Posts tagged with “SocialNetworking”

32% of workers have called in sick when they were well at least once this year and 28% of employers think more employees are absent with fake excuses because of the economy, reports Careerbuilder.com. I know you love your blog and you want to get your name out there, but dishonesty will come back to haunt you. If you aren't sick, then show up to work please. You can always work on building your brand when you get home from work. Also, when you do excellent work during regular hours, that can do wonders for your brand.

A Closing Thought on Social Media

Use common sense. Common sense is encouraged! The sad thing is I firmly believe we're going to see more cases of carelessness in the coming years, as more people use social networks, more access social networks from their mobile phones and the lines between work and life balance are blurred. Try putting yourself in your employers shoes the next time you post on Facebook or Myspace or tweet.

Next: Social Media Mistakes Part Eight: Productivity >>

Are you thinking before you post online?

A company's main reason for not allowing social networks at work (aside from legal ramifications for financial institutions, etc.) is they feel a productivity loss. If you're sharing advice on your social networks at work and blogging, then where is the real business value, unless you're in a social media specialist type role. Companies are looking for you to bring in revenue, decrease costs or at least bring in some return on investment for the expense they're paying for you to work there. If you can't do that because you're building your brand or developing yoru sites at work, then get ready for a big fat pink slip because you're easily replaceable, now that there's 6 job seekers for every job.

Previous: Social Media Mistakes Part Seven: Appropriate Content >>

Posting inappropriate photos on your social media site and forgetting that your profile is public is a common mistake. Remember, often times you and your friends aren't the only ones who can see your information.

Ray Lam, a former NDP candidate for Vancouver-False Creek was forced to resign from his job when photographs were discovered on Facebook. One picture showed him palming a woman's breast and another with his pants down and two people pulling at his underwear. I was going to post the photo here, but it's too inappropriate for this blog. There are other examples of this happening, such as a teacher being fired for her MySpace picture and a nursing home assistant taking pictures with her patients. I have knows for you: you don't own your profiles on social networks. That's right, Facebook owns your profile and companies can pay Facebook for that information. Always think of your profile as public!

Previous: Social Media Mistakes Part Six: Respect Your Elders >>

If you're a millennial than you have to start figuring out how you want to position yourself at work. Don't think for a minute that everyone that's older than you doesn't understand technology. Although the younger generations are typically more savvy and adept at utilizing social media, there is still a signifcant amount of "seasoned" professionals on the web.

There's five generations in the workforce, and although millennials will be the majority in the year 2020 (HBS), older workers still have senior positions. Instead of trying to be superior than them, which can get you fired or put you in a corner, try and be helpful by supporting their projects with your tech expertise. Think about how you can use your knowledge of social media or web 2.0 technology to your benefit and teach them, instead of trying to outsmart them. Remember, a built bridge is stronger than a burnt bridge.

<< Social Media Mistakes Part Five: Tweeting Too Early

Your colleagues are following you on Twitter, trust me. If you're looking for a career move right now or in the future and you want to promote it, wait till after you've moved from your company.

Supervisor references are always important because endorsements rule the world, so if you want to burn your previous employer by not being transparent offline, then you're in trouble. You can tell your friends and family, but once you announce it to the world, it's fair game and you'll be laid off immediately without the chance to ever return to that company. A lot of people don't realize that once you establish a reputation and a network at a company, it can be your safety net in the future if you desperately need a job.

<< Social Media Mistakes Part 4

Brand association isn't just for advertising and public relations nowadays, even the common worker is effected by this. As such, please don't say that a blog disclaimer is going to disassociate your brand with your company's because it's not and when you get fired your boss won't accept that excuse either!

Brand association is powerful and cannot be undone, which means you have to be smart about what kind of attention you want to draw to yourself. A reporter, journalist, producer or blogger can easily scrape your content and quote it in a story, without your permission. Not only should you be careful about your presence on your blogs but be careful about any attention you draw to your social media outlets including answering linkedin questions, status comments on facebook or myspace, etc. They can link you to your company, even if the blog topic isn't related to your current work position. If news breaks out because of this visibility, your company can fire you for carelessness and for harming the corporate brand. Its called conduct detrimental to the company outside of work. Again, our lives are different now, so you better be safe than sorry (and that sounds like something my parents would say).

Next: Social Media Mistakes Part 5: Tweeting Too Early >>

Previous: Social Media Mistakes Part 3: Corporate Policy >>

Company cultures are always different and have policies (some have social media policies for workers too). Some block social networking sites, while others refrain because they know that people are doing work at home, so their employment contract is different. Robert Half International found that 54% of companies prohibit use of social networking Web sites during work hours, including popular sites such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. Another survey by ScanSafe, indicates that 20% more companies are blocking social networking sites and that 76% currently block them, which is much more than the Robert half survey. Don't complain that your company blocks these sites. If you're truly obsessed, why not access them from your mobile phone? Otherwise, get fired or quit and go somewhere else (though that is not a great idea in todays economy)!

Other companies realize the potential in good corporate web-citizens. For example, eBillme offers training on how to use social networking sites to spread company information.

Next: Social Media Mistakes Part Four: Brand Association >>

Previous: Social Media Mistakes Part Two: Me Before We >>

In an effort to continually inform our audience of mistakes that can be prevented in Social Media we move on to part two of this series: "Me Before We."

Placing Your Personal Brand Before Your Companies

This is still one of the hottest and most controversial topics around, and deservedly so. Often times employees will find themselves tweeting/facebooking/etc. while at work (your scanning blogs right now so don't deny it!). The only thing is that 80% of people are updating their social media about themselves, not about their companies, a report by Rutgers College professors states. Companies, by nature, are looking to build their own brand, sometimes through the use of selectively chosen spokespeople who represent the brand and can be quoted within press articles (cited with the brand). When you're getting more attention than your company, you know something is wrong. You're not getting paid to be the Oprah of a company. Instead, you're being compensated based on the value you provide over time. When you draw attention to your personal brand instead of your company's, then your coworkers will get jealous, your manager will wonder why you aren't getting your work done and you'll eventually get fired.

Next: Social Media Mistakes Part Three: Corporate Policy >>

Previous: Social Media Mistakes Part One: The Simple Stuff >>

As you sit here reading this post take a look at your surroundings... I figure most people would be sitting at home, at the coffee table, enjoying their newspaper and looking for a new job. However, there are many of you who may be in an environment with a coffee cup at your desk instead, TPS reports waiting to be done, and, nevertheless, here you sit browsing the Internet. The purpose of this series will be to summarize a list of Social Media mistakes I have found and prevent you from losing the job you have.

Social Media has become very personal these days, yet it is very easy to view web 2.0 technologies at the driving force that converges our professional and social lives. because of this I think it's important to focus on what you shouldn't do at work, not just just using social media for branding and career strategies. Who you are and how you behave outside of work can impact how you're perceived inside of work and visa versa. Therefore this series will be aimed at preventing those mistakes early on.

Are you the creative type? Maybe you've thought about being a designer online or even a more traditional magazine. Wouldn't it be cool to work with both?

For our next career spotlight, we spoke with Patrick Greenish Jr. Patrick is the Creative Director for Conceive, a company in Orlando, FL that produces online and offline content for all aspects of fertility.

What can you tell us about where you work?

I work for Conceive, a multi-media corporation devoted to all aspects of fertility and getting pregnant. We produce a quarterly magazine called Conceive Magazine and a weekly podcast called Conceive On-Air. We've also published three books (Fertility Journal, Fertility Facts and Cooking to Conceive), and run an up-to-date in-depth website.

How did you find your employment?

I actually found it through a friend who referred me for the position. I was already working for another company when I was approached for this position.

What are some of your job functions and responsibilities?

I am responsible for designing each issue of Conceive Magazine, and for managing our freelance photographers and illustrators that we use issue to issue. I am also responsible for managing our website, collateral and marketing materials, and overall brand management.

What do you like most about being a Creative Director?

The freedom of making something new everyday, whether it is a creative marketing idea or a new design, plus I always walk away satisfied that I help couples start their families.

Personal Goals?

I am currently working on my web and SEO knowledge so our site can get more of the market share. I hope to see the company and I grow to a point where I oversee a team of designers and programmers while solely focusing on Conceive's brand and new product development.