July 16, 2009

Getting noticed: How big is your intellectual footprint?

• 2 Comments |
• E-mail |
• Print
• • Share:
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  

Earlier this month, I attended the PRforPeople presentation, held each month by Xanthus Communications. While the casual meet-and-greet in South Lake Union's Patricia Cameron Art Gallery was mostly aimed at self-employed people and small-business owners, the words from speaker Eric Weaver, a branding expert with Seattle-based Brand Dialogue, have stayed with me as good advice for job seekers, too.

Whether you're looking for a job from an employer or trying to drum up sales for your own business, professional networkers are essentially doing the same thing: Establishing a brand. "A brand is about crafting a promise," he said. "A promise all about you."

To embark on an effective "work hunt," as he described the job-seeking scene, Weaver emphasized the importance of creating a large "intellectual footprint" that packages your total professional prowess--your brand--across as many media platforms as possible, including text, audio and video.

"For those who complain about spending time online when they could be out marketing, just remember that this is the new marketing," he said to the decidedly middle-aged crowd at the event. "If you don't have enough time, maybe you should look at what else you're doing. There may be some other activities you can take out of your routine that are not working."

Weaver recommended setting aside generational differences about social nets and the apparent "dumbing-down" of communication and look at social networking from a strategic, rather than tool-specific, perspective. As he reminded us, the fastest growing demographic on Twitter, for example, is in the 35- to 64-year-old age group.

"Don't get hung up on the hubris surrounding Twitter," he added. "There's an echo chamber that has formed about how Twitter doesn't matter and that it doesn't demonstrate value." While the Twitter trend will undoubtedly run its course and wane in popularity, it is surely "at the very front curve for self-promotion these days," so it should not be ignored while it is still relevant.

Along with having active accounts with the usual Big Three sites (Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn), Weaver suggested a few other tactics that can help broaden your footprint:

Write a personal blog: Sites such as Tumblr and Vox make it as easy as possible to start blogging about your interests, skills and accomplishments in just minutes. "Keep it professional, but also let some personal aspects in. Just be careful not to overshare," he warned. "Once it's on Google, its there forever."

Start a voice blog: Much like the above sites, other services such as Trottr or BlogTalkRadio enable you to record short podcasts about your business via phone.

Post a video of yourself: While the YouTube phenomenon has ushered in a tsunami of silly videos, it can also be used to promote your business credentials with short videos that can be linked to a Web site or resume. The Seattle-based Biznik community also hosts a video project for entrepreneurs called Shine, on which you may post a short video about your business history.

Make a presentation: A service called SlideShare allows you to post downloadable slide presentations about yourself and your skills. "I got 3,000 viewers for one of my presentations in just a few days," Weaver said.

If you feel left behind in this overwhelming online world, Weaver concluded with this somewhat comforting thought: "There are no social media gurus or experts out there. It's all still so new that everyone who uses it is an expert."

To see all of Weaver's presentation and see his step-by-step guide to building a brand, go to this Branding 4 People link on the SlideShare site.

Randy Woods writes about job-search tools, networking techniques and other tips to help you land your dream job.

• 2 Comments |
• E-mail |
• Print
• • Share:
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  

Read more

2 Comments

Anonymous on July 20, 2009 10:28 AM | Reply

Facebook? Twitter? what does that say, other than you can’t build your own site?

And whats just a blog going to do, other than advertise your inability to get it together enough to write and publish a book or peer-reviewed journal articles?

People 35 – 64 should by now be on an all together higher plane, not screwing around with the low-hanging digital fruit of the masses.

You won’t be standing out…just standing among kids and teenagers.

Set a higher standard.

Eric Weaver on August 7, 2009 10:30 AM | Reply

Hello, Anonymous.

I'm curious what exactly would you consider a "higher plane"? Mailing printed resumes to frazzled recruiters - perhaps on a nice linen paper stock? Building a custom website? Writing a book?

Regarding the latter two, not everyone has these skills, nor the time or connections to pursue them, yet they are perfectly valuable employment prospects. And since recruiters are often drowning in mail, job seekers might want to pursue other avenues.

Facebook and Twitter offer people the opportunity to easily connect with others, including potential hiring managers. They, along with a well-written blog, also allow you to share some of your thinking - your intellectual capital - pretty quickly and easily. And most importantly, they are likely more search-friendly than a custom website that has no traffic or conversation on it.

The current growth curve of the 35-54yo crowd on Facebook is 276%, so I'd say your "kids and teenagers" assessment is inaccurate. See http://snipr.com/pbq4l

My recommendation would be to try some of these tools with a more open mind before you summarily dismiss them.

- Eric Weaver

Leave a comment

* required field

Your name: *

E-mail address: (Will not be displayed)

Your comment: *

Captcha:

Type the characters you see in the picture above.