How To Brand Yourself

With the recession in full swing, it's becoming harder and harder for people to find jobs. This is due to a combination of factors. First, because consumer spending is down companies don't have the revenues to take on new talent. Second, in order to stay above water, companies are resorting to massive layoffs meaning that the few remaining jobs are being flooded with high quality applicants.

Because of this, it is extremely important for professionals, especially young professionals, to present themselves as the strongest candidate possible. Of course, for the young marketers out there, this should be second nature. Just take some of that brain power you used in building your portfolio to make yourself the coolest, smartest, and, most importantly, best candidate for the job.

In a recent article for TalentZoo.com, marketing expert Danny Flamberg shared some insights into how to do just this. Check it out if you've got a few minutes. On the other hand, if you don't have a job you've probably got more than a few minutes. Either way, just follow this link. Trust me, it's worth it.

Quoting from the article:

Layoffs are a daily occurrence in this recession. Too many of my friends and colleagues have found themselves involuntarily benched. If thousands in each industry are on the street finding a new job requires a personal Zen that’s comprised of patience, routine, sustained confidence, steady action and considered risk-taking.

To effectively seek work – you have to think like a marketer and market yourself as a brand. Identify your unique selling proposition, carefully target your potential new employers, craft persuasive messages and determine ways to get the attention and consideration you deserve. But be realistic. The toughest part of job hunting is managing your nerves and marshaling your resources.

The good news is that thousands of others are in the same boat. There’s no embarrassment to being out of work. But that’s also the bad news; thousands are competing for hundreds of jobs. It’s a buyers market where some employers are trading up.

Monetizing Twitter

I wrote a little while back about how much I love using Twitter. With tens of thousands of users tweeting each and everyday, I'm certainly not the only one. It's quite simply one of the most entertaining and useful services to emerge from the vast social media landscape.


Of course, in an economy like this, being a useful service isn't enough. The creators of Twitter, despite the incredible buzz their product has built in the tech world, have so far been unable to earn any money from their product besides initial VC funding. With that funding drying up, however, the company needs to figure out a way to start turning some cash or face an inevitable trip to the Web 2.0 graveyard.

Luckily, there are numerous ways in which Twitter could be monetized such as charging for a premium Twitter service, or working in a realistic advertising model. In a recent article for AdAge, Abbey Klaasen discussed these ideas and more. Check it out here if you're a fan of the service. Also, in case you want to connect with me on Twitter, you can follow me from here.

The "I Got Fired" Survival Guide

In case you haven't been paying attention, we're going through a little rough patch economically. On second thought, take that last sentence and substitute the word "little" for "colossal" and the words "rough patch" for "hellhole" and we're getting closer to the truth. People are losing their jobs, their savings, their sanity; in short, things are getting nuts.

Thankfully, I myself have not been laid off. However, if I do have the terrible misfortune of getting the axe I can take solace in the advice of Martin Bihl who shared some survival tactics in a recent article for AdAge's Talentworks Blog.

From the article:

They teach you how to design. They teach you how to write. They teach you how to take a client to lunch, and they even teach you how to get a job. But no one ever teaches you how to be fired. So in these perilous times, if you are one of the folks recently employment-free, let me be among the first to welcome you to your new life -- or at least, to your new life for a while.

And while I'm not going to pretend that anything I say will make it enjoyable, I can offer some advice on how to survive it with a minimal amount of therapy. So here are six simple tips on how to be fired. Take them for what they're worth. And tell me if they make sense to you. (Hey, it ain't like you've got anything else to do.)

Viral - What's it all about?

The term "viral marketing" gets tossed around a lot nowadays, but what does it really mean? If you put out a hilarious YouTube video of a man getting kicked in the groin that gets 60,000 views, are you suddenly a viral marketer extraordinaire? 

Probably not.

Unfortunately, with video sharing, blogging, and  other components of social media becoming ingrained parts of our lives, many folks in the marketing industry assume that's about all you need. Of course, good viral requires a commitment to sound strategy, intelligent execution, and, above all else, a really good idea. You know, the same things that make up any good marketing campaign?

In a recent post for WhatsNextBlog, marketing strategist B.L. Ochman discusses the finer details of viral marketing and some dos and don'ts for companies. It's a great read for marketing students who don't want to sound like dummies when they talk about viral at their next job interview.

From the article:

What doesn’t make a campaign go viral:
o sending out a press release about your latest viral
o an email that says “this is a viral campaign”.

What kind of creative is likely to go viral?
o Knockout creative that's funny, shocking, intriguing or surprising
o An idea customers can relate to and care about
o A clearcut message so people are able to pass it on with one sentence
o An easy way to pass it on - a link, embedding code, "share this" button, email to a friend, etc.
o A concept that builds relationships with customers by getting them to interact with others
o Measurable outcomes - as in: what is this campaign hoping to accomplish and how will be measure it.

What can help spread the word?
o Blog advertising with the right creative can be remarkably cost-effective and high-yield.
o Blogger outreach (which can backfire if pitches are lame.)
o A seeding plan to get the campaign started.

Traditional Local Advertising Models Replaced by Digital

Ever since the old economy decided to descend into terrifying oblivion, people have been trying to figure out ways to cut back on their spending. For example, tonight I bought a 15 pound turkey for only 5 bucks! Sure, it wasn't frozen and I have to cook it by tomorrow or I'll end up with salmonella, but that bad boy will give me a week's worth of lunch and dinner. Now that's value!

Of course, this blog isn't about my phenomenal thriftiness*; it's about advertising. Which brings me to this article from CNNMoney. According to the report, many businesses are looking to scale back costs by changing their local advertising from traditional models such as newspapers and radio to digital ones like banner ads and search ads.

Although this shift was already occurring to a certain extent, Internet advertisers have seen especially rapid growth since the economic downturn. Interesting news for those would be media planners about to graduate and just another sign that digital is the place to be.




*Note to self: Create blog about my phenomenal thriftiness.

How a Website Comes Together

Clay Parker Jones, of exitcreative, wrote an interesting blog post recently about a project he was working on for a couple of guys in Atlanta. The goal was to create a website that intelligently and efficiently catalogued the more than 11,000 barns and stables across the country. The result was RidingResource.com, a one-stop shop for equestrian info. (The site hasn't officially launched, but you can get updates on its progress through Twitter and Facebook)


Having never personally created a website (I've written copy for websites but haven't been extensively involved in design), I found the post incredibly interesting. Of particular note is Clay's strategic use of social media in getting the word out about the site.

For the full post, click here.