The Next Step Was To Connect
Users
Once people found out that connecting with others
online generated real value in their lives, in the form of shopping, information, and resources that others
could locate and point them to, it was only natural to just connect the users themselves and see what came
from that action. Places like MySpace.com, Facebook.com, and LinkedIn.com all have their main function of
connecting users of the Internet into social networks that are relatively open-ended. Several things became
obvious to marketers at that point. Social networks were clustered into highly defined demographics, a boon
to the business that wants to market to a specific group of people. Social networks let people ask about any
product or service, not just the main one that is being reviewed on a particular site. People gathered into
close-knit groups of friends, followers, or fans, and these groups offered a great opportunity to market and
to create positive press for a company's products or services through online word of mouth. Unfortunately for
businesses, many of these social networks did not allow spam advertising, nor were emails made available for
mass email marketing. The big question then remained: How were they going to capture the attention of
individuals on a social network if they had to represent themselves as an individual and not market
themselves in traditional manners? The answer was to find individuals with large social networks who will use
their influence to guide public opinion in a way that is favorable to their company.
Buying Influence
The currency of trade on social networks is
influence, not money. Companies can get online and advertise all they want, but most people on social
networks don't want to be spammed and will drop a connection that tries to directly promote a business
product or service in an online version of the hard sell. Not only that, but these same people will then go
tell all of their friends that you are either a spammer or a fraud, and their friends will drop you too, all
in a mini-second. Clearly, trying to ram one’s products and services over the online airwaves of social
networks is a futile and counter-productive proposition for businesses. It doesn't get them larger influence,
and it actually destroys their credibility. In order to make a sale online, they have to engender trust, and
that is why influence becomes very important to cultivate in manners that are less commercial and more
socially beneficial.
Make no mistake about it. The very same companies
that fired people for posting an unconventional photo on Facebook are actively seeking people who can have
the same influence on their company brand, but in positive manners. For that, they now want to find people
with good social networking skills, a large network, and a voice that they can control. In essence, since
they can't create this type of influence with their company brand on a social network without the
contribution of the social networkers who are going to rate them, they are going to try to find major players
on the social networking sites to buy the influence that they can't directly create. If you are trying to get
a job in this tight market, it can pay to upgrade your social networking skills and increase your influence
across social networks. It just might give you the edge you need to beat out the competition for that next
plum job.
Enlarging Their Own Outside
Network
If a company is looking at two different
candidates, and they each have social network profiles, then typically, the larger network is more
impressive, even if it might not be a better network. The reason for this is that a company is interested in
enlarging its own network of people who are connected to that company and brand, and the larger networks mean
more connections. That's why it's pretty clear that it isn't just sufficient to have a social network; you
also have to be active in increasing it every chance you get.
What Are They Looking
For?
There are a number of different things a
prospective employer will want to know to evaluate the influence you have on social networks and the Internet
overall. He/She will want to know which social networks you belong to and how many connections you have on
each. He/She may also be interested in the main demographic you are marketing to. He/She may not go much
further than that, but there are ways to clearly sell your skills without relying on numbers alone. If you
are looking for a position that is going to want some sort of social exposure, be sure to put these things
onto your resume before they ask to show that you are actively in the game.
The Main Players
You may think from mainstream media that there are
only two or three social networking sites out there. That couldn't be further from the truth. Yes, a
prospective employer will want to know that you have a profile on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, but these
are not the only sites out there that are considered to be social networks. If you are using specifically
targeted social networks to generate business contacts and having good success at it, it's worth mentioning
in an interview.
Facebook
This social network was created to help college
students keep in touch with each other on campus via a virtual contact book of personal information that
simulated the small notebook that students used to keep for the same purpose. This was often referred to as a
“facebook,” thus the name. It grew out of its college roots into the professional world of connections when
many people in the university networks graduated and found themselves still wanting to keep in touch with
their college friends via Facebook. The demographic for this social network is more professional than
MySpace, and it caters to the professional crowd. The profile is very detailed and is used to help you tell
others who you are and why they might want to be friends with you. News is passed around within circles of
friends by posting status updates and by answering the questions, “What are you doing right
now?”
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