Social Media

2 examples of why each connection counts

September 6, 2009 By Annelie Näs Leave a Comment

A few weeks back when I was going to back to Belgium I experienced two interesting situation that in modern networking that I wanted to write about. The first was while I was pulling my bags up the hill from my friend’s apartment to the metro. I was on my way back home after a four week vacation and had my luggage filled with both winter clothes and literature, so they were anything but light. I had not gotten far, when a young girl offered to help me. Obviously I needed help, so I accepted. As it turns out this young girl also worked as an au-pair but in Sweden. She was German and had learned Swedish really well during her year-long stay. We continued talking and did so for about 20 minutes or so, managing to find out quite a few details about each other. Before we parted ways we changed contact details in hope to stay in touch, an all of this happened before 5.30 in the morning.

During a layover in Mϋnchen I overheard two men speak, and as it turned out they did not know each other but just randomly began talking on the bus to the aircraft. The initiator of the conversation was an older American man. And the guy he started talking with was a younger student going on a study -abroad program, who wasn’t late to make it into a longer conversation. I don’t know if they decided to stay connected, but the situations are still interesting.

Both situations where less than half hour long and took place while being “on-the-way.” If there two guys would have meet 10 years back, they would have exchanged numbers and perhaps email, as would the German girl and I. But the chances of us keeping in touch over the phone would have been very spars and trough email it might just have lasted a couple of months. Then the situations would have been forgotten, and we would probably never have met again. Maybe in rare cases people did keep contact but very seldom and usually because the relationship had some kind of unique exchange, perhaps a special interest or so.

Today we have Facebook and other social networks, so of course the girl and I took each other’s full name and connected though the online network. We have emailed since then and will likely stay connected in the future. She is now back in Germany and perhaps I will go met her there one day? Perhaps the two men also connected through a social network, maybe LinkedIn or another, he young man will one day intern at the older man’s job, this is just speculations but it is still interesting.

Trough social network, you are connected without having constant interaction, if I don’t email the German girl every months I will still be updated with what she does and thus contact her once in awhile to stay connected. And because of that years can go by and we will still stay connected, even though we only met on the way to the metro for 20 minutes.

Today it does not matter where or when you meet or for how long, each meting can become a lifetime friendship. Therefore I encourage people to make sure to leave an opening for a reconnected even though you only met once. It is especially important for young people who have trouble finding jobs etc. Who knows what the lady who you gave your seat on the bus than help you with, if you don’t ask?

Filed Under: Musings, Social Media Tagged With: connectin, Facebook, LinkedIn, networking, Social Media, social networking, social networks

How To: Tweet to make an impression and make sure that people recieve it

August 15, 2009 By Annelie Näs Leave a Comment

Ok, so honestly this post was supposed to be about why we tweet but instead it turned into a lesson in making your tweets the most desirable to read.

Jason Pullock asked his followers this question today and I responding saying “To share some of the interesting stuff that I find and to get access information and knowledge that other share with me, you?”Which is true, but how much do we really read other stuff?

I have been going true the stats for the links that I have been sharing over the last couple of days. The results varied a bit depending on the subject and how the tweets was written, but I had only between 3-34 click per link, which is very low considering that I have over 1,800 followers. So why is that?

Well first of all we have to consider that not everyone checks their twitter every day, and most of us see far from all the twitters that the people we follow put up each day. This means that only a small portion of the people following me actually saw the tweets when they came up. Still the number is very small.

If others use twitter in the same way as me, this is how they go about it. You log onto twitter and begin by checking the wall and what people are saying. While scanning trough the current tweets you choose one maybe two tweets with links that you want to follow and click on them. Anything else that might be on that wall you forget instantly and go on to checking replies, DMs and send a tweet yourself.

Knowing this, how do you write tweets that matter? That other people will actually read? There is not only one way, but now when you know what you are trying to do, here are a few tips.

Tweets with links to lists are always popular “ten ways to..” etc.
If you are referring to a blog or article with a title that is boring or does not describe the post well, don´t use it in your tweet, come up with something yourself instead.
Somewhere in the tweet tell people what you are linking to [video] etc.
Do not only post title and link <- add why they should read it or why you read it!

There are other a lot of other tips on how you increase your followers and stuff, but I didn´t want to share that, instead I hope that you think more about how you can impact your current followers.

That is why I tweet: to make an impression by sharing stuff that can affect people or teach people something and I read tweets in hope to get the same in return.

Remember – Quality before quantity!

What do you think? Any Tips that you want to add to the list?

Filed Under: How To, Social Media Tagged With: tweet, tweet for an impresson, Twitter, why tweet

Why you should support your cause on Facebook

August 1, 2009 By Annelie Näs 1 Comment

A while back I friend of mine that runs a school in India created a cause on Facebook to support the organization. Probably it was also to gain more recognition and support and a marketing strategy. Either way I have heard her talk about the organization and what they do and how they have affected a bunch of children’s lives as they know have got an education. So when I got the invite I felt passionate about helping her by recruiting my friends.

So I took the so called pledge and recruited 300 of my friends during two day I even personalized the invite and wrote a message telling my friend about the organization and why I liked the organization. Today almost a month later only 6 of them joined. That is only 2 %, which is a lot less than I had expected.

I don’t know how much direct support the organization will get from the fact that my friends are joining. But from a marketing perspective it is great that people join to spread the word about the organization and hopefully that will lead to a few sponsors. So why doesn’t others do the same? Is it from laziness, that they don’t care enough to even join a Facebook cause? Could it be because of lack of knowledge, that they don’t understand why they should join and what difference that would make?

If I divide my Facebook friends in three groups, there are professional users and private users, that is some who use if to stimulate their business relationships and others who do it do keep track of their private friends, and a third group, like myself, who combine the two. Most of my friends won’t give money to charities, especially not trough causes on Facebook, because they don’t have the money. But some of my professional contacts who have good jobs etc might, and a lot of us have friends like them, who want to have the ability to sponsor a good organization.

So why not show our support and hopefully they will as well?
Or maybe I know someone, who knows someone, who know someone else, who might!

The cause I was refering to was The Merasi School in India, take a look at their website or support the cause on facebook!

Filed Under: Social Media Tagged With: causes, Facebook, featured, non-profits

Stick to your plan or social media presence might hurt your reputation

June 15, 2009 By Annelie Näs 1 Comment

A promise is still a promise online.

Lately I have been reading a lot about how social media outreach can hurt as much as it can benefit a person or a company. I might have been more drawn to the articles as I personally have been thinking a lot about how I am defining my online presence.

What is personal online strategy and what I want to achieve with my online presence? What is the promise I am going to give the community I will build up, and how am I going to manage to keep that promise?

Although I might be more conscious about these articles than other, I think that the questions is becoming more essential as more amateur players are trying their luck in the social media sphere.

For a long time we have been stumbling upon crappy Websites that is neither nice to look at nor user friendly. Usually we turn at the doorstep with these Websites and find another sources for what we are looking at. Mostly the amateur Websites are products of microbusinesses, who have heard that they need a Website but don’t really bother to make sure that the site is generating any business.

However, I don’t think that this is the demographics that people are afraid will hurt their reputation by using social media. I think it is the next people on the ladder. Those with functional good looking Website that is basic but is generating business. I think that these guys are starting to learn about social media and will eventually start using in, but might not succeed as social media marketing can be quite time consuming until you learn the tricks.

So what about the hurting part? How can it actually hurt my business?

I do not have all the answers to these questions and I think some of the answers will be determined in time. But for now, one of the thing you have to be aware of is that social media participation ranks well on Google, while a normal Website might get hidden in social media results. So if your company is on Facebook, twitter and LinkedIn that might give your assigned Website number 4 in the ranking, so you better make good use out of the other three. (I would know, my blog is currently number 7 I think)

Besides from the possible bad ranking on Google social media presence can also misrepresent your company. People is annoyed by everything from grammatical errors to an unresponded tweet online and that might hurt your reputation. People might not remember tell their friends on their coffee break but they might say something about their disappointment online. And this is only one other way that your company reputation might get hurt from social media marketing, feel free to add more ways in the comment section.

As I am very much for social media presence I just want to remind people that:
even though your reputation might get hurt from bad use of social media the consequences might be even worse from no use of social media.

Filed Under: Social Media Tagged With: brand management, community, reputation management, Social Media, social media strategy, social media tactics

Where is your blog on your priority list?

May 4, 2009 By Annelie Näs 7 Comments

Four days ago, I left Washington D.C. my job and apartment. Before the move, I have been focusing on finishing stuff at work, packing, spending as much time as possible with friends and doing all the other things that needs to be done before you leave a country.

Because of that, my blog and Twitter was neglected, and especially the blog became under prioritised. During all the stress from all the other thing that were going on this felt like a very good decision, after all I would have time maintain my media channels after I left the city. Looking back though I think that people like me often think of these things as taking up time, while they are quick and will in the long turn save you more time than anything does.

Writing a blog post, depending on the amount of words, take about 10 minutes, and after that maybe another 20 minutes to edit. The time consuming part is mostly figuring, out what to write about and do a bit research. But in general, at least the subject comes while you are doing other things. Therefore, you can expect the blog post to be written and edited in 30 minutes.

Taking a shorter shower and spend a little less time on Facebook gives most people 30 minutes or more. So why not use them to publish a blog post? (Btw, we need to invent a new word for blog post, because it is way to long)

My excuse was to spend that time with friends, which I probably most of the time did not because it was during hours when they are working or eating or doing something else that does not include hanging out with people. Therefore, I could have invested 30 minutes in my future.

I changed a routine when I began preparing the move, that only gave me a little more time with my friends but also made it harder to get back on. I used to spend about an hour a twitter every day, and wrote at least one blog post every week. By removing these promises to the people that read what I have to stay, I let them down. In addition to that I also had a lot harder getting back on track when I got settled in Sweden.

Taking a few minutes to share your thoughts and knowledge is never too time consuming. There are daily articles and news about the fact that blog and twitter can help you invest in your career or get you a job, (of course there are the same amount saying the opposite) if you do it right. So by not tweeting and blogging I broke a trust and neglected my future. Luckily, my move did not take that much time, but it is still worth thinking about. How much did I lose during this time? After all in the current information society a lot can change in an hour..

Where is your blog and twitter on your priority list? Why do you do it? What are your goals?

Filed Under: Musings, Social Media Tagged With: blogs, branding priorities, Personal branding

Tips: Social media for career development

April 23, 2009 By Annelie Näs 2 Comments

Friends of others and mine who hear about my frequent use of various new media tools ask me why I use them, and why I think they use them. I usually think about what they work with and give them an explanation that makes sense to them. Their answer is something like “I never thought about it that way, I will totally do that”.

When I ask them about it a few weeks later they have joined the networks and sites that I told them about, but did not really begin using them. Sometimes because they did not have time or did not prioritised, but most of the times it is because they did not figure out how to use the sites properly.

Tomorrow I have a presentation in school where I am supposed to teach the class something, I will of course speak about social media for career development, and after then tell them about this blog post:

Here are some of the best articles and videos that I found that explains how to use the social media tools and some of them cover why you should use them, in case you forgot.

Social Media

Twenty something: Gen Y is better than everyone else at marketing themselves
http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2009/04/07/twentysomething-gen-y-is-better-than-everyone-else-at-marketing-themselves/

HOW TO: Leverage Social Media for Career Success
http://mashable.com/2009/04/07/social-media-career-success/

Social Media and SEO: 5 Essential Steps to Success
http://mashable.com/2009/04/15/social-media-seo/

Linked In

Ten Ways to Use LinkedIn
http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2007/01/ten_ways_to_use.html

How to launch and evolve your career using LinkedIn
http://grads.linkedin.com/?utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dtest

20 Ways to Use LinkedIn Productively – (Thanks to @elisabeth999)
http://webworkerdaily.com/2007/06/15/20-ways-to-use-linkedin-productively/

Get Ahead on LinkedIn - (Thanks to @elisabeth999)
http://howto.wired.com/wiki/Get_Ahead_on_LinkedIn

Twitter

Using Twitter for Personal and Business Branding
http://personalbrandingblog.com/using-twitter-for-personal-and-business-branding/

30-Minute Brand Building for Twitter
http://personalbrandingblog.com/30-minute-brand-building-for-twitter/

Visual CV

Get Started with VisualCV
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2foQsUWPAI&feature=channel_page

Brazen Careerist

Brazen Careerist: Five Ways To Make Yourself A Workplace Superstar
http://www.informationweek.com/news/global-cio/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=201808003

Facebook

The best Facebook apps for business and career enhancement
http://www.idsnews.com/news/orienter/story.aspx?story_id=12311&section=life

Development Center: Use Facebook with caution
http://www.idsnews.com/news/orienter/story.aspx?story_id=12311&section=life

If you have any articles and video’s and networks that you want to add to the list, comment and I will add them.

Enjoy!

Filed Under: Musings, Social Media Tagged With: Career development, Links, Social Media

Pick a path and stick with it!

March 29, 2009 By Annelie Näs 2 Comments

I have been looking at different career alternatives recently as I am leaving my temporary position in Washington D.C. in the end of April. Thinking about the different opportunities I have, and how they might affect my career I began comparing it with marketing. It’s kind of like choosing your niche.

I can either focus on a very small segment and become an expert of it or I can choose to not take a niche and try to do everything. If I chose to become and expert I will work to become the first choice in my area and the one you ask for expertise. That might close a few doors but it might also open a lot of others. If I don’t choice a niche can be a somewhat good at a lot of things, but rarely the one that is needed for a specific task.

Thinking about it like this make me realise the difference, in my perspective it is more about what I do than where I do it. Thus in if I was a business I would rather focus on service than location.

I would not say that it is a bad thing to keep doors open when you are choosing your career, but if you do, you have to explain to yourself why you keep them open. Trying to apply for jobs in all different fields just because you are afraid that you wont get a job in your preferred category, might actually make things harder. Think about it, if you write 10 applications for the same kind of position, I think the last letter will be a lot better than the last of ten for different kind of jobs. You cannot be good at everything, so pick your path.

For me I have realised what I want to do, but don’t have a big preference on where to do it. Preferably I would stay in D.C. but as long as I am working with the things I like, I think I could work from anywhere around the world. You might not be that flexible, but have some desire to try a new position in you industry or work category, and that might be enough. You are sticking to what you know and are profiling yourself as got at that.

My guess is that this is mostly a problem for younger people with less experience. Since we don’t have a ton of experience in anything, it is easier for us to try to do something else just because there might be a possibility there even though it is not what we want to do. I don’t believe in that kind of thinking even though I am tempted to. Stick to what you want to do even in hard times and you will reach your goals!

Filed Under: Social Media Tagged With: career, marketing, niche

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