A Prelude to Social Media Architecture/Framework!

This is going to be a
prelude to a 5 part series on social media architecture/framework for
individuals.

First thing is first, what are you trying to accomplish?
Who are you trying get noticed by?

Once you have determined that, figure out what message
you should send to accomplish this and what your personnel brand should be.

The definition
of a brand is: recognizable type of something: a distinctive type of something.

This means, you
need to decide what is your brand. Are you a PM, are you a developer. What are
you? What is your brand?

If you are a
recruiter you will want to brand yourself as such. Utilize your brand to find
candidates, promote your openings and company, connect with other recruiters to
exchange ideas and knowledge.

If you are a
candidate, you will use it to brand yourself as a great candidate, connect with
recruiters and hiring managers, learn more about companies and search for jobs.

For the purposes of
this subject we will focus on the avenues below:


LinkedIn:

1. Be sure to complete your profile
   100%.
2. Groups, join them. Lots of them ,
   but be sure they are groups that fall in line with your brand and.
3. Connect your blog(if you have
   one)/twitter page to your LinkedIn profile.
4. Make connections, but again be
   sure they fall in line with your brand.
5. Get recommendations, lots of
   recommendations. Companies and people will read these. These are public
   references that can help you do allot.
6. Use it to post jobs, connect with
   candidates, all of these activities further your brand, whether a recruiter or
   candidate.
7. Do research on competitors.
8. Make sure your company has a
   LinkedIn profile
9. Answer questions, become an
   expert.
10. Post books you are reading
11. Post events you are attending
    
    
    

Twitter:

1. Create a twitter page that
   represents your brand.
2. Connect your twitter account to
   LinkedIn and join a twitter group on LinkedIn.
3. Connect and follow those that are
   in your field and represent your brand.
4. Most people say make 10+ tweets a
   day. To me it is less about quantity and more about quality. No matter how many
   tweets you do a day, make sure they support your brand and are professional.
   1-2 personnel ones are ok, but remember anyone can read them so be sure you do
   not say something you will regret.
5. Post jobs, see what your
   competitors are doing.
6. Research other companies, search
   for jobs.
7. Do all the above for your company
   as well
8. Do not be afraid to
   retweet(resending or forwarding a tweet) something you think is important. In
   doing so you help spread the word about something you feel is worthwhile, and
   the person who did the original tweet will appreciate it and probably become a
   connection , friend, and follower.

Blogs:

1. Create a blog, but be sure it supports
   your brand.
2. Connect your blog to LinkedIn
3. When you make a blog post, be
   sure to share it out to all of the big social sites(the ones I listed here)
4. Try to blog at least once a week.
   I try to blog every other day. Sometimes a blog posting is nothing more than
   restating some news you heard that is relevant. Like when they announced
   Monster bought Hotjobs.
5. Make sure you use the right
   tags(tags are like bookmarks that help direct traffic to your posts. Like buzz
   words you search on).
   
   

Facebook/My space/any other site:

1. With these sites be sure to have
   a professional looking site and only use it to further your brand.
2. Make sure your company has a
   company site, that is professional. Use it to advertise jobs, connect with
   candidates, research companies or competitors etc..
3. Connect your accounts to the
   other social media sites I have mentioned.
4. Utilize these sites to drive
   other companies, industry groups, and people to your blogs, LinkedIn profile
   and web page(if you have one) as well to those of your company.

Misc:

1. Ensure you have a profile on
   Zoominfo and or Wikipedia.
2. Utilize a social media managing
   tool, such as Tweetdeck or Jobdeck. These tools allow you to monitor, and post
   to multiple social media sites at once.
3. Set up a google (or other
   service)news fed on your company, and things related to your brand. This will
   supply you with information that can be blogged about, tweeted and more.
4. Look into the numerous tools
   available to help with social media

Optimizing:

Lastly be sure you utilize the correct Buzz/Key words that will ensure your
blog, post, website, etc.. has the greatest chance of being found. ( See post
on TSO)

The key to Social media, whether for your company or your self is your
brand, and making connections. But remember you need to keep up with it to get
the most out of it. As with anything you will only get out of it, what you put
in. Also do not be afraid to pick up the phone and make a call to one of your
social media connections. That is called taking it to the next level and
creating a tangible connection