it up, the audience value really is that ability to speak direct to the consumer so that you can reduce your dependency on paid media and ultimately increase the speed with which you can go to market with new ideas, new products or hopefully increase social amplification. 3 Ways to grow your social media audience: 1. Optimise your paid media First of all is to optimise your paid media. Most companies are already doing some form of advertising, and most are thinking its enough to brand or just try and sell in the moment. Were asking too little of our paid media in many instances. It can also capture the audience for us. And by that I mean to say, boy, if youve got a thirty-second commercial, dont just slap up a Facebook logo or a Twitter logo. Thats advertising for them. Actually integrate into the creative some sort of interaction that gets them to pick up the mobile phone or to go online and register for e-mail. And again, this takes collaboration with the brand side. And this is where the tension is right now in a lot of those organisations because brand wants to use beautiful campaigns, and the digital direct folks want to build audience. And we havent really had those two groups get together and understand theyre not mutually exclusive, they can work together. 2. Dont forget mobile Second is dont forget mobile. The vast majority of consumers today, now have mobile devices that basically allow for direct response if only you ask them to do something. And thats why its interesting to me to see so many ads and other things that never have a call to action. When, in fact, if the ad captures a persons attention and they have interest, give them a way to interact. And that becomes a way that you can get them to subscribe via SMS or scan something or take some step that will actually get them into one of those permission based audience channels. 3. Look at the hybridisation of social and email And I think the third one is to look at whats happening in the hybridisation of social advertising and e-mail and online. Really interesting things happening there as social media comes of age. For instance, youve got the custom audiences products from Facebook, which allows you to map your e-mail subscribers to your Facebook fans. And what that allows you to do is a number of things. I can now go in, and I can target advertising to the people who are my Facebook fans but arent email subscribers. And what kind of ad would I want to put to them? I probably want to incentivise becoming an e-mail subscriber. Because being a Facebook fan is great but we all know as Facebook has grown in popularity, the distribution of our organic posts has dropped. And so to get that Facebook fan to be an e-mail subscriber gives you control of the cadence, gives you another channel, so that you can diversify and you can have multiple points of contact with that consumer. Find out more about Jeff by reading his book Audience, follow him  on Twitter @JKRohrs  and  listen to him on the Social Pros Podcast. A longer version of this  post was originally published on Link Humans. Image credit: Shutterstock

Writing a Resume For the Unschooling Person

Writing a Resume For the Unschooling PersonWriting a resume for the unschooling person can be done on your own. The fact is, as a parent, you already know a lot about childcare and teaching and will have a wealth of experience to share with potential employers. Now, if you are considering writing a resume for the unschooling person, you should take a few things into consideration first.The most important thing to consider when writing an unschooling resume is how much experience you have and your academic achievements. Many applicants have no idea what they are doing when it comes to putting together their resume. You can usually tell right away if a person has any experience in childcare. They will probably have a PhD or Masters degree in education or some other field that will do nothing to help their chances.Educational background should be highlighted on your resume. If you are unschooling and would like to further your education, include it. Some people think the only way to get a job is to have an advanced degree, but the truth is that people looking for unschooling jobs also want to see that you have a basic grasp of how to care for children and make a learning environment.Another aspect to focus on is your educational background. Try to include areas that could help you during the interview process. The more you know about the subject matter of the resume, the better. If you think you could really help a company out, make sure to emphasize that in your resume.So, what does this mean for resumes nowadays? Well, there is a huge flood of material available that doesn't contain a great deal of information on the resume. An unschooling parent can benefit from that. Some of the material on a resume will be outdated by the time the person puts it together. You should be able to update them in an appropriate way that will help you stand out from the crowd.You can choose to show your skills and achievements through photographs and videos. People will love that y ou took excellent care of your children and did not leave them in a situation that could harm them. They will want to know that you showed that you truly cared about them. Let them know you truly cared about your education. Also, they will appreciate your photographs of you raising your children.Above all, make sure that you highlight your educational background in the resume. It may seem like the unschooling parent is a difficult person to write a resume for, but it is entirely possible that it is one of the most important elements. If your resume is well written, it can definitely bring you the job you want.Please note that this is a totally different process than a resume. Please make sure that you are aware of that as well. Try to remember that resumes are not a place to put down your feelings about your career in general.

Things you need to know before you leave UoM this summer. University of Manchester Careers Blog

Things you need to know before you leave UoM this summer. University of Manchester Careers Blog If you are leaving Uni soon there are some things you need to know. Email computer access Your email account will be turned off (usually after graduation) and you will lose access to computers on campus too.   You normally get an email warning you about this from IT, (but its easy to miss), so start clearing out your inbox and forwarding on any information you need to keep. Youll need to change the way  you access  CareersLink soon. 1     If your  STUDENT CareersLink account still works keep using it until it doesnt! (there will be a random date when you are converted to ALUMNI status!) So if you still have access to my Manchester   Change your preferred contact email to a non-University email address asap. 2     To access your  GRADUATE / ALUMNI  CareersLink account: www.manchester.ac.uk/careerslink select Graduate Alumni! If you were already using a non student email account on Careerslink you may be able to login immediately or just reset your password. (use the forgot password link) If you  need to tell us a new contact email address. Email the support team on  careerslink@manchester.ac.uk  quoting your student ID numbers or uername and tell us which email address you want to use. Reset your password the  first time you use the alumni account. Your username remains the same (8 digit combination of letters and numbers used for all University IT systems.) If you do not receive your password reset email (check your spam folder) or have any other problems email  careerslink@manchester.ac.uk Going to a new University in September? If you are moving on to a new University, things will be different. Although you can access careers services here for 2 years after you complete your course (or 1 year if you leave without completing) you should check out the Careers Service at your new Uni too. They may have different services and expertise to us, especially if its a subject area we dont cover here like agriculture or marine biology! All Careers advice Graduate Undergraduate careers graduation

Branding Yourself as a Visionary Employee - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Branding Yourself as a Visionary Employee - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Every company in nearly every industry lives and dies by the leadership and visionary thinking within their organization. Firms that possess true leaders who execute on daily tasks while motivating other employees are the companies that consistently innovate and win in the end. Visionary thinkers are unique and, due to their rarity, employers go above and beyond to ensure that these individuals have a happy, fulfilling and lucrative tenure as workers.    Among other ways, companies do this by showering them with monetary rewards and frequent promotions. The Correlation Between Success and Leadership In all actuality, the success of your career will heavily depend upon your ability to motivate and lead others.    Though, to become a leader, we must know what embodies a great motivator and determine where we need to change. With that being said, here are some traits and beliefs that comprise todays most visionary thinkers and corporate leaders: 1. Leaders tackle problems before they happen leaders have an uncanny ability to predict impending hurdles and, instead of brushing problematic issues aside, they attack them head-on. Sometimes in business it is convenient to only focus on the positives, though when companies do so, they end up blind-sided.    If you want to become a leader, its imperative that you learn to voice concern where concern is needed and help become part of the solution rather than simply pretending the problem doesnt exist. 2. Leaders always look for more effective ways to operate leaders are results oriented. While the average employee is concerned with the amount of work theyve done, the leader is more focused on the results that those activities have yielded. Visionary employees think bottom-line and take the activities necessary to make their employer more profitable and, when they put their mind to doing so, the revenue yield is nothing short of impressive. 3. They care about others leaders know that the only way to win others to their way of thinking is to display a vested interested in their co-workers well-being. In business, nothing can be achieved alone and visionary employees get others to see their perspective because they show a vested concern in the other parties being successful. 4. Leaders have a high self-esteem leaders believe that they deserve what they receive. They can admit when they are wrong, they talk to themselves in a positive manner and are open-minded when it comes to ways to solve the companys problems and drive further revenue for the organization. 5. Leaders have an uncanny passion for what they do a leaders effectiveness at work stems from their passion to always formulate more effective ways to do their job.    They love what they do and, if they dont, they move positions. Visionary employees will continually make the right moves to ensure that they find themselves in a position that plays to their strengths and allows them the creativity they crave. When this happens, the money comes. In the End For many, the thought of transitioning into a leader can be intimidating and often scary.    However, for those employees who want a more interesting, higher paying job, it is imperative that the transition be made. Remember, becoming a leader doesnt happen overnight and it takes practice, but when one does so successfully the rewards are endless. Author: Ken Sundheim is the CEO of KAS Placement, a New York City based sales and marketing recruiting firm helping job seekers of all levels connect with some of todays most innovative companies.

Effective Interview Preparation - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Effective Interview Preparation - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career While preparing for an interview, it’s imperative to know what will and won’t persuade a recruiter or hiring manager. Attempting to convince an employer that you are competent by outright stating, “I am competent,” will have the opposite of the desired effect. Hiring managers are most easily persuaded when they think an idea is theirs. With that being said, when preparing for an interview, it’s crucial to have an underlying tone of accomplishment and intelligence. This will allow the recruiting party to come to the conclusion that you are competent without you having to outright say it. This is the foundation of persuasive interviewing. Describing Past Jobs When describing your past and current positions, it’s imperative to be prepared with an answer that is robust, relevant and relatable to the audience. Remember, instead of outright stating that you are competent or goal oriented, your answers should allude to the fact that you were both impactful to the company and hard working. In order to do so, our sales headhunters recommend you discuss your past job in terms of a solution you solved. For instance, an individual in accounting doesn’t keep the books. Instead, they leverage their financial expertise to ensure that their company is fiscally healthy. Using this formula, try answering the following points: a. What the company does as well as their strategic business model. Ex: Remember, you didn’t work for a software company. Rather, you spent the past few years, contributing to an organization that designed software which ensured that organizations were less prone to security breaches. b. What the company hired you to do. c. Whom you assisted on a daily basis. d. The goals you achieved as well as the hurdles you encountered on the way to meeting those objectives. Describing Your Reason for Leaving In one form or another, the interviewer is going to inquire as to the reasons you’re looking to move jobs. This is a point where many struggle to be persuasive â€" especially if they have had a multitude of positions in the past few years or are coming from an organization that is mismanaged, financially unstable or otherwise problematic. Speaking negatively about a past or current manager can make you appear as petty, unmanageable and / or unprofessional (all of which will render you unpersuasive). On the flip side, by not touching upon these weaknesses, you risk giving the impression that your reason for leaving is due to incompetence, performance inconsistency and / or lack of work ethic. The most persuasive way to approach this answer is to speak objectively by completely taking yourself, your boss or any individual out of the equation. Rather, focus on the company as a business entity. For instance, instead of discussing that you are looking to leave due to a pay cut (which an interviewer or recruiter can view as a signal of ineffectiveness), you’ll be more convincing by focusing on the company’s financial health. An example would be: Due to current revenue problems, organization x has to scale back research and development expenditures which is hindering innovation. This is already having a significant impact on the company’s ability to stay competitive and will hinder their prospect of becoming a top firm in the coming years. Switching Industries Often, managers will prioritize candidates who are coming from the same industry for two reasons: 1. People familiar with the industry will require less training. 2. Individuals who are not accustomed to the vertical are more apt to be unhappy and leave. Luckily, extensive knowledge of both the company and industry can take the place of experience and aid you in persuading the most skeptical headhunters and hiring managers. Intelligent job seekers successfully level the playing field by preparing answers to the following questions: a. What makes you passionate about the industry? b. What factual evidence makes you think the vertical is strong? c. Why do you believe the organization that you’re interviewing with is a viable competitor? In the End If you are going to take the time to interview with an organization, it’s only logical to set aside ample preparation time. Strategic preparation carries a multitude of advantages. In conjunction with building confidence, it will allow you to effectively persuade an interviewer that you are knowledgable, intelligent, autonomous and ambitious without outright stating these qualities.

Why Green Workplace Can Improve Employees Productivity CareerMetis.com

Why Green Workplace Can Improve Employee's Productivity The office has been evolving steadily since the days of the windowless gray cubicles that only allowed for social interaction at the watercooler.Hot-desking, glamorous co-working environments and chillout areas are now the norms for many office workers. But, as the trend towards environmentally friendly businesses continues to grow, it is worth considering the very tangible improvement in productivity that these changes can often result in.evalSo, if you are looking to completely redesign your office, or just want to make a small investment to increase productivity, then it is worth considering the following.What Makes a Green Workplace?Firstly, it is worth clarifying what going green in your workplace really means. A green workplace can be defined as an environmentally friendly, resource-efficient and socially responsible one.As described by environmental and animal welfare advocate charity WWF, in order to go green you must first undertake an assessment of your workplace to underst and the initial situation. Using the results, you should then create an annual plan for your workplace policy and procedures for sustainability that is geared towards minimizing your negative impact on the environment.This can include anything from introducing a workplace recycling program and switching to renewable energy sources to carpool schemes and buying pot plants. But, in this article, we are going to focus only on the environmentally friendly changes that will also increase your workforces’ productivity.1) Increasing Workforce MoraleevalWorking in a green office has been shown to improve productivity by simply providing a nicer environment for everyone to work in. One example of research supporting this statement comes from the University of Exeter in England.Researchers there completed a study that showed how a workforce in an office with lots of plants reported being significantly happier than those without plants. The study concluded that this boosts in happiness and i ncreases morale which meant that there was a 15% increase in productivity.Another study, that was included in The Global Impact of Biophilic Design in the Workplace report in 2015, showed how indoor plants combined with natural light are some of the most requested changes in workplaces. The report explains how these changes improve morale and increase creativity.evalThis must also improve productivity, as happy and creative people are likely to be more motivated and less likely to get stuck on one task. From these studies, it appears that adding some flora to your office can do more than just making it more decorative and helping to oxygenate your office.2) Increasing CognitionCognition is the process of acquiring knowledge and processing information and is an extremely important concept when thinking about productivity. This is because cognition is linked to everything from basic comprehension and working memory to problem-solving, evaluation and decision making.So, it is clear tha t boosting cognition in your workforce will mean employees can learn new things and think more efficiently. One study by Harvard University looked at the top ten best performing office buildings in the USA.The goal was to understand the relationship between the internal condition of the offices and the productivity and overall well-being of the workers. The study concluded that on average those who work in offices with certified green credentials benefit from a 26% increase in cognition. In addition, the study showed that participants in green-certified offices reported a 6% rise in sleep quality.evalSo overall these studies show that green workplace policy and procedures for sustainability can also improve thought processing in your workforce which will â€" of course â€" benefit productivity.3) Increasing ComfortI am sure most of you have had to work in uncomfortable environments in the past. Remember those last-minute reports on the train or working in a stuffy, noisy and uninspir ing office?So, it should come as no surprise that working in a comfortable office is likely to improve your productivity.Making an office more comfortable can mean several different things. In terms of green initiatives, one improvement that has been documented in a report from the World Green Business Council is that lighting improvements, like having the correct lighting level to reduce eye-strain and allowing for lots of natural light in the office, can boost efficiency by 23%. Another important aspect is ventilation. This could mean allowing for more natural airflow with additional windows, adding more plants to increase oxygen levels or the introduction of internal ducts to let for more fresh air in the office.A study from the World Green Business Council and JLL showed that improvements to ventilation can increase productivity by up to 11%.So, before you start investing in ergonomic keyboards why not take a look at your office and see if you can increase natural light and fres h air. As small changes like these are likely to reduce your electricity bills and improve productivity.4) Aligning Your Company’s Beliefs to the Beliefs and Concerns of your WorkforceLots of people care about the environment and in recent years this trend has been growing and growing. An obvious one perhaps, but just as designing your office in line with green initiatives can improve your workers’ comfort levels. It is also likely to make many of your more environmentally conscious employees feel happier.A study, conducted in 2018 by Yale University, found that 70% of Americans felt that saving the environment was more important than economic growth. Studies like this hint at the growing importance people place on green initiatives. So, you can be sure that showing your workforce that you are environmentally conscious will make them happier, which is likely to increase productivity.If you are unsure about what your workforce thinks, it could be a good idea to run a short intern al questionnaire to understand what you can do to best address your workforce’s particular concerns.5) Getting Active Through Environmentally-friendly Commuting SchemesevalevalThere are plenty of green initiatives that also inspire a healthier and more active lifestyle. For example, a cycle to work scheme means your workforce can cut back on the pollution generated while they commute while also saving money and getting exercise.But studies have also found that exercise and fitness increase productivity at work.As documented in one report that surveyed bosses about there opinions on their workforce and how their worker’s commute affected their productivity.The study concluded the following: a third 6) Decreasing Absenteeism by Creating a Healthy Office EnvironmentAnother benefit of increasing fitness levels through cycling and interior improvements, like better ventilation, is that a fit worker is less likely to need to take days off work for illness. Research suggests that there are major opportunities to cut absenteeism, through reducing instances of illness, which is vital for promoting overall productivity. Proof of this can be seen in several studies.One example is the company Skanska who made improvements to their office’s ventilation system and creating better lighting with more natural light. They found that after the changes were implemented they experienced massive reduction absenteeism and the number of sick days employees took fell by two-thirds which saved the company around £28,000 a year.In addition, it has been found that employees who cycle to work tend to take fewer sick days. In fact, on average they take 2 less sick days a year.Plus, the Harvard study we mentioned before found that green-certified offices have an average of 30% fewer absences due to illness.So, the next time you lose two of your team during the flu season consider how making small changes like these could mean you have a healthier and productive team in the future.Ove rall, it seems that taking sick days will mean that businesses can increase productivity and save money. Some of these findings were obvious, but I think the extent of how going green can improve workforce productivity is unexpectedly high. Through a small investment, like buying a few pot plants and starting a cycle to work scheme, you could see huge improvements to your workforce’s productivity.It is also worth mentioning that many of these changes, like the cycle to work scheme are also endorsed by the government which means you might be able to apply for financial aid, making it even cheaper and more affordable.So, before you start investing in this years’ Christmas party or start trying to find a budget to give out some bonuses, why not see if there are any small, economical changes that will improve productivity and help you increase profits.

Show Dont Just Tell

Show Dont Just Tell Showing a picture is better than trying to explain something- at least most of the time. Here are suggestions on how to show your work. Explaining With Pictures Have you ever tried to explain something and get that blank I-dont-know-what-you-are-talking-about stare in return? Its up to you to make sure people understand what you are talking about! Example I loved hearing a story from a job seeker who used a diagram to back up her claim that she could map out a process for improved efficiency. But this job seeker did NOT just whip out her diagram as she told the story. She gauged the interviewers interest. When the interviewer asked follow-up questions, the document was presented. Of course, there wasnt any proprietary information on the diagram. Make A List What evidence do you have to support your claim? Do you say that youre a good presenter? Do you say you have strong writing skills? Do you say youve streamlined a process? Use a visual to back that up! Review your achievements and list ideas for supporting documentation! Here are some ideas: Photos Newsletter articles Testimonials Work samples Psst, Infographics Are Trending Infographics are a hot, rising trend! A good infographic is supposed to simplify complex information. I love a good infographic. In fact, I often share them on my  Career Sherpa Pinterest  page. If you dont follow me over there, go have a look! Im An Excellent You fill in the blank. If you say communicator, then I would expect proof- writing samples of published work, a list of presentations or events youve spoken at, or better yet a video. If you say you are super at project management, ditto. What kind of proof can you present? Start Gathering Your Documentation NOW Begin collecting testimonials, screenshots, and examples and remember to keep them on your personal device! This makes it easier to share on the go! Dont Stop Here Share! Make it easy for people to see this stuff! Post it to your LinkedIn profile or personal website! Share it as a status update on LinkedIn too!  Ask your network to take a look and provide feedback! More Ideas If you are looking for more specific recommendations on how to include this stuff on your Linked profile, take a look at  Make Your LinkedIn profile Media Rich. Or create a Pinterest account  or  About.me page. The more places you begin showing your story, the greater the chances of your being found! Remember, you are being googled!

3 Ways to Discover Your Business Uniquity - When I Grow Up

3 Ways to Discover Your Business Uniquity - When I Grow Up It might be the biggest, most common roadblock that comes up for my clients as theyre about to commit to their scary + exciting business idea. This is such a saturated market!, they exclaim. Im not special enough to be successful in this field, they vulnerably say aloud. How can my business stand out?, they ask. These pieces translate into one question for my overly optimistic (because Ive yet to work with a client whos found their What and couldnt find their How), life coach-y brain: What will set me apart? The annoying, overly optimistic, life coach-y answer is that youre  already a special snowflake. Youre  already someone who has traits, values, skills, and experience that is unique from what everyone else is doing. Theres nothing more you need to do in order to differentiate yourself from every other designer, coach, writer, or insert-your-title-here out there. OK, end post! Were good, right? You can trust my words and just go on your way with confidence, right? Bhahahahahahahahahahahahaha! If only it was that easy. I know its not  that easy, but its  way easier than youre making it and you  can hang your hat on your pink ukulele, using lots of exclamation points when you write, and sing-speaking (ahem ahem). Real quick, answer these 3 questions to learn whats unique about you and, therefore, your business: 1. What comes easiest to you? Are you an organizational whiz within your VA biz? Then maybe youre a VA who specializes in organizing your clients systems and processes, streamlining their To Dos. Are you someone who can go into a thrift store and immediately put together a killer outfit for any occasion? Then maybe youre a Thrift Store stylist, working with those who want to put sustainability and/or affordability above all else when it comes to their wardrobe. Are you a copywriter who has a knack for website design? Then maybe youre a one-stop-shop for business owners who dont want to tackle either. Whether the what-comes-easiest question comes out in your offering, mission, and/or branding, you need to recognize what your skills and strengths are and then build your business around them. Anything else does  not lead to feeling authentic and fulfilling, and that is  not our bag. 2. What 3 main personality traits do you bring to what you do? I swear I am  not usually this energetic in my everyday life. But when I work with my clients, speak or write about anything that helps creative women make a grown-up living doing what they love, I am Energy, I am Optimism, I am Playfulness. Those are the 3 traits I bring into my work no matter if Im writing copy, conducting a Launch at Lunch class, leading a group call or working with my one-on-one clients. If I want an authentic business that attracts the people I most enjoy working with (who then get the best results from working with me, natch) and who doesnt?! then Im conscious of bringing those qualities with me in my work. 3. Who do you have the best rapport with? Sure, you might be able to do work with or sell to all sorts of people: accountants, online business owners, yogis, stay at home Moms, etc. But if youre selling to everybody, youre selling to nobody. When you create your offer or your product, write your copy and go to market yourself, speaking  directly to the person/people you know you understand communicate best with is a great way to make your business stand out. When I started coaching, I targeted creative people because I was one! I knew Id be comfortable around them, that I personally understood their goals and challenges, and that my quirky personality would resonate with (some of) them. If I said, back in 2008, that I worked will ALL people on transitioning into a career theyd love, I would  not be here talking to you almost 10 years later.   And remember: if youre exclusively working with the people who easily pick up what you put down, theyre going to get the best results from you and then speak you up to  their likeminde d friends.  That is how you not only get dream clients over and over, but you build a referral engine for your business and feel like your ideal people are falling from the sky (in a good way). OK, end post! Were good, right? You can take what you got here and just go on your way with confidence, right? I hope youre not about to LOL (again!), but if youre close, then let me help you in more detail. Ill be teaching an online workshop later this month called  Unveiling Your Business Uniquity Making It The Foundation of Your Brand. Well be covering: What makes one person/business different from another, even when the titles and industries are the same What sets you apart from the others in your industry, and how that needs to effect your branding How to craft your business message to stand out from the horde The benefits of being a gatekeeper, and who you’re looking to attract as ideal clients/customers What you can shed from your marketing To Do list so that you can reach your ideal audience based on where and how you shine And listen: You are a special snowflake right now, as you are. Its time to get clarity on what makes you that way, and learn how to tie it into your business in a way thats authentically you, everywhere. There IS room for you a space only you can uniquely fill, and its waiting for you to walk through it.