Rachel Friedmann

People throw this term around a lot and as someone who does social media as part of her job I decided to further explore the definition. When I started my search, I immediately found a great blog post from 2008 “What I Want a Social Media Expert to Know.” I was pleased to to know that I could quickly check off everything on his list, but I wanted to delve deeper into the definition on my own.

As someone with a marketing background, I apply traditional marketing to anything I do on the web. From understanding your audience, to knowing what will be value added content; there is more to social media than just knowing how to set up a blog, SEO, or knowing all the names of the most popular social networking sites.

One under-recognized area is the building of relationships both on and off line. One of the quickest ways to get recognized and bring traffic to your site is by conversing with others. I like to think of Malcolm Gladwell who discusses how influencers, mavens, and connectors can move ideas. One of the keys to success in online marketing is connecting with the influencers in your industry. As I am writing this, I typed into Google “gladwell influencers” and one of the first links was Increasing Social Media ROI Using Gladwell’s Tipping Point Framework

Apparently, I am not the first to think of this idea. This is a great slideshow that shows how to bring Gladwell’s ideas into your social media strategy.

Since I can and do this, I will call myself a social media connector/maven for now.

I have asked others in the interactive world, how did you prepare for this career? The answer I receive usually is “I wing it as I go – reading blogs and twitter.”  I don’t know of any degree you can receive in interactive marketing or training course that would help propel one forward. So how does one become an interactive guru? Practice.

Like most, I stumbled on to the online arena by accident out of necessity for an organization I worked for about 6 years ago. This relatively new discipline relies on traditional marketing methods – strategy, targeting, branding, metrics, messaging, etc. but has twists and turns that are hard for even the most savvy to keep up with because it is constantly changing. An example, up until recently one had to go on to each of their social networking sites to make updates – now there are a plethora of online applications that make this easier and also allow you to track what your digital footprint’s impact is on your company, brand, or product. For many this is a marketer’s dream come true; for others its another intimidating technology or application to tackle and learn. This is where the almighty powerful interactive guru comes in.

I keep having the same conversation with people – social media should not just be about tactics, its about strategy and knowing the discipline. Many believe that anyone in their office can just start an online conversation, but really it takes experience and know-how to navigate the ever-changing world of the internet. Also, knowing what to say and how to say it is pretty important too.

“Instead of saying let’s get bigger by staying average, consider staying small by being exceptional.” -Seth Godin

When asked what my ideal job would be, I immediately think doing online marketing for something I believe in – non profit or otherwise. Why? I want to contribute, make an impact, and most importantly do something I believe in. Those all sound like nice ideals, but that is the type of environment where I am my best.

As I sit here, listening to Seth Godin going on about how there are too many painters, but not enough artists, I realize we each have our own creative genius waiting to be unleashed. I am waiting for that opportunity, but maybe I need to stop waiting and make that opportunity happen. Hmmm…Bigger can mean corporate or huge growth, I prefer to be my petite and smart self.

Keep coming back for my stream of consciousness while listening to Seth Godin all day.

AMA Spring Mix - Donte, Erika, Shana, and Rachel

It has been a few days and I’ve been dying to write multiple blog posts, but for now I’ll start with one. My last few days have been enlightening. This past week, I graduated from Johns Hopkins University with a degree in marketing, listened to Chuck Porter discuss effective marketing, met some incredible people, interviewed, went to events, and most importantly reconfirmed my path.

Sometimes it takes being presented with a good opportunity, to realize it’s the wrong one for you. My heart has always been in the world of nonprofits and associations. My father still jokes that my brother and I should have tattooed on our foreheads “will work for nonprofits.” I repeat that comment often, because I am proud of it.

I have purposely acquired the experience and education to make myself competent in multiple areas, so that I can be good at whatever I do. I have often been asked do you want to be a designer? a museum director? work for an agency? My answer is simple: I want to work for something I believe in. So what do I believe in? I believe that the arts are one of the most important things to expose not only our children to, but to adults as well. I believe in not eating processed food and food made so cheaply at the expense of nutrition and health standards. I believe that the government should take a stronger stance in helping those less fortunate — will stop with politics now. I could go on, but hopefully this gives you an idea.

Bottom line, wherever my next gig takes me it will be for something that I truly believe in and am passionate for.

Today is graduation day, but I am not going. I made the difficult decision to forgo going to my second masters graduation (up in Baltimore at Johns Hopkins) to go to an event I have been working on for months and that will continue to propell me forward professionally. As a friend recently put it, isn’t that the point of my getting the marketing masters in the first place?

Tonight the American Marketing Association presents Chuck Porter of Crispin Porter + Bogusky who will be talking about effective marketing. I could go on about how his agency has been named the agency of the decade, won numerous awards, and are behind campaigns we are all familiar with – Gap, Best Buy, American Express, Windows 7, Burger King…Instead, I am going to discuss what his presence means in DC. When I moved up to DC almost 6 years ago, I had no idea that there was a marketing and advertising community flourishing here, I don’t think most people do today. That is changing. Having Chuck Porter and Mark Bisnow (the AMA Hall of Fame recipient this year) share a stage shows that DC is changing.

People are starting to take note of DC in a different light. More reality shows are coming here – Top Chef, Real Housewives, Real World…DC is becoming its own scene, no longer “New York lite.” I am excited to watch the continuing transformation and hope to be a part of it in some way.

Today is graduation day. After 2 years, I am finishing my masters in marketing from Johns Hopkins Univ. Sounds impressive, right? Well, today we did not walk across a stage, instead starting at 8am we gave presentations on our 2 semester long marketing research thesis. Intertwining our education and experience became imperative in our projects’ completion. As I move in to the next stage of my career, I am happy that I have both.