Best Companies in the Age of Social MediaHiring, Engaging and Leveraging Employees …while avoiding potential catastrophes

What is Social Media?FacebookTwitterLinkedInFlickrSocial Media is a buzz term for a web based conversation that relies on and revolves around media – written, photographed or filmed.

Why Should I Care?80% of Americans use social media monthly.2/3 of the world’s population uses social networks. Time spent on social networks is growing 3 times faster than time spent online. *Forrester, The Broad Reach of Social Technologies, August 25, 2009*Neilsen, Global Place & Networked Places, 2009

But it has no place in business!…yes it does

The best are leveraging this huge opportunity to connect with:CustomersProspectsCandidates

…some statistics

Percentage of corporate marketing departments using social media…*Association of National Advertisers Study , 2009

Percentage of companies using social media for background checks…*Jobvite Survey, 2009

Percentage of companies using social media to recruit talent…*Jobvite Survey, 2009

…some scary statistics

51% of companies fear that social media could be detrimental to employee productivity.49% of companies fear that employees’ use of social media could damage their reputation.80% of executives view social media as a liability.Just 18% of executives can link the results of social media campaigns to an increase in revenue.*Ethos Business Law/ Russell Herder Social Media Study , 2009

What to do?

Inaction is NOT an option…

Last month the White House began a job search for a Social Media Archivist.…Ready to take this seriously?*Mashable, Why the White House is Hiring a Social Media Archivist, 2007

and yet…Less than 1 in 3 businesses have a social media policyLess than 1 in 10 businesses have conducted social media training*Ethos Business Law/ Russell Herder Social Media Study , 2009

Option 1: All Out BanFear of social media has caused the practice to be banned at these organizations:

Option 2: Embrace WiselyWhile many other organizations have embraced employee use of social media:

Examining the FearsLeaks of Confidential InformationNetwork Security ThreatsEmbarrassing Employee ActionsOwnership of Content

Upside of Social Media EngagementNew Marketing and Hiring ChannelImproved Customer ServiceBetter Internal and External CommunicationsTransparent Brand Image

They are talking about you…

The AnswerDon’t ban it...Don’t ignore it…Embrace!Engage!Create a Wise Use Policy, to engage effectively. Social media is too great an opportunity to miss because of restrictive company policies, or by burying your head in the sand and pretending it doesn’t exist.

A Wise Use PolicyShould…ENCOURAGE employees to embrace social media. EXPLAIN that employees are responsible for everything that they publish on social networks – BOTH professional and personal.EXPLICITLY forbid the revealing of confidential company information and any actions that could be considered unprofessional or insulting to customers, colleagues and social connections.

The Bottom LineEmployees should conduct themselves as they do at work across all social networks, whether personal or professional.

Dumb Social Media8% of employers have fired employees for misuse of social media.Employee training should include examples of these kinds of mistakes:

More Dumb Social Media*TheNextWeb, “Note To Self,” 2009

…and now back to the benefits

@DellOutlet has driven $3 million in sales in the past two years…*Twitter 101, Case Study: DellOutlet, 2009

Twitter #hashtag competition led the brand to be mentioned hundreds of thousands of times

This wildly popular series of viral videos increased blender sales by 500%*Mashable, “Will It Blend Videos Boost Sales 5x, 2007

Finding Talent with LinkedInFounded: 2002Annual Revenue: $100 millionNumber of Users: 45 millionPost a job to LinkedIn for $195.00Be found on LinkedIn’s job boardsPromote the job to people in your network Larger corporations may want to consider LinkedIn Talent Advantage, which gives your HR department access to all LinkedIn members. Companies using LinkedIn to hire:

Finding Talent with TwitterUse your company or personal Twitter to notify your networkGet ReTweeted by friends and colleagues in your networkRemember to use hashtags- #hiring, #job, #jobsSearch Twitter Manually:http://Search.Twitter.com/ Twitter Job Search Engines:Founded: 2006Annual Revenue: N/ANumber of Users: 18 million

Finding Talent Across Social MediaJobvite is an application that your employees can install to search all of their social networks for matches to job openingsEmployees choose whether to act when a match is madeSoftware tracks hires, so employees who refer candidates can be rewarded Companies using Jobvite:

Train & Retain TalentEmployees thrive in environments that support open and creative exchanges of ideas. Social media creates this environment…

Leverage TalentYour employees are good – show them off!Assign social media responsibilities to particular employeesMonitoring, customer service, webinars, blogs and fielding questions

ConclusionsFirst define your company’s social media goalsIncrease Sales Improve Customer Service Decrease Staffing and Training CostsNext define the threatsSecurity Breach Intellectual Property Reputation DamageCreate a Smart Use Policy & engage your employees

SmarterSocialMedia.comTwitter.com/SmarterSM(888) 400-5995Bryce MaddockBryce@SmarterSM.comTwitter.com/BryceMaddock