Hello, All:
Social media sites are starting to converge in many ways, and you should be very strategic about how you think about and deal with this connection. It can be a very powerful tool as long as you are not turning your business connections off with what is going on at your other sites, like Facebook and Twitter. This is really just a question of consistent branding but important things to think about nonetheless. Here are a few tips on that very topic.
Profile Tips
There is a new feature on LinkedIn that allows you to update your status box on LinkedIn with your tweets on Twitter and vise versa. You can choose which of these updates goes from one site to the other. I would like to share some thoughts on this potentially powerful idea.
When I teach my class, I usually discuss this important part of your profile/home page (status box), stating that with this tool you now can do your own form of “tweeting” on LinkedIn. That being the case, I often say, “Don’t use this to tell us about your Corn Flakes for breakfast” but rather to “tweet” about business things that we, the audience, would be interested it. The best users update their status box once every day or every couple of days.
Here’s where this tool gets tricky. On Twitter, you are communicating multiple times a day and thus are talking about personal things and maybe business things as well. So it really boils down to what is your strategy for each of these tools. Both of these sites recognize that you may be using the site for both business and personal purposes, so they allow you to not automatically send every tweet (Twitter) and every status update (LinkedIn) to the other site. I love this option, and I recommend you check it out further and give it a try, keeping in mind that on LinkedIn we want to hear about business ideas, events, accomplishments, connections, articles, etc.
If you like this tool and want an even more useful tool for posting status updates to all of your online sites, including not only LinkedIn and Twitter but your blog and Facebook and others, check out HootSuite.com or Pingfm.com.
Connection Tips
While on the topic of connecting the multiple social media sites, I would like to remind you of the importance of doing just that. Think about who might be a friend with you on Facebook but who is not a connection on LinkedIn and consider requesting him/her to join your network. Since you already know this person, possibly at a “trusted” level, why not have him/her come over to the business side of your life and bring along his/her #1 and #2 connections, which become your new #2 and #3’s? You never know if those connections are going to lead you to the “million cubicle job.”
Wildcard Tip or Question
If you are in the job seeker mode or know someone who is, I highly recommend a new book that just came out called “How to Find a Job on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and other Social Networks” by Brad and Debra Schepp. This is the most comprehensive writing that I have found to date on all these “must have” tools for looking for your next position in this tough job market. You will go back to it many times. It is a great reference tool.
Miscellaneous News and Notes--
Some of the other resources I provide are:
• Customized corporate training classes
• Keynote and workshop presentations for conventions and association meetings
• Corporate social media strategy consulting
• For Sale: LinkedIn training DVDs for beginners and intermediate users
• For daily tips, follow me on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/WayneBreitbarth
Here is my upcoming schedule for teaching/speaking so you can share with friends, relatives and business associates. Follow link or paste into your browser for additional details and registration information.
Tues June 22, 2010 Wayne's LinkedIn Power Formula Training for Beginners
M&M Office Interiors; 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
http://budurl.com/sw9n
Wed July 28, 2010 Wayne's Intermediate LinkedIn Power Formula Training
M&M Office Interiors; 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
http://budurl.com/2ucd
Spend some time this week thinking about your online branding presence, and make sure that all the different sites you are using are consistent in what you are trying to accomplish. Good luck!
Wayne
Wayne C. Breitbarth
President
M&M Office Interiors, Inc.
W233 N2833 Roundy Circle West Suite 100
Pewaukee, WI 53072
office 262-781-2600
cell 414-313-7785
Great post! I highly recommend using the #fb and #in hashes to post to multiple networks SELECTIVELY.
Syndication is good, but a shotgun approach is a very dangerous thing.