When I was in college, I was always told that it’s all about who you know. I heard this common saying from teachers, my parents, older friends and managers at my internships. It was very hard to disagree with this phrase because I had spent months interviewing to get a job upon graduation because I wasn’t comfortable networking. There were many opportunities for me to attend events, meet alumni and connect with friends, but I felt introverted and didn’t have the confidence back then to take the “networking leap.” By disregarding networking from my job search, I quickly found out that it was going to take me more time, energy and luck to get a job. Some of my friends called their uncles and parents and secured a job without even interviewing and I had found myself pledging to companies, just like I had done with my fraternity at college.

I vowed once I got my first full-time job out of college that I would always prioritize networking as the key to my future. It is also one of the parts of the personal branding “Success Triangle.”

A new world with new rules

While networking could have given me a competitive advantage and saved me time in the corporate recruitment process, today ... read more >>

The Jan-Feb HBR features the article “Rethinking Marketing,” by Roland Rust, Christine Moorman and Gaurav Bhalla. In it, the authors argue that B2C companies need to adopt strategies that put the customer in the center, and tailor products and services to small segments, rather than pushing products and services onto the mass market.

VRM advocates will encounter in the piece lots to disagree with around “managing” customers and pushing offers on them, Including a rather gruesome example of “one insurance & financial services company (that has) proved adept at tailoring products to customers’ life events.”

Customers who lose a spouse, for example, are flagged for special attention from a team that offers them customized products.

Nevertheless, there are many undeniably beneficial things that come out of the customer orientation the authors advocate. Most significant to me is their proposed shift in customer service from a cost to be contained to a strategic asset:

This function should be handled in house…to help cultivate long-term relationships. Delta Airlines, for example, recently pulled out of its call centers overseas because cultural differences damaged the ...

TopRank’s recent Blogging and SEO survey of in-house, agency and independent marketing, advertising and PR professionals revealed that 95% of respondents incorporate blogs as part of their online marketing mix. Nearly 88% have successfully increased measurable SEO objectives as a direct result of blogging. Thousands of new blogs are started by companies and individuals each day. Yet getting a blog set-up, optimized, and launched are just the first steps. No one will know you have a blog to read, subscribe or link to unless you take an important next step: promotion. There are plenty of places you can promote and market a new blog:

• Add A Link – If it’s a company blog, or if it’s attached to another site, add a link to the blog from the main navigation on the parent website.
• Create A Badge – On the main website, add a badge to the homepage, or sidebar, that promotes the the blog. Images are a good way to catch a visitors attention.
• Email – Add a link to the blog in your email signature.
• Newsletter – Announce the blog in the company newsletter.
• Network – Announce the blog to your Twitter followers, Facebook fans, Linked in connections and any other ...

guest post by Chris Turnquist

Having served in the Marine Corps for ten years as well as co-founding and operating a web strategy company, I offer a unique perspective on our military and its’ Web Strategy. The United States has the world’s second largest military, after the People’s Liberation Army of China, and has troops deployed around the globe. With an “All Volunteer” military force of 1,454,515 people serving on active duty and an additional 848,000 people in the seven reserve components, I think most people would agree that the military’s recruiting mission is of an epic scale compared to other organizations.

Having one of the most challenging recruiting tasks of any organization in America requires nothing less than an exceptional marketing plan. The five branches of the military each have a distinct military mission and therefore recruit a little differently. More specifically, I would like to discuss why I feel the U.S. military is using the internet to market more effectively than almost any civilian corporation in the world.

Just like any other organization, it is first necessary to have a thorough understanding of the military’s mission or business plan ... read more >>

Once you have claimed your business’s Twitter handle, have you considered what to do next?  Do you feel lost in Twitosphere?  Before Tweeting consider spending a few hours writing up a marketing plan specifically designed for using Twitter to build your business’s brand awareness.

Here are three steps to get you started on building your business’s brand on Twitter:

Step 1:   Do some research and review what your competitors Twitter profiles look like.  Of course, you don’t want to copy exactly what they do, but it will give you some insight into what you should include on yours.   Don’t only review their profile, but also review what type of followers they have, who they are following, and what their Tweets reveal.

Step 2:  Once you get an idea for how you want your profile to look, fill out your user profile to the best of your ability.  No one will want to follow you on Twitter if this isn’t filled out.  That includes having an avatar, whether it is a picture or a logo of your company.  Make sure your bio is the best it can be because your bio will be the deciding factor on whether a follower will follow you or not.  Use ... read more >>

1. The Tri-Fecta of Sales Opportunity: Personal Branding, Social Media and Inbound Marketing
2. Dan Schawbel Interview: Use Personal Branding to Increase Your Sales
3. 26 Reasons to NOT Create Your Personal Brand