Career management expert Ginny Clarke – who is featured in the February issue of Today’s Chicago Woman – shares an interesting technique for jobseekers and career changers who are in the dark about the next step in their career.

When I was 10

She calls it “When I Was Ten,” and it’s a suggestion to look back at the time when you were 10 and remember what you wanted to be when you grew up. Did you want to be a cowgirl, a nurse, a teacher or U.S. President? Whatever dreams you had then may not be directly relevant to your career path today, but some of the things you enjoyed can be a springboard to insights and ultimately, your next job.

When I was 10, I wanted to be a fiction writer. Inspired by all the Nancy Drew mysteries, my best friend Martha and I each started writing what became, for me, a 15,000-word novel – The Adventures of Pat and Peggy. Pat (the pretty, brave one) and Peggy (the chubby but sweet-natured scaredy-cat) were twins, and not unlike Ms. Drew and friends, Pat and Peggy attempted to solve a lot of mysteries in the small farming community where they lived.

 Martha and I enjoyed countless hours sitting happily on her front porch, writing our novels on thin-lined notebook paper tucked into three-ring binders. We occasionally stopped to read passages to each other, only to plunge in again with our hand-written reveries.

That love of writing became, for me, a love for journalism in college, and ultimately a passion for my profession – public relations.  2012 marks my 40^th year in PR, and I love it more than ever, thanks to all the challenges in a digital age where I’ve had to learn so many new functions.

I didn’t expect to still be at it. Truth be told, I suffered from career burn-out multiple times.  Also, I had another life-long passion which I hoped to turn into a career:  art.  A painter all my life, I can’t count all the art workshops and courses at the School of the Art Institute which I took, learned from and enjoyed.

Ten years ago, my career plan called for retiring from PR and traveling around the country in a trailer, exhibiting and hopefully selling my paintings at art fairs. That was plan A. Plan B called for retiring to a small town and selling my paintings online while volunteering to make the world a better place.

I doubt either of those things will happen anytime soon. I’m in love with PR – especially the writing side. Social media platforms and blogs have given me that gift. They have rekindled my passion for writing in the way I experienced it when I was 10.

 That’s my story, now tell me yours. What did you want to be when you were 10?

At the Entrepreneurial Woman’s Conference last Wednesday, I hosted a roundtable discussion on “High-impact Public Relations.” Conversations with the 20 or so small business owners who dropped by my table showed they were still trying to wrap their heads around social media. 

They either didn’t use social media at all, or they had a bright-and-shiny young person on staff to whom they paid $45,000 a year to manage their company’s Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and You Tube accounts. The jury’s out on the ROI, although one business owner said she knew of a mid-sized, woman-owned company that had actually won a piece or two of business using social media.

Here’s the “$45,000 Question”: If you’re not a large consumer-oriented company or a high-profile celebrity, can social media really impact your bottom line? Is it really worth the time and financial investment?

Here is my best advice for (really small) businesses.

• Engage in social media without going overboard. If you’re a one or two-person business operating on a shoestring budget, you may not have the time but you still need a presence. Put those LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter badges on your website, but accept the fact that, at least for now, you’re not doing more than basic tweeting, posting and connecting.
• Put most of your marketing time and dollars into traditional marketing.  At the very least, that means getting your name in print. Depending on the nature of your business and your target market, you need to be featured in newspapers, magazines, blogs, television and radio. If you’re a b-to-b business, get quoted in trade publications, or offer to write bylined articles to demonstrate your expertise. Share the coverage through your social media channels and e-mail marketing.
• Embrace e-mail marketing. Every organization needs some type of e-mail marketing program.  It can be as simple as promotional fliers or a weekly e-newsletter to your target market.  Sharing what you have to offer on a regular basis can work magic.
• Be visible.  Get active in professional and civic organizations, and attend charity and community functions. Add all those new contacts to your database, and find ways to stay in touch. Be helpful to them, and they may return the favor.

Finally, stop thinking you have to do it all.  Do you know how many blogs were launched but are languishing due to neglect?  The same with Twitter accounts and Facebook fan pages.  Marketing is as important as it always was, but the rules have changed.  Venture forth, but know and accept your limitations.

Does your PR program have what it takes to make you the Jean Nidetch of your niche? Who’s she, you ask? Tsk tsk. 

Jean is the grandma of all weight-loss programs – Weight Watchers International. At 87, she’s still preaching the gospel of her unique brand of slow, steady weight loss. Jean was a New York homemaker in a size 44 dress when she decided to drop the pounds at a nearby weight-loss class. Would you want to walk through the doors of a building whose sign read “Obesity Clinic”? Jean didn’t either, so she created her own support group with a more palatable title: Weight Watchers. It was an overnight sensation.

I saw firsthand how it well it worked because I not only joined the program but publicized it. My first PR stint almost 40 years ago was for Weight Watchers of Chicago. Back then, it was a relatively new concept, and the media ate it up. I wrote case history after case history of men and women who had a double-digit and an occasional triple-digit weight loss.

The same marketing and PR principles that helped make Weight Watchers a household word still apply today. Here’s how you can make them work for you.

Differentiate yourself from competitors. An admitted compulsive eater, Jean knew from experience that “diets” don’t work, so she created “meal plans” that included breakfast, lots of fruits and vegetables – a little bit of everything from the different food groups but in moderation. The goal was to lose 1 or 2 pounds a week – and keep it off for life with a “maintenance plan.”

Offer something extra. Jean started the business in her home, charging $2 a week (the same price as a movie ticket) but soon realized that some participants needed extra support. She increased the number of weekly classes and told everyone they could come as often as they liked. It was a concept that stuck. Membership burgeoned – eventually into the millions. 

Tell your story. Jean had a great story to tell and she knew it. She did a ton of media interviews and wrote an autobiography, The Story of Weight Watchers. She encouraged those who reached their weight loss goals to share THEIR stories and hired them as her class instructors. In the business world, storytelling is one of the most effective ways to convince and convert.

Build your tribe. Back in the 60s and 70s, tribe-building relied on testimonials, publicity and advertising. Those tactics still work for Weight Watchers, but social media outlets like Facebook, Twitter and blogs make it even easier to engage and share. Jean also understood the power of word-of-mouth marketing, which is better targeted and more persuasive. If you can get people talking up your brand, it’ll drive traffic to your door. 

Create a persona. Jean went from an overweight brunette to a blonde bombshell. She understood that looking great was part of the persona that would enable her business to grow. Guess what? When Heinz bought her company, they hired her as their spokesperson. To this day, she’s revered by some, and was mobbed by well-wishers at a recent Weight Watchers convention. Lesson learned: create and build the right persona for your brand, and it can help take your business to the next level.

Think big. When Weight Watchers turned 10, Jean threw a party. But not just any party. Hers was held at Madison Square Garden, and it garnered a ton of press that helped propel her business to the next level. She listened to her advisors and started selling Weight Watcher franchises (like the one I worked for). And, she was never shy when it came to working the media. She realized the press could be her best ally, and they were. Ultimately, Weight Watchers International became a billion-dollar business with franchises in 24 countries.

Today, Jean Nidetch, at 87, is still slim though she needs a walker to get around. Twice divorced, she lives modestly in a retirement community apartment surrounded by photos of herself with celebrities. It was never about the money but the gratitude, she says.

There’s a lot you can learn from Jean’s experiences, both professionally and personally. Some of her strategies just may work for you.

My e-learning is on pause. No webinars or seminars allowed during July.

Okay, maybe a couple.  One will be the July meeting  of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), my new go-to place for education. You don’t have to be a member to attend, and their programs are always good and useful. 

At the June luncheon meeting, a packed house heard some of the biggest names in Chicago’s social media stratosphere – Adam Keats (Weber Shandwick), Mike Pilarz (Burson-Marsteller), and Glenn Raines (Social Media Moves) – chew on the future of social media. They didn’t disappoint.

Here were my take-aways.

• Be clear about your own social media objectives. Is it awareness, engagement, or both? Historically, PR is about awareness, but the Internet and social media have changed that. More often than not, it’s both. But not always.
• The jury is out on the value of geographic platforms like Foursquare. Because I don’t have consumer clients, I wrote those off right away, and it seems I’m not the only one. The jury is out on location-based platforms, according to the speakers.
• Smaller, closer networks of people are the wave of the future. For my small brand, I’ve never understood the value of a gazillion followers on Twitter, most of whom I don’t know and never will. I don’t accept invitations to become a Facebook friend unless I know the person, and of course, LinkedIn requires you to know the person before “connecting.”
• Use caution when signing up for the so-called “flavor of the month.” This was a response to my question about Facebook’s brand-new feature called “Branch Out,” which seems to be taking off – and perhaps taking on LinkedIn.
• When you’re a popular brand like Apple, you don’t have to work very hard at  enthusiastic engagement. The rest of us have to produce blood, sweat and tears for every “like” we eek out, then hope it converts to a sale.

Another recent PRSA speaker, Gini Dietrich shared her own social media activity. On Twitter alone, she posts — get this – 200 tweets a day. Some of my PR friends say this is spamming, hands down, but I’m not so sure. She schedules one tweet an hour between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. in advance and allocates the other 175 tweets to direct messages and retweets. And that’s just on Twitter. She’s on Facebook, Linked In, Google+, writes a daily blog, and services who knows how many clients with her staff of six.

Gini already recognizes that direct-contact and active “listening” are the way to go – IF  you’re looking to strengthen relationships and build business. She seems to be doing it all.  I admire her.

Building a Facebook fan base can be extremely time-consuming, but Facebook has made it easier with its new “Best Practices Guide.”

The 14-page guide does a good job of explaining not only how businesses can build a fan base but also how to use Facebook to reach specific business objectives.

 The guide opens with five “guiding principles”: build a strategy that is social by design, create an authentic brand voice, make it interactive, nurture your relationships, and keep learning.

Next comes common business objectives and ways to reach them.  These include building awareness, differentiating yourself from the competition, increasing traffic and sales, building loyalty, and gaining insights by observing customer’s actions and comments.

What I found really helpful are 14 actual case studies of some of the bigger brands and how they’ve used Facebook to reach a specific objective.  Here are three of them: 

• To build awareness of its new M&Ms Pretzel line, Mars created a Facebook app called the M&M’s Pretzel Vending Machine. By liking the page, some 40,000 fans were able to get a free sample delivered to them and, if they chose, two of their friends. Mars ended up distributing 120,000 samples within 48 hours.
• To increase traffic and sales, Levi’s launched its fall 2010 Workwear Collection with a 40 percent-off coupon offer that resulted in a two-fold increase to the Levi’s website within 15 minutes of it being posted on Facebook. Levi’s also used Facebook ads to drive traffic to its stores where customers received an in-store discount.
• To gain insights about its customers, VisitBritain used a Facebook ad campaign to raise brand awareness that would attract visitors to Great Britain. Every day, it posts something related to the UK for discussion. With a relatively small budget, Visit Britain has been able to write a post and know within a few minutes if it is resonating with people. Compare that to an expensive billboard campaign where it’s much harder to gauge a reaction.

What’s your Facebook success story? Send it to me via email (chris@chrisruys.com), and I’ll share it on my Facebook fan page, in a future blog post and in my e-newsletter PR NOW.

 Image by MoneyBlogNewz/Creative Commons

Guest Post 

By Jonathan Lehrer, for Chris Ruys 

 “Oh no, not another Mission Statement meeting!”

 How many times have we professionals heard such cries of anguish when faced with the prospect of updating their organization’s 10-year-old corporate mission to 21st-century language?

 Whether it’s a mission statement, a proposed Web site content tree or a plan outline, they all involve collaboration among a roomful of people.

 I’ve developed a process called “live drafting” that makes these sessions more bearable and maybe even productive.

 Through live drafting, cantankerous co-workers needing to collaborate can quickly consolidate comments on the same page.

Materials needed:

 1. Computer with any word-processing software.

2. Projector and screen (or Smartboard).

 3. Facilitator who’s a good listener and wordsmith as well as a quick typist (yes, I’m available!).

 Procedure:

 Set up the computer to display the word-processing window on the screen for all to see. Beginning with the initial draft is quicker than a blank screen.

 I find it easiest to facilitate the meeting and do the typing at the same type, but these jobs could be split between two people.

All eyes will be focused on the screen (as I said, everyone will be on the same page). As suggestions and comments are offered, edit the document. Remember, you’re an editor, not a court reporter. Rewrite while your colleagues talk. Participants either will say “oh, that’s a lot better than what I just said,” or, equally likely, “that’s not at all what I meant.” Your continued edits should be moving the group closer to consensus.

 (When the conversation gets off track, I’ll sometimes put a comment on the screen like “what time is lunch?” If I’m lucky, that gets a laugh and focus returns to the screen.)

 By the end of the session, you’ll have a new draft that immediately can be emailed to all participants.

You can make the entire process even more collaborative by using Google Docs and allowing computer-equipped participants in the room – or across the world – to make changes simultaneously. Try doing that with pen and paper!

Jonathan Lehrer is a Chicago-based professional communicator. He calls himself a “message therapist” and blogs at mrcommunicator.com.

I’ve been blessed to have Chicago’s Women’s Business Development Center as a client for more than 15 years. They are offering what should be an outstanding workshop series for those who want to establish or enhance their online presence. Each workshop will be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the WBDC, 8 S. Michigan Av., 4th floor.

The e-Marketing Workshop Series includes:

Wed., May 18, 2011 – Driving Traffic to Your Website: SEO and Copywriting.  Having a website is important, but even more important is the ability to get people to find and stay on your website long enough to build awareness and even buy something.  Learn to build benefit and value for your customers through the words you choose to describe your product/service.

Wed., May 25, 2011 – Online Storytelling: Business Blogging & Email Newsletters.  Got news?  Have great advice to give or a good story to share?  Learn how you can use blogs and email newsletters to reach your audience in a way that moves them into action.

Wed., June 1, 2011 – Reputation Management and Analytics.  Managing your business’ online reputation and measuring the impact of your online efforts are important tools in any business’ e-Marketing kit.  Do you know how to create buzz around your business name in order to create relationships that lead to revenue?

Wed., June 8, 2011 – Online Stores & Places You Can’t Ignore.  Want to have an online business but aren’t sure how to set one up? This workshop will discuss what you should look for in hiring an outside consultant to develop your online store, and will help you identify important online sites which can be key to your success.

 Wed., June 15, 2011 – Workin’ the Social Media Beat: Your Online Marketing Plan.  Does your online presence yield the best bang for your buck?  Without a plan and goals for using social media, many small business owners invest a lot of time without gaining the desired results from their efforts. Join us to learn how to create a social media plan to grow your business.

Wed., June 22, 2011 – Website Development for Naked Businesses.  In the Digital Age, the absence of a strong website is a missed opportunity to connect with both potential and current customers.  This workshop will discuss the basics of designing and developing a website.

Cost is $30.00 per workshop in advance, $40 at the door or $150 for the full series.  Reservations can be made online at http://www.wbdc.org or by phone at (312) 853-3477, ext 0.

Image by Rosaura Ochoa/via Creative Commons

You may be so busy “getting social” through social media that you’ve overlooked a powerful way to get exposure for your business: tried-and-true traditional media.

 Newspapers, magazines and broadcast outlets are still alive, influential and receptive to a good story and reach in a single stroke far more readers, listeners or viewers than the average tweet or blog posting. The key to success is in your approach.

 Bill Moller, host of a popular Saturday morning show on WGN radio, says he hates cookie-cutter pitches and can recognize them in a heartbeat. He responds to a great subject line, a succinct and convincing story angle, and a demonstration that you understand what he’s looking for in a guest or topic.

 Bill has 16 slots to fill each week, so he’s always looking for guests. If you’d like to be one of them, here’s the scoop.

1)      Do your homework. Before you type one word of your e-pitch, listen to some of Bill’s recent interviews which are posted on WGN’s website (http://www.wgnradio.com/shows/billmoller/).

2)      Use social media to connect. Bill is active on LinkedIn; mention my name for an immediate “connection.” You can pitch him on LinkedIn, or better yet, send an email at bmoller@wgnradio.com. 

3)      Spend 60 percent of your time writing a captivating subject line. The other 40 percent goes into your killer 3-4 paragraph pitch. For Bill (and most other reporters), that pitch better not be generic.

4)      Understand what’s really important to the person you are pitching. A newspaper guy or gal won’t care about the sound of your voice but Bill does. A raspy voice or lisp can be a knock-out factor. For Bill, projecting a passion for your subject carries slightly more weight than your knowledge about the subject matter. Not so with a print journalist who may care more about your knowledge and expertise.

5)      Follow-up call: yes or no? Bill tries to dispatch every communication with a question/suggestion, booking or rejection. He doesn’t want you to ever wonder and wait. If he should fail to respond, email him again. No phone calls please.  

6)      Just say yes. If Bill, or any reporter for that matter, responds to your pitch, be available. As in, right now. That may mean postponing a meeting, a vacation or even changing the date of your daughter’s bas mitzvah (kidding).

7)      Can you bring along notes?  Bill says, no way. He likes spontaneity, not recitation from a script. But you CAN bring along your camera. Bill will pose in a picture, and you’re welcome to post it on your blog or Facebook fan page.

8)      Follow up. There’s nothing that says thanks like a thank-you note to the person who gave you ink or air time. For Bill, it can be an email with a link to your blog where the photo is posted.

Unless you’ve worked with the media, this approach may seem time-consuming, even daunting, but it works. Trust me. You CAN have your 15 (or merely 5) minutes of fame. It’s there for the asking.

Image by Cindy Funk

Based on a new study, “The Science of Timing,” Dan Zarella, a self-described social media scientist, evaluated the best times to post updates on Twitter and Facebook. Here are some factoids that caught my eye.

• The later in the day and week you Tweet, the more “retweetable” you are.  If you’re looking for people to share your content through RTs, try those time periods. 
• The more you Tweet, the less people click through to your content. Dan found that the more you Tweet per hour, the more your click through rate declines.  So, if you’re trying to drive traffic to your content (vs. being an information source) be conscientious about how much you Tweet. 
• Weekends are the best for Facebook sharing.  There is a substantial uptick in Facebook shares on the weekend.  So, don’t be afraid to post your content on the weekend.  
• Weekends can also be a good time for email.  More opens per day and clicks per day occur on the weekends. However, more abuse reports are also reported on the weekend.  So, if you have targeted, useful content – experiment with emailing on weekends.  
• Frequency of email does not heavily impact click throughs or unsubscribe rates.  Unsubscribe rates are the highest when you only send one email per month.  So, if you’ve kept your target engaged after one email, try sending them more.  It does not seem to impact whether or not they subscribe to your content. 
• Newer subscribers are more likely to click through to your content.  So, hit users with your best offer early on. 
• Frequency matters when blogging.  The more you post, the more unique page views and links you’ll garner per month.

I’ve started working with a social media trainer, who is willing to answer what I call my periodic “quick questions.” At this stage of the game, it’s a perfect routine for me.

Even if you’re determined to “work it out” on your own, you may want to read Mana Ionescu’s hand-out, which she calls the Daily Social Media Workout (TM). I’ve been following her basic drill, and yep, it works. Best of all, it doesn’t take much time.

Based on her suggestions, along with stuff I’ve learned from other sources and my own interpretations, here’s a routine I think anyone can live with.

The Warm-up

Sign up for a social media application like HootSuite, TweetDeck or Seesmic that lets you follow your friends, followers and connections in one place. These platforms also let you schedule postings in advance – a huge time-saver.

Sign up for your preferred ways to get news for sharing with your contacts. You can do this through both an RSS feed (using Google Reader) or through direct subscriptions where the news arrives in your inbox.

Set up an account with bit.ly that lets you tweet news at the same time as you’re shortening the url. It’s a necessity if you’re using Twitter, which only allows 140 characters per tweet.

The Work-out

Twitter

• Post two interesting news items a day with brief commentary

• Post something about yourself or your business

• Re-tweet two interesting tweets

Facebook fan & LinkedIn

• Update your status at least once a day by sharing two pieces of news or other information. Now here’s the really important part.

• Chat directly with three people you already know but haven’t connected with for a while.

• Make friends with three new people; this will expand your network.

• Write a comment on the page of a new contact.

The Cool Down

Give thanks. If someone re-tweets one of your tweets, or leaves a comment, respond with a thank-you.

You may even begin to enjoy this workout, but if not, don’t sweat it. Just get started, and create a routine you can live with.