When it comes to finding a PR or social media job, landing the interview, or even receiving the offer letter, students and pros can leverage several key strategies for successful job searches. Remember those little sayings your mom always said you to growing up? Might I suggest we revisit those for some quick tips on landing the job or internship:

1. Don’t Talk to Strangers:

I know we weren’t supposed to talk to people we did not know, but now with social media and networking, you can easily connect with people outside of your tight-knit network.

Sherrie Bakshi recently shared some insight into networking for jobs on ComPRehension in “It’s Not Just About Being a PR Expert – Become an Industry Expert”

• Network beyond your professional circle
• Attend events where you could be of potential value
• Use social media to interact with other types of professionals

2. Eat Your Vegetables:

The vegetables of the PR industry are the key industry blogs, sites and trends that professionals read on a daily basis. Gaining knowledge about the industry is important when preparing for a networking event or interview. Become well-versed in key industry blogs, sites and trends important to PR professionals. The popular digital media news site Mashable includes several PR professionals’ tips about knowing your stuff before the interview in “How TO: Land a Career in Digital Public Relations.”

What are some other ways you can be prepared? Dan Schawbel highlights some great tips for being knowledgeable before the interview in “To be a Generalist or a Specialist”:

“Gain Knowledge: Purchase books or eBooks on your topic on Amazon, the iPad, or any other site or device that you use. Also, you should register for google.com/reader and subscribe to blogs and traditional news sources in your area so that you’ll always be up-to-date and relevant. You could also take online classes or on-site classes at your nearest college if you want to spruce up your skills.”

3. Stay Active:

There are thousands of employers and recruiters utilizing social media. By being active in social media, you can easily connect with PR professionals to network, gain insight into the job search process, or even land an interview.

PRSA recently hosted a panel of key PR professionals who offered “10 Tips to get PR jobs through social media” :

A few highlights include:

• Include more specifics: Especially on your LinkedIn profile, make sure to include detailed information about your previous experience.
• Tame your screen names: Don’t use “cute” email addresses, twitter handles, etc.
• Connect on Facebook and/or LinkedIn: Don’t just reply or RT someone on twitter, use the other mediums including Facebook messages or LinkedIn.
• Join Groups: Utilize an already established to find available job positions or hiring managers.
• Continue learning: Always be looking for another relevant blog or case study.
• Remember job interviews are a test: Recruiters notice misspellings and typos on your social media accounts.

4. Say Please and Thank You:

Offer a thank you and a follow up to the potential employer, recruiter or interviewer — this shows you appreciated their time and are interested in the position.

Arik Hanson suggests using social media for the Thank You in “6 Creative Ways to Land a Job in Digital PR”

“Write a blog thank you: A friend of mine  recently had a candidate who thanked her for an interview via a blog post (she also sent a private note and posted a note on her Facebook page). The end result? The candidate got the job. If you’re applying for a job in the digital realm, why not put one of the primary tactics to good use?”

So, if you’re looking for a job or internship in PR – don’t necessarily listen to your mom’s childhood rules. At BLASTmedia we are always looking for great talent. If you are interested in working with us, send your resume to indyjobs@blastmedia.com.

Aside from gathering to hear top speakers discuss topics ranging from social media to technical development, content creation, revenue generation and more, ZOMM set-up a booth outside the sessions to demo the product and network with both familiar and new faces. Equipped with matching t-shirts and a customized van, the ZOMM team generated a ton of buzz throughout the weekend. Here are a few pics taken at the event:

The experience at OpenCamp was highlighted with a skydiving display by the Army Golden Knights on Friday night. Opencamp organizer, John Pozadzides, participated in the jump and actually pulled out his ZOMM (which was pre-programmed to dial Cali Lewis instead of 911) and made a call. When Cali answered the call, those people standing by on the ground were able to hear John describe what it was like to be dropping from the sky!

Visit ZOMM’s Facebook page to see a video of John’s reaction to the call.

Aside from making a giant splash in the blogosphere, ZOMM has also been shining in the national media spotlight. Check out where ZOMM has been featured in the news lately:

• BusinessWeek
• ABC World News Now
• RadarOnline
• Examiner.com

Want to learn more about ZOMM’s time at OpenCamp? Vist their Flickr, Facebook Page, Twitter or YouTube channel!

That is a staggering figure considering most people use the website to post pictures of their dogs and “like” status updates. The “Facebook machine” isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, so unless you want to look into the supposed “Facebook alternative,” Diaspora (launching September 15th), this is your only option.

In the past few weeks, the social network has announced a few changes and additions to their site. These changes would include shrinking the width of pages and removing the “boxes” tab from profiles and pages. The biggest addition is the supposed “Foursquare killer,” Places.

If you have yet to dive into these latest developments, I’m here to help you better understand the changes and become more familiar with their new location based option.

Fan Page Shrinkage

Effective as of August 23rd, Facebook has decided to remove the familiar 760px page width and convert all fan page tabs to 520px. This not only changes the way Fan Pages are made, but also give you less room to create apps, landing pages, and more.

If you have logged in recently to discover the page that you admin has changed, you are not alone. All of the images or apps on your tabs could still be at the 760px size. Your visitors will notice the difference and if you have not changed the pixel ratio, now is a good time.

If you are using Static FBML to create your tabs, one simple solution to the width change is placing width=”520px” between img src=. (Example: <img width=”520px” src=http://……)

Pack Up The Boxes

Another change recently announced is the removal of the Boxes tab, as well as any boxes appearing in the side bar of the page. Prior to this change, whenever you added FBML tabs, RSS feeds, or other miscellaneous applications to a page, you could choose to place them in the Boxes tab or a sidebar box on the wall.

Facebook has started notifying users via messaging in profile boxes, as well as in their Help Center, that the Boxes tab will be going away. If you want the content formerly contained in these boxes to appear on a Facebook page, you will need to create new custom tabs.

Oh, The Places You’ll Go

Location based applications such as Foursquare and Gowalla have become all of the rage, connecting users to discounts at restaurants — or just informing others on where you are currently residing. (I have yet to jump on the bandwagon.)

Facebook saw this vast opportunity and recently created Places. Currently, the option is only available on iPhone or their mobile site, but it gives the already 500 million Facebook users the chance to keep their “location party” all under one roof vs. using another application.

If you are familiar with Foursquare, the concept is very similar: Check in where you are located, but now your update will appear on the Place page, your friends’ News Feeds and your Wall. (It’s just another way for creepers to meet you in person!)

————————

We all moan and complain every time Facebook adds, changes, or modifies their site. (We even make Facebook fan pages dedicated to our hatred with the new layout or look.) Until there is a sufficient alternative to this social network, we have to adapt to their changes and give Facebook a big bear hug.

Let’s start with Emily: by facilitating a giveaway with a YouTube reviewer, one of her clients saw a huge increase in website traffic and sales. This weekend, Emily is traveling to Dallas for OpenCamp, a multi-platform web conference to represent ZOMM — an amazing device that keeps you from losing your cell phone.

Megan Giannini recently transitioned to the consumer PR team and immediately secured awesome coverage! This month, for H2O Audio, Megan got Gadgeteer to review their waterproof Nano case and had Newsweek, Gadling and laptopmag.com raving about Lug.

And last, but certainly not least, Patrick Tarpey has killed it this month! Check out some of the awesome press he earned for his clients!

• WIRED.com posted a great review (8/10 stars) of the Dexim DCA199 Solar Powered P-Flip
• ZDNET.com featured Pelican’s 1090 Hardback Laptop case
• ABC World News Now included ZOMM in their back to school guide

If you’re not familiar with the list, here’s a quick explanation according to Inc.:

“the list is a distinguished editorial award, a celebration of innovation, a network of entrepreneurial leaders, and an effective public relations showcase. The Inc. 500|5000 ranks companies by overall revenue growth over a three-year period.”

Weighing in at #256 this year is Skullcandy. The Utah-based headphone company has a unique style that’s recognized all over the world and is always bringing something new. Now, you can even try on “augmented reality headphones” in the Virtual Room to try out your headphones before you buy! Learn more about the company by checking out the Inc. profile!

Also on the list is Pelican Products — a global manufacturer of advanced lighting systems, rugged protector cases and shipping containers. Ranking at #1726 this year, Pelican has jumped more than 1,800 places since last year’s list where it was listed at #3553!

We certainly have a wide range of clients at BLASTmedia — and whether your company is already on the Inc. 500|5000, or just getting started, we’d love to be a part of the team and help tell your story!

The social media team at BLASTmedia created this fun, informative video to demonstrate the amazing power of YouTube as a social media marketing tool.

YouTube accounts for almost half of online video views by the U.S. Internet audience.  In fact, YouTube hosts more than 144 million unique viewers each month — that’s one third of the entire U.S. population.

Did you know in 60 days, more video content is uploaded to YouTube than the three major TV networks uploaded in 60 years? This translates to 2 million hours worth of content (viralblog.com).

With this volume of traffic, it is no wonder YouTube has surpassed Yahoo as the #2 search engine in October 2008 (and is still holding steady). Furthermore, Google purchased YouTube in 2006, which allows for a higher chance of reaching page 1 of the search engine results page (SERP) in a Google search.

As far as community building, YouTube provides cross platform interaction and social networking. You can link your YouTube content to Facebook, Twitter and Google Reader. As with any other social network, users are able to subscribe, add friends and comment on other YouTube videos, too.

As new mobile technologies emerge, YouTube’s reach will continue to grow. Viewers can now access nearly 100 million videos from YouTube’s mobile site.

Clearly, the power of YouTube can be harnessed as a strong marketing tool because of traffic generation, search engine optimization, cross platform interactivity, social networking and increased mobile access.

To get the full scoop on the power of YouTube, make sure to check out BLASTmedia’s new video! And, big props to our own Blake Fife for his video editing skills and Sean Ireton for the narration!

SO, BLASTmedia is thrilled to announce that the public-at-large will now be made aware of Julie’s abundance of knowledge when it comes to social media marketing on YouTube in order to achieve increased traffic & lead generation, improved SEO and higher sales conversions…

That’s because (drum roll please!), released today from Entrepreneur Magazine’s Entrepreneur Press, it’s the latest book from online marketing expert, Mitch Meyerson:

“Success Secrets of the Social Media Marketing Superstars,” featuring the priceless tactics
and insights of more than 20 of today’s social media elite (including our Julie Perry)!

Handpicked to cover almost every aspect of social media marketing, this book’s distinguished team of contributing social media experts open their playbooks and teach readers how to create effective social media campaigns that reach out to millions.

Julie’s chapter on mastering YouTube, entitled “YouTube: Leveraging the Power of Google to Get Your Video Content to Millions” (read an excerpt from her chapter here), is featured alongside other well-known social media authorities such as:

• Everybody’s favorite wine connoisseur and New York Times bestselling author, Gary Vaynerchuk (@GaryVee) — who writes on building mega-followings online
• Chris Brogan (@ChrisBrogan), also a New York Times bestselling author, whose chapter is on Building Communities
• “The Pied Piper of the Online World” (as dubbed by FastCompany.com) and author of Facebook Marketing: An Hour A Day, Mari Smith (@MariSmith)
• Denise Wakeman (@DeniseWakeman), blogging expert and founder of The Blog Squad.
• Founder and CEO of Copyblogger Media, Brian Clark (@copyblogger) and his chapter on the psychology of social media marketing
• Founder of the popular online social media magazine, Social Media Examiner, Michael Stelzner (@Michael_Stelzner)
• Twitter expert and author of Twitter Revolution, Deborah Cole Micek (@CoachDeb)

As you can imagine, our BLASTmedia team is oh-so-proud of our very own social media superstar, Julie Perry, for being chosen to appear alongside this all-star group!

Grab your copy of Success Secrets of the Social Media Marketing Superstars today and get eight audio and video bonuses at www.SocialMediaMarketingSuperstars.com. And look for the full page ad in Entrepreneur Magazine — on the stands now!

*And remember, if the increasingly complex social media landscape is too much for your company to wade through, you can always just leave it to the experts at BLASTmedia to increase your online (and offline!) visibility and sales today!

Yes, in case you were wondering, we ate all of the above (with the obvious exception of Tickle-Me-Elmo III)!

It was a great day all around with many memories made, including watching a guy awkwardly dance with his cheesy potato curls as he slowly sat down on a bench, Ashley and Blake eating the Fried Butter (video below), and Kiersten, Emily and I plotting an incredible, Hollywood blockbuster movie involving farm machinery (keep your eyes peeled for this one in the next few years).

Here’s a photo of the BLAST crew at the fair and a short video of Blake and his Fried Butter experience. Thanks for another great event, BLAST!

]]> http://www.blastmedia.com/blog/2010/08/blastmedia-visits-the-indiana-state-fair/feed/ 0 http://www.blastmedia.com/blog/2010/08/blastmedia-visits-the-indiana-state-fair/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BLASTmedia/~3/9QXzE1ZbhRE/ http://www.blastmedia.com/blog/2010/08/gifts-galore-new-york-international-gift-fair/#comments Thu, 19 Aug 2010 14:10:00 +0000 Carey http://www.blastmedia.com/blog/?p=2073 On Tuesday, while the rest of our Indy office made our annual trip to the Indiana State Fair (more on that in a future post), I took a trip to an entirely different type of fair: the New York International Gift Fair (NYIGF). It may still be the summer, but that doesn’t mean we don’t already have holiday gift giving on our minds. In fact, we’ve been working on magazine gift guides for a couple of months already. In case you missed it, here are a few of our tips for how to get your products in holiday gift guides.

The NYIGF, held semiannually at the Javits Center, showcases nearly every type of gift you could imagine wanting to give or receive from more than 2,700 companies. From handmade and fair trade goods to collectibles, housewares and jewelry, the fair offers something for everyone. If you’re looking for a unique gift for late summer wedding or are already writing your holiday wish list, here’s a look at a few of the BLASTmedia clients that exhibited at the NYIGF:

Mimoco displayed their newest designer USB flash drives, including their Hello Kitty, tokidoki and Star Wars collections.

Mimoco's NYIGF Booth

Nanodots, magnetic micro constructors, are a versatile gift– perfect for creative kids or adults!

Our friends at YUBZ introduced a few of their newest products, including the Mood Light Elevator and Desktop Organizer.

YUBZ NYIGF Booth

Just in time for fall and winter, Lug showcased their newest bags and travel accessories at NYIGF.

Lug's NYIGF Booth

And last but not least, no trip is complete without taking a peek at SkyMall. The catalog didn’t disappoint, with Dexim landing on the cover.

SkyMall Featuring Dexim

“A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences…and a pitch should contain no unnecessary words, sentences or paragraphs.”

As public relations professionals, we pitch on a daily basis, constantly tweaking and perfecting our writing to be more precise, simple and informative. When it comes to the elements of a good pitch, we sometimes forget we can simply go back to the basics. Ashley put together a presentation recently where she outlined the most basic elements of the pitch—and called it the “The Pitchwich.” (She personally thinks of it as a turkey sandwich, but it’s really up to you) Let’s break it down:

1. Bread slice = Greeting/Relevant tie-in (problem)

An email greeting might sound simple, but that’s not always the case. Kathleen Fasanella from Fashion-Incubator highlighted some good greetings she’d received from PR pitches:

• Addressed contact by name – not by a nickname.
• The PR rep didn’t pretend they were a “huge fan” of the blog.  Mention it, but don’t over-sell it.

Why are you sharing this info? Kevin Dugan from the “Bad Pitch Blog” sums it up best when he writes, “Reporters don’t want random pitches, they want to hear about companies, insights, services and sources that are going to fill out and support the stories they are already working on. As a PR professional, you need to find reporters that cover topics related to your company or client, and you need to find a way to give them what they need, in a way that they can use it. If this means doing extra research, and going the extra mile, go for it.

2. Mayo = Introduction of product/service (solution)

This element shows how the client relates to a greeting, and can be a one-sentence statement of who/what the product/service is. In other words, tell them what the heck it is.

3. Meat = Details on client’s product/service

They know what it is; now why should they care? This is where you get to tell Mr. Journalist why your client is the best. Include key info on the client that separates them from competition and highlight why they should be interested. Bad Pitch Blog shows how to include the info:

• Short URLs for easier sharing
• Links to very specific content based on journalist’s needs
• Group together information to make it more of a palette of relevant content from which they can plug and play

4. Bread slice = Closing and call to action

The last step is a call to action—what do you want from them? Include a final question to offer an interview, product sample or additional information and/or images. Thank them for their time and let them know you are available for questions. Don’t forget to include all of your contact details!

Business Week gave some helpful suggestions for pitching in their article, “The Three Elements of an Inspiring Pitch.”

• Be Understandable. Eliminate buzzwords and jargon from your conversation. Sell the benefit behind your product or service quickly and with simple words, and don’t make it too hard for people to understand what you do.
• Be Memorable. Your pitch will most certainly fail if nobody can remember it. One effective way of making your ideas easy to remember is by using analogies and metaphors to compare the idea, product or service with something that your audience is more familiar with.
• Be Emotional. Make them believe that you believe in what you are saying, and have a connection.

So, make William Strunk Jr. proud, and go back to the 1918-basics–make every word, sentence, paragraph, and pitch count.