Discover Tools to Listen, Measure and Engage the Web
Many tools are now available to help navigate the social web. These include search engines, dashboards and social search tools. ScoutLabs, Radian6 and Trackur are among dozens of paid tools. Free options include the likes of Google Alerts. Being a user of many of these tools, I find that you generally “get what you pay for.” Free options and work-around solutions for scouring the web can be good, but don’t always have enough features for ample coverage. ScoutLabs is my social media weapon of choice currently as it offers a dashboard look into mentions of keywords and conversation of my choice happening on blogs, forums, photo sites, video channels and on Twitter. It searches millions of sites and online content to find job seekers, potential leads and like-minded people in recruiting and HR. It essentially puts me right into the conversation, saving hours of search in the process. This provides significant value in the social web for a low fee. My advice here is to choose a tool that best suits your needs and budget, then dive in. The learning curve for using most is not very steep.
Pay Attention to "The Big Three"
Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are widely regarded now as “The Big Three” of social related website destinations. There are thousands upon thousands of social sites today to get involved in. But, if you want to use your time wisely, spend it on these three and these three alone as they have the largest audiences and are continuing to grow at a large clip. Develop friendships and relationships on Facebook, grow a following on Twitter, and build a network of connections on LinkedIn. Regardless of opinions floating out there, larger is always better. The larger the amount of friends, followers and connections the more potential job seekers, leads and touch points you have for yourself, your brand or your business, whatever your social media goals may be. Need a quick debrief on any of these sites? Check out my recruiter training videos here on this site. It should give you a good idea on navigating the waters.
Get a Presence in The Blogosphere
If you only do one thing, start a blog for yourself or your business. A blog can be created in literally 10 minutes. From there, it's about writing killer content. A blog can be done for free or very inexpensively using tools such as Blogger, WordPress or Joomla. If done right, you will reap the rewards tenfold. For tips to get a good blog up and running, see Problogger. This blog you’re reading serves as my “online hub” or a place I can direct everyone who wants to know more about me, my business and value I can provide them. Once you get a blog established, branch out into The Blogosphere. There are millions upon millions of blogs in your industry or area of expertise. Use Technorati and AllTop as a starting point. Actively participate in these blogs. Drop comments. Open discussions. Most importantly, leave a link back to your blog. This allows people that see value in you to discover more about you. Keep track of your conversations and important blogs to remember by using a bookmarking tool like Diigo or an RSS reader such as Google Reader. Final word of advice, grab your domain name if you can (for branding purposes), or pick a name that will help you get more attention from the search engines and amongst others in your field. Also think about SEO here.
Want to work with Geoff Peterson?
Geoff Peterson is available for strategic recruiting and sourcing engagements, social media and mobile recruiting consultations, speaking events, custom workshops and classes, coaching, mentoring and interviews. For more information, please visit the contact page.
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written by Jayna Butler, June 01, 2010
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written by Rachel Page, June 22, 2010
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Katie Morse
Community Manager | Radian6
@misskatiemo