If you’re a communication major at Cabrini, you are well aware that our professors urge (and often require) us to use twitter, facebook and blogging as a way to connect with people throughout the world. “Communication is key” has been a phrase imprinted into our minds, regardless if we actually take the time out of our hectic lives to make it a priority. Recently, I had the opportunity to speak with one of the most fabulous and social media-driven personalities in the business, Loren Ridinger. She gave out extremely valuable advice that I think is beneficial for every person to know, so below I have listed some of her useful tips:
1. How to brand yourself:
-Ridinger spoke about how important word-of-mouth communication is
“Word of mouth, I believe, is still today the best way to advertise.”
-We all have the opportunity to build our potential empires without spending a lot of money
“You can build a brand or build a company without spending millions of dollars. How? Through social media. Anybody who’s anybody that is successful has made social media a huge part of their branding and their marketing technique.”
-Ridinger explained that advertisers are using social media outlets, such as twitter and facebook, to promote their products
“Use these tools to promote your brand.”
2. How to secure a successful blog:
-Make it more personal-it will attract more readers
“Use it as a form of a diary rather than a strategically planned way of reaching people. Why? Because people always want to know what your thoughts are. And if you’re thinking and writing to yourself, people naturally become interested.”
-Make sure to ask questions to your audience
“Ask people for their input. They’ll become more willing to check out your blog.”
-Have a “social media calendar”: this basically means that each day of the week, you should be blogging about something different but keep the pattern. Example: if you were to keep a food blog, make Monday the day that you talk about a new great restaurant, Tuesday when you talk about a delicious recipe, etc. Just make sure it’s a new restaurant/recipe every week.
3. Balance your priorities: Take time out for everything and everyone!
As college students, we obviously need to make connections and work as hard as we can to succeed once we graduate. It’s imperative that we find our nitch, something that we love to do, and we need to stick with it.
“If you’re doing something that you love, you don’t mind putting yourself last because your work becomes more of your play. But you also realize things that are important in life, besides work, need attention too. Like anything you don’t give time to, it can fall apart.”
No matter the trials and tribulations we are faced with, we should all know that we are capable of handling them.
“I told myself that the grass would never be greener on the other side. I would always be exchanging one set of problems for the other. Whatever my problems were in this lifetime, I would learn to deal with them.”
The moral of this story: Take control of your life and make the most of it. Appeal to a large audience, make connections, and know that all of your hard work will eventually pay off, regardless of your hardships.
