Author: Buyer Advertising

An Agency Advantage: Perspective

Posted on by Buyer Advertising

If you have a favorite book, you know that every time you re-read it, it loses a little bit of punch. A week of your favorite food may send you to Fresh City, hungering for a little variety. Even your favorite song, on loop, will make you feel as if you’re hanging out in an elevator. The truth is, the more familiar material is, the more we become blind to its effects. The same holds true for companies who write and produce their own hiring marketing material.

Whether your hiring campaign is being considered by management, product experts, or internal team members, it’s likely for them to simply assume key benefits and essential elements that just don’t register for someone browsing online or flipping through a magazine. For a business deciding on a hiring strategy, the results could be disastrous.
One great advantage of any agency can deliver is a little perspective. As outsiders, agency professionals immediately engage by considering a message from the viewpoint of an audience. This is such a critical process of attracting new talent—and frankly, communicating any marketing message.

If you’re testing your current employee messaging, ask yourself these questions: Is what I’m saying immediately apparent to my audience? Why should they care about what I’m saying? Is my content too detailed? Not detailed enough? Thinking like a consumer is something agencies are trained to do, and through audience-first perspectives, help you arrive at an optimized brand and hiring strategy that could work wonders for your organization.

Signing off for now,
Buyer Advertising
www.buyerads.com

Trend Watch: A Facebook “Terms” Page

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If you thought the untamed realm of social media is (or should be) free of legalese, think again. A growing trend for companies—especially large businesses—is to create a set of their own “terms and conditions” for Internet pedestrians to scan before becoming a follower of their Facebook page.

The extra steps companies are adding to the process of joining your online crew are (supposedly) for good reason. Take the fansite of Progressive’s new mascot, “The Messanger.” Before a patron becomes a fan, they are prompted to read specialized terms and conditions before clicking that “like” button. One excerpt reads, “You agree that you will not submit Content or otherwise use the Page in any manner that would interfere with or damage the Page, including, without limitation, through the use of viruses, cancel bots, Trojan horses, harmful code, flood pings, denial of service attacks, packet or IP spoofing, forged routing or electronic mail address information or similar methods or technology.”
In other words, don’t spam up the boards or try to scam our fans out of personal information and/or life savings.

So, should your company take the time to create and display a “terms and conditions” section for your Facebook page? In the short term, it’s difficult to see how a simple page of text would stop scammers and fraudsters, many of whom live far outside the boundaries of English-speaking countries in the first place, from posting fake login mirrors and advertisements for prescription medicine. However, as the legal issues and rights ascribed to social media firm up, having a terms page could be an important tool in policing your company’s digital rights. Worth a consideration, anyhow.

See you next time,

Buyer Advertising
www.buyerads.com

Top Ten Tips For Successful Personal Branding and Networking

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Here are 10 great tips to help tell your story.

1 ) If you are doing something exciting, share it: communicate via LinkedIn, Facebook, or good old conversation.

2 ) Try to set goals for yourself–apart from those of your employer.

3 ) Focus on increasing your network any way that you can (personal, professional, etc.)

4 ) Take the time to evaluate any event before attending–even if attendance is free.

5 ) Find a partner in crime (or advocate).

6 ) Don’t be afraid of starting over. Sometimes it’s easier moving forward with a clean slate.

7 ) When family and career collide, decide which is more important–in the moment.

8 ) Continue to test and evaluate your own personal brand: Google yourself!

9 ) Don’t be afraid to cross the line of conversation from swim meet to sales contact.

10 ) You are your greatest advocate, but if you create a strong reputation in the marketplace and continue to support and maintain friendships and partnerships, others will take the lead. Always repay the compliment, the introduction, etc. to improve your relationships.

– Composed by Jody Robie, Executive Director Business Development at Buyer Advertising

Social Networking Means Socializing

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If you’re here, you probably realize the importance of social media. After all, blogging is a great way to get your message out while putting a personal face on your business. Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter—these sites represent a conduit to better SEO and a solid recruitment platform for your business. Although we’ve discussed the value of simply signing up in the past, let’s review some great ways to get talking, stay social, and put your social media strategy to work.

Get active. If you’re logging onto Facebook or Twitter only when you have a position to fill, you’ll be staring into a blank space every time. The best recruiters spend time building their network even when they’re full up. Social networking provides some great ways to do that: inviting colleagues and acquaintances to connect, joining professional groups, and building a fanbase by offering smart posts, links, and content.

Be Generous. Provide advice to fans and professionals alike, and check in every so often with a genuine, “how are you”? Becoming a resource is the number one way to attract attention in the world of social media—and in the case of sites like LinkedIn, more attention means better access to qualified candidates.

Stay Current. Update your business’ profile with links to your personal and company homepages, provide an email address, and keep information up-to-date. Staying relevant keeps you foremost in the minds of potentially perfect candidates—and after all, isn’t that what we’re after?

Signing off for now,

Buyer Advertising
www.buyerads.com

Online Job Interviews: Yea or Nay?

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We may not have rocket boots or flying cards (yet) in these modern times, but one futuristic trend is making its way into HR offices already: the online job interview. Although it may seem like something from the Jetsons, HR personnel and hiring managers alike are giving up the leather chairs and clipboards, and instead asking potential candidates to stay home and switch on their computers.

There are a few compelling reasons that face-to-face is becoming passé. Services like Green Job Interview (greenjobinterview.com) are promoting their product as enabling hiring staff to make decisions without the ecological cost of carbon-burning transportation and paper waste. As they put it, “By utilizing secure, browser-based technology and support services, organizations and candidates interact face-to-face while minimizing costs, maximizing time, and reducing environmental impact.” Other companies providing “virtual” job interviews include HireVue (www.hirevue.com), which promotes their service by stating you can save an average of $3,000 to $5,000 by interviewing and hiring online.

Of course, as a trend, nobody’s certain if this all-too futuristic fad will catch on. There are bound to be hiring managers who won’t give up their hiring routine for the sake of a little gasoline and paperwork. So the question remains: will online hiring become a recruitment standard, or a flash in the pan?

Until next time,

Buyer Advertising
www.buyerads.com

Social Media Strategizing for 2011

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It’s a new year, and your company has a new focus: bringing in business by utilizing New Media. It’s no easy task. Considering that sites like Facebook and Twitter are only a scant few years old, determining tactics for these new mediums is a hazy enterprise at best.

Companies are still figuring out the strategies that work for their line of business. But whether you sell shoes or jet engines, there are two goals you should have in mind: increasing the number of followers, and provide ways they can pick up what you’re offering.

That is to say, of course, that your tactics shouldn’t necessarily reflect your goals. After all, pitching offers to your fanbase one after another is a surefire way to lose your audience in a hurry. If there’s one thing that 2010 has to teach us, it’s that large companies don’t necessarily translate into successful online powerhouses. Small organizations can get it right, too.

At the risk of oversimplifying, one great strategy is simple: don’t be boring. The most successful businesses in the world may have their message down to a science, but that doesn’t mean you can robotic about disseminating it. People aren’t machines. Remain personal, laid back, even humorous. Offer content real people can use—not just CEOs. Cater to the casual. And stay interactive. Join us this year as we explore social media in detain, including ways for you to strike it big in the world of social media.

Best wishes for the new year!

Buyer Advertising
www.buyerads.com

11 Advertising Trends for 2011

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As we gear up to say farewell to 2010, we find ourselves already looking forward to the future—to a year of new technology, interesting recruitment strategies, and approaches that will innovate the field of HR, advertising, and beyond. Here’s a quick look at what the year ahead may hold.

More about mobile:

1. More apps at your fingertips. Look for organizations to deliver real-time product offerings and availability, as well as instant job openings and qualifications

2. Mobile coupons and promotions being delivered and utilized from handheld devices.

3. Innovative new ways for companies to use existing connections (think Facebook and Twitter friends/followers) to reach potential customers.

4. Text messaging growing as a means to distribute information—and reach a target audience in the process.

5. Increased opportunity to order products and provide ebrochures online.

Viral desires:

6. New games to provide some fun distraction while pitching a business.

7. Silly YouTube videos. Wacky podcasts. Increasingly bizarre commercials.

8. More ways to reach more audiences online: think the next Digg, but with social media integration.

Steamlining.

9. Expect a merge: Today, on your Facebook page, you see advertisements and content. Expect a blend of the two in the future, where messaging becomes a promotional tool for companies themselves.

10. According to eMarketer, expect an increase of 10.5% spent in online advertising.

11. Advertisements becoming more content focused, delivering information rather than just the same ol’ pitch.
Join us in 2011 as we explore the wild frontier of advertising together!

Until the New Year,

Buyer Advertising
www.buyerads.com

Season’s Greetings and Many Happy Returns!

Posted on by Buyer Advertising

This holiday season, we at Buyer Advertising want to wish you and your family good tidings, a safe holiday, and the best of what the upcoming new year has to bring you. We’re grateful for the support of our many clients and friends who we’ve gotten to know over the years.

Thank you all and have a happy holiday!

Buyer Advertising
www.buyerads.com

Incenting the Masses

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It’s a topic that receives less attention as the recession lingers: recruitment incentives. Despite having a swelling of potential recruits per opening, as hiring managers, you know that quantity doesn’t always translate into quality. The best solution for filling an open position is to first attract top talent, and then keep them at your organization. But with limited budgets, how do you make this happen?

Consider allowing more personal expression into the workplace. Although an admitted time sink, companies are experimenting with opening up sites like Facebook and Twitter—often for business, networking related purposes. Companies are also providing time for music and exercise, finding that the resources they’re expending catering to high-performing employees is more than worth the investment.

Above all, remember that a plethora of available talent doesn’t necessarily translate into increased productivity, and ultimately higher revenue for your business. Taking the time to plan a thoughtful, fun, creative, rewarding workplace is a great strategy for truly utilizing emerging graduates with a lot to offer your organization.

‘Till next time,
Buyer Advertising
www.buyerads.com

Don’t Neglect LinkedIn

Posted on by Buyer Advertising

Like any good advertising strategy, it’s easy to sweep the old faithfuls under the rug. In the midst of the growing popularity of Twitter and Facebook, there are many who neglect the underdogs. LinkedIn came into being in 2003, and since then, by-the-minute media has been the flavor of choice–with flashy features such as instant tweets and a library of Facebook apps. Simply stated, to some, LinkedIn has become old hat.

However, keeping an active account is a worthwhile endeavor for nearly any organization. Even without the designer interface and the mobile media extras, LinkedIn provides a valuable “at a glance” stats about a company without a client needing to navigate individual company websites. It’s essential for SEO, where sites like Google can parse LinkedIn to see if an organization exists outside their own little webspace. And as a portal for employees-to-be or prospective clients, LinkedIn offers an attractive way to reach individual people, rather than the info@yourcompany.com many organizations use as a default.

But perhaps the most compelling argument to keep up with LinkedIn is that people know it and use it already. It’s found a home in the bookmarks of millions, and if you’re spending time keeping up a presence, it’s only logical that you’ll reach some potential hires or customers. After all, advertising where the people are remains one of the fundamental tenants of any successful enterprise.

Signing off for now,
Buyer Advertising
www.buyerads.com