60 Minutes To Become A Smarter Marketer

When do you find the time?

This is the question that I am most often asked about these new media channels. When do I find the time? The truth is that it doesn’t take that much time at all. In fact, if you’re looking to get up to speed, here’s what you can do in 60 minutes to jumpstart your Social Media engagement…

60 Minutes to become a smarter Marketer:

• News Reader (15 minutes). Head over to Google Reader, sign up and grab five Blogs from my "Check out these Blogs" column on the left-hand side that look interesting and read the last Blog post from each of the Bloggers.
• Add interesting people on Twitter (5 minutes). Send out a tweet to your Twitter followers asking them for the 5 most interesting people that they follow who are not considered a "Twitter Celebrity." Start following those people… start engaging with those people.
• Update your LinkedIn profile (10 minutes). LinkedIn is an amazing way to connect to like-minded business professionals. Most people’s LinkedIn profiles are either not completed 100% or are out-of-date. Update your profile! If it is up-to-date, link LinkedIn with your email addresses and add/connect to more people who you know.
• Watch a TED Talk (20 minutes). There are tons of Marketing related TED Talks. You can watch 18 minutes of glory from people like Seth Godin, Malcolm Gladwell, Clay Shirky and many more.
• Order some Marketing books on Amazon (10 minutes). Blogs, Twitter and Facebook are great, but there’s nothing like deep diving into a topic, and nothing can beat a great book. If you’re not sure where to start, simply type "business book" into the search box above and you’ll find countless Blog posts about business and marketing books that continue to inspire me. Another option is to head over to Amazon and look at the Marketing and Sales section (under Business and Investing) for some inspiration.

You can do it.

These were just three, random thoughts on how anyone can get smarter in 60 minutes. The truth is that by applying yourself and doing these five things, it won’t just make you smarter in one hour, it has a compounding effect. The more you tinker with these channels, the more you’ll uncover and the more you will learn and grown. The truth is that you can do one or two of the steps listed above and get moving in 30 minutes.

One hour to grow and learn seems reasonable… doesn’t it?