Ryan Stephens Marketing

Just a reminder: These are blogs that I enjoyed reading, for whatever reason. Perhaps they were valuable for me, merely entertaining, thought provoking, were about something I’m interested in (i.e. social media) or potentially something I thought my tribe would enjoy. As always, I would love feedback. Did you catch these posts during November? Did any of these resonate with you? What are some of your most recent favorite reads? Even better, what’s your favorite thing YOU wrote during November? Share it with me in the comments section.

Sixteen Great Twitter Moments – David Spark (Mashable)
Here is a great example of Twitter serving as the connective tissue that made some really great moments and opportunities possible.

Reinventing Crisis Communications for the Social Web – Brian Solis (PR 2.0)
This is a somewhat lengthy post, but Brian really delivers the goods. He literally provides a dynamic process to integrate crisis communication into the existing corporate communications and marketing workflow. There’s tons of applicable advice and insights packed into this post. It’s a must read if you’re in PR.

37 Ideas to Grow Your Job Search Network Right Now – Jacob Share (Job Mob)
If you haven’t figured out by now I really like actionable posts that you can immediately start implementing after reading and determining value. During the current economic recession, whether you’re currently job searching or not, you need to start (or continue) building your network right now. Use Jacob’s ideas as a starting point.

25 Ways to Fail and Come Out on Top – Valeria Maltoni (Conversation Agent)
A lot of Valeria’s stuff really resonated with me this month. I am a big believer of failing (albeit failing fast) and learning from those failures to keep progressing a moving forward. This post effectively illustrates 25 different ways to do just that.

10 WordPress Plug-ins for New Blogs – Darren Rowse (Problogger)
This post provides a quick glimpse as some solid plug-ins if you are starting a new blog or just looking for a starting point to add some plug-ins. Unlike some of these other posts I debated about adding to the list because it’s not this though provoking (wish I would’ve thought of that) post, but I went back and included it because I definitely think it could potentially benefit many of my readers just getting started in the blogosphere.

Target Audience or Key Relationships – Why it’s Okay to Miss the Bullseye – Mike Sansone (ConverStations)
Mike discusses how it is important to know your target audience, but if you hit outside that audience, those additional conversational relationships can be beneficial by increasing your visibility, potential for collaboration and more. It’s a short, thoughtful read.

Is Social Media Becoming the New MBA? – Rohit Bhargava (Influential Marketing)
One of the questions I am most often asked is, “Was it worth it to get your Masters degree?” (Yes) I thought Rohit’s take on whether or not an MBA is becoming an optional asset and the possibility of hybrid options (such as social media) offering many of the core benefits and skills people expect to receive from an MBA was both thoughtful and discussion worthy.

The Marketer’s Attitude – Seth Godin
This is potentially my favorite post of the entire month. It’s what I aspire to be as a marketer. I’d like to think that I am very good at many of these (charisma, intellectually restless), but there are others I definitely need to work on (being comfortable with ambiguity). What about you?

10 Killer Resources for Social Media Entrepreneurs – Brian Clark (Copyblogger)
Here’s another post I went back and forth on including, but again decided at least half of these resources would definitely be stuff that you guys might be interested in. Whether you’re deep into social media or just getting started, there’s a resource for you in Brian’s post.

Save Your Career: Start a Blog – Joseph Jaffe (Jaffe Juice)
I featured this piece in a recent post, but I wanted to share it again here. I can’t emphasize enough how many opportunities my blog has brought my way. Blogging is the way to stay relevant during these tumultuous times. Joseph gives you 10 reasons to start the blog and then 5 ways to take the plunge.

Why Start a Blog and 25 Ways to Make it Work – Valeria Maltoni (Conversation Agent)
I told you Valeria was on fire this month! Like Joseph’s blog, I have recently featured this post, but I’m going to continue banging the drum for blogging. Valeria gives valuable insight into both to you and your readers as to why you should start a blog, and then offers 25 tips to making it work for your business.

Answering the Ultimate Question: How do I Convince my Boss of the ROI of New Marketing – David Meerman Scott (Web Ink Now)
There’s a lot of people out there asking me the question of, “How do I convince my boss we need to be involved in social media? How do we measure the ROI of new marketing?” David offers a great video that answers this question both cynically and pratically. If you’re one of the people that has been asking this question, start here in building the foundation for your explanation to your boss.

Change Blindness – Faris (Talent Imitates, Genius Steals)
David Damore was kind enough to share this with me. This is a fun video that showcases change blindness, and shows how we process visual data. This is more fun than relevant, but I promise it’s more interesting than the chain letter your grandma e-mailed you this morning.

The Reluctant Social Media Client – Aliza Sherman (Web Worker Daily)
I’ve been working on a project lately that continually reminds me of how deep I am into this space, and that there are others that just don’t “get it” yet. Aliza offers four great ways to help you handle the reluctant social media client. As for my opinion, they have to want to learn, and if they do they’ll become equipped a lot faster (and be more successful) than the company (person) you have to convince and cajole.

Everything is Risky – David Armano (Logic + Emotion)
David writes, “The internet is slightly different. And it’s evolving. It’s unpredictable, messy, organic, empowering, addictive and pervasive. It’s good and bad—highly interactive, responsive, connective and alive. In fact, it’s a lot like life. And like life, with it everything is risky. That’s a good summary of his post, but there’s a bigger takeaway. Please go read it.

The You Show – Seth Godin
I love this post because I really admire the people who put on their show. I can be wildly passionate, very outspoken, sometimes on the fringe of obnoxious I suspect. That’s who I am. On a competitive sports field, I’m don’t have the stoicism of Derek Jeter. I am yelling and fist pumping, and talking a little noise. The thing is in any business situation (particularly with superiors) I’m stoic, soft spoken, and tactful to the point of not necessarily conveying my true thoughts and feelings. Is this good or bad? I’m not sure, but I know that I love the Jeff Widman’s out there than put on their show.

Finding Great People Should be a Top Priority Especially in a Bad Economy – Ryan Healy (Employee Evolution)
I have always been a proponent of hiring good talent, and interested in the way people define good talent. There’s people with 4.0′s that couldn’t carry on a conversation with a box. The point is, the one Ryan makes, is that companies need to invest in finding great people and that doesn’t mean sifting through a stack of resumes received via monster. [Remind me, I'll expand on this notion in a post soon.]

Open Letter to CEOs: Don’t Cut SM Staff – Shel Israel (Global Neighbourhoods)
Being passionate about social media and the ways in impacts businesses makes this a must read for me and anyone that feels the same way. Here’s my favorite excerpt, “This is the time to think about the most efficient way to be closest to you customers, to what’s left of your company ecosystem. You need to be among the first to detect the nuances of your market and adjust. You need to think about the most efficient way to keep in the conversation. ”

The Top 5 Ways to Brand Yourself Inside Your Company – Dan Schawbel (Personal Branding Blog)
I think that when a lot of people think about personal branding they think about me, me, me. The reason I included this particular post from Dan this month is that 3 of his 5 reasons emphasize how personal branding can really benefit others including your team, your company and your boss. Certainly they all help your own personal brand as well, but remember that the best brands thrive on helping the team succeed and that the first person you need to make successful is your manager.

Involve, Create, Discuss, Promote, Measure - Valeria Maltoni (Conversation Agent)
Here Valeria has taken a framework from Gary Hayes and Laura Papworth and expanded on specific aspects showing how someone would progress throughs social media marketing. Who do you think are doing these things well?

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