Networking using your "network"

Networking has always been an important aspect of the job search, whether it be searching for that first job opportunity or looking for a change in career. With new job opportunities, competition and changes in the workforce traditional networking has also changed.


Students, executives, human resources managers understand the importance of networking and there are numerous tips available to help job seekers get in touch with and stay in touch with potential employers. Some of these tips include:

• Connect with your school's alumni association 

• Have a clear idea of what you want and what you are looking for 

• Know who you are

• Use business cards

• Use business networks

Perhaps the most important of these tips when hunting for that first career and looking for helpful and meaningful connections is use business networks. Job seekers and students should "think of Facebook as a virtual cafe where people easily talk between tables and think of LinkedIn as a conference that is always in session." (http://www.randstad.ca/finding_jobs/ctVideo/successful-networking.aspx)


While communication and connections have become much easier with the rise of business networks, it is important to remember that these networks, especially Facebook should be kept private and be monitored for inappropriate content. Despite these privacy concerns Facebook remains the most popular social networking site for Canadians. Recently however, LinkedIn has begun to grow in popularity amongst professionals and students who are seeking to connect. In fact, "one in six Canadians are now members of LinkedIn,"(http://business.financialpost.com/2012/01/19/linkedin-tops-five-million-users-in-canada/) and that number continues to grow with a 66% increase since 2011.


So with such a steady increase in membership and a continually growing community of professionals waiting to network how can young professionals maximize the potential that LinkedIn has to offer?


1) Sign up for discussion groups- these groups will connect you with people in your field and allow you to remain current on what is happening within your industry.


2) Invite and accept connections from people that you know or have worked with in the past- they may be able to recommend you for a position or provide you with career advice.


3) If you feel that you may share a common interest with someone you are not connected with contact them privately to ask for a connection.


With it's growing network of professionals and openness to connecting with important industry individuals LinkedIn is helping students worldwide enter the world of networking with full support and assistance from major companies and corporations actively seeking bright and tech savvy graduates.

-Rachel

Art of Marketing Conference

This past Monday a few Humber faculty members and marketing students visited the Metro Toronto Convention Center to attend the nationally acclaimed Art of Marketing Conference. The Humber College students attended the event to network with marketing professionals and to remain up-to-date with evolving trends in the industry. Humber College frequently makes these types of opportunities available to students to further expand knowledge and learning outside of the classroom. For example, last semester students were invited to a branding presentation by Martin Lindstrom in downtown Toronto.

The conference is a one-day event which features seven internationally renowned best-selling authors and leaders from across the marketing industry. The speakers share their industry expertise and experience on today’s most critical marketing issues. The Art of Marketing conference attracted a crowd of over 500 individuals, including a number of Humber College graduates. In this blog post I am going to highlight three key overall themes of the event

First, I would like to share the names of the speakers that presented at the conference and their role within the world of marketing. I highly recommend taking some time to research each of these individuals and listen to what they have to say about the future of marketing.

•        Speaker #1: Mitch Joel- President of Twist Image
• ·      Speaker #2: Bryan Pearson- Chief Executive Officer, LoyaltyOne
• ·      Speaker #3: Eric Ryan- Co-founder, Method
• ·      Speaker #4: Youngme Moon- Harvard Business School
• ·      Speaker #5: Scooter Braun- Brand Manager for Justin Bieber
• ·      Speaker #6: Randi Zuckerberg- Head of Marketing at Facebook
• ·      Speaker #7: Martin Lindstrom- Global Branding Expert

 To try and summarize all of the information presented from entire event into one blog post is simply impossible. Instead, I would like to provide you with insight into three themes that truly captured my attention.  

1. The Customer

Having a well-rounded understanding of your customers seems like a very basic skill that every marketer should have… and luckily it is! However, many of the presenters suggested that there is much more to the average consumer than many people realize. Not only do consumers purchase products but they can act as a valuable source of information for your brand. Mitch Joel presented one of the best examples through the explanation of the Amazon Price Check Application. Consumers are able to take a picture of a product while in a retail store and instantly compare the price to the exact product that is being sold online through Amazon at a cheaper price. Amazon is literally placing the ability to instantly comparison shop in the hands of the consumer. Although this may be scary to retailers, it’s a strike of genius for Amazon! Not only has Amazon increased their sales, but also they have gained vast amounts of information from users such as: product information, customer product preferences and even shopping habits, which would be otherwise very costly to acquire.  

2. How different are you, really?

Marketing is all about creating an identity and developing a brand that makes you unique amongst the crowd. Most people associate brands with large corporations, however brands exist at a much smaller levels. For example, you have your own brand and your own set of unique values that people use to identify you. Youngme Moon, challenged everyone to “Take a moment and ask yourself: How different are you, really [than everyone else]?” She suggested that simply because you think that you are different and unique does not actually mean that you are. Youngme suggested that it is essential to look at yourself through the eyes of a neutral party to truly assess your difference.  She used examples of Ikea and Mini Cooper to portray her point as she noted that true success is not dependent upon being better, but that it is dependent upon being different within the eyes of the consumer.

3. Don’t be realistic!

I decided to include the theme of ‘not being realistic’ into the blog as it literally challenges the entire fundamentals of my childhood. Growing up, I was constantly told to be realistic in my views. As many other children, I dreamed of big and magical things; however, reality slowly kicked in and my views began to plateau into a sea or normalness. Scooter Braun boldly said to stop! Scooter suggests that being realistic will limit you from your full potential and achieving all that you could. He says that it is important to shoot and dream as far as you can and work as hard as it takes to get there… he promises that if you try your best, even if you don’t succeed, you will be happier within life.

Overall, the event was absolutely amazing. The information provided by all of the speakers was extremely insightful and powerful. I highly recommend attending a future Art of Marketing conference, or simply researching the works of the featured speakers to gain an insight into the future of marketing. I would like to end by extending a very special thank you to Humber College for letting me attend this event!

I would like to leave you with a quote from Scooter Braun and a short video highlighting the Art of Marketing.

“ Everyone will say that you are a dreamer and a failure when what you are doing is not working… but when you hit it, they will call you a genius”- Scooter Braun 

Promotional Video, The Art of Marketing - Toronto - March 5th, 2012 http://youtu.be/QgB5WtwQd0E

- Tim

Facebook files for an IPO- Was it the right move?

Last week, Facebook filed for an initial public offering. The social giant is seeking to raise $5 billion in initial funding from investors. If successful, the IPO will value Facebook between $75 and $100 billion. The filed IPO is among the largest in technology history. This event will create yet another milestone for Facebook.

With well over 800 million users, Facebook is clearly the leader within the world of Social Media. As stated by Mark Zuckerberg, he “Founded Facebook on the idea that people want to share and connect with other people in their lives…” Although Facebook was only created in 2004, it has evolved; not only in the sheer number of users and advancements in website design, but also in revenues.

At the start, Facebook was grossing just over $52 million; however only 6 years later their revenues have increased to over $4 billion. Although Facebook’s revenues have steadily grown, the issue of having only one revenue stream remains.

Many people are wondering why Facebook needs to raise extra money; after all, the projected revenues for 2012 are far beyond their $5 billion investment benchmark.


In my opinion, Facebook is seeking an investment for five main reasons:

1. An increase in capital will allow for greater product investment.

2. More products and better services will help create and grow revenue.

3. The capital injection will increase Facebook’s purchasing power.

4. Employees will have a vested interest - many will become shareholders.

5. The capital will allow Facebook to further expand their services.

So what’s next?

Although these reasons are solely based on my own knowledge, I truly believe that they are in line with Facebook’s goals. In fact, yesterday Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook would be further monetizing its mobile platform through advertising. With nearly half of all Facebook users utilizing the mobile platform, it makes sense that advertisers would want to tap into the market.

Although the entire IPO process seems simple, in reality it’s extremely complex and risky. Facebook’s greatest concern is repeating the IPO disappointment of Groupon and Zynga where valuations fell below IPO share prices.

It will be interesting to see where the IPO will take Facebook. Will the site remain the same, or will it be transformed into an advertising cluttered powerhouse? Only time can tell.

The Wall Street Journal points out some interesting considerations on the Facebook IPO - check it out! 

Facebook's $5 Billion IPO Filing

-Tim