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Home Security Missions: the blog


Thanks everyone!

Video on Creating Tags for your Internet Blogging

Hey folks!

Want to know how to write a blog post and easily find it on Google?  Watch this video.  It is a 5 minute video talking about the techniques to tagging in your blog post. 

It is a bit on the technical side, but the point of it is to understand the concept, which is clearly given.

Internet Blogging Tips

I'm still trying to get better at this myself.

Building My Brand..

Let’s be honest, building a personal brand is not as easy as it sounds. While I certainly didn’t think that creating my brand would be a walk in the park, I didn’t think it would be this intense either; it really is true, if you can market yourself, you can market anything!

While initially set out on following certain nonprofits and management level employees at those nonprofits, after discussing it in class, I've also started to follow companies and individuals that specialize in how nonprofits can effectively use social media, specifically Social Media 4 Nonprofits.   

For the most part, I was surprised how easy it was to find some of my target audience, especially on Twitter and LinkedIn and once I found them, the hard part was done, right?...Wrong! Over the past few weeks I have quickly learned that the hard part was just beginning; following my audience was the easy part, connecting with them would require more. 

In following my target audience, on my Twitter account I have been replying to certain tweets and to retweeting others related to social media and nonprofits.  I have also joined several groups through my LinkedIn account (both organization based and groups based solely on social media usage in nonprofits) and have been commenting on various blogs and websites, such as NP Tech for Good. 

As for followers, there’s a social media blog from the UK (Muddywall) and a social media strategist from India (Santosh Rajan) that both unexpectedly began to follow me which I followed back in return.  With many of my target nonprofits working internationally, it’s both interesting and beneficial to see the social media trends in other countries. 

Not expecting a response, I decided to tweet Stacie Flinner, the Faith Partners Manger at charity: water to see if I would be able to learn a little more about that she does; to my surprise, she followed back, allowing me to direct message her.  While it was a hit or miss to contact someone that has no clue as to who I am, it’s a great connection and I look forward to seeing where it will lead.  

This past week I have also applied for an internship at one of the companies in my target audience; I love how they are using social media, and what better way to learn more about what they are doing than working alongside them.  While completely out of my comfort zone it's rather exciting; I’ll update you on what happens! 

Overall, one of the biggest take aways I have from the past week it to expect the unexpected. I set out with a specific target audience in mind, and while I’m still working to connect with them, I have been able to connect with several others that I never would have planned to.  

While I have mainly been focusing on Twitter and LinkedIn to build my brand thus far, I'm interested in your suggestions and feedback. Should I continue to place most of my focus on Twitter and LinkedIn? Are there any key people or organizations you would recommend I follow?  Are there other channels I should be considering?

Looking forward to your feedback and being able to update you on the progress of my personal brand, thanks for reading! 

Value Proposition

Looking for a postition at Full Circle Marketing as a Marketing Analyist, resent Collage Graduate with internship expirience and work expirene at several companies. knowledgeable, insightful, harkworking college grad with organzational, language, and people skills.

Andrew's personal brand

Multilingual Young Ambitious recent graduate with a understanding of Marketing, Management, Business Administration with real world experience in the Real Estate Market as well as Home Improvement Industry

Find me in Latin America

As I redirect my personal brand, I come to see new possibilities and enlightenment. I am no longer interested in  broad market research but will concentrate in the analysis of vertical markets in Latin America. 

This gives me a much more solid foundation on what I would like to research and gain more information on. I am targeting countries in Central America and Latin America.

In the future, I can be searched and requested from companies who plan to target these countries as well. I will be specialized in this area and easily tracked.

Compelling Content: Writing for my favorite page

After I finished writing the article about the Being Latino Online Magazine and its Facebook page (page I follow), I took a chance and published it on their wall. I only wanted to have a like from the person who manages the page, so I could show the professor "I was putting myself out there."

Long story short, I actually got a like from that person and also got a comment saying " Nice! thank you. If you're interested in becoming a guest contributor, drop me a line..." I was so excited and of course I replied saying I'd love to be a guest contributor.

So far, I've written two articles, the first one was published last week, which ended up being Top 2 article (829 likes, 85 shares). My second article will be published next week.

Never thought I could write for a online magazine but I like it, and I think it's a good experience.

Compelling content

In addition to my meeting I have created a tumblr. profile to start following Tyga, the artist I have previously been interviewed for the position of a personal assistent. 

I also started following his twitter and for compelling content I retweeted one of his tweets, to go with that I commented on the new music video he and the artist justin Bieber have collaborated on. 

Above is a picture from their new video called "wait for a minute"

Carryology Wears The Content Crown

Image source: Valuable Content

For the past two to three weeks the conversation within our Contemporary Issues In Marketing course has revolved around the topic of "content", but as the above cartoon states, "but what the hell is it?"

I've taken a read from a UK site recently, Valuable Content , and was quite intrigued despite residing over the pond the social media and online marketing landscape is quite similar to what we view here in the states.  The following bullet points are some examples of how content marketing is being utilized and who is using it via Valuable Contents' post on A Quick Introduction To Content Marketing :

•  One-man bands giving away some of their expertise in thoughtful blogs, guides and  newsletters that draw in leads – take a look at Ian Brodie’s superb blog-based website. 

• UK tech company Novatech Ltd that wins friends and business through its hilarious social media feeds – see our article on Novatech’s social media strategy 

• Personal training companies that find new clients by sharing helpful video tips online  - see Bristol’s own Create Fitness  

 What I've taken from Valuable Content and the lectures in class is that content revolves around being sincere and engaging at the same time.  The focus is heavily on the audience and instead of shoving something down someone's throat you seek to offer material that is relatable, inviting, and in a sense helpful.

Depending on the content, you're looking to bring in a returning crowd as well as have those discover what it is that you have to offer that may spark an interest, a curiosity on a more engaging level.  I find that when it comes to igniting an interest no one site caught my attention better than a little unknown called Carryology.

The Australian based site, supported under the Bellroy brand caught my eye back in 2010 when I came across it accidentally on a Google search while in Melbourne, VIC.  I did not realize that I had an affinity for bags/carry items prior to landing on their homepage.

 My time in the military and my desire to pick up a new backpack every year for school up to my senior year in high school smacked me square in the face the moment my eyes laid on the sandy background and the plethora of carry items the site displayed before me.  At that moment I realized I had a thing for all things carry and it was Carryology's content that kept me there (should I cue a '76 Carrie joke in here somewhere...all this talk of carry/Carrie...ok, corny).

Carry Conversations :: GORUCK

It's not just about the bags that Carryology presents , but the way they incorporate interviews, stories, and just talking about what they enjoy in a carry item gives it more depth than just looking at a backpack.  

Carryology's layout is simple yet the content they produce is engaging as a blogging platform and with some posts you're instilled with a sense of travel and/or adventure.  There is a storytelling feel you can take away from certain posts.

The folks at Carryology know exactly what they're doing and their execution is spot on.  They truly know their audience and have the ability to draw in those who didn't know they had an attraction to the world of carry such as myself on that fateful day in 2010.  When it comes to content being king in marketing I do not believe the crown is too heavy for Carryology who wears it with grace.

Compelling Content

At first I was unsure of what compelling content really meant. After a little discussion in class I finally got it!
As we all know Christmas is right around the corner and Neiman Marcus is advertising in full force. They have released their Christmas Book, full of Luxury items.
As simple as it sounds my compelling content was taking the Neiman Marcus link and copying it to my LinkedIn page.


http://www.business2community.com/trends-news/holiday-extravagance-2013-neiman-marcus-christmas-book-0676835

Well, I am going to start my own blog

I am calling it Home Security Missions.  It will be a synopsis of my sit-ins with families and businesses on planning their security system. 

Sounds thrilling right?  Good!  I knew you would agree with me.

But seriously it actually can be, especially to someone it directly applies to.  My challenge will be making it interesting to the individual not thinking about any form of security in their life.

I plan to also use my Twitter and LinkedIn accounts to create some consistency with my personal brand and this new blog.

I have already created the blog and the first post has been made, but in an effort to create a decent first impression, I will share it with you all in a week.

In short, I am rather excited.  I have fun with a lot of my security appointments, and I believe creating a blog will be the key for some new opportunities.

Brigit's Personal Brand: Doing What I Love

Wow these weeks flew by! Who knew that we'd be more than half way through the semester already?

As I've said in my previous value proposition blog post, I'm really focusing on my LinkedIn as my main source of my personal brand on social media. I've updated it to include my most recent jobs to do with editing, publishing, and writing along with some volunteer work.

I feel adding the volunteer work is very important because not only does it show a little bit about myself as well as what I believe in, but that I care about helping my fellow man (or woman). Because I really do! As a bonus, it boosts my resume showing the experience and skills that I have and was able to share with others.

Now, still learning about LinkedIn, I realized that I can become part of groups that will ask questions or give some news updates within the industries that I want to be in. I joined some awesome groups including Books and Writers, Children's Publishing, Young Adult Fiction Book Club, and Professional Women In the Book and Magazine Publishing Industry. Some of these groups were closed groups, meaning the head of the group needed to approve you, which they did!

I also learned that I can follow companies that I am interested in working at. So, of course I followed them! HarperCollins and Random House being some of my favorites.

I even had a head editor from HarperCollins look at my profile! Awesome! Though he didn't link with me, so kind of discouraging... But I'll get them to notice me the more I play around with the website.

I am also going to start up a blog for myself about the book publishing industry, because ultimately that is where I want to go.

However, I don't have it up just yet. Now, I know that seems bad, but let me explain.

This past week I have been sick and it was hard with work, school, clubs, blogs, and articles, to name a few. My mind has been a jumbled mess so I haven't gotten around to creating the blog.

Now, I could easily create one right now on Blogger. However, I know Blogger. I can say that I am pretty advanced with the amount of knowledge that I have on Blogger.

I want to expand my horizons. So that is why I want to try to create a WordPress blog.


WordPress has been around for a while, but it is really coming out as one of the head blogging sites. If I do end up in another industry where I work online with social media or blogs, I believe that having WordPress on my resume will really give me an advantage.

Though it is not created yet, I do know what I want it to be about. I will post news about the book publishing industry and my thoughts on where it is heading, all the while showing my love for the 18- to 25-year-old market.


I'll probably post thoughts about books that I have read or want to read, and probably how it might change or hinder the book publishing industry. I'll probably link my GoodReads profile to it as well, though I'll need to update it.

I have many, many thoughts that I want to share. So when I do start it, I will be sure to update it at the very least once a week, though I would like to update it way more than that.

Once I've created my blog, I will then link it to my LinkedIn as well as my other social media websites so that I can show my skills and experience.

So that is my plan! I hope it works and shows that I am really capable of. I want to show what I love and what I want to do as a job so that in the future I can say, "I'm being paid to do what I love."

Compelling Content

Getting started on creating compelling content isn't easy. Using twitter as my social media outlet, I feel that I am able to reach a variety of people in the entertainment and lifestyle field.

For my first piece of compelling content, I chose to tweet an article from MASHABLE about ads targeting consumers based on their twitter profiles.

The link: http://mashable.com/2013/11/08/ads-determine-personality-through-twitter/

I hope this will enable other to start a discussion with me through twitter.

A Combining Effort

It seems like cleaning up my LinkedIn and starting to create a personal brand has started to open up some doors for me. The past two weeks I have received a couple offers for jobs after I graduate. Most recently with a company named CDW. They provide technology products and services for businesses, government and educational institutions.

I wonder if its coincidental that where I initially stood on the direction of my personal brand has brought an offer to surface or if this is simply luck, or at random.

Whatever the case, in the least I should have something to fall back on if I can't find myself a position in advertising somewhere along the line...Well hopefully with the addition of some new content to my resume and LinkedIn, it should look a bit more compelling and leave me looking for valuable$$.




Dan Tobjy

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-11-11/marketing-lessons-from-a-garage-sale      

Since I'm a marketing major and all, Found this article while I was browsing the web found it really interesting from a marketers point of view and just wanted to share it with any other marketing majors in the class or anyone who finds it interesting enjoy

This Is Dave Place...

"I enjoy writing about things that most people think about but don't usually talk about"...

That’s exactly what you will find when reading This is Dave Place, one of blogs I follow. 

As the lead singer of Phone Calls From Home, having spent a good amount of time on the road, he always has something to share.  Although unfamiliar with his music as it wasn't the genre I would normally find myself listening to, I was first introduced to Dave a few years back while working at a show where his band was walking around handing out cards for their site to people waiting in line to promote their music; since then I've been following his blog. 

Unlike many other blogs, rather than focusing on a single topic, Dave touches upon anything and everything that occurs in the day to day life of a twenty something.   From how terrible your twenties can be, to the loss of a loved one, to over analyzing things, to making the most out of life, to meeting a lady crying in an airport, he manages to include it all in a single blog, and surprisingly, it makes sense. 

Looking past the content, the frequency of his posts is rather unique as well. For the most part, there seems to be two extremes; at times there will be a new post every few days; yet, at other times as many as eight months may pass between posts.  While initially somewhat irritating, over 

time, I have have come to know that's simply how the blog is written; that’s Dave. 

 

In applying aspects of his blog to my own posts, there are a few characteristics of his writing style that I plan to focus on:

• Straight Forward: While still written respectfully, he’s straight forward, blunt, and to the point.  Rather than beating around the bush, he simply writes what he feels. This adds a sense of sincerity to the blog and makes it easier to relate to.  

• Writing How He Speaks:  Instead of using fancy jargon, Dave’s posts are written in the same manner as he speaks; while reading them it doesn't feel like you're reading an essay or formal writing, but rather feels as if he's talking directly to you.

• Writing with Purpose: Regardless of the post’s topic, Dave’s adamant about writing each post with a greater purpose in mind.  Case in point, in the blurb for his blog he has written, “ I hope you can find something in here to relate to or to take away with you. Or even better, something that can take you away. From your cares and worries, if even for the moment. Read. Enjoy. Find happiness, Find purpose. And then, maybe, you'll Find yourself".   

Even with his unpredictable blogging presence, I've come to look forward to getting a notification when there's a new post, and as someone that has never been much into following blogs until the past year or so, that's saying a lot.