Kris Dunn, Lance Haun, Jessica Lee and I will be on a panel at the SHRM convention in New Orleans, next week, that covers the topics of social media, blogging, and Human Resources.
I am pretty excited because SHRM is a conservative organization that doesn’t take big risks. Putting me on a panel and talking about technology and Human Resources? It’s a risk. No one knows what to expect—from turnout to content—and the moderator has some specific requests.
- Be honest and authentic.
- Engage and challenge the audience.
- Please don’t swear.
That last bullet point is for me.
*
I assume that the audience will have had little interaction with Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn—let alone creating a social media strategy to hire awesome & talented people. Can you help me prepare for this session?
- Do you work for a company that has never talked about social media?
- Are you still trying to figure out if your company needs a better website?
- What questions do you have about social media?
I have no idea what to expect from a group of HR professionals who are attending a session on social media. I’m going to refer the audience to the Definitive Guide to Corporate HR Blogging. I’m also a fan of this sideshow by my good friend, Lani Rosales.
12 Social Media Fears and overcoming them now!
As a job seeker, what does HR need to know about social media? Do you have any other suggestions for tips, tools, or takeaways? [We like that kind of shit in HR. We need takeaways, dammit!]
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Dude, for people just getting started down the social media track I recomment Groundswell http://www.forrester.com/Groundswell/book.html It’s a very solid primer.
I don’t get the “please don’t swear” request, as every audience I’ve ever seen confronted with swearing likes it.
In any case… This is probably obvious, but I think the big question lots of people have is: What the hell is the point of online social networking? Isn’t it just killing time? Like it’s a video game or something. I think people who don’t do it truly don’t get why you would, and what can result from it. And when they hear claims of results, they’re utterly baffled about how those results could come about. I think it’s super mysterious to people who aren’t already doing it.
On the other hand, maybe none of that’s true of people would attend a session on it.
Hey friend, my experience with our recruiter/HR group here is the corporate folks know and use LinkedIn regularly. It’s the social sites, for the most part, they do not get or use. You have seen me ranting on this a bit but this is why I separate LI from FB/Twitter/others.
Can somebody please draw/diagram/explain to me a direct relationship between Facebook and the bottom line? k thx.
The organization I work for has absolutely zero social media presence. This is largely due to the fact that social media sites are blocked on the company internet (although I could probably gain access if I provided a good argument for it). I’ll be honest and say that I am still learning how this would actually help me hire more/better quality people. That’s the point I would need to make in order to get things started.
@HRputer:
As I understand it, it goes something like this:
Person searches on FB for your company (don’t laugh, it happens – on Twitter, too) > person finds company profile or page with compelling statement of company’s value proposition > Person’s desire to do business with company increases (company gains 10hp, charm +2)
Alternatively:
Person searches on FB for your company > Person finds nothing > Person’s engagement with your company stay’s static (particularly bad if it’s nil)
Plus, having your company name on many different high-traffic sites potentially increases your SEO for your main conversion site. And that’s just if you only use FB to create a static billboard – you can actually talk to people on FB too, that’s a whole new ballgame.
Epic spelling fail on my part – “stays”, not “stay’s”. Yeesh.
B/c that last bullet point is directed towards you specifically…. just validates your Punkrockedness! Love live the Queen!
Here is a great example for HR folks as a what NOT to do with social media.
http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2009/06/23/montana-town-stops-asking-applicants-for-facebook-logins/
I didn’t believe it until I had read the articles.
@Ian
So it’s a goodwill/brand thing and can be filed under a marketing initiative. Gotcha. I’d imagine that it would drive more brand recognition, so long as your messages are lost in the drivel of friends telling me “going to bed now” or “had a coffee at Starbucks.” Unless, of course, I worked for Starbucks, then I could direct market an ad to show up.
Sounds like more upside for a B2C company than a B2B company, but its value is not entirely lost.
Thanks,
HRputer (+1 wisdom)
Being new to all of this I want to know more of how others are using social media and what they are getting out of it.
The take away would be some kinda of Social Media 101 starting points to just get set up in this world so you can see for yourself what’s going on.
While our college recruiters are all over this (which is how I find out about most of this stuff) I find it funny that everytime I go to your blog I have to go through our own security to say yes this is for company business.
I agree with the “Be honest and authentic” as that is how I got sucked into this as I’ve totally enjoyed the interaction with others working in HR and feel right at home.
@HRputer
No problem
And yes, riight – exactly. I’m sure there are many other uses as well, but I’m actually in marketing so those are the first examples I go to.
As far as B2B goes, I’d guess that online social networking has the same benefits as face-to-face networking (e.g., through a client event or something) just with more powerful tools. Basically, social media is the new golf course. And phonebook. And calling/business card. And CV. And on and on.
Our company eats, sleeps and breathes social media. I work for a public relations company so we’ve been down this road for some time now. Social media is not new news for us, it’s a way of life.
so are going to use your favorite damn cuss words or not? i’m dying to know!!! (@bennrosales and i agreed today that you should get up on stage and in your intro say, “they told me not to fucking cuss so if it slips, i’m sorry.” LOL)
@Puf I’ll put this on my list! Have you noticed that many business books are yellow, by the way. I wonder why.
@Alison Well China explained that the SHRM audience skews older and more conservative. That audience has generally seen EVERYTHING but they might be offended by me.
I do think you’re right — social networking is super-mysterious and I hope we create enough allure to get people to come to the session so we can answer some of those questions.
@MN/Paul I totally support the LinkedIn/FB/Twitter distinction and I think LinkedIn is the more credible site; however, I don’t want people to exclude FB and Twitter and solely focus on LI.
@HRPuter I love how you got an answer!!
@Shawn I think your company needs some help. This might be a good place to start. Shannon is awesome. http://www.exceler8ion.com/
@Ian Whoa, thank you. That’s brill.
@HR Chick Well Lance has a foul mouth on him, too.
@Nick Good lord. Montana.
@HRJ This is why I don’t care for the differentiation between recruiting and HR. These functions, ideally, could be seamless and you could learn from one another.
@Colleen You should get up there for me.
@Lani OMG, yes, that’s a brilliant opening line.