Breaking Bad Season 4 and online dating profiles.

The other day I went onto Facebook and looked at the news feed. The first item was a quote by Rumi posted by a friend of mine, ““What you seek is seeking you.” Just below was a post by another friend. It read, “Be one with the universe and you’ll never be alone.” The next post, from another friend, also had something to do with gratitude or love or visualization or manifestation or some such presumably meaningful quote.

Finally, I landed on the status of my friend Eammon. It was, quite simply: Breaking Bad, Season 4. Even though Eammon is like the little brother I was never allowed to muzzle and then lock in a closet forever and ever, he suddenly was the best thing since…well, Breaking Bad! With just four words (technically three, plus a number), he managed to hit on several successful marketing techniques that you can apply to everything from dating profiles to LinkedIn bios.

Here they are:

Unique

Instead of the endless feeds of trite nonsense (I know, I know…I’m mean and cynical, and the universe will carve such deep furrows in my forehead that even Kardashian-caliber fillers couldn’t help me), he wrote an entirely different kind of status than everyone else on my Facebook feed.

Original

What he chose as a status came from him. They weren’t someone else’s words. That’s not to suggest that you shouldn’t quote anyone on your profile. Feel free to share prose that you enjoy. However, rather than do it as a preachy statement, present it in a way that’s conversational and invites a response.

Engaging

Most people use Facebook as a fun, social way to stay connected to others. Eammon’s words were appropriate to this environment (in advertising, we always consider the environment in which we are trying to get stand out). They were light, playful and – most important in that environment – they were engaging. Rather than post a statement, he posted a conversation starter. A thread of comments ensued and all were such fun to read. Kevin, another friend of mine, is always posting interesting questions on his wall, everything from “what’s your least favorite song of the ’80’s”  to “What would you predict will disappear within our lifetimes?”.  I marvel at his ability to engage and intrigue. A long thread of comments always ensues. Truly, there’s no better way to use Facebook! There’s also no better technique on dating profiles or any environment in which you want others to take notice, engage, and contact you (I have the most interesting friends!).

Remember, when you write any kind of profile – whether it’s a dating profile or a professional bio – always treat it like a marketing opportunity. Craft your profile using marketing techniques and you’ll have a far better chance of standing out and getting noticed. Better still, let me write it. I have over 20 years experience and expertise. As such, I’m trained to make you stand out.

See for yourself. Check out the online dating samples of my work (be sure to have a look at the LinkedIn profiles, as well). Better still, go straight to the personality quiz. It costs nothing to do, but will help you uncover some of your unique traits, which is the first step in writing an online dating profile that stands out.

If you like the blogs, then you’ll like the tweets. I’d love to see you on Facebook. too.

Feel free to check out the samples of my LinkedIn profiles too.