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Stephanie Winans

Business & Marketing Strategy Consulting

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creativity

8 Reasons #StartupLife Might Be For You

April 19, 2016 by Stephanie Winans Leave a Comment

Wondering what it might be like to leave corporate America and work for a startup (or start your own!)? Here are 8 pros of working for a startup (otherwise known as why #startuplife is awesome).

1. You’ll learn more (and fast). Working for a startup allows you to rapidly expand your professional skills. You’re routinely encouraged to take on responsibilities that stretch your existing experience, giving you a chance to learn new skills. At larger companies, you’re often restricted to duties that speak to your existing skill set. While it’s nice to stick to what you’re good at, it’s hard to get good at new things in this environment, which stunts your long-term professional growth.

2. You’ll feel good. Working for a startup is personally rewarding. There is something magical about building a company from the ground up: when it succeeds, you feel ownership in that success. You can’t get that feeling of ownership and pride from working on “someone else’s baby.”

3. You’ll own it. Speaking of feelings of ownership, you might get equity as part of your compensation package. Many startups give managers equity to better align incentives and reward hard work.

4. You’ll be challenged. If you’re in a career rut, working at a startup can refresh you. Fueled by motivation to achieve early milestones, there will be no time for boredom or complacency.

Pros of working at Startups

5. You’ll get creative. Working for a startup ignites your creativity. It takes creativity to carve out space for a new brand in an existing market, or to educate consumers on a new product if you’re disrupting a market. When your budget is lower than the competition’s, you’ll resort to innovative ideas to win.

6. You’ll be passionate. People work at startups because they love the idea or are moved by the problem the product solves. Who doesn’t want to work for something they believe in?

7. You’ll bond with your team. There’s a feeling of “in this together” that comes with building something new. Because startups typically run lean, managers are careful to hire for personality and fit and not experience or aptitude alone. Co-workers you actually like? Yes, please.

8. You’ll love the knowledge sharing. Tackling early problems requires brainstorming. Because there are rarely duplicitous roles and startups often foster a judgment-free environment, your co-workers will teach you what they know.

At Bundoo, professional growth is a big focus. We believe that skill building is one of the best things a startup can offer. We created Bundoo U, a meeting where a different Bundite teaches the team a skill each week. We vote on topics for each person, and the team member gives an interactive presentation on the winning topic when their turn comes around. These meetings not only teach us new skills that may help later in our careers, but they also help the team understand the value other Bundites and departments carry.

Not convinced? Tell me why in the comments.

Filed Under: Business Tagged With: creativity, small business, startups

Why Tweet? 7 Reasons Your Strategy Should Include Twitter

January 15, 2012 by Stephanie Winans 1 Comment

“Twitter is not a technology. It’s a conversation. And it’s happening with or without you.” –@charleneli

It’s true. Your listeners are tweeting. Whether you’re rocking Twitter, have neglected your Twitter account or have never even signed up, people are tweeting about your brand- the station, the personalities, the music, the events.

As of September 2011, there were 100 million active users on Twitter. It’s is a social media powerhouse that radio shouldn’t overlook. If statistics alone aren’t incentive enough, here are seven reasons your station’s social media strategy should include Twitter:

1.    It’s popular. In 2011, Twitter topped an annual list of most-buzzed about social networks conducted by Zeta Interactive. According to Mashable, “these rankings measure both volume (number of mentions in more than 200 million blogs, social media outlets and online posts) and tone (comparing positive and negative buzz).”

2.    It’s a free focus group. You can manage your brand reputation by using Twitter to monitor what is being said about your station as well as the shows, personalities and music you feature. Use Twitter search to keep an eye on conversations about your station or competitors. Ask questions about new music, features or shows to get honest feedback about what listeners like and don’t like.

On Facebook, you only have access to the comments listeners make on the station wall. With Twitter, following the listeners who follow you gives you access to their stream of tweets.

3.    Contesting is easy. Running a contest or promotion on Twitter is simple, with no budget for third-party apps required. Twitter’s official contest rules are much less rigid than those of Facebook.

4.    It’s a resource for show prep. Use Twitter Lists to organize the accounts you follow. You can create separate lists for entertainment news, local news, and other stations or shows that inspire you. Twitter trends also provide entertaining on-air topics.

5.    It’s helpful for on-air interviews. Celebrities prefer Twitter, and many personally manage their own Twitter accounts. Air talent can use Twitter to research their guest before an on-air interview. They can reach out before and after the interview, increasing the station’s exposure to the artist’s fans all over the world. Tweeting links to audio, video, or pictures of an interview draws web traffic from more than just the artist’s fans in your market.

6.    You can tweet often. Research from KISSmetrics shows that it is optimal to tweet 1-4 times an hour. The frequency etiquette of Twitter gives you leeway to post a variety of content daily- contests and promotions, music news, concert updates, breaking news, entertainment stories, and character tweets from your air staff.

7.    There is opportunity for creativity. Television is a great example of how Twitter can transform a one-way broadcast into an interactive experience. The X Factor used #hashtags, encouraging viewers to tweet #IAmSimon, #IAmLA, #IAmPaula or #IAmNicole to show their affinity for a certain judge’s comments during the show. They read the tweets aloud in real time to get viewers more involved in the show.

Whether you’re already a pro or just getting started, exploring new ways to use Twitter will create value for your station’s online brand.

Have ideas or other uses for Twitter to share? Leave a comment or send me a tweet @StephanieWinans.

 

-written for Radio Ink Magazine

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: creativity, focus group, frequency, interviews, marketing strategy, show prep, social media strategy, television, twitter

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