Miss EDU them

I recently created a board on my Pinterest called "Continuing EDU...". There is not much on it yet but it made me realize how I am still interested in learning even though I am not in school.

This is a good sign.

This week I launched a mini campaign on my companies Facebook page that encouraged people to share a photo on their wall and tell their story of why they love our products and joined our team. (I work for a MLM company.) And, zilch. NO ONE has shared the photo.

My thoughts:

We only have 300 something likes...maybe none of those 300 people have logged on to Facebook in the last 24 hours?! 


Maybe I didn't explain it clear enough?


Did everyone quit the company last night!?


Am I a horrible person?

Okay, okay, I will stop the thoughts. They get progressively worse, I promise.

After reflecting on it today, I thought about something I was taught a few years ago. It was from a training that I received and the phrase often comes into my head: Teach them 'how to' before 'will you'.


DUH.

Our demographic is age 40-65 and many of them are not computer savvy-sit at a desk all day-kind of people. So, chances are, they don't even know HOW to share a photo.

Hence, HOW TO:

Simple, but helpful--hopefully. 

Thoughts:

Please restore my confidence and help me reach my social media goals. 

What does this have to do with my Pinterest board? Well, not everyone is seeking to learn things on their own and they need some help along the way. Don't be scared to "dummy" things down for people. 

*That may have been a stretch but it made sense to me before I started writing it all out.*

Miss Brand Recognition

Currently, we are coming out with a new product line and are in need of a name for the line. Seems simple enough, right?

Nope.

As we were brainstorming, people were making suggestions and my mind would wander with each suggestion thinking, "How can I sell that?" "I think I've heard that name before?" "What color/font would we use?" And the ultimate question,

"How does that align with our brand?"

After our meeting this morning, I found this video on Pinterest and I couldn't resist in sharing it with the office. Hopefully it will help us all (and maybe you) consider our brand recognition at all times.

Enjoy.

Miss Vegas

Vegas was wonderful! We landed, ran around to 4 different resorts and then jumped back in the plane and came back home. The weather was gorgeous and I didn't want to leave. It reminded me of my honeymoon and hubby and I wanted to go back!

Vegas was a success and we have chosen a venue. You can find out where, here. Make sure you "like" the Facebook page. (Come on people, I manage social media and i've got goals. What do you expect?)

Here are a few pictures I got with my phone!

Flying is not easy. I flew for an HOUR and I was exhausted, My body was so tense.

It was a great trip because (A) I didn't really get sick (B) Got to know my co-workers and boss well and had lots of laughs (C) I got to take charge and lead (D) I love Vegas, I really do (E) I learned that I hate saying no to people who are really nice but that you have to. 

So now, I just work round the clock to get this event planned and marketed in 2 months!

Miss 'The Job'

Hi All.

It's been awhile and I have so much to update here but I will make it simple and direct you to my personal blog for the whole low down on the latest. Check it out here. 

In my new job, I have been trying to do some research on marketing and social media trends in-between my current projects. This morning I found an article in the LinkedIn headlines about the stress level in PR jobs. Currently, they are on the list of the most stressful jobs. They moved down a few spots from last year but are still in the top ten. 

Yep, I am doing number 6 right now and I know exactly why it is number 6 [after police officer]. 

Tomorrow we are flying to Las Vegas to go check out our top venues for our conference in March. I'm excited for the day trip but am dreading the small 5 seater company plane. They told me to bring the following to be prepared:

• Snow Coat (Just in case we have to do an emergency landing.)
• Wear pants (It's difficult to get inside the place apparently.)
• iPod (It's really loud and their headphones they provide are tuned into the radio frequency.)
• Food (It's a 4 hour flight to Vegas.)
• Pills for motion sickness (It's a 5 seater plane. Enough said.)

Needless to say, I am stalking up on ibuprofen, motion sickness pills and sleep tonight. 

Miss I got a job!

I received an offer today for my first, "big girl", job! It was such a crazy day running back and forth between interviews that I had in Idaho Falls but I didn't leave empty handed, and that was a miracle.

I had an interview lined up across town that I was already running late to (don't worry, I called and told them and they were running behind too) after I received the offer. I wasn't sure what to do but I needed to get back to Rexburg for class and I knew I the other job was not going to pay even close to what this job is paying (which is pretty dang good) so I called them and thanked them for the interview but informed them that I had just received a job offer.

That felt good. This whole situation feels good. It feels like a "fit".

So, now what? I just start working. And being a grown up. And not doing homework. And wearing dress pants every day. And meeting with adults that I can call by their first name instead of brother and sister.

This may be quite the transition. I may need a night class to ease me into it.

I will tell you more about the job later. I haven't officially accepted it. I will be making that glorious phone call tomorrow.

Miss Messaging

Admit it. We are all judgmental. What makes us judgmental? I believe it is messaging.

What is messaging? Well, in common jargon, messaging can be anything from a text message to a Facebook message to a tweet. In interpersonal jargon, messaging can be anything from how you fold your arms to the tone of your voice to the color of your socks. And, in marketing jargon, messaging is knowing your audience and conveying an idea, opinion or product in a way they understand. 

How can you make your message effective? Well. It isn't as easy as putting a minimum wage employee into a banana costume and having him hold up a "Buy One J****, Get One Free!" sign. (Let's keep this objective.) Messaging takes a few keep principles:

• Research
• Time
• Experience
• Asking a lot of questions
• Making assumptions and drawing conclusions

One of the best things I learned in my marketing classes is "You find out what consumers want and then you make the products. You don't make the products and try to market it to the consumer." In innovative times such as today, before we start a small business, invest in a big company or participate in a non-profit organization, we should all consider this statement.

What are some useless products you have seen? What kind of messaging have they done to promote their product, business or service?

Here are a few that I have seen:

• I need this.
• Of course I need this.
• Who doesn't need this?