Aug
12

4 Strategies to Immerse Yourself into the Boston Startup Scene

burst bubble(Note: This post originally was written for the BostInnovation blog and re-posted here as part of my blogging portfolio.)

From the outside looking in, you may think getting a job at a startup is like getting a job at any other company – Starbucks, Staples, Macy’s, etc. I hate to burst that belief, but it’s a bit tougher than just filling out an application, having a formal interview, and hoping to get chosen among the multitude of applicants.

Getting into the start up scene is about who you know and how much you are willing to give to make a company succeed. Being in Boston adds another unique layer to this; we are a very tight-knit community. Although Boston is a relatively big city and it may seem like a large pool of companies and candidates, we all talk. Why? Because we all are on social media or go to events regularly!

Coming from a small town in Connecticut myself, I had to learn the hard way that getting involved in the startup scene in Boston was no easy task. However, it was the best journey I’ve ever been on. Being here a year and a half now, I want to share with you how you can go about getting a job in an awesome start up in Boston without wasting time.

1. Network – work the scene

networkign bostonDue to our tight-knit community, we all tend to navigate towards the same type of events. I find myself saying “Long time no see!” in a sarcastic manner to many people who attend the same events as I do. We all know the right events to go to, whether a casual beer and networking event or a knowledge-based event. Start attending events, talking to various people about the events they attend, look for patterns, and deepen your network.

This will allow you to become recognized in the area and allow you to learn from this group and get the ‘in’ on potential job openings.

2. Get involved on social media

Let’s face it – Boston is full of nerds. It is also full of social media enthusiasts – and we’re a bit proud of it.  I highly suggest you create Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and even YouTube accounts and start interacting with influencers in Boston.

You can find these influencers by noticing how many followers they have, how much they engage with others and by catching them in person at events. By following conversations and talking with other people in Boston, you will build up recognition of your skills and interests.

3. Create your own personal brand

personal brandingJust like any consumer brand, it is important to distinguish yourself in the market. Making yourself both memorable and visible is crucial today. Chances are, if you are being interviewed for a job, the employer is Googling you to view your personal brand and digital footprint.

I highly recommend starting a personal website or blog that demonstrates what you are interested in, your past experience, and anything else career-related you want others to see.

For me, I blogged about digital marketing, posted videos on how to brand yourself online, and posted my video resume. On top of that, build out social sites like Twitter and LinkedIn demonstrating the same information on your site to create consistency.

People will come to expect certain content from you and will know where to get it. This is crucial when you are on the job hunt. Being visible and helpful online can go a long way.

4. Be yourself

It is important to first and foremost act like the same person whether online or in person. Your personal brand online should reflect who you really are. If you are a fun, bubbly person, write in a conversational, easy-going tone. That way, no matter which way a person is communicating with you, they know it is truly you.

At the end of the day, it is who and what you know that can get you into the Boston startup scene. Networking properly and demonstrating your expertise both online and offline are critical to getting seen and remembered by potential employers.

Most of us at BostInnovation have done these above four things to get jobs at really awesome companies and involved with this blog. Ask any of us, it was more than worth it!

Aug
11

5 Features You Need in an Ideal Marketing Metrics Tool

This post originally appeared on the oneforty blog. It’s being reposted here as part of my blogging portfolio.

Let’s face it: you probably have not found the perfect tool to measure all your online marketing activities. True, you may have found one that was ‘just good enough’ but still doesn’t give you exactly what you need.

Truth be told, in the grand scheme of things, social media and internet marketing is generally still new. With that comes developing metrics tools that do not quite fit our exact needs yet.

The great part about being in an awesome city like Boston is that we all know we’re in it together to figure out the best ways to use social media, optimize internet marketing campaigns, hone in on our funnel, and optimize conversion rates. We all want the same thing. We all work together to help get the results we need.

A few months ago, I was searching for that ‘perfect’ metrics tool, so I went to oneforty’s Managing and Measuring Social Media LinkedIn group to find an awesome group of people suggesting many tools. After an exhaustive search through, I decided write an article on my website about the Pros and Cons of Social Media Metrics Tools to give members my honest feedback on each tool I tested.

Through the process, I tested about 20 different tools, and found a few that actually fit the bill. While I did settle for a few ideal ones, none were perfect – even when combined.

As a marketer myself, I’ve identified the five critical metrics an ideal solution should have to help you become better at your job.

  • Middle of the funnel statistics: Sure, Google Analytics can show you what referral traffic brought people to your site and your checkout system can tell you how much revenue you received – but what about in between those activities? What steps did these people take between visiting an outside link, to getting on your website, to purchasing? Did they visit the blog? Did they watch a demo video? Did they engage in a chat with a support representative? If you can figure out which activities people perform most that convert to sales, then you can optimize that funnel to get even more conversions.
  • Customizable charts and reports: If you are a visual marketer like me and/or need to report marketing metrics to your boss or your advisory board, you need an easy way to compile specific bits of data. If a tool gives you the ability to create custom reports with specific data points, great! On top of that, if they can provide you with bar, pie, and graph charts (among others) to depict this data visually, even better! The easier you can present this data to others, the better your work looks.
  • Percent changes amongst data points: Want to know how many people came to your site and purchased between April and May? Even better, wouldn’t it be great to know the increase or decrease in this traffic month to month? This can help you determine what you did right and wrong and how to optimize each channel with specific content and sales drivers.
  • Dashboard activity: Wouldn’t it be great to log onto your metric tool to see a customized page of all the data you need to know up front? Some tools I currently use do this (Raven SEO Tools for example) but not for every aspect of my marketing program. It’d be great to choose the top 4-5 KPIs (key performance indicators) they need to know at a given time and be presented with that data as soon as they log in. That would make my day SO much easier, and probably yours as well.
  • Ability to visually see conversion rates across mediums: You may have multiple tools in place that can track social media traffic conversions, email campaign metrics, and press-related data. What if there was one single tool that showed traffic, conversions, and percentage change across all these channels at any given time period? To me, this would be the absolute most critical piece of data to know. That way, not only can I better understand the overall performance of our marketing activities, but so can everyone else in a visually pleasing way.

Of course, this list can go on and can be altered depending on the industry you’re in, marketing challenges you face, and marketing programs you are running. This serves as a guideline for some of the most important aspects of a metrics tool you should look for before settling for the one that seems to be ‘good enough’.

If you have other major KPIs you are tracking and metrics features you need to correlate with them, please leave your feedback below to add to this list.

Just like in Boston, if we can all help each other figure out the main things we need to track as marketers, hopefully the ideal solution will appear sooner than expected to satisfy our needs and help us all become better at our jobs.

Aug
07

What’s Up! [Video Blog]

I have to admit – I have not done a video blog in over a year (bashful face). Not because I didn’t like them – I just started to not have the time to brainstorm what to say, tape it, edit it and upload it. But, enough with the excuses.

I owe you guys a good update on what’s new with me and this blog so you know what to expect from here on out.

This video will explain what my ‘new’ job entails, why I love working in the Boston start-up scene, and three main topics this blog will now be focusing on.

As I say at the end of the video, please feel free to share blog post ideas you’d like to see published on here (and I do welcome guest posts on occasion as well).

As always, thanks for being an awesome reader!

Aug
07

Why it Pays to be a Go-Giver, Not a Go-Getter

Last week, I was meeting with a few of my networking contacts, discussing the way in which we all like to network and what we are looking to get out of it. I told them, “I love to learn about the new, exciting things other are doing and seeing if I can help them out in any way. I genuinely like to help others and make great ideas succeed.” One person pointed out after I elaborated more on this point that I’m a go-giver, not a go-getter.

A light *sparked* in my mind.

People always tell you to be a go-getter. You never really hear the term go-giver. However, I stopped and thought about this – and continued thinking about it all the way home. If you’re like me, you would rather see others happy and successful than seeking out that happiness and success for yourself first. You thoroughly enjoy asking people, “How can I help you?” (and not in the Dunkin’ Donuts drive-up line manner).

gift givingI’ve started realizing through my proceeding conversations and actions that being a go-giver is a respected, endearing and selfless thing you can do that can benefit both parties if done right.

Especially in the Boston start-up scene, there are many, many hard-working people spending their days and nights and last few dollars trying to grow their startup. When they are asked if they need help, this is like spotting gold. Entrepreneurs are full of ideas and spark, but they need more minds and man hours to make the idea happen.

While I know I’ve told many more people I’d love to help them than what’s been reciprocated back to me, I’m actually quite content with that. To date, I am an advisor for four awesome startups in the Boston area, contribute blog posts weekly to BostInnovation and am about to start a non-profit website to help homeless animals. Not in any one of these circumstances am I ask for anything in return. I am genuinely interested in helping these ideas grow for the pure sake of seeing them succeed.

To revert back to my original conversation of a go-getter vs. a go-giver, I was also reminded that go-getters may still become extremely successful and wealthy, but all they have done is helped themselves. They probably have said “no” to many people who asked for their help or advice for the pure reason that they were devoting 110% of their time on their own endeavors. While there is nothing ethically wrong with this, I find it good business to help and then be helped.

This is why I truly enjoy helping and giving – and this will never stop.

The reason I felt the need to write about this is because I want each and every person who reads this to stop for a second and identify which one, a go-getter or go-giver, you are, and if you are content with that.

Have you asked to help another out in the past month? Have you given selflessly to a cause without pay or proper reward? Do you seek experience helping others for the sake of even just learning, if not monetary gain?

I ask you to try being a go-giver for a week. Attend networking events, identify one or two people who have great ideas you are passionate about and see where you can be of assistance – even if all they need is access to you to bounce ideas off of. How about contribute an expert guest blog post to a start up that could use your help? Why not stay a few hours extra at work just because you truly care and want to get things done? You may find that it’s even more rewarding than money. I do.

Enough from me - I’d love to hear your stories. Are you a go-giver? If so, what are some things you’ve done selflessly to help others and had a successful outcome? If you are not a go-giver, what are some things that would inspire you to become one? And also, I always encourage others to counteract my ideas if you feel strongly otherwise.

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