Can you use conversational marketing to market yourself?

Posted on 17. Jun, 2008 by Kelly Feller in Social Media

After recent chatter about chips vs. cheese in our blogs and discussions, I decided to try an experiment. I wondered if companies who are hiring for social media and community manager positions actually look for someone who is employing conversational marketing methods–the chips in the chips-to-cheese ratio–to market themselves. I don’t have results just yet but I’ll pass those along when I do.

Before I get down to the details of my test, I thought I might revisit exactly what “conversational marketing and storytelling” looks like. Wikipedia has a lengthy entry on it with several books and blog links. The entry includes an excerpt from PR Social Media personality Shel Isreal that summarizes it to a degree:

“(Conversational marketing is) the concept that people respond better to lowered voices spoken in credible tones than they do to the aggressive in-your-face marketing speak as is evidences in everything from TV ads to the pap-lingo of so many websites….All too often professional marketers lose their credibility by hyperbole, hubris and amplification.”

I think conversational marketing actually goes one step further, incorporating the human or personal touch required to often make deeper connections with people (after all, aren’t customers people?). In his new book Personality Not Included, Rohit Bhargava discusses how marketing and communications from companies has become homogenous and bland. And by allowing their employees to express themselves and their personalities more freely–in addition to cultivating a corporate personality–companies will discover deeper connections with their customers.

So back to the expirement. I decided to change my normally professional and polished personal resume to one that better captures & communicates my quirky character and particular passions. I tried to trash the marketing buzzwords–like drive ROI, implement marketing plans, yada yada yada–and rewrite it as if I were talking about myself at a cocktail party (sans any slurring or hiccups that might accompany cocktails).

Below is how the top of my resume used to look:

The Big Picture: Dynamic & enthusiastic leader with a passion to achieve measureable results. Positive & upbeat, I strive to provide exemplary service to internal & external customers, & I aim to make work “fun.” Passionate interest in Web 2.0 & emerging social media & marketing concepts. Avid blogger.

Here is how I updated it in conversational marketing style, personality included:

My Manifesto: I write blogs. I manage corporate online communities for Intel. I Twitter actively. I play Second Life. I think everything is marketing, even when people say it isn’t. I believe results are critical. I believe in being authentic and human. I think there is no better way to be happy than to make others happy by listening and providing great customer service. I refuse NOT to have fun at my job.

As I continued to redline my old resume and rewrite it with my personality shining through I realized something. Don’t most automated corporate HR systems utilize keywords or buzzwords to help determine if a candidate is qualified for a particular position? Would I be overlooked simply because I didn’t include the buzzwords these bots search for?

Time will only tell if the above is true. But if any of you have a background in that area, I’d appreciate your comments. I’d also like to know what you thought of my new approach? Did I go far enough? Or did I simply make myself interesting, but possibly professionally irrelevant?

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8 Comments

Posted in Social Media

8 Responses to “Can you use conversational marketing to market yourself?”

  1. Michael Brito

    17. Jun, 2008

    @Kelly — your awesomeness.

    Great post; and I am sure recruiters will be knocking at your door any time now. I know some who don’t like the term “conversational marketing”, but I think it describes exactly what we do everyday. perhaps it’s the “marketing” that leaves a bitter taste. Nonetheless, I’d love to see how your experiment evolves. You don’t want to leave us, do you? : (

    Can you do me a favor and rewrite my resume as well? hehe…jk, I am going to do the same thing as well.

  2. Kelly Feller

    17. Jun, 2008

    @Michael - oh no, not leaving. Just experimenting. :-) I was actually surprised at how difficult it was to lose the stodgy and yawn-inspiring buzzword laden writing style I had perfected after all these years.

  3. Gia Lyons

    17. Jun, 2008

    This is excellent. I hate resumes. I just point people to my LinkedIn profile now, if that’s what they ask for.

    Know what I sent Jive? A love letter, titled, “Why I Want To Work at Jive Software.” I had a wee graph at the beginning that was almost gushy, followed by my rockstar skills and how I would use them at Jive, followed by a graph that described my experience in a conversational way.

    Someone at IBM suggested that Jive only recruited me solely for my Rolodex (um, we call them RELATIONSHIPS now, mkay?), and not for my demeanor or personality. WRONG.

  4. Tom Diederich

    17. Jun, 2008

    Hi Kelly,

    Great post! The updated version reads MUCH better. It’s clear and to the point. The side-by-side comparison reminds me of my first fews weeks as a journalism intern.

    I’d submit copy and the professor would red-line it to a certain point and then, obviously disgusted, give up and rewrite the first few graphs with how it “should” look.

    I think everyone reading this should follow your lead and take another look at their resume/bio from the perspective of the journalism professor (or newspaper editor). No jargon. No buzzwords. No artificial flavors! :)

  5. Michael Brito

    17. Jun, 2008

    here is my personal manifesto…thank you Kelly for the inspiration. I will add this to linkedin, resume, etc….may still refine a tad.

    My Manifesto: I blog, communicate and build relationships with my audience. I Twitter actively. I believe that marketing is good; and if you love your customers they’ll love you back and tell people about it. I believe that business results are critical but should not be the driving force behind connecting with people. I believe in being real, authentic and human. I believe that consumers are real people with real passions. Let’s start treating them that way. I am a recovering direct marketer. I have learned that conversations are more valuable than conversions; even though they are harder to measure. I refuse NOT to have fun at my job. Oh, and I manage online communities and social media for Intel.

  6. David Scheer

    18. Jun, 2008

    Hi Kelly,
    I like your re-write. By the way (warning - this is the engineer in me that can’t help but communicate a solution to you re: buzzwords). You can submit a resume with all the necessary buzzwords embedded in the page as white space or white characters. They don’t show up to people, they just show up for machines.

    Which makes me think, maybe the old way was great for machines and machine like people, not so great for how we actually communicate and work together. (also i love hearing the enthusiasm of Google employees - it really gives you insight into the company - a sort of inner voice. Other company’s inner voices aren’t so melodious.
    =ds=

  7. Matthew Chamberlin

    01. Jul, 2008

    I am currently applying all over creation for a Social Media Strategist position after having worked as a consultant for the past couple of years and, I have to say, I think your suggestion is inspired.

    The normal corporate speak about how I can “assertively integrate highly efficient methods of empowerment without corporate functionalities” makes me want to barf. I am a blogger and podcaster. I am constantly looking to learn learn learn and I love to communicate what I have learned. It reminds me of the Rohit Bhargava book “Personality (not) Included.” If you say you work in community building, you need to be able to let your personality shine through.

    I have already rewritten my CV to make it more conversational. Thanks for the post.

  8. Gordon Mullan

    05. Nov, 2008

    Absolutely love your rewrite - infinitely better!  I do take your point about keyworded searches on resumes though - I think there’s still a place for buzzwords, but maybe in an explicit ‘Food For The Machines’ section?

    I’m trying to get small and medium size businesses to stop sounding like lobotomised corporate drones (which makes them just like the next guy in line). Instead, I’m educating them on how to attract customers and clients they love to work with by putting some Personality into their Marketing.

    Great post Kelly!

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