On-the-Job Training

This is how I spent a big chunk of my weekend:

Right now, the only time it’s tolerable to be outside is at sunrise or sunset, so I’ve been trying to enjoy a few moments by the pool at those times.

I also:

• re-read two Nora Roberts novels
• watched a significant chunk of the U.S. Open
• took a 2-hour nap
• wore pajamas for 24 hours (not straight, but still…)
• found out that grilled cheese with apples, pickles, pesto and caramelized onions is delicious
• had a post-Dance Trance dance party in my living room (invited guests: me, Faegan, Junior; reluctant onlooker: Lucas)

I tend to take Saturdays “off” but spend several hours on Sunday getting work done for Growing Bolder, for my blog, for #Fitblog and more. This weekend was no exception, but I certainly indulged in more lazy time than normal…and it felt fantastic!

It always surprises me when people tell me they want to find a way to become a “professional social media expert.” And when I ask them what they like about that job title, and how they might describe some of the responsibilities, I get a mix of responses, including:

• work from home
• set own hours
• get paid to Tweet and be on Facebook
• get paid to blog
• travel to conferences and events

I understand that that’s the sexy side of what is perceived to be the job, but the truth is that social media is not really a job in and of itself*. Doing Internet marketing, tracking analytics, creating client reports on ROI, making presentations, making sales pitches, creating content, etc. are tasks that make up the job of someone who does social media. And how can you work in social media if you have nothing to actually share?

That’s why I think that for many of you, getting on-the-job training, in your current job, is the best move you could make. It’s certainly a less risky, more stable and often more powerful way to learn some of the tools from my list.

Take my experience. When I started working with my amazing Growing Bolder colleagues, we were a small start-up of motivated, ambitious, talented people — who set their own job descriptions. From Day 1, our roles have been to create the best products we can — from TV to Radio to Web development and more — and to do whatever it takes to set the world on fire around those products. We made our own job titles, set our own responsibilities and reported to each other. It didn’t matter what we were hired for; if we had a good idea and the motivation to see it through, we could do basically whatever we wanted to test that idea out.

When my boss came up with the idea for a social networking website devoted to telling the stories of the most fabulous 50+ people in the world, we all rallied and made it happen in record time (“Go For Launch“).

When my boss realized that nobody was telling those stories on the air, he started a radio show that quickly became a popular weekly broadcast (“Behind the Microphones“).

When I thought it might be a good idea to start a TV show based on the videos we were doing for our website and radio show, we sat down and brainstormed ideas for what it would look like, then shot a pilot (“GBTV Unplugged“).

When our developers told us about a cool new project called BarCamp, we took the entire gang (and cameras) to check it out (“GB Goes to BarCamp“).

When we saw how crucial social media marketing was for our business, I started Facebook pages, a Twitter account, a Twitter chat and more (“Our Social Media Guru“) then helped train my colleagues, who now consider social media one of the most important things we do.

When we realized that the men and women we were meeting and featuring in our stories were incredible inspiration to others, we created posters for our office and then took people on a video tour (“The GB Wall of Fame“).

The examples go on and on, but they all have one thing in common — they were created by ONE person with ONE idea and the passion to see it to completion. And none of us were specifically assigned to those tasks…we dreamed them up then got the permission and support to take a risk and see them through.

Everything that I have learned about social media, blogging, vlogging, Internet marketing, etc., STARTED AT WORK. Sure, much of that knowledge has been amplified by my non-work projects, but I would not have the confidence to paint myself as an expert on any of the topics if it were not for the experience that I got on the job.

I’ve shared this viewpoint before, and have heard from many of you that it’s just not possible at your current job to learn anything about social media. Some of you have privacy issues. Some of your bosses don’t see the value in social media. Many of you lack the permission to even start a project.

Here’s my advice.

Figure out what you can do, even if it’s on your own time.

• If your company has someone that does social media already, see if you can go to lunch with someone from that department and volunteer with their next project.
• If the business doesn’t have a blog, offer to help start one, writing at night or weekends to start.
• If you need permission, consider creating a proposal and setting up a meeting with a decision-maker. Show your boss the return on investment with something like Facebook Advertising or video content, then offer to spearhead the first efforts.
• Offer to represent your company at appropriate conferences, even if it’s on your own dime.
• Find examples of other companies in your industry using social media successfully and find something small that you can do immediately and with little risk to compete — then start doing it.

I have talked with lots of business leaders who tell me that while they understand that social media is important, they just don’t have the time or budget to get it started. Which is a perfect opportunity for someone like you, who wants to make social media an important piece of a job description, but isn’t sure how to start.

You know the phrase “it’s easier to ask forgiveness than permission?” If you truly think your boss might be resistant to you ASKING to start a project, consider finding a relatively risk-free task you can do to prove that social media can pay off, and use that to start the conversation (think: write an example blog post; start a Facebook page but don’t publish it; create an example of an e-newsletter you could send out to customers or clients).

And please, please, PLEASE remember: social media is about sharing content, not Tweeting or playing on Facebook. It’s about using the Internet and online connections to market ideas, projects and more. So even when people say they work in social media, keep in mind that it’s not a real job. The real job is in creating the stuff that will set the world on fire.

Agree? Disagree? Let me know why, and what holds YOU back from doing more social media on the job.

*there may be rare exceptions — if you know of any, please let me know!