some tips for getting a job in social media.

Fancy a job in digital comms? Then your digital profile might just need a bit more love, thought and attention.

by Bethany Crowe

I don’t believe there is any such thing as a social media ‘guru’ but I have recently been for a number of social media jobs and have learnt a few things along the way. These are the things I’ve learnt during the process, I hope you find them useful.

·       Show your enthusiasm for the subject!

Obvious, yes, but it’s surprising how few people showcase their skills and experience online when applying for digital jobs. You love this stuff, so be online loving it, it’s positive and encouraging stuff for your potential next employer.

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challenges in 2013 from a pr consultancy perspective

It's a tough time to be in public relations. The landscape which has changed forever is just as tricky for agencies. Here is what one senior figure has to say:

by Mark Whitehouse

Every PR agency will tell you they’re different.

We measure success for clients differently, boast a unique team of people, are the most creative, can implement a media campaign like no other, turn water into wine and back again.

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the people using twitter are changing

Think you know everything there is to know about Twitter? It might just be time to think again.

by Guest Editor                                  Emma Rodgers

I’ve always used Twitter primarily for work. It helps me to get ideas, find out news, meet new people and speak with like minded people often doing similar jobs across the UK and beyond. But a crossover as to who’s using it seems to be taking place. Sorry to all those who already knew this but it seems to me that Twitter has become the new Facebook for teenagers. And I find that fascinating.

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digital communications and channel shift in government

With the pace of change ever faster there has never been a greater imperative to learn. Resaercher and blogger Liz Azyan has spent more than five years at first hand mapping those changes. She talks here about her second white paper on the subject. This time for Govdelivery and LGEO Research.

by Liz Azyan

A few years ago I wrote a white paper on digital communications in government. I received useful feedback and also insight into the world of governments everywhere on how they were embracing change that was happening in the digital landscape.

However, the landscape of government communications is still changing, especially within the digital space. And its not just the landscape, it US - as people, as individuals, have changed.

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Head of Comms: JD 2.0

Every job in the public sector requires a job description and a person specification. Many of them, it appears, hark back to a time before social media existed and when we still used fax machines.

by Darren Caveney

Job descriptions. You can’t live with them, you can’t live without them.

They quite regularly fail to portray the real flavour of what we do these days. In a fast-changing world they are, to a degree, quite flawed as a concept but we still need them in local government, not least to determine what salaries we get paid for our roles.

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'newspapers in print are clearly going away. I think you're an idiot if you think that's not happening.'

It's not just the naysayers who say that print newspapers are winding down. But can they meet the challenge of digital first? One man thinks so. And he's got a news business with a $1.3 billion turnover.

by Dan Slee

Fail to understand the changing landscape and very soon you won't have a job.

It's something I've been banging on about for some time now and It's true whether you are a journalist, comms person or a fifth generation pit prop maker in 1983.

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16 points of the cluetrain manifesto comms people need to know

One of the seminal books of the web is more than a decade old. As the landscape changes it's also an essential read for anyone looking to understand the social web.

by Dan Slee

If you really want to irritate someone and show them how far from the curve they actually are point them at ‘The Cluetrain Manifesto.’

Published in 1999 as the product of a web forum the 95 points sketches out how the social web will work and what the future will look like. 

It’s bold stuff. The old way of doing things are dead. Thanks to the web people can organise themselves far faster than organisations. The organisation  that fails to realise all this will be left behind.

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sunderland, di canio and the pr perspective

So, appointing a manager with a history of making comments about fascism was never entirely a smart move. But did Premiership Sunderland make a tricky situation that bit harder?

by Eva Duffy

Last Monday was never going to be an average day in the office for communications manager Louise Wanless.

That Saturday her employers, Sunderland Association Football Club, had sacked The Nicest Man in Football™ Martin O'Neill after a defeat to Manchester United, the club’s eighth game without a win which saw the team precariously balanced just above the relegation zone.

The announcement of Paolo Di Canio as the new manager was always going to mean a challenging time for the club’s press office. Even as a player, controversy was never far. Most infamously, in 1998  he earned universal condemnation, an 11-match ban and a £10,000 fine when he pushed a referee during a Sheffield Wednesday fixture against Arsenal, a game I attended and left with a memory of the collective gasp of shock that reverberated around the stadium as the ref toppled backwards in slow motion. 

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tips for fitting social learning into a busy day

How on earth do you cope with a crisis like horse meat on top of an already busy working week and stay on top of social media to boot?

by Jamie Baker

Busy, busy, busy..... everyone, everywhere these days are extra busy. Work, family, and life in general needs so much...well...time! And following the dawn of the digital age there is even less time these days to be across absolutely everything that's out there.

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announcing the comms2point0 unawards 2013

Okay, who is up for it? We thought it may be an idea to stage our own awards. We'd like you to take part too.

by Dan Slee and Darren Caveney

Ladies and gentlemen, we'd like to announce a whole new concept in the idea of comms awards.

Like you we've thought to ourselves about the good work that we've done that will go unheralded and that will never result in us having our picture taken next to a BBC Look North regional news presenter. 

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do you need to improve your digital footprint?

So, what we say online stays with us. We all know that really. But do we do much about it? Can we shape what is up there? Here are some tips.

by Dan Slee

Should I be worried about my digital footprint? 

It's a truth universally acknowledged that your digital footprint will say a lot about you. A heck of a lot.

It's also true that recruiters are paying ever closer attention to what you are saying and doing online. A survey for Reppler showed that 91 per cent of recruiters were taking a look online as part of their selection policy and there's a great post here from Talk About Local on how a recruiter uses social search. If you are moaning all day on Twitter you'll probably not get very far, the recruiter says.

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social public transport

Public transport is vital. It gets people to work and where they want to go. But communicating changes in realtime can be hard. That's where social media now comes in.

by Peter Sharples

The regional public transport market is a jungle. Unlike in the well-funded and regulated capital, passengers in towns and cities are faced with a myriad of private bus and rail operating companies.

In our biggest conurbations, Integrated Transport Authorities (ITAs) coordinate this diverse market, joining up services and facilities for existing and potential customers.

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user generated content: ask nicely

User generated content. It's the polite way of saying pictures taken by residents or readers. But should we steal? Or should we borrow?

By Dan Slee

A couple of months ago I had barbed exchange with a former colleague.

We'd talked about the old days when we were both reporters at a daily newspaper and we smiled as we reminisced at old war stories.

Then our talk turned to the future for newspapers and a dark cloud drifted over our chat.

I spoke of how newspapers needed to be digital first and think of the web ahead of print.

I spoke of how bloggers shouldn't always be seen as the enemy but people to work with when you can.

I talked of how the bright newspaper should link back, attribute and ask for permission before using content.

I mentioned how annoyed bloggers get when their content is lifted.

"But this has always happened," my former colleague angrily said.

"They should just stop being precious. Think about when you lifted a story from another newspaper."

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up for the cup: march's top posts

Excitement always grows at Comms2Point0 Towers when the engravers get to work on the shiny £1 cup awarded to the creator of the top post for the month.

by Darren Caveney

March was a bumper month for both the number and quality of new posts. And this possibly accounted for a record number of visitors and page views in March.

Anyways, cue drum roll and we'll do this, as usual, in reverse order...

In fifth spot was the superb, unfortunately, essential, 10 things to do when your team is cut in half by Rebecca Crosby.

At number four was Liam Barrington-Bush with How an author is using small conversations and viral campaigning We were chuffed to receive Liam's debut comms2point0 post.

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listening and monitoring

Listening and monitoring is a challenge that every digital comms person must face when running a social account. Here are some thoughts...

by Simon Booth-Lucking

We sponsored and attended CommsCamp, an unconference for public sector communicators.

We had a great time and you can read plenty about what other people had to say about it in this round-up of CommsCamp.

We ran a session on Listening and Monitoring in Social Media that was pretty well received so here are the slides and notes for you and anyone who was there.

1. This is a taster class from our Social Media School. It’s all about how to listen and monitor in social media using cheap tools and a few simple techniques
2. And a lot of those techniques we can learn from internet dating
3. Except we’re going to be very promiscuos, we’re trying to meet a lot of people in order to find our true loves
4. So here’s the structure for the class
5. Let’s start with a bit of planning first; although many of the tools are free your time isn’t so we need to have a plan so we’re making good use of our time

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