Social media is not for interns

There was a time not long ago when so called “experts” talked about how easy social media was to operate.  ”Huck an intern on it.” After all it’s only a twitter account, Facebook fan page and/or blog.

Today’s organizations should realize that assigning the responsibility of social media to an intern does a few things that are not necessarily great for their brand.

1.) Puts front-line communications of the brand message in the hands of the inexperienced.  If you wouldn’t position your intern to pitch your biggest client in a lead capacity, don’t put a mass communications tool(s) in their hands either.

2.) Puts inexperienced intern in a position where they may be forced to make a critical “judgement call” decision publicly and in real-time.

In both cases, serious damage could be done to the brand “when” the situation is mishandled.  Often it’s a matter of time, not if but when.

Here’s another perspective.  Assign a value to your brand. Once you’ve estimated the financial value of your brand – $10M, $100 million dollars, measure that against how old your company is.  Then realize that it can all be negatively and dramatically impacted with an ill-advised tweet, video, blog post or photograph.

Sure many executives today are social media rookies, however, they should know what’s critical to communicate about their businesses and they have the authority that comes with their positions to back it up. In many cases the simple fact that the executive is the one communicating builds credibility, credibility that could lead to business.

Social media is not a place for interns to learn about your business via real-time interactions with your customers.

Your top line executives cannot afford to be “too busy.”  The world is a different place today for business and organizations, if your CEO, VP Marketing, VP Communications are not prepared to operate in this space to some degree and they’re not prepared to learn more about social media, your organization is at a severe disadvantage.

How would you like to wake up one morning as the CEO of a publicly traded company to find out your stock “allegedly” lost $180 million dollars in value?  The result of a song that went viral on Youtube.  You didn’t see it coming because you were “too busy.”

The above blog post link refers to the “cost of inaction,” I would offer an alternative to that – “cost of ignorance” could actually be proved in many cases.  Ignoring the implications of social media on your business model and its frontline communications or subsequently handing this important aspect of business communications to an intern is in my opinion foolish.

Your personal social media strategy

As much as companies need a social media strategy, you could use a personal social media strategy. Sounds like a lot of work, doesn’t it? It’s not really, but it could save you some heartache down the line.

I read an article on CNN about the Dos and Don’ts of Social Networking. I thought I might critique the article and throw in a few more suggestions.

22 per cent of employers check social media sites

If you’re in job search mode, the article suggests that you don’t advertise that fact if you are already employed. That’s pretty much common sense, isn’t it? There must be a few people out there who didn’t think word would get back to their boss.

You can limit profile access to only those on your friends list in Facebook. Make sure you do that to keep prying eyes out, particularly if your friends like to post pictures of your weekend antics and tag you in them.

Another thing to consider is that some of your friends might not be such good friends. You know the old adage about keeping your friends close and your enemies closer? If you think your updates on Twitter, Facebook or other social media are protected, well, they just might be. What’s to stop those select “friends” to look at your Tweets or status updates as an opportunity to send you to the unemployment line?

It’s not all negative. Apparently a quarter of those potential employers liked what they found and that information has convinced them to hire based on what they’ve found.

Update your profile regularly

Provided you have your profiles open for public view, this is good advice. Really, it’s good advice for anyone. If it’s out of date, people wonder how much you care about your presence online. You are your best public relations person, so treat it that way.

An important part of your personal social media strategy should involve keeping things up to date and keeping on top of social media trends.

Make sure your information is accurate, and don’t go badmouthing anyone. No, not even if they deserve it. I suppose there might be good reasons to do it, but think about how future employers might view that. You think a potential employer might not want to hire you because they think you might do the same to them?

Don’t be like many companies that establish a token presence and then forget about it. Pick a few social media sites you’ll do well.

If you are in job hunt mode, LinkedIn is like an online resume. It can also help to advertise your current employer, so it’s good for everyone.

Keep your friends list private

I thought this was one of the most interesting points of the article. And, it’s so obvious!
“Connecting to five people at Company XYZ after a day of vacation is a sure sign you are interviewing.”

I’ve opted to keep my friends lists open. Social media is an important part of my business and my personal social media strategy.

In the interests of openness, why not keep your list open but don’t add a pile of people from companies who may be interviewing you?

Cleaning up the dirt

If you’ve got a closed profile and protected updates, it might not be such a worry. On Google it might be tougher. I would advise against running your updates through any type of RSS feed like Friend Feed if you’re really worried. You could have a closed profile but effectively open it up that way.

If you have negative Google results, there’s probably not much you can do to eliminate them. What might work is to get your name out there as much as possible to drive negative results down as far as possible. Rely on employers to not be thorough and go 10 pages in when searching your name. Blog commenting works well for this.

Sometimes there’s nothing you can do to eliminate past mistakes. The best public relations strategy is to deal with negative news preemptively and directly. If you volunteer a negative item that someone might just run across on their own, they might appreciate the honesty.

Thinking about it another way, do you really want to work for someone who would hold a minor indiscretion against you?

It’s always easier to have a successful personal social media strategy when you’ve minimized any problems or simply avoided them in the first place.

Social networking as a job search tool

If you’re already out of work, social networking sites can be powerful allies. I know from experience that sites like Twitter and Facebook can bring you job opportunities and support. It really depends on how big your network is.

Don’t just look at your social network as a job bank though. It is the kind of thing you only want to use when you have to. Don’t pester your network so much they begin avoiding you like an insurance salesman.

What message are you sending?

While this article and my suggestions are general advice on how to approach your personal social media strategy, it’s really an individual thing.

When I talk to companies about their public relations and Internet marketing, I have to tailor it to their unique attributes. That’s how you should treat your personal social media strategy.

You should ask yourself, what message are you sending? Ask those around you to have a look at your online presence. Put yourself in the shoes of someone who doesn’t know you and analyze everything.

Is it consistent with the message you’d like to send? Are your Google results acceptable? If not, take the time to start cleaning everything up.

Do I really need a personal social media strategy?

It seems rather mercenary to view your social networking in this way, but potential employers are, so you ought to as well. Just be prepared for the consequences if you’re posting pictures of your weekend escapades or Tweeting that you’re in job search mode.

Developing a basic personal social media strategy might be the best way to land that next job, business opportunity or simply to elevate your profile in your industry. You are always a good investment.

Alain Saffel

RapLeaf study reveals gender and age

Rapleaf Study Reveals Gender and Age Data of Social Network Users

San Francisco, CA – July 29, 2008 — In a follow up to the Study of Social Network Users vs. Age, Rapleaf today released full data on the 49.3 million people included in the study. Snapshot of the data along with full downloadable dataset below:

comScore – social networking statistics

Continuing with our education approach to social media, I wanted to provide some a year’s comparison of the top social networking stats from a recent  comScore press release for your reading and learning enjoyment.  The growth and popularity of social networking continues to grow world-wide…

Social Networking Explodes Worldwide as Sites Increase their Focus on Cultural Relevance

Facebook and Hi5 More than Double Global Visitor Bases During Past Year

RESTON, VA, August 12, 2008 – comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released a study of worldwide usage of social networking sites, indicating that while the growth in new users in North America is beginning to level off, it is burgeoning in other regions around the world. During the past year, the total North American audience of social networkers has grown 9 percent compared to a much larger 25 percent growth for the world at large. The Middle East-Africa region (up 66 percent), Europe (up 35 percent), and Latin America (up 33 percent) have each grown at well-above average rates.

Social Networking Growth by Worldwide Region June 2008 vs. June 2007 Total Worldwide Audience, Age 15+ – Home and Work Locations Source: comScore World Metrix
	Unique Visitors (000)
	Jun-07	Jun-08	Percent Change
Worldwide	464,437	580,510	25%
Asia Pacific	162,738	200,555	23%
Europe	122,527	165,256	35%
North America	120,848	131,255	9%
Latin America	40,098	53,248	33%
Middle East – Africa	18,226	30,197	66%

“While the social networking trend first took off in North America, it is beginning to reach a point of maturity in the region,” said Jack Flanagan, comScore executive vice president. “However, the phenomenon is still growing rapidly in other regions around the world – especially as the established American brands turn their focus to developing markets.”

Facebook and Hi5 Lead Global Growth among Top Social Networking Sites

During the past year, many of the top social networking sites have demonstrated rapid growth in their global user bases. Facebook.com, which took over the global lead among social networking sites in April 2008, has made a concerted effort to become more culturally relevant in markets outside the U.S. Its introduction of natural language interfaces in several markets has helped propel the site to 153-percent growth during the past year. Meanwhile, the emphasis Hi5.com has put on its full-scale localization strategy has helped the site double its visitor base to more than 56 million. Other social networking sites, including Friendster.com (up 50 percent), Orkut (up 41 percent), and Bebo.com (up 32 percent) have demonstrated particularly strong growth on a global basis.

Worldwide Growth among Selected Social Networking Sites June 2008 vs. June 2007 Total Worldwide Audience, Age 15+ Home and Work Locations Source: comScore World Metrix
	Total Unique Visitors (000)
	Jun-2007	Jun-2008	% Change
Total Internet : Total Audience	778,310	860,514	11%
Social Networking	464,437	580,510	25%
FACEBOOK.COM	52,167	132,105	153%
MYSPACE.COM	114,147	117,582	3%
HI5.COM	28,174	56,367	100%
FRIENDSTER.COM	24,675	37,080	50%
Orkut	24,120	34,028	41%
BEBO.COM	18,200	24,017	32%
Skyrock Network	17,638	21,041	19%

Facebook Gains Traction in Europe and Other Regions

Facebook’s recent ascension to become the top global social networking site has been spurred by its substantial growth across worldwide regions. Though its largest visitor base is still in North America (49 million), Facebook’s growth in the region is a relatively modest 38-percent. In every other worldwide region, Facebook’s audience has more than quadrupled.  Europe is quickly catching up with North America as Facebook’s largest visitor base with 35 million visitors in June, a 303-percent increase and a net addition of nearly 27 million monthly visitors versus year ago. Other worldwide regions have seen even more dramatic growth on a percentage basis.

Worldwide Growth for Facebook.com June 2008 vs. June 2007 Total Worldwide Audience, Age 15+ Home and Work Locations Source: comScore World Metrix
	Total Unique Visitors (000)
	Jun-2007	Jun-2008	% Change
FACEBOOK.COM	52,167	132,105	153%
North America	35,698	49,248	38%
Europe	8,751	35,263	303%
Asia Pacific	3,712	20,712	458%
Middle East – Africa	2,974	14,951	403%
Latin America	1,033	11,931	1055%

“Facebook has done an exceptional job of leveraging its brand internationally during the past year,” added Mr. Flanagan. “By increasing the site’s relevance to local markets through local language interface translation, the site is now competing strongly or even capturing the lead in several markets where it had a relatively minor presence just a year ago.”