Greg McMullen

This weekend I decided to head down to visit my girlfriend, who is attending IU Medical School, and while we know that living an hour apart is going to be tough we never realized how hard it was until today around 2:00.

She and I have been together for the last five years and honestly we’ve both been rather selfish with doing what we want instead of really thinking about one another. She wants to be a doctor, and I have no idea where my life is taking me. Right now I work in a fast paced environment working with Social Media, Websites and doing Technical Support for the Home Improvement Biz. However, I know that my heart’s not in it and I’m doing it really for the week to week paycheck. That’s why I recently picked up a job at Pike High School as an assistant swim coach.

This coaching job is more in target for what I want to do. The difficult thing that I’ll have to deal with is not being able to come home right after work, instead I’ll have to deal with going from work to practice, then finally home. I know it’s going to be time consuming, but I’m hoping that it’ll keep me entertained and active. I’m ready to do what I want to do, instead of what everyone is telling me I’m good at.

Sometimes you have to be willing to settle for what you can get. But once you realize what you really want to do make sure you chase after it. Give yourself a time line to achieve your goals just make sure it’s realistic. Start your business, go get a different degree or whatever, just know when it’s a wash. However, “if at first you don’t succeed. Try, try again.”

What’s so important about Social Media?

Whether you are just starting out or are a social media ninja there’s one thing that’s always going to be important in the art of Social Media Marketing. YOU!

Without You, there aren’t going to be any interactions. Posting “Here’s our deal, buy from us” isn’t engaging your customers. YOU need to start having a conversation with someone, YOU need to reply to messages that interest you and YOU need to share what will interest your friends or followers.

The idea of Microblogging has been redeveloped. When Twitter was released I thought it was just like blogging (which I was wrong, I have to admit it) “Tell me what you’re doing; Where you went; How you did ___”. Boy was I mistaken.

Social media revolves around conversations, whether that’s creating new ones or simply watching for something to reply to all you need to be is yourself.

I’m sure that you’ve heard the old phrase “Don’t Judge a book by it’s cover” but is that really how we operate? I know that I am guilty of judging someone based on their looks.

When we are looking for something or someone we look at links, videos, and images. What I want to talk about is your personal appearance, particularly in your online avatar. If you were to show up to an interview in a pair of ripped jeans, a dirty polo and basketball shoes would you be received the same as if you were to show up wearing a professionally cleaned and tailored suit? I think not!

The same goes for your online appearance. You cannot expect to be taken serious as an 18-year old at a party with a beer in your hand. Marketing yourself starts with your initial appearance. This doesn’t mean that you have to go out and have a professional head shot done (however @mooshinindy or @joshhumble could help you there). You just need to make sure that you are portraying yourself in a manner that is not detrimental to those judging you solely based on your cover.

As was stated by Casey Mullins (@mooshinindy) at the @BlogIndiana Conference “Find three words that describe you and have your avatar represent those three things.”

One last thing to remember, you can never get a second first impression.

If you’re interested, please leave some comments below. You can also find me on Twitter, @mcmullen_greg

Edit: If you are looking for a place for a “Global Avatar” (usable on most WordPress Websites) go to http://en.gravatar.com/. Your Email Address helps to identify who you are and displays the correct avatar of your choosing.