The Good, The Bad & Social Media

As a graduating college senior enthralled in all things social media I began to wonder if I could use my social interests to my advantage. Turns out you can! All the time I spend updating my #Twitter and stalking Facebooks pages can actually help me develop my life in the "real world" a.k.a. get a job. It is just all a matter of what type of content you produce. Here are the suggestions I felt were most helpful:

Twitter:It is not just for sharing what you ate for breakfast or how you feel about the weather, it can be used as an effective networking and job search tool. The CEOs, HR reps, and recruiters of all your favorite companies are on Twitter and communicating with them directly is at your finger tips!

1. Friendly and Professional Profile - don't use your old aim snfrom middle school where you were "HoneyBun101" (that was not mine, jfyi) and don't put music lyrics in your biography section (unless, maybe you work in music). Use the bio section to tell the twitter world what you do and what your goals are. You want to be easily found and followed by people that share your interests
2. Following and Followers- Use Twitter to find and follow new people. It is very easy for them to follow you back
3. Posts - Make your posts public, there's no use in using twitter as a tool is important people can view your posts. Be consistent; post often and about interesting (and appropriate) information. Use hastags, # on key words like #job, #jobsearch, or with the company's name your trying to work for "Looking for an amazing and fulfilling #internship. #bgsd, do you have anything available for summer?".
4. Link your resume to your Twitter - in the website section place the link to your online portfolio or resume. If your like me and haven't created one yet, use the link to your public LinkedIn profile.
5. Promoting - this is a tricky one, as much as you want to promote yourself first, it is best to promote others before yourself. In return they may do the same for you!

Facebook:

Now, we all know Facebook is the best/worst culprit of prolonging procrastination in students and today's youthful workforce. There is just so much to look at and so many people to "creep" on. I never would have guessed it could be used to help find my next job, but some sources say if you play your Facebook cards right it can. I'm not completely convinced I should mix my Facebook life with my professional one, I like to have a little separation, but here's the how-to.

1. Follow Co.'s Facebook Pages - this can give you more of an idea of the company's personality and culture. They sometimes post job listings as well - be the first to see them!
2. Contact Employers Directly - Facebook, like twitter, puts you on a level playing field with employers. Using Facebook you can directly message them, instead of just being another resume that is submitted online.
3. Job-Proof your page - Let your network know you are on the search for a job. Make sure your job search information is available to everyone and everything else is only available to your friends. Make sure to fill out your employment history. If you have a professional site you'd like to share it can easily be added to your information field, and some application, like Slideshare now even let you showcase past work.
4. Other suggestions I haven't played around with: Consider using Branchout to professionally network with Facebook friends. Another idea is to utilize Facebook Ads to target and gain attention from certain employers.

Hope these help!

If you have any questions you can find me on twitter @_sadiesades

~Sadie (Ad Intern)

New Facebook Questions: Yes or No?

Most of you have probably noticed something new in your Facebook news feed... a query, a cute little bar chart, a couple options to choose from and your friend's thumbnails. What is Facebook up to now?

As frequent Facebookers know, the cronies and comrades of Mark Zuckerberg are always trying to improve the social network of our generation. This new application is simply called "Questions." It allows anyone to type up and ask a question to the entire Facebook nation. The service is supposed to act as a resource for everyone, from students to businesses.

Why should I care about Questions?
Questions are informative; as Facebook puts it, "learn from your friends." Whether we admit it or not, we care about what other people think. Where is the best place to eat in San Diego? Are you going to the Lady Gaga concert? NorCal or SoCal? Everyone wants to know what everyone else is doing, saying, liking, etc. I mean, isn't that why we are on Facebook so much in the first place?

What makes Questions different than other Q&A sites?
Unlike other websites like Yahoo! Answers and Quora, Facebook Questions is not open-ended. Answers are definitive and can be suggested through a drop-down menu suggesting existing Facebook pages.

What does this mean for marketing and public relations?
Informal research just got a lot easier. Businesses and organizations can now speak directly to consumers and publics. They can make better informed and appropriate decisions by simply asking a question they would like answered. What's your favorite flavor at Yogurtland? Who do you want to see in concert this summer? Where is your favorite place to go shopping?

My next question is, will you be using Facebook Questions?

Advertising is... lessons learned from my first 5 days as an Intern

Coming hot out of college, with my B.S. Degree IN Advertising, I thought I knew it all.  Definitely not even close.  As a newly appointed Intern here at Bailey Gardiner, (and one of the few men in the office), I am starting to pick up on a lot of things.  

Learning is key in this position I recently acquired.  The first lesson I learned here was not to operate the printer-copier machine on my own because it's basically rocket science to figure out.  Other than learning to avoid the printer-copier, I have done copious amounts of research/excel work.  Also expanding my knowledge on our current clients as well as learning about potential clients and new markets is very beneficial.

One of the highlights was getting invited to a brainstorming session at lunch for one of our clients, Brookfield Homes.  I was very excited for a chance to display my creativity.  I felt a little nervous about sitting in, not knowing anyone and hoping that something will jump-start my brain like a shot of creative-roids from the black market creative doctor.  I mean after all, my Mom thinks I am really creative from all the paintings and projects I've done since kindergarden, but I wasn't sure that would translate into the professional world.  It was a great experience to sit through the brainstorm and hear everyone's ideas on ways to market the new Rockrose development.   

Next thing I am slowly picking up on is that Social Media isn't just about how many friends I have on facebook, or the banner ads consisting of "Meet hot girls in your area".  Nor is about how sweet myspace is for listening to new bands or twitter updates about going to the beach or eating a bag of Cheetos.  Social Media is about connecting brands to the users.  I am still not exactly sure what people use twitter for, but I am confident that will be one of the concepts I learn here at Bailey Gardiner.

I feel like being one of the few men in the office comes into play with my point of view and also me being the Baritone in the Bailey Gardiner Christmas Choir (Coming soon). Which for me was another highlight here at BG Creative.

All in all being here has been a great experience and I look forward to continuing my education from some of the best in the business.  I feel like there is a strong correlation between the contents of my first ever blog post and the advertising industry.  A little random, complex (printer-copier), and constantly changing.  Just like my time spent here.  From brainstorms and social media, to researching "Pet energy bars", and also Bailey Gardiner benefitting from my exceptional vocal chords, it has been a great 5 days and I am excited for what the future brings.    

  

  

Living In A Twitter World

Twitter is everywhere. I can hardly get through a day without hearing about the quickly growing social networking site. I’ll admit I was extremely skeptical of Twitter. I didn’t think it had anything to offer me. I envisioned tweets about what people ate for lunch and updates about their errands. I do not care. I signed-up after interviewing at Bailey Gardiner and learning that many in the office actively tweet. I figured even if it proved to be utterly boring and pointless, I would at least know what my potential boss had for lunch and that might be more than my competition knew. Let’s just say I was pleasantly surprised.

I gained insight into the company I wanted to work for. I learned what Jon, the CEO finds interesting, who he is meeting with and what he does on the weekends. I learned what Indra, the COO is involved in, what she views as important and where her favorite restaurants are. I gained a personal perspective on those who make Bailey Gardiner the successful company it is. Twitter brought me beyond the Web site, beyond the company blog. It brought me into their dialogue.

I strongly advocate job hunters using Twitter to learn more about the companies they want to work for, gain insight into their industry and become a part of their conversations. This in turn means that companies must view social networking as a necessary competitive advantage.

I have been thinking about this a lot in the past week. I mentioned Starbuck’s in a tweet and received information on 20% off. I tweeted about Clif Bar and quickly heard from someone who reviews energy bars.

Then, I opened the Union-Tribune on Sunday to find an article regarding travelers using Twitter to air complaints, get better customer service and learn about exclusive deals. Needless to say, I added Virgin America, Travelocity and others to my feed. If I can tweet a complaint about not sitting next to my hubby on a flight and get it fixed quicker than if I went to customer service, why not?

Yesterday, I opened my email at work to find some great articles passed on to all of us from Jon highlighting social media. It was impossible not to connect the information to Twitter. The Center for Media Research found that 72% of American Internet users trust online opinions. This means that “Consumer Generated Media” like that found on Twitter is critical to a company’s success or failure with those connected. Even more, a Razorfish study found that people are influencing each others' decisions online whether or not they are conscious of it. Companies beware! People are talking about you and others are listening!

I know I am listening. I now go beyond a simple Google search of reviews on a particular product or company. I look on sites like Twitter or Facebook to learn more. Companies can no longer tell an unsatisfied customer to f-off. The customer now has a very public forum. Take the recent guitar debacle with United Airlines. The Airline broke a guy’s guitar. He witnessed his fragile cargo being thrown and smashed. After complaining, filing a damaged goods report and getting only a “yes, we are responsible, but we will not reimburse you,” the guy wrote a song. He wrote a song about how much United Airlines sucks entitled “United Breaks Guitars”. He posted it on YouTube for the world to see and now it has almost 2.8 million views to date and a five-star rating. How did I learn about this story? On Twitter, of course.

United is now listening and so should everyone else. Social media can no longer be an afterthought whether you are a job seeker, a company or someone wishing to air a complaint. Social media connects everyone with real world conversations in real time. Use it and use it well. People are listening.