Monster.com socializes job search at last
By Sharon Hill
Monster Worldwide, one of the last major job sites to come to the social recruitment table, has finally announced the ability for job candidates to see which of their socially-networked friends have connections to the hiring firm, right from the Monster.com site. Candidates won’t be searching Facebook or LinkedIn - they’ll be searching BeKnown, the Monster-Worldwide-owned Facebook app. If a candidate tries the search and is not set up on BeKnown, she or he will be prompted to create that free BeKnown profile and account.
There’s nothing really innovative here. However, the fact that it’s Monster means that 100 million monthly visitors – most of whom have not set up a BeKnown profile – will be encouraged to do so. That’s good for BeKnown, which in the social recruitment battle is way behind both fellow-Facebook-app BranchOut, and LinkedIn. For more on what each of these big three social recruitment sites offer, what Monster told us about the socialization and why it waited so long, and where each firm is headed, see our upcoming CIR.
Here’s the Monster Worldwide announcement: Continue reading
Deal personalization drove Groupon growth
Groupon just reported an 89 percent revenue jump for Q1 2012, compared with the same quarter of 2011. In North America its 75 percent growth was attributed in part to deal personalization, a targeting tool that will soon launch internationally. Groupon customers grew YOY 140 percent, to 36.9 million, with sales from repeat buyers 150 percent of those “doing a deal” for the first time. The new Groupon Rewards loyalty program, only in certain major markets at this point, brought 2500 merchants into the Daily Deals fold. More than half of first-time merchants returned to place later Deals with the site.
Market research firm ForeSee was commissioned to study both merchant and customer satisfaction with Groupon. The Daily Deals behemoth scored an 83 with customers and 79 with merchants, way ahead of most online retailers.
The jump from 25 percent to 30 percent mobile access from December 2011 to March 2012 may have been the catalyst for the new “up-to-the-minute” Groupon Now success, with 1.5 million Now deals sold.
With past store-owner complaints that Groupon was being far too selective in its choice of who could offer Deals, it’s nice to see that merchants are declaring their happiness with a Deals site. We suspect that merchant approval is partly due to the Groupon Merchant Center, where merchants can track response, administer and see the history of their deals, and manage their Groupon Rewards activity. Here’s the earnings report.
Certifikid: Perhaps not a win-win-win
By Sharon Hill
According to The Washington Post, Certifikid, a DC-based Daily Deals site focused on children’s products, is expected to earn in 2012 more than $350,000 from $2 million worth of Daily Deals sales. The Post also reported a record February for the site and its teleworking-mom founder Jamie Ratner, with $100,000 in gross sales for the month. Promotions included gyms, summer camps, haircuts for kids, birthday party packages, and family photography. The top-selling Deal that month was Baltimore Harbor’s Urban Pirates Family. Certifikid buyers spent nearly $30,000 for that one family outing. Certifikid recently launched a “special needs” focus, with alerts and deals especially for children with special needs. In a video interview with Baltimore’s WBAL TV Ratner talked about her company’s mission to put “special needs” families together, and provide them the outlet they needed. A Certifkid Cares project offers schools and other organizations a group-referral program that can make up to $1000 for the organization. It all sounds great, doesn’t it? Perhaps not. Continue reading
Xing in textbook switch of CEOs
By Christo Volschenk
When the 4-year contract of Xing CEO Stefan Groß-Selbeck (44) runs out in January 2013, he will not be available for a second 4-year term. The listed company announced today that Groß-Selbeck elected not to renew his contract and will leave the company in January 2013 “to accept new challenges”. Xing is the leading business network and biggest social recruitment medium in the German-speaking region. Continue reading
Targeting women? Head to Pinterest
By Sharon Hill
If your publication, classified site or firm seeks to target a specific demographic, the latest study by Online MBA would be helpful indeed. The higher-education service site learned the following:
- Women make up a whopping 82 percent of Pinterest users
- Forty six percent of Facebook users are 45 years of age or older
- Of the 90 million Google+ users 71 percent are male, and the largest group are young engineers and other technical professionals. Nearly 44 percent are single.
- The top reason 5.5 million monthly visitors turn to Reddit is for humor. Visitors stay more than 16 minutes on average – more than twice that of time spent on LinkedIn. [Additionally, Reddit recruitment listings launched in 2009; as of today 3360 openings are listed, and 3950 candidates have posted their availability. ]
There’s much more in this insightful infographic. Mashable reported the details, including the graphic below.
- New Study Names Edmunds.com Most Popular Car Dealer Review Site
- HomeZada Integrates to Pinterest for DIY Projects
- Contact At Once! Dealer Chat Software Now Available to DealerRater Certified Dealer Partners
- United States:
- Vizu Moves into Social Media Ad Success Measurement
- McClatchy Names Elaine Lintecum As Vice President, Finance And Chief Financial Officer And Announces Other Leadership Changes
- United States:AutoTrader.com Announces New Leadership at VinSolutions
- Grenlist.com is a “Classifieds Community”, with environmental integrity! Every aspect of the site, has been created by the people, for the people!
- Canoe.ca publisher Quebecor reports Q1 2012 results
- Yellow Media Reports $3 Billion Quarterly Loss
