Graduating College? Here is Something to Consider.

Getting hired right out of college is becoming tougher and tougher. Studies show that over half of recent college graduates are unemployed or underemployed. Many college graduates think getting a job out of college is all about your major and GPA; however, there are many other factors involved in getting a job fresh out of college.

Make sure you develop skills you won’t necessarily learn in the classroom. Employers are looking for graduates who are self-motivated, able to work in a team, and are willing to take risks. These skills can be learned through extracurricular activities and internships, so take advantage of these opportunities.

Don’t necessarily look for your dream job. Keep an open mind to all job opportunities and focus on what can get you to your dream job. It is not often that a fresh college graduate with limited experience will get the “perfect” position, you have to pay your dues and show employers you can the job. If you go for these stepping stone jobs, you will have a better chance of landing one, and still be on track to achieving your career goals.

Contact us at info@connorcaitlin.com for tips and tricks to developing your business skills.

Video Marketing; a Visual Strategy

The goal of all methods of advertisement is to make your business stand out from your competitors and be chosen by consumers. Most businesses constantly have the struggle of wanting to stand out, while keeping in mind staying within a budget for their marketing efforts. Advertising your business in such a divided market space today can get pricey.

A simple and easy advertisement strategy is video marketing. According to comScore, about 45% of Internet users viewed at least one video per month. This isn’t too surprising since the Internet has become so dominant in today’s society.  Video marketing captures the user’s attention and allows you to deliver your message in a way that everyone can comprehend.

There are many statistics that have proven video marketing is even more effective than the more popular forms of advertisement. First off, “90% of information transmitted to the brain is visual, and visuals are processed 60K times faster in the brain than text” according to Zabisco. About 52% of consumers state that they are more confident in the company or product after watching a video, according to Invodo. Now this number may be a bit surprising, but according to Orion 21 there is an 800% increase in conversation on websites with videos versus those without.

Video marketing encourages mobile users to share videos, use the video content, and take action. However, it’s important to remember to keep your video short and to the point. Your video should be about one to two minutes long, but nothing over two minutes because after that viewers often lose interest. Video marketing is a smart advertising tactic because it’s easy, inexpensive, and powerful.

Please contact info@connorcaitlin.com for more tips on how to market your company.  

The Power of the Card

A business card is often times underestimated in the workforce, which it shouldn’t be, considering it can be used as such a powerful tool. A successful business card should have a legible font that captures one’s attention, and enough information on it to make them memorable. Make sure your card has a good tagline that helps the recipient understand your role and business. It’s critical to always keep your card as up-to-date as possible.

 Aside from creating a professional looking business card, it’s a smart idea to carry a couple with you wherever you go just in case. Now, you don’t want them to be all wrinkled and smudged, so keep them in a place with good protection. There is an elusive power to promptly pull out a spotless card and hand it to your new connection.

            

When giving out your business card during an interview, it’s key to be polite and respectful about it. Possibly set your card on their chair before they come in, or on the desk in front of them so it seems subtle. Giving out your business card before a meeting or interview not only shows that you are professional, but it also helps others remember your name. On the other hand, when offered someone else’s card, take a second to look at it so they know you appreciate it. After that, place it on your desk so you can refer back to it during the meeting if needed.

Once you exchange business cards with someone, you might want to send them a LinkedIn connection request or a follow-up email in order to portray your mutual interests. A business card serves as a memory jogger after an introduction so new connections can remember why they should contact you.

Please contact Connor | Caitlin at www.connorcaitlin.com for more information.

Life as an Intern

All interns have to do is get coffee for their boss and copy papers right? Wrong. Here at Connor | Caitlin,

an internship, in my opinion, is comparable to having a permanent job with the company. We are required to do a valuable amount of work and the work we do is used to benefit the other employees as well.

As an intern, my goal is to help out my colleagues with any extra work they need done to make their prestigious jobs a little bit easier. We are trained to use certain programs and websites for research, such as: LinkedIn, Indeed, Monster, Lead Ferret, Base Camp, PCRecruiter, etc. These are all tools I had barely even heard of before coming to intern at Connor | Caitlin.

Along with participating in the Internet research aspect, I also have the opportunity to write some of the blogs for our website. This gives me a break from the research portion and allows me to practice my writing skills. This internship has also been a huge learning experience not only in coatings and recruitment, but business in general. I have had the chance to sit in on conference calls, go to other businesses similar to ours, and even give my respective opinion on improvements for the company based on what I’ve learned.

Unlike most internships, I was asked to make a presentation on how we could advance the Connor | Caitlin website. This permitted me to explore other companies in the coatings and recruiting industry, and then branch out with suggestions for our company. This was especially an effective experience because all businesses will most likely expect at least one presentation from you sometime in your career. One of my suggestions for the website was video marketing. The other interns and myself will be creating an introductory video for Connor | Caitlin, this will hopefully boost our advertising and growth. See, this goes to show that not all internships are just catering to the needs of your boss.

Please contact Connor | Caitlin at www.connorcaitlin.com for more information. 

The Power of Social Media

Social media is becoming one of the most popular advertising tactics worldwide. Our society seems to rely on technology and social media more and more by the day. Businesses are now calling the use of social media their “digital intelligence”. The benefits of social media allow companies to identify trending topics discussed by consumers and which contents has more influence.

For example, Twitter is an insightful way to keep up with what’s trending in your profession by following certain accounts or using hash tags. Hash tags are used to find related topics that you are interested in; they are used in several types of social media. Following different companies or influencers on social media is also a smart way to connect with potential business partners and consumers. On the contrary, social media could also allow you to see competitors’ activities and react quicker with counter strategies.

However, social media has its drawbacks as well.  For instance, spam is an ongoing problem with the Internet in general, which of course affects social media sites. Luckily, it’s easy to report spam and you can always change your password if needed. Many people find that social media can be distracting at times and throw them off topic. The internet is full of interesting distractions and sometimes you just have to focus the best you can and try narrowing your search to avoid unrelated matters.

 As many of you know, being personal with your customers is a vital marketing strategy, but unfortunately it’s difficult to be personal over social media. Companies should use social media for advertisement and providing general information to their consumers, and then use other forms of communication for subjective relations.

             Social media definitely has its pros and cons, but with that being said it’s more important that businesses keep up with society. Technology is taking over this generation as we know it, so might as well take advantage of it.

For more information on marketing strategies please contact Connor | Caitlin Talent Solutions at www.connorcaitlin.com.

Millennials for the Millenniums

            Millennials love brands. Even though companies develop and change throughout the millenniums, customers often prefer to stick with their favorite brands. This is because brands provide reassurance and support to their customers. Millennials are being used to reform the economy with their exclusive experiences used to buy and sell. In order for companies to keep up with the millennials, they need to promote their brands with different forms of advertisement.

           

Technology is a key aspect of millennials; therefore brands would be more successful if they focused on promoting themselves through the Internet. The Internet is the fastest and easiest way to retrieve information, which is why companies create detailed yet user-friendly websites for their customers.

This results in customers beginning to gear towards online shopping opposed to going to the actual store. When it comes to brands and millennials, brands either want to be the “next big thing” or a classic brand that has always been loyal. Either way, when considering how brands work with millennials customers do usually stick with their desired brands.

If you need help solidifying your brand, or tips on how to market to millennials, please contact Connor|Caitlin.

www.connorcaitlin.com

How to become a Marketing Sage

In any business, marketing strategies serve as one of the central objectives in the company’s success. Diversity is very important when it comes to marketing, because the more strategies, the better. 

One very common strategy would be partnering with allies. Marketing partnerships have a lot of benefits, such as: exposing your company to new audiences, partnerships are cheaper, and success is seen more quickly. With that being said, helping customers solve their problems is a vital approach as well. A business is intended to provide solutions by listening and responding to their clients, creating campaigns, and creating apps. Apps and campaigns are noble sources for clients to receive information and keep up to date on the company’s progress.

No matter the business, your customers are always interested in interacting with your company. Creating online tools, such as social media, are the more upcoming forms of communication. Once a company’s marketing strategies are becoming successful, it’s always a smart idea to create a more personal relationship with clients. When companies are willing to be actively involved with their customers it often creates a more comfortable environment. These marketing strategies are the building blocks of a prosperous company.

Contact Connor|Caitlin Talent Solutions at www.connorcaitlin.com for additional information on marketing strategies.