Rachel Levy: Social Media & Marketing

I’m pleased to announce, that in addition to my Marketing and Social Media consulting business, I have now launched a new venture called WebinarListings.  Through hosting a few of my own Webinars (online seminars), I noticed that there was no central website for hosts to promote their webinars, or for people to find out about them.  So, I created one!  Today is the beta launch of my site, and it will eventually be FULL of a variety of Webinars for all interest areas (business, health, technology, etc), in any part of the world. Right now it happens to be focused on marketing, social media, technology because that is where my connections are, but that will soon change. Webinars are a great way to learn new things right from your computer AND are free most of the time.

So, if you’re interested, I invite you to check out the site, and connect with me in any way you choose (many options below!), especially by signing up for the weekly newsletter.  During the beta period, the more traffic and registrations/followers I build, the more interest hosts will have to list their webinars with me… so I’m counting on you! If you hear of any Webinars being put on, please pass them my way so I can contact the host. And feel free to tweet, blog, facebook update, talk, or spread the word in any way.

I’m also running an introduction promotion for this week only (through the 14th) — use promo code “intro50″ for your Featured Webinar listing and get 50% off your Webinar.

I’m really excited about this, as it is really putting to use the skills I have in social media, marketing and Webinars. I’m looking forward to seeing where this takes me!

WebinarListings contact info:

Let me know what you think!  I’ll take all the feedback I can get.

Are you wondering why I’m writing a post about how to cross-post, when I JUST wrote one about how I’m not a fan of cross-posting? Well, for starters, some of these tactics are temporary, meaning you turn them on and off for each update, so it’s not just a flow of ALL of your updates.  And, second, I thought it would be helpful to have all of this in one place to keep track of it! And third, to me, even some of the “permanent” cross-post tactics (such as Blog to LinkedIn) can be useful. So, if you do decide to cross-post after reading my post here’s how:

Twitter to Facebook Profile

• Individual updates
  • Tweetdeck Desktop – Add your profile to your Tweetdeck account by clicking on the plus at the top of the screen.  Once your account has been added, you can toggle each account on and off by clicking on the account name.
  • Tweetdeck for iPhone – Go to the settings page and add your Facebook account.  When updating  your status, select your Facebook account.
  • Selective Tweets – Install the Selective Twitter application in your Facebook account.  Once you’ve done that, any Twitter update you make with #fb, will also update your Facebook status.
  • There are many other mobile and desktop applications that do this, such as Seesmic Desktop, Hootsuite, and many more.
• Permanent
  • Install this Twitter application in your Facebook account.  Once you’ve done that, EVERY Twitter update you make, will also update your Facebook status.  CAUTION, this can be annoying to your Facebook friends.

Twitter to Facebook Fan Page

• Tweetdeck Desktop – see above.  Hootsuite also does this.

Facebook Fan Page to Twitter

• Individual updates- There is currently no way to update Twitter from your Facebook Fan Page on an individual update basis.
• Permanent 
  • Install this Twitter application in your Facebook account.  Once you’ve done that, EVERY update you make on your Facebook Fan Page, will also post to Twitter.

Twitter to LinkedIn

• Tweetdeck Desktop – see above.  Hootsuite also does this.
• Adjust your settings in LinkedIn.  Once you’ve added your Twitter account, you can choose to have all or some of your updates flow to LinkedIn.  Again, I CAUTION  the use of permanent update cross-posting.  For individual updates to flow to LinkedIn, simply use #in or #li when you update your Twitter status.

LinkedIn to Twitter

• This functionality is built right into LinkedIn now, so each update you make on LinkedIn, you can select if you want it to also post to Twitter, by checking the check box below your update.

Twitter to Blog

• Add a widget to your blog that displays your recent tweets by installing the “Twitter for Wordpress” plugin on your blog. Your tweets will stream into a widget on the side of your blog, similar to mine on the bottom right.
• You can also install the Wibya toolbar (see mine at the bottom of this page) which shows your Twitter updates.  If you want to know more about the Wibya toolbar, take a look at my post on the topic.  Another similar toolbar is the Meebo Bar.

Facebook Fan Page to Blog

• This is possible using the Wibya toolbar or the Meebo Bar.  See above.

Facebook Profile to Blog

• This is possible using the Wibya toolbar or the Meebo Bar.  See above.

Blog to Twitter

• Twitterfeed - You can easily automate the posting of your blog to Twitter by setting up a feed on Twitterfeed.

Blog to Facebook Profile

• Create a Facebook note for each of your blog posts by following these instructions: In the “Applications” menu (in the bottom bar), choose “Notes.”, under “Notes Settings,” click on “Import a blog” and enter your feed address.  For more detailed instructions and screen shots, see this post.
• Wordbooker – This is a Wordpress plugin that imports your blog posts to Facebook.  The difference in this versus using Notes, is that your posts get a separate area on your profile, and any comments are imported back into your blog.  (Thanks to @tpapi for the suggestion!)

Blog to Facebook Fan Page

• Wordbooker – see above
• Social RSS – Install this application on Facebook, and your blog posts will feed directly as updates to your Wall.  You can also create a box that will show your posts in a box on your Fan Page.  See WebinarListing fan page for an example.

Blog to LinkedIn

• Install the Wordpress application on LinkedIn or BlogLink onto your LinkedIn profile and have all your blog posts flow to your profile.

Not possible at this time (if you know of a way to do these, please let me know in the comments!):

• Facebook Profile to LinkedIn
• Facebook Profile to Twitter
• Facebook Profile to Facebook Fan Page
• Facebook Fan Page to Facebook Profile
• Facebook Fan Page to LinkedIn
• LinkedIn to Facebook Profile
• LinkedIn to Facebook Fan Page
• LinkedIn to Blog

You may also be familiar with Ping.fm, which allows you to update 50 social media sites at once.  You just post it once, and it updates the sites you choose.  So, obviously this is a great way to cross-post.  A few weeks ago, Seesmic acquired Ping.fm, so the Ping.fm functionaility will be incorporated into Seesmic in a few weeks, making it a great option to cross-post.  Ping.fm is currently incorporated into Hootsuite as well.

Did I leave anything out?  I plan on keeping this updated over time, so please let me know if I have missed anything!

I’ve noticed a lot of people automatically cross-posting from one social media site to another lately. They have all their Twitter updates feed to Facebook, all their LinkedIn updates feed to Twitter, or all their Delicious tags updating Facebook. I’ll say right off the bat, that I find this frustrating (especially when it comes from savvy marketing people). Why? Because each of these audiences is different, and each tool is used differently. You wouldn’t take a Coke ad that was specifically written for a Golf magazine and put it in Vogue, would you? No, because the audiences of each magazine are different and the brand’s message may be slightly different for each audience.

Similarly, each social media tool has a different audience, is used differently and has a different culture. For example, for me, I view each of these sites as follows:

• Facebook – connecting with friends; not very businessy (when talking about personal profiles), updates are a few times at most a day
• Twitter – connecting with people with similar interests (for me, mostly marketing and social media), somewhat businessy, updates are frequent (sometimes up to 20-30 times/day)
• LinkedIn – connecting with people in order to network, very businessy, updates are infrequently used (starting to catch on though)

Given the above, if I cross-posted all my Twitter updates to Facebook, I would be doing a few things — I’m pushing my business stuff on my friends who probably have no interest in it, and I’m doing it at an overwhelming pace given the culture on Facebook.  In addition, I’m using lingo that my Facebook friends don’t know, such as RT, @, #, etc. Why would I want to do that??  It’s blatently ignoring how people operate on Facebook, why they’re there, and overwhelming their stream with posts that they probably have no interest in.  They have signed up to be my friend, not necessarily to hear about all of my business interests.

So, do I think there are some posts that work as cross-posts?  Absolutely!  And, that’s why there are a few applications that allow you to choose when it’s appropriate to cross-post.  For example, applications like Selective Twitter Status (use the hashtag #fb in a tweet to send it to Facebook), or using the hashtag #in in a tweet to send it to LinkedIn, choosing “Facebook” on TweetDeck or Seesmic when you want to update Facebook, or clicking the checkbox on LinkedIn to send you update to Twitter.

So, what about posting your business updates to your Facebook profile? While it’s a little off the topic of cross-posting, the concept is the same to me.  Have your friends signed up to hear about your business by being your friend?  No.  So, if you find yourself with over a quarter of your Facebook updates (a good benchmark to me) to be about your business, maybe it’s time to consider a business Fan Page so your friends can opt-in to receive your business updates.

The risk you run with not keeping these audience/culture factors in mind, is people will hide or unfollow you, and then they’re not seeing ANY of your updates. For example, I hide many people on Facebook because they overwhelm my stream, and unfortunately that means I don’t see any of their updates anymore.

So, my final message is this… think about your audience and the culture before cross-posting!

What do you think?  Is it OK for people to automatically cross-post?  Why or why not?

Note: This is a version of a post I made on the Wall Street Journal online blog on June 17, 2009.

A few months, I was asked a question by a potential employer that I couldn’t answer “What do you think of what we are doing in social media?” I couldn’t answer it not because I didn’t know what he meant, but rather, that I hadn’t actually looked it up. Although social media is the area of marketing I am most interested in, I was still stuck in my old ways of researching a company… by looking at their website.

Doing thorough research of a company is one of the most important steps in preparing for an interview. Not that they will necessarily ask you the direct question that I got asked, but because it gives you the opportunity to bring up what you have researched, or just have a better understanding of how the company operates. Realizing this, put me into action to change the way I now research companies.

Here’s what I do now.

• I search for the company’s fan page on Facebook. I look what they have posted, and what their fans are posting about them. I do the same for YouTube.
• I find their corporate account on Twitter, and again, see what they are tweeting about. I also search on an application called Twellow, to find employees of the company, and see what they are writing about.
• I find their company profile on LinkedIn, and look up the profiles of some of the people I might be working with or key executives, and definitely the people I will be interviewing with. I find at least one item about a person that I have in common with them, so I can bring it up in the interview somehow.
• I do quick searches for the company and key people on Hoovers and Zoominfo. Other good websites include: Vault, Glassdoor, Lexis Nexis, Bloomberg and Yahoo Finance. Of course, there’s a good old search engine on the company’s name, or coupled with key words such as “good” or “bad.” Through looking at these sites, I also try to understand who the company’s major competitors are.
• Of course, I still look at the company’s website, and at a minimum, read the About Us section, the press section, and overall what the company has been doing. If they have a blog, I read the first few posts.

Spending the time doing this extensive research has really helped me better understand the mindset of the people and the company I’m interviewing with. Yesterday, I was asked in the interview what I thought of a company’s website, and I could give a very thorough analysis.

What do you think?  What are your preferred methods of researching a company prior to an interview?

Note: This is a version of a post I made on the Wall Street Journal online blog on June 2, 2009.

When my position as the Director of Marketing at the JCC was eliminated in July, it was a complete surprise to me. It was just as the economy started going south, but I didn’t foresee it affecting me so close to home so quickly. Looking back, I wish I had been more prepared rather than being stuck like a deer in the headlights. Here’s what I would have done if I had been prepared.

Get involved with networking groups

Like many people, I used to only network when I was actively looking for a job, but that’s the opposite of what networking really should be. I recently heard a great definition of networking — building relationships before you need them – and I think this is a great way to look at it. So, if I had been more prepared, I would have joined local networking groups across a wide variety of people and industries, as well as industry specific groups. You never know who knows who, so your next job could come from the most unlikely person.

Connect through online social networking

Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn are key ways to network in this day and age. It took me some time when I first got laid off to connect with people I wasn’t already connected with on these sites. And for LinkedIn, I could have asked my former bosses/coworkers for recommendations and answering questions in groups to bolster my profile. Already having these steps done would have helped me hit the ground running.

I didn’t start my blog until after I got laid off, but now provides potential employers a window into how I think, what I’m interested in and what I’m up to. Having that up and running before the layoff, would have given me the benefit of having good content, a readership and comments.

The basics

The next few ideas are probably the most obvious ones, but were still important for me to get started on! I needed to update my resume, particularly with quantitative numbers from my job. I should have registered on the major job search sites, and started receiving emails or RSS feeds for relevant jobs. And finally, I could have gotten back in touch with recruiters. It never hurts to have them keeping you top of mind early on in the process.

Do you have any other ideas for how to be prepared for a layoff?

Note: This is a version of a post I made on the Wall Street Journal online blog on May 12, 2009.

Twitter seems to be all the rage these days, especially since it made headlines with the Ashton Kutcher vs. CNN battle, and more so when Oprah joined. But, there are a lot of misconceptions out there about Twitter, the two most common I hear are that it’s a young population using Twitter, and that people are sharing just the “mundane details of their lives.” Neither of those is true. In fact, 76% of Twitter users are over 35. And, while Twitter can be about the mundane details of people’s lives, for the most part, it’s about people connecting with others who have similar interests. For example, since I’m interested in Marketing and Social Media, I follow people who are also interested in the same, and we share information on topics relevant to us. I have learned so much from interacting with people on Twitter since joining in September.

To understand how Twitter is helpful with networking, I like to think about how I do networking without Twitter. Normally, someone I know introduces me to someone they think I should talk to. I then email or call that person and set up a time to get together for coffee. We meet, and talk about their work, what I’m looking for, any opportunities they know of, other people they think I should talk to and any advice they have for me. I get home and send them a thank you note, and usually connect with them on LinkedIn. And, that’s it. We go our separate ways. They go back into their life, and may remember me, but within a couple of months, I have most likely slipped into the depths of their memory.

Enter Twitter. The process can be the same, but after we go our separate ways, we continue to interact on Twitter. They get to see the value I’m bringing; instead of making an impression on them in an hour long coffee meeting, I am making an impression in the coffee meeting, and on a regular basis after that. I am staying much more top of mind. I have had many situations with people I have had coffee with, where they spontaneously write me a couple months later, saying that they are still keeping me in mind for any opportunities they come across. That doesn’t happen as much with non-Twitter networking.

The other benefit is being able to find new people who I wouldn’t have met otherwise. Oftentimes, I’ll see someone interesting on Twitter and ask them to get together. Or, if I have a specific company in mind that I want to talk to, I look the company up on an application called Twellow, find out who works there who I am following (the term for being connected with someone on Twitter), and I ask them to meet with me. In both these cases, it’s like a “cold call”, but there is a lot of information about me at their fingertips to make me less “random” to them. They can read my bio, click thru to my website, see what I am doing on Twitter, and the value I provide.

And then there’s the more casual networking. Twitter is basically a big networking meeting going on 24/7, that you come and go into. I have had so many people just contact me and say that they have seen me on Twitter, and they know of an opportunity they think would be perfect for me. There are also a variety of “Tweetups” (events run by people on Twitter) that are basically networking meetings. That, again, provides a whole new group of people to network with that I might not have otherwise met.

Here is one specific success stories about networking on Twitter. I registered for an event at Harvard Business School to listen to a panel about the future of Marketing. Coincidentally, the day after I registered, one of the panelists (Diane Hessan from Communispace) started following me on Twitter. I sent her a private message saying that I was looking forward to hearing her and meeting her at the panel. She wrote back and said she was impressed with my background and she would see me at the panel. When I met her in person, our introduction was much more meaningful, as she already knew who I was, and I could stand out from the other people she was meeting. Fast forward three months later, and she just referred two potential consulting clients to me.

In addition to this, I have been referred to countless potential new clients and potential jobs. Twitter is definitely a great way to network.

What do you think?  How have you used Twitter for your job search?

When you spend the time to write a blog post, you obviously want to find people who will be interested in reading it. I have a list I go through every time I write a new blog post to syndicate the content. Here’s what I do:

1. Post it on Twitter 3 times over the next 24 hours, at different times of the day

2. Post on Ping-o-matic (updates search engines that you updated your content)

3. Change status updates with a link to the post:

• Facebook
• LinkedIn (this also adds an update to the weekly update emails people receive)
• Utterli
• FriendFeed

4. Post on Digg (for some posts… it’s frowned upon to do it for every post)

5. Automatic updates:

• Regular RSS feeds using Google Feedburner
  
• Facebook RSS feeds (add the program Simply RSS to your profile and fan page)

What do you think? What else do you do to get the word out about your blog posts?

I had an opportunity recently to interview Diane Darling from Effective Networking and wanted to pass along what I learned from her. I also watched a video from a presentation she made to the Salty Legs Networking Group, so I have also incorporated her advice from that as well.

To me, one of the most valuable things that Diane said was her definition of Networking: Building of relationships before you need them. I think this is a great definition, as many people (including myself) build up their network during a job search, and then stop being in contact with their network once they have a job.  This definition encourages people to continue networking even when they are not looking for a job.

Communication

Most of us have heard that your body language and HOW you actually say something are more important than the words you use.  But, Diane shared the numbers behind that information, which really brought the point home for me.  Based on these numbers, “every time you send an email, you forfeit 93% of your communication”.  Wow!  I do tend to use email a lot, as it’s easier and faster, but think I should start to reconsider that.  When you talk on the phone, you’re still only getting 45% of the communication.

Another tip Diane gave was when you are calling someone at the recommendation of someone else, start with the connection first.  So, “Susan suggested I call you about working in Marketing at your company.  My name is Rachel Levy.”  As opposed to “This is Rachel Levy…. “  It’s easier for the person to hear it that way first to connect the dots in their head.

What is a network?

Diane also described that everyone should look at their entire database of contacts in the following format:

• Database - Everyone in all of your contact databases (email, LinkedIn, personal address book, Twitter, etc.).
• Network - These are the people who would return your phone calls!  They’re people you are in touch with and you trust.  Based on statistics, this group shouldn’t be more than 200-250 people, as after that amount, it’s more difficult to stay in touch with people.
• Inner Circle - People you could go to to ask their advice about what they think you should be doing for a living.  Diane actually surveyed her Inner Circle with 4-5 questions about this, including asking them what her strengths and weaknesses are.  Great idea!
• Personal Board of Advisers (PBA) - These are the people who should champion you in your life.  It’s like a Board of Directors, but for you, rather than for a company.  You should have about 4-5 people on your PBA each year.
• Friends, Family or Fools (FFF) – This is an obvious group… and Diane says “These people have to like you”!!

Each of these groups should be looked at in a different way and used for different purposes.  Not everyone in your database should be called for a networking meeting.

Tips for attending networking events or job fairs

The most important thing you can do for a job fair is to have a plan of what you want to achieve before you go.  Many people have a goal of “collecting x number of business cards”, but these aren’t necessarily meaningful connections for you.  You should decide ahead of time who the companies are that you want to work for, and find them, or find people who know someone who works at that company.

Obviously you should bring business cards with you.  Diane suggests printing your skills on the back of your card.  I do something slightly different, where I show what type of position I’m looking for: “Marketing professional seeking a position where I will be able to make an impact in my areas of strength of social media, branding, strategy, advertising and online marketing.” I think both methods help the person remember who you are after meeting you.  Also on your card, you should add your website address and an email address that is professional or represents you.  Do not include your home address on your card (oops, I guess I need to reprint my cards!).  I would also suggest adding your LinkedIn profile address and your Twitter ID to your card.

Give people you meet 3 bullets about you and what you’re looking for. Be clear and concise, so they can remember what you said.

One of the parts of networking that I personally find the most difficult is how to end a conversation.  Diane suggests something simple like “It was great seeing you.  I look forward to crossing paths again.”

Bring a small notebook with you to take down your follow-up notes, and send everyone you met an email after the event.  Categorize the people you met into the following groups:

A – Action – need to connect them with someone

B – Want to have coffee with

C – Whenever/If Ever – Nice conversation, but no immediate need to connect with them

Random Thoughts

The rest of this post includes some miscellaneous insights Diane said that I wanted to pass on!

• If you’re looking for a job, say you’re looking for a job — don’t just say you’re networking.
• Be careful not to act like this when networking… “you’re not important, but your Rolodex rocks”.
• If you’re out of practice with networking, talk to people where it’s unlikely that anything would happen from the meeting… “learn on a junky car, not a Porche”.
• If the person says their company is not hiring, you can say “I might know someone in your network that I can help you with” or “I’d like to understand your business, maybe there are some ideas I can come up with” or simply “Thank you”.
• Network with job searchers because they are “in the know” about open jobs.
• Email isn’t bad, just don’t get dependent on it.
• You need to be involved in Social Media (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter) as it shows you’re relevant today.  But, it should be the beginning of the conversation, not where you should stop.  Diane calls this “hybrid networking”, where you use the online and the offline together.  For example you meet someone online, and then go have have coffee with them.  What I described in my “Using Social Media in a Job Search” post about Diane Hessan is a good example of this.
• “Before Google, there was gossip.  Now you have a role in creating your reputation.”  You can really see who people are online, and how they behave as a person.

My own personal advice is “JUST ASK”… ask anyone and everyone you want to network with if they will network with you! The worst that can happen is that they say no.  I recently attended a panel session with CMO’s of Boston area companies.  I didn’t meet them personally (except for Diane Hessan), but found their contact information and made arrangements to meet with them.  I have sought out people on Twitter who work for companies that interest me, and just asked if they would meet with me.  Most people are very open to it if they have the time.

What do you think of Diane’s tips and my thoughts?  Anything else to add about networking?

Most people know that the best way to find a job is through networking. You can go to networking meetings, tap into your own personal network, or ask friends who they know.  With the Internet buzzing with social media, there are similarly many ways to use social media in order to network, and eventually find a job.  According to an article in DMNews, Jeremiah Owyang from Forrester Research agrees that social networks allow all parties involved to better search for and reach their target: “Instead of having a broad, over-arching resume, these tools let people connect over detailed experiences…”

I decided to write down my thoughts on the topic.  I also had an opportunity to talk to Warren Sukernek (@warrenss) who found his job at Radian6 through Twitter!  He gave me lots of great advice in this area, so I’ve incorporated his thoughts below.

1. LinkedIn

If you’re not already on LinkedIn, you definitely need to be.  Basically, it’s a site that allows you to connect to people you know.  It also allows you to see profiles of anyone else on LinkedIn, and gives you ways to connect to them.  There are a few ways you can use LinkedIn in a job search:

• Company search – One of the best ways to use LinkedIn is if you have a very specific company you are interested in.  You search on that company, and hopefully find people who are connected to other people you know.  Then, you can ask your personal contact to connect you.  Or, if you pay $30/month, you have the opportunity to email people who you don’t have a contact in common with.
• Job postings – LinkedIn allows employers to post jobs on the site.  The jobs are usually high quality, professional jobs.
• Email – When I was first laid off, I sent a large email to everyone in my LinkedIn network, letting them know of my situation, and asking for any help or people they could put me in touch with them.
• Blog Link – LinkedIn now gives you the ability to link your blog post to your profile.  So every time I post a new blog post, it updates on my profile, so anyone looking at my profile will see what I’m writing about.  It also includes the updated post in the weekly update emails that go out to your connections.
• Twitter Link – Similar to Blog Link, LinkedIn also pulls your conversations from Twitter.  So, anyone who is not on Twitter, can see what you are tweeting about.

Warren’s advice

• Recommendations – Warren suggested getting many more recommendations on my profile.  (I currently have two, and am nagging a third to write one!)  The idea is to get recommendations not necessarily for jobs, but from more casual interactions.  For example, Twitter.  Someone could write that you provide information and have insightful things to say.  Or, someone you’ve networked with, could say that they have interacted with you on a number of occasions and you were always professional.
• Status updates – Similar to Facebook, LinkedIn also has status updates.  Warren suggests that it’s a good idea to update your status, to better inform your connections what you’ve been up to.  I previously didn’t update my status often at all!  I now plan on updating it more frequently, but also updating it with a link to each new blog post.
• Headline- LinkedIn gives you a place to add a professional headline.  I didn’t realize that was really seen by anyone, so I had mine as “Consultant”.  Warren’s advice is to make the more exciting and enticing.  Mine now reads “Innovative marketer with a drive for results.”

2. Twitter

The best part of Twitter is that it allows you to connect with people you don’t know, based on common interests.  What a great way to do some networking!  I wrote about my thoughts on using Twitter for a job search tool in “How and why I use Twitter – Part 2“, so I’ll repeat a bit of that, and add some more.

• Basic networking – I am now much more connected to people who are involved in areas I’m interested in.  Today I heard about jobs available at two companies.  I tweeted two people I met on Twitter, and in minutes I had some information about the jobs.
• Job postings – I am connected to a few people who know about jobs that I would not have otherwise known, i.e. @socialmediajob or other recruiters
• Connecting – When someone follows me or I follow them, I read their bio thoroughly.  If it looks like they work somewhere I might be interested in, or if I think they might be someone who could connect me to others, I get in touch with them.  A few have said no or not responded at all, but for the most part, everyone is very open to meeting or talking.
  • Sidebar story… I have been interested in Communispace for a while now.  I signed up to go to a Marketing event at Harvard Business School, and was excited to see that Diane Hessan, the CEO and founder, was going to be on the panel.  Coincidentally, a few days after I registered for the event, Diane started following me on Twitter.  I sent her a private message (DM) saying I was looking forward to meeting her.  She responded quickly, and it was clear that she had looked at my website and had a good sense of my experience.  She said she was looking forward to meeting, and I should bring my resume for her at the panel.  When I did meet her, it didn’t seem like we were meeting for the first time… it just opened up the lines of communication that much more.
• Companies – My new favorite Twitter tool is Twellow (on my list of programs I “use regularly“), which actually searches people’s bios and URLs on their bios.  It’s amazing!  For example, I did a quick search on Shift Communications, a company I would love to work for.  As you can see in the results, I can see that 13 people from Shift are on Twitter.

Warren’s advice

• What’s going on – Warren suggests I be more proactive in talking about what’s going on in regards to my job search.  So, mentioning things more often about interviews I have had, or people I have met with.  This keeps it fresh in people’s heads that I am looking for a job.
• Reaching out – Warren also suggests just reaching out to people I want to network with and saying something like “Hi – I’m looking to break into social media.  Is there anyone you can think of to refer me to?”
• Twitter name – Warren opinion is that your Twitter name should be your name, as it will help in your search engine results.  For example, bostonmarketer (my Twitter name) will not help get my name ranked higher.  And, people aren’t going to search on bostonmarketer, they will be searching on my name. (I’m not sure I’m ready to take Warren’s advice on that one!)

3. Facebook

I use Facebook primarily for connecting with friends or people I know and reconnecting with people in my past.  But, it can also be an effective networking tool.

• Notes – While I do know everyone I’m friends with on Facebook, I don’t necessarily know or remember where each person works.  And, I definitely don’t know where each of their friends work.  So, when I first was laid off, I posted a “note” on Facebook, explaining the situation, and what I was looking for.  A note tends to stay on people’s screens longer than a status update, and you can write much more.
• Status update – I do frequently post status updates relating to my job search, to keep it top of mind that I’m still looking for a job.  I’ll say things like “I had a great interview this morning… keep your fingers crossed!” or “I have a networking meeting later today with a company I’m really interested in!”.  I also write a status update with a link when I write a new blog post.

Warren’s advice

• Notes for blog posts – Create a “note” for each blog post.  As I mentioned above, notes stay on people’s screen’s longer.  Also, I think that some people may be more likely to read it if the text is right there on the screen rather than having to click through to the blog.  Also, if they comment on it on Facebook, it becomes even more viral.
• Tag your friends – If you write a blog post that includes a reference to a friend on Facebook, tag them in the note.  That way, their friends will be alerted to your post, and your message will spread more quickly.
  

4. Blog

I think a blog is a critical piece to getting a job in today’s world.  A blog allows you to do a number of things:

• Showcase your talents to potential employers – they see how you write, see what’s important to you, see who you are personally and even see examples of your work.  All that, before they even meet you.  It helps make you a real person versus a piece of paper resume.
• Comment on other blogs – This gets your name out there even more, and if you write something interesting, it may catch the eye of a potential employer.
  
• Blog about opportunities you want – As I mentioned in “Networking,Chris Brogan and websites, oh my!”, Chris Brogan suggests blogging on the types of jobs you want. For example, if I want a job at a specific nonprofit doing marketing, I can blog about ideas I have for them.  That was the inspiration behind my post on the restaurant group, and it was great to be able to talk about during my interview with the restaurant.

Warren’s advice

• Talk more personally about the different aspects of your job search

5. Online Communities

I hadn’t done anything with online communities, so it’s only Warren’s advice on this one!

Warren’s advice

• Look for small online communities in my areas of interest.  For example, The Society for Word of Mouth or Marketing 2.0 (website address?).  You can post your blog on those sites, pose questions, answer questions or start a discussion, and bring in my blog post.

Overall, I believe that social networking is the way to go in today’s digital world, particularly with the current economic situation.  In Warren’s words, “You need to do an integrated online marketing campaign to find Rachel Levy a job because the regular s–t doesn’t work anymore!”

Update: Jeremiah Owyang from Forrester Research has also written about this topic in “What you Need to Be Thinking About Regarding Social Media and Layoffs“… great post!

What do you think?  How are you using social media in your job search?  How do you see job candidates using it?

In today’s economy it’s a common, and understandable, fear that you might get laid off (sorry for the dose of reality). So rather than being stuck like a deer in the headlights if it happens, here are a few things you can do to get prepared, in case it happens to you:

1. Get involved with networking groups

Find a couple of networking groups in your area, and start attending the meetings. Overall, many people only network when they are actively looking for a job, but it’s a good idea to keep up your network even when you are not looking. Be sure to find general networking groups that cover a wide variety of people and industries, as well as industry specific groups. You never know who knows who, so your next job could come from the most unlikely person.

In Boston, I recommend the following: Boston Young Professionals Association, Downtown Women’s Club, Boston Salty Legs Networking Group (small group, so it may not be open) or American Marketing Association, Boston.

2. Connect through online social networking

Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn are key ways to network in this day and age.  Now is the time, to start connecting with everyone you know through these websites.  Have each site scan your email address book to find people you know.  Look at the people you are already connected with, and see who you know that you can also connect with.  Update your profile so it’s current as of today.

Now is a good time to decide how you are going to use each of these sites.  For example, I use Twitter to connect to people with whom I have similar interests.  I use Facebook for friends or people I know on more social basis.  And LinkedIn is more for networking, but only for people I have met or spoken to.  Everyone has their own personal style on these sites, but it’s a good idea to decide your plan ahead of time.

Another way to use LinkedIn is to find groups that interest you or you are somehow affiliated with, and join them. For example, I am part of Innovative Marketing, PR, Word-of-Mouth & Buzz Innovators, Social Media Pros, and 7MBAClub.  You should also reach out to people you have worked with in the past and ask them to write recommendations for you on LinkedIn.  When applying for jobs on the site, it helps to have recommendations.

3. Start looking online at job postings

Even if you are not ready to apply for jobs yet, it  never hurts to start looking.  You will have a better sense of who is hiring, what the market is like and what the current salaries are.  Set up RSS feeds now to start getting the job postings coming to you.

You can also never start too early in applying to jobs.  The application and interview process can take a long time, so you might benefit from being ahead of the game.  Just be careful with confidentiality related to your current employer.

4. Update your resume

Start writing your resume early, so you’re not rushed and stressed about updating it, and so you have time to have other people in your industry review it.  You are also in a better position to access numbers and information from your current employer to show the impact you have made in your job.  You can create your resume in MS Word and/or use a program like Visual CV.  An example of someone I know who uses this is Ari Herzog and his virtual resume looks great!

5. Get back in touch with recruiters

Scour your contact list for recruiters you may have been in touch with.  Send them your resume, and tell them you are not actively looking for a job yet, but to keep you in mind if they come across something that would be appropriate for you.

6. Take on consulting projects

Start putting the word out to your network that you are willing to take on consulting projects.  This will help you make some money the short term, and will also keep a flow coming in the event you are laid off.

7. Start a blog

A blog is an important way to communicate with people who are interested in finding out about you.  A potential employer will most certainly look for information on you online, so why not give them something that you have written that interests you.  It makes you more human, and adds personality to your resume.  If you start early creating a blog, you will hopefully build up your readership prior to the lay off news.

It’s really much easier than a lot of people thing to start a blog.  You can use Wordpress or  Blogger or many of the other blog writing programs out there.  You should also be sure to use the Blog Link program on LinkedIn, which will update your contacts when you write a new blog post (this has led to great exposure for my blog!).

(Photo credit: Nicole Sunday)

Do you have any other ideas for how to be prepared for a layoff?  Please leave a comment below!