Barry Libert is a business executive, author, and speaker based in Boston, Massachusetts. He has more than 25 years of executive leadership and entrepreneurial experience, and has been instrumental in advancing the awareness and use of Web 2.0 and social technologies within the business world.
You can register for this event here.
Join the discussion by submitting your topics or comments to the AMA Pittsburgh blog.
George Leonard in his wonderful book, entitled Mastery, writes with great eloquence about how certain types of individuals react to the challenges of mastering any skill. He focuses on the martial arts, but his analysis and insightful suggestions could apply to learning any skill. He counsels patience, discipline, and focusing on process.
The search for work is filled with stress and anxiety. We are impatient; we want results today, or if not today, then tomorrow. What we must realize is how little control we have over results. Will the HR specialist read our resume, will our friends seek leads on our behalf, will the interviewer recognize our skills and talents? All of these situations are not within our control.
What, then, is within our control? It’s our behavior, our action that we bring to bear upon our job search. When we focus on process rather than results, we are able to give our undivided attention to the task in hand, be it refining our resume, scheduling our networking appointments, or immersing ourselves in researching the job marketplace.
When impatience or anxiety arises, concentrate on what you can control — your process. If you are diligent about mastering your process, the results will, in time, take care of themselves.
Feb 19 Happy Hour: Cabaret at Theater Square Backstage Bar
Join fellow marketers of the Pittsburgh Chapter of the American Marketing Association for networking, free food and a cash bar. We'll be there from 5:30 p.m. until 7:30 p.m.
You do not need to register, this event is free! (655 Penn Ave.)
Today's post comes from Neal Griebling of Future Design Studio. Neal's topic is word of mouth referrals and the importance of networking. His advice is directly related to career searches, but can the theory can be applied to any business building activity.
Neal Griebling:
It’s a commonly accepted fact: 80 percent of the jobs in the United States are never advertised. This phenomenon is what is known as The Hidden Job Market. How do you penetrate that market?
Informational interviewing combined with mastering the art and science of work-of-mouth referral (WOMR) networking. These two strategies are absolutely necessary in finding work in a recessionary economy. Today let’s look at why you should adopt these strategies.
The current recession is impacting the entire economy. Many companies today are simply not hiring; actually, they are laying off workers. They are retrenching and not taking job applications.
Yet business leaders have problems and issues they must grapple with if they are to survive and prosper. There will always be a need for people who can solve problems, design new products, cut costs, and increase efficiencies within a company. Business leaders do not want meet job seekers; they may, under the right circumstances, consent to informational interviews with people who are referred to them by people they know and trust. And this is where you must employ your word-of-mouth referral networking strategy to create openings for yourself.
Be a part of the AMA Pittsburgh blog by submitting your topics or comments. Did you see the spread in Friday's Pittsburgh Business Times? What were your thoughts?
These are extraordinary times and even the so-called economic gurus admit they are not sure how things will play out. It is natural to feel stress, anxiety, and fear in such an environment. Our fear also generates paralysis and resistance to taking any sort of action. We are prone to hunker down, do nothing and wait for conditions to improve. However, we cannot allow our fears and resistance to drive our career bus.
The first step we need to take is to Recognize what we can control and what is outside our control. Face it, most things are outside of our control: what will happen in the housing and credit markets, how global competition will erode American trade performance, how your company is positioned to withstand the loss of key customers. Well, what can we control? I would suggest it’s our attitudes and our behavior. We can choose to forget about past mistakes and refuse to indulge in doomsday scenarios of the future. Remaining grounded in the present allows us to focus all of our internal and external resources on what’s in front of us.
Neal Griebling
Future Design Studio
www.futuredesignstudio.com
Join the discussion on the AMA Pittsburgh blog. Submit your comments or topics.
Please join us at our first AMA Pittsburgh Marketing Mixer of 2009 sponsored by Port Authority. A $20 ticket gets you two drink tickets, food, live jazz piano, and an evening of networking and fun with your peers! Members, prospective members, and guests are welcome to attend. Thanks to Our Sponsors: Thanks to Our In Kind Sponsors: For more information visit our website http://www.amapittsburgh.com/ | |||
| WHEN | |||
| Thursday, January 29, 2009 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM | |||
| WHERE | |||
| McCormick & Schmicks | |||
| 301 Fifth Avenue | |||
| Pittsburgh, PA 15222 | |||
Some interesting web marketing trends are emerging early in 2009. The economy has influenced several. Another factor in the development has been the continued shift to digital marketing. In fact, it seems to be on every one’s minds. The American Marketing Association have two webinars scheduled for later this month on the subject.
Trend: Shift to Pay for Play
There is a rumble out there that online publishers will again search for a pay to play model as advertising curtails. This is not a new model, but the prevailing attitude on the web is content should be free. Due to economic issues, publishers must now search for additional revenue and pay per play if accepted is a sustainable model. Also related to this trend, is the emergence of micropayments once again. Micropayments allow a small charge for content.
Trend: Emergence of Alternative Media
This trend is partially influenced by the emergence of digital media and partially by the economy taking its toll on traditional media outlets. Several newspapers are struggling for survival and experts predict that more will fall victim to the slow economy. Newspapers have failed to create a digital revenue stream other than advertising. This has lead to the trimming of staffs and that means less news reported. Blogs and other online media outlets are going strong. As they gain more credibility, PR will shift focus to these alternative outlets.
Trend: B to B Looks to Blogs
Businesses are starting to discover blogs. Industrial brands have begun to look to blogs as their second foray into web marketing. Their first was SEO which may or may not have included some pay per click. These brands have begun to realize the benefits of distributing content via blogs and the added SEO benefits.
Trend: Twitter Marketing Campaigns
Twitter is still looking for their own sustainability and revenue streams. However, the service is about to become inundated by marketing campaigns. First it was My Space and then Facebook took some thunder by doing it better. Now Twitter is poised to be the marketing flavor of choice.
Some potential themes that should be popular in online marketing during 2009.
1. Sustainability - Green marketing has been en vogue for several years. Sustainability takes it to the next level. Searchers will look to find more information on how they can be more green, but also save money in the process. 2009 will see them support companies that do the same and/or help them achieve this goal.
2. Financial Planning - This one is obvious after the events in 2008. 2009 will prove to be challenging as well. Can your brand fit with ways, tips, improvements, etc. for financial topics.
3. Career Tips - There will be many more people hitting the job boards and alternate sites in search of jobs or other career tips. Planning ahead can help these future seekers. Tips on networking, alternative education, certifications, and job seeking tips will be in demand. Can your brand engage with these people.
4. Games - Did you notice that games did not take a dip? In fact, GameStop reported great numbers. There is a common thread to human nature, we all like to be diverted from the real world. I expect this thread will be pulled often in 2009. Games are a favorite diversion. Can your brand get mind share by offering a game?
5. Entertainment - Same theory as #4. If your brand can fit (And you will be surprised that most can) with forms of entertainment, then you can use these vehicles to keep mind share. Online videos that entertain will continue to be popular on free outlets. Growth will continue in 2009, as I expect other avenues may decline such as pay tv.
Join the discussion on the AMA Pittsburgh blog by submitting your topics and comments.
Interesting piece of news today. Twitter has grown up and by an interesting yardstick. Twitter has reached a critical mass, catching the attention of spammers. It is a shame that we have to measure viability by this measure, but you have not made it until you attract this kind of attention. Just ask My Space and Facebook.
Marketing Vox reports that users receive a direct message from a follower, bearing this or similar bait: “hey! check out this funny blog about you…”, followed by a link to a webpage.
After clicking on the link, victims are presented with a false Twitter login page. Usernames and passwords entered on the page become vehicles for spammers to distribute similar messages. A second scam jijacked some high profile accounts such as President-Elect Obama.
Twitter is tightening its security in response to the hackers. Users that fell victim to the phishing scheme can reset their password on Twitter.
