A reader wrote in to ask the following question;
I would be interested in knowing your thoughts on how much Founders of job boards should make themselves visible on the various social media platforms? As my website is related to a sector (Professional Services/Consulting/Accounting) that I have significant experience in, I thought it may be useful to provide direct feedback/input to allow for a more personal connection with candidates?
Although I am also concerned that this may devalue the branding as it will be relatively clear that I am the only full-time person working on the website and the target audience may be expecting a larger team behind the website. It would be great to know your thoughts on this i.e. Founders doing personal media/marketing plus brand marketing or if all marketing should be behind the brand.
And here’s my response;
When I ran AllCountyJobs I never really made myself a prominent part of the website. I think I had a blurb on the About page but for the most part the business had its own identity.
That doesn’t mean I was not a big part of its brand. On the contrary my clients knew I ran and owned the business since I was the one who picked up the phone when you called the 800 number. I was basically a one man company for its entire existence.
I did use my personal brand to promote the business on social media so my followers know I was a part of it. But overall you should keep yourself out your sites marketing efforts. If you ever want to sell your site you don’t want it to be tied to any one person(s).
If you have a network of people in your niche, by all means, leverage that network to promote your job board. Thats a free marketing channel you need to talk advantage of especially in the early days.
You can however still create a successful business on your name. I need only remind you of Craigslist and other regional players like MacsList.org run by Mac Pritchard and Andrew Hudsons job list of Colorado. These gents carved out a nice niche for themselves. (I believe Craig is no longer involved in the running of CL at this point)
If you think you are going to be part of site for the long term I don’t see an issue with making yourself part of its brand, just be sure to seperate yourself from it over time. If it does become successful you won’t want to scare off a potential buyer.
