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WSJ: How to market yourself online. Employer action required

An interesting and useful post - one of WSJ's most popular. So, if your most valuable future employees follow these excellent guidelines, then as an employer you need to be in a position to register their interest.
 
How's your LinkedIn company profile? And does it have some recruitment focus?
Are your key staff on message in their profiles?
Who's following your company?
Is your company a member of all the key groups and in on the discussions to which they're posting?
And do you have an effective presence on the other sites they're contributing to?

blogs.wsj.com/hire-education/2010/05/24/a-resume-is-not-enough/?mod=e2tw

Peter Greatorex, Managing Director, Page Nine Limited.
www.page9.co.uk
 

The Marketers' Holy Grail 2.0

I've just watched episode 3 of Dr Aleks Krotoski's BBC programme The Virtual Revolution - The Cost of Free, examining the rise of Google (especially of Adwords) and how it and other companies use our freely-given information for profit.

She said the following, explaining the power of Google's Adwords proposition: "What if you knew precisely what your customers wanted at any time, and could instantly provide them with it? With that information they could create tailor-made ads that would target directly the customers who were likely to buy their products without wasting money on the people who wouldn't". Indeed. The Holy Grail. And about Adwords Eric Schmidt, CEO, Google said "You can speak to each individual as though they were a different person; it's not a broadcast mechanism, it's a narrowcasting mechanism".

So, if you take for granted that in business we're all connected 24/7, that knowledge is power, and personalised communication essential, then just how do you go about finding out what your clients, current and potential, are interested in? After all, they're sitting behind firewalls and security settings that mean when they do (if they do) hit your web site you don't know it's them. They're constantly browsing and downloading, bookmarking, tagging and forwarding and you don't know - other than from aggregated results amongst whom your targets are but a few - what they're interested in. But with PRISM you do. If they're getting their news and updates, commentary and opinion through and from you, you can profile all you like, and act accordingly, when you like. They're your clients, you know precisely what article they read, and when. And they're a subset of all your potential clients too, so the benefits are wider-ranging, feeding into your broader PR, and online messaging.

Peter Greatorex, Managing Director, Page Nine Limited. www.page9.co.uk

Noise

There's a lot of noise out there, in blogs, forums, tweets et al. And clever companies are trying to find out who's saying what about them, their brand, current campaign, or whatever, so they can react and/or target their own communications effectively and in time. Just checking your own web metrics and click-through rates isn't enough, it's a small part of the whole picture.

There are companies and services now proliferating to help you cut through. Whether you call it CRM 2.0, or profiling, it's becoming very important. With email now near saturation point - the new DM, and more often deleted than read - isn't it time to figure out better ways of communicating? The tools and technologies are there, after all - as is the data. So, adding profiling makes sense.

But how about doing this yourself - starting at the best place - with your own clients? Extend your knowledge of their interests, preferences, focus and opinions. And create a dialogue. And put your brand in front of them 24/7, strengthening your position as trusted advisor and partner. And be the primary source of relevant news, opinion and commentary.

Posted by:
Peter Greatorex, Managing Director, Page Nine Ltd. www.page9.co.uk