Thursday, January 28th, 2010
Ignore
Two days ago I posted about people being a big danger of social media marketing because of what they might say on various channels without thinking about the consequences.
But on a more personal (though it can be corporate) level, inaction is equally damning.
When someone adds you (the communication professional of the company) on, say, Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn, and you wait a week before replying – what does that say about you as an individual, and as a representative as a company?
They add you and you accept it two weeks later – they’re not important.
They ask a question and you never answer it - they’re beneath you.
You ask your community a question but then don’t respond to the answers – you’re disinterested and insincere.
In the above cases you’d be better off not being involved in the social space at all.
I have to admit this is something I struggle with personally. Sometimes people I meet once at conferences want to connect on Facebook and that might be a little too personal for me so I procrastinate and before long it’s a month and by then, accepting the invitation lets the other party know I metaphorically sat on it for a month, thus conveying the message they weren’t important enough to accept within a few days.
There’s no easy answer to this question. Some people will be comfortable accepting every invitation, others will be more selective. It’s not so much the style that matters, but being aware that whichever route you choose to take (or not take) communicates something to that person or group of people.
How do you deal with the many requests you get on social channels? Do you ignore some? Ask them to add you on a less personal channel like Twitter instead of Facebook? I’d love to hear from you.
[image from Spraytint]
Tags: communication, communication professional. twitter, company representative, danger of social media marketing, facebook, inaction, LinkedIn, social channels, social media
Posted in facebook, online identity, social media | No Comments »
Tuesday, December 1st, 2009
Yesterday I talked about how there is a misconception that certain industries are more suited for social media and how in fact anyone can use the tools available to contribute to their niche, especially when they’re ramping up their job hunting efforts.
As promised, here are three things you can do to get started:
1) Write on Facebook
I know a couple of people who do this. They write spiffy notes, or thoughtful notes about current issues and then tag people relevant to encourage replies and a conversation. This serves the dual purpose of getting your thoughts out there and also getting valuable feedback. What if a HR student wrote a note about a more effective reward/compensation for Generation Y in the office? Or a finance student demonstrated his ability to explain the financial crisis in non-jargon terms?
2) Use Twitter
You can do this without even having a Twitter account. Use Twitter Search and enter phrases that are relevant to your field. Search for “javascript” if you’re a programmer, “branding” if you want to do branding or relevant hashtags like #analytics for web analytics. Soon you’ll get a feel of what people are talking about as well as the links they share, and you’ll be ready to create your own Twitter account and add to the discussion too.
3) Join a group on LinkedIn
There’s literally a group for anything on LinkedIn. Some a more active than others but there is probably an existing group out there. Try asking questions like “what would you look for when you’re hiring a fresh graduate in the [insert profession] field?”. The likelihood is someone will reply and you’ll be gathering valuable information straight from future employers.
The market is competitve and everyone needs a way to stand out. Try one (or all) of these ideas and bring a printout of that Facebook discussion (and the comments) to your next interview. Talk about the latest topic on Twitter that was mentioned an hour before your interview. Ask for your interviewer’s views on a topic commonly brought up in your LinkedIn group and ask how that company approaches these questions.
All these small things convey a message about you: That you’re passionate about your field, that you’re keeping a finger on the pulse on what’s going on, and that you’re not afraid to use technology to do it.
Don’t underestimate these qualities in today’s workforce – they can be priceless.
Tags: employers, facebook, fresh graduates, HR, LinkedIn, social media, twitter
Posted in social media | 4 Comments »
Monday, November 30th, 2009
Let me start by saying I write this post from a job hunter’s point of view. For the longest time I’ve been telling friends to do something, anything in the social media scene while they’re still in school to help them when they’re looking for a job. Designers have portfolios, why shouldn’t knowledge workers have something similar?
Without a doubt the most commonly used excuse is “oh you’re in marketing it’s a different industry”. I think this is absolutely untrue. It doesn’t matter whether you’re in the finance industry, law, medicine, HR, anything, social media can be used to strengthen your network and give you an advantage.
In the process of research at work I’ve come across people who podcast about comics as a means of promoting their store to financial institutions producing videos on the financial crisis to people who blog about plastics and chemicals to people asking questions about pottery on LinkedIn. There is space for every niche, it’s just whether or not you’re willing to look for it.
Tomorrow: three ways anyone can get started to contributing to their niche in social media.
Tags: Blogs, job hunting, LinkedIn, Podcasts, social media scene, videos
Posted in social media | 4 Comments »
