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by David Liu March 01, 2010

Search engine optimization, pay-per-click ads, and social media networking are all standard online marketing practices. Businesses rely on them to promote their websites, generate interest in their products, and overall, to jumpstart results.

As it turns out, using online marketing services can also do wonders in self-promotion, as Doug Winfield discovered when he found himself out of work at 47. Winfield, who held vice-president positions at multiple companies before losing his public relations position in Seattle, turned to Facebook, LinkedIn, and others to look for a job.

Instead of networking through emails and friend requests, however, he turned to online advertising, getting his name out through personalized Facebook ads, Youtube videos, and even a customized blog with the tagline, “You need Doug Winfield.”

In total, Winfield reported to CNN, the job search campaign cost him $170, and generated a total of 477,000 views to his Facebook fan site. Winfield’s blog, titled SnarkandAwe, lists his extensive experience in digital marketing, calling himself “an expert in the use of digital marketing and social media to understand and engage audiences.”

The campaign worked, and Winfield found himself interviewing with some of the companies that he targeted with his personalized ads. While the VP job that he eventually landed wasn’t one his targeted companies, he did say of his online efforts – which he showed to his new employer during the interview – “I could show what's possible and present myself in a positive way. That went a long way to showing them I could do the same for clients.”

Winfield’s new position is at MS&L Worldwide, a global communications firm, and his position as the VP of Digital Corporate Practice includes finding new was to interact with consumers and partners through social networking. The job search campaign, while indirectly helping his career, also poised a great question for social marketing in general.

That is to say, how targeted should your online marketing efforts be, and just how effective are they? Winfield’s practice of targeting 20-30 prospective employers generated just under 1,400 ad clicks in two months. Some of those companies responded to his brave self-promotional efforts with an interview, while others, he said, “thought it was creepy.”

As a lasting image though, Winfield’s use of pay-per-click ads and personalized resume submissions through Facebook managed to do exactly what they were supposed to – get his name out there enough to make an impression, and to publicize his skills to his target market, which was basically any company that was willing to listen.

In the world of SEO, PPC and the like, hit-or-miss isn’t just a phrase used to describe the percentage of success, but one used to explain the effectiveness of advertising to an unknown market. Facebook’s personalized ads allow customization throughout their own network, which allowed Winfield to pick and choose which members and companies he was put on display for, but ultimately, he still had to keep searching.

Any type of online marketing gamble, however, is exactly that – an attempt to reach as many people as possible, and to hopefully find your target audience in the fray. Even Winfield admits that his guerilla job-search campaign couldn’t work for everyone, but for people looking to mine for gold, the time and effort put in can often lead to shining moments.