Of course you knew it, there IS a science behind when you should tweet that tweet or post a Facebook update. As Spark Boutik discusses in the webinar 'Viral Marketing. How to get more Fans and Followers and Sell more Product', timing is a major...
Going viral is the Holy Grail of social media marketing. It represents the ultimate achievement of a marketing campaign launched through the Internet: popularity that skyrockets into legendary status. However, unlike the irreverent quest for the Holy Grail depicted in a certain cult-classic film, reaching that goal isn't merely an exercise in light-hearted entertainment. It takes a good helping of know-how, some marketing finesse, and a lot of buzz.
Buzz is a marketing term that was once a mere footnote in campaign strategies, but with the advent of social media, has become the "make or break" element of any successful marketing plan. Buzz is the force that can carry a message across the globe, reaching beyond target demographic groups and regions. It's easy to see why marketers are scrambling to create buzz for their brands and products, but there are pitfalls to watch out for. Like a cinematic twist, buzz has an evil twin that it's all too commonly mistaken for called hype.
So how can you tell the difference, and what's really so bad about hype, anyway? Hype is an ad campaign whose momentum is self-generated, getting aggressively promoted and boasted about by its own source. It is the brand itself telling customers that it's entertaining and exciting, hoping for a trickle-down effect through the audience and their networks to achieve popularity. It should go without saying that this type of marketing rarely, if ever, reaches viral status.
That's why buzz is so important to strive for. Buzz is consumer-generated, which means it relies on content capturing attention and encouraging authentic sharing. It might seem like a gamble, but it's one that can easily be rigged in your favor. After all, studies have shown that up to 89% of adult Internet users in the U.S. share content amongst their contacts, and 63% of those users do so at least once a week. Incredibly, 25% of those users are sharing on a daily basis. While it may seem counterintuitive to avoid hype, blatant branding within content had little impact on whether the content was shared or became viral.
The construction of a resume is more of an art than a science. To build a great resume, you must partake in a difficult balancing act. On the one hand, you really want your resume to stand out amongst the hundreds of others. On the other hand, the manner in which it stands out must be: clever without being pretentious, cool without seeming insincere, and interesting without appearing desperate. On top of all that, the applicant must go about this process knowing that what appears unique and interesting to one employer, will come off as strange and gimmicky to another.
The truth of the matter is that there is no such thing as a perfect resume, but there are most certainly bad resumes. Bad resumes are those that are poorly written, poorly arranged, and just plain boring. While there are plenty of websites and books that can show you how to format your resume correctly, there are far fewer that can tell you how to give your resume some personality.
The first rule of resume creation is to know your audience. Today's job market is more complex then before. With many more emerging jobs in technology and web-based businesses, expectations for the traditional resume is dead. Careers at Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and similar companies, for example, are some of the most sought-after. Decision makers for these companies clearly articulate that they look for bright, creative, industrious individuals. For someone that is trying to acquire one of those coveted social media jobs, this means, "Anything except a boring resume, please!" So how might an individual make their resume standout to someone at Facebook, Zynga, or Google?
First and foremost, your resume is a list of things that prove you have an appropriate amount of skill for the position you are seeking. You must list your education, your previous jobs, and your relevant skills. Essentially, anything that will prove to the reader that you would be great for the position. But don't stop there. You must turn your resume into an example of your impressive skillset to really excite employers. Here are a few examples to get you started:
Recently, Spark Boutik had the chance to sit down with a leading thinker on social ROI to ask him about the industry. He spoon fed us some awesome information we just had to share. Below is our interview with Clay Hebert.
1. Please tell me a bit about your background. How did you get into social media and, specifically, into understanding social media ROI?
Back in 2003, I was working for Accenture, flying around the country working on large-scale consulting projects. During a layover in O'Hare, I needed a book to read for the second leg of my flight and saw this strange looking purple book in the airport bookstore. It was Purple Cow by Seth Godin. It was the first business book that really spoke to me. When I got home, I immediately subscribed to Seth's blog, and ordered everything he'd ever written and devoured it.
Soon after that, I read The Cluetrain Manifesto and Naked Conversations. I knew that the changes these books spoke of were imminent, but I didn't know how they would end up impacting my life.
In 2007, I dabbled with blogging and in early 2008, I discovered Twitter. Later that year, I read Tribes and then got a chance to move to New York to participate in Seth Godin's Alt-MBA program. While the program didn't focus on social media specifically, it was a lens through which I looked at many of the concepts and ideas.
After the program, I founded Tribes Win, a marketing and innovation agency based in New York City. We help brands lead their tribes using the social web.
We recently wrote about Jennifer Aniston's success with YouTube marketing. Since then, the popularity of her viral video has grown to over 9 million views. In comparison, Rebecca Black's "Friday" video has grown to over 100 million views. With so many videos on YouTube, many...