Social Media Ninjas

...they landed dream jobs right out of college, thanks in part to having the experience and skills that earned them the coveted title of “Social Media Ninja”...

Traveling the online career path with two stars

Recently a want ad was spotted in the job section of Seven Days newspaper that sums up the changing world of marketing and advertising. The Burlington-based online education review websiteGetEducated.com was looking for a "Public Relations Ninja." Apparently, gurus and specialists did not need to apply.

Both Corey Grenier '10 and Nichole Magoon '10, who graduated in May with degrees in Business from Champlain, could easily have answered that "ninja" job posting with a straight face and the credentials to back it up. That is, if they were in the job market this fall.

Fortunately for both young women, they landed dream jobs right out of college, thanks in part to having the experience and skills that earned them the coveted title of "Social Media Ninja" for their work in a senior-level marketing class last spring.

Grenier, 22, of North Kingstown, R.I., majored in Marketing and Advertising and is now employed as an account executive at Brandthropology in Burlington, Vt. Magoon, 23, a Graphic Design and Marketing major, works full-time in Colchester, Vt. on MyWebGrocer.com's marketing team. Both use their social media talents with Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to do their jobs.

The ninja skills were taught by one of the leading experts in the social media field, Champlain College's associate dean of the Division of Business, Professor Elaine J. Young. It's Young's own obsession with all things new online and willingness to bring her students along that have earned her a reputation as a "sensei" in the broad online social media arena.

Corey Grenier ’10, (left) and Nichole Magoon ’10 (right) were all smiles after their senior marketing project for the Governor’s Institute earned them social media ninja status from marketing Prof. Elaine Young, Associate Dean of Champlain’s Division of Business (center).

It Begins in the Classroom

Young's teaching style and online presence caught the attention of U.S. News & World Report for its recent article on professors using Twitter in the classroom. Young and her students' real-time tweets from Champlain's commencement in May and a class project with Magic Hat Brewery for a "Twitter pub crawl" were cited as examples of how higher education is incorporating the online micro-blogging service into the classroom and daily life.

Whether it is Twitter, Google Wave, Radian6, or Foursquare, Young says it is critical to incorporate cutting-edge tools into her marketing classes. It gives Champlain students the ability to step into a work situation with confidence, she says. "Four years is a long time, and the technology is changing at such a rapid pace most businesses can't keep up. So if an education in marketing is going to be worth the price of admission, it must be continuously integrating the new trends in communication technology- not yesterday's trends, but today's and tomorrow's-into the construct of its classes," Young explains.

And while today's students may have grown up surrounded by technology, they still need specific training to use it properly in a business and workplace setting, she said.

So last spring, she replaced the old-school letter grades with more descriptive terms to describe their in-class social media skill levels. Young required her senior-level marketing students to identify something that they were passionate about-cooking, surfing, dancing, etc.-and then brand it through social media outlets, including a website; promote it using a blog; and follow up with analytics to measure the results. By the end of the semester, Young sorted her students into four levels of expertise:

• Grasshoppers, who didn't quite get it.
• Apprentices, who still needed more seasoning in the ways of the web.
• Specialists, who were well on their way to expertise.
• Social Media Ninjas, who mastered the not-so-ancient art of tweeting and blogging, and then artfully used social media tools in a business setting for creative marketing results.

Gaining National Attention

"The goal was really for them to learn to use the tools most effectively," Young told Avis Thomas Lester, a Washington Post reporter who featured Young and her class project on the newspaper's technology blog. Lester also interviewed seniors Candace Martabano, Jackie Cooper, Magoon, and Grenier via Skype for a podcast on Washington Post's website.

Students gained insights, Young explained, learning "when they posted consistently, they had more traffic and more engagement. When they used Twitter to tell what they were writing about and to ask for feedback, they got more readers."

Magoon, whose class blog was titled "Hire This Grad," even helped fellow Champlain seniors promote themselves and eventually find jobs. "Basically it featured different seniors and why they rock and why you should hire them," said Magoon. "One friend was offered a job. They found a student through www.hirethisgrad.com and contacted her and asked her to come in and interview for this position. It wasn't something that she was looking for, so she recommended someone else and that person was hired, so indirectly, someone was hired."

As of this fall, Magoon says she believes that every graduating senior whose profile was featured on the website is employed. She has plans to continue the blog and perhaps even turn it into its own business. "I just want to change the world using my social media skills," she said.

Still, "friending" and "tweeting"-no matter how sophisticated-is not enough in today's competitive business climate, Young wrote recently in Business Week magazine. "Today's marketing students also need to know basic HTML, design software such as the Adobe Creative Suite, how to run Google adwords campaigns, how to optimize a web site for search engines, how to analyze Web analytics data, how to develop a keyword strategy, and how to manage e-mail marketing campaigns."

Importance of Internships

Young's thoughts are reflected by Matt Dodds, owner of Brandthropology, a small, full-service ad agency on Pine Street in Burlington. "Champlain programs and the students it puts out in the community for internships are really a huge benefit for small businesses like mine," he says. "Champlain does a great job of giving its students relevant skills and the confidence to work in real situations like ours."

It was an internship at Brandthropology that eventually resulted in Corey Grenier's job offer for full-time employment a week before she graduated in May. This summer she worked with clients like Northwestern Medical Center, the Alpine Shop, and Champlain's Continuing Professional Studies, managing their marketing accounts and juggling the production of PR, video, radio spots, web sites and print advertising with team members at the agency.

Grenier's go-for-it spirit is what initially opened the doors to her internship. Jonathan Wilson of Brandthropology recalls he was impressed by Grenier's initiative. Faced with the "routine" of applying for an internship, "Corey was ultra vigilant. She hit me up on Twitter. She stopped by the booth at the Champlain internship fair. She e-mailed me and fulfilled all my ridiculous requests for more information... even before she got an interview. That's hustle," wrote Wilson in a reference letter Grenier later posted on Magoon's www.hirethisgrad.com site.

The social media ninja status also landed Grenier and Magoon on a panel of experts at the Vermont Human Resources Association annual meeting held at Champlain College in August. Speaking before more than 100 attendees, they shared their experiences with online personal branding and the job market. "It really helps employers to find you," Grenier advised.

Online Presence for HR

The fact that human resource officers and career services and counseling are relying more on social media to link potential employees with businesses looking to hire doesn't surprise Dolly Shaw, director of Champlain's Career Services Office.

Champlain's efforts in teaching students about the importance of online personal brands and using social media was highlighted last spring by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), an organization that provides information on trends related to the employment of college graduates to businesses and industry.

According to the NACE report, Champlain's Career Services Office has been seeing an upswing in interest in social media from employers and is already positioning itself to provide expanded programming and services to students. For example, Shaw says an unusually large number of employers seeking Champlain College interns cited the need for help in creating and improving their business's online presence.

Students and graduates who have a strong online presence should expect to be found more easily by college recruiters, hiring managers, and the world at large because their personal and professional information is more accessible, she adds.  

"The reality is that more and more universities and employers screen applicants using social media, and a bad brand or no brand can have a negative impact on an individual's future," Shaw says. "We urge students to make a clean sweep of their ‘digital dirt' and strategically cultivate and showcase a strong online persona that will shape positive perceptions of them both professionally and personally."

All that brings two important challenges to the Champlain College Career Services Office this year.

• Strategically expanding connections with students and alumni through their preferred mediums of communication, and helping them connect with each other.
• Helping students become more mindful of what they showcase online and teaching them how to build, manage, and safeguard a powerful brand and social and professional network to achieve career success. 

Champlain's career services staff and faculty provide education on social media through individual appointments, classes, resume and interviewing workshops, and web resources.  

"Champlain is also integrating an educational program in social media for juniors as part of its Life Experience and Action Dimension (LEAD) program, which includes a four-year career development component in preparing students for lifelong career management," adds Mark Zammuto, a Champlain senior career advisor. 

"It's not just what you know, it's who you know. And it's not just who you know, it's who knows you, " Zammuto says. 

The Ultimate Payoff

Looking back over the class project and the experiences that led to her job with MyWebGrocer.com, Magoon says the challenge of creating a personal brand helped her understand more about herself.

"I'm driven and dedicated, and I truly, truly enjoy helping others. My goals are to make something of myself in this world, to help others and to make a difference," she wrote on her blog. "...My drive, my dedication, my heart and my passions define who I am and I'm proud of that. I still have a ways to go on my quest for self discovery and definition, but I've made great strides because of this project."

Ninja Training Tools of the web

Looking for ways to increase your online and social media savvy? Here are some first steps to take on your journey.

Twitter/Facebook/LinkedIn

These social media tools are free and effective ways to connect, market, and sell yourself to a vast audience. Make sure to take the time to learn how to use these tools correctly. Remember, it is easy to sign up, but more difficult to make a productive impact.

Google Alerts

One of the keys to success is to research and monitor everything. Google Alerts is a great service to track when a keyword, such as your name, is mentioned online. You can also set it up to watch for key industry or business words to track news and gather updates in your chosen field or job interest area.

WordPress or Blogger

WordPress and Blogger are free blogging platforms that provide easy tools and templates to create an online presence for yourself or your business.

Google Docs

Gmail, Calendar, Reader, Spreadsheets, and Documents. Gmail is what you should be using for e-mail. The calendar is basic, but it is free and you can easily integrate it on your phone. Google Reader is where you should track the sites you want to read every day. Google Documents are great simply because they can perform the main functions of a program like Word but can also be shared and edited by a group of people at the same time.

Mint.com

Odds are, you are strapped for cash and your spending is tight. Mint is a simple platform to track spending and budget for yourself. Make sure you create a budget for yourself so that cash flow never prevents you from doing something, like paying rent.