Allow me to introduce myself! My name is Ethan Cohen. I am a graduate student at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts. I am pursuing a Master's Degree in Public Administration, which I will receive upon graduating in May 2014. I graduated last May (2013) with a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science. (If only my high school guidance counselor could see me now!) I know what you're thinking; why is this guy who has a degree in Political Science, and who is now getting a Master's in Public Administration writing a blog about social media marketing?! Well, it's for a class I'm taking. BUT WAIT! Before you leave and think I'm just another idiot on the internet who thinks they know everything, allow me to explain. It all started back in 2007 *queue wavy flashback animation and music*.
A custom-built Computer
I was an average high school student. I was more concerned about "being cool" and spending time with my friends than I was about school. Sure, I wanted to go to college, but which one? And what would I study? I didn't start seriously thinking about that until after the SAT was over. I liked computers, games, cars, normal teenage boy stuff. What could I do with cars? Car salesman? No, not really my thing. Car repairs? That could be cool as a hobby, but I wanted to make more money than that. Ok so cars are out, Computers and games? I think I missed the bus of opportunity for the computer market by a decade or two. So computer science is not an option for serious money, but I'll keep it as a backup. Well what else do I like, that I am pretty good at? Politics! No, not as a politician, but at framing arguments! My father was always watching the news on television or listening to talk radio in the car. I was always so frustrated by the people and politicians who were trying to get their points across. I felt like they were always doing or saying the wrong thing. Sure, they had a good point but they weren't selling it effectively. So I thought, there's money in politics (how naive), I'll study that!
I worked on a few political campaigns throughout my senior year of high school and all of college. I even worked as an intern at the Massachusetts State House for the State Treasurer. And while I gained some
great experience and met some really wonderful people, I realized this wasn't really what I wanted to do. As far as campaigning goes I realized, this is getting me nowhere. I had licked enough envelopes and held enough signs. And working at the State House was certainly cool, but I just wasn't getting that feeling of "this is what I want to do all the time". So what was it about politics that had initially gotten me so hooked and passionate? That these politicians may have had the best intentions, but they were just not good at getting their message out to the voters. They needed to go high tech, they needed to speak more to my generation. On long car rides between home and school, or in the shower I would find myself thinking about if I was in a political debate, how would I counter what the opponent is saying? Or about a commercial I saw on TV earlier and how it was boring or annoying and could have been done better. It wasn't until I began graduate school that I put the pieces together, and realized I wanted to do PR and marketing. While my degrees and experience may not be exactly what marketing employers are looking for, I feel like they are not totally disjointed. It's not as if I had a degree in theoretical physics and decided I wanted to fly planes for a living. No, I believe politics and marketing are actually closely related. Both rely on data about the public. And depending on the specifics of the campaign, you'll need data about certain parts of the public. Both also require you to be able to create a professional message that ideally is not controversial, but still attention grabbing. Although no publicity is bad publicity (unless it gets you fired!) And both fields require constant innovation in public outreach mediums and strategies. Always be looking out for the next big thing, and how to take advantage of it. Right now, the big thing is social media. And just like the phone replaced snail mail, and e-mail replaced the phone, and social media replaced e-mail, something someday will replace social media as the best way to contact the public. So here I am! Taking a social media marketing and communications class! Feel free to ask me questions or leave comments and I'll do my best to answer them! Happy reading all!
In the book Groundswell, by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff, they discuss how new social media technologies are impacting the way we do business around the world. While reading this, I came across a passage in which they mention an individual who represents a finance company, and wants to get into the social media market because he knows of another large company that has done so. He didn't understand why he should be looking into social media, but he felt like he should, mostly due to this other company that he knows. This got me thinking.
"Groundswell" Book Cover
As a millennial, the thought of not being on social media and the internet seems absurd. I couldn't believe that there are still companies out there that lack an even mediocre social media presence. Now my "I'm graduating soon, gotta fin d a job" senses began tingling. Since I would like to go into marketing, I felt this would be a great opportunity to apply for jobs! Now keep in mind, this book was originally published in 2008. It is now 2014 and a lot has changed. My initial reaction to this realization was, "of course, never in the right place or at the right time." Almost every large company that you can think of has a significant social media presence now. Then I began thinking about which types of companies might not have a prominent social media presence in 2014. What kind of business would be caught with their social media pants around their ankles in this day and age? Well, Small ones, and perhaps some medium size ones. Businesses that have relatively few employees, and can't really spare the cash to hire a full time social media guru are really the only ones who don't have a comprehensive social media plan in place. Sure, they may have a Facebook page, or a Twitter account, but they don't really understand how to be successful in using social media to expand their audiences and take full advantage of the potential benefits social media can provide. They may not know how to effectively use analytic tools to maximize their social media performance. There is definitely a demand there for someone who knows this stuff, perhaps a fresh college grad? The problem is they likely do not have the money to pay a livable salary. At least not for simply managing their social media accounts. So now I'm wondering; where does a young person, fresh out of grad school find a job in marketing? Do they apply to a marketing firm, and work their way up from the bottom? That's probably the most realistic option. Do they apply to do marketing for a specific company they know and like? One that can afford to hire them? Maybe. Again this means starting at the bottom and working your way up. Do we do part time work, or accept a very low salary to build experience for a small company? This is a possibility, although I don't think living in a box under a bridge is what most of us had in mind after graduation. It seems to me, that the real opportunity to get in on the ground floor of this "Groundswell" has already passed, which means that advancement in the social media marketing niche is either already, or is quickly becoming, like any other job sector in regards to prospects and advancement. Feel free to either confirm or alleviate my concern!
great experience and met some really wonderful people, I realized this wasn't really what I wanted to do. As far as campaigning goes I realized, this is getting me nowhere. I had licked enough envelopes and held enough signs. And working at the State House was certainly cool, but I just wasn't getting that feeling of "this is what I want to do all the time". So what was it about politics that had initially gotten me so hooked and passionate? That these politicians may have had the best intentions, but they were just not good at getting their message out to the voters. They needed to go high tech, they needed to speak more to my generation. On long car rides between home and school, or in the shower I would find myself thinking about if I was in a political debate, how would I counter what the opponent is saying? Or about a commercial I saw on TV earlier and how it was boring or annoying and could have been done better. It wasn't until I began graduate school that I put the pieces together, and realized I wanted to do PR and marketing.
