(via techradar.com)

With the national unemployment rate at 9% in January 2011, job seekers are trying everything they can think of to get a job. This one may just be the ticket. Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin could be the difference between sitting at home watching re-runs of your favorite shows and finding a new job! Here is a statistic that you will never forget: a recent survey from Jobvite revealed that nearly 75% of employers now use Social Media in their recruiting efforts!

First and foremost, make sure you portray a persona through your Social Media profile that your employer will be interested in. Make it professional, interesting, and speak to your potential employers. This will be the difference between your soon to be employer rejecting you or carrying you to the next level. If the potential employer is interested in you he or she is able to chat with you through Social Media to learn more about you. Even if the employer is not interested, you have the ability to network to numerous other employers, or people at the company who may know someone at a company that’s hiring! Have you tried searching out companies you desire to work for on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn? Also, make sure your LinkedIn profile is optimized using the tools they provide (custom URL, key word description, 100% complete profile, etc.) Check out the elaborate advanced search options on LinkedIn; this tool makes it very easy for potential employees to find you -if you’ve got everything set up properly!

Outsource Locally provides 1:1 coaching to teach you how to optimize your LinkedIn profile and your Facebook profile; call us today to schedule an appointment! 303-834-7718

The new update to Facebook largely standardizes Pages’ appearance and function to that of a Profile. Before getting around Facebook as a Page was really convoluted. Now you switch from using Facebook as a person with a profile to using Facebook as a manager of a Page.

This makes several things easier. It is now simple to like Pages with other Pages. You can also comment on posts made by other Pages as a Page. Also, each page now has its own News Feed with updates from other Pages and, most importantly fan feedback (posts, comments, likes, etc.). The News Feed relates this Page information while you’re using Facebook as a Page.

The layout of the new Pages is identical to the layout of the new Profiles. Featured pictures are at the top and what used to be tabs are on the left. Don’t worry your custom FBML tabs still work just fine!

As technology advances, so do marketing strategies. We see appearing in new places all the time; traditional advertising isn’t working as well any more. As trends show, users are text messaging their friends, family, or acquaintances much more than calling them. It only seems right that marketers take advantage of this and start marketing through this medium.

Text messaging has been around for over a decade, marketing through this new medium is a relatively new and inexpensive method. Consumers benefit because they can receive coupons or promotional codes to get great deals in the palm of their hands – no need to cut coupons! The first thing a marketer needs to do is to find a provider that will give you a subscriber list and send out you ads.

Major League Baseball is taking advantage of this to the fullest. Once you register and enter your favorite MLB team, you can receive team alerts, scores, injury and trade updates, trivia, all-star balloting, and much more! The idea is to bring fans and MLB closer – and it only costs the user $3.99/ month. An enormous number of other companies are integrating SMS marketing into there strategy as well including, Orbitz, Champs, and Twitter, and local companies near you!

Is this a short-lived marketing strategy or a highway to success? We would love to hear your opinions!

Also, for Colorado companies, we have a wonderful local provider for double opt-in text messaging providers! Give us a call 303-834-7718

Today mobile browsing makes up around 5% of all web browsing. By the end of 2011 this could be as high as 15%. Most of these users are tech-savvy early adopters who want instant access to information. Websites must be optimized for mobile browsers to attract these influential users. Search engines will soon place more value on mobile optimized sites for search on mobile devices.

Another trend is the increased focus on local search and Google Places. A few keywords are already showing combined local and normal search results on Google. Local reviews are extremely important as they now appear next to regular web listings. What this means for businesses is that without a Google Places listing it will be increasingly more difficult for customers to find them.

Despite Google’s dominance, Bing is on the rise. Bing partnered with Yahoo to provide their search results, making them the only real contender to Google for English language search. They currently account for 10% of total web search traffic; this could be as high as 20% by the end of 2011.