Posts Tagged ‘Training’

Please enjoy this article that first appeared in the Asbury Park Press, Aug. 21, 2011.

For 20 years I traveled a marketing communications career path. I loved the spoken word, the written word, the concise, sales-converting language of print ads and brochures. It started with a bang; fresh out of Skidmore College I was hired as an editorial assistant at Merrill Lynch. One post quickly led to another and before long I had leap-frogged into a marketing VP position at DLJ Asset Management (Credit Suisse) and then recruited to account executive position at a boutique advertising firm. But as my personal life evolved (marriage and kids) and priorities shifted, the marketing career was on hold until after the kids were out of diapers, and I launched a home-based marketing consultancy for small businesses.

With children at my knees and shirts buttoned askew, I spent many of the past several years in search of that perfect job fit. You know the saying: “Do what you love for work and you’ll never work another day of your life.” Trouble was, as is often the case with SAHMs (stay at home moms), I was running into other issues, such as feeling isolated, being hyper-aware of time passing, and wondering if I could ever get back to my 20-something life.

Then it happened. I received my first invitation from a friend to join Facebook. Skeptical at first, I was keeping privacy walls up, not posting my picture, etc. But then curiosity took over and I began searching for classmates from high school (Peddie) and college. Within days I was losing sleep as I corresponded into the night with people I hadn’t seen in 25 years. Heck, I didn’t even know where they were or what their married names were until Facebook served it all up with ease. Day after day new doors to old friends would open, and week after week I was having coffee or drinks with people from all chapters of my life, kicking off reunited relationships. The internal change that grew in me was so positive, so life-altering; Facebook became my connection to the world.

Then something else happened. On the wall of the Facebook newsfeed in early 2009 was a simple item that read “Your friend Sue became a fan of Coca Cola.” The words Coca Cola were a hyperlink so I clicked and was taken to the beverage brand’s very own Facebook profile. Eureka! There it was. The realization that business could be done on Facebook, that relationships could be built between consumers and brands, and that all businesses were created equal here. This was my calling. To put my marketing hat back on for good with a specialty in social media, helping brands, local businesses, personalities, and organizations reap the rewards of this historical culture shift.

It’s been a few of years since my discovery of Facebook, and I am now a seasoned social media strategist and coach. I’ve had the pleasure of introducing many businesses and organizations of all sizes and industries to the vast aspects of social networking and Internet Marketing, which is no longer limited to Facebook, but also includes Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and video marketing, email capture systems and drip correspondence campaigns. For some I create strategic plans, others I do live training. The biggest part of my business is daily management of the social sites of clients so that they can focus on what they do best.

It’s a job that doesn’t sleep or take vacations. It’s a job that requires juggling many e-mail accounts and mobile devices, and relies on technology that changes so rapidly that I make a weekly commitment to continuing education. But I haven’t “worked” a day since 2009.

There is tremendous opportunity for individuals with marketing or communications experience to develop a social media business.  To learn more about how to get the right training, >>click here<<.

Have you heard yourself saying or thinking any of these statements?

1.  Social media costs a lot of money. Let’s get this out of the way right now. It doesn’t cost any money to establish a presence and a marketable following on the social networks. There’s an investment of time, for sure. But as far as your marketing budget is concerned, there doesn’t have to be any impact.

2.  Social media marketing doesn’t apply to my business. To understand the opportunities that exist with social media, you have to know that social media doesn’t mean just hanging out on Facebook. While Facebook may be the leader of the pack and most popular social network, there are other platforms and strategies to consider depending on your business, market, and goals. Let’s put it this way, if your company has a web site, there’s social network marketing to do.

3.  Social networking is a fad, so I’m not going to invest the time. Denial about how social networking is effecting the Internet, and therefore effecting business, is not going to serve you well in the long term. The population of Facebook users makes it the 3^rd-largest nation on the planet, and its reach is very quickly becoming integrated into all other social networks and Internet marketing applications. If you’re not represented in this nation, you can kiss your business growth goodbye. This is not a drill, social networking is here to stay.

4.  My assistant/brother-in-law/teenager can do it for me; they’re always posting and tweeting. Herein lies the biggest mistakes companies make when they decide to set up shop on the social networks.  The activities of playing on the social networks as an individual or consumer are not the activities necessary to incorporate social media into your company marketing plans. Think of your most-travelled highway as a sea of your target market (social network users), and your business’s social media efforts as the billboard you put up to capture the attention of the traffic.  Does it make sense to ask one of the drivers on that highway to create your billboard for you? Does driving a car on the highway daily make him qualified to create and design an effective marketing message?

This age of social media is an amazing era for entrepreneurs and business owners. The advent of social networks has leveled the marketing playing field for you and handed your company the opportunity to compete locally, nationally, even internationally. I am VERY passionate about transforming local business owners from social media doubters to enthusiastic opportunists. Do you need a transformation? Talk to me about private coaching for you or on-site training for your team. Take a look and see if this is for you. You are always free to email me if you have any questions: mary@marypetto.com