I remember reading an introductory book on Communications that explained that most people believe they are great at communicating without being professionals. This happens because every human being must do it, right?
The truth is that most individuals are underqualified for many scenarios where communication is paramount. Something similar happens with marketing. Everybody in business sells themselves and their products and services, but not everybody is superb at marketing.
Although everything complex can be made simpler, marketing requires more than common sense.
Most individuals are acquainted with the process of seeking a job. This series of steps can teach us a lot about marketing, and I’ll begin relating each step to its professional counterpart.
The professional headshot > On brand visuals
I can’t emphasize enough how important a professional headshot is. If a person were to be on a dating site without a photo, the person would also be non-existent.
Visuals are paramount in marketing. As an example, you can explain much of the brand through its visuals.
If you’re a restaurant, you can’t operate without a menu. If you’re inviting a crowd to a concert, you can’t do much without a poster, and so on.
Finally, what about the website? In many fields and markets, a business without a website is nonexistent, and many others directly depend upon it to sell and succeed.
The Resume > Landing Pages
The resume is a document in which you write about your expertise. It also includes ways to communicate with you. The resume is also suited to the industry and type of job an applicant is searching for.
As you may already know, a landing page is a part of a website that is directly targeted to a target audience, differentiating itself from the website in general.
If we compare the resume with the landing page, then the resume is the landing page, and the audience is the employer. You’re giving them exactly the information they want in the format they prefer.
Keep in mind that you usually have the full ability to create and modify the appearance of your resume, and the same goes for landing pages.
LinkedIn Profile > Social Media Marketing
You may have seen big brands launching campaigns throughout most of the social networks you belong to. You may be surprised to know that you may now be doing what they tackle at scale.
Instead of selling a soda drink, you’re selling yourself. A few of the tools at your disposal are:
– The ability to publish content through the network
- Launching Ads
- Presenting a cohesive personal brand
By now, you may have figured out that what you do to get better prospects and amplify your network is what big brands do, but at scale to make themselves known and cut through the clutter (to reach their target audience effectively)
Networking > Outreach and Lead Generation
Job applicants contact companies to set up interviews, while brands contact them to obtain warm leads.
The result for an individual is being close to getting a dream job, fulfilling goals in such a way. Their business counterpart or brand gets closer to closing a sale, fulfilling their quotes.
The Job Interview > Closing the Sale
The last comparison was all about networking. After submitting many applications, the job seeker may receive an interview, which can lead to getting the job they want.
The sales process is similar, and closing sales is the last part of a marketing funnel.
In this part of the process, you make a presentation, overcome objections, and close the sale. The result is a win-win situation for both parties.
Negotiating a Job Offer > Positioning and Value Proposition
Can you demonstrate a Return on Investment? Are you a good fit for the company? By adding value, you will receive value in return.
Not every equivalent of the job search process is face-to-face. In marketing, you can set up your plan and see it executed again and again through your website, automations, or digital means. That being said, metaphors are great thinking tools. Let’s continue with the comparisons.
Personal projects and experience > Portfolio and Testimonials
You’ll find many loose parts inside a marketing collateral or plan. Testimonials are part of a broader social proof category. Most of the time, they’re indispensable in a sound digital marketing strategy.
It’s the same as part of a resume: They contribute to a persuasive whole. Experience sells because it shows what you can do, strongly backing up your proposal.
Upskilling, Reeskilling > Continuous Improvement
When we work with or for someone else, we have a value tag. Increasing this value means we help someone else achieve their goals, and in return, we get value, usually in the form of money, to fulfill ours.
Part of this formula is what we know: Upskilling or improving what we know, and re-skilling or learning something new gets us closer to an ideal of ever being improving. You can say it’s self-development in practice.
The same happens in marketing, but perhaps as a process, as something more planned and tangible: Ever-improving processes and better services help us stay in touch with the times and provide value because we know what we’re doing.
Finally
As you can see, the experience of being prepared to search for a job may lead us to understand marketing empathically. By relating concepts from everyday life to their marketing counterparts, you will be closer to achieve your goals in marketing, thereby adding value to your customers.
