Soci@lByte

From the Desk of Melissa Hourigan
Well, well, well, two weeks after I planned to post and here I am. Social media is becoming such the catch phrase these days that I find myself searching for another way to phrase what it is that we are trying to say and do. On a regular basis, client and prospects talk about the need to incorporate social media into their PR programs. In conversations with branding and advertising firms, I hear a common request and often, people are wondering, where does the execution of social media fall? Well in my opinion and what I am hearing from others is that it falls on YOU.

In a recent Harvard Business Review Article, David Armano nails it by saying, “Many organizations simply skip this question [living social] because they assume that they themselves don’t have to be social (open and collaborative) to reap the rewards (cost savings, marketing ROI, effective reputation management, and search engine juice) they think they might get from social media.”

The more I work with companies on social media campaigns, the more I realize how important it is that the companies themselves “live social.” You can’t just hire a PR firm and hope that you develop a successful social campaign without some involvement of your own.

Which brings me to another reference. Gary Vaynerchuck social media expert, host of WineLibraryTV.com, and bestselling author of “Crush It!” was in Denver recently for the last stop of his book tour. During his visit, he shared some insightful advice from the book and how he grew his family’s $4 million wine business to $60 million in five years in large part to his “living social” approach. Because of his success, this nontraditional businessman has managed to land a spot on almost every broadcast program on TV and is a sought after speaker and consultant to Fortune 100 companies. And at the end of the day, Gary asks that you love what you do 100%, be authentic and follow your own DNA to engage with your audience.

Please enjoy some highlights of Gary’s 2+ hour discussion in Denver. Some of my favorite Gary quotes include:

• You have to be willing to bleed out your eyeballs to make it happen

• Be yourself, don’t try to be like anyone else

• You have to work your friggin’ face off

Gary Vaynerchuck

Yesterday, I posted an entry from a conversation with Andrew Hudson to get his perspective on how social media has changed the job landscape and how people can leverage social media tools to build their professional network and support their job search. This post is part two. (We’d love to hear from you on how you use social media tools for networking – please take our QUICK SURVEY.)

Top social media tools to use for professional networking and ones job search?

Clearly LinkedIn and Twitter top Hudson’s list but Facebook and having a blog made it too.

Using Facebook for Professional Networking?

There has been a lot of discussion about using Facebook for professional networking and people have differing opinions on this. However, Hudson encourages people to use Facebook for professional networking and to support their job search. “It’s a more casual environment to connect and engage with people.”

Tip: You can create lists within your Facebook page so only certain people can see certain things – mainly pictures. This may help if you don’t want everyone to see pictures you post from your weekend ski trip.

What are some of your recommendations on how people can improve their use of social media when seeking a new job?

Use Your Network: If you’re looking for a new job, tap your friends on Facebook and let them know what you’re seeking. Use Facebook and LinkedIn for research to support your networking efforts. Hudson suggests you go in and look to see where your friends work, what they’re doing and begin to see if they might be able to open doors for you. When possible, try to meet up with people in-person (nothing beats face-to-face) for coffee, lunch, drinks, a run or whatever to help those doors open wider.

Write a Blog: Having a blog isn’t a must but it is a good asset. Blogs will help you demonstrate your expertise and give you another channel to connect with people. In fact, a recent eMarketing survey found that nearly six in 10 of all the bloggers surveyed said they were better known in their industry because of their blog, and one-quarter had used their blog as a resume or sent it to potential employers.

Use Social Media for Research: This has been touched upon in this post and the last post but needs to be called out. Use LinkedIn to research companies you’re interested in, who works there, do you know anyone connected to them. The same goes for Twitter. Follow people. Read their tweets. Read their blogs. Engage. Use these tools and they will help you more than you may know. TIP: If you’re going in for an interview, make sure to check the persons profile so you have a feel for their background AND to see if you know anyone they know.

Specific LinkedIn Recommendations:

• Complete your Profile: Make sure your profile is updated with your past and present work experience. Include real results and accomplishments to demonstrate your experience and expertise.
• Leverage Groups. We discussed this in the last post; they’re a great way to engage with people in your industry.
• Identify 10 people who know you and you’ve worked with in the last three years. Ask them to post a recommendation.
• Use the search functionally to find job leads.

Specific Twitter Recommendations:

• Use Twitter strategically to network and engage with people online. This is true even if you aren’t seeking a new job. For example, use TweetDeck or Seesmic to categorize people you’re following so their tweets don’t get lost. You may also consider building Twitter lists of people for this BUT consider marking them private in case they (or recruiters) view the lists.
• Find people in your industry and at businesses that you’d like to work for. You can search via Twitter, set up a TweetScan with industry keywords or try using Twellow (I find Twellow to be very useful).
• Engage with these people and businesses you want to work with/for. Ask questions about the company, the industry, share news with them related to the company/industry and when possible try to network with them offline.

We’d love to hear from you on how you use social media tools for networking – please take our QUICK SURVEY.

Make sure to check out Andrew Hudson’s Job List and follow him on Twitter for more tips and job leads.

From the desk of Elaine Schoch…

There has been a lot of talk about the recent FTC blogger guidelines – some good, some bad and some simply panicked. The guidelines address the issue of disclosure. Meaning, as a blogger simply have to tell your readers if someone gave you their product, paid you to try it out, invited you to attend an event for free, so on and so on.

Is it really that much of a problem? Does it create another level of trust or does it hurt bloggers? Tell us what you think.