Tribal Knowledge

Would your Manager Walk a Mile in your Moccasins?

This Sunday, CBS will premiere a new reality show: "Undercover Boss". The show features CEOs of major companies going incognito and working side-by-side with their employees. The first episode follows Larry O'Donnell, the COO & President of Waste Management, sorting recycling, picking up trash, even emptying porta-potties alongside his employees. O'Donnell learns first-hand how challenging the jobs of his employees are. So much so, that one of the supervisors actually fires him the first day on the job.

The previews I've seen of the show were nothing short of inspirational. I love how the program reveals the insight and empathy a boss walks away with after spending time experiencing what his employees do on a daily basis. For example, during his day picking up trash, O'Donnell uncovers the fact that his worker literally has to pee in a can each day because there is not time built into her schedule for a bathroom break. The discovery leaves him mortified - but incited with being an advocate for his employee and creating an immediate policy change.

At the end of the show, when the boss reveals he is actually the COO, the employees are deeply touched. They feel appreciated and recognized for the work they toil away at. The show is sure to strike a chord with the overworked and underpaid of our nation's workforce in this down economy. And, the message of the show will hopefully be a good reminder to bosses everywhere to stay connected and compassionate while advocating the career progression of their employees.

In a perfect world, all work leaders would make a practice of role-reversal. Unfortunately, most don't have the luxury of delaying their real work to do the work of their employees. I'm lucky - I feel like my boss has a good understanding of what I do day-to-day and promotes my good deeds internally. She knows what a typical day looks like for me- despite the fact that she works in San Francisco and I work in Detroit. One simple act she practices is always ending our check-in meetings with the question: "Is there anything you need from me?"  This small inquiry always makes me feel like she is there for me.

However, I'll take partial credit too for keeping my boss informed. As employees, we can all be proactive. If you feel like your boss is clueless about your day-to-day, empower yourself to enlighten her about your routine. Here are some ways:

• Over-communicate. Despite the fact that my supervisor gets flooded with emails, I still make a habit of over-communicating the things I'm working on. I know she may not read everything - and we cover many of the issues again in phone statuses - but I like to make sure she at least receives the information. My personal rule of thumb: if the communication is with any of my supervisor's peers or her boss, she gets cc'd on the email.
• Anticipate and be proactive - don't wait to be asked. My boss and I formally check-in once a week. When we meet, she may have a handful of questions. But, I can't expect that she knows all of the activity happening behind the scenes. So typically, I prepare a status list of projects and issues for us discuss. This saves her the effort while, at the same time, keeps her informed of my workload and challenges. Using this list, she advises me on priorities and provides feedback re: how to move through any roadblocks.
  
• Wear Your Entrepreneur Hat. I owned a small business for many years, so I have a tendency to view things through the lens of: "If this were my business, would I..."  Fill in the blank: Spend this much money? Hire this person? Prioritize this project? This way of thinking allows me to be more solution-oriented rather than simply presenting problems to my boss. I find this helps to inform her without creating even more tasks for her already heavy workload.
• Prove your worth in numbers. Establish quantifiable benchmarks with your boss that - in her mind - is evidence you're having success. Only the two of you can determine what those numbers are. Quantifying your benchmark is like the difference in declaring "I'm going to lose weight" or  "I'm going to lose 20 pounds". The goal with a specific benchmark is a clear milestone proving success. Once the benchmark metrics are determined - provide results at regular intervals: monthly, quarterly, annually, etc.
• Provide a "day-in-the-life" inventory. If you're feeling your manager is really out of the loop, take a week to journal each day in 15 minute increments. This will take a lot of extra effort - but will be insightful to both your manager and yourself. A detailed account of the day will highlight interruptions, time drains, etc. that could be addressed. It can also help rationalize business reasons for assistance or additional resources.
• Be Your Own Squeaky Wheel. I once learned a valuable lesson from a former colleague that happened to specialize in PR: "If you don't toot your own horn, no one else will."  Broadcasting your own success can feel awkward for the bashful or humble. However, if done in a way that showcases how your personal success is benefiting the business, leadership may view it as less self-serving and more as a wake up call to how you impact the bottom line.

As effective as "boss role-reversal" might be, there may be some situations that a manager can never really know how it feels to do the job of his employee. I look forward to the upcoming Undercover Boss "Hooters" episode, where CEO Coby Brooks goes stealth in his dodgy restaurant chain. The show's producers will have a great success story on their hands if they talk Brooks into walking a mile in a Hooter girl's spandex. Unless he's a successful cross-dresser, I'm not sure he'll fully understand what its like for his well-endowed waitresses to be ogled and propositioned by the customers. ("Mr. Brooks, can we please wear shirts that aren't two sizes too small?" "Mr. Brooks, these hot pants make it difficult to pick up spills on the floor.") Hey, a girl can dream.

This posting originally appeared on The Crow blog - Survival of the Fittest at Work

What A Girl Wants

Top Five Things I Wish Of My Kindle

  
Photo credit: frecklegirl

This rant is a temporary break from my usual subject of social media + recruiting. It was just something I had on my mind.

When I got my first ipod six years ago, it completely changed the way I purchased and listened to music. So, naturally, I had the same hopes for my recently acquired Kindle reader and how I would soon be consuming books. Unfortunately, the Kindle has fallen short of my expectations. Here’s a list of the things I find myself wishing for:

1.  A back light. Seems absurd I have to use an attached itty, bitty book light to read from my “electronic wireless reading device”.  I probably spend half of my time reading in the dark - on the plane or before dozing off to sleep. Which means, half the time I use my Kindle, I have a book light appendage hanging off it. So much for sleek design.

2.  Color.  I hate the fact that many books I order on Kindle don’t show the original hard-copy version of the cover art. And those that do, show it in shades of gray.  I shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but – well, I do.  I miss seeing the cover art of a book and it’s back cover or inside sleeve reviews.  Couldn’t Kindle follow ipod’s lead? At least they display CD cover art.

3.  A touch screen. After using an iphone, it took me weeks to stop myself from touching the screen of my Kindle to order a book or select something new to read. Keying in words on the tiny, tiny keyboard and using the microscopic joy stick feel so 2006.

4  The ability to do a crossword puzzle. One of my favorite print-medium past times is doing The New Yorker crossword puzzles. Too bad there wasn’t a way to do this on my Kindle. (If there is, I haven’t found it yet.)  This is another place where that touch screen - with interfacing keyboard - would come in handy.

5.  The social part of reading.  Sure, reading probably seems like a solitary hobby. But, when I finish a good book, the first thing I want to do is tell my friends. It would be great if, upon reading the last sentence of a book, Kindle offered the option to write a review and the ability to post it to my Facebook wall. This seems like a lost opportunity for both Kindle and Amazon to create viral advocacy not only for the Kindle – but the books people are buying on it. I did find a Kindle fan page on Facebook – but it only had 14 fans! And, at this writing, there are no Kindle apps available on Facebook. However, just yesterday, Amazon announced a SDK (Software Development Kit) which will allow software developers to build and upload applications. Plans are to have an app store up and running by end of year. But could it be too little too late? Until Kindle introduces new social apps,  I’ll tell my friends about favorite books the old fashioned way: from my iphone Facebook app.

On the eve of Apple's rumored announcement of their new tablet (iPad? Or islate? They haven't named it yet.) coupled with a possible Barnes & Noble partnership and access to 1 million books (in comparison to Kindle’s 400k titles), Kindle’s limitations have me worrying about major buyer’s remorse. However, the rumored price-point of Apple’s tablet at $7-1000 may make me feel a little better.

Are you a satisfied Kindle user? Or are you holding out for Apple’s tablet or another e-reader technology?

This posting originally appeared on Organic's ThreeMinds blog.

Looking for a Second Career? Consider Being a Community Manager

This article originally appeared in the December 28, 2009 AdAge.com Talent Works.

 
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (summarized here in Ad Age), there are plenty of people being forced to get creative with their careers. At least 163,400 advertising jobs have been lost since the beginning of the recession.  Our sister-industry, media and journalism, is trending on a similar path. Papercuts, a blog following journalism jobs cut for the year, estimates 14,713 jobs have been lost at US newspapers in 2009.  Where will all of these unemployed find work?  

The Silver Social-Media Lining? Many like to point the blame of ad industry job losses to the digital shift. As marketers continue to steer their dollars toward a digital approach, traditional workers are left scrambling to transition their skills. And, the truth is, the digital era is creating new jobs that recruiters are having difficulty finding talent for. One such area of job growth is social media and the evolving role of a “community manager”.  This role may be an ideal career succession for out-of-work copywriters or journalists.  

So, what exactly is a community manager?  Some describe the role as: “an externally facing advocate for a brand within the social media space.” Web strategist, Jeremiah Owyang, outlines the four tenets of a community manager:  

1. Community Advocate - actively monitoring and listening to customers in addition to engaging with them by responding to their requests and needs.
2. Brand Evangelist - promoting events, products and upgrades. As a trusted member of the community, (tenet 1) the individual has a higher degree of trust.

3. Savvy Communication Skills, Shapes Editorial- very familiar with the tools of communication, from forums, to blogs, to podcasts, to twitter, and then understand the language and jargon that is used in the community. Importantly, the role is responsible for the editorial strategy and planning within the community, and will work with many internal stakeholders to identify content, plan, publish, and follow up.
4. Gathers Community Input for Future Product and Services- responsible for gathering the requirements of the community in a responsible way and presenting it to product teams. The opportunity to build better products and services through this real-time live focus group are ripe, in many cases, customer communities have been waiting for a chance to give feedback.  

Are there enough community manager jobs to employ the thousands of out-of-work copywriter and journalist refugees?  With the evolution of community manager jobs still in its infancy, it is unclear exactly how many jobs are currently available. Not even the naming protocol for this position has been decided upon. Other sample titles for community managers include: Web Communities Manager, Conversation Manager, Social Media Communications Specialist, or Community Evangelist. A recent search on Simply Hired turns up over 700 openings for “on-line community jobs”.  

What is clear, however, is that any brand taking online community and communication seriously may have a need for a community manager. Judging by the number of brands jumping on the Facebook fan page and Twitter band-wagon, that could translate to a lot of jobs. And, in a recent community manager salary report by strategist Connie Bensen,  the average community manager salary was $81k with a median of $72.5k.  

How to become a Qualified Community Manager  

Many copywriters already possess the key components of being a community manager: excellent writing skills, an understanding of marketing, and strong research experience. But, where most traditional copywriters fall short are having a solid understanding of on-line cultures and trends. Here are three things you can do to build your expertise:

1. Engage. Create your profiles on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Yelp, FlickR, YouTube and participate.  Immerse yourself in the communities and talk about your passions. Learn about proper on-line etiquette and language so you don’t unknowingly publicly embarrass yourself.  Many local chambers of commerce or community colleges are offering workshops about basic social media usage.  

2.  Volunteer. Combine your thirst for social media knowledge with the opportunity to help a local non profit organization build an online community.  Cristina Lorenzetti, a Detroit-based freelance copywriter and social media neophyte, volunteered her services to be the community manager for “The Bottomless Toy Chest” a non-profit devoted to pediatric cancer patients. This allowed her to practice community manager skills while benefitting the organization. Prospective employers will now be able to view her writing and community manager skills in real-time on these social channels.

3. Network.  There are many resources for community manager wanna-bes to network with others. Owyang hosts a list of community managers on his blog. Peer groups such as Community Manager Advocates and Evangelists on Facebook or Online Community Managers on LinkedIn are available to join and learn from those doing the job today. 

Is Community Management for You?

As evidenced in Lemonade the movie, ad veterans are making career changes to everything from yoga instructors, to deep-sea fishermen, to professional cyclists. Considering a job as a community manager not only requires writing skills and social media know-how, but it also requires a passion for the brand you’ll be representing.  If anything, community management might be the bright side to a bleak job market most face when being told their current job no longer exists.     

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A COMMUNITY MANAGER QUALIFICATION CHECK-LIST

Recruiters approach community manager hiring as part job interview + part casting audition. Finding the right fit of person based on the brand persona can be just as important as writing skills and social media knowledge. Here is a checklist a recruiter might use to consider you as a candidate:  

__ Do you have a presence on social media sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, FlickR, or You Tube?  Does the content on your profiles reflect that you have a good understanding of etiquette in the social media space?   

__ Do you have a blog?  For how long?   

__ Do you use a book-marking site? Which one?  

__ Do you have writing samples – including headlines?

__ Do you have examples of generating story ideas and editorial strategy?    

__ Do you subscribe to RSS feeds? Which ones? What are your favorite blogs?  

__ Have you done community management for any other organizations?  What was your approach?

__ What email service to you use? Does it reflect your brand? Are you using a cutesy email handle?

     Are you using an outdated email provider?  

__ Is your personal brand a good fit for the brand you will be representing?  Will you be able to relate to the demographic of the community served? Are you passionate about the cause?  

Give Employees Facebook Time

This article originally appeared in the November 16, 2009 AdAge.com Talent Works.

 

Of course, banning social media is simply a bad idea. Many agencies report partnering with marketing clients to develop social-media strategies only to discover that clients themselves are unable to access key sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, from their work computers. Marketers are at a clear disadvantage when they don't have first-hand usage, insight and experience with social-media channels.

Allowing employees to access social media could actually result in many other benefits for the employer:

Team-building and camaraderie
U.S. employers spend billions on employee team-building activities like picnics, holiday parties and other exercises. Allowing employees to participate in the virtual water-cooler dialogue of social media gives them a chance to bond and find subjects with which they can relate to one another, free of cost to the employer. Studies show the main reason employees stay in jobs (or leave jobs) is based on their level of satisfaction with co-worker relationships. Social media enables employees to find a common bond and enhance the relationships with colleagues.

Productivity benefits from brain breaks
A Discovery magazine article reports that neuroscientists at MIT have confirmed that taking breaks helps us learn and be more productive. A 2006 study observed rats pausing after exploring an unfamiliar maze. The neuroscientists theorized the rats were using the break to re-trace their steps in the maze for memory purposes -- thus leading to better productivity during the next maze run. Another example: Educators can confirm first-hand the benefits of sending students to recess -- and the chaotic results if kids don't get their downtime.

Social media is the equivalent of workplace recess. Mind breaks lead to employee satisfaction and better productivity. This results in increased morale, reduced employee stress, low absenteeism and more engaged, healthier employees. All of these employee traits help the bottom line.

On-the-job training
Social media can serve as a virtual think tank. If an employee is embarking upon a new project and needs advice from her peers, it's as easy as posting a question to their social networks. Many professional groups are established on LinkedIn or Facebook and offer a venue for discussion and the opportunity to post specific questions. Polls and surveys enable virtual focus groups. Employees can easily follow subject-matter experts on a site like Twitter for an RSS-like feed of relevant content. While many companies offer organized mentoring programs, with social media employees can choose their own online advisor for guidance and knowledge sharing.

Trust and transparency
If Facebook were a country, it would be the fourth largest. In September 2009, Facebook reached over 300 million active users. Gen Y-ers continue to rely less on e-mail and more on social media to communicate. Banning employees from this widespread communication tool is akin to telling your employees they can't use the phone for personal calls or e-mail friends and family. It's a signal your company is oppressive and in the Dark Ages. With the sale of smartphones on the rise, it's likely that employees would access their social-media sites on mobile devices anyway -- creating an environment of concealment and mistrust.

Allowing employees to access social media communicates: "We trust you're mature and know when enough is enough." For employees that do abuse their time on social media, managers and HR departments should address the issue on an individual level -- similar to any other performance problem like absenteeism, low productivity or work quality.

Listening/monitoring
Just as many brands are monitoring customers to address satisfaction issues, employers can apply the same model. If employees are complaining about their employer on social media, it might hurt a corporate brand -- but it at least allows the employer a chance to address complaints or dissatisfaction.

Many companies conduct internal employee surveys to evaluate morale and employee satisfaction. As an alternative, HR or marketing staff could consider following and creating user lists/groups of employees on social sites to easily monitor conversations. Using a monitoring tool like Seesmic or Tweetdeck for Twitter allows an employer to continuously monitor keywords -- like your company name -- and immediately address unfavorable messaging. Caution: If your workplace doesn't offer a culture of transparency and openness, employees could misconstrue this as employer stalking.

Brand evangelists
Just like unhappy employees complain about their jobs, happy employees love to share their positive workplace experience. And 78% of consumers trust peer recommendations over a brand's marketing efforts. That holds true for the workplace as well: Happy, well-performing employees will attract similar employees -- a huge recruiting benefit.

The key for happy tweeps and happy tweets is creating a culture and environment in which an employee feels as though he can contribute and express himself. A satisfied employee will be an advocate for your company, might share job openings with friends and boast about the latest accomplishments. You can't buy that kind of press. Employers that embrace social media and provide employees with a simple policy, best practices, legal no-nos and basic usage/etiquette training will create an environment of openness with lower risk to the employer.

How to Google-Rank Your Way to a Recruiter's Heart

This article originally appeared in the October 2, 2009 AdAge.com Talent Works.

  

job" mentality, job seekers must focus on being found. Recruiters are holding the proverbial glass slipper -- looking for the perfect match to open positions. Are social media and web tools the digital fairy godmother that introduces you? Here are ways to make it easier for a recruiter to discover you:

1. Expand your glass slipper's footprint. Posting your resume on mega-job boards and searching for open positions on these boards is only a point of entry for job searches today. It's a foundation -- but it isn't a very strategic or holistic approach. To broaden your digital footprint, start with this checklist: Do you appear on LinkedIn? Twitter? Facebook? Delicious? YouTube or Vimeo? Flickr? Do you have a blog, using sites such as TypePad, WordPress, Blogger?

For an even wider presence, create your own website and register a personal URL for yourself; sites such as GoDaddy.com make it very easy and inexpensive to do. There are also services that offer HTML resume solutions like ResumeBuilder.com and VisualCV. By posting your resume as its own web page, recruiters have a better chance of finding it through a Boolean search.

Once your digital footprint is established, include your information on your e-mail signature to increase connections with those in your network. Cross-post your digital-footprint links on multiple sites. Is your Twitter feed posted on your LinkedIn profile? Is your LinkedIn profile posted on your blog? And so on. Most people still have personal preferences of the social media site they visit the most. The wider your reach, the more likely it is that the right people will find you.

2. Define your magic keywords. A recruiter isn't going to find you by your name. They search based on skills, experience, your work history. Take the time to think it through: If someone conducts a search on Google, Bing or a social-media site to find you, what keywords will they use? Which key descriptors specify your unique skills and where you're located?

Start out with 10 words. Include items such as your title, region, area of expertise and your industry. Once you define these words, make sure they appear on all of your digital profiles. Conduct your own keyword audit to check the reach of your digital footprint. Do all of these words appear in the profiles that describe you to a potential employer? If so, that will make it easier to find you.

3. Customize your handle. If your name is common, think about how you might make it more unique. Can you include your middle initial? Maybe initial your first name or perhaps use your full middle name? If you've taken on a married name, does it make sense to use your maiden name as well -- and hyphenate? As an example, if we search for "Traci Armstrong," we find 9,740 results on Google. But, at the risk of snickers, if we initial the first name and use her married last name "T. Ann Cakebread," the results are far more selective: four!

Be cautious, however, on what name you create for yourself: Don't choose something that makes it difficult for people to identify you. And, whatever identity you choose, be consistent so you appear the same everywhere you post.

Another great tool at your disposal is the vanity URL. Many sites offer this feature; both Facebook and LinkedIn allow you to customize your profile in this way, adding your name to your link. You can claim yours on Facebook or, on LinkedIn, click edit on the Public Profile featured in your profile settings. There is an option at the top of this page that allows you to edit your URL.

Job seekers should also take advantage of signing up for a free Google Profile. This allows you better control of how people see you when you appear in Google -- and increases the likelihood you will appear if someone searches you by name by expanding your footprint in yet another direction.

4. Don't be a wallflower. Having a presence on a social-media site without participating is like going to the ball without dancing. Not much fun and no interaction. The key to successful engagement is to create authentic content and connect with others. The more involved you are in dialogue relating to your expertise area, the greater the chance your dialogue has in showing up in a search engine.

There are tools that make it easier to monitor the conversations of those you'd like to be hired by -- try Seesmic for Twitter, Google Alerts for broad web search or Technorati for blogging entries. When you find a discussion you feel comfortable joining, participate. Most bloggers are desperate to find good, consistent content. In situations where you can lend authentic, credible expertise and opinion, offer to guest blog.

5. Use blogs to show off more than just writing. If you're a writer, blogs are a terrific way to showcase your writing. But blogs can also flaunt visually creative work. If you're a photographer, illustrator or designer, post your recent work on a blog and describe it in short detail. Tag your visuals with keywords that could lead someone looking for your visual style to your posting. Use the vertical your visual category is for (such as automotive or consumer package goods), the style, the client as key words. Well-known blogging sites like Typepad and Wordpress allow for video postings -- if you're a film or video producer, post reels of your work on your blog. And then, make sure all of your digital profiles link to your blog, driving traffic to it and improving your Google ranking.

One rule of thumb: Any time you post something on your blog, invite your connections from social-media sites such as Twitter and Facebook to read your posting. And forward a link of your postings to influencers: those that have a strong following themselves and may pass your info along.

6. Tweet and encourage re-tweets. Encourage re-tweets with a trackable URL shortener and keep your tweet short. Remember, the more click-throughs to any site within your digital footprint will increase your Google ranking. When promoting your social-media postings through Twitter, Organic's group director-search, Marshall Clark, recommends keeping your original tweet well below the 140-character limit.

7. Join groups. There are thousands of groups on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter's group version, Twibes. Look for like-minded people in your industry and find ways to interact. Be open about your job search, join discussions, answer questions and post links to valuable content you may be blogging about.

Is There A Culture Fit? New Approaches To Hiring in the Social And Digital Age

Here is a simple/smart/humanistic approach to hiring. Specialized has a position for a graphic director that needs to be filled. Instead of just posting the position with copy the creative director added a video of himself talking about the position and who their looking for (a rock star of course).  With just a quick watch, the viewer is able to understand the attitude, style, and lifestyle the company houses (wasn’t over done, glitzy, or too corporate).

Most hiring managers and companies forget: half of the interview process is selling a candidate on the culture, the opportunity and the people they’ll be working with. This video takes a proactive approach to culture pre-sell before the interview even takes place and is likely to attract high-quality candidates.

Many more companies were making the effort to create culture videos when the economy was strong and a talent shortage made it harder to attract high-quality people. A cheese-y but impactful video – created by Micrsoft interns – documents an employee taking advantage of 30 Microsoft perks during one day at work. Keep in mind, this video was posted in early 2008, so these perks may no longer be offered – but it certainly makes a compelling case of everything Microsoft does for their employees.

Video could have many other applications during the interview process. Many candidates are starting to use video resumes as a “warm” introduction of themselves – as opposed to a near-anonymous resume or phone call. And many companies (including Organic) are currently considering the pros and cons of pre-screen video interviews – asking candidates to answer a pre-determined set of questions to get a sense of whether they’re a fit for a position – and allowing the hiring managers to view on their own. This allows for both scheduling flexibility and time savings.

All of these techniques help give a clearer impression – for both the hiring manager and the candidate – of not just whether there is a qualification fit… but is there a culture fit.

Traci Armstrong with thanks to Casey Riggelman for Specialized video job posting reference; Originally posted on Organic’s ThreeMinds blog

SOCIAL MEDIA – A CUSTOMER SERVICE BEST FRIEND OR WORST ENEMY?

In mid-April, two Domino’s pizza employees decided it would be funny to pull a little YouTube prank.  One employee prepared sandwiches for delivery while putting cheese up his nose and blowing nasal mucus on the sandwiches – all while his co-worker provided up-close camera work and a play-by-play narrative. Within 24 hours, over a million people had viewed the video. The incident brought a whole new meaning to brand reputation “nose-dive”. Domino’s sales plunged overnight.

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In November 2008, Motrin ran an on-line ad about “baby wearing” = i.e. carrying a child in a sling.  The voice over read:

“Wear your baby on your side, your front, go hands free.
Supposedly, it’s a real bonding experience. They say that
But what about me? Do moms that wear their babies cry
more than those who don’t. I sure do! These things put a
ton of strain on your back, your neck, your shoulders. Did I
mention your back? I mean, I’ll put up with the pain because
it’s a good kind of pain; it’s for my kid. Plus, it totally makes
me look like an official mom. And so if I look tired and crazy,
people will understand why.”

On-line moms were outraged. They were completed offended by the idea that they looked crazy.  They disagreed that “in theory” carrying your baby is a good idea. Within hours, the subject was at the top of the Twitter trending topics. Bloggers began calling for boycotts. A YouTube video was created – by consumers – showing outraged Twitter posts accompanying photos of moms with their babies in slings.  Within two days, the Motrin brand was badly damaged by the people that purchased their product most – moms.

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Both of these powerful examples prove the new social media customer service formula:  one outraged customer + two fast typing thumbs + 50 Twitter followers = a formula for corporate catastrophe. If there was ever a time for companies to step-up their customer service practices, that time is now.

According to a study by the London School of Economics, brands must increase positive word of mouth by 7% to generate 1% of business growth – or reduce negative word of mouth by 2%. Which proves: negative word of mouth adversely impacts business growth. With today’s available social media, the potential for bad word of mouth to go viral is greater than ever. Disappoint just one customer – and be ready for the possibility that she tells her circle of social media friends, and so on, and so on - to create a wildfire swirl of “bad-vocacy” about your company.

There is good news however. Social media can also be a company’s greatest tool to pro-actively provide customer service response. Well-know brands like Dell and Whole Foods are using social media venues to provide sales support and customer service for their customers. Zappos’ CEO Tony Hseih personally has over 400,000 Twitter followers. He actively Tweets about Zappos passion for building relationships with their customers. The foundation of their success has been based on the fact that when people feel respected and engaged- whether in-person, on the phone or over a social network- they have a natural desire to share that experience with the people they know.

Many companies are also using social media to monitor conversations and proactively address customer concerns. Twitter and Facebook can now be considered the new Help Desk Line. Tools like Twazzup, TweetBeep, Google Reader, and Technorati can scan conversation and provide alerts – allowing you to react quickly to a customer before too much word of mouth damage can be done.

Creating a community through social media is the best way to create venues for loyal customers to provide their own content – and evangelize your brand.  Jeep has created a Facebook Fan page which has over 126k fans. In addition to providing downloadables like IM icons and desktop visuals for fans to use, customers can also post personal photos and share their passion for their vehicles.

From large brands like Jeep and Zappos – to mom n’ pop pizzerias – companies are quickly learning that social media can be their best friend or worst enemy. But, in the end, it still depends on the traditional basic business foundation they’ve built:  providing a great product and treating customers well.

This article originally appeared as a guest blog posting on Who's Your Gladys?

Photo Credit: gasupthezamboni

Who Hijacked Oprah?

Within the last 24 hours, Twitter has reached some historic milestones. Ashton Kutcher marked 1 million+ followers. CNN followed shortly after. And, yes my friends, (drum roll please) today: Oprah will send her first Tweet on national television. This occasion has some asking:  Will Oprah’s endorsement ruin Twitter’s underground geek appeal? Will Twitter explode to mainstream adoption?  But, after checking out Oprah’s Twitter profile, it had me asking:  Who the heck are the other 34 Oprahs on Twitter?

Persona hijacking isn’t new to Social Networking. In fact, Carri Bugbee has built an entire business model around it.  Bugbee is the mastermind behind creating faux Twitter personas of characters from the AMC network series Madmen. In this Ad Age interview, Bugbee describes the extensive effort she made to not only create an authentic persona of the fictional character Peggy Olson (and later other characters) but to find other Twitter conversation about MadMen and join it.  In fact, last fall, I wrote on Organic’s ThreeMinds about my shock of being contacted by “Peggy Olson” after complimenting her new haircut on Twitter. Turns out, it was Carri Bugbee behind the thank you Tweet to me. Bugbee’s Tweets as Peggy Olson generated a following of over 12,000 people. Her efforts have been recognized in the first ever Knight foundation Shorty awards to recognize achievements in micro-blogging.

Bugbee’s initiative was not endorsed or approved by AMC and Madmen – but they were thrilled with the end payoff. And, it has led to Bugbee starting her own Twitter ad agency, Supporting Characters  to help other entertainment entities achieve similar results. However she is careful to point out in her blog, the differences between Brand Advocacy and Brand hijacking: “There may be a fine line between brand advocacy and brand hijacking. I firmly believe that Mad Men on Twitter is pure brand advocacy, but that’s also because I’ve interacted with them myself and know they all have the interests of the show as their focus. Brands should act as facilitators and the starters of the conversation. Brands who are social media savvy will be in the space themselves and engaging with their customers. Hijacking suggests malevolence so rather than just unleashing lawyers willy nilly, check out what is being said and only engage legal when absolutely necessary.”

Besides creating fake profiles for others, Bugbee admits to having multiple Twitter profiles for herself – based on subject matter.  One profile covers her expertise in social media while another covers her love for Jazz music. So, is having multiple personalities for yourself acceptable on Social Networks? 

There seem to be two schools of thought on this. In a recent conversation with Organic’s Executive Director, Emerging Platforms, Chad Stoller, he jokes: “For some on Twitter, it has become a contest of who can read the fastest. There are people simply Tweeting news that others are writing and yet they have nothing interesting to talk about themselves.” Many social networking experts insist a varied and multi-faceted approach to your on-line conversation is more dynamic and interesting to followers. Some of the best advice I’ve heard about creating great short content is to get out from behind your computer and live – so you have new and interesting things to discuss.

On the other hand, there are purists that believe your blog, or micro-blog in this case, should be strictly about one subject.  They may have a point. Typically, I Tweet about Social Networking for Job Search. But occasionally, I throw in some personal observations or experiences – completely unrelated.  Earlier this week, I commented on how happy I was my husband had prepped our taxes and April 15 was stress free for me.  According to Qwittter, an app I downloaded to monitor when people stop following me on Twitter, six people unfollowed me after that Tweet. 

Hmmm… maybe I should have Tweeted that post to my “Wives Who Hate Filing Taxes” profile. On second thought, I’ll wait for someone else to create that persona for me.

This posting originally appeared on the Organic ThreeMinds blog.

Recruiters Reveal: Six Job Search Blunders That Could Jeopardize Your Candidacy

Photo Credit: Russell Reno

Recruiters are some of the hardest working people I know. Juggling the demands of responding to applicants, sourcing passive candidates, interviewing, scheduling and partnering with hiring managers can be exhausting. And, today's economic downturn has increased the workload of most recruiters. Here at Organic we’ve seen a 10% increase in applicants from this time last year. The competitiveness of the job market has definitely had an impact on the way candidates approach their search.

In a recent lighthearted “virtual support group” e-mail thread, some of my recruiting peers shared experiences they've had with candidates that resulted in an end to the interview process. Some stories are stranger than fiction – but all true and great examples of how candidates can learn from other's mistakes. Here are some tips to make a good first impression with the hiring ambassador – your recruiter - of the next company you may ultimately want to work at.  All names have been changed to protect the innocent:

The Versatility Victim
Flexibility is one thing, but applying to every open position is only telling a recruiter you have no idea what you’re good at. Or you’re desperate. Rewriting your resume and cover letter to apply to every open position is a recruiting red flag.

Be clear in what you want and what you have experience with. "I love advertising because I really like to watch commercials on TV" doesn’t tell us what experience you have creating commercials. And nothing makes a recruiter cringe more than when a creative candidate thinks they’re right for a job because they’re “artsy.”

The ol’ bait and switch doesn’t go over well either. Chicago recruiter Charlie describes: “A fella who is a storyboard artist applied for an art director job. This gig calls for a lot of TV/broadcast experience. I relate this and he responds by saying - although he hasn't got a reel - he's sure he can out-concept the bulk of our Art Directors. I respond by saying we really need someone with a reel of good work and shoot experiences. He comes back with...how 'bout you bring me on freelance? I relate that we are slowing down on freelance at the moment, he retorts that we should consider him for a full-time illustrator job!”

Being versatile can be a good thing as companies cut back on staffing. But not having a clear vision of where you best add value within a company during the interview process only waters down your appeal.

The Finishing School Drop-Out
Sure, we’re all spending more time on social networks now, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t mind your manners in person. Taking calls from your Blackberry during an interview doesn’t show you’re tech savvy – it only proves you’re rude.  The way you interact with a recruiter or hiring manager face-to-face is a predictor of your interpersonal skills if we hire you for the job.

“I once had a candidate ask me to step out of the conference room for a moment as he needed to take a call,” recalls Joanne, a San Francisco recruiter.  And, Melissa, a Detroit-based recruiter, describes: “I had a candidate that didn't make eye contact with me once during the interview. He looked above me, to the left, right and down but never at me.” 

If you’re rusty at one-on-one interaction, or maybe just shy, practice by getting out to Tweet-ups or rehearsing an interview with a close friend that can give you honest feedback.

The Pathological Liar
Recruiters read through the lines if you’re not being authentic. Inflating your previous salary or responsibilities can be a recipe for disaster. Detroit-based recruiter Melissa says, “When I ask about salary and they hesitate, and say ‘um, well...I was at about...’ that's a sure sign that they are padding.”  (Yea, that’s the ticket.)

Most companies perform some sort of a background check prior to extending an offer. It may be a formal check – which they are required to inform you about.   References may be contacted or your previous salaries may be confirmed. Or, the check may be informal: simply Googling you or asking around with current employees re: your reputation.  Misrepresenting yourself – whether through salary inflation, name dropping or hiding something from your resume – has a high chance of being revealed during the background check process. Some companies even have policies to rescind an offer if they discover you have lied during the interview process. Better to be safe than sorry.

The Party Animal
Speaking of Googling, make sure your personal brand – on social networks, voice mail greetings, email addresses, etc. - conveys “professional”.  “Your email address should not be prettybuns@gmail.com even if you have pretty buns,” jokes Amy, a Detroit recruiter.

If you’re expecting a call on a phone that someone else has access to, be sure to alert them you may be receiving an important call.  “I once called a candidate to extend a job offer,” recalls Margaret, a Detroit recruiter. “The candidate obviously didn’t let his wife know he was job searching.  His wife answered, and when I asked for him, she demanded that I identify myself.  When I introduced myself and why I was calling, she insisted I was lying and that, actually, I was having an affair with her husband. Finally, I just hung up.” Not surprisingly, the candidate never called Margaret back to accept the position- too embarrassed by his wife’s accusations.

Searching for a full-time job can be a part-time job in itself – so take the proper precautions and adjust your lifestyle. Accidentally drunk dialing your recruiter at 2am, because she was the last person you called from their phone, won’t send the best impression. “I even had a candidate show up to their 8am interview with bed head and their get-up from the Poison concert the night before,” remembers Margaret. Points for showing up on time, yes.  But, woulda wardrobe change and shower have killed ya?

The TMI (Too Much Information) Time Sucker
“A real time suck for me is when a creative shows me everything he's ever done since 1981,” shares Charlie. “A good guide is to only show one's favorite pieces from the past 3 or 4 years.” 

Besides too much creative content, some candidates err on too much personal information. Recruiters are trained that legally, there are specific questions we are not supposed to ask – and we don’t want you to tell. Telling us about your recent bout with tonsillitis, your divorce four years ago, or your child’s behavioral issue – is more information than we want to know. Stick to what’s relevant for the position being discussed.

And while charm may help in some situations, if you overuse it in an interview – like telling the recruiter he has beautiful eyes – it may only end up making everyone feel very uncomfortable.  Recruiter Melissa confesses, “I even had a candidate try to fix me up with her son.”

The Cut-the-Apron-Strings Candidate
Yea, we get it. We know the job market stinks so moving back in with mom and dad might be economically wise.  But bringing mom to the interview is definitely crossing the line. 

Susan, a Toronto recruiter shares: “A candidate came in for an interview for a full time job and brought his mom. When I greeted him in the lobby, he even introduced her.  She waited during the interview and afterward thanked me for seeing him.  The next day, she even called again to thank us. She was so grateful he was being interviewed.” 

There’s a term for people like this: “Helicopter Parent”. They’re referred to this way because they hover over their adult child’s life. Companies are looking for employees that are mature and independent.  An accompanying parent to your interview is definitely not conveying you’re a self-starter.

Do Unto Recruiters
Sure, these are extreme examples of interview blunders, but they all demonstrate – your recruiter is paying attention and remembers how you personally approach your job search.  Probably the best piece of advice is simply to treat your recruiter and hiring manager with respect and consideration. It may be the #1 thing that gets you considered for the job.

This article originally appeared on AdAge.com Talent Works.

our recruiters, introducing them to capabilities of the network, along with helpful accompanying apps and instruction on how to search for key talent. They ran with it, and in a short time, Twitter has become the anchor of Organic's job-posting strategy. In fact, today more than three-quarters of our jobs are placed solely on social-media sites such as Twitter (along with LinkedIn, Facebook and, of course, the company website). Only a quarter of our postings are posted on traditional job boards such as Coroflot, Mediabistro, Monster and TalentZoo.

Why are we weaning ourselves from traditional job boards? Simple: We get results from social-networking tools -- with no expense. Every day we discover new and innovative ways to use social media for our recruiting efforts.

Cultivating relationships
Twitter enables us to focus on passive candidates, by following someone we may not yet know. We can nano-target qualified candidates and cultivate relationships well before we have an open position, engaging in thoughtful dialogue by responding to their tweets.

Once we have an opening that might be a fit for a Twitter friend, rather than making a cold call to a stranger, we can make a "warm tweet." We can talk to someone with whom we've already interacted, who already understands a bit about Organic based on tweets that cover Organic's culture, work and news items. It's less like a blind date and more like a first date with someone you've already met.

Another benefit: There are no time or space constraints to tweeting with a candidate. We don't have to interrupt potential candidates during their busy workdays; they can engage with us when it's convenient for them. And candidates who aren't ready to make a move can easily retweet, or forward, our opening to peers who may also be a fit.

More than one-third of Organic employees are active on Twitter. The viral implications of this are huge. Now, when a job is tweeted by an Organic recruiter or hiring manager, employees have the opportunity to retweet it to friends. That capability nicely complements our employee-referral program, which has experienced an uptick. In fact, a third of Organic's hires are found through employee referrals.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Tracy Cote is executive director-talent at Organic and teaches at San Francisco State University.

Traci Armstrong is director-talent acquisition at Organic and conducts social-networking workshops in Detroit. It took great restraint for them not to use the pen names Twacy and Twaci for this article.

Helping them find us
Twitter also helps talent find Organic. Using Twitter's latest job-search app, candidates can find Organic jobs easily. Twitter's searchability has made us think more about our own "findability" and altered the way we post jobs. We've created a new formatting protocol to increase our chances of being found. Today, our postings must be headlines, 140 characters or less. Key words in our postings get hash marks (#). Each posting includes a trackable URL that enables us to monitor click-throughs and directs candidates to apply through our Applicant Tracking System. That way, candidates who aren't right for the role they're applying for will be entered in our database for future opportunities.

While Twitter and other social-media sites may seem like the flavor of the month, the real proof is in the numbers. In terms of return on investment, there is no investment besides time. From a branding perspective, it's always a win. Retweeting is easy and more far-reaching than a static posting a job on a traditional job board. With a solid social-networking strategy, most companies can reduce job-board spending quickly, while pinpointing discipline- or industry-specific candidates.

Social networking has changed the way Organic recruits, but it doesn't replace the importance of face-to-face contact. Instead, it serves as a great jumping-off point. Ultimately, interpersonal chemistry and cultural fit -- in addition to skill set -- are an important part of our hiring process.

As Twitter and other social-media sites continue to grow in popularity, employers who participate will find a gold-mine of sophisticated candidates. Devising a strategy around social media isn't difficult, but it does require a mind-set leap: from traditional to twaditional.

Six Tips for Recruiting Via Twitter

1. Create a branded company Twitter profile. Assign a key person -- or automate tweets -- to post jobs as they become available. This person should also be responsible for following professionals that could be potential candidates.
2. Don't be a Twitter wallflower. Engage in conversation with the people you are following -- and your followers -- whether you have job openings for them or not. Then, when you need to speak with someone about an opportunity, you've already established rapport.
3. Create a protocol for your job Tweets. Consider searchability by using hash marks (#) around key words. Include a trackable URL to your job posting so you can monitor the number of click-throughs a job posting receives.
4. Help your search by using a third-party tool such as TweetBeep, which alerts you to tweets relevant to your search.
5. Encourage your staff to retweet job openings by providing an incentive such as a referral bonus for candidates sourced through tweeting.
6. Don't be a one-track tweeter. Be varied and creative in your approach. To keep it real and not boring or spamlike, tweet on a variety of topics including industry-related items of interest, some personal tweets and, of course, your job postings.

Is Social Media Today's Snake Oil?

Today I searched for a "Social Media Expert" on Google. The results? 84 million. The same staggering numbers surfaced while searching on Twitter or Facebook. Lately, anyone that has a profile on Social Media seems to call themselves a Social Media Expert.

The phenomenon of social networks has officially begun the free fall from their Tipping Point. Talk about mass market appeal - Twitter was even featured on The Today Show last week. Millions of new users are wandering aimlessly on-line trying to uncover: what can social media do for me?  And social media experts, or those that claim they are, are ready to sell them.

It brings to mind images of the snake oil peddler from old Western movies - the traveling salesman who claims to hold the remedy for all one's ails. Is today's economy producing a legion of PT Barnums looking for the suckers who weren't early adopters of social media? How can marketers interested in entering the social media world protect themselves from fast-talking wanna-bes and instead find a trusted consultant?

In full disclosure, I am teaching a social networking workshop in a small Detroit suburb soon. Which is exactly what got me started thinking about this whole "expert" business. As a recruiter, I've been using social networks like LinkedIn for over four years now. In fact, I can't imagine doing my job without them. As the unemployment rate continues to rise, more friends and family have been calling to ask: can you show me how to use "FILL-IN-THE-BLANK-SOCIAL-NETWORK"? Initially, the inquiries resulted in a few kitchen table workshops. But, when the number of calls got to be too much to keep up with, I opted to set up in our city's community center one evening a week to teach more users in a group setting.

Which brings me back to: how do I identify myself to these students? Social Media Expert? Working at a place like Organic, I'm surrounded by brilliant people that advise Fortune 500 companies on how to market their companies - and track the results - using social media. In comparsion, I'm an everyday user of social media and coach a team of recruiters on how to best use it to find talent. I subscribe to lots of social media blog RSS feeds and sign up for every webinar I can find. But expert? Me thinks not.

In the end, I opted to describe myself as a social networking "coach" - and specified that students of this workshop should be beginners. I'm assuming most attendees will be 45+ and just learning about social media. And, for this demographic, I think I have a lot to share. But, I'm still learning every day and nothing would make me feel more like a, um, like a snake oil salesman, if someone walked in expecting me to advise them on their corporate social media platform.

Something tells me (those 84 million Google results perhaps?) there are those out there that might not put much integrity behind their self-appointed titles and may mislead those new to social media. If guided in the wrong direction, marketers run the dangerous risk of bad-vocacy – an entire population of consumers ready to publicly dis’ their product. Blogger Jeremiah Owyang chronicles a lengthy list of brands that got punked on social media – including the Motrin Twittering Moms and the latest – Belkin products under suspicion of paying users for positive reviews.

So, in the spirit of buyer beware, how can the unsuspecting marketer know the difference between a true social media expert - or a fake?  Same way the snake oil buyer knew whether the product was legit. Did it ease someone else's aches and pains? Did it have results?

Just today, Organic was publicly applauded for the astounding accuracy in which they predicted how many vehicles Chrysler would sell. Our agency gathered a large set of data from social-media and search engines - and used it to predict sales. Our team came within 1% of the actual sales model. (Typically, automakers can predict sales by 10-15%.) It's case studies with results such as this that enables a client to feel confident that, yes, these people really are experts.

What else besides results driven case studies should a potential client look for in a social media expert? Dave Fleet has a nice blog entry on this. Some of the questions he suggests to ask a person or company posing as a social media expert are:

    * Where can I find you or your company on-line?
    * How do you measure results?
    * How would you define social media?

The original snake oil salesmen appeared on the scene during the US's great western expansion and at the height of the Great Depression. Ironic parallels, as we observe the harrowing speed of digital expansion along with a down economy. Studies show entrepreneurism often spikes during recessions - fertile ground for exploiters and exploitees, perhaps. When the dust settles though, I have a feeling the true pioneers of social media left standing will be those with measurable results - proving they were the experts all along.