The man who’s done it all (and succeeded) shares his 5 rules for career growth…
+is LinkedIn cool now? and the cultural moments | news that caught our attention this week
quick summary ⚡️
Actionable tips from Emmy-winning journalist and MTD featured contributor Frank Radice on growing your career
How LinkedIn is benefiting from upheavals elsewhere in the social media landscape.
YouTube’s new AI tools for creators, Threads struggles to grow and more in the cultural moments and news that caught our attention this week
📢 [Entrepreneurs] Advice on how to choose the right clients for you
breaking down 5 rules for career growth…
MTD featured contributor Frank Radice has done it all. He’s been a network TV marketing executive, producer, director, Emmy-winning journalist, author and musician. We also adore him for his long-time mentorship to Melissa and M.T. Deco.
Here’s his advice on the 5 ways you can grow your career:
Do whatever you do better than anyone else, and better than the boss expects. Everybody knows everybody. Word spreads.
Invent something that’s never been seen before, just make sure they need it. As an assistant editor at ABC News, I created the morning bible. A big fat document filled with all the accumulated material from the night before. That showed them I was organized, as well as a thinker and a doer. It led directly to my next job.
Make contacts and relationships. You never know where a relationship might lead, so never stop building and nurturing your network.
Be friendly. Try and be gracious and friendly with everyone because you will surely need those friends when the enemies pop up, and they will.
Be curious. Early on in the social media explosion, I had an employee who came to me and said, you need a Twitter and Facebook account. Together, he and I pitched our bosses at NBC News that the Today Show should jump on the bandwagon. Our curiosity was the start of something big.
for more tips from Frank, head to the MTD blog x subscribe to for a curation of what Frank’s reading and consuming each week. You’ll be in great company, it has an enviable list of influential followers in media, tech, and entertainment.
is LinkedIn cool now?
With the constant change and landmines found on other platforms, LinkedIn has become a safe haven for some.
“‘On Instagram or TikTok there’s more frustration, because what worked more than a year ago, or even six months ago, that got success and got tons of eyeballs doesn’t today,’ says Selena Rezvani. ‘There’s more of a steadiness with LinkedIn.’”
According to LinkedIn, this spring they saw a 41% increase in content shared by users.
What once was just the place to humble brag about new jobs and promotions, has become a place for people to build their personal brands.
“Writing earnestly on LinkedIn was once derided as awkward and professionally desperate—as in the 2017 ‘broetry’ era, when the site’s feed was populated by self-described gurus and growth hackers. Now, trying to become a so-called thinkfluencer seems strategic and at least marginally socially acceptable.”
“And while Meta and X distance themselves from the news industry, downplaying article links, LinkedIn is beefing up its curation efforts and partnerships with content creators and publishers. “
more on LinkedIn from Bloomberg
💎cultural gems💎
The cultural moments and news that caught our attention this week:
YouTube rolls out new AI tools for creators (NBC News). The new tools include AI Insights, which produce new video ideas based on what the creators’ audiences are watching; Dream Screen, which allows YouTube Shorts users to create unique backgrounds by typing a prompt; soundtrack suggestions for videos; and Aloud, a dubbing tool that translates videos into multiple languages.
Meta’s Threads struggle to grow amid rivalry with Elon Musk’s X, ranking ahead of of only Tumblr (CNBC). Despite its blockbuster debut, Threads has stalled out, failing [as of right now] to establish an identity of its own.
I asked 65 teens how they feel about being online (The Cut). “Overall, the teenagers I polled seem to be figuring out how to navigate the pitfalls of social media unsupervised — and after difficult skirmishes, many are climbing out of that algorithmic rabbit hole, newly armed with self-awareness, confidence, and coping mechanisms.”
How corporate jargon can obscure reality (The Atlantic). “White-collar workplace jargon often seeks to make the banal sound thrilling. Not much that happens in these workplaces is actually that high-stakes.”
lululemon and Peloton Announce Five-Year Strategic Global Partnership (Business Wire). “lululemon becomes Peloton’s primary apparel partner.
Peloton becomes exclusive digital fitness content provider for lululemon and will develop all content for lululemon Studio beginning early 2024.”
"splitting the bill" discourse & transactional friendships (@tiffanyferg). One of the (many) topics of discussion on TikTok has been the politics of splitting the bill when going out with friends. YouTube commentator Tiffany Ferguson breaks down the surprisingly complicated topic.
how to decide if a client is right for you
Speaking of clients, a hard lesson many entrepreneurs need to learn is how to decide if a potential client is the right fit.
On our blog, MTD founder Melissa shares how she navigated this tricky territory after making the jump from corporate life to small business owner…
When you jump from a corporate job to your own company, there is a moment of panic [re: many moments of panic] that all revenue comes directly from you…for me, that fear manifested into saying yes to all client opportunities. My career had been entirely in media up until that point, so I wanted to test out my strategy work on other industries. But if I’m being fully honest, another incentive was to try and make more than the salary I had at NBC. It was some stupid challenge I put on myself to prove my self-worth, and it was that misguided goal that landed me in a number of less than ideal contracts.
Now that I’ve had a couple years of experience, I have qualifiers I run through when I consider onboarding a new client. Above all else, a client must be a partner - potential clients need to understand that when it comes to digital strategy -- or any kind of creative collaboration -- it is a partnership.
The first step in any collaboration is to make sure your client understands the scope and the involvement required on their part up front. For example, when we embark on a digital strategy, there is often a misconception about the workflow for producing content. Oftentimes clients think this work can be outsourced, when in reality they need to be fully engaged and creating themselves while the digital team brings it to life in the most powerful ways possible.
Once you’re on the same page regarding workload, here’s how to weigh the pros and cons of a potential client [or internal + external entities in a corporation]:
Will they help you evolve your skill set and offerings? If a client is in an industry that you haven’t worked with before, or if they have an issue you know you could tackle, but might not have first-hand experience with, be brave, charge them appropriately [aka at a discount given limited experience] and challenge yourself!
Are they a high-profile individual or a well-known brand? It’s always good to have at least some clients that are more widely known. It validates the work that you do and helps tremendously when it comes to pitching to future clients.
Could they be a feeder to more and consistent clients? If a client has their own clients, for example, or are part of an agency where they interface with a lot of types of talent, that can be a huge advantage for helping you bring in more and consistent clients.
Are they a short-term or long-term client? When considering a potential client, think through their lasting potential and pitch accordingly. The ideal situation is that you set up the strategy and keep them on retainer for execution as long as possible [also known as anchor clients].
Melissa shares more of her experience - and expands on these tips - on the MTD blog