Guest Post: Are You Anti-Social?

I’m honored to host a guest post this month by Christopher de Mers (@ChristopherinHR), who wrote this post especially for the Social Carnival of HR!

Anti-Social

Are you anti-social?

We realize a social “footprint” is expected today. With over 90% of recruiters using some form of social media (SoMe) you raise concern by not having a presence of some type.

Many of us use LinkedIn routinely for professional networking. We kind of know Facebook is really a social platform regardless of how it gets rebranded. And we sort of understand that Twitter is somewhere in between.

We understand blogging, personal websites, on-line work samples and You Tube videos can all helpful assuming all the material posted is actually positive and professional.

So a lot of us have figured out how SoMe affects us individually.

But What About Our Company?

If we accept the personal need for SoMe why haven’t some companies?

When you’re interested in learning more about a firm what’s the first thing you do? Google it. Check the web. Look for their footprint.

Whether we’re doing business with them, competing against them or even thinking of applying for a job there we turn to SoMe – beyond the limits of traditional marketing – to understand what firms are all about.

But if your company doesn’t tell its story, who will?

We assess firms in subjective ways – environmental action, politics, taxation, workforce equality, etc. – but absent a virtual presence we’re left to make up our own minds.

Maybe with our own facts.

Or perhaps we simply move on to the next company.

How Do We Do SoMe?

It can be daunting to start a SoMe effort if you haven’t before. It’s going to require a lot of collaboration but the good news is collaboration is the DNA of Social Media.

People are only too happy to help, to tell you what worked, what didn’t and where you can begin.

Overwhelmed by platforms? Pick no more than two or three that make sense to your business and stay with them for a while.

Concerned about content? Drive internal calibration to define your intention first. Content follows intention. Without alignment all you’ll do with SoMe is confuse people at a greater rate of speed.

Link to partners for support and guidance. Determine natural outlets for your business views.

And perhaps most important determine what you won’t comment on or participate in. A smaller set of focused issues relevant to your target audience’s needs is what drives traffic and branding.

Finally, build in feedback loops. Make it easy for people to comment, critique and contact you. They’ll let you know if your message is clear, whether they understand your uniqueness or even if your attempts are just ringing hollow.

People know how they feel – so invite them in.

You don’t want to be anti-social.