Sunday, February 28, 2010

I think I am sick

Sorry about this everyone, but I think I am coming down with something and cant really type about anything interesting. I will try tomorrow to suggest an interesting topic. Night!

Saturday, February 27, 2010

I still am at a blank!!

Honestly I feel bad but I seem to have some writers block along with being extremely tired from work so I will get back to all of you tomorrow. good night!

Friday, February 26, 2010

sorry really tired....

Hey everyone I am sorry this is so late but I got home late from work and I am really tired so I am just going to go to bed I promise I will have something more interesting for tomorrow. Night all!

Thursday, February 25, 2010

SMR: the news release of the future!

Ok that sounds dumb to say that social media news releases are the news releases of the future since they are already being used today but what I really meant was that if your not using social media news releases or don't even know what they are you are falling behind, fast!
Social media news releases are press releases that are solely meant for online distribution and your target audience is any online journalist that writes related news stories online. There are many, and I mean many, resources online for templates on social media news releases and I suggest doing a Google search to just get a basic idea of what I'm talking about. But generally a SMR should contain all of the following elements:
  • A headline which describes your news story, what your release will be about, BUT make sure your headline does not exceed 14 words
  • Next is your subhead, which is optional but I like to use it, this goes into more details about your news story, just gives more focused information, BUT make sure your subhead does not exceed 10 words.
  • Next comes the date and time of your release, usually sometime around 3 p.m. is good but any time is a good time.
  • Now we get into the central part of your release, the Key Facts which are bulleted key points about your news story, try to keep this limited to around 6 or 7 bullet points, so get right to the facts, don't put useless information in here.
  • Then we get to the quotes section which are also bulleted and appropriated with the name and title of the person you are quoting, make sure you get permission from the person to use the quote! you usually want 2 quotes per news release
  • Then we have the multimedia section which is also bulleted and this is were you put videos and photos but you just write what the photo or video is and link to a page were they can see it, for example if you want them to see a photo of your companies logo you put Photo: company logo and then link that to the logo for your company.
  • The last main component of your release is the related links section which should have links to any site that relates to your release and news story, same as the multimedia section, just put a description and link it to the website.
  • Last but not least, put your name, phone number and email address.
Your done!! Just like that. Now what I would suggest is picking a company and one of their products, so some research on the product and then practice writing a social media release for that product, its not as hard as it seems I promise.

Just always keep in mind that a SMR needs to be short and concise, don't fill your release with a bunch of language just get to the point, SHORT AND SWEET! good luck everyone!

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

I have nothing today!

Hey everyone... Honestly I don't have very much to say today I worked for 6 hours and I am pretty tired but I did not want to leave all of you hanging so I just wanted to let you know that I will always write something and hopefully tomorrow I have something better to talk about. Good night!

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Whats Most Important?

What is most important thing to know when trying to enter the job market and get an interview? Well some would say college degree others would say experience or even who you know.... They are all right. You do need experience, one thing I have learned is internships directly translate into an advantage over your competition, don't wait until the last minute to start looking for internships because what I have found is it gets harder the closer you get to graduation so start early!! OK so now lets get into who you know, this one is a big one it is all about who you know and how they can help you! Networking is one of the most important things to understand and utilize, the more people you know, the better your chances are at landing an interview or finding opportunities. I know this all sounds like common sense but I never knew these things were so important and knowing is half the battle, especially in today's job market. So just a little advice for today, hopefully I have a better topic tomorrow. I am still a waitress but I promise it wont be for long!

Monday, February 22, 2010

Branding Yourself

Branding yourself is extremely important especially when you are trying to get a job or create opportunities through marketing yourself. With this being said there is a warning, Be careful what kinds of information you publish in a blog or on facebook or mayspace, etc. Always remember that social media can be used for good and for bad.
I have often been given good advice on this subject like you should have a private facebook page that is just for yourself and that you share with only close friends and family and then you should have a corporate facebook page where you can direct potential employers and promote yourself and your brand. Like I said before you never know who you will meet, where you will meet them and what potential opportunities might arise so dont ruin it by airing all of your dirty laundry so to speak all over facebook or myspace.
Always remember that people are watching what you do via social media and you never know what could be harmful to your brand so play is safe!

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Nothing Much!

Hey all Im sorry this is so late but I am dead tired from work today and I do not have much to share... I will talk about more tomorrow, sorry. If I can leave you all with anything important try and think about how blogs and social networking can help you in your business career, share your experiences with me and with others, let us know how social networking or blogs have helped or hurt your business career or aspiarations!!

Saturday, February 20, 2010

you never know who where or when?

Today I was at work, I was going on my 12th hour of being there and I was tired, I mean so tired that I didn't even want to wait on the tables I had let alone get sat another one. Yet, as is my luck, in walks a couple of business men and they head right for my section. Don't get me wrong they were extremely nice and funny but I was just done by then. Anyway, me and these guys get to talking and it turns out they work for citadel broadcasting and 97.5 radio station in Lansing, MI. I told them I was a senior at Michigan State University and I'm about to graduate with my bachelors of arts in advertising and guess what? They gave me their business cards and told me to fax them or email them my resume so they could set up some interviews. WOW!!! It was great, I felt on top of my game. The entire point to this story is to share with you one of the most important facts I learned while at Michigan State. You never know where or when you could meet a potential employer or even a great networking opportunity, you must always be prepared and be hungry for that next business opportunity, you never know who will walk into your life, or in my case sit down at my table to eat dinner. Always be aware that anyone could potentially be your boss in the future and be aware of potentially business leads that surround you, you never know where your next job could come from!!!

Alright I'm off to bed but for now Im still a waitress but not for long!!!

Friday, February 19, 2010

My Mission!!

What is my mission? Well I want to inspire anyone out there who thinks they cant aspire to anything in life and let them know, I may be a waitress now, but not for long!

I have been a Michigan State University student for years now and I am finally down to my last 2 classes. I created this blog because of an assignment, but I can already tell its going to be much more than that. My purpose here is to share the ups and downs of life as a waitress who is trying to break into the world of advertising. Its tough and very competitive but I think by sharing my experiences and getting feedback from all of you, we can learn from each other.

While on my mission to inspire the world there might be some serious bumps in the road, anyone who is a waiter or waitress can attest to this statement, but I promise to try and remain upbeat. I can also promise that I will write in this blog every day for the first 2 months of creating it just to prove that I really care about this blog and I'm not just creating some frivolous blog to put out into the web or to get a good grade on my assignment, I want this blog to mean something to me and hopefully to you.

In closing, lets see how much we can help each other, share your stories with me and I will promise to share mine with you. How many of use can start at the bottom and work our way to the top?

Lets find out!!