Careers In Social Media Marketing – Q&A With Dan Blank « MarketingJobWire.com
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Jan
31

Careers In Social Media Marketing – Q&A With Dan Blank

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So you want a job in social media marketing huh? Get in line and take a few notes out of Dan Blank’s playbook! Dan has built a successful career building communities through content and conversation. Here are a few insights from someone  I respect, whose work I admire, and when I’m blogging on marketing for Reed, I get to call him boss!

Q. What is your current role at Reed Business Information (RBI)?

A. I am the Director of Content Strategy & Development. It’s great job, I work across 40 brands and it tends to split into three main areas:

  • Helping to manage RBI’s blog program which consists of 200+ blogs and 300+ bloggers.
  • Working with editorial teams on their online content strategy, which could entail high level analytics of their web performance or working with a group of editors who are putting together a particular editorial feature.
  • Helping to develop social media and community strategies to better connect these brands to their markets.

Q. You’ve been a Disc Jockey, Cartoonist and Editor. How did you end up as a Director at Reed Business Information?

A. Odd as it might seem, there was a logical step-by-step progression that lead me here. In college, I had a clear love of media: DJing at my college radio station, drawing a comic strip for my college newspaper, interning at Rutgers University Press, and editing my own music fanzine. In my spare time I was an artist, moving from a variety of visual arts into a strong focus on making pop-up books.

The experiments with pop-up books lead me into graphic design. I taught myself how to use digital design programs, which landed me an actual graphic design job. From here, it was very much about being in the right place at the right time – I quickly began developing the first website for the company I worked for, and the jumped into the first dot-com boom, moving from startup to startup as each was born and failed in mere milliseconds.

These experiences, along with my communication degree lead me to Reed Business Information in 2000, as a web manager in the corporate communications department. My passion for Web 2.0 lead me to create an internal newsletter that discussed how the web was reshaping media. Over time, I got more involved in the online world, and was recruited into a new digital division that was formed in 2006. So you see, it all makes sense!

Q. Your mentioned that you assist in managing more than 40 magazines and online brands, 200+ blogs, and 300+ bloggers. What is the biggest challenge in managing so much content?

A. My mantra is this: enable, don’t control. My role is to identify what is working, what isn’t, and then educate and inspire the bloggers, editors and brands I work with. In doing so, I have to keep in mind the common goals of this group, and constantly filter what is worth sharing and what isn’t. My most powerful tools are to ask questions and listen intently.

That said, Reed Business Information has entire teams of folks who have systems in place to actually manage the content – creating a robust web platform, content management system, training, etc. They are the backbone of the online strategy.

Q. Social Media has become a hot-button topic of discussion in marketing but many new marketers do not connect the dots between new technology and traditional marketing practices. What qualities, characteristics and knowledge should young marketing professionals possess to be successful as both a marketing professional and an all-star social media practitioner?

A. What social media has done is enabled people to focus on their core goals and connect with their community more directly. In some ways, social media has flipped traditional marketing practices on their head. In other ways, social media and traditional marketing can work together as a powerful marketing ecosystem.

Social media not about the technology, it’s about what it enables. The goal is not to have a Twitter strategy, but have a customer strategy… which means you are always listening to and connecting with your customers no matter which platform you use.

Young marketing professionals need to move away from the broadcast-only model of marketing, whereby the goal is to blast your message to the widest audience possible. Social media has allowed us to serve the needs of customers, instead of simply interrupting them with your pitch.

The most important characteristic a marketer needs is quite simple: Care about your community, their needs and what motivates them. Find ways to enable them to reach their goals.

Q. Many recent college graduates are trying to obtain jobs in social media/web 2.0, what is the best way for young professionals to get their foot in the door?

A. Never before in history has it been so easy for someone to prove their worth. Forget about getting your foot in the door – you can create your own door! What I mean is, instead of trying to convince people that you understand the theory, prove it with actions.

Create a compelling online media product, engage a large group of people on Twitter, LinkedIn, a forum or other social network. Become a thought-leader in your niche by creating compelling content, creating a powerful network, and enabling the goals of others.

Social media is about being open and taking action. Instead of telling hiring managers what you could do for them, show them what you have done for others. Start small, stay focused, and measure your effectiveness.

Q. Do you have any final thoughts?

A. When I speak to journalists about leveraging digital and social media, there is a primary reminder that the basics are the same: telling honest meaningful stories that are fact-checked and essential.

But for marketers, I have found that it can depend on how they were schooled. So much of advertising is based on interruption. While that will continue to work, there is a more powerful, more nuanced segment of marketing that is evolving quickly. The smart marketers are integrating new media channels into their workflow and concerning themselves more with what they have to gain, not what they have to lose.

For young marketers just starting out, remember that the value you create for others will shape your career more than the value you create for only yourself. This means connect with people, help them realize their goals, and do so with passion.


Want to connect with Dan? You can find him online in the following places:

Dan Blank’s Blog - On new media & marketing

We Grow Media – On how small businesses can reach their customers online

Follow Dan on Twitter

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This entry was posted on Sunday, January 31st, 2010 at 10:04 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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