Brand Management…For YOU!

In the business world there is no shortage of great companies that work everyday to manage their public image: Apple, Sony, Southwest Airlines, & Whole Foods, just to name a few. While each of these companies provide either great products, great service or both, their positive public image did not happen by accident. Between positive interactions with customers, strategic events, online media and marketing, a positive image has molded around these organizations.

Why should your own public image be any different? As more and more companies depend on alternative sources of information through the hiring process, you should be concerned about the image you are portraying, intended or unintended. What message are you sending?

As an educational exercise, search for yourself using the search engine of your choice such as Google, Bing and Yahoo. For common names, you might need to place quotes around your “name” to limit your results or add a location. Look at what the results. You might find an article about you from High School where you participated in sporting events. There might be information on a blog about services you performed a local church or food bank. You might also find pictures from Spring Break where you got a little out-of-hand. There might information available through public record about an arrest or other indiscretion. How will this affect your ability to obtain a job?

There are a few things you should know. Over the last few years, the internet community has expended dramatically. In a structured agreement, Google is now working with Facebook, Twitter and other social media websites to index the items posted and list them on search engines. The more comments and “likes” you receive for a given post increases the likelihood of those items being found through a search. So, the hilarious picture of you in Cabo with your buddies is primed to receive a number of comments and likes and will be more easily found when searched. So, how do you better manage the messages you send?

First, your personal accounts on social media sites should be set to private and use a different email address than what you give to potential employers. This will help prevent some of these pesky images and inappropriate thoughts from finding their way to a potential employer or client. Search through the first few pages of Google results and determine what needs to managed out of those results.

Next, create your online, professional profile for business (see mine here). Who needs a professional profile? Anyone in business or anyone seeking employment in the future should have a professional profile setup separate from their personal profile. Just as you want to create brand awareness for your product, you want to make potential employers aware of your endeavors. Start by creating a new profile on Facebook. Tie the profile to a separate email account and find some new friends. Join up with other professional profiles of your peers, companies, and industry professionals.

Manage the message you send to potential employers by sharing items relevant to your chosen field of employment. Find articles and narratives of interest, share your thoughts on the topic and encourage others to interact on the subject. As you send out resumes, include your professional profile to encourage employers to find this information.

Your goal should be to not only prevent a negative image through online sources, but to create a positive reputation and image for your future.

Expert Social Media Marketing contact Internet Builder Consulting

Kansas City Office 816-842-7774

Article by Steve Bertasso with contributions by Robert 'Dot Com' Jackson

Social Networking Makes Users Feel More Connected Even as They Have Less Face to Face Communications

Social network users feel more connected to friends and family even as their face to face interactions dwindle, according to results of a new Harris Poll.

6 out of 10 Social Networking Users Feel More Connected
Six in 10 (59%) of social network users say they feel more connected to people now than previously. That figure is highest among 18-to-34-year-olds (63%) and females (61%). Similar percentages (58% overall, 63% of 18-to-34-year-olds, 60% of females) say they keep in touch with friends more now than in the past.

Social network users say this even as majorities admit they recently have had less face-to-face contact with friends (55%) and know what’s going on with many of their friends and acquaintances, but don’t interact with them personally or individually (60%). Negative emotional impact of this loss of personal contact appears small, as only 32% of social network users feel lonelier now than previously.

Social Networking Users Value Opinions
One key statistic for marketers to note is that 60% of social network users value the opinions others share on social media. This may explain why a little more than half (53%) would rather to listen to others’ opinions on social media than share their own. In addition, only four in 10 (41%) social network users feel important when giving brand, product and service feedback.

In all cases, 18-to-34-year-old users reply in the positive more than older age groups. Most notably, 68% of the youngest users value the opinions others share on social media and 47% feel important when giving brand, product and service feedback.

Social Networking is a Good Interface for Acquaintances
Forty-four percent of social network users would prefer to interact with acquaintances via social media rather than face-to-face. This percentage drops for interactions with friends (23%) and family (19%).
A substantially higher 59% of 18-to-34-year-old users would prefer to interact with acquaintances via social media rather than face-to-face.

9 out of 10 Online Adults Use Social Media
Nine in 10 (87%) online adults use social media. Overall, the highest percentage (22%) uses social media less than one hour per week. The highest percentage of 18-to-34-year-olds (17%) uses social media six to 10 hours per week.

Most Companies Have Social Media Strategies
Reflecting widespread adult use of social media, about three-quarters (72%) of companies currently have a social media marketing strategy, according to recent data from King Fish Media, Hubspot and Junta 42.
Of the 27% without a social media marketing strategy (1% were undecided), 80% plan to have one within the next 12 months. Furthermore, only 11% of companies without a strategy definitely do not plan to implement one in the next 12 months, with 9% undecided.

Contact Social Network Marketing Builders to Build a Professional Social Networking Marketing Campaign for your business today or call us at 816-842-7774 for a consultation.

Robert 'Dot Com' Jackson
Internet, Website and Social Networking Expert
Internet Builder Consulting - Building BETTER websites and Internet Solutions since 1995

Social Networking Usage Doubles for Older Adults & 86% of 18-29 Use Social Networking

Older Adults Double SocNet (Social Networking) Use


US adults 50 and older have increased their social networking use from 22% to 42% in the past year, according to data from the Pew Internet & American Life Project.
Half of Adults 50-64 Use SocNets

Half (47%) of internet users ages 50-64 and one in four (26%) users age 65 and older now use social networking sites.
Young adult internet users ages 18-29 continue to be the heaviest users of social networking sites like Facebook and LinkedIn, with 86% saying they use the sites.
Adults 65 and Up Double SocNet Adoption

During the past year, the growth of social networking adoption among internet users ages 18-29 paled in comparison with the gains made by older users. Between April 2009 and May 2010, internet users ages 50-64 who said they use a social networking site like MySpace, Facebook or LinkedIn grew 88%, and those ages 65 and older grew 100% in their adoption of the sites; compared with a growth rate of 13% for those ages 18-29.
Older Adults Increasingly Share Daily Updates

The use of Twitter and other services to share status updates has also grown among older users, most notably among those ages 50-64. While just 5% of users ages 50-64 had used Twitter or another status update service in 2009, 11% now say they use these tools. On a typical day, 6% of online adults ages 50-64 make Twitter a part of their routine, up from the 1% who did so in 2009.
One in five (20%) adults ages 50-64 say they use social networking sites on a typical day, up from 10% one year ago. Likewise, 13% of online adults ages 65 and older log on to social networking sites, compared with just 4% who did so in 2009.
Older Adults Maintain Interest in Email, Online News

Overall, 92% of those ages 50-64 and 89% of those ages 65 and older send or read email and more than half of each group exchanges email messages on a typical day. Online news gathering also ranks highly in the daily media habits of older adults; 76% of internet users ages 50-64 get news online, and 42% do so on a typical day. Among internet users ages 65 and older, 62% look for news online and 34% do so on a typical day.
Americans Get News on Multiple Platforms

The overwhelming majority of Americans (92%) use multiple platforms to get news on a typical day, according to other recent findings from the Pew Internet and American Life Project. Americans get their news from a combination of on- and offline sources, including national TV, local TV, the internet, local newspapers, radio, and national newspapers. Six in ten Americans (59%) get news from a combination of online and offline sources on a typical day, and the internet is now the third most popular news platform, behind local television news and national television news.

To start Social Network Marketing for your business contact Internet Builder Consulting today at 816-842-7774 or visit the Social Marketing Builders website