Marketing Me: Using Social Media to Start a Career

New blog: Redirect

2011-04-05T17:24:00.001-03:00

Bloggy Rebranding

2011-03-28T11:39:00.000-03:00

I think I'm going to be "rebranding" this blog soon. Maybe new colours, definitely a new name, something more compelling than 'jordyssocialmedia' and 'Marketing Me' I think.

More focus on lighthearted content, but still a bunch of stuff on how the career search is going. I've developed some marketing philosophy I plan to abide by going forward so I think I'll make that stuff the core of the blog so as to me stay 'on brand' so to speak as I forge forward into the marketing world.

You'll see what I mean when I get around to it, assuming I don't get overwhelmed with schoolwork or becoming Charlie Sheen's social media Intern.

;)

Thanks Avril

2011-03-11T10:52:00.000-04:00

I feel like I should put this somewhere. I'm sitting here listening through Avril Lavigne's fourth studio album Goodbye Lullaby for probably the eighth time.

It's been very interesting to grow up with her music. Let Go came out when she was 17 or so, and I was 15. I was a big fan of the music and her message at that time... I also really liked Under My Skin but then sort of stopped listening to her a lot by the time The Best Damn Thing was out. But old songs on my computer and the ease of acquiring music via iTunes brought me back just in time for Goodbye Lullaby's release.

Between Under My Skin and now, I've grown up a lot. And I can get that sense from her as I listen to this new album. I'm reconnecting in the same way I did when I was 15, the message rings through and the world seems like a very good place when I tune in. Not that I'm pessimistic otherwise, but her music adds this layer of inspiration. It's great music at face value, a meaningful message at a deeper level, and the fact that I have this personal connection to it underscores everything fantastically.

This is why music is so important, it's why she does it, it's why we listen.

Rock on!

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Social media splurge provokes blogger to blog more

2011-03-09T18:58:00.000-04:00

Damn, I let this field lie fallow for a bit didn't I? It happened across the whole social media landscape for me between October and about a month ago I guess. Holidays, life, etc.

But then I slowly got sucked back into it all. A lot of my peers have adopted Twitter in the past few months, and I've been being a bit of a Facebook junkie lately.

Rewards are funny too... I noticed my share price improving again on Empire Avenue and felt supremely inspired to keep on social media - ing. Good on them for tapping into soft part of my head that houses primal addictive tendencies.

With five weeks to go in this MBA I'll be glued to the computer as the pace of schoolwork increases. Which means I'll hopefully be updating this and other social media platforms of mine too!

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Relentless School Work!

2010-10-15T08:24:00.000-03:00

It's back!

I think I started this little blog during the ol' Corporate Residency, a time where one was busy, yes, but t'was a time where one was the master of his own schedule. Much like the first six months of the academic portion of this program, these past few weeks (six of them, holy) have been jammed packed with group work meetings, lectures themselves, researching and reading. Any free kernel of time is spent religiously relaxing/detoxing (often by INtoxicating, heh). "Work Hard, Play Hard" is definitely a phrase we all can relate to.

Noteworthy things that have happened / are happening:

Tap the Talent went well. No one seemed really interested in social media specifically (as I was warned) but I did score an interview with one employer based on my elevator pitch. No immediate job was thrown at my foot but I made an excellent contact within a large organization that will be recruiting come Spring.
Unfortunately, Spell Halifax has stalled indefinitely. I was at the stage of the initial distribution and building buzz when school came charging back. I totally underestimated the time sink that Spell Halifax would be. Currently I'm trying to find a student group to take over the groundwork aspect of the event but even that's been a challenge with this hectic schedule.
I'm participating in a business simulation in a small team of my peers. We're pitted against four American teams out of Tennessee. One of our profs knows the American prof, and our New Venture Creation class was openly challenged to take on our southern neighbours. Aside from the bragging rights, we've bet a bottle of fine bourbon on the outcome. There are six rounds (or quarters) and so far 'The Eh! Team' seems to be doing rather well.
I'm getting involved in some interesting video projects for the MBA program's marketing efforts. That's all I can say about that for now :)

That's all for now, I don't know when I'll be able to sneak another one of these in so don't hold your breath, my 0 - 6 loyal readers! :D

Looking forward to 'Tap the Talent'

2010-09-11T19:26:00.001-03:00

This is an event held at my university (Sept. 27th) ! As explained from the website:

To start the day, each employer will have just five minutes to tell you about the benefits of working with their company. Following that, you will deliver a one minute value proposition to employers and have the opportunity to network with all recruiters and hiring managers at lunch. Participants will also pick up additional “wild card” interviews based on their impression of you during the value proposition and lunch time interaction.

So, more elevator pitches (aka value proposition). The last time I did one of those was at Corporate Tour in May, and they are so much easier when you have a clear goal in mind. So I'm looking forward to trying it this September with real interviews at stake. I'm also looking forward to seeing what companies show up and hearing their five minute pitches.

I think it's really cool that Dalhousie arranges these kind of events. Since I started the MBA I've heard a lot about them and participated in one (for corporate residency placement), but I don't think they're very commonplace. The opportunity is tremendous - not just for career seekers but also for getting some exposure to different firms and industries and making connections.

I've submitted a very social media focussed resume and profile to the event (all the employers look at a booklet with all participating students' resume and profiles to determine initial interviews). I've been cautioned that this may be too focussed given the some of the companies that are coming, but I'm sticking to my guns with this one and going after what I really want. But that's not to say I wouldn't accept an opportunity to work at a job that isn't 100% social media based (indeed, I don't think you can really have a purely "social media" job anyway - if we're talking about marketing, then even if your title is '______ of Social Media' you'll be dealing with all sorts of traditional marketing techniques and strategy as well).

All in all, I'm looking forward to it and am hoping that I bring something a little unique and pointedly focussed to the event. Wish me luck!

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The Spell Halifax Blog

2010-09-02T20:39:00.000-03:00

I decided to blog about Spell Halifax in a more prominent spot, namely the Facebook Page itself. Facebook's Notes app has some basic blogging capability and suits the needs of the project so I went with it.

Spell Halifax blog

In other news, school starts in one week! Eight more months and I'm supposedly done forever.

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Spell Halifax Proofs!

2010-08-19T23:02:00.000-03:00

Glorious Spell Halifax proofs! They look really sweet. But here's a fun dilemma. I have to choose whether or not to cut them all myself or let the printer do it.

Now, they'll do it for like $20, which is sweet because I calculated it out and there are over 5000 straight cuts needed to be made... which would take a long time and likely result in at least ~~one~~ ~~six~~ a BILLION papercuts and probably a few hastily cut cards.

But the thing is, it will take the printer a few days extra to do this... as in: I'll get them all nice and pretty on Tuesday probably.

If I sweat it out, I can possibly get the uncut product tomorrow and have it all ready to rock and roll for the weekend which is prime walk-around-and-pass-them-out time. Plus this thing has been pushed back time and time again and I am ready to just GET. STARTED.

I'll probably end up cutting them myself if I can get them tomorrow. Hoo boy.

Links! ---> http://facebook.com/spellhalifax --- http://twitter.com/spellhalifax

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News!

2010-08-16T12:54:00.000-03:00

Hello!

Some quick updates as nothing spectacular or worth ranting about have happened in regards to the career:

Spell Halifax files are at the printer and we'll launch the sucker as soon as they roll off the press!
My girlfriend is back! Wooohooo! Hopefully this will result in a productivity increase as she has agreed to help me manage Spell Halifax for as long as she remains unemployed! How nice of her.
School starts in like, 3 weeks. It simultaneously feels like just yesterday we left and like it's been forever since I've sat in a classroom. T'will be interesting.

That is all! Hopefully these get more interesting as Spell Halifax starts to roll out. Cheers!

Spell Halifax is gearing up to go!

2010-08-09T15:21:00.000-03:00

Yup, just a few more things to put in place.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Spell-Halifax/133995563304863 < Here's the Facebook Page, which is pretty much done.

Printing happens soon, then we roll with it. Over $1000 worth of cash and prizes contributed so far by local businesses! Very cool stuff. I will be hopefully writing more frequently about it as it is unleashed onto the unsuspecting public :)

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The Small World of Social Media

2010-07-28T20:40:00.000-03:00

Here's a little story about socialness of social media.

I'm writing a blog tomorrow that has art tribute to one of my favourite bloggers: Allie Brosh.

I'm spending some time there reading some of her older stuff and for whatever reason notice the sidebar which has links to stuff she likes. There I see some of my other favourite stuff (e.g. The Perry Bible Fellowship, The Bloggess).

So I'm thinking, this list probably has other stuff I like. I'll randomly check one out.

I try out: No Ordinary Rollercoaster

I skim. I like it. I see a reference to Newfoundland, I'm like "cool I'm from Canada." I dig deeper. I check out the authour's Twitter. Location? Halifax, Nova Scotia. THAT'S WHERE I LIVE.

It gets better. I look further into the authour because now this is cool. I see his current job is with Revolve.

Revolve? Wait a minute, people from Revolve are on a steering committee that just TODAY I was invited to possibly take part in (hence I knew about the Revolve involvement. The Revolvement, if you will). No way is this authour part of the committee, but I should check just inHOLY CRAP he IS.

So I was wow'd enough I figured I should write about it. AND I'm reminded to send an email re: steering committee. Thanks social media and chain of curious events!

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Lottery Licenses

2010-07-22T20:39:00.000-03:00

I've been toiling away at things for the past little while, and one of those things is my Spell Halifax idea. Unfortunately, it hit its first real snag and is being threatened by these things called laws.

Late into the process, well after a lot of the design, concept, and business relationships had been forged, I started getting wind of the notion that I should look at getting a Lottery License for the idea. (Super fast overview: Basically we are running a city wide raffle where people find Letter Cards and if they can combine the letters to spell Halifax they can win stuff. Businesses pay money to be able to give out cards and most of that money goes into a prize lot which is what the people can win. Marketing for this event is social media / grassroots based).

Not wanting to do something illegal, I called our Alcohol and Gaming Division but they said since we were not a charitable/non-profit organization they couldn't issue a license. They didn't say we couldn't DO it. I got a bit of legal advise from someone in the know who said it was generally an offense to charge for games of chance (without a license of some sort, I presume). The part that concerns me is that this game doesn't charge the players to play (they find or are given the cards, for free), rather we charge businesses to able to be distributors of said free cards. Businesses do this to attract customers because theoretically people will want to get more cards (if we market it properly, which is a whole 'nother discussion).

Anyway, with like, 10 days left to go before we want to launch and less than a week before we should printing over 10,000 cards, this little wrinkle is a bit of a pain. It's a hard lesson learned though: had I thoroughly done research or scoured for advice prior to jumping madly into the design and concept process this would probably be sorted by now. At least billions of dollars are not riding on this. Anyway, I'm optimistic that since it's "free to play" we'll be able to classify the business transactions as an exchange for services and have it all be on the up-and-up.

In other social media + career news, I've been making progress in setting up a volunteer position for the fall. I've spoken to some interesting folks about some interesting things and will hopefully have a clearer picture later this summer about what I might be doing on my Fridays-free-from-class.

I also attended my first one of these:

It was an (apparently) uncharacteristically small turnout but there were still like 12-15 folks there and I had some great conversations and got to see an iPhone 4 (thanks Bill)! I'll be going back next month for sure.

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How to get a geek to exercise

2010-07-11T00:23:00.001-03:00

If you're like me, sticking to any kind of regular workout routine is just about impossible. I'm not overweight, but I'm not exactly "fit." I would like to be (fit)! It's just that the physical need isn't there; it's far too easy to slack, become distracted, or make excuses as to why "I had to skip today" or whatever.

Yet I can lose myself for hours in some cheap, free, online RPG type thing where you do nothing much more than click stuff and you get rewarded with virtual points/skills/etc. Why? Why is this? I think it's because of the instant short-term gain. A goal was met and I was rewarded. I'm basically a rat in a Skinner box when it comes to those kind of things. Add some decent graphics, a little bit of strategy and room for originality into the game and I might even pay for it.

Knowing myself, I figure if someone could figure out a way to combine those kind of games with real exercise, you might actually have a viable product. It would probably be pretty niche... but still. Take Wii Fit for example. It tracks what you do and offers those Fit Credits which unlock stuff. I've never owned a Wii, but this is on the right track.

What if you took a game similar to Wii Fit, but hooked up all the achievements and unlockables to some sort of game totally unrelated to fitness (the fitness stuff could be run in the background)? Like freakin' FarmVille or CafeWorld. I'd say the average 'dedicated' player spends at LEAST 20 minutes a day, 3 days a week on that stuff (a conservative estimate, likely). What if your crops only grew when you were working out? Or pedaling on an exercise bike? If I could see a little pot of virtual money growing for every tenth of a click I was putting into the bike (and the virtual money lets me do more stuff with whatever stupid little game I'm currently addicted to) would I ride that bike more often? Christ, I'd probably OVERexercise (so the rewards would have to be set on a non linear scale to reflect your ability).

The game doesn't have to be nerdy (although there should be a few of them to appease that crowd), just modeled after stuff like the games Zynga puts out. If anyone knows of something like this that does currently exist, please let me know! If it doesn't exist, let's talk startup.

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Jackhammers or Sweltering Heat?

2010-07-09T21:33:00.002-03:00

This weekend, the city's doing bridge maintenance. At night. With jackhammers. Normally this wouldn't concern me, but my apartment happens to overlook the bridge and apparently the epicenter of the area of it that must be jackhammered. If you close all the double paned windows, the ridiculous racket is softened to more of a growl.

The only issue is is that it's the middle of the summer and I don't have A/C. I'm also on the top floor. Closed windows = sauna. The racket is scheduled to stop around 5:00am. On Monday. The city was nice enough to send me a warning and their "regret," which I appreciate but it doesn't really solve anything. It's more of an advance apology:

"Dear Resident:

The Halifax Harbour Bridges works hard to ensure the two harbour bridges are well maintained for the travelling public.

Our summer construction season is underway and we want to inform you that beginning Friday, July 9, 2010 at 8:00pm to Monday July 12 at 5:00am, work will be underway to replace the expansion joint at the Halifax Main Tower and, weather permitting, at the Halifax Cable Bent. The work requires the bridge to be closed and so the schedule is compacted into a round the clock weekend work.

The work will involve extensive jackhammering of concrete, as well as generators, hammering to remove bolts, cut-off saws, welding, and cranes.

We respect that you live where we work and we will attempt to keep the disruption to a minimum. We apologize for any inconveniences this may cause."

I suppose "keeping the disruption to a minimum" will entail avoiding using the cranes to hang running jackhammers 2 feet outside of my bedroom window. Maybe it means they will stop the jackhammering by midnight and do some relatively quiet welding? We'll see. Thank God I bought a fan today.

Also what the heck is a "Cable Bent"? I hope it's standard suspension bridge terminology and not a descriptor for the issue they're fixing. Yikes.

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Over the 1.00 Twitter Ratio

2010-07-09T19:03:00.001-03:00

While I realize that follower count on Twitter isn't really that important, I have a certain sense of accomplishment with having finally gotten over the 1.00 following/follower ratio (currently at 1.07). Basically it means more people follow me than I follow (by 7%).

What does this say about me? Nothing really. If you're following 100 people and 78,000 follow you, it means you're probably a big deal (likely a celeb of some sort). If you have close to a 1.00 ratio but the numbers are huge, it often just means your followership is fairly random and one shouldn't assume you're a big deal. For me right now, having started up on Twitter in the spring it's just kind of neat to see.

When I first started I thought a key to getting more followers was the ol' "follow people and they're follow you back" shtick. What I do now is actively participate in TweetChats and try to add something to the conversation. That, or try and help strangers and comment on and RT the quality stuff that appears in my feed. Having a somewhat polished, custom Twitter background probably helps too. I'm happy to say that everyone I follow has some relevancy to what I am interested in using Twitter for (mostly social networking and learning within the social media marketing area). I've come across the concept of creating a Twitter Following Policy and think it's a good idea. While it might be a more relevant tool for someone who actually has the influence to command a large followership, it never hurts to be prepared (one can dream). =) So I'll be looking into that in the coming weeks!

Have a swell weekend, please!

P.S. This blog was originally going to be about the horrible Influence Project by FastCompany, but so many others beat me to the punch I think what I'm going to do is sit back and collect my favourite critiques from around the web then publish that instead.

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The volunteering plan

2010-07-07T20:27:00.001-03:00

Running my own business for my Corporate Residency has been an awesome learning experience, but I trade away the opportunity to develop a workplace relationship an existing firm. Unsatisfied with having to choose between one or the other, I've come up with a plan. This fall (and/or winter) I will volunteer my time (~8 hours/week) at a local business. Ideally, this business will be heavily focussed on social media.

But this is easier said than done of course. In both fall and winter I must take 5 full courses (and if the workload is anything like Fall 2009 then that barely leaves time to sleep, let alone 8 extra hours). In addition, some contracts with my current business will last until December. I'm also taking a 16 week sales training course.

Luckily, I have some fortune in that my Fridays are 100% class free in the fall (likewise: Wednesdays for the winter). Also, there's the possibility of turning the volunteer time into an actual course credit. You need to have a professor donate their time in order to "supervise" the academic pursuits of whatever it is you're doing (typically research). So what I need to do is find a professor and a business that would benefit from me doing some sort of social media related research (or white paper creation, or something).

I've got a head start on a few of these things. I've already spoken with two businesspeople in the area about volunteering and have had good reception to the idea (though at the time I was not considering the academic slant), and I've emailed two profs in the school that have research interests that are aligned with social media.

Next steps involve devising a realistic research topic and bringing the prof(s) and businesspeople together... which should be highly interesting.

Wish me luck!

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Why I like Twitter Chats

2010-07-01T00:04:00.000-03:00

For those not in the know, Twitter chats arise when a group of people on Twitter come online at predetermined time and discuss a particular topic. They attach a hashtag (e.g. #jobhuntchat) to the end of each of their tweets so that the conversation can be tracked by Twitter apps so that following the jumble of tweets is relatively easy. They typically last an hour (but people can continue on as long as they please).

They might seem like a step backward from traditional chat clients or even a forum, but there is why I like them:

The replies are succinct. Since you've got less than 140 characters to get your thoughts out there, you have to make it short and sweet. Sometimes this can be frustrating but I find it really helps keep things moving.
It's an incredible networking opportunity. Depending on the topic, you can find a few or a ton of industry pros or solid hobbyists taking part. You get to have a good back and forth with them and maybe you end up following each other. Who knows what could become of that?
You learn stuff. At least I have. There's always some great points of view and quite often really good links to resources you simply just didn't know about before. For example, tonight on #genYchat I came across two blogs that are pertinent to my desire to leverage social media to get a job in social media:

http://marianlibrarian.com/link-love/best-of/ - Here's an account of how one woman used social media tools to get hired
http://socialjenny.com - A great little online CV (it worked too).

Those are the big ones!

Some of my favourite chats at the moment are:

#sm__ (where __ changes depending on the week. Next week it's 67 I think). It's a general social media chat that's been going for 67 weeks strong. They have a pair of hosts and one guest moderator who leads the discussion on a topic with 3-4 questions. This is the first Twitter Chat I came across and how I came to like them so much! Tuesdays from 1-2 pm AST.
#IMCChat - Which stands for Integrated Marketing Communications Chat I think. I've only been to a few but they have a great crowd and discuss a lot of issues that social media presents to the modern marketer. Those are Wednesdays from 9-10pm AST
#jobhuntchat - Pretty straightforward! Some good talks about career seeking advice. Sometimes its pretty basic stuff, sometimes really interesting stuff. Good for me because I am essentially on the job hunt now, even though graduation is a year away! 11pm to midnight on Mondays (AST).
#genYchat - Topics concerning Generation Y. I took part in my first one tonight and it was very lively. They were speaking about social media and job hunting (some overlap with topics covered in #jobhuntchat and #sm__ but hey, shows you what's topical right?).

A larger timetable and list of over 140 Twitter chats can be found on this Google Doc Spreadsheet.

There are like 58 more I want to try out but time is an issue :)

Anyway, if you're using Twitter but haven't participated in one of these, DO IT. Find a topic you like from the link above or check out a social media related one (they're plentiful and usually lively). Acquaint and equip yourself with TweetChat or TweetGrid (I use and recommend TweetChat) and try it out! Let me know how it goes :)

Activia Contest Update

2010-06-29T22:43:00.003-03:00

A couple weeks ago I wrote about Activia's Debatable Debate Campaign, criticizing not the main thrust of the effort but mainly the implied social aspect.

Well, it's been launched officially at: http://www.nationaldebate.ca/. You can watch the commerical there now to see what I meant in the first post about how they try to make it seem like everyone is falling over themselves talking about this.

Overall, I think Activia did a lot of things right:

The site was clean, simple and easy to use
There was a 'game' you could play based on the commercial
It gets you thinking about Activia and the two features (Taste, Benefit)
There was a traditional media push tightly integrated into the online component

But still, as a viral effort I don't think it's got the right ingredients. It is simply not interesting enough for me to REALLY want to show all my friends. There's a form that gives you the option to send an email to your friends ("for a greater chance at winning") during the 'sign up for coupons' phase... but still, it's just not intriguing enough. I don't want to spam my friends with Activia marketing, increased chances of winning be damned.

Will they see a positive ROI for this? Possibly. Will it go viral? Well it's been out for two weeks... how many times have you heard about it so far?

Payday!

2010-06-29T22:16:00.000-03:00

I cut myself my first cheque from the company account today. There has been money just sitting there for a while, and I didn't figure I needed it immediately, but the rent is due soon so instead of taxing the line of credit again I figured why not enjoy a little payday?

I took the cheque to the bank and the teller allowed it to go through without hold because she went to my university and recognized the company name. Small perks, and another (albeit minor) example of networking power.

I celebrated at home with a finger of scotch and an evening filled with some leisurely video games. :)

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Last exam tomorrow

2010-06-24T18:01:00.000-03:00

Yes, tomorrow will be the last exam of the summer. As part of the MBA we're taking online courses while on our work term. We've been doing this since January, starting with 'Leveraging Technology' and now 'Financial Statement Analysis.' At noon tomorrow the exam is released online - it's open book and we have until 6pm to submit it.

Then we're done school stuff until early September when classes resume, and free of exams until December (unless you count midterms). Of course, tomorrow evening will be fraught with celebrations. Our society social coordinator has arranged a cross-country pub night and using the magic of technology we here in Halifax hope to be able to celebrate live with those in Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary and beyond.

Will the end of schoolwork change my day-to-day? Honestly, I did a lot of stuff on the weekends or evenings. I don't feel like it'll be a huge weight lifted off my shoulders at all since there really wasn't all that much to do every week anyway. But still, it will be nice to avoid those occasional moments of horror when I realize on a Saturday evening that both quizzes still need to be done or something.

I'll drink to that (tomorrow)!

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It's the FOURTH Wednesday.

2010-06-23T13:25:00.001-03:00

Of June.

So what? Well I thought it was the third (because I'm dumb) and I was all prepped to go to this: http://www.3whfx.com/

It's basically an informal gathering in my city for people into tech or new media and marketing. I missed May's and had vowed to make it to June's but for some reason my brain interpreted '3rd Wednesday' as 'Second Last Wednesday,' when June happened to have bloody five Wednesdays this year. Fool!

(I choose this blog to kick myself in the eye with because Twitter's down)

I have carefully studied the July calendar and am pretty sure I know what I'm doing for that month (no promises).

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New sleep schedule and exercise regiment

2010-06-23T07:02:00.001-03:00

Today is the second day I've risen before 7 a.m., and if I hop on the exercise bike for 20-30 minutes then I'll have made this a 2 day routine. I guess 'routine' is a bit strong at the moment, but that's what I'm hoping for! now if only something could be done about my diet... heh.

In other news, happy 4th Year Anniversary to myself and my girlfriend! Sadly she is overseas but we're planning on having a hearty Skype session later on today! Time to go biking!

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Don't be afraid to ask.

2010-06-22T19:12:00.000-03:00

That's a lesson I'm learning time and time again here on this Corporate Residency. I used to be worried that my cold calls would seem too "pitchy" and that I'd come off as annoying... but I've found if you watch your phrasing and simply be genuine and polite with your ask, most people are happy to at least hear you out. Now, the line "I'm a student..." and the fact that I'm living in relatively friendly East Coast Canada might have something to do with it, but maybe not! This has become apparent not only for business calls but for networking as well.

In other, completely unrelated news, I created my first Wikipedia article today! Strange as it seemed to me, I had never touched Wikipedia from the content creation side before. It's very easy to get a hang of the code! I even reversed a malicious edit on a random page!

The article is for my MBA program; I tried to be as neutral as I could with the language: Dalhousie Corporate Residency MBA. Not too shabby! Needs more pictures though. I need a digital camera.

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SPHALIFAX or "Spell Halifax"?

2010-06-21T14:36:00.000-03:00

I've gotten some feedback that the "SPHALIFAX" name for my social media citywide treasure hunt is a bit hard to comprehend, even when the person knows what it's all about (basically you try to find Letter Cards around the city, each one has an individual letter on it... if you can spell the word 'Halifax' with them, you can win prizes. Social media tools will help people find them more easily).

It comes from the simple phrase "Spell Halifax," where the 'ell' part of 'spell' and the 'hal' part of 'Halifax' are essentially fused. Why? No real reason, I just thought it sounded neat. But if people are having difficulty seeing it that way maybe it is just best if I call the whole thing 'Spell Halifax.' That is clear and it communicates the most fundamental part of the game. Good thing I didn't create any T-shirts or mugs yet! I'm kidding, but it is actually a good thing that I didn't lock in a permanent Facebook URL.

So: kinda of clever but initially ambiguous "SPHALIFAX" or kind of dry but dominant communicator: "Spell Halifax"? Hmmmm...

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A freezie blog?

2010-06-20T16:14:00.001-03:00

Recently I've been tweeting pictures of my recent freezie purchases. It started off with some basic packs:

Then we got to Jumbo sized, pop flavoured ones:

And they're all for me! Well, I guess if someone came over I might offer one. I'd probably try to get them to drink a beer first... Anyway, I looked around very briefly on Google to see if there was any fun little blog devoted to the consumption / creation / enjoyment of freezie pop type treats and did not find one easily. They're called a bunch of different things (I imagine) so I'll probably have to dig a little deeper... but if there isn't one I might start it up. Maybe poke around in Tumblr or something (been meaning to play with it anyway)?

I dunno, what would you like to see in a freezie blog? I might make a playful "freezie connoisseur" type thing where I give overly exotic and deep review of freezies. Could be entertaining, if even only to me. But I'm pretty sure most people can related to eating like 79 of these in one sitting at one point in their life so yeah. My audience is out there.

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New Twitter background

2010-06-18T16:51:00.001-03:00

That's right! Check it out here - @j_fuji.

I made it much more personal. Before it was just some simple graphics and a big URL that pointed to my 'Hire Jordy' Facebook Page. I don't know what the general impression was from that, but it certainly wasn't too personal. I've been meaning to make the change for quite some time, especially as I've been participating in more and more TweetChats.

So when I finally did, here's what I changed/added:

Slapped a bright picture of my mug on there. It's the focal point of the side banner, and rightly so. I'd like my Twitter account to be an honest portray of who I am, and the little Twitter avatar I don't think gives someone the right level of intimacy needed for a more honest portrayal of who I am. If that makes sense. I'm not looknig for "intimacy" in the sense of... I mean I guess if someone wanted to- well I, er... Let's move on.
Added a short list of things that I am about. I mention my student status and my degrees, my main aspiration, my main institutional affiliation and some less formal tidbits that hopefully encourage folks to engage.
Then, some other social addresses, such as my Hire Jordy Page, the CRMBA Facebook Page I maintain and my LinkedIn URL. I also put Empire Avenue there to help promote it and because I think it's sweet.
I should add this blog and the other blog I write, though this one is already linked via the Twitter bio. I think I'll wait until this one gets a simpler URL (if I ever do that). But I really should put the CRMBA blogs there. I'll do that when I get back home and can access the file.
Then I slapped my little geometry graphics back on there. I guess they're my logo. The placement of them adds a little flair (I hope).

Overall, it makes for a much cleaner, personal and professional Twitter presence. Hopefully. I like it a lot better at least. What do you think?

-

SPHALIFAX momentum

2010-06-16T15:23:00.000-03:00

I'm pumped for the next 24 hours as the next 'round' of momentum for SPHALIFAX should get under way. I am meeting with a business owner this evening and will hopefully* be discussing it (*my style of meeting is usually to go as unprepared as possible in terms of script and content. Conversations > Sales Pitches. Like, always).

Then tomorrow I'm meeting with the folks at The Hub again to discuss the game plan moving forward. Still on the table is to find a printing partner if possible, and to organize artists and local businesses around the initiative. I actually just remembered that I forgot to pop into a printing shop today when I was in town. Blast! Oh well, it happens.

Anyway: does anyone from Halifax reading this know a good artist, or cool local business owner? Chances are slim I know, but hey, this thing is built on community and social media so it doesn't hurt to ask (plus it makes for a cool story if I actually made a viable connection for SPHALIFAX using this blog).

Cheerio!

DISQUS meets my blog, they decide to move in together.

2010-06-16T00:55:00.000-03:00

I was saying on someone else's blog the other day that I quite liked DISQUS. Then a little while later I wondered, "why haven't I added this to my blog?"

"It's probably hard to implement on Blogger," I replied.

"Nonsense. Lots of stuff is compatible with Blogger. Plus, if it does require some tinkering you're not too bad at blindly slashing away at code and figuring that sort of stuff out!" I retorted.

"Why thank you, ...I suppose I'll Google the solution."

"Any time. Yes, let's."

So then it turned out that it was not only possible, but the DISQUS site does all the coding for you and you just have to know how to press the Ctrl, C and V keys. And now look. My blog looks just that much more pro.

Thanks DISQUS! (Should I be capitalizing DISQUS? It's not capped on their site. I'll stop doing it then).

You're sending me mixed messages, Staples.

2010-06-15T11:21:00.000-03:00

Every now and then Staples sends me coupons for purchases I might make online or over the phone. About a month ago, they sent coupons printed on seed card as part of their EcoEasy month. Seed card is paper with seeds in them, and you can plant the card and flowers will grow. "Cool," I thought, "that's actually a decent way to demonstrate that you're environmentally concerned."

This month, a coupon comes from Staples and it is the antithesis of a seed card. It's like, triple laminated in plastic. Now I understand that the seed card stuff was only for the month... but the message (printed on the seed-card flyer) said this:

"We're committed to helping our customers make eco-conscious choices and reduce their impact on the environment..."

Which was great, but the plastic coated coupon felt like a bit of a slap in the face. To be fair, whatever it is is FSC Certified, and the actual volume of the total packaging was less, so maybe the second coupon actually had less impact on the environment altogether. What bugs me is the stark contrast. I had remembered the seed coupons weeks after I had gotten them because they were neat, and was associating the green-ness of it all with Staples. Now that's been tarnished by the presentation of coupon #2. Why couldn't they have stuck with at least a paper coupon? Oh well, hopefully for them, not a lot of people noticed.

Activia's Debate Campaign Debatable

2010-06-13T18:41:00.001-03:00

At least from a social media marketing perspective.

I can't find a video of the commercial I saw for it, but here's the logo for the campaign on the Canadian website:

So: "pay attention to our TV ad". Let me describe the commercial I witnessed: Basically it started off with two people apparently arguing over whether or not they liked to eat Activia yogurt based on its great taste or health benefits. Then one of them went on to present the question to their neighbours, the policeman that pulled them over, their dentists, etc. etc. The commercial always had a little scene showing the two parties discussing the question along with a visual overlay of two checkboxes (taste & benefit). One would be checked off depending on what the fictional character happened to pick.

So, my beef with this campaign is pretty hypothetical and has a lot of assumptions. I don't think it'll be harmful to the brand or even ineffective on the whole... but the way it looks to me, from a social media strategy point of view, is that Activia is hoping to inspire a conversation around its product. A totally legit strategy... except that in this case I think that they might have overlooked the fact that in order to inspire such conversation, it takes more than a TV advert and the introduction of a topic to convince folks to start talking. The advert would have you believe that everyone and their dog is currently engaged in this enthralling debate. The fact that most people aren't going to take an advert literally notwithstanding, I think the biggest issue here is what Activia decided to base the conversation on.

Taste versus Benefits? This is way too selfish. This is not an interesting debate. This is not something that people are going to be excited about, eager to be able to bring it up within a group of friends and spread it virally like I'm assuming the campaign designers are hoping for. Only truly, truly loyal consumers of this brand might ever consider this debate to be worth quibbling over.

No, the content of the debate just lacks any sort of share-ability. There's a lot right with the campaign overall... it's an easy task, it's on brand, etc. But I think that the puzzle piece of interesting content is missing (plus it's very obviously self-serving to even the only slightly cynical).

Of course, perhaps the core strategy of the Activia managers was not social or viral with this campaign. Maybe they just wanted to build awareness around the fact that Activia has these two purported features, and it just happens to be framed around this theme of a debate. I don't really know. But I am fairly certain that next to no organic discussion will be created around whether or not people eat the stuff because of taste or benefit. I imagine people might ask themselves the question (if they're a current customer)... and/or go online to cast a vote (I wonder if participation will require or at least give the option to broadcast your vote over Facebook, Twitter, etc... sort of 'forcing' the initial conversation forward. I foresee a Facebook Connected Wall post looking like "John Smith voted that they eat Activia for the taste! What about you? Click here to vote!"). Then we'll know how socially focussed the campaign is.

Overall the campaign doesn't bug me. The piece around generating a natural discussion around the debate topic, IF that is a core piece of the strategy here, does bug me. What do you think?

-

Good job, GM.

2010-06-12T17:41:00.000-03:00

What was originally going to be a piece ranting about the whole supposed decision by GM to ban the use of the word "Chevy" from its employee's vocabulary is now actually going to be something of a piece of praise.

The reason is because out of this comes a great example of handling social media fallout. The original article ridiculing GM for the decision can be found in this New York Times article. Today I stumbled upon a blog that was picking up where that left off, on BreakingMedia.com.

A quip from the BM blog: What, for example, must Chris Barger, GM’s head of social media be thinking right now? And what does a social media team exist for if it can’t put the breaks on culture-blind, deaf and dumb moves like these?

Then something cool happened. Mr. Barger actually commented on the blog, revealing his thoughts AND providing a video link to GM's VP of Sales, Service & Marketing who frames the decision with some context: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaQXQmkMFGc

It seems the memo for the ban was aimed more for dealings of the brand that happened outside the USA, in countries where "Chevy" and "Chevrolet" may not necessarily mean the same thing to people like it does in North America. The intelligence behind that decision can be debated, but at least it makes a lot more sense than trying to create a more unified brand presence in North America!

I think the real noteworthy topic here is how fast action from GM here has quite literally changed my perception of what went down. If it happened to me I can assume it's happen for people all over the place, including the author of the BreakingMedia.com blog. This is a great example of how social media can be dangerous for a company but at the same time be used effectively to douse the flames. So well done GM and Mr. Barger.

-

Using this blog to rant and criticize.

2010-06-10T21:55:00.000-03:00

I think I might start a "series" on this blog where I vent frustration at some marketing messages / decisions that I see in the world around me. And perhaps a lighter version where I look at stuff that is trying to be 'social' but doesn't quit get there (all in MY opinion, of course!). 'Close but no social cigar' or something like that. Yeah.

The inspiration for this comes from my frustration in learning about the whole decision to ban Chevy employees from using the word Chevy, which is just about an asinine decision that could have ever been made... it drops the ball on more than one level and.... gah, I'll save it for the official rant piece, haha.

The inspiration for the 'lighter' version comes from watching a yogurt commercial that was trying to inspire a debate around whether you ate it for taste of benefit, and suggested in the commercial that everyone you know and their dog was actively discussing this enthralling topic. (I forget the brand, heh).

So yeah. I think I'll organize the harsher rants under the tag 'Marketing Moves that Made Me Mad' and softer ones under 'Close but no Social Cigar'. And I'll grow this into a world famous opinion piece. Who's WITH ME?

Hello?

;)

-

Time conflict!

2010-06-10T21:41:00.000-03:00

I got an email today from the school offering a limited amount of spots to people who want to do a 3 hour Corporate Tour of Extreme Group (Halifax). They're probably the biggest full service ad agency in the general vicinity. I've been to their Toronto office (on the big Toronto Corporate Tour I did late April). I have been meaning to have a peek at the Halifax office since agency is on my general list of post-grad options, even though I'd prefer a boutique consultancy.

ANYWAY, of course I signed up right away and so did like 12 other people within minutes of the invite because it's a bomb place to even go inside, career aspirations notwithstanding. And lunch is included. Bonus.

Hours later, to my horror, I remember that we have an open book exam for one of our online courses near the date of the tour. Upon checking I discovered that it is the same bloody day. Tour: 11am-2pm. Exam: Noon-6pm.

The course is basically Accounting, which I don't mind but have no real love for. I'm probably going to need the full six hours to generate a decent report/exam. So the question is should I just give up my seat or go for 1/3 of the time anyway? *sigh*

-

Mid-week, mid-year

2010-06-09T12:13:00.001-03:00

So 2010 is just over half done. On one hand it seems like it went by in no time at all, but when I think back to all the stuff I've done since January it's hard to imagine that it all fit into 6 months!

The plan for the next 6 months isn't totally set in steel but here's my general outlook:

See SPHALIFAX through to completion, and write up some decent feedback on it.
Connect well with the incoming CRMBA class (like, on a personal level, as friends).
Organize a volunteer opportunity with a local boutique social media consultancy (I've got one in mind)
Get the Halifax Chapter of Social Media Club underway
Continue bloggin' (here and for Dal).
Get some social media consulting contracts through my own company
Complete a round of Sales Training at Sandler (runs July-Nov)
Try not to drive the girlfriend crazy by being too busy ;)

Whew. Oh, and you can add "pass the bloody online accounting course" to that pile. I don't find it hard but I find it hard to commit time to. It sucks because that course is packed with excellent stuff to know... gotta learn to prioritize a little better I guess.

A little self reflection

2010-06-08T22:05:00.000-03:00

I thought I'd try and quickly compile some of the great personal changes/achievements I've attained since joining the CRMBA program at Dal back in July 2009 (I speak of it as if it were eons ago... certainly feels like it!)

(Side note: I must say, this Empire Avenue idea is a great motivator for making blog posts. I wonder how long it will last?)

Anyway:

Discovered my desired career path. If you're on this blog you should have a good idea of what that is.
Developed a lot of self confidence - this was forced upon me by being thrown into a group of 40 strangers and having to work side by side with them in the trenches for six months. That, and being forced to do stuff like the nerve wracking elevator pitches alone in front a crowd of stern looking employers. Also, my work at my consulting firm has forced me to bite some bullets and just go up and talk with people.
Getting a good grasp on business. You would hope so, this being an MBA and all. I think I've learned just as much if not more about the business world from my peers and personal experiences with my firm than from the academic side of things. I think they've consciously designed it so... :)
Grew my professional network by... a lot. Simply with SPHALIFAX alone I've connected with like 7 new people and will be connecting with like 30 more in the area soon. Things like the Corporate Tour and the AIM Conference help too! Soon you start to see how your connections are connected to each other and that becomes just as valuable as having the original connections.

Those are the biggies. Not a bad return so far on what will be a $40,000+ investment, not bad at all...

SPHALIFAX has already taken on life of its own

2010-06-08T16:37:00.000-03:00

In the short time between looking for sponsors and now, SPHALIFAX (< Facebook Page) has already evolved drastically. This is pretty much entirely due to the enormously enthusiastic support of Tracy and Joanne from The Hub, which is a great spot in the middle of downtown that allows anyone to use their open workspace as an office or meeting place in exchange for some membership dues! It's perfect for small businesses and perfect for SPHALIFAX, really.

Oh yeah, if you're wondering "what the heck is SPHALIFAX," the quick and dirty story is posted here under Project Scrabble Revealed. You can also check out its Facebook Page.

Anyway, after a few meetings we've brainstormed a number of exciting ways to amplify the aesthetic appeal of the Letter Cards and ways to further integrate the game into the city's culture! In order to roll out these changes it looks like the duration of the game will have to be shifted from July-August to August-September. It will be well worth the delay if we are able to turn our vision into something real here.

I'll post more as it develops! Ciao for now.

Hello, Empire Avenue

2010-06-07T16:17:00.005-03:00

This is my verification code!

EAVB_IZKFGHSDMK

:)

So I should probably explain this to anyone who happens to be reading. This is so the site http://empireavenue.com can verify that I own this blog. What, pray tell is Empire Avenue? Well here is their pitch:

Welcome to The People's Market on Empire Avenue, where you can have fun buying, selling and trading shares in your best friend, your favourite blogger, that band you like or even your mom... anyone! Best of all, it's totally free.

It looks kind of fun! You need an invite to get in on it so if you're looking for one I'll hook you up :)

Project Scrabble: Revealed

2010-06-02T23:13:00.000-03:00

It's been a while since I've posted - been busy for the past little while getting Project Scrabble ready. It's almost there! The actual name is SPHALIFAX, an amalgamation of the words Spell and Halifax!

It is a unique treasure hunt for the city of Halifax. Game Cards with letters on them will be spread throughout the city, pointing people to this Facebook Page. Collecting the right letters gives you a chance to win a big prize. Individual Cards can be entered into a lotto to win smaller prizes. All prizes, big and small, will be provided by sponsors who get Game Cards and affliation with the contest in exchange for their contributions. Here's how the growth of the Prize Lot is explained to new users on the Page:

"The engine that grows the Prize Lot is you. Yes you, sitting there reading this. Here's how it works:

Step 1) We spread a bunch of cards around to get people interested. They come to this page like you have and notice that there's a chunk of money to be won. When we start out, this amount will not be enormous, but hopefully it will be enough to get a few people interested.

Step 2) All our prize money comes from our incredible Sponsors, so we have to go out and tell local businesses about SPHALIFAX. We show them the traffic stats and activity on this Facebook Page and they decide they'd like to be a part of it. In exchange for gift certificates and money, they get a link on the Sponsor tab and possibly some letter cards of their own to distribute however they wish.

Hold up) You might have noticed that there's a bit of a Catch 22 here. In order for people to want to play and interact there has got to be prizes. In order for there to be prizes, there has to be people here interacting and engaging. To solve this, we are asking the first few sponsors to take a bit of a leap of faith with this!

Step 3) Thanks to our forward thinking and supportive Initial Sponsors, the growth of the Prize Lot becomes an endless circle. We start to attract slightly larger contributions as the Facebook Page traffic starts to pick up... which in turn attracts more people to play as the prize amount grows. That in turn inspires even larger contributions... and so on until the end of the contest!

So it's in everyone's interest that more people become involved in SPHALIFAX! For the citizens playing the game, it means bigger and sweeter prizes. For the sponsors, it means more and more exposure! Everyone wins. So no matter who you are, if you're reading this, tell someone! Make sure to come back often and take part in the Puzzles and Tasks! Only by doing REAL stuff can we make REAL things happen!

Oh, and 10% of all cash contributions will be going to a local charity of your choice so not only are we helping ourselves out here, we're doing some good in our community as well. Did I mention how everyone wins? :)"

Meeting with potential Sponsors tomorrow! Very exciting!

Check it out!

Amalgamating Blogs

2010-05-19T17:55:00.001-03:00

Today I am playing around with Wordpress to see how it works and if I can easily stream the Dal blog and this one into it. Eventually I'm looking to construct a portfolio that shows everything I've done in relation to social media under one URL. This post is mostly to see if Wordpress automatically pulls in new Blogger posts or if I have to manually fetch them.

Edit: After some quick online research, I found that not only is this not possible but discouraged for SEO reasons (duplicate content). I'll be looking for a more creative way of showcasing stuff I've written, something that's not just an aggregated blog.

Facebook Ad Campaign - Some Insights

2010-05-11T16:12:00.004-03:00

I started a Facebook Ad Campaign on the 4th of May, 2010 to promote that "Hire Jordy" link you see at the top of the page. This blog will give you a sense of what a Facebook Ad campaign looks like and I'll discuss a few of my strategies as well.

Here are the averaged numbers to date:

There are two campaigns - "Hire Jordy" is running two ads and "Second Order" is running one. The ads themselves are visually identical (click here to see them), so why three ads under two campaigns? Well each ad targets a different group, and I wanted to be able to tightly control the budgets for them. Also, this allows me to see how different target groups are responding to the same ad. If I had aggregated the targeting all under one ad these differences would be lost in the average.

Now, a word on my overall strategy. "Hire Jordy" is a Facebook Page with custom tabs meant to host my Social Media CV and to some extent display my ability to use and design social media related campaigns. This is part of a larger goal to land a job working in/with social media come May 2011. This Page is my own personal brand, but only a select few want what I'm "selling". What good is the Page? Well, I'm hoping to organically generate leads with it. 99.999% of the people who like it won't be able to consider offering me a job, but one of them might know someone who is. I feel the Page is unique enough to stand out in some people's minds such that they might bring it up in an appropriate conversation, on or offline. (One thing I want to work on with the Page is delivering value to the fanbase. I've held off posting a lot of stuff to its Wall because I want to make sure it's relevant to people who see it in their feed).

When it came to designing the ad campaign, I gave the dialog more of a "do a good deed, c'mon." The text itself reads: "Help this Halifax Native get a job in Social Media. Check out his online resume whether you're an employer or not - every "like" helps!"

Lots of "help" in there. I'm considering rewording it so the "whether you're an employer or not" comes sooner in the text to improve to the Click-Through-Rate (CTR). See, right now my goal with the page is build a sizable fanbase (or "likers," however you want to word it). Theoretically every additional fan raises the chance of an organic connection to an employer by some itsy bitsy %. Later, I'll have to consider how to inject value into the Page, unless I just want to keep it as a showcase.

Keeping the simplicity of the current goal (more likes) in mind, how successful has the campaign been? First, here are two graphs - I'll explain the different ad target audiences in a second.

Clicks via Campaign

CTR per Campaign (i.e. clicks divided by impressions)

The magic number that Facebook does not provide is the CONVERSION rate, in my case this the number of clicks that resulted in people actually clicking "LIKE." Based on the increase of fans from when I started the campaign, I estimate it has brought in 25-40 people, which is a conversion rate of 13-21%, which is astronomical (but keep in mind that what I'm considering to be a conversion is a simple button click. Often a conversion action is something like making a purchase... this is a good example of how your goals and definitions affect stats).

So what groups were my ads targeting? Hire Jordy has two ads in it. One broadly focuses on all users 18 and over who live in some of the Canadian cities I am most interested in working (Halifax, Toronto, Montreal). The goal here is to connect with working people in those cities. The other targets users in Canada, the States or the UK who have identified social media, marketing, or advertising as interests on Facebook. The goal here is to connect with people who are themselves likely connected to a community that would be interested in my skills.

The "Second Order" campaign has one ad that only targets friends of existing fans of "Hire Jordy" as well as another Page I administrate. This was my chief "organic" ad; I figured that people who were likely to click "like" were more likely to be friends with other people who would click "like" and vice versa (birds of a feather flock together).

Interestingly, when I started the campaign I had all three ads under one campaign... but when I made the "second order" ad I noticed that the suggested bid price for clicks was a lot lower than the other two... mostly I think because the reach was smaller. So I put it in its own campaign so I could adjust it as necessary. What I then noticed as the campaign was launched was the CTR was much higher for these cheaper clicks! You can see that in the graphs. Since my goal was (and still is) to simply get more fans, I was able to shift money away from the expensive clicks and onto the cheaper ones! You can see the flip flop in number of clicks in the graph as I did this. Now, the CTR for "Second Order" is coming back down, presumably because as the fanbase grows so do the impressions. But, they are still cheaper.

The question to ask in the coming phases of this campaign is whether or not more "second order" clicks are better than those more specific targeted audiences from the other campaign.

It's been an interesting ride so far, and 100% worth the investment in terms of learning how to manage the ads. I plan to spend up to $100-$150 before reevaluating the Page's strategy. FYI my daily budget for "Hire Jordy" is currently $2.50 and "Second Order" is $5.00.

I hope this blog was informative and interesting despite being a little lengthy! I'll do another one of these when the next strategy waypoint occurs! Cheers.

Facebook Like Buttons and Project Scrabble

2010-05-07T12:17:00.002-03:00

Check it out, there's a Facebook "Like" button at the bottom of this post! Many thanks to this blog for the 'how-to' for Blogger sites.

In other news, Project Scrabble is getting more exciting as I slowly uncover more businesses in the area that seem to be social media savvy. I will be going to them first about the idea.

I'll shed a little more light on what Project Scrabble is. It's a social media experiment - I'm going to distribute items around the city of Halifax and parts of Dartmouth that have a link to a Facebook Page on them. There will be promises of a 'chance to win' if one gets involved with collecting the items. Over the summer, I hope to generate buzz both offline and online about these items.

But, I need sponsors in order to create prizes for participants. Bigger prizes will mean more participants. I'll be using creative techniques to get the people following the Facebook Page to participate in not only increasing the amount and value of the prizes, but in shaping the direction of the event itself. If traction is gained, there would exist the possibility for sizable sponsorships.

The goals of Project Scrabble are (at this point in time) threefold:

1) Get my city more engaged and excited about social media
2) Help local businesses or franchises promote their brands for a relatively tiny investment
3) To personally gain experience overseeing and directing such an event

I'm prepared to see this flop, but I will be working hard to make it a success. I realize the description above is pretty vague and probably doesn't provide much more information than my last blog post, but I'd rather wait until the Facebook Page is complete before spilling all the beans :) More on this in the coming weeks, wish me luck!

Long Day!

2010-05-05T22:53:00.000-03:00

Yep, didn't get in until close to 10pm.

I was catching up at the goings-on at the office after being away in Toronto, but mostly I was developing material for my top secret local social media experiment... We can call it Project Scrabble for now.

I have vague descriptions of this project referenced in my online CV (http://facebook.com/hirejordy), mostly notably at the end of my cover letter:

I am currently developing an experiment in my city where I will leave collectable items around public areas that have a link to a Facebook page on them. Clues as to where to find more collectables will be given out on Facebook/Twitter in proportion to online participation. I plan on integrating a community based incentive system so that people are compelled to participate and find more. Stay tuned!

As well as on my resume:

I am developing a social media experiment to be carried out in my city. It will attempt to connect real-life experiences with social media tools. (I will update this as the experiment unfolds. This project is not affiliated with The City of Halifax, yet – I hope to attract their attention if it is successful and secure a community project grant for next year).

Today I constructed a large portion of the stuff that will need to be printed (Word Docs, etc.)... still to do is design for the online presence and social media tools. Significant progress has been made though, and I hope to be able to tell you more about Project Scrabble within a week and be rolling it out in two weeks!

All in all this will help build my social media experience and portfolio, especially if it gets some decent traction. Even if it flops there will be some valuable lessons to be learned, but I have a feeling the timing is right for this kind of thing.

As I said before, stay tuned :D

Embedding a Tweet!

2010-05-04T19:08:00.000-03:00

With Twitter's new Blackbird Pie:

Facebook ads for "Hire Jordy!" ( http://facebook.com/hirejordy ) are live! 10 CTs with about a 50% "conversion," cool! #socialmedia #resumeless than a minute ago via webJordy Fujiwara
j_fuji

A little rough around the edges, but otherwise kind of cool!

Back Home, new Ads

2010-05-04T15:06:00.000-03:00

Whew! Well, corporate tour is over and so is my little vacation in Toronto.

I had a great time and it was filled with many adventures and tons of networking. I think I'm going to go after ad agencies here in Halifax and try to get hired on in an entry level position then move into Strategy if possible. Digital Strategy within ad agencies is where the social media lives, so that's where I want to be.

In other news, I started an ad campaign on Facebook for the http://facebook.com/hirejordy page! This is what they look like:

25+ "Likes"!

2010-04-29T07:35:00.000-03:00

In 24 short hours my gracious Facebook network of friends and family have supported my 'Hire Jordy!' efforts, resulting in (at this time) 27 "likes."

This was enough to allow me access to http://facebook.com/username!

Hence, I've got a new URL: http://www.facebook.com/hirejordy

I can soon move onto the next stage, which is the promotion stage. Thank you all so very much!

In other news, it's 6:30am and in less than two hours I'll be on my way to Procter & Gamble's office for Corporate Tour. Looking forward to it!

Corporate Tour - Day 1

2010-04-28T19:19:00.000-03:00

What a fun day!

The first few hours we spent doing those elevator pitches and mock interviews I told you about last post... my strategy of not rehearsing at all was actually a really good one! I was relaxed and it was sort of enjoyable as opposed to nerve wracking.

THEN we headed off to visit the Toronto Facebook office where they gave us a presentation on Marketing and Social Media... all I can say is WOW, was it ever inspiring. I've definitely made the right choice in pursuing social media career-wise... and I think they may have converted a few of the other group members onto that line of thinking as well.

Tomorrow starts off bright and early with an 8:30am visit to Procter & Gamble!

Gotta interview a student and then write up the CRMBA blog as well... luckily I'm crashing with my next interviewee so the show will go on, and smoothly at that (one hopes).

Embarking on the Corporate Tour

2010-04-28T09:15:00.000-03:00

In about 3 hours I'm heading out to the introduction phase of the Dalhousie Corporate Tour. There are mock interviews, some "elevator pitches" (where you talk about how awesome you are in 60 seconds or less while trying to sound casual, unrehearsed, natural yet deliver a fantastic value proposition... I've decided to wing it because I sound terrible reciting stuff), and some networking.

Then at 3:00 pm it's off to visit the Facebook office for an hour and a half! Not sure what to expect, but it should be interesting.

I'm already up to 4 whole fans (or... "likees?") on the 'Hire Jordy!' Facebook Page; they must have found it indirectly through Twitter so that is very cool to see. I'm going to see if I can find an appropriate time to mention it to the Facebook folks, haha.

Soft Launch!

2010-04-28T01:58:00.001-03:00

It's here! In all its glory: http://lnkby.me/f2

Next step is to solicit "likes" from my immediate contact list to get over the 25 hump so I can give it a custom URL. I'll also employ them to be proofreaders and feedback providers before I start actively promoting the page.

Here's what the landing tab looks like!

The Filtering Theory

2010-04-27T16:38:00.001-03:00

A quick note today, as I sit in a lofty downtown apartment in Toronto (my friends' place).

One thing I hope to achieve with this process of tossing my self-promotion out into the unpredictable waters of the Internet is to attract the right kind of employers. I don't want to be hired into a social media role by a company who hasn't got a firm grasp on the concept and implications of social media (unless that role is an educational one)... this Facebook page Resume will hopefully attract the attention of firms who are more engaged and attuned to social media, simply by the nature of its presentation. Firms that are not so well attuned should have a smaller chance of seeing it. I have dubbed this my "Filtering Theory" for lack of a better term :)

Rethinking the "WHY" tab

2010-04-27T09:07:00.000-03:00

Every time I go to start typing up the content for the "WHY" tab something rubs me the wrong way. I was putting in stuff that answered the question "why I'd be great in social media" and felt everything I was writing was a bit too fluffy and that it didn't jive with the rest of the content. Instead of summarizing my cover letter, I think I might re conceptualize the "WHY" as "why did I choose social media as a career focus" rather than try and outright sell myself. My hope is that the page itself does most of the selling and the written content provides a more personal connection.

FYI I am writing this from Toronto, from my Uncle's basement (he generously extracted me from the airport late last night). I am heading to downtown Toronto to find my friends and fellow MBA's apartment shortly.

Toronto tomorrow!

2010-04-25T23:56:00.001-03:00

I am flying to Toronto tomorrow to go on Dalhousie's Corporate Tour!

The lineup is as follows:

Wednesday - RBC, Facebook
Thursday - P&G, Canadian Tire, AON, Bank of Nova Scotia, Extreme Group
Friday - Publicis Modem, Steam Whistle Brewery, TD

Then it's my birthday, Canada's Wonderland, visiting family!

Somewhere in the midst of all this (on the plane, or in the airport?) I will be working on the Facebook resume tabs. I am particularly interested in meeting with Facebook, Extreme Group and Publicis Modem since they seem to be the companies with the most overt social media potential.

Facebook "Resume"

2010-04-23T11:23:00.000-03:00

Alright, so here's the concept for my Facebook page.

It's going to have the unavoidable 'Wall' and 'Info' tabs, along with 4 custom tabs using the FBML app. (Designing these tabs is actually very easy, even if you're not a real "coder").

The first custom tab will be called "For What?" (as in, Hire Me For What?) It's my landing tab, a.k.a. the tab that non "fans" (now referred to as what, "people who like"?) see upon following a link to http://www.facebook.com/[something]. The landing tab design is possibly the most crucial... it's your first impression, your chance to get that "like" button pressed, your argument to the public that you should stay on this page and look around a bit.

The design will be sleek and not too wordy. It'll have the orange/white colour scheme that I'm going to keep for all the tabs. Part of it will be a 150 word or less summary of what this page is and how the other tabs work, the other part will be the 'call to action' which reminds people to click that lil ol' "like" button.

Next tab: Cover Letter. This'll be pictureless and a straight up cover letter. Simple.

Next tab: Resume. Same deal, resume will be tailored towards social media jobs, obviously.

Next tab: "WHY?" (or ABOUT maybe). This is my bread and butter tab. I've figured out how to have "tabs within tabs" with FBML, so I've designed a menu bar that brings up different infographic-like images that apply to these six categories: WHY WHEN WHAT WHERE WHO HOW

WHY will summarize my cover letter into bite sized point and also be the "landing tab" for this tab
WHEN gives people an idea of my timeline
WHAT details 4-5 types of social media capacities I'd like to be involved in
WHERE talks about my location preferences
WHO shares a bunch of "fun facts" about me, to make the connection a little more personal
HOW has stuff like contact information, and how I designed the page, etc.

See, the goal of this whole thing is a "proof is in the pudding" approach. Yeah, I'll outline all my skills etc. within the page's tabs but the very fact that a) it is hosted on Facebook and b) I designed and created the whole thing myself will hopefully convey the message that I am dedicated, passionate and a hard worker... all those "buzzwords" you find in typical cover letters can be avoided!

As of Today, I have not started on the landing tab but am about 65% complete the major WHY tab and its components. I have written a draft of my cover letter.

TODO:

Tailor a resume
Complete the major WHY tab
Complete the landing tab
Take some high res photos for Facebook Ads and possibly my wall / landing page
Upload it all to Facebook
Invite friends to "like" it, you need 25 "likes" before you can get a custom URL, which is crucial!
Create physical business cards with the URL on it to distribute to local companies
Promote online via Twitter and Social News Networks

I'd like to have "Upload it all to Facebook" done by next week in time for the Corporate Tour... It'll be tough, but I am optimistic!

Small break

2010-04-20T19:33:00.002-03:00

Even though no one's reading this at this point, I'm noting a small halt to my efforts. This is mostly because of a fairly important project that is due this week. However, next week I'll be off to Toronto to rub shoulders with the likes of corporate Facebook, Proctor & Gamble, Extreme Group and more! So I'd like to have my Facebook Resume up an running by then!

Cheers,
Jordy

The plan (version 1)

2010-04-17T11:26:00.001-03:00

This is the basic plan. It's more a simple list of TODO's rather than a full out marketing strategy. But it's a start!

So, here's how I plan to land a job in social media via social media:

1) Create a blog about the process [check]
2) Maintain the blog [ongoing]
3) Create a Facebook page to host my value proposition, resume, cover letter, etc. (mostly in custom FBML tabs)
3a) Create the necessary Facebook elements, organize/optimize landing tab [ongoing]
4) Get the blog and page out there!
4a) Leverage Twitter, attempt to get some earned media via current personal/professional network
4b) Facebook Ads
4c) Some print media as well, especially in Halifax and possibly Toronto if this is ready to roll out by the end of the month!

Hopefully, come Spring 2011 I'll have gained enough traction to have captured the attention of employers.

Next blog will talk a little more about the Facebook page element design and how all that is coming.

It begins today.

2010-04-15T20:32:00.000-03:00

Hello blogosphere!

Today I have taken some exciting steps towards building a career in social media. As the description notes, I am starting off by using social media to try and land a job. Let me tell you a little bit about my current situation:

I'll be 24 this May. I have a BSc in Psychology and am currently taking my MBA at Dalhousie University. The program I'm in is brand new; I'm part of the first class ever to get a 'Corporate Residency' MBA from Dal. You can learn all about the program here, but in a nutshell it's a 22-month intensive MBA that's been designed by employers who felt that traditional MBAs were lacking something. This program has a lot of soft-skill focus as well an 8-month paid work term (called the Corporate Residency) slapped right in the middle of it.

My class is in the midst of this residency right now. All of my classmates got jobs at some sort of organization. I did something a little different and bought a small corporation. I work for myself doing local consulting. Through this job I landed a contract where part of what I do is lead a social media campaign for my actual program (I write the CRMBA blog, as well as manage the Facebook and Twitter accounts, among other things).

This is how I fell in love with the industry. Now, along with other contracts and deadlines and responsibilities I am using my flexible situation to try and line up a solid career-starting job for when I graduate in April 2011.

My next blog post will outline the steps I plan to take!