Corporate Eye

...compare, compete, excel

Twitterama

Twitterama

twitterama1

My Spidey-sense tells me it’s time for another post on Twitter, so I’ve gathered up some of the best articles, ideas, and resources that flitted across my browser during the past few months, and here they are, with brief notes:

1.   I recently sent a Twitter “survival kit” to some small business friends who are struggling a bit with their tweeting efforts.  Here’s what I included:

2.  The Ultimate Guide for Everything Twitter starts at a basic level, but goes much further–and offers great graphic examples.

3.  For those further along (or just curious), here’s an assortment of good Twitter discussions:

4.  See what happened at TWTRConSF, and find out what’s coming up at TWTRConDC (in October).

5.  To get the most out of Twitter, it’s a big help to have the right tools.  Here’s an overview of general purpose tools, plus a link to one tool designed especially for businesses that use Twitter:

6.  About Twitter for recruiting:

Of course, the burning question continues to burn.  Will Twitter become a permanent feature of online life, dwindle away as the novelty wears off, be replaced by something completely new/different, change dramatically, or . . . ?  Remains to be seen, but in the meantime, it makes sense to engage with Twitter–but do it smartly.


A Virtuality Update


second-life

In 2007, there was a lot of publicity around recruiting in virtual environments, especially Second Life.  Since then “real life” employment events have been held in Second Life, but the concept hasn’t exactly taken off.  So the recent announcement of an Amazon Job Fair in Second Life was newsworthy.

The Amazon fair was held on July 14, but I haven’t found any updates on how it went.  However–you can see some pictures of what it would/did look like.  And check out some advice for virtual attendees.

Working Worlds will be having a Second Life Career Fair in the autumn, mainly for European companies.  And according to SecondLife Update, there are some other recruiting events scheduled.

But all in all, there seem to be some significant barriers to the development of recruiting in a complex virtual space like Second Life.  For one thing, the number of Second Lifers is shrinking, and they are the folks more likely to attend an event or connect with a recruiter on SL.  For those not already into Second Life, there’s a significant learning curve involved with attending an event, especially with the less tech-savvy.  And the general idea/ambiance of Second Life is not appealing to everyone.

On the other hand, Sgt. STAR–the “virtual recruiter” at GoArmy–is user friendly and might have real appeal, especially for the Army’s younger target audience.  Also, it’s a good fit for their “new Army” message.  The whole idea of a virtual recruiter works well in a situation like this, where visitors may not want to interact with a real person, but will appreciate the illusion of a personalized connection.

There’s a very nice example of a businesslike virtual guide (a “real” person, not an animation) on the website at Shaker Communications, a company that offers an array of virtual options for recruiting advertising.  Meet her on the “Who We Are” page.

Shaker also creates virtual job fairs, and with some success apparently.  A recent event they produced with CTJobs “drew over 1,800 job seekers from across the state, with 14 local companies exhibiting and recruiting for hiring opportunities.”  And their exclusive event for Allstate attracted a similar number of attendees.  According to Allstate, “the virtual environment made it easy for candidates to submit their resumes for opportunities that matched their qualifications, have a live chat with our Allstate recruiters, or set up a phone interview.”

None of these instances seems to indicate a virtual recruiting boom on the horizon–but it’s still true that the possibilities seem interesting, especially for certain types of employers and certain target audiences.  So the space is at least worth watching.


(Thanks to Pathfinder Linden for the snapshot of a panel discussion hosted on June 23, 2006 in Second Life by the Berkman Center at Harvard University.)


Disney Takes Online Advertising Effectiveness Research to Extremes

walt disney world: cinderella castleAccording to an article on the Brand Republic, Disney has been going to extremes to try to find out what works in online advertising.  Disney’s extreme research involves eye tracking, heart monitoring, skin temperature readings and facial probes.  A big ‘reveal’ is scheduled for later this year in New York where 200 big name advertisers are said to be preparing to be enlightened by Disney.

Truth be told, I found this report to be amusing, and apparently, I’m not alone in that feeling.  The first comment on the article on the Brand Republic website is from a person who shares the same feeling that I have about Disney’s website — it’s a useless mess that is cumbersome to navigate and impossible to find useful information on once you finally get past the neverending supply of animation and gobbledygook.  It seems to me Disney is putting the cart before the horse with this research.  Let’s face it, most online advertising drives consumers to the advertiser’s website.  What happens if your website stinks?  Disney needs to take a step back and focus on fixing the online face of its brand before it tries to crack the elusive online advertising code.

I also found Brand Republic’s reference to a comment from Tracey Scheppach, video innovations director for Starcom MediaVest Group who claimed to the New York Times that Disney’s research is “completely invaluable. … Everybody is trying to figure out the ad models of the future, but nobody is doing is on this scale.” [Read more…] about Disney Takes Online Advertising Effectiveness Research to Extremes

Nissan – A Lesson in Creating a Brand Image, Message and Promise

Hats off to the ad campaign pictured below from Nissan, which provides an excellent example of how a few words of copy can create a complete brand image, message and promise.

Take a look at the first ad in the campaign below. In just 11 words and with a great black and white image, the audience relates the Nissan brand to owning a dream.

nissan-dream

The second example below is equally powerful.  In just 9 words, the audience relates the Nissan brand to freedom and escape.

nissan-getaway

And my favorite ad is below.  In 12 simple words, the Nissan brand means inspiration.

nissan-inspire

With the simple tagline, “The Joy of Driving”, accompanying each ad, Nissan means so much more than just a car.

Can you make your brand mean more than the tangible product or service it provides?  It’s a powerful accomplishment.  Kudos to TBWA Toronto for a great campaign.

Images via AdsoftheWorld.com

The Rational Tortoise and the Relational Hare


tortoise-and-hare

I’m a Solver!

That is–I belong to “the first global web community for open innovation, enabling scientists, engineers, professionals and entrepreneurs to collaborate to deliver breakthrough solutions for innovative R&D-driven organizations,” aka Innocentive.

Innocentive connects “Seekers” (companies that need solutions) with a pool of 175,000+ registered “Solvers.”  Solvers who come up with potential solutions compete for cash awards offered by the Seeker.  Although anyone can register as a Solver, most of the problems are highly technical, so I rarely get to compete.  But I’m fascinated by the amazing array of problems posted.  For example . . . once company needs a “Fast Hydrating Reference Electrode with Constant Potential in Thick Film Technology” while another seeks something that will make men want to shave more often.

It’s also interesting to read the Innocentive blog–and here’s where we get to the point.  In a recent post, Chief Innovation Evangelist Steve Shapiro observes: “From my research on innovation personality styles, I have observed that there are two broad ways of solving challenges: relational/creative and rational/analytical.”  And that observation is linked to some recent studies about brain function, explained in this excellent overview in the Wall Street Journal.

Short version:  Some solutions appear in a flash of insight, others are arrived at by methodical reasoning, and these processes use different parts of the brain.  Also, insight doesn’t really happen in a moment–it’s the product of brainwork that may have been going on in the background for quite a while.

(I’ve nicknamed these styles Hare and Tortoise, mostly because that’s more fun.)

So now for the relevance . . .

Consider who comes to a company’s Career site.  Not just Tortoises (who probably analyze the Benefits page and look for detailed descriptions of career paths and job responsibilities).  And not just Hares (who are likely to watch the videos and zoom around the site looking for interesting features).  There will be both kinds of visitors, no matter what the business line is or who the target audience might be.

There are Hares among the engineers and Tortoises in the marketing department. And many people are a mix of both.  So a great website will have plenty to offer relational thinkers as well as rationalists.

Ultimately, you want the best candidates to apply.  Some will “decide” to apply because they have weighed advantages and identified a suitable fit.  Some will “choose” to apply because they have a good feeling about the company or think they might like the job.  Offering content and tools for both groups will ensure that all good prospects make it into the applicant pool.


(Our Tortoise and Hare are from The Æsop for Children, illustrated by Milo Winter.  Thanks to Project Gutenberg.)