Dov Hoffman's Insights

Checked In Lately? Learn a Lil’ More About Geo-Location Based Platforms

Originally posted on AMA Baltimore‘s blog, Checked In Lately? Learn a Lil’ More About Geo-Location Based Platforms

How many of you remember Carmen Sandiego? If not, I’m sure the classic theme song will help refresh your memory. Currently, with today’s geo-location based platforms, there’s a different theme song playing, for you and your friends. Where in the world is ________?

The digital space is changing for businesses, as it’s necessary to be up to date with the latest/greatest marketing trends to attract new customers and maintain existing relationships. We now have to be search engine optimized, social media optimized, and now with the growing trend of geo-location marketing, geographically optimized.Continue reading “Checked In Lately? Learn a Lil’ More About Geo-Location Based Platforms”

Forming and Maintaining Connections – Success Lies Ahead (Relationship Building Tips)

Originally posted on AMA Baltimore‘s blog, Forming and Maintaing Connections – Success Lies Ahead (Relationship Building Tips)

To be completely honest, the key to successful relationships is at your fingertips. Literally. Take a moment and think about the three following actions:

Shaking hands with an acquaintance
Sending a followup email days after you recently connected with someone
Dialing a phone number and calling a person who you haven’t spoken with in a while

While these three actions seem extremely basic, they’re often the hardest steps in building a successful relationship. I get it, we’re all busy. But it’s necessary to follow these three actions similar to those that we perform on a daily basis (I hope!). I’m referring to the directions on the back of a shampoo bottle: rinse, lather, and repeat. We can all agree that those are relatively simple directions, correct? And we all follow them, right?Continue reading “Forming and Maintaining Connections – Success Lies Ahead (Relationship Building Tips)”

Is Social (Media) For Me? Guidelines and Tips to Follow

Originally posted on AMA Baltimore‘s blog, Is Social (Media) For Me? Guidelines and Tips to Follow

In the last seven years, one of the hottest topics in marketing has been social media. With individuals and companies hosting conferences, presentations, and webinars, in addition to providing white papers there certainly has been plenty of buzz created on this topic. Within the social media arena, thought leaders have evolved such as Gary Vaynerchuk, founder of Winelibrary.com and author of The Thank You Economy as well as Crush It! Another thought leader who is well known is Pete Cashmore, the founder and CEO of Mashable, one of the most sought out social media, digital, and technology news sites on the web.Continue reading “Is Social (Media) For Me? Guidelines and Tips to Follow”

Graduation Is Approaching – Tips to Land a Job

Originally posted on AMA Baltimore‘s blog, Graduation Is Approaching – Tips to Land a Job

Within the next few weeks, many college students who have spent the last four years (or in some cases, there are those who completed an “extra lap” or two) will enter the job market. During this time, the majority of these bright individuals will be gearing up to enter the workforce.

However, there are plenty of other job seekers out there looking for employment in addition to the graduating class of 2011. A year ago, I faced a similar challenge: how to overcome the increasing unemployment rate and add myself as an employed professional. Throughout the last few years, I’ve come up with a number of tips and tricks that I have used for every company that I’ve interviewed with to date. Below, I’ve outlined these with some notes next to each one.Continue reading “Graduation Is Approaching – Tips to Land a Job”

Key Takeaways from HubSpot’s the Science of Email Marketing Webinar

Last week, on Thursday, February 10th, I was fortunate enough to attend Hubspot‘s the Science of Email Marketing Webinar hosted by Social Media Scientist, Dan Zarrella. I have come to the conclusion, that as a marketer, it is necessary to educate oneself on the latest marketing trends. As someone who incorporates email marketing into my company’s marketing efforts while seeking continuous improvement, attendance for this webinar was a must. Other marketers felt the same way as indicated by the attendance of over 20,000 registrants for this webinar. Through engagement during the presentation, this became a trending topic on Twitter.

There were some very interesting discoveries from this presentation, which I would have initially thought the opposite of. One of the first points which Dan made, was that from a survey which HubSpot conducted, 88% of the respondents stated that they do not use a separate work and personal email inbox. This alone is a sign that our business and personal lives are becoming intertwined with one another. This proves that businesses are consumers. The entire presentation was filled with key takeaways, which I am about to outline within this post.

Continue reading “Key Takeaways from HubSpot’s the Science of Email Marketing Webinar”

The Importance of Student Organizations

Over the past couple of years, I have formed a pretty strong opinion about the importance of student organizations. As a recent graduate from the College of Business and Economics at Towson University, my participation in various student organizations helped pave my current career path. Quite frankly, I never would have thought that I would have ended my college career the way I did. By the time I graduated, I was a recipient of five scholarships, had completed four internships, was named to the dean’s list three times, honored for a Vice President of Student Affairs Award and College of Business and Economics Outstanding Graduate. In addition, I placed as a finalist in the College of Business and Economics‘ The Associate competition.Continue reading “The Importance of Student Organizations”

2011 Marketing Predictions

WOW! We’re approaching 2011 and as marketers it’s that time of the year to look into our crystal ball and predict trends for the future. Throughout the course of 2010 I have attended many networking events and presentations to help with my predictions for the upcoming year.

There are certainly going to be doubters who think these have been revealed already in 2010 or even past years, but I personally think there is a lot of potential within the trends listed below. If you follow these, surprisingly they will drive your business, brand, and the interaction your company has with clients (existing, new, and potential).Continue reading “2011 Marketing Predictions”

Success Tips for Today’s College Students

After speaking with fellow graduates and business professionals, I realized that we share some common thoughts about today’s college students entering the workforce. With the unemployment rate reaching a high point of 10.1% in October 2009 during the recession, it is surprising that more students are not taking advantage of the opportunities in front of them to improve their chances of landing a job. Thus, they could build a foundation for their network. Recently, the unemployment rate was 9.6% in September 2010 on a national level. This number increased at an even higher 14.8% for for the population aged between 20 – 24. It would seem that with fewer jobs available and hiring freezes taking place students would make more of an effort to set themselves apart in this competitive job market. Could it be that they are unaware of success tips?Continue reading “Success Tips for Today’s College Students”

2010 Komen Race for the Cure: I AM THE CURE®

After supporting the Susan G. Komen for the Cure cause since 2008, I was able to attend the annual event this past Sunday in Hunt Valley, MD. Experiencing the race was breathtaking. Seeing over 29,000 individuals join together early on a Sunday morning in support of breast cancer awareness was moving. I attended with Towson University’s College of Business and Economics’ Biz Wiz team which had a total of over 40 participants.

I think it is terrific that over the past few years the awareness level of the Race for the Cure has increased tremendously. I credit this to the emergence of technologies and various platforms on the internet. With the click of a button in a couple of minutes, one is able to craft personal messages describing their efforts to reach a personal donation goal and request support from friends, family members, co-workers, and other individuals that they know. Thanks to sharing capabilities which are currently available, one is able to spread the word of their fundraising activities with minimal effort.Continue reading “2010 Komen Race for the Cure: I AM THE CURE®”