Elements of a Killer Digital Portfolio

I recently dove headfirst into the world of digital self promotion and started a Squarespace website to house my digital portfolio. There are lots of great platforms available to creative professionals, and if Squarespace isn't for you, check out Behance, Coroflot and Carbonmade.

After a lot of research into how to make a killer digital portfolio, these are the 8 must-haves for digital portfolios:

1. Claim Your Vanity URL. It is so easy to acquire vanity URLs there's no excuse for not pointing one at your digital portfolio. To be easy, make your URL your name if possible.
2. Showcase Your Creative Style. Your digital portfolio should reflect your style and personality, so make sure you choose a design template that you feel comfortable with. Text, colors and images can be used to convey your personality as well. This is a great way to stand out against other applicants.
3. Be Consistent. I hadn't quite pulled all of the pieces of Top Shelf Digital Marketing together when I decided to launch a digital portfolio and it inspired me to create a logo to give all company materials a unified theme with a cohesive look and feel.
4. Create Clear Categories. Some people organize their work by brand, something that works well if you've got renowned clients. Some people organize their work chronologically, which is great if you're an entry-level applicant without much to show. Since I'm not currently targeting global brands or a specific industry, I decided to showcase each skill with a variety of projects from several clients.
5. Be Your Own Client. Remember that a well-organized digital portfolio will be easier for potential clients and companies to view, ultimately making a better first impression for your personal brand. Treat your digital portfolio as you would a client project, identify your target audience and be strategic about how you'd like them to experience your work.
6. Use Your Latest and Greatest. Choose the very best samples of your work, from the biggest brands you've supported over the last five years. Exceptions can be made if you have an exceptionally impressive campaign or project that is older.
7. Show Versatility and Adaptability. For each skill you'd like to showcase, show versatility, breadth and depth by giving several different examples. For example, try to use examples of your work from a variety of clients, unless you're targeting one specific industry. Also, don't stick to one kind of example, copywriting could include press releases, advertorials, infographics, marketing materials, website text, etc. 
8. Use Strategic Copywriting. Yes, digital portfolios are heavily reliant on visuals. But text is also a powerful tool and should be used to convey additional details such as e-newsletter open rates, website analytics, social media engagement statistics, etc. 

The Importance of Work-Life Balance

Steve Taylor posted a really insightful blog for The Creative Group this week and it got me thinking. The topic was 8 career development tips to keep you ahead of the curve, and as a big proponent of introspection, these topics tend to pique my interest.

What was really interesting to me was #6 - Maintain a Good Work-Life Balance. Steve wrote:

This one is a little harder because it's not always in your control. However, a healthy work-life balance can make all the difference between a good career and a great one. Sure, you could stay an extra hour at the office and churn out work that isn't due until tomorrow night. Or you could spend it with your family, get plenty of sleep and produce even better work the next morning.

Too many of us have come to believe that "the brass" favor workaholics. However, I've come to find that many managers prefer individuals who keep work in check because employees who enjoy a life outside the office are often happier and more creative.

I am the first to admit that I have failed pretty miserably at maintaining a good balance between my personal and professional lives this past year. In addition to taking on a new job just before Christmas 2013 I spent most of 2014 planning our August wedding. I have always believed, especially at my current marketing and public relations agency, that workaholics are revered and greatly appreciated. But the level of respect and appreciation doesn't seem to match the amount of work that I've put in and the number of personal sacrifices I've made - namely, spending my evenings at home with my husband and our dog recharging my creative juices.

One of my top three New Year's Resolutions is to maintain a healthier work-life balance, and I appreciate Mr. Taylor for reminding me that I'm not the only one to value this skill.

Digital Advertising Trends to Watch in 2015

We may be a couple of weeks into the new year; however, the creative geniuses over at The Creative Group have published their list of digital advertising trends to watch in 2015.

Being that advertising isn't as much my speciality, I'm going to go ahead and just direct you to their post.

Enjoy!

3 Tips for LinkedIn Recommendations

LinkedIn recommendations aren't likely to make or break a career opportunity for you; however, the professional networking site is without a doubt a resource for people who are considering job applicants. With that in mind, my philosophy is to take advantage of every avenue available to make a great and lasting impression - including requesting LinkedIn recommendations from colleagues, coworker and clients.

Here are the three tips I follow when I'm requesting recommendations:

1. Be Timely - The best time to ask for a recommendation from someone is when your work is top of mind, this goes for digital and print mediums. As soon as you know someone's happy with the project you completed, reach out via phone, email, or LinkedIn's "Ask for recommendations" tab. Being that some people don't often check their LinkedIn account and the email they receive alerts on may be different from the one they check regularly, it doesn't hurt to request the LinkedIn recommendation via phone or email and follow up with a request through LinkedIn itself.
2. Request Strategical Recommendations - Plan your recommendation requests to showcase the range of your work. Ideally, you'll garner a couple of solid recommendations for each of your areas of expertise. If you have 'holes' focus on requesting recommendations that will speak to your strengths in those areas.
3. Manage Your Recommendations - Now that LinkedIn lets us rank our recommendations, make sure you put your best ones front and center. Just like with a digital portfolio, you want to showcase the skills that you are focusing your career on with the best possible recommendations.

Good luck!

What the Facebook News Feed Changes Mean for Businesses

Chances are you've heard that Facebook is changing their News Feed settings to improve the consumer experience based on feedback from user surveys.

Starting sometime this month, Facebook will be reducing visibility of posts that are "too professional."  Moving forward, Pages that post promotional content can expect their organic reach to fall significantly over time. So, what can you do about it?

Employ a social media strategy that generates content that is not deemed "too promotional" according to Facebook's algorithms. Apparently, surveys have  found three things that make organic posts seem "too promotional" to users:

1. Posts that solely push people to buy a product or install an app
2. Posts that push people to enter promotions and sweepstakes with no real context
3. Posts that reuse the exact same content from ads

Okay, Facebook, challenge accepted.

In theory, this would mean that witty, creative, insightful posts would continue to garner the same reach as they have in the past. Of course, many people suspect Facebook is simply rewarding companies who spend advertising dollars since that's now the only way to ensure your content is being viewed by your followers and potential fans. 

The reality is that while I suspect that was a huge bonus for Facebook, I highly doubt that this is a purely self-serving move. As a consumer, I completely support algorithms that improve the user experience and ensure brands are proving me useful content in my News Feed. Of course, I am very likely to unfollow any company that abuses the privilege of appearing in my feed, and one hopes that concern is enough reason for businesses to hold themselves to higher standards of content creation.