Sales Savvy

Yesterday, I participated in a panel presentation talking to a talented group of individuals, all of whom are in transition. With the prevalence of social media, the job search strategy is much like the strategy for a business who is building a brand. My portion of the presentation was about the “marketing strategy” with an emphasis on social media and new channels to facilitate the job search. To a large degree, folks know about it but haven’t found the time or the right messaging to prompt them to jump in. That very same message came from my friend Lisa about a month ago who said, “you need to write about social media—guiding folks on how and why to use it.” My response was “uh huh, okay.” Brilliant response on my part, I think. More brilliant on her part, because she was right. Don’t tell her that though.

Despite the amount of information out there, social media is still a bit of a mystery. Following the presentation there was a lot of dialogue on the mechanics and the promise to meet a few members to help guide them through the basics. In an informal poll of the room, I would estimate that 90% of the attendees are on LinkedIn; 50% are on facebook; 25% are on Twitter and 20% are blogging. There were 44 people in the room.

The demographics for social media include professionals who are largely over the age of 35. So you won’t get in there and find things like “I just took my SATs” or “does anyone know where I left my car last night?”, unless you’re looking for that commentary or demographic. Social media is interesting because it has morphed into a marketing and communications tool and it provides the following:

• Brand extension for companies and individuals
• Direct, unfiltered communication and feedback
• Transparency, authentic conversations
• Enables real-time adaptation to market changes (Iran’s election)
• Targeted employee and customer engagement
• Collaboration
• Identifies experts and influencers
• Offers learning, education, due diligence
• Builds relationships and communities
• Global call to action (i.e. Malaria project)
• Creates awareness and drive behavior
• Unscreened access to companies and individuals
• Competitive intelligence

Many of these benefits are interchangeable, whether you are an individual or a business. But this is a channel, a medium for marketing yourself or your business. To me, social media is somewhat agnostic—no matter how diverse your audience, you will likely find them. It’s not exclusionary. But the experience can be a bit intimidating. Before jumping into the deep end, here are some things to know:

• Determine your brand first (personal or business) then develop your strategy, including marketing goals.
• Determine your target audience (companies, people, industries, recruiters, affiliations): Find out who they are and where they are. If you’re single and loving it, then hanging with all the mommy groups is probably not the right place for you. Sure they drink wine, but they start at 4:00 PM and end at 5:00 PM. If your target audience would change that 5:00 PM to an AM, then keep looking until you find those late night partiers.
• Prioritize social media ROI: Participate in channels that support your goals and brand. For example, you may have an easier time connecting with like-minded professionals on Twitter rather than facebook. You may better express yourself with a blog rather than Twitter so use what works for you.
• Find your voice, be authentic and develop good content. We don’t need to know if you have the hiccups but it is good to show a personal side (just not too personal, please). A general rule of thumb: If your best friend would say “Ewww” or “TMI”, then it’s probably not worth sharing.
• Keep the conversation relevant to your audience. Don’t veer off and share a lot of information about Roswell and UFO sightings unless that’s your thing and it supports your goals. 
• Engage: share articles, facts, quotes, ideas, thoughts, links or news; respond, ask questions, comment on blogs, send direct messages on Twitter. Just make the messages relevant to the recipient. Don’t offer to share your cobbler recipe with the CEO of a target company unless you know he/she bakes, and in particular, likes cobbler. 
• Promote yourself. Find the right paths to publicize your social media activity such as blog posts, podcasts, etc. Help people find you.
• Be consistent with your image. If you want a polished, professional image then you might want to forgo using the Glam Shot or the photo of you on the beach—even if you’re wearing your favorite Speedo… Use the same image (and screen name) across all sites so you are easily identifiable.
• Size doesn’t matter; the quality of your audience does. If Starbucks had a bunch of people following them that didn’t like coffee, it wouldn’t do them much good…
• Manage your time. Rest assured, it’s not an XBox or Wii so your family members won’t (shouldn’t) find you endlessly connected to your computer. You shouldn’t get carpal tunnel syndrome from this or a perpetual Zombie look. As your learning curve diminishes, you’ll learn to better manage your time—and there are tools to help.

These are some basic rules. For companies and individuals alike it is a bit of trial and error. It does take time and one of the best sites for learning the ins and outs of social media is Mashable (The Social Media Guide). It provides how-to guidance and directs you to the best and most relevant sites.

Now if my friend Lisa reads this, then she might print the first paragraph, highlight the words “brilliant” and “she was right” and tape it on my car with a request for my signature. So shhhhh, we need to keep this quiet. But the reality is that this is not your child’s medium anymore. It’s adult swim time (well you knew the analogy had to come in somewhere, right…?).  So grab your floaty device and jump in!!