Recruiters: Are Your Tweets Social Media Garbage?

When I started on Twitter, I was guilty of dumping. My Twitter stream looked like a mini-job board of open positions with links for qualified candidates to apply. It is impossible for a candidate have a conversation with a stream of open positions.

Here are some recommendations on how to avoid only dumping your jobs on Twitter:

1. Give value to your ideal candidates. Tweet about recent articles and blog posts that your target audience wants to know more about.
   
   
2. Connect with your potential candidates in person using Twitter. Coordinate and promote a tweetup.  Find a thought leader or author from their industry that you could feature at the event to generate additional interest.
   
   
3. Promote your professional relationships by tweeting about events and newsworthy highlights of your non-profit partners and other sister companies.
   
   
4. Help those who have questions via Twitter. Be sure to respond to each person, especially if they need to be redirected to another contact within your company.
   
   
5. Discover referral opportunities. Build relationships on Twitter with other recruiters who may be willing to refer candidates to you or partner with you on specific seasonal hiring projects.
   
   
6. Discuss competitive advantages of your culture. Any benefits that your organization offers that endorses a positive work-life balance is ideal tweet material.
   
   
7. Highlight loyal employees’ accomplishments or departmental successes of your business. Companies that are stable and doing well attract talent.
   
   
8. Remember your purpose on Twitter. Does your Twitter account exist only to broadcast open jobs and provide one-way communication to an audience of potential hires? Hopefully, your Twitter page is one small tactical piece of a significantly larger recruiting strategy.

How to Connect Your Twitter Account and LinkedIn Profile

To add your Twitter account, visit “Edit My Profile” and click “Add Twitter account” next to the Twitter field. Twitter will ask you to verify your account name and password. Once the account is verified, you’ll be asked how you’d like to share your tweets on LinkedIn (see below). Note that once your accounts are joined, you can change this setting at any time by clicking “Edit” next to your Twitter account name.

Note that in order to send tweets from Twitter to LinkedIn, your Twitter account must be set as public. Make sure the “Protect my tweets” box is not checked in your Twitter Settings.

Click here to add your Twitter account to LinkedIn.

You can choose which LinkedIn status updates you share with Twitter, as well as which tweets are displayed as your LinkedIn status. This gives you complete control over which networks see your updates and what they see, automatically or manually.

To share updates from Twitter to LinkedIn, visit the settings page. Here you have the option to share all tweets, to share only tweets that contain #in or #li, or not to share tweets at all. You can change these settings at any time be clicking “Edit” next to your Twitter account name.

To share updates from LinkedIn to Twitter, check the box next to the Twitter icon on the LinkedIn home page. The first time you do this, Twitter will verify your account name and password. Whenever the Twitter box is checked, that update will publish to your Twitter feed. Click here to edit your Twitter settings on LinkedIn.

Hashtags (#) are a way to provide additional context for your tweets. Use #in or #li to publish your Twitter updates to your LinkedIn status. Just make “#in” part of your tweet (for example, “Working on a new blog post about design optimization. #in”), and it will be displayed as your LinkedIn status. These can be added to your tweets at any time and will override your sharing settings. If your tweet is personal and you don’t wish to share it with your professional crowd, just exclude #in or #li.

Excerpt from: http://learn.linkedin.com/twitter/

Discover Buried Treasures Using Twitter Lists

Twitter Lists can help you organize and group the people you follow on Twitter. With Twitter Lists, one can create 20 uniquely titled lists and add up to 500 Twitter accounts on each one. I’m honored to be a part of at least 100 Twitter Lists and appreciate those who have added me.

According to Twitter, “Lists are public by default (but can be made private) and the lists you've created are linked from your profile. Other Twitter users can then subscribe to your lists. This means lists have the potential to be an important new discovery mechanism for great tweets and accounts.”

Although there are many benefits of Twitter Lists, some do not see the competitive intelligence that they provide. Many have created lists for Twitter users in specific industries, professions, companies and locations. Company Twitter Lists are a bounty of poachable talent for recruiters.

You can easily search Twitter Lists using Listorious, an online directory of the best Twitter Lists. When you build a Twitter list, you save others time to figure out whom to follow in those niches and reveal who has the best content. Twitter Lists show which specific people decision makers trust, which can be leveraged for business development purposes. View your competition's Twitter Lists to see if there are any hidden gems.

Be careful when creating Twitter Lists, so that your newly discovered client prospects or trusted relationships are hidden from your competition. It may be more beneficial to keep your Twitter Lists private.

Generate INcome, not IFcome

One of my esteemed colleagues, Eric Jaquith, gave me this advice. He said, "I like INcome, not IFcome.” It resonated in my mind at the Atlanta Bloggers meetup tonight. As I enjoyed the collaboration and transparency of the attendees, it was crystal clear who had a working business plan in place.

To create income, evaluate what actions are truly helping you reach your goals. Focus on the bottom line and which resources are referring profitable leads. Measuring your daily activities and the results or losses generated is a critical component of your continued success.

There are some causes that I choose to support like the American Cancer Society, because the return on investment is more than a financial gain. It is important to pay-it-forward. This doesn't mean that you allow people to take advantage of your kindness, time and the expertise that you provide. Be aware of your activities that produce more income and less ifcome.

Google Voice Cheat Sheet

Now that you can have a Google Voice number with or without an invite, here is a cheat sheet to help you navigate through the system.

Be Smarter Than a 5th Grader in Social Media

Social media is a tactical part of a larger comprehensive marketing and communications strategy. When starting out in social media, it is important to set S.M.A.R.T.E.R. goals. S.M.A.R.T.E.R. stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Results-Oriented, Timed, Evaluate and Reassess.

When I joined LinkedIn in 2005, I didn’t just dive right in without a plan and start wasting time by randomly building my network. I set S.M.A.R.T.E.R. objectives. One of my daily goals was to connect with at least 10 ideal candidates or clients in 5 specific industries within the Atlanta area.

As my focus at work changed, I realigned my LinkedIn activities. Now I’m in the top five of most connected on LinkedIn in the metro Atlanta area with over 17,000 first-level connections. I’m able to reach millions of decision makers worldwide.

If you do not become S.M.A.R.T.E.R. about your social media activity, it will lead to considerable resources losses, including your time. Most of the professionals that I work with do not have this luxury. Start setting S.M.A.R.T.E.R. goals so that you will have better results in any social media network.

The Facebook Revolution

Building a Community One Cupcake at a Time

This is a guest post by Chernee Vitello of Whiting Consulting. I had the opportunity to spend time with Chernee in person at Recruitfest. Her dedication to her clients is inspiring. I'll get to see her in a few days at the Social Recruiting Summit and Tweetup in NYC. Enjoy these insights from Chernee:

I have been in the recruiting business for the past 14 years and have seen the industry that I love evolve in many ways.  I often think about, more specifically, how I used to reach candidates.  It started with just the “home number.”  Then, it migrated to reaching them with email until finally we came to what I thought was Utopia:  The Cell Phone!  Even though the fundamentals of what makes our business successful, building relationships, remains constant; the evolution of the tools we employ are what evolve now faster than ever before.

What social recruiting has given me is the opportunity to build a strong community. A community that consists of clients and candidates and which allows me to understand what is happening in their lives both professionally and personally. It allows me to network and connect with a broader range of people than ever before. It helps me in my research and speeds up my process in identifying target talent for my clients. 

I am a people watcher by habit. My husband always teases me when we go out to dinner that I am in 14 other tables’ conversations vs. my own. Social Media is a great way to “people watch” in a virtual setting. This past week I was in NYC, and had a great time connecting with folks there. When I visit clients I always like to bring a little something to say “thank you.” 

Because of social networking, I found the perfect little thank you: Crumbs Bake Shop. I remembered a posting for one of my dear clients who mentioned a cupcake that she loved. I love cupcakes too (really, who doesn’t?) and it peaked my interest. When I went this week, I looked up the old posting, found the name of the bakery, researched where it was, and went there 4 times in 24 hours and brought wonderful treats to my clients and friends, and found a couple of new friends on the street as well!  It turns out that everybody loves cupcakes!

I never would have known about Crumbs Bake Shop and known what cupcakes my clients like if I did not build a community within social media.  It helps make our business more personal and allows us to build on our relationships with one another, continuing to make them stronger, better and more productive.

About Chernee Vitello:
Chernee Vitello is the founder of Whiting Consulting, a boutique recruiting company, based in Upstate N.Y.

Recruiting for the past 14 years, her mission is to add value-based recruiting to the companies she hires for. Hiring talent that will make an immediate impact on your business is her priority.

You may follow Chernee on Twitter at http://twitter.com/cvitello.

Stop Being a Social Media Debbie Downer

Find a silver lining and free yourself from any negative thinking, especially when interacting online. Here tips on how to stop being a social media “Debbie Downer”:

1. Avoid emotional posts that may have even bigger consequences. If you are angry, it is not the time to vent online even if you have been wronged. Today you may complain about your cell phone service via Twitter. In a few months, you may wish to work for that company. One of their employees can search Twitter to find out what you really think of their service. Most of your online activity (blog comments, tweets, etc) last forever. It is not the forum to vent temporary criticisms.
   
   
2. Keep in mind that we all kill the messenger. The bearer of bad news online is often associated to the negative emotion we felt when we first found out the unfortunate news. If the depressing news is public information, you must think about the overall harm of associating your brand with this data.
   
   
3. Anyone can complain. True leaders create solutions. When online, show that you are working on making your industry or profession better by sharing inspirational ideas and best practices. Pointing out all of the problems won’t win you any supporters or increase your professional brand. Start a thought-provoking conversation and influence change.

If you have a friend that is unknowingly a social media “Debbie Downer”, provide honest advice without being rude. Take time to have a face-to-face conversation over some coffee to find out more about where the root of their negativity sprouted. Often one's pessimistic social media behavior online is a symptom of a bigger issue. You may find an opportunity to pay-it-forward.

Google + Your Social Networks = Google Social Search

By using the social networks you have claimed in via Google Profiles and your Gmail account, you can see comments, photos and connections from your network using a new labs project called Google Social Search.

In this video, Google's own Marissa Mayer, Vice President of Search Products and User Experience demos Google Social Search and compares it to the current search capabilities of Google.

Bottom line: If you include your social networks (FriendFeed, Twitter, Picasa, Blogger, etc) in your Google profile, you are giving Google permission to index that information for your Google Social Search results. At this time, Facebook is not included.

You can access this experimental project and others here.

Are You Stuck in a Moment?

Over 1.3 million people tuned into YouTube for the live U2 concert from The Rose Bowl. One of the first songs they played was "Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of". It is a Grammy-winning song that inspires its listeners to stay positive despite difficult situations.

From a social media perspective, I often see great companies and individuals who are stuck in marketing moments - both positive and negative. One of my manufacturing clients has historically seen significant results from their print media campaigns. After two months of critical analysis and discussions, we are now creating their first Facebook fan page and actively monitoring their brand online.

Another colleague is dealing with negative comments on his blog about his coaching services. My friend is trying to resolve the situation. Since the comments are anonymous, he doesn't even know yet if the person actually used his services. I see that it is exhausting a lot of time and keeping his focus away from his other goals.

In a negative or positive moment, analyze the costs and benefits from pursuing your desired outcome. Evaluate the old and new solutions that are available to solve your customers' problems. You may have been successful with certain tools in the past and this doesn't mean that this will continue in the future. Hopefully, you have a supportive team to help you out of any sticky situation.

8 Killer Social Media and Digital Marketing Quotes

Best quotes heard at the Digital Marketing Mixer in Chicago, IL:

• Content Doesn’t Win. Optimized Content Wins.
• People Don’t Expect Your Company to be Perfect. They Expect You to Provide Solutions.
• Don’t Train. Simplify.
• Your Customers Are Listening in Social Media. And So Are Search Engines.
• Many crummy trials beats the big thinking.
• The Art of Twitter is in the Retweet. You Must be Interesting.
• Tactics Without a Strategy is Worse Than Doing Nothing at All.
• Measurement is Like Laundry. It Piles Up the Longer You Wait to Do It.
  
  

Thank you to Jason Baer for posting these quotes from Li Evans, Debra Ellis, Dr. BJ Fogg, Peter Shankman and Amber Naslund on his social media marketing blog, Convince & Convert.

Use Social Media Data to Increase Revenue

This is a great chart on the Social Analytics Lifecycle by Chuck Hemann and Ken Burbary. It shows how companies can use social networks to discover crucial data, share it with the appropriate corporate function and make improvements that will eventually increase revenue.

Often I meet with clients who are just starting to understand the potential of monitoring their brand online to discover ways that they can improve their products and customer service.

When listening to your clients or monitoring your target audience online, the key is to capture the right data and motivate your teams to share essential information internally.

Create Your Social Media Policy Now

On Monday and Tuesday, I was honored to present at the Atlanta Chapter of the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM-Atlanta) Annual Conference. It was surprising to me that many companies do not have a social media policy.

To get started, I would recommend that you read this insightful post called, "10 Must-Haves for Your Social Media Policy". It was retweeted over 900 times and was written by Sharlyn Lauby. I met Sharlyn in person this year and she is exceptional. 

Research what others have created. Ed Bennett and Jason Rupp have compiled over 100 social media policies at Social Media Goverance. You can search by name or industry. It may give you some additional ideas.

Within your HR, recruiting, legal, IT and marketing teams, it is important to start this conversation.  After developing your company's social media guidelines, you may choose to start with an internal network like a company LinkedIn group that isn't public. Your employees can collaborate and build stronger relationships with each other. Once you have properly trained your staff, they can start branching out to external networks with the right guidance and expectations.

Light Bulb Moments from BarCamp Nashville

As promised, this is my second post about my thoughts regarding BarCamp Nashville. The experience from this event has sparked a new creative energy and exposed me to some non-conventional ideas.

For those of us who create and post content online, do we live forever digitally? – Dave Delaney

People abandon Google searches. In 48% of the searches, people didn’t click on any of the results (2008). Instead, they put in more keywords. – Matthew Freeman

Social media is like a coin. One side is cost and the other side is time. – Bill Seaver

If you really want to know how your business is run, do a Google search with your name and then the word “sucks”. Then do another search with your name and the word “awesome”. – Scott Gordon

Cash is no longer king. Community is king. If you are in HR or recruiting, seek out additional characteristics in the talent pool to match the shifting culture. – Adrienne Corn

Two Wiki Secrets: A Wiki is NOT one website. Every entry is a website.  – Rex Hammock

Entrepreneurs + Technology + Funding + Thought Leadership = A Great Startup Community  – Marcus Whitney

Thank you again to the organizers and sponsors of this event. I can't wait to return next year.

Highlights from BarCamp Nashville

BarCamp Nashville was filled with interesting conversations regarding social media, technology, blogs, marketing, innovation and even HR/recruiting. I was one of the few guests who were from out-of-town.

The event was well-organized. The location, Cadillac Ranch in downtown Nashville rocked - literally. The volunteers were easy to find in their bright yellow t-shirts. The informative program guide included pre-determined hashtags for all 50+ sessions. Every session left you wanting to hear more from the speakers. The after-party included Ignite Nashville presentations and kept the conversations going!

With one click, you can follow all of the talented folks who tweet that I met at BarCamp Nashville:

 

Here are the great photos taken by @JoshtheOak from the event as well:

I'll have another blog post soon with my notes (all nuggets of insights and inspiration) from BarCamp Nashville soon!

What If You Don't Like What Google Says You Are

When someone googles your name, are the search results positive or negative? Susan Moskwa, Webmaster Trends Analyst of Google, recommends these following tips to manage your reputation online.

The first step in reputation management is preemptive: Think twice before putting your personal information online.

If something you dislike has already been published, the next step is to try to remove it from the site where it's appearing.

• Remove the undesired content. It will naturally drop out of search results after Google recrawls the page and discovers the change.
• Contact the site's webmaster and ask them to remove the content or the page in question.
• Expedite the removal of that content from Google using our URL removal tool.

Proactively publish information
If you can get stuff that you want people to see to outperform the stuff you don't want them to see, you'll be able to reduce the amount of harm that that negative or embarrassing content can do to your reputation. You can publish or encourage positive content in a variety of ways:

• Create a Google profile. It will show up in the search results when someone googles your name.
• Ask customers who are happy with your company to give you a testimonial to post online.

In closing, maintain your professional demeanor online as you would in person. Only create and post content, including photos and videos, that you want to be indexed permanently by Google.

The Changing World of Social Media

Take a glimpse at the live statistics of one person's view of social media:

This visual representation stresses the importance of understanding your purpose online and the tools available to measure your ROI.

A Complete Guide to Google Wave

If you were one of the lucky ones to receive your Google Wave invite, here is a guide to help you make sure that you are maximizing its potential.

Get any instant updates on Google Wave at Mashable.

5 Reasons Why Your Company Should Tweet

Twitter is an exceptional research and communications tool. It will never replace the power of a face-to-face meeting.

Here are some ways Twitter can save you valuable time and increase profitability for your company:

1. Find and interact with decision makers faster. Discover ideal targets at http://exectweets.com.
2. Get desired news immediately. Twitter is a constant stream of the most up-to-date information. Search http://twellow.com for ideal resources.
3. Twitter is a free 24-7 networking event. Listen into multiple conversations, engage, establish rapport and build meaningful relationships virtually.
4. Retain your current customers. Instead of losing customers in a robotic automated phone service, provide immediate one-on-one help, first-class customer service and a positive experience for your customers all with an online audience.
5. Gain another competitive edge. Monitor tweets for keywords to gather real-time feedback for your company or competitors.

With any social media channel, it does take time to get started. However, the actual return on your investment may be priceless.