Tips and advice seem to be the Internet’s most hotly traded commodity. Using my own experience but also tons of crowdsourcing techniques, I try to offer up tips, mostly in regards to social media and publishing. Reviewing what we wrote over the past year, I pulled out our favorite and most popular advice articles for 2011.
Thirty Innovative Recruiting Tips for 2012
I asked recruiters and business owners what their most unique recruiting tip was for 2012. I tied this article in with Spark Media Solutions’ coverage for Dice of the Recruiting Innovation Summit where we asked attendees to hold up speech bubble boards with their innovative recruiting tip for 2012. Check out the 100 photos, plus there’s video at the end of the article where we asked the very same question.
Top 25 Influencers in Security You Should Be Following
If you’re in the IT security industry, this is a must read and must follow list. This piece was written for Tripwire’s “State of Security” blog and is really a culmination of the people they’ve been paying attention to and following in the industry. What’s most valuable about the list aren’t the names, but the security tips each and everyone offered for the new year.
30 Tips on How to Interview Like a Journalist
This was a really fun crowdsourcing project where I asked fellow journalists to offer up some tips on interviewing. It really was a selfish exercise as I was trying to come up with some new techniques myself. I asked the question also on LinkedIn for Journalists and the conversation continues to get great answers.
Discussing Brand Journalism on DishyMix with Susan Bratton
I’ve interviewed Susan Bratton, founder of Personal Life Media, many times about how she created her online media network. She turned the tables and interviewed me about Spark Media Solutions. While I was explaining what I do, I offered up a ton of tips of how to get recognized at a live event utilizing brand journalism techniques.
10 Effective Techniques to Boost Employee Morale Without Increasing Salaries
A great crowdsourcing effort written by Spark Media Solutions’ Joy Powers. We got tons of really great advice from the community. We learned from our audience (and Daniel Pink) that money is not necessarily a motivating factor. This piece got picked up in a ton of locations including Ragan.com and the NYTimes.
Seven Ways You Can and Should Start Charging for Your Content
A round up of techniques you can use to get people to actually pay for your content. The trick to getting money is to actually demonstrate value or create a desire for more of your content. How badly do you want it? Are you willing to pay for it?
12 Tips on Approaching Bloggers
These tips came as a result of a panel discussion I moderated at the PR Summit in San Francisco. The room was filled with PR reps and the panel was filled with journalists. Here’s what came out of that debate.
How to Become One of the Most Respected Companies in Your Industry
This is a successful case study story of how Spark Media Soluti0ns worked with Tripwire to increase their recognition in the IT security industry, make connections and relations with key industry influencers, and overall improve their industry respect and reputation.
Will Your Company Ignore Your Social Media Strategy?
I see it happen time and time again. Companies get all worried that they don’t have a social media strategy so they hire a social media strategist to create one for them, and then no one follows through with it. That’s because every social media strategy requires everyone to participate. And trying to get people to change their behavior is a more complicated process than just developing a social media strategy.
HOW TO: Record, Publish, and Manage “a Video a Day” of Your Child
I became a father a year and a half ago and I started a project where I shot a short 1-minute video every day of my son. Eighteen months later the project is still going strong and I haven’t missed a day. Seems like a tantamount task, but it’s not. All it requires is a good strategy to plan everything out. I’ve done it for you, so you don’t have to. If you’re a new parent or know someone who is/will be a new parent, please forward this to them. I’m very happy that I started and kept up with this project and so is my wife, mother, and mother-in-law.
Four Solutions for Taking Collaborative Meeting Notes
It aggravates me so much when I come to a conference or meeting and I see everyone in the room repeating the same exact task. We’re all taking the same identical notes. Why not take advantage of the multiple bodies and minds focused on the same goal and create collaborative meeting notes? Here are four ways to do just that.
How to #Trend on Twitter
This is the most popular post/article on Spark Minute. It’s advice on how to create a trending topic. Most of the advice centers around creating trending topics at live events. I’ve actually had a lot of success with these techniques with my clients.
HOW TO: Jump-Start Your Career by Becoming an Online Influencer
This is a really successful article I wrote for Mashable earlier this year. Offers a “how to” guide with real practical advice to be an industry voice. It’s not easy, but these are the effective steps you’ll need to get you there.
Looking for a Social Media Strategy? Try This One.
“We need a social media strategy” is uttered in desperation. There’s this sense that others have capitalized on this social media bandwagon and you haven’t even got a ticket to take a hayride. In an effort to give people a good jumping off point, I wrote up this “all purpose” social media strategy that can work for most organizations. Start with this, and then begin to tweak for your needs.
Check out MORE great pieces from 2011
Stock photos courtesy of Shutterstock.
