Archives for September 2010

9 LinkedIn Users Describe Themselves

Sep. 30, 2010 By Ari Herzog

There is something about human curiosity that leads everyone to ask the same question when meeting someone for the first time: What do you do?

I hate being asked this question because I always feel self-conscious that my answer may not inspire the person asking the question to continue the conversation and may just be asking it like asking How are you? while jogging past me on a street.

LinkedIn comes to the rescue with three optional (yet usually filled-in) sections that people use to describe themselves:

1. The professional headline is a tagline that follows you around the site and is always underneath your name. It is auto-populated by default with your most recent job title, unless it is manually changed.

2. The summary is an explanation of who you are and how you want to be portrayed. It is also a preamble to the rest of your profile, such as your experience, education, and recommendations.

3. The specialties are keywords or other clauses that define your skills and why you are excellent.

There are many guides for writing LinkedIn content but you ultimately are in charge of your own unique attributes.

By way of example, I’d like to share with you nine people and how they describe themselves. Each person agreed to be represented in this blog post, and I include links to their profiles if you wish to network with them directly. Please peruse through their headlines, summaries, and specialties; and observe their differences.

Danny Brown: Connect on LinkedIn

Headline:
Co-Founder and Partner at Bonsai Interactive

Summary:
Co-founder and partner at Bonsai Interactive, offering smart marketing and social media business solutions, as well as mobile applications and social education.

Founder of the 12for12k Challenge, a community-driven social media charity initiative to connect globally and help locally.

Blog featured in the AdAge Power 150 list as well as Canada’s Top 50 Marketing Blogs, and won the Hive Award for Best Social Media Blog at the 2010 South by South West festival.

Worked with some of the biggest companies in tech and digital, including RIM, Microsoft Canada, IBM, British Telecom and LG Electronics.

Spoken at TEDx and regularly quoted in publications and news media, including Marketing Magazine, Canadian Marketing Association and City News Toronto.

Currently based in Burlington, Canada, offering creative solutions to marketing, digital and mobile programs.

Notable Mentions and Awards:

– Founder of the 12for12k charity initiative
– Speaker at TEDx Ottawa
– Featured in NetGen’s Commitment to Youth
– Featured in the AdAge Power 150 list
– Featured in Marketing in 2010 book
– Featured in Staggering Social Media Insights book
– Featured in Marketing Magazine
– Featured on City News Toronto
– Contributor to Canadian Marketing Association
– Young Entrepreneur Top 10 Marketing Blogs
– Canada’s Top 50 Marketing Blogs
– Top Marketing and Social Media Blog 2009
– Hive Award for Best Social Media Blog
– PR Reader’s Choice Award for Most Thought-Provoking Blog
– Cision’s Top 100 Social Media Blogs

Specialties:
Business consulting, social media, community building, business relationships, branding, marketing, mobile applications, digital marketing, social education, non-profits.

Dominic Campbell: Connect on LinkedIn

Headline:
Founder of FutureGov

Summary:
Digital government and social innovation entrepreneur with a strong background in policy, communications and engagement. Organisational change agent with senior management experience in implementing highly successful change initiatives within the local government sector, with a primary interest in emerging uses of social media to deliver business transformation and improved citizen engagement.

Formed FutureGov in early 2008 to focus on communications and engagement in government the use of technology and new media in driving improvement in local government.

Won first Social Innovation Camp resulting in co-founding www.enabledbydesign.org.

Other projects include www.tweetyhall.co.uk and www.safeguarding2point0.com

Specialties:
Local government, new media, project manager, strategy development

Tyson Goodridge: Connect on LinkedIn

Headline:
Principal, D I A L O G U E Social Media Education and Advisory Services

Summary:
I’m a Social Media evangelist who teaches and trains businesses about social media. I create social media strategies for consumer, lifestyle and healthcare clients.

I offer a range of services:

Social Media Consulting and Advisory Service
Keynote Address for public or privately held companies
Social Media workshops and training
Webinars/Online education
Linkedin workshops- building your online brand
Twitter- “Where Social Media Means Business”

Specialties:
Social Media Consulting
Social Media Education
Social Media Training and Advisory Services
Keynote Address
Public Speaking (Social Media/New Media)
New Media
Relationship management
Public Relations
Consumer/lifestyle marketing
Community management
Blogging
Blogger relations
Linkedin
Content Development
Twitter
Facebook
FourSquare

Ed Han: Connect on LinkedIn

Headline:
Wordsmith with proven ability to translate business objectives into communications strategies and tactics

Summary:
I am a wordsmith. From the ore of words, I craft powerful yet clear communications and user documentation that are expertly shaped upon the forge of grammar. Whether I’m negotiating contracts or quickly building enduring relationships, gaining the knowledge of who needs to know what and ensuring they know it are my passions, realized through proficiencies in verbal and written communications as well as social media.

My successes in the publishing, financial services, and fashion industries are the interdisciplinary springboards from which I add value in the functional areas of public relations, strategic communications planning, content development, writing for diverse audiences, and client relationship management.

I wish to deploy the full range of my creative thought leadership abilities, relationship building expertise, and communication skills in overcoming an employer’s challenges while hewing to best practices.

Specialties:
Building and growing enduring relationships
Communication: any medium
Creative thought leadership

Rachel Happe: Connect on LinkedIn

Headline:
Principal, The Community Roundtable

Summary:
General manager with experience in social media, strategy, product management, product marketing, account management, business process design and implementation, team facilitation, and program management.

Specialties:
Product management, product marketing; product and market positioning, requirements gathering and definition, market research, cross-functional team management, facilitation of executive decision making, product design and prototypes, product launch, product collateral development, sales tool development, sales coaching, voice of the customer analysis, process design and implementation, and new product business plan development.

Doug Haslam: Connect on LinkedIn

Headline:
Client Services Supervisor, Voce Connect at Voce Communications

Summary:
My career arc began with public radio, producing news and thoughtful sports programs, moving into technology public relations. My love of media has come full circle, as in addition to successfully conducting traditional PR, I have become involved in producing blogs and podcasts for myself, my employer, and for clients.

Specialties:
Public Relations, Marketing, Communications, Media, Social Media, Blogging, Podcasting, Audio

Kat Jaibur: Connect on LinkedIn

Headline:
Chief Happiness Officer, Tiny Changes

Summary:
1. Tiny Changes

Scenario 1: Let’s say you’re at a point in your career where you’ve reached for some level of success that you thought would make you happy. It did. For a few minutes. Now you’re wondering:
“Is that all there is?” And it’s eating a hole in your stomach.

Scenario 2: You have your own business — or you’ve been scratching out an existence as a freelancer *until the economy picks up*. You’re at the point where you’re sick of just surviving. And you’d like to know what thriving feels like.

Scenario 3: You’re tired of working for or with a**holes. Sick of being paid less than you’re worth for your incredible talents and smarts. Sick of being yanked around, watching the wrong people get ahead, being asked to do more work in less time for less money. Ready to get out of the passenger seat and start driving.

Scenario 4: You’ve got it going on. Exciting work that energizes you. Great clients and colleagues. Good money. You know you’re just at the tip of the iceberg. And you’d like some practical support in breaking out to the next level.

I gotcha. All of it. I’ve been in every one of these situations.

Now I’m doing what I love. Working with people I love. Setting my own schedule. Making a good living. And having fun.

I can help you do that too.

Together, we’ll create big shifts through the power of tiny changes. And rock your world in the best possible way. Want to know more? Let’s talk.

2. KJ Creative
Branding. Brainstorming. Creating content (copy, blogs, offline & online). I’ve done it for 20+ years. Big accounts. Awards. Results.(See below.) I still do it from time to time — for the right projects and the right people. So ask me and we’ll find out if we’re a match.

“Does This Suck?” OPTION: If you just want some fresh eyeballs on your website, emails, ads, marketing materials — whether you’ve done it yourself or hired a professional — I can tell you what’s working and what’s not — and how to fix it.

Specialties:
Professionals in transition. Solopreneurs. Entrepreneurs. Freelancers. Career changers. Corporate escapees (and those working on an escape plan.) Evolved women and some men who are willing to take the shackles off their thinking. And yes, even a few chicken-hearted people who want more and are terrified, but not willing to give up.

Rachel Kay: Connect on LinkedIn

Headline:
President at RKPR

Summary:
Award-winning public relations guru with experience spanning a multitude of industries including consumer technology, food, beauty and fashion, Web 2.0 and more. Proven track record of success garnering extensive media placements for clients in top tier broadcast, consumer print, online media including the blogosphere and trade press. Rachel Kay Public Relations offers many facets of branding and public relations including media outreach, press conferences and events, social media strategy, trade shows, street teams, copy writing including case studies and bylined articles, and more.

Specialties:
Specializing in public relations for consumer products and services in all industries

Amber Naslund: Connect on LinkedIn

Headline:
Director of Community at Radian6

Summary:
Brands are built and developed by communities. Customers want to have conversations with companies in ways they never have before. Social media can and should be a common-sense, integrated part of your communication and outreach strategy, both online and off.

As Director of Community for Radian6, I work with marketing, communications and customer support professionals to monitor and engage in social media, and measure the results of their efforts. We help companies steward their brands across the social web, and have developed the definitive platform to help seamlessly integrate that process into their daily work.

I also blog at http://www.brasstackthinking.com, helping businesses make things happen through better communication, healthier culture, and harnessing the power of the social web. I discuss best practices in community and social media in real world terms, not just theory. You’ll also find me speaking frequently at industry and corporate events throughout the year on these topics.

Specialties:
Social media business strategy, online reputation management, community management and customer engagement, content marketing, blogging, brand development, client services, integrated marketing and communications

Thoughts? Feedback?

Does anyone stick out as explaining their background and skills better than anyone else? Do you think anyone should polish their sections? Is any of their content ambiguous? Are you confused and need to ask someone more about what they do?

Where does YOUR LinkedIn headline, summary, or specialties stack in comparison?

Why I Changed My LinkedIn Summary

Sep. 30, 2010 By Ari Herzog

In an effort to better explain to friends and colleagues what I do and where my passions lie, and to illustrate who I am to those who don’t know me at all, I changed my LinkedIn summary yesterday.

It’s smart to rewrite your summary once in a while to ensure it accurately reflects you. Mine wasn’t up to par.

Here is the old:

Public policy and communications professional with experience in public administration, constituent relations, writing, speaking presentations, policy analysis, and social media marketing.

Highly developed skills in oral and written communications with a proven ability to explain complex concepts both clearly and concisely.

Proficient serving as liaison to government officials and lay citizens, facilitating legislative and regulatory processes. Skilled in policy development and coalition building between functional teams in multiple departments.

I know why I wrote it but I didn’t recognize myself.

It was keyword-rich but very impersonal and inaccurately promoted me. Moreover, it didn’t sell my strengths and passions to someone looking at it.

Here is my new summary:

I live and breathe policy and communications.

My passions began in high school when I served in student council and founded a chapter of Amnesty International, wrote for my town newspaper, and was appointed to a municipal subcommittee.

In the years since, I’ve gained experience in external/internal communications, public administration and policy development, and web content creation, with strengths in facilitating marketing, communications, and relationship building.

I’ve bylined hundreds of articles in regional newspapers, and written and edited press releases, policy briefs, executive talking points, legislative testimonies, and blog posts.

About a decade ago, I began reporting municipal news as a freelance journalist, and segued that knowledge into state and local government management and earned a graduate degree as a Master in Public Administration. I currently sit on the Newburyport City Council in my first elected role.

I am well-versed in electronic communications and keep current with technology trends, having established a consulting firm in 2008 to share best practices and strategies of implementing social media across the enterprise. I actively promote my personal brand as a blogger and public speaker of new and emerging media.

I have a decade of experience in policy analysis and development, media relations, integrated marketing and communications, and social media marketing. I am skilled in weaving the organizational mission with interdepartmental coalition building to supervise public affairs, foster constituent engagement, and increase awareness.

I am currently looking for an amazing opportunity…

See the difference?

Is Your Contact Page Necessary?

Sep. 29, 2010 By Ari Herzog

If the goal of a blog is for one person to post content and another person to read it, how necessary is it to stray the reader’s eyes with a page listing contact options?

What about a different page to learn about the blogger?

I share the above links of my blog only because Code Anthem’s blog lacks those pages. Visiting the site, you’ll see article after article listed in vertical reverse chronological order — and the sidebar is equally minimal with RSS and Twitter icons, a list of recent articles, a list of frequently-written topics, and popular articles.

Scrolling down their blog, people do comment. But nobody sends them email messages or knows who they are — because they don’t share. They prefer anonymity.

Amber Shah, the software developer behind the start-up company, elaborates:

Between managing the blog and building the Code Anthem site itself, I never got around to putting up a bio and photo or a contact form. One reader called me out in the comments, saying:

“I am enjoying the articles. However, the anonymity and the stealth-mode is a little weird. I think using real names would give your company and site a lot more personality.”

And I think he’s right. The point is not “don’t do those things”, the point is just to prioritize on what makes the most sense for you, and realize that they aren’t necessary to having a successful blog, at first.

With the caveat I’m not getting rid of my contact and about pages any time soon, what do you think about blogs that don’t have them?

How necessary are standardized blog elements for a blog to exist?

Stop Trying to Reach Me. Relate Instead.

Sep. 28, 2010 By Ari Herzog

Erika Napoletano argues it is crucial for companies to reach out to customers who are talking about them.

Whether you’re someone who’s the subject of criticism, a person who thinks the internet makes them unaccountable for their actions, or a brand fortunate enough to have earned a loyal fan, maybe it’s time to think about your audience.

Their reach. Their influence. Their willingness to act.

Does reaching me matter, though? Or is your relationship to me and my relations to other people more important?

Reaching me is a fancy way of saying you are mass marketing me.

I am a person, a name, an individual; and not a number. Don’t treat me as a number in your direct mail database and quit viewing me as a fan or follower of yours. Engage with me instead, socially network and relate with me. Comment on my blog, tweet me, invite me to something you know I will want to attend and not something you hope I might like.

The time has come to segue from reach to relationships.

Are you with me?

Advancing a Social Media Monitoring Conference in Boston

Sep. 28, 2010 By Ari Herzog

I frequently receive email marketing pitches. Many are cut-and-paste jobs that have zero personality and zero research into who I am and why I receive it, and I send those straight to the trash. But a growing percentage of marketers understand email messages must be short and to the point, and they also realize by sending a targeted message to a blogger they can receive positive awareness.

I received such an email message a few days ago from someone I don’t know and have never met. I was pitched a three-part request to 1) write a blog post about a social media monitoring conference occurring in Boston, 2) hold a Twitter contest to my readers and offer two free tickets (valued at $195 each, including lunch), and 3) receive a complimentary press pass (with the assumption I’d write about the event when I return).

Reasonable requests, I thought, once I learned the conference objectives and its speakers.

Summary of MSM10 conference

John Moore, Doug Haslam, Zach Hofer-Shall, KD Paine, Amber Naslund, and Seth Grimes are among the cadre of social media evangelists whose names are familiar to me who are scheduled to present on October 5. Smart group.

Contest Time!

To win one of two free tickets, please send the following Twitter message:

Get 10% off tickets to Monitoring Social Media Boston http://bit.ly/msm10boston #msm10 with promo code “BOSTON10”

The organizers will also be watching this blog post to see what thoughts you write in the comment threads below. I’ll plan to attend part of the conference and write a follow-up blog post. Do you have any questions you’d like me to inquire?

Why 2 Days Later is 2 Days Late

Sep. 27, 2010 By Ari Herzog

microMarketing Tweeting back and forth with a Verizon Wireless customer support representative last night, I learned data-only monthly plans for the Blackberry are only eligible for hearing-impaired customers.

I could have googled the information or called the company’s hotline but I turned to Twitter and received an answer quickly.

Greg Verdino understands the necessity and impact of companies responding to (prospective) customers quickly, effectively, and efficiently using internet technologies.

In chapter 6 of microMARKETING: Get Big Results by Thinking and Acting Small, he recollects a scheduled JetBlue flight from Orlando to New York — that a JetBlue telephone rep said was canceled but an Orbitz notification said was on-time. With a computer handy, he tweeted a message about the airline and received a response from @JetBlue’s new media director within minutes that his flight would take-off as scheduled.

Granted, I knew Verizon Wireless tweeted as @VZWsupport and Greg knew about @JetBlue, but I’m willing to bet if we didn’t know the companies were on Twitter and tweeted a question with the company name, someone would have seen it and replied. Organizations ranging from Comcast and Dell to the Los Angeles Times frequently do this under the buzzword of reputation management.

In microMarketing, Greg writes about these small conversations and how business is changing.

…there is no denying Twitter’s pivotal role in the emergence of a real-time web. The service established a standard for immediacy, simplicity, and portability by eliminating the barriers to microcontent creation with its mobile-friendly 140-character size limit. It has provided companies with new sources of revenue, permitted entirely new business models, and even enabled traditional organizations to evolve into real-time micronews agencies.

….The shift from prime time to real time literally changes everything. And the imperative for companies to conduct business in the now pervades all digital media and marketing.

There is a time and place for things to do tomorrow and the next day, but companies, from the media to banks to airlines and everyone in between, are quickly recognizing people are talking — and talking about them right here and right now. By waiting to respond, if they see the activity in the first place, they risk losing that prospective customer to a competitor.

If someone’s talking about you on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, or any other social networking site and you’re ignorant or delinquent in response, do you want that stigma of non-response or late response attached to you?

Why I wrote the above

Receiving an email message two weeks ago from Alexandra Kirsch — someone I never heard of — she quickly explained she was working with Aaron Strout (someone I have met) and Greg Verdino (someone I’ve communicated with here and there) and she explained she wanted me to review a chapter of a book.

In essence, the chapter-by-chapter review process is a way for us to offer experts in each area the opportunity to review chapters that correlate directly with their area(s) of expertise and interest. We’re also taking this approach to avoid having several bloggers reviewing the book in a general way all at once. We know that is no fun for you. Hopefully this approach gives you a little exclusive room to flex your expertise. Of course links will be included to all of the blogs participating in the chapter-by-chapter review process. So hopefully it is a win for all involved.

Because of your experience with social media and writing that covers the idea of building relationships on the Internet, Chapter 6, “From Prime Time to Real Time: Making a Real Difference by Doing Business at the Speed of Now,” seemed like it would resonate well with your audience.

Alexandra’s email was clever, unique, and got my attention. I could tell she was writing to me, knowing full well who I was and didn’t want to waste my time. Danny Brown, another chapter reviewer, agrees as he shares why her marketing pitch is successful.

If you’d like to buy Greg’s book, you can buy it on Amazon, but I’d prefer you respect your local independent bookstore and purchase it through IndieBound. (Both links are affiliate links, FYI, so if you buy through either link, I’ll get a few cents as a commission.)

Got a question or thought that this inspires?

Is Alexandra right that this review has resonated with you?

Is Greg right that marketing in the real-time web is crucial? Click over to his blog post and you can peruse blog posts from other chapter reviewers.

Do you like to learn tips like this?