6. Social media is only used by kids looking to socialize with their friends.
- More than half of Facebook users are outside of college.
- The fastest growing demographic is that of those 30 years old and older.
- The average age of a LinkedIn user is 45, and the average age of a Twitter user is 31.
http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics
7. There is no business case for social media it’s impossible to track or determine ROI.
- ROI isn’t as elusive as people think. Measurement tools are there, you just need a trusted partner that knows how to use them and analyze the results correctly.
- In fact, performing an initial audit to assess the state of your online employer reputation gives you a detailed report showing what is being said, where the conversations are taking place, and the sentiment about you.
- Online reputation should be monitored monthly, and the initial audit serves as your reputation baseline.
- The impact of your social media strategy can be seen through the effects to your online reputation monthly reports as compared to your initial audit.
- Social media efforts are not only trackable with web analytics, but, more importantly, in newer numbers such as direct interactions, whether in the form of number of page fans, number of views, comments, or number of community members.
- However, there are no guaranteed results. It requires effort and care on the side of the employer and interaction is dependent on the candidate choosing to do so. If the information shared is not interesting or relevant to them, then it will not work. Period.
8. Relationship marketing is done through email.
- There are many ways to connect and build relationships with your candidates beyond just e-mail newsletters.
- Build a candidate community directly within your career site.
- Text messaging, RSS feeds and sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Ning, and Twitter enable you and your employees to share rich information about what it is like to work for your company.
9. We need to control the conversations about our employer brand.
- The truth is that you cannot control the conversation, you can at best steer it. Because it is a “conversation,” it is liable to go in different directions than you might have planned or anticipated. By having a clear, coherent strategy for social media, you can use that strategy as a “guiding star” to point the discussion in the direction you want it to go.
- Because people today are comfortable sharing information, perspectives, experiences, photos, and videos within social networks, the conversations are already going on and they are completely outside of your control.
- Leverage this trend; user-generated content keeps the information fresh and authentic.
- Candidates today expect to be able to get a first person view point of what it is like to work for your company.
10. If we just ignore all of this it will go away.
- Conversations are already taking place at a record pace whether you are involved in them or not.
- Search Engines have become the TOP way for candidates to find career information, and the content produced within social networks and forums is very search engine friendly.
- Social media is the ultimate expression of your employer brand because brands are all about relationships. The stronger the bond you forge in the relationship the more valuable your brand becomes. Online employer reputation management is a business imperative.
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