Your birthday only comes once a year, so make it count.
Birthdays can affect job search, and they most certainly can impact your personal brand.
The following tips are useful regardless of whether you’re in the birthday industry (entertainment, gifts, etc.) or not.
Your birthday
1) Tell people about it
Unless your entire brand audience has friended you on Facebook – and happens to login specifically on that day – they’re not going to know automatically when it’s your birthday, so you need to tell them.
Blog about it, tweet about it, mention it in your email signature.
2) Throw a party
Birthday parties can be terrific networking events if you open them up beyond your close friends and let your different social circles mix, so that people can meet when they might never have otherwise.
3) Use it as an excuse for change
Anniversaries are a perfect time to announce changes such as a new web presence or upgrades to an existing one, a new look for you or e.g. your website, or possibly a promotion around your products or services.
Turning the tables, what if it’s…
Someone else’s birthday
4) Build your relationship by reaching out
Especially if you haven’t connected in a while, there’s never an easier time to send greetings than on someone’s birthday.
The good feelings will be even stronger if you reach the birthday girl or boy before they have any chance to announce the date at all, showing that you remembered, and doubly so if you reach them in a way that you know they’ll like. To get the former right, FellowUp is a handy tool that will notify you of your contacts’ birthdays.
5) Attend a party
Just like your birthday party is a great networking opportunity for your guests, get the same results by being a guest at other people’s parties.
Everyone has a birthday, so it’s an easy thing to bond over, and a simple conversation starter.
If the party is announced online via a Facebook event, you can start meeting other guests in advance by chatting with them in the event comments, and then use that as a way to recognize people later at the event itself.
Bonus
6) Throw them a party
To make the ultimate impression on someone or their cause, throw them the party.
Do the maximum so that they have to do the minimum, and you’ll maximum recognition in return.
Birthdays worth celebrating
With all the benefits of birthdays and branding, it would be a shame to only take advantage once a year.
Here are all the different kinds of birthdays worth celebrating:
- Your own
- Your blog, website or main web presence (even a Facebook Fan page)
- Your company/organization/NGO
- Friends/partners/clients/contacts
- Your personal brand
Yes, even your personal brand can have a birthday, but you’ll need to choose one for it first. Make it meaningful!
If you’re wondering why I have birthdays on the mind – tomorrow, October 29th, is my 36th birthday. Wish me happy birthday in the comments 🙂
Have you ever used your birthday for personal branding purposes?
Author:
Jacob Share, a job search expert, is the creator of JobMob, one of the biggest blogs in the world about finding jobs. Follow him on Twitter for job search tips and humor.
