Schawbel Report: The Current State of Personal Branding [December 2008]

A lot has happened since the last time I posted a “Schawbel Report” on the state of personal branding worldwide. The July edition had some great information on how education is evolving with social media tools, how the workplace is becoming more virtual and reputation management 2.0. I finally got around to doing my 3rd report. There is a lot of information here, but it’s all very important to your personal brand and that of your company.

The economy crumbles

The need for personal branding is directly correlated to the amount of competition there is for jobs. When there are fewer jobs available and more people vying for those jobs, personal branding becomes the only method for entry. We’ve seen a huge economic downturn this year, with no hope for economic stimulus in the near future, so understanding how to become more valuable and known for something is crucial to your survival.

6.5% national unemployment rate (4.8 in 2007) according to the (National Labor Department)
1.2 million job cuts since January 2008 (Barack Obama)
350,000 jobs will be shed this month, which is the largest since May 1980 – MarketWatch
Corporate layoffs at Sun Microsystems (6,000), Citigroup (50,000) and Gannett (3,000) – TechCrunch Layoff Archives
1.3% more college grads will be hired in 2009 (lowest in 6 years) – National Association of Colleges and Employers
1.5 million graduating college students face stiff competition for a shrinking number of jobs – Courant

A new hope for job seekers!

Aside from scaring you, I’d like to offer you some new hope (think Star Wars with Luke Skywalker!). Instead of submitting your resume blindly to 100 corporate websites, as well as Monster.com and Careerbuilder.com, I think you need to add some other tools to your arsenal. Would you rather apply for jobs or have them come to you? With the internet, you can advertise your brand and have employers come at you with offers.

Success stories with social networks such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn
20 tips for using Twitter in a job search
David Meerman Scott gives his advice, by stating “You want to find a new job? You have to stop thinking like an advertiser of a product and start thinking like a publisher of information.”
Mobile job searching is taking off, with JobCompass. It allows iPhone users to scour for jobs with extra emphasis on location.

Millennials are still an important focus

Millennials are extremely important right now, not just because there are over 75 million of them, but because businesses don’t know how to market to them or recruit them. Also, millennials require a lot of help with their brands because they are used to revealing their social lives to the wrong audiences, using Facebook.

More than 33% of millennials are dissatisfied with the technologies their employers provide – Accenture
70% of millennials leave their first job within two years – Experience Inc.
42% of companies want to invest more in millennials than other generations – MarketingVox
The most effective technique for targeting millennials is to participate in viral marketing and social networking sites – eMarketer

Branding through social media becomes required

For those who believe branding through social media is a fad, I must tell you that it’s just the beginning. Anyone who reads my new book next year (Me 2.0) will STILL be ahead of the curve. Companies, as well as millennials, are expected to have competency in social media or at least know that the tools exist.

85% of social media users think companies should interact with their consumers through sites such as Facebook and Twitter – eWeek
75% of U.S. adults use web technologies and tools to connect with other people and to share information. Adoption has grown from 56% just a year ago. – Mediapost

Social media is part of journalism forever

100% of millennial journalists (aged 18 – 29) believe new media/communications tools are making journalism better – Society for New Communications Research
87% of millennial journalists reported that bloggers are important opinion shapers
50% of journalists report visiting a corporate website or online newsroom at least once a week – Bulldog Reporter

Social networking mayhem

Social networks can be your best friend or worst enemy, but either way, people are using them to find information about you or their customers. They might even be using advertising services to put banner ads on your screen.

55% of top-brand CMOs said they’re not too interested in social networking sites for marketing – Epsilon
79% of consumers clicked on an online ad but only about 57% of consumers on social networks clicked an ad – IDC
55 percent of workers use social networking sites at work for personal reasons – 8e6 Technologies
Virgin Atlantic launched an investigation of several crew members who allegedly criticized the airline’s safety standards on Facebook. – Brand Republic
Patriots cheerleader was fired after her pictures surfaced on Facebook and U2 singer Bono was embarrased with pictures taken with underage girls – Fox News & TMZ
99% of the Amherst College freshman class is connected on facebook before classes started – InsideFacebook.com

Technorati blog trends for “personal branding”

This chart really won’t tell you much. To me, it’s all up and down based on it’s acceptance in the media and with bloggers. There have been quite a few posts this quarter that are anti-PB, which actually draws more people to post and is part of why you see more traffic in certain time frames.

Google trends for “personal branding”

Ever since I started this blog, the amount of mentions PB has acquired has been quite volatile. I’ve always seen a consistent degree of coverage from South Africa though and a moderate amount from the US.