Hey friends. Just observed some pretty intelligent marketing by JobsinSocial.com, although you might call it risque.

You know those Facebook ads on the side of your profile everyday? Mine are always related to social media marketing. Check out the four ads that loaded tonight:

Which one of those ads attracted your attention first? And why? I’m guessing the top image.

Sex Sells

It’s an age old saying that ‘sex sells’, and it couldn’t be more obvious than in this line up. Jobs in Social has no reason to use this image in their marketing, and it has nothing to do with their product offering. But they do understand the speed of social media and the need to attract attention quickly. Every time a consumer clicks on an item on Facebook, these ads re-load. Jobs in Social knew they would have to have an image that would catch the consumer’s eye, and encourage him or her to click through to their website. They went with the sex appeal of this photo.

Amateur Photos Work Best

But that’s not all. This is not a professional photo. It’s not staged, and it looks like what we’re used to seeing on Facebook: amateur photos. When advertisements looks natural, we are less likely to ignore them, because it doesn’t scream Ad! (source)

Overall, I say Jobs in Social is achieving one thing: attention. But not much more. I clicked through the ad, found out the content wasn’t relevant to me, and clicked away immediately. What does this look like on their ad stats? A click-thru. Which is ‘success’ according to common online measurements. But was it really successful? You be the judge.

In the winter of 2010, I was approached by an entrepreneur in Florida who was interested in partnering in a new ‘social good’ project. We spent weeks communicating via email and phone to begin planning a website to use the power of crowdsourcing in order to help those in need. Crowdsourcing was becoming popular, and there was no doubt the social media industry would begin to fill up with startups working to harness the power of crowds.

After a month or so, our work was getting sparse, and eventually we stopped working on the project. Just days after the fallout, Pepsi launched their ‘Refresh Everything’ project, focusing on crowdsourcing to ultimately create a ‘social good’ network. Their project has proved extremely successful, and helped get the ball rolling on the whole ‘social good’ movement.

Successful campaigns have followed Pepsi’s footsteps, including Kohl’s most recent ‘Kohl’s Cares’ campaign.

When the Refresh Everything project went live, I felt my heart drop a little bit. I had just put the files away and called it quits on a social good project that was almost a long lost child of the Pepsi creation. Down to the format of the website, our idea was from the same bloodline of the Refresh Everything beauty. My initial reaction was to be upset that someone of Pepsi’s caliber had beaten us to the punch. I wanted to forget about our small project, and fast.

Then I got great advice from one of the best sources of information in anyone’s life: my father. He gave me a simple way to look at this situation “When you have a good idea, and 10 other people have that same idea, do not be discouraged, because it means you are simply on the right track.”

That quote changed my perspective on a lot of things in life and especially in entrepreneurship. Do not be discouraged if your idea is not incredibly unique, be encouraged that you are on the right track.

The next stop on the right track? Making your product stand out from the rest. That’s a blog for another time.

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Recently, I went on a search for a web developer to work on this very site from which you are reading. I was looking for someone good, someone affordable, and someone I could trust. My first hunch was to use Google, as it has been my number one search spot for over 10 years.

After an intense Google-ing, I found myself with some viable options, but none that truly tickled my fancy. None of the web developers I found had ALL three of my project requirements. Sure, there were some GREAT developers, but they sure were pricey. There were also some pricey developers who just weren’t that good. I could sacrifice some cash for a good developer, or i could sacrifice some quality for an affordable wbesite design. However, I was not willing to get into a relationship with a developer I didn’t trust.

It sounds strange, but perhaps my skepticism about the developers was based on the fact I found them on Google. Sure, I would trust google with the majority of the things in my life. If Google had a doctor application, I’d let it deliver my first born child. But there has been a paradigm shift in my search life, and it involves another supergiant, Facebook.

After hours of research on google and beyond, I didn’t come away with a good feeling about anything I had found. I meandered over to hang out on my favorite social network, and decided to put a post on my Facebook wall stating:

“I am looking for a web developer with experience to help design and build a website for me. If you are a developer or know a developer, send me a message. Looking for site to be fully functioning by mid-August. $$ payment included.”

Within one hour, I had 5 friends of mine recommending web developers. I went out on a limb asking my Facebook friends for quick help on the topic, and was incredibly surprised by the response. I could not have pointed out one of my Facebook buddies that would know a thing or two about web development before the status post. Turns out, it doesn’t matter WHO knows the answer to your question, it matter WHO knows WHO who knows the answer to your question.

I spent 40 seconds writing that Facebook status, and had a web developer picked out within 40 minutes. Facebook proved a valuable resource in searching the web for answers. The perk? I found someone good, I found someone affordable, and because of our interconnection, I found someone I could trust.

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