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The 4 attributes of a great marketing hire.

When I’m looking for the next great marketing mind or business development genius, I’m not looking for just an employee. I’m looking for a partner. Being smart and having a great college pedigree is carrying less and less weight these days. Bottom line: Your education is not going to make my clients ecstatic about the work we do or put my company on the front end of innovation. What companies need in today’s world is talent with the ability to think, do, and execute in any circumstance – without anyone holding their hand.

Here’s what I look for when I hire people. It’s not exactly traditional HR wisdom. But I’m not looking for traditional. I’m looking for great.

1. I want someone who has failed. If you’ve failed, it means you got out there and did something big. Maybe this job candidate tried to start a company and went down in a blaze of glory. Maybe they tried to build a product or launch a marketing plan with no idea what they were doing, and it failed. That’s actually good. That I can work with — way more than someone who swallowed the business school textbook. Because if the candidate has been through failure, it means they tried something big. It means they had the wherewithal to get some power, the curiosity to go somewhere with that power, the leadership to get people invested in the project, and the chutzpah to try something crazy.

When you hire a candidate with at least one big, messy failure behind them, you know that person has at least one use case for what didn’t work. It’s much more productive to learn from a project that failed than get narcissistic about one that succeeded. To borrow from Thomas Edison, I want a candidate who can tell me about the 10,000 ways you can’t make a light bulb. That’s much more interesting than if a candidate just shows me a perfectly-made candle.

2. I hire people who got out of the classroom. Full disclosure: I was a marketing major myself. And, yes, it was helpful to learn the basics of the field, but that was far from the most valuable experience I had in college. My best learning experience was when I came in, totally green, and ran a marketing department for a company that had absolutely no budget. They didn’t have anything to lose, so I had free rein to try whatever I wanted – with the catch that I also had no resources. Everything I wanted to implement was on me to make happen. I had to go door-to-door with fliers, stay up all night to make the photocopies myself, and scrounge for anything I could do free, cheap, or stolen.

Was it dignified? No. Was it great experience that’s still informing my business today? You better believe it. There’s no better lesson in cost per lead than when it has to be zero. I want people on my team who have actually gone out there and done things.

3. I need to see references that aren’t professors. Here’s the thing: Textbook learning is at best third-hand. The visionaries who had the idea to pull off the impressive campaigns almost never become professors themselves. They’re out there, having bigger and better ideas. I want to hire someone who has learned from the visionary directly – or is one herself.

There’s no right answer in business. That lesson is different if you read about it in a book than if you’re on the team that actually failed. Brilliant people make terrible investments, successful companies make bad calls, and Windows Vista is somehow a thing someone thought was a good idea. I don’t want to work with people who think they hold all the cards. That’s why I hire people who have mentors from outside the schoolyard.

4. I’m going to hire someone who doesn’t need me to tell them how great they are. There may have been a time when validation from your company or your boss was healthy and productive. But those days are over. A great professional is not going to work at your company for 20 years – and frankly, you shouldn’t hire someone you think is going to do that. That’s what makes people stagnant, stuck in old methods, and unwilling to innovate.

I’m looking to hire someone who’s good enough to leave any minute to go solo or even found their own company. A good performance review is nice for them, but approval from me isn’t their be-all end-all. This person is building something bigger than the company they work for or the person leading the team.

Today’s truly successful professional is a brand all their own. They’re a thought leader, an innovator, a creator that has big ideas and isn’t afraid to share their opinions. They have a network and social properties that stand alone from their title within a business. When I look to hire someone, I don’t spend much time mulling over their resume. I look at their LinkedIn and Twitter, what they’ve been sharing and writing. Who are they connecting with? Do they have any influence?

I don’t want to hire someone who can make a perfect candle. I want someone who’s going to help me invent the light bulb, even if it takes 10,000 tries.

Source : http://bit.ly/1O3iJGb

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6 TRAITS SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEURS ALL SHARE

RESEARCHERS HAVE FOUND THAT SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEURS ACTUALLY HAVE SEVERAL TRAITS IN COMMON.

Entrepreneurs are the 21st century's superheroes. They develop products that make our lives easier and better, create jobs, and inspire us to follow our dreams. But it can be hard getting past the mythology around successful entrepreneurs to see what traits they actually share. That's where empirical evidence comes in handy. Here are six factors researchers say go into the entrepreneurial makeup.

1. MANY DON'T HAVE PRIOR EXPERIENCE

Few top entrepreneurs were experts in their fields when they first launched their ventures. In fact, up to half of all startup founders knew nothing about what they were getting into. Jack Ma, the billionaire founder of the e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, falls into that camp. "I have never written one code," he's said, "Never made one sale to a customer."

2. THEY HAVE BOTH COMMON SENSE AND A WILLINGNESS TO BREAK RULES

So if expertise isn't essential for leaders like Ma, what is? According to Dr. J. Robert Baum, director of entrepreneurship research at the University of Maryland, one key factor is an "experience-based accumulation of skills and explicit knowledge, as well as the ability to apply that knowledge to solve every day problems." In other words, know-how and common sense. Research suggests that although there are many kinds of intelligence that can determine success, practical intelligence is especially critical in the business world.

But being smart only goes so far. You also have to be willing to do some mischief. Researchers at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business and the London School of Economics found that successful entrepreneurs have tended to get into trouble as teenagers. According to Ross Levine, who co-authored that study, many future business leaders were keen on "breaking the rules and taking things by force" in their youths.

For example, Dean Kamen, a successful entrepreneur with over 150 patents to his name, often challenged his teachers and refused to show them his math calculations because he didn’t see the point. That resistance to doing what you’re told seems to serve entrepreneurs well in challenging the status quo.

3. THEY HAVE A KNACK FOR TAKING RISKS

A knack for taking risks is a third factor. However, the Berkeley-LSE study found that entrepreneurs are driven less by their love of risk-taking than by aversion to losing. The researchers defined loss aversion as a fear of losing one’s salary and prestige at a full-time job. The larger the loss aversion, the more effort an entrepreneur will put into succeeding.

Entrepreneurs also share confidence in the face of risk, a trait that usually comes in two varieties—general and task-specific. A blend of the two is a strong indicator of entrepreneurial success, as business leaders need to be able to step into the unknown, believing they can turn an idea into something of widespread value despite the challenges that stand in their way.

Take Elon Musk, for example, an entrepreneur whose confidence never seems to flag as he launches one bold new venture after another. "Starting a company is like eating glass and staring into the abyss," he said at the New York Times Dealbook conference in 2013. "If you feel like you are up for that, then start a company."

4. THEY LEARN FROM THEIR MISTAKES

Lest confidence shade into hubris, though, entrepreneurs have to stay humble enough to learn from their experiences—including failure. Some researchers have found that overconfidence can actually be a liability, clouding judgment and creating an illusion of control. That can lead to poor choices. For instance, in 2012 in a statement about the management shakeup, Blackberry CEO Thornsten Heins stated: "At the very core of RIM—at its DNA—is the innovation. We always think ahead. We always think forward. We sometimes think the unthinkable." In the years since, Blackberry hasn't lived up to those words. Although the company is still holding on today, you can be sure the thought of Blackberry dropping from 20% market share in 2009 to 1% market share in 2014 was unthinkable then, too.

5. THEY HAVE THE PASSION TO PERSIST

And then there's passion. According to researchers at the University of Maryland,passion is a key ingredient in growing a successful new business. It's the reason entrepreneurs inspire the rest of us in the first place. Many of us dream of getting paid for doing what we love, just like entrepreneurs do. And their deep commitment in their undertakings keeps them forging ahead in the face of obstacles.

6. THEY ARE RESILIENT IN THE FACE OF FAILURE

Finally, there's resilience. Passionate entrepreneurs bounce back from unexpected challenges and failures in order to push onward. Researchers at the University of Gothenburg point out that "learning from failure is an important characteristic, particularly for entrepreneurs, and there are multiple case reports on how failures and the ability to rebuild after failure have formed successful entrepreneurs." It's well known how Steve Jobs built a project from his garage into a company with 4,000 employees, only to be fired by the very CEO he had hired. Yet Jobs chose to see it as a chance to recreate himself, later describing it as one of the most creative periods of his life.

So what does all this empirical evidence point to? Perhaps that entrepreneurs' quasi-mythical stature in popular culture is something of a fallacy. Few possess superhuman abilities at all. Instead, the most admirable business leaders simply share qualities we all do. As more research continues, those patterns will get more distinct.

But something else might happen, too: As more entrepreneurs burst on to the scene, they might disrupt what we thought we knew about those that came before. It's something they're pretty good at, after all.

Source : http://bit.ly/1GqEEEB

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5 ways to use GIFs to make your PR and marketing efforts soar

GIFs aren’t only for powerhouse social media users anymore.

Employing looping visuals lets PR pros and marketers say a thousand words—or more—in shorthand. When used wisely, GIFs are a great way to connect with your audience, increase views and make your brand more relatable to consumers.

Here are five ways you can jump on the GIF bandwagon:

1. Add a touch of sass to consumer interactions.

As Internet culture becomes more pervasive, brand managers are embracing new ways of reaching out to online audiences. In April, Ikea replied to consumers entirely through memes, and Chevy made headlines for its all-emoji press release.

However, brand managers can take things one step further and use GIFs to respond to consumers through Facebook, Twitter and even emails. Just make sure that your GIF use fits your brand’s voice.

2. Spice up social media posts.

As visuals grow in popularity, PR and marketing pros are looking to infographics, videos and more in order to attract eyeballs and hold followers’ attention.

GIFs can add life to tweets, Pinterest pins, Flipboard magazines, Instagram posts and Facebook content.

Though Facebook business pages do not have the option to post GIFs, Facebook profiles do—and it’s a service Facebook is considering rolling out to brand managers. The social network also recently announced that users could now employ GIFs as profile pictures. Savvy marketers could reach out to brand advocates with large Facebook followings in order to implement these features for a campaign.

If you’re looking for something more subtle than cat or reaction GIFs, use or create cinemagraphs. Several brands are using cinemagraphs to add flavor to Instagram posts.

3. Make stories—and emails—more interesting.

GIFs can boost your content marketing efforts by adding engaging elements to stories, newsletters and promotional emails.

Though you don’t have to emulate Buzzfeed, add GIFs to a how-to article or list of tips to attract (and keep) your audience’s attention. A story sprinkled with Olivia Pope GIFs or other popular figures can spike both views and shares.

GIFs can also pack a punch to an otherwise mundane marketing email or newsletter. Show off a campaign, contest or announcement, and your message will probably stick longer in readers’ minds.

4. Repurpose instructions and videos.

Looking to get more play from a list of instructions or a video you created for consumers or employees?

Turn them into GIFs and share across social media, in story roundups or email updates. About.me showed followers how to cook bacon perfectly to celebrate Twitter allowing GIFs in 2014.

Use gifs to turn any YouTube video—including your own—into a looping visual. The tool is easy to use: Pop in a YouTube URL, select the portion you’d like to make into a GIF. and download your finished project. We even immortalized one of our very own editors at Ragan Communications.

5. Show off your prowess with a collection.

Increase your Internet cred by curating the best GIFs through a Tumblr blog or Flipboard magazine.

You can also sign up for a Giphy account and mark your favorites from the website for future use, making it even easier to grab visuals for social media posts and stories. You might also create your own Giphy channel, which displays the GIFs you’ve uploaded to the website—including each GIF’s source information and tags.

By sharing your GIF collection with others, you not only offer followers fun and useful visuals, but you also let them know that your organization has its finger on the pulse of current trends. Source : http://bit.ly/1L5ctrf

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Six Tips To Stay Ahead of Social Media Trends

Small business owners have enough on their plates. They have to watch expenses, create marketing pieces, go to sales meetings, follow trends in their industry and keep up with trends on social media. They might have trouble staying on top of them all, but if they fail to pay attention to social media trends, they could miss golden opportunities.

Besides new features added to Facebook, LinkedIn Twitter and Pinterest, new social media sites are launched that do different things. Being on the forefront of social media changes can be accomplished. Here are a few suggestions on ways you can do just that.

1) Create a stream on Twitter with popular hashtags

You can start your goal of staying on top of social media by using social media. Create a stream on Twitter with popular social media hashtags. You can use terms like #socialmediamarketing, #smchat or #TwitterTip. Don’t be too general because you will see an influx of tweets into your stream. This stream will help you know what you can expect for the next month.

2) Make a Twitter list of influencers in the industry

Experts in social media often hang out in the social media sites. Whenever there is a new announcement that you should know, you will be able to get advice from the industry leaders tweeting the change and discussing it. Use the hashtags that you gathered and pick out the most active or insightful people who are tweeting. Make a Twitter list based on your research and spend time each day listening to what they have to say. Ask them questions too. That’s why they are experts.

3) Use Google Alerts on terms and influencers

Now that you have a list of influencers that you can follow on social media, you can set up a Google Alert for some of them. That way you will get regular updates when they post content or are interviewed about social media. Pick your top three favorite influencers and set up Google Alerts for them. This will help you stay up to date on any breaking news in the industry. Getting the alert once a day is perfectly reasonable. All you have to do is type in your search term (the influencer's name), select the types of results you want to see (news, blogs, videos, etc.), select your frequency, and you are ready to go.

4) Join LinkedIn Groups

LinkedIn discussions can get lively. Because the site is geared toward business owners, they talk about changes on Facebook, new social media sites launching or future trends. You also will meet a lot of other social media enthusiasts. You will be able to network and ask questions of these people.

5) Subscribe to social media blogs

Also, you should read blogs that post content about social media so you can be sure that you won't miss anything. If there's a new feature or trend, it will definitely be on written about in detail on these blogs. More important than subscribing to these blogs is making sure you set aside time each week to read through your content.

6) Go to a conference

Take the time to go to a social media conference. This will be a great opportunity to hear from social media experts in the industry and be able to ask the burning questions you may have. You will get the most up-to-date advice about running a social media campaign and what you should know when using social media. You don’t have to attend in person. For example, Social Media Week allows you to attend via your phone, computer or tablet.

Source : http://bit.ly/1YK0AQU

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15 Mind-Blowing Stats About Social Media

Feb. 4, 2004, marked the dawn of a new era in marketing: the launch of Facebook. Soon after, the creation of Twitter, Google+, and a slew of other social-networking platforms confirmed the notion that social media was--and is--a huge opportunity for marketers.

Along the way, marketers have faced a long list of challenges when it comes to figuring out social media, such as ROI, tone, persona, and process. But on this most can agree: Your marketing strategy isn’t complete if your brand isn’t participating.

Yet the landscape is changing all of the time. The following compilation of up-to-date social-media statistics from around the Web will help ensure your strategy is correspondingly current.

1. Instant services and chat apps now account for three of the top five global social platforms.

2. Worldwide social media users exceeded 2 billion back in August, with 1.7 billion of those being active accounts.

3. There are nearly 1.4 billion Facebook users, 284 million active Twitter users, 363 million Google+ users, 300 Instagram users, 347 million registered members on LinkedIn, and 70 million Pinterest users.

4. Social networks will earn $8.3 billion from advertising in 2015.

5. Eighty percent of marketers say their social media efforts haveincreased site traffic.

6. On six of the seven social networks, brands achieve an engagement rate of less than 0.1%. Instagram is the clear winner in engagement, with brand Instagram posts achieving a per-follower engagement rate of 4.21%.

7. Fifty-three percent of Americans who follow brands via social platforms are more loyal to those brands.

8. Last year the amount of video from people and brands in Facebook's News feed increased 3.6X year-over-year. 

9. Fifty-four percent of B2B marketers have generated leads from social media.

10. U.S. B2B marketers are projected to spend more than $100 billion on social media advertising by 2017.

11. There are 1.65 billion active mobile social accounts globally.

12. Facebook maybe the biggest but there are many other social media networks that shouldn't be overlooked. Viber, for example, has over 200 million users. There are 639 million users on Qzone (China), 600 million users on Whatsapp, and Facebook Messenger has 500 million users.

13. Late afternoon to nighttime is the best time to reach people on social. Social traffic substantially underperforms overall traffic from about 5 a.m. to noon, and social substantially overperforms overall traffic from about 3 p.m. until 1 a.m.

14. Where is social media marketing headed? A significant 66% of marketers plan on increasing their use of Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn.

15. Only 45% of marketers think that their Facebook efforts are effective.

Source : http://cmo.cm/1PfIqA8

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