The On-Going Conversation

Tips for Remaining Professional with Social Media

At some point, I believe we will all be expected to be fluent in social media. From my perspective, this means that we will basically be unable to stay truly connected without it. This naturally leads one to question—if social media is beneficial to those involved with it, or if it will create more of a divide amongst individuals who don’t have access to the Internet on a daily basis.

What do you think? Is social media overall beneficial or detrimental to society as a whole? I guess it may be challenging to draw a conclusion right now, but throughout the course of time, I would have to assume this question will come to the forefront. Take a minute and think about it for yourself, what would you be doing with all your extra time, if social media wasn’t occupying some of it?

This doesn’t necessarily mean that individuals should stop using social media. I just think it is merely important to consider the logistical reasons for a certain behavior, regardless of what it is; especially when the behavior is substantially time-consuming and may inhibit your personal relationships.

I think it will be especially prevalent, considering the vast amount of people who are just commencing social media as we speak. These individuals haven’t even thought of the implications of their networking behavior. Not only could the negativity of social media correlate to privacy issues, but I think it could also be damaging to an individuals’ innate mentality and connection to the physical world.

Hopefully it doesn’t go this far, but the new technological obsession has already transformed the definition of staying connected. At the moment, there is no mechanism or equation for predicting the future of social media and as a result, time will be the only indication about where social media networking goes next.

Not only do I think it will be important for personal use, but I also think it will become an obligation for businesses. I believe it will even become a necessity, regardless of the type of business that an individual is currently operating or working for.

Moreover, I think this will soon become a reality, because organizations need to reach prospective customers where they interact with each other, and for the most part, I would say this interaction is continually growing on social media platforms. I also don’t see the trend changing in the near future, so prepare for the social media landscape to be somewhat constantly present.

This is why I believe it is essential to join the social conversation, because without it, it may become increasingly difficult to stay truly connected. Not only to your close friends, family and loved ones, but also to the businesses that offer special deals online. It may also become more strenuous to find career opportunities and prospective employment, without showcasing your talents, education, skills and goals online.

This day in age, more businesses are utilizing social networks to recruit employees. However, some individuals are eliminated merely based on the information that potential employers discover. Don’t fall into this trap. Make sure if you are going to use social environments, that all of your information is reasonable and work appropriate, pictures included. Employers don’t want to see images of you behaving in ways, which they would classify as immature. Use your best judgment and strive to maintain a degree of professionalism.

With this in mind, a majority of businesses have already made a push to incorporate a social marketing strategy. Depending on the particular organization, it could be a social strategy that yields success or failure. However, one will never know the implications unless they try. It could ultimately enhance business operations and in a sense, be a compliment to the overall business manta and economic condition.

For those who haven’t established an online presence, now may be a convenient time to consider one. Who knows, you may prospectively harness individuals that may be beneficial to you in the long run. As cliché as it sounds, you never know until you try. 

Especially since social media and blogging are instantly available and free; this presents an ideal option for companies to facilitate people, who could become future customers in a mere effortless fashion.

Nonetheless, social media shouldn’t be driven by making more money. It should be viewed as merely a benefit to the business strategies that have already been working. It isn’t that time consuming either and it is easier than ever to cross-post on multiple social networks. So why not give it a try and start reaping the benefits of digital interaction?

Image from socialnomics.files.wordpress.com

A Brief History of Social Media and the Digital Landscape

First it was MySpace. They dominated for years and eventually became isolated from assorted social environments that are more prevalent now. Not to mention, everyone who harnessed MySpace remembers having Tom as a friend.

Eventually the trend arguably withered and gave way to new applications such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Foursquare and Facebook, just to name a few. These environments have seemingly remained relevant, despite the monopoly of social media sites that have recently gained traction.

To some extent, I would even classify YouTube as a social media networking website. The reason – YouTube’s users have the ability to provide feedback and share video resources with anyone scattered throughout the world. Isn’t that basically the premise of social media, to bring people together regardless of location, through digital channels of exchange? They may be networking with different ideas, overall information and content, but on the surface, they are still expressing themselves through visualization and video communication.

Moreover, we have all experienced the joy of YouTube. A friend recommends a video that catches his or her attention and eventually you return the favor to one of your close associates. This could be classified as social networking as far as I am concerned, because there are videos that intermittently trend and experience a large influx of traffic, based on their accessibility.

This accessibility directly correlate to friends recommending videos, and even those that are featured on the landing page. Individuals could also post specific videos via their social networking platforms, which could also influence people into viewing videos on-line. Regardless of the street that directs them to the actual video—it to some extent was facilitated by social media and the influence of other individuals through social means.

Nonetheless, as the road continues to be paved, time will tell what new applications appear and which ones will fail to sustain relevance. I would have to assume they are all vulnerable, considering new social networking programs could rapidly appear as technology continues to expand. This expansion in a sense cannot be predicted and foreshadowed; it eventually takes its course, with the ever-dynamic environment that we classify as the social media landscape.

In addition, social media continues to pave the road of social innovation. It has become nearly impossible to avoid utilizing social media networks. Whether it is Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Digg, Delicious, Foursquare or Orkut, it really doesn’t matter. There are so many different options to choose from, that we are all bound to discover one that we align with.

Companies have even extended special offers for individuals that use social platforms. For example, Mashable recently reported that Ann Taylor offers individuals that are mayors on Foursquare a 25% discount in New York City. They even plan to expand the offer to other stories, depending on the successfulness of the campaign in the New York City locations.

If you are unfamiliar with Foursquare, it is a social networking option that allows you to check-in at various destinations throughout the day. Depending on the number of times that you have checked-in, you are awarded different titles. Users are also granted the capacity to recommend different locations in your hometown, which provides personal advice for your prospective, to varying web friends throughout the world.

Not to mention, people can update their social accounts at their convenience, regardless of their location. For the most part, the convenience factor is facilitated by mobile smart phones, which have hypothetically transformed the way that we function.

All-in-all, the changes have enabled people to update their information wherever, whenever and however. It also helps provide a quality user-experience, and eliminates the hurdles of staying in contact with those individuals, which are important to you and require constant contact.

At some point, I also believe we will all be expected to be fluent in social media and basically unable to stay truly connected without it. This naturally leads one to question—if social media is beneficial to those involved with it, or if it will create more of a divide amongst individuals, who don’t have access to the Internet on a daily basis.

What do you think will happen in the world of social media and technology? Would you classify social media as beneficial or detrimental to society as a whole? Consider the questions and share your thoughts with your social friends—start the digital conversation.

Image and Art Credit: Ashley Cecil — the Painting Activist –Ashley Cecil’s Website

The Importance of a Social Media Strategy

Social media continues to become increasingly connected to business and the way in which it is conducted. Despite the juxtaposition of social media and social businesses, the phenomenon remains relatively new and wasn’t even part of the picture ten years ago. As a result, it can be challenging to decipher what is to come and where the world of social media is headed.   

Regardless of the implications, I am intrigued by the possibility of what’s to come and where the trends will ultimately lead. However, even with excitement there comes a degree of obfuscation. One can never truly predict the course of time and we will have to wait to see where the developments in digital technology occur.

Nonetheless, social media has already brought about innovation and has even changed over time to become more user-friendly. Individuals now have the convenience of updating one aggregate site, which will post a message on a collection of different social environments.

Who would have thought this could become a reality in the digital world, especially considering the social media advent is to some extent, still in its youth? Even though it may seem unexpected, the ability to cross-post is evident and I don’t believe it’s going anywhere in the near future; at least as far as I am concerned.

For example, I facilitate posts with HootSuite and Ping.Fm, which allows me to maximize efficiency, by taking less than five seconds to express my ideas on approximately fifteen social websites, simultaneously. In my case, the updates generally include Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Bebo, Orkut, Digg, GoogleBuzz, Delicious, Friendster and LinkedIn, just to name a few.

 Social media has also continued to become more interconnected. This means that most platforms have the option of syncing with other sites. I even have the option of connecting my blogs to HootSuite as well, which can create a haven for news aggregation, information and continual communication.  

Moreover, social media junkies can continue to update their status and post a message on as many networks as they would like. This can even be more beneficial for businesses; they can have one individual responsible for social marketing and allow that individual to do it with utmost convenience and efficiency.

HootSuite even allows you to schedule messages periodically. This means that businesses can determine a network strategy and post messages automatically, regardless of the time of the day. With this in mind, organizations can specifically target messages to individuals that are time-sensitive and relevant to the business itself.

The reason this is so important, is because social media doesn’t necessarily influence sales or participation; it is more of a vehicle to increase recognition, awareness, web-influence and potentially SEO (search engine optimization).

Business can also establish credibility, integrity and a degree of trustworthiness, merely by interacting with a niche portion of the population on-line. Obviously, it needs to be in a positive and helpful manner, to yield the results that companies are striving for. Nonetheless, a companies’ approach is generally dependant on their particular organizational mantra and overall goal structure.

All-in-all, businesses should consider commencing a social media strategy, if of course they haven’t already. The strategy doesn’t necessarily need to be perfected from the onslaught either. Through time and social participation, businesses can literally generate a social prescription for the company, which speaks from experience and contains a frame of reference for comparison.

Basically, this prescription will become a remedy for the company and involve a transformation, once businesses have an understanding of the landscape they are working with. Just remember, there isn’t necessarily an incorrect way to conduct social marketing – just give it a try and see what happens. There are no rules to abide by and the conditions are still relatively new.

 

Twitter : @RJSchoenefeld

Contributing Blogger on Social Email Marketing

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