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October 8, 2009

Social Media a Fad or an Investment Opportunity?

Posted by denisekeddy under social media | Tags: , , , , |
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Social Media here, social media there… it seems that everywhere you turn people are talking about social media.  While it appears that EVERYBODY is involved in social media there are still so many companies who can not be bothered to dedicate any resources to understand social media, and even more business professionals who are just “too busy” to spend any time understanding social media.

I get it!  There are so many deadlines, and priorities that are grabbing your already over taxed and over loaded schedule…. but when does social media make it to your priority list?  It feels so overwhelming.   How do you start and what services do you spend time investigating?   Do you wait until your brand, or your company has to quickly respond to a negative customer experience without understanding the tools?  Do you think that social media is just a fad that will eventually fade away?

Do yourself a favor and invest 4 ½ minutes to watch this Socialnomics09 video: youtube Socialnomics 09 Video

Just a few of the things that jump out at me from the video are:
• Social media has overtaken Porn as the #1 activity on the web
• Gen Y will outnumber Baby Boomers by 2010
• If Facebook were a country it would be the 4th largest country
• 80% of the companies use Linked In as their primary recruiting tool

While social media is rapidly becoming the new word of mouth you need to be prepared both professionally and personally.  If your company is living in the land of denial then it is up to you to invest in yourself and understand the “fad” called social media.   No one can predict the outcome that social media will bring to business in the future but we all know social media is here to stay and the impact on business is already mind-boggling.

Social media is not as scary as it sound.  Social media is another tool in your communications bag that you need to understand.   Where do you begin?  Many colleges, universities and professional organizations are offering classes, Amazon has books, You Tube has videos, and of course there are the Gen Y folks who are ready and willing to open up and show you what really is going on in the world of social media.  Social media is about connecting with people … albeit in a bit different fashion then we are used to.   The world is changing and it is getting updated anytime from anywhere – probably by the person sitting next to you. Don’t run, don’t hide, invest in yourself- perhaps this can be an early New Year’s Resolution.

 

May 28, 2009

What will separate you in the age of Twitter, Facebook, and all things Social Media?

Posted by denisekeddy under Communications, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , |
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Now don’t get me wrong, I love social media.  I think there are endless opportunities for branding yourself, your company and yes… even marketing on social media, but today I want to talk about something a bit old fashioned….. manners.   What ever happened to manners or business etiquette?

Having spent the better part of the last year networking I am appalled when I hear some of the horror stories of today’s interview process for a new job.  Granted there are sometimes hundreds of people who are applying for one job, and I know it is impossible to give a personal response to each of them, but no response at all?  Since when is that a good idea?

Here is another one- you have an interview (either phone or in person) and you are told they will get back to you by “X” date.   Well “X” date comes and goes and guess what, no call, e-mail, letter, text…nothing.  So you start following up, once, twice, three times- (you see where I am going with this) but still nothing.  Since when is it okay to treat someone with so little regard?  How hard can it be to send a simple e-mail or return the call of someone who is curious about their status?  Remember this is someone who is interested in your company!   What does this lack of common business courtesy say about your company brand?   Is this the image you want to portray?

You can try to blame the economy and the increased number of applicants for your poor performance, but wouldn’t you rather be known as a company who has respect for it’s potential employees along with respect for its customers?

While the economy is a bit shaky now, things will turn around and people do talk- especially when they network.  There are some very talented people who are getting the run around today.  Maybe you are sitting there thinking, so what is one or two people bad mouth our company who cares….. well most likely it is more than one or two and they tell two friends and so on and so on.  And that doesn’t even count what is being tweeted about your company.

At the end of the day how do you want your company to be remembered?    Relationships are still the key to success and your brand image.  Why not make your brand stand out and do something old fashioned– have some manners!