trends

According to Elance, the leading US online employment platform, there has been a steady increase in the demand for digital marketing services worldwide. “We’ve seen a 106% increase in digital marketing jobs posted on Elance for the 12 months leading up to March 2012. There has also been a 215% increase in marketing jobs completed and a 188% increase in client spend…”

As stated in the post on econsultancy.com, the global use of marketing freelancers has doubled in the last year. Especially the European countries are increasingly hiring digital marketers through the ‘human cloud’. Among these countries, the UK has continued to grow faster than most markets with an increase from April last year of 215%, compared to the global average of 124%. In the past year, digital marketing spend increased in the UK by 279%. Germany (255%), Switzerland (127%) and Austria (270%) also experience dramatic growth.

Top 10 countries hiring digital marketers:

1. US
2. Australia
3. UK
4. Canada
5. India
6. Israel
7. Denmark
8. Germany
9. Spain
10. Ireland

Top 10 digital marketing skills in demand:

1. Infographics
2. Videography (Video production, video editing)
3. Banner ads
4. Internet marketing
5. Blogs
6. Social media
7. SEO
8. SEM
9. eBooks
10. Email marketing

Some of the proposed reasons for this surge in demand for digital marketing services include: (Economy) Difficult economic conditions over the last years that have put a strain on marketing budgets, (Flexibility) the increasing variation of marketing disciplines and campaigns in the digital age, (Specialisms) and the necessity for specialized expertise.

Here is an interesting post on Mashable about the influence of social media on talent acquisition. The maturity of social media has reinvented the way recruiting is done, yet many businesses still haven’t figured out how best to integrate and leverage social networks as part of their recruiting and hiring processes. They are continuing to figure out optimal ways to harness the reach of social media and translate its usefulness into results. While social media has been adopted well at the consumer level, the gap between consumer and corporate adoption is widening.

So just how does social media benefit the environment of talent acquisition? Here are five shifts that are taking place now: It’s personal, it’s transparent, it’s no longer just for HR, it’s marketing, it’s being shared.

This interesting article on deskmag discusses the German government’s plan to force freelancers to pay a compulsory retirement ‘contribution’. Will it kill off entrepreneurship and destroy millions of independent careers? At least that’s the opinion of Tim Wessels, an IT specialist from Hamburg who has launched a petition against the so-called “Rewarding Life’s Work” law. With this law, provided it is passed, Freelancers will be forced to pay €350+ a month to support the broken pension system, on top of the €300-€600 they must already pay for health insurance (plus other taxes). Demanding that entrepreneurs fork out at least €650 a month in contributions before they earn a single cent will end innovation in Germany…

The Cisco Connected World Technology Report provides insight into challenges that companies face as they strive to balance current and future employee and business needs amid expanding mobility capabilities, security risks, and technologies.

Cisco examined nearly 3,000 college students and young professionals in an international workforce study and questioned them about their behavior and expectations and looked at how their demands for information access is changing business communication and the future of work.

Among other findings, the 2011 report revealed:

• One of every 3 college students and young employees believes the Internet is as important as air, water, food, and shelter.

• Two of five said they would accept a lower-paying job that had more flexibility with regard to device choice, social media access, and mobility than a higher-paying job with less flexibility.

• Regarding security-related issues in the workplace, seven of ten employees admitted to knowingly breaking IT policies on a regular basis, and three of five believe they are not responsible for protecting corporate information and devices.

Mobile job searching is on the rise, according to a recent survey by Kelton Research. While smartphones are mainly used to browse the Internet, take photos/video, check email and conduct general search, there is a growing number of people who use their devices to search for work. According to the study, some 86% of smartphone owners said that they would use their phone to find a job; nearly 50% reported that they would even apply to jobs via their mobile phone if they could.

This JIBE infographic shares additional Kelton Research survey data and reveals that jobseekers are increasingly using downtime to hunt for jobs. Unlike traditional methods, mobile job searching can be done anytime and anywhere: Respondents specifically mentioned portability and immediacy as major benefits of applying to jobs via mobile.

What does the rise of mobile job searching mean for businesses? With smartphone usage increasing rapidly – this is definitely a recruiting pool too big to ignore. Companies can attract these tech-savvy jobseekers by optimizing online job boards and making the application process simpler to complete via mobile phone.

Check out the infographic on mashable.com. Would you search for your next job or project with your smartphone?

Many freelancers operate as just another anonymous resource in the crowded market. Their services lack an identifying mark that stands for something. It is therefore not surprising that, at times, it can be very difficult to prevail in a highly competitive freelance environment. In that sense, building a distinctive image and lasting reputation for your freelancing business can be very beneficial.

Many people make the mistake of thinking that having business cards, a logo, a website, a social media presence, or a slogan for their business means that they have a brand. But they are wrong. Those things, in and of themselves, are not a brand, but they can help build a brand. They serve as a reminder of what your freelancing business stands for. In a nutshell, a brand is what your clients think of when they think of you and your work. Simply being known as a good designer or good programmer is no longer enough. You should rather be known as a designer who provides elegant yet simple work or a programmer who is known for his/her exceptional ability to solve tough problems. Developing a strong brand takes time and effort. Besides exceptional work, building a brand usually requires significant and consistent marketing and PR.

Having a strong freelancing brand can mean the difference when pitching for a project or job. What do you think?

“Tom Malone, professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management and author of the HBR article “The Age of Hyperspecialization,” explains why breaking jobs into tiny pieces yields better, faster, cheaper work — and greater flexibility for employees…”

The future of work 2.0

In 2010, women became the majority of the U.S. workforce for the first time in the country’s history. Also, 57% of college students are now women. While men continue to dominate the executive ranks and corporate board rooms, women now hold a number of lucrative careers: they make up 54% of accountants, 45% of law associates and approximately 50% of all banking and insurance jobs. These statistics, which appeared in Hanna Rosin’s Atlantic article “The End of Men,” have prompted considerable attention and debate…

Google+ provides some interesting tools for freelancers, including Google+ Brand Pages. Another aspect of Google+ that freelancers should consider is the Hangouts feature.

Google+ Hangouts is a very interesting social media tool – especially for freelancers. It is one of the unique Google+ features that helps to distinguish Google+ from other social media tools.

If you’re a freelancer, you should think about the various ways that Google+ Hangouts can benefit you as a freelancer. Google+ Hangouts offers a great opportunity for freelancers to connect on a more personal level with individuals they would ordinarily not be able to interact with on a face-to-face basis. Google+ Hangouts are easy to use, versatile, and free of charge.

Here are some ways that freelancers can use Google+ Hangouts:

• Hosting a conference call
• Brainstorming
• Training
• Holding a status meeting
• Networking
• Building a community
• Discussing potential projects with prospective clients (instead of sales calls)
• Collaborating on a group project
• Holding “office hours” for clients

Google+ Hangout sessions can also be recorded, so a team meeting can be shared with absent members at a later date. Also, this means that a training session could potentially be used over and over. In fact, there are countless possibilities for using hangouts. Can you think of Google+ Hangout uses for your own freelancing business? Currently, the only downside is that Google+ Hangouts is limited to ten people (including the person who initiated the hangout). So, if you have a need to connect with more people, you’ll need to use another method of communication.

This post on TechCrunch discusses the fast growth of interest-based social networks and how their emergence may affect top dogs such as Facebook for example. Interest-based social services like Pinterest, Instagram, Thumb, or Foodspotting are raking up new users at the speed of light. According to the author, Jay Jamison, part of their success can be attributed to the fact that these newcomers have a markedly different focus and approach. While traditional social networks focus primarily on users personal relationships, these new kids on the block have in common that they enable the user to focus and organize around their interests first. The crucial difference is probably the users opportunity to express his or her interests in new, engaging ways and the possibility to connect – in an authentic fashion – with people they do not already know.