I have to admit, I go to my fair share of networking events, but not nearly enough. And here's why. A lot of small business owners go to them, too, and in a medium sized town, that can be a good thing because you'll get to know a lot of people who do business in town very quickly. BUT, they all want to figure out how social media can help their business. And by help I mean, generate sales.
So I get asked a lot for what is the equivalent of free advice. I don't mind, I really don't. I have a pretty standard answer I give, and that's to consult and pay someone who does it for a living. Much the same as my attorney or physician friends say to the random questions they get 'That sounds interesting, you should really make an appointment with a specialist in that field'.
So what is my stock answer? It's pretty basic, 'Wow, so you want to figure out which platforms will help you and how much time it will take? You should contact a couple of marketing firms and get a proposal to see what they think. I'd also be happy to create a proposal for you if you'd like to sit down for a meeting to discuss your goals'. The long answer is too long for a blog post, and at this point in the life of social media for business, too complicated for a one-size fits all answer.
The thing I find most interesting is many small business owners think, and truly believe, social media is the answer to slow sales. And if we sit down and discuss their goals and what their expectations of social media are, I also discuss some of the marketing fundamentals. If the business owner is selling a service, I will ask who their competitors are and if they know (or care) how much they are charging. If you're selling a service and you're over or under priced, that's something that could make for compelling content. You can tell the story of why. And sometimes products are easier. Have you priced it like everyone else has on the web. If not, is there something that differentiates your product in such a way as to make it worth the extra money. I very rarely encourage anyone to price up. It usually takes a very quick internet search for me to determine the small business owner has decided to ignore pricing fundamentals and have priced themselves out of the market.
These are the business owners who want to use social media as a sales pitch. We've all seen the ads pop up in our timeline or in the sidebar. The ones that say you can get this great discount on our product. And the person who sees it says, 'huh, that seems like a good idea. I wonder if I can get it for less somewhere else?' and then they use the interwebs and discover they can get the same product for much less. I've told a couple of small business owners recently to review their pricing strategy in light of the quick research I've done. The end result of social media is never useful for them and it never meets their expectations, so the ROI isn't there. Bottom line - if you price your product high, then pay for the ad either through Google or Facebook, what you make has to be more than you've spent. And the ad teams for Google and Facebook are good! They never promise any sales, they promise impressions or clicks and tell you what the average profit is. And it's all about advertising.
I encourage small business owners to view social media as a growth opportunity for their business, and to use it as an extension of their networking, but in a slightly more commercial way. When networking face-to-face, it's easy and natural to discuss what you are doing and celebrate your achievements. When networking online, it takes a little more thought. You don't want to be in your face with a buy this, it's the greatest thing ever mentality, but you also want to provide content in such a way that it illustrates your product or expertise. It should be good, compelling content that encourages conversation or delivers something useful (not just that you have a product offering or service).
But I do enjoy the conversations I have had. It's very enlightening to talk to people about their personal and professional opinions about Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter and Google+. I can't tell you how many people have told me they just don't get it or they don't use it, but are sure it will deliver something useful if they just found the time for it. Well, yes, time is the key. Own it, develop it and measure it. And remember that it won't happen overnight.
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
Thursday, January 2, 2014
Entitlement and the New Job Search
So I have to admit, I've been a fan of Peter Shankman's for a long time. I first heard about him when he pulled a PR stunt to get a job (he stood on a NYC street corner with his resume on the billboard he was wearing). As memorable as that was, I didn't hear about him again until I joined a group called Young PR Pros, and he was an active contributor. I've been following his adventures ever since. Luckily for me, I met him, and that kind of sealed the deal. He's a great guy, and he shares a lot on his blog. So imagine my surprise when I was reading about entitled Millenials and came across his name.
Which led me down the rabbit hole, as it does every time. I really have to get control of that. I also have to stop letting the holidays slow down my reading. By the time I got to his blog post today, it was a month old. Shame on me. And, it was a response to someone else's post on the topic. To be fair to myself, it started with a news show, and I don't really watch the news. I choose to check the news on my laptop, which is just a particular laziness on my part.
So his blog post was responding to his non-stance on Millenials during a tv show addressing the conception that Millenials don't have the job skills for most of today's jobs. For the record, he wrote, and I believe, he doesn't really have a stance based on age or label. He does likely have a stance based on the ability to complete the work requested, which is where the job search comes in. It's all well and good to graduate from college. I'm a big fan, having done it myself. But why don't we inject a little reality into the situation?
I see entry level salaries for jobs purporting to be entry level jobs with mid-range level responsibilities. I've seen entry level jobs that pay $30-40K annually where the person hired for the job is responsible for the marketing and PR strategy. Not just executing the strategy, but creating it. I am sure there are recent graduates who can handle this type of responsibility, and do it well. I'm not even going to address my thoughts on why it is, exactly, that companies choose to take two entirely different disciplines like marketing and PR and blend them together. That's an insane expectation for your average college graduate. The best part? The new grads believe they can do it, if only they were given the chance. Better yet, they think they are entitled to the job because they've never failed, or they got good grades and graduated magna cum laude.
New grads are really looking for that $60-100K salary, though, which is really why they take jobs taht include responsibilities they have no idea how to accomplish, much less in an environment that frequently requires working with people who have a dotted line responsibility to you. But new grads don't want just a job. They want thejob salary that was promised to them when they started college. Which is what a lot of more experienced job seekers are looking for, too. And they're struggling to find a job that will pay the mortgage and car payment and whatever else after having been down-sized. They're truly qualified for that entry level job that pays $30-40K, but they may not be able to afford to take that job. Or they feel like they shouldn't have to take a pay cut so they can be employed again.
It's pretty amazing to look at job descriptions, though. No longer is an intern or new grad asked to file and get coffee, maybe put together a PPT. Take a look at LinkedIn, and sort by entry level jobs. You might be amazed at the expectations, but those job descriptions reflect the opportunity companies are taking in a depressed job market to hire the best candidate for the least amount of money. If their HR professional can find and hire someone willing and mostly able to do the work, even if they've never done anything like it before outside of a paper for a class. But...if you hire someone who is a new grad and expects to work an 80 hour week to get the job done, then bully for you. It is amazing, though, to hear the kerfuffle over how Millenials aren't able to do the jobs they were hired to do. Of course they aren't. The job market is such that the job responsibilities went up and the salaries went down. I've looked at jobs that pay $30-40K and haven't applied. Not because of the money, but because there were responsibilities in the job description that I had never done before and they were asking for 3-5 years experience. It doesn't take long for employers to figure out you are on a learning curve, which is what an entry level position is for. Not to hire someone who hasn't ever converted a PPT to a Prezi for use at a trade show or conference call, but you expect them to be able to because you listed it in the job requirements.
The point here is, entitlement isn't just for Millenials. I've met a lot of entitled people, and read a lot of job descriptions that sound like the person or company writing them feels as though they are entitled to the best for less. I have found that entitlement is something everyone can fall victim to. If you listen carefully, entitled people tend to believe they deserve something and it comes through loud and clear in the way they speak and carry themselves. I'm not putting anyone down, here. It's just interesting to me that there's this disconnect between people who believe your actual experience and the way you present and carry yourself matters, and people who believe that because they want it, they should have it, for the simple reason that they exist and no matter what actual experience they have.
Which led me down the rabbit hole, as it does every time. I really have to get control of that. I also have to stop letting the holidays slow down my reading. By the time I got to his blog post today, it was a month old. Shame on me. And, it was a response to someone else's post on the topic. To be fair to myself, it started with a news show, and I don't really watch the news. I choose to check the news on my laptop, which is just a particular laziness on my part.
So his blog post was responding to his non-stance on Millenials during a tv show addressing the conception that Millenials don't have the job skills for most of today's jobs. For the record, he wrote, and I believe, he doesn't really have a stance based on age or label. He does likely have a stance based on the ability to complete the work requested, which is where the job search comes in. It's all well and good to graduate from college. I'm a big fan, having done it myself. But why don't we inject a little reality into the situation?
I see entry level salaries for jobs purporting to be entry level jobs with mid-range level responsibilities. I've seen entry level jobs that pay $30-40K annually where the person hired for the job is responsible for the marketing and PR strategy. Not just executing the strategy, but creating it. I am sure there are recent graduates who can handle this type of responsibility, and do it well. I'm not even going to address my thoughts on why it is, exactly, that companies choose to take two entirely different disciplines like marketing and PR and blend them together. That's an insane expectation for your average college graduate. The best part? The new grads believe they can do it, if only they were given the chance. Better yet, they think they are entitled to the job because they've never failed, or they got good grades and graduated magna cum laude.
New grads are really looking for that $60-100K salary, though, which is really why they take jobs taht include responsibilities they have no idea how to accomplish, much less in an environment that frequently requires working with people who have a dotted line responsibility to you. But new grads don't want just a job. They want the
It's pretty amazing to look at job descriptions, though. No longer is an intern or new grad asked to file and get coffee, maybe put together a PPT. Take a look at LinkedIn, and sort by entry level jobs. You might be amazed at the expectations, but those job descriptions reflect the opportunity companies are taking in a depressed job market to hire the best candidate for the least amount of money. If their HR professional can find and hire someone willing and mostly able to do the work, even if they've never done anything like it before outside of a paper for a class. But...if you hire someone who is a new grad and expects to work an 80 hour week to get the job done, then bully for you. It is amazing, though, to hear the kerfuffle over how Millenials aren't able to do the jobs they were hired to do. Of course they aren't. The job market is such that the job responsibilities went up and the salaries went down. I've looked at jobs that pay $30-40K and haven't applied. Not because of the money, but because there were responsibilities in the job description that I had never done before and they were asking for 3-5 years experience. It doesn't take long for employers to figure out you are on a learning curve, which is what an entry level position is for. Not to hire someone who hasn't ever converted a PPT to a Prezi for use at a trade show or conference call, but you expect them to be able to because you listed it in the job requirements.
The point here is, entitlement isn't just for Millenials. I've met a lot of entitled people, and read a lot of job descriptions that sound like the person or company writing them feels as though they are entitled to the best for less. I have found that entitlement is something everyone can fall victim to. If you listen carefully, entitled people tend to believe they deserve something and it comes through loud and clear in the way they speak and carry themselves. I'm not putting anyone down, here. It's just interesting to me that there's this disconnect between people who believe your actual experience and the way you present and carry yourself matters, and people who believe that because they want it, they should have it, for the simple reason that they exist and no matter what actual experience they have.
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