Our Blog: where do you stand?

What We’re Reading: Your 2012 Communications Make-Over

By: Beth Doriani | 01/13/2012

I don't care if it's your gym's 2012 slogan, a new marketing campaign, or advice from your mom, if I hear the phrase, "New Year, New You" one more time, I will scream! Go ahead, test me.

But because it is that time of year, as you begin to compile a new wardrobe or start exercising more, please don't forget about your online presence.  Maybe your social network profiles and tactics could use a little freshening up? Read this week's tips and trends to boost your presence in the Twitterverse, the Blogosphere, or whichever corner of the web you currently reside in, as well as tips for communicators in any field.

U R What U Tweet: How to Develop Your Personal Online Brand. Now more than ever, people are investing time and energy into social media for professional purposes. For example, if a boy with no high school diploma or resume (yet) can land an interview using social media, so can you. Follow Fast Company's five tips for creating personal brand equity. 

More than a Clipboard: Use Pinterest to Expand your Brand. Although the "newcomer" on the social scene has been around since 2008, it seems to have caught fire in the last few months. In a recent post, Mashable gives users the 13 tips and tricks they need to navigate a new system. Additionally, top brands on the Pinterest bandwagon use the site to establish expertise and engage customers with more than just words.

Back to School: Pronunciation 101. In his guide, Ragan's Justin Brown uncovers the 10-most important words you should learn to pronounce. Spoiler alert: there is not a "t" sound in often. Use this guide for those occasions when you need to step away from your desk to have a conversation, where spell-check cannot catch your mistakes.

Be Accurate, Even if it Means Correcting Yourself: As communicators, it is important that we put our best foot forward, not put a foot in our mouth! The recent New York Times correction-gone-viral story proves this point. The Times correction read:

"An article on Monday about Jack Robison and Kirsten Lindsmith, two college students with Asperger syndrome who are navigating the perils of an intimate relationship, misidentified the character from the animated children's TV show "My Little Pony" that Ms. Lindsmith said she visualized to cheer herself up. It is Twilight Sparkle, the nerdy intellectual, not Fluttershy, the kind animal lover."

While readers (appropriately) enjoyed the humor of the mistake, the New York Times philosophy to correct any mistake, no matter how small or seemingly silly, is a good one to implement in any form of communication. Of course, we'd love to have a whole year with no mistakes. Who wouldn't? But for those times when we do slip up, there's a precedent to fix it. 

Tell us what else you're reading this week!    

Posted in Digital Communications, What We're Reading