-          Financial Investment Firms need an organizational or “Business Page”.  This is the official Facebook site for the business and should be ‘friended’ by all employees of the firm with their profile. 

-          The goal here should be to acquire as many “Fans” as possible.

-          This is the site where official updates of the business are posted, updating your “fans”… to include:

• Upcoming events; open houses; social hour; conference…
• Blog postings, related articles, podcasts and videos…
• Pics of the most recent media training, company outing, or birthday celebration…
• Links are important.  Links to sources of information, links to bloggers, links that are of value to current and prospective clients.

-          Financial Investment Firms will then need to move onto the creation of a “Group Page”.  This is specifically targeted to the audience we want. 

• This is the water cooler where topics related, but not necessarily directly related to the business can be discussed.
• This is a great site to eavesdrop on your fans discussing different topics and get an idea of what your potential and/or current customers are thinking and discussing.  Pay particular attention to gripes, moans, and complaints… These types of comments should be looked upon as a gift from your customer.  It provides insight into a potential future loss, which you are now able to thwart and keep as a customer by addressing those needs before culminating to a point of frustration.
• It’s important to facilitate in a group environment and not attempt to drive the conversation.  Allow it to travel its own course.  This is the only way you’ll be able to acquire accurate data.

LinkedIn:

-          This is a professional site for business professionals to network and “link-in” with each other for opportunities, answers to questions, jobs, and for staying abreast of the business “buzz” of the day.

-          Instead of fans, you have links, which in turn provide you even more secondary, then tertiary links to potential clients or business partners.

• The most interesting part of this fascinating Web site is where you can see who’s been looking at your profile.  For the most part, it indicates the line of work this person is in, and in some rare occurrences, it indicates the searcher by name.

1. On occasion, it’s exciting to see who’s been looking at your profile.

• Credibility is the name of the game when it comes to the social media landscape and a great way to garner this is through LinkedIn’s Answers/Questions.

1. You can ask a question, then post it for the next week or two to see what kind of responses you get.
2. Or, you can answer already posted questions.  If your answer is deemed one of the better responses, the person asking the question may stamp you with “the best answer” label, thus marking you as an expert in this particular field.

Twitter:

-          This is the most egregiously misused tool in the social media toolbox.  What began as a 140-character update (a tweet) on the most important and pertinent issues of the day, has turned into a social update tool to inform the masses that you are in line at the hot dog stand and it is taking too long.

-          “Tweets” should be focused on your area of expertise or a specific target-topic for your audience.

-          Every tweet should set you apart as an expert and thus a resource for your audience.

-          Remember not to sell.  This only turns off your potential clients.  As long as you provide information deemed pertinent to their needs, they will eventually come around.

-          Step 1.  Set up a profile and pay particular attention to “Bio”.  This will often determine whether someone wants to follow you or not.  A quick, but interesting sound bite, but once again, don’t sell yourself here or anywhere else on Twitter.

-          Step 2.  Set up a company profile and have every (this is important that EVERY single employee “follow” the company site, otherwise, potential clients will be wondering why…) employee follow it.

-          Step 3.  Begin wandering the hinterlands of Twitterville.  I.e., look up some prominent companies in similar lines of business and see who’s following them.  Then, follow them!

-          Step 4.  Monitor what’s being said by those you’re following.  What are the topics?  The buzz?  The latest news?  What stories are they linking and retweeting?  All this will direct you in the right direction, not to mention as soon as you begin tweeting your own expert opinion in the matter, tweeters will begin following you.

Networking, whether in the real world or in the social media realm takes time and effort.  The bad news is, it’s tough to get started.  Just as if you were visiting a foreign country for the first time, you will not understand the language, the culture, nor be in the right time zone.  The same can be said of the social media realm.  The language is often confusing, the mannerisms are difficult to understand, and your head is spinning with the traffic going back and forth.

Take your time and take small steps at first.  Start with Facebook, then move onto LinkedIn, and finally to Twitter.

Unless you want a job.  

I don’t like TheLadders as I was able to find every job on its paid site on the free sites, and their recruiter networks were fruitless to say the least.  It’s simply a ploy for TheLadders to get recruiters to pay them for having a list of suckers like us.

Also, stay away from third-party application sites.  These are very deceptive sites that look like a job application, but after you’ve finished filling out all your personal information and clicking “submit”, you’ll quickly discover that you’ve just  been conned into signing up for a college-degree information program or a newsletter of sorts.

If you do find a job that you’re interested in applying for, open another window and go directly to that company’s website and find their “careers” or “join us” sections.  Don’t depend on job sites to connect you properly.  Everyone’s out to make a buck, and some of the most susceptible people are those desperately looking for a job.

Here are the best resources to finding your next job:

1) LinkedIn.com (if you don’t have a free LinkedIn account, you don’t exist.  Get one immediately, even if you have a steady job.  It’s a great way for you to connect and network, not to mention stay abreast of what your connections are up to.)

2) Indeed.com is a compilation of jobs from ALL other sites to include newspapers, websites, and corporate job sites.  This is especially helpful for trends and salary updates.

3) SimplyHired.com is another compilation, however, this one has a sidebar with automatic LinkedIn connections to show you who you may know that works at that particular job.

4) Ned’s Job of the Week at NedsJOTW.com (this one is particularly good for communications, public relations, and DoD contract jobs).  Ned is a retired Navy Captain and devotes time to producing a very good list every Monday).

5) USA Jobs has an abundance of work available for almost anyone looking.  Read the descriptions carefully as some require citizenship or prior federal service.  This site includes the State Dep’t, the IRS, the EPA, DoD, and more.  The best part is that government jobs are paying top-dollar and your chance of getting fired is slim to none, even if you don’t know what you’re doing.  The name of the game with federal jobs is to know the rules.

Unless you’re interested in an entry-level job or a position that is ethically questionable at best, do not waste your time on Craigslist.

Communications and Public Relations professionals should focus their efforts on:

5) Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Job Center

6) International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Career Center

Networking opportunities are out there.  In every city and for every niche there is an association, and Google won’t always suffice.  Here’s a few:

7) Washington Network Group (DC)

Maryland Chapter of PRSA

9) Baltimore Better Business Journal

Publications and newspapers I found particularly useful

10) Washington Post Career Section

Here’ the question:

Why is “Communication” or “Corporate Communications” a job function so difficult to find?

i.e., take a look at LinkedIn’s “Categorize your question” fields or any company’s hiring board. We are asked to categorize our profession, yet it is often a toss up between Marketing or Public Relations. Have we, as a profession of communicators progressed so little that Corporate America still lacks awareness that this is a vital segment of successful business operations?

Everything from human resource functions to crisis communications are critical to having professional communication experts at the helm, yet this does not seem to be the case. Or at a minimum, there is a distinct lack of awareness.

Your thoughts?

———————————————————————————–

Hot-Spot target, bulls-eye!

The responses from the LinkedIn Community was overwhelming.  Most responses resoundingly indicated a need to identify and BRAND our profession.  We are public speakers, writers, media relations, community relations, and reputation managers…  We manage expectations, keep employees engaged, and ensure everyone, from every corner of the globe understands the corporate message…  We provide not only the feedback, but plan and manage the avenues for feedback…  We are communication enablers.

In reference to this question, one response caught my eye.  The below is an excerpt from a response posted by Mr. Jim Lukaszewski.  He asks if professional communicators can answer the following:

Can you give me advice on the spot?
Will you tell me things I don’t already know?
Can you help me with what to do next?
Will you ask managerially relevant questions?
Can you help me finish the stuff I was supposed to have done last Week?
Will you help me identify the options available to me?
Can you be brief, succinct, and helpful, from my perspective?
Are you on my team or somebody else’s (like the reporter’s?)
Will you work without a lot of praise and recognition?
Can you let go of your ideas when I take credit for them?
Will you tolerate my ignoring your advice a lot, and asking others the same questions?
Can you work without whining about the lawyers and my other consultants?

These and others are relevant and vital questions to ask yourself.

As communication professionals, we are so much more than simply a mouthpiece, we are a counselor.

As a Public Affairs Officer for the Marines, Danny is an innovative and forward-thinking executive, with a passion for leveraging effective communications to fuel employee-engagement, build community goodwill, and drive profits.

STEP TWO: Reconnect and Connect

One word: “LinkedIN“. (Click on it and you’ll see an example of what your LinkedIn page might look like.)

This is your launch pad; your starting point; your springboard into the world of connections.

Step 2.A: Register on LinkedIn.com

This is your online, professional resume website. Did I mention it’s free?

Step 2.B: Develop your professional resume.

Step 2.C: Proof-read your resume. Take a break – go out for a walk – then, proof-read it again.

Step 2.D: Post it. Now, you’re established on LinkedIn.  Congrats, you now exist.

Be advised, you will begin receiving requests to “connect”. There is an entire world of LinkedIn Etiquette that you should heed before rampantly going off and accepting anyone and everyone. But that’s for next time.