alstin communications

“Over 75 million professionals use LinkedIn to exchange information, ideas and opportunities.” At least that’s what LinkedIn’s home page says, and I bet you are one of that 75 million.

LinkedIn has become an essential tool for most recruiters and professionals alike. Taking a quick look at my connections, within my network there are certainly people I’ve never actually met, directly worked with or am even likely to reconnect with. However, I have taken care when selecting those who fall within that “little league” of my connections. I know them (or of them) on some level.

When I came across the story of “Robin Sage” this summer – a character created by Thomas Ryan, a 20 year security veteran and founder of the company Provide Security - I was pretty amazed by how far this ruse played out on social media, including LinkedIn, went.

"Robin Sage"

For starters, here she is folks. As a person in the marketing world who has given hours of her life searching stock images for just the right picture, I have got to give it to Ryan, he picked the right one for the profile shot. (He created similar phoney profiles on Facebook and Twitter too.)

There’s a great interview with Ryan by ComputerWorld on his experiment to see how many people in the information security, military and intelligence fields would willingly connect and share personal information with a stranger claiming to be an expert in security/computer hacking for the Naval Network Warfare Command. Although his biggest drivers were “all the talk about cyberwarfare and cyberespionage – and what’s real and what’s not real” his findings demonstrate how getting a little too comfortable with these tools can really backfire.

Putting a magnifying glass on her profile – a 25 year old with 10 years of professional security experience? – would (should!) have resulted in a red alert. Some people who Robin Sage attempted to connect with did do a little research – calling the phone number provided on the profile, or asking her to email them directly from her military account. Yet, still others – all told 206 on LinkedIn, 226 on Facebook and 204 on Twitter – were more than happy to accept her invite.

She even got this message:

“If I can ever be of assistance with job opportunities here at Lockheed Martin, don’t hesitate to contact me, as I’m at your service,”

At your service?!! In the midst of several additional offers to apply for jobs with other organizations, there were also invites to speak at a private-sector security conference in Miami, and to review an important technical paper by a NASA researcher. Oh yea, and more than one request for dinner.

What’s your take? The old adage not to judge a book by it’s cover never gets old, that’s for sure. If you’re using LinkedIn to recruit, are you also always making a point to use Google, or other tried and true approaches, to see if things match up? We’d like to hear some of your “Sage” advice too.

Debating an email marketing campaign vs. the old familiar direct (snail) mail approach? Let me give you a few good reasons why an eblast may be the way to go.

First, let’s get the big question out of the way: Isn’t this approach just creating more spam? We’re an information and technology driven society. People opt-in (and have the ability to opt-out) to receive these messages – messages that are proven highly effective.

Effectiveness: An Ad Effectiveness Survey commissioned by Forbes Media in 2009 revealed that email and e-newsletter marketing are considered the second-most effective tool for generating conversions, just behind SEO.

Reduced Cost: We are always looking for ways to reduce costs, aren’t we? Most email blasts are considerably less expensive than direct mail – no postage, no printing. (Plus, it’s Green!: No postage, no printing = a paperless solution.) According to the Direct Marketing Association, advertisers are likely to spend $700 million on email marketing campaigns in 2010. That number jumps to a projected $45.5 billion for traditional direct mail efforts in 2010. (Makes you wonder, is there more “spam” in your mail box, or your in-box?)

Ability to Measure: When building a strategy on budget the ability to measure ROI becomes essential. Stats on open rates, click thrus and applies are made relatively easy with an electronic approach. This is valuable data that can be further used to refine your message and approach.

Highly Targeted & Personalized: Email blasts are an excellent way to target both active and passive job seekers in very specific skill sets and geographies. Plus, there may be an opportunity to personalize the message with the subscriber’s name – you can increase click-thru rates tremendously this way!

I know from experience that email marketing works. Want to learn more about how an eblast may be thie right solution to fill your next “hard-to-fill”? Drop me a line here, or send an email to: blog@alstin.com.