The Buzz Builders Blog

Not your average notification - surprise job offer through social media

Fri, 11 May 2012 18:12:03 -0400

At a school like the University of Pennsylvania, where I just finished my second year, I often find myself looking at my peers and asking one of two questions. There are those who make me wonder, “How did you possibly get into this school?” To put it gently, these are the students who do a great job of hiding their potential. Then there are the superstars who make you ask yourself, “How did I get into this school?”—those who are raising the bar for what it means to be a successful young adult.

My friend Dan Shipper falls into the latter category, having recently developed five tech startups (could be more, I haven’t refreshed his personal website for a few minutes), and now he’s being courted by employers for his talent and eye-catching potential. But, in the world of start-ups, it isn’t simply the early bird that gets the worm. I’ve learned from recruitment stories like Dan’s that chivalry is not dead; it’s just been updated. Employers are now turning to social media sites (Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, etc.) to reach out to students they wish to hire.

Last month, 42Floors made a very public, very affectionate plea for Dan to join their team, which they blogged and posted on his Facebook page. Making this offer took guts and initiative. First of all, Dan had never applied to work at 42Floors, and so they had to find him.

Lesson one: get out there! Don’t be turned off if new talent doesn’t know they want you. Mix up the order of things. Who said you have to follow the “they apply and you accept” model?

Lesson two: be creative. Innovative people want to work with innovative companies, and this means out-of-the-box thinking. Don’t be afraid to be unconventional in your hiring practices; it might be rewarded.

Lesson three: consider going public. If all else fails, at least you’ve created a buzz and gotten your name (and your progressive attitude) out there for the world to see. This is one of many perks of using social media sites.

The public appeal by 42Floors prompted a regretful employer to utilize social media and publicly apologize to Dan for rejecting him over a year earlier. This employer heard the news of Dan’s new job offer via a Twitter post and reached Dan, like 42Floors, by blogging the apology and connecting with him on Facebook. Fortunately for the rest of you looking to hire, the company offered advice on how to avoid naively rejecting the next Mark Zuckerbergs and Dan Shippers, if you are lucky enough to have them apply.

How would you react to receiving a job offer through a social media site? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

It's Not Goodbye, It's Tweet You Later!

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 13:25:45 -0400

by: Shelley Ross

Walking into Likeable Media is unlike any typical office. On the very first day, and every day since, I’ve found myself in a bright orange room full of friendly smiles, laughter and greetings. Everyone is happy to be there, no matter how tired they are or what mood they’re in. Everyone is exploring social media platforms, engaging fans in client pages and creating likeable buzz. As the semester now comes to a close, we can reflect on how much we’ve learned- and it’s overwhelming to realize how much that is!

“Not an intern”- a Buzz Builder; an innovative, problem solving, social media thought leader. For the past 4 months, I’ve had the amazing experience of being a Buzz Builder at Likeable. Likeable encourages us to not just be a social media follower, but rather to be an original, thought provoking influencer. They also encourage us to persevere with even our craziest goals.

Over the past four months, the 77 of us Buzz Builders- between the Boston and New York offices- have been inspired to use the Likeable core values of passion, drive, transparency and thought leadership. Likeable’s environment has encouraged us to be creative but conscientious. We’ve learned how to appropriately represent brands, create engaging content and to always encourage customer feedback. Whether it’s positive or negative, feedback is essential for a successful brand. We’ve learned to manage social media presence for clients, report and analyze social media, and respond to fans from the company’s perspective.

I am sad the semester of being a Buzz Builder is over, but grateful for everything I’ve learned and all the inspiring people I’ve met. Likeable Media has a truly amazing community where I don’t feel like I’m leaving the office, even though I physically am. The semester may be over, but thanks to the wonderful world of social media I know that everyone at Likeable will be constantly in contact with each other. It’s not goodbye, just tweet you later!

What else have you learned this semester? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Branding Moments

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 13:48:00 -0400

By Alyssa Storm @alyssamstorm

Last week I had the opportunity to meet Brad Blake, VP of Social Media Strategy at Hill Holliday. Mr. Blake’s whole presentation was very engaging, but one specific point he made has stuck with me:

Customers do not distinguish between your company’s different divisions when they assess it as a whole. Your customer service, marketing/advertising, Facebook statuses, tweets etc. are all given the same weight when people form their opinions. You’ve likely heard about the importance of branding before, but may not have realized that all these elements come into play.

Strict divisions a company may internally leave many customers feeling frustrated and confused. If a fan or disgruntled customer has taken the time to track you down on Facebook or twitter, asks their question and awaits your answer they expect a response, not a referral. In many consumers’ minds, social media is more than a fun way to interact - it’s just as credible a platform to communicate with your brand as the customer service hotline. People don’t understand why they’ve finally connected with the company, yet the representative they’re speaking to redirects them to a different department, or worse, doesn’t respond at all.

Yet marketing research shows that the majority of people don’t expect a brand to respond! This means that even a basic apology for an experience they’re upset about will elicit a positive reaction.

Approach each comment or question as an opportunity. If it’s not your area of expertise, be as proactive as possible in finding the information they’re after; communicate with the branch that normally handles their type of issue and relay the answer back.

Overall, the public’s negative perceptions of corporations provides great opportunity. You can make a positive impact and possibly change someone’s mind about your company if you view every interaction as a branding moment. Surprise and delight!

Have you ever been able to turn a negative situation around and appease an angry customer? What are your experiences when interacting with customers and representing your brand? Share in the comments!

Community Management's Crystal Ball

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 13:37:00 -0400

By Anne Hurst

You visit a department store. You need help finding the perfect pair of shoes to compliment your trendy outfit for your birthday dinner. An energetic sales associate asks you if she can assist you. You tell her your situation, describe your outfit, and the sales associate provides several fashionable options for footwear. You find the perfect shoes, and happy birthday to you!

This isn’t the case when you visit a Facebook page. When you go to a brand’s page seeking customer service, your questions and comments may or may not be answered by the company. If they do answer, do you even know exactly who wrote back to your comment? A customer service rep? A publicist? A coffee-fetching intern?

Maybe it’s time for Facebook to make customer service more personable. Facebook has always strived to make its interface more innovative and user friendly, so why not enable brands to make their community managers more transparent? For the customer’s sake it would be beneficial to tear down the mysterious voice behind the Facebook curtain.

Several brands already strive to be transparent in their community management within the limitations of Facebook’s current user interface. Some companies have brand representatives leave their initials or an email address to make their responses more personal. Other brand pages include photos and very brief bios of their community managers.

But to take transparency a step further, Facebook could allow brands to respond as people… instead of corporations. For example, McDonald’s would not anonymously respond to your suggestion about creating a new type of burger. Rather, the name and face of “Camille from McDonald’s” could answer your inquiries. Customers can then look at the “community management” tab on the brand page and see a short video of Camille, showcasing her personality, much like a customer can see the personalities of sales associates in a store. By the video’s perky nature and her demonstrated product development experience, the customer can completely understand why Camille would happily pass along the idea to the higher-ups at McDonald’s. Customers can also see the specialties and personalities of other McDonald’s community managers, perhaps so that they could address their Facebook inquiries to a specific person.

It is unknown whether or not this type of personalization could be the future of community management. One thing that can be said is that people like to know who they are speaking to, offline and online. So does Facebook really need to protect corporations by keeping brands less personal?

How do you think Facebook could make the voices behind brands more transparent? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Internet Is Empowering Television, Not Killing It

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 11:10:21 -0400

By: Pavel Konoplenko

As new technology emerges, there’s always a threat that it will overtake the technology that preceded it. Video killed the radio star, DVDs killed VHS, Blu-Ray is killing DVDs, and high-quality streaming HD will one day render Blu-Ray obsolete (although vinyls will never die). So the Internet will one day kill television, right? Maybe years down the line, but for now, the Internet – along with the prevalence of social media – is making television bigger and stronger than it’s ever been.

As high-speed Internet and smartphone use spreads, more and more of the population will be connected online. This interconnectedness, spearheaded by social media, is transforming television into something greater. Here are six reasons how the Internet is empowering television.

1. Convenience

The Internet is making TV more convenient for viewers by allowing us to watch what we want, when we want. As more and more programs appear on the Internet, along with the ability to purchase episodes from the iTunes store, we no longer have to worry about missing our favorite program. You can also watch as many times as you like, whether from your laptop, your phone, or stream it to your TV. We carry our music with us, now we can take shows with us, too.

2. Simplicity

The Internet simplifies the experience of watching video. Browsing and bookmarking is more convenient on the Internet than on a TV using a TV remote. Numbers aren’t intuitive for us, words are – when you have 500 channels, how many of those can you name of the top of your head?

3. Stronger Community

Social networks have fueled the growth of communities of fans who share the same interests. We identify with people who have related interests, and TV shows, movies, and music are one of the most basic cultural similarities we share – how many times have you been asked what shows or movies you watch? These communities are bringing people together, allowing them to watch shows in groups. People love commenting and sharing their opinions (just check YouTube comments) and social media has created a second screen dedicated to commenting and engaging. Prior to the dominance of social media, fans could only dream of the engagement with others now available while they watch TV.

4. Meaningful Engagement

Not only does social media make fan communities possible, it allows the community to engage with the TV program; however, the TV show must engage in return. Social media also allows for fans to get involved with the program through voting and contests. A few months ago, the NBA allowed fans to vote on the winner of the Slam Dunk contest, creating a community of viewers using a Twitter hashtag. Creating a genuine relationship with viewers will ultimately create loyal fans and allow the show to deliver better, more suitable content.

5. Improved Analytics

Before the advent of the Internet and social media, TV networks had very few tools to measure the popularity and reach of a show, namely the Nielsen rating. As more shows embrace the Internet and social media, they’ll be able to accurately view everything from how much traffic and views their shows are generating, to how many people are talking about and engaging the show. These analytics help accurately determine the success of the show, and help deliver programs viewers really want.

6. Benefit to advertisers

The improved analytics are great for advertisers as well, as they can now engage with the right audience in a more meaningful, interactive way. We’ll start to see fewer ads and fewer interruptions, making us a lot happier. Teenagers will no longer have to watch advertisements for life insurance because the main demographic of the show happens to be older adults, and that means no wasted time and money. The improved analytics and increased relevancy will ultimately increase the ROI for businesses sponsoring our favorite shows.

What do you think the future holds for television? Share your thoughts in the comments!

4 Ways to Make Your LinkedIn Profile More Attractive to Employers

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 14:49:42 -0400

By Andrea Proulx

With over 147 million users on LinkedIn, and employers actively seeking potential job candidates through social media platforms, it is important to use your LinkedIn profile to your advantage and utilize all of its features wisely. Here are 4 simple ways you can use your LinkedIn profile to it’s full potential and appear more valuable to employers.

1. Be Professional and Unique

Keeping your LinkedIn free of spelling and grammar errors is a given, but there are a few sections of your profile that allow you to make a good impression and sell yourself.

Profile Picture: Because your user picture is the first thing people will see on your profile, it is important to keep it professional. Your picture should be cropped to capture your head and shoulders only and clothing should be conservative.

Headline: Your headline is the short little blurb under your name and is the only customizable personal information that appears in search results. Make sure it is targeted, unique, and memorable.

Summary: Take full advantage of the 1999 character count in the summary section! There is no need to list all of your work and educational experiences one after another in this section (jobs and descriptions are further down the page). Instead, use this section to highlight some important skills, extracurriculars, and non-work related information like passions and hobbies. Most importantly, make sure your summary section makes your reader want to continue learning about you.

2. Connections, Connections, Connections!

The more connection you have, the larger your network will become, and a large network provides you with a large benefit in the future. Search for classmates, past and present, teachers, and those you meet at networking/ social events and ADD THEM! You’ve probably heard before that it is not a good idea to connect with compete strangers, and that’s correct. However, do not hesitate to connect with people you don’t know well. Don’t be shy; everyone is on LinkedIn to increase his or her professional network.

3. Be Detailed

Think of your LinkedIn profile as an elaboration of your resume. A resume must be clear and concise and space is limited. The beauty of a LinkedIn profile is that you can go into detail about your jobs, internships, education, projects, etc. without worrying about a page limit. Education and dated jobs that did not quite make the cut for your resume should be added to your LinkedIn profile.

4. Ask for Recommendations

Asking for recommendations on LinkedIn completes your profile and gives you credibility. The most valuable recommendations come from those who you were employed under directly, such as a boss or manager. It is also useful to ask from recommendations from co-workers who have witnessed your hard work first hand. If you are just getting started and the previous two are not options at the moment, recommendations from friends or family members who you’ve impressed will suffice.

Do you think having a complete LinkedIn profile makes you a more desirable candidate for a job? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Check out #LetsGo’s multilungual video made for the Spring...

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 13:25:57 -0400

Check out #LetsGo’s multilungual video made for the Spring 2012 Buzz Builder Video Contest

Check out this Apprentice spin off that #TeamHRNYC made for the...

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 11:18:34 -0400

Check out this Apprentice spin off that #TeamHRNYC made for the Spring 2012 Buzz Builder Video Contest

Essential Smartphone Apps

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 13:37:20 -0400

By: Lindsay Gonsiorowski

These ten smartphone applications will help you in your day-to-day organization, budgeting, shopping, translating, converting, and more! Whether you are presenting a PowerPoint slideshow or at a struggle for words out of the country, these apps will help you accomplish tasks with greater efficiency and ease. Although some of the apps that made my “Essential Smartphone Apps” list are not free, their utility will surely pay for themselves.

1. GoogleVoice

Cost: Free iPhone, Android

GoogleVoice allows you to make cheap international calls at Google Voice rates, send free unlimited text messages, and even sift through voicemails left at your Google Voice number, all for free.

2. Mint

Cost: Free iPhone, Android

Mint brings all your financial accounts together online or on your mobile device, automatically categorizes your transactions, lets you set budgets and helps you achieve your savings goals. Users can set up email or text alerts for budgets, fees, due dates, and low balances. In combination with Mint.com, users can view graphs and visuals of spending for the month or over a longer time period.

3. Pulse

Cost: Free iPhone, Android

Do you like to catch up on the day’s news and trends? Now you can in one place! Users can put together a personalized homepage (or five different swipeable pages) of many popular sources like Mashable, Time, Salon, Gawker, Politico, and even Digital Trends. By swiping through thumbnails of stories from various chosen sources, users find interesting articles to read within a visually stimulating app.

4. HNHSoft 2Go Talking Phrase Books

Cost: $19.99–29.99 BlackBerry, iPhone

Read and listen to phrase translations from English to many foreign languages. Translations available in a wide range of languages, including Spanish, French, Russian, Japanese and Korean, among others. Good news! Since these translators run fully from your iPhone or BlackBerry, you won’t have to rely on data connections abroad.

5. WorldMate Live

Cost: Free BlackBerry, iPhone

A jack of all trades for travelers, WorldMate converts currency based on current exchange rates, stores your flight itinerary, forecasts weather, and references time zones, among performing other useful tasks.

6. HipMunk

Cost: Free iPhone, Android

Hipmunk takes the agony out of flight & hotel search. With Hipmunk you’ll see all the relevant flights on a timeline, helping you visualize the right choice.

7. WiFi Finder, v2

Cost: Free iPhone

WiFi Finder will locate and display the free and pay required Wi-Fi hotspots nearest to you. This app conveniently filters by location, so you can determine if you’d rather use the Internet in a nearby library or Starbucks. Users can also search paid, free, or all available Wi-Fi, which are pulled from a database of 545,000 locations internationally.

8. Lemon

Cost: Free iPhone, Android

This application is more than just a receipt organizer. With Lemon, you can quickly scan and catalogue your receipts and even use the date on those receipts to chart your spending at specific retailers in a given period of time.

9. CraigsPro+

Cost: $1.99 iPhone

CraigsPro+ gives you a leg up on the competition by letting you set up Search Agents that buzz your phone with push messages as soon as an item you’ve been searching for has been posted. Although you only receive 50 of these search alerts with your purchase, more alerts can be bought for just a tenth of a cent apiece!

10. i-Clickr PowerPoint Remote

Cost: $9.99 iPhone

Go beyond those annoying PowerPoint slide clickers with this featured remote. Swipe forward and back to specific slides while leaving your eyes on the audience, then glance down to preview upcoming slides and see your talking points on-screen.

Do you think some applications are overpriced? What other useful applications do you use? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

How Nas Became A Social Media @RapGenius

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 15:53:25 -0400

By Pavel Konoplenko

Social media’s benefit to business has been recognized by many. However, social media can be leveraged not just by business brands, but also by artistic, personal, or altruistic brands. Find out how acclaimed hip-hop artist, Nas, successfully used the power of social media through a popular music blog, Rap Genius, to promote his brand and deliver value to his fans.

Some Knowledge

· Nas, real name Nasir Jones, is a musician hailing from Queensbridge, New York, who became a star of East Coast rap and a hip-hop legend. He rose to fame with his 1994 release of the critically-acclaimed Illmatic, which to this day isone of the greatest hip-hop masterpieces ever. His successive, Platinum-selling albums have further cemented his legacy as one of the best rappers of all time.

· Rap Genius is a music community and blog launched in 2009 “dedicated to the explanation and interpretation of hip-hop music”; its purpose is to “…critique rap as poetry.” [1] It’s similar to Wikipedia in its collaborative nature in which any user can add explanations to the song’s lyrics – such as deciphering references and analyzing metaphors. Rap Genius has a strong social media presence, with 104K likes and 12K users talking about it on Facebook and 24K followers on Twitter. Through three years of quality content and engagement, Rap Genius became a hub for any hip-hop fan.

A triangle of value

As I discussed in an earlier blog post, a tenet of successful relationships is the mutual added value. Here’s how Nas + Rap Genius = Value For Everyone:

1) Benefit to Nas - getting his name promoted on a highly popular blog.

2) Benefit to Rap Genius - added exposure, credibility, and traffic.

3) Benefit to the fans - more quality content and artistic insight.

How it was done

Verified accounts - Nas created a verified account on Rap Genius and explained some of his lyrics from his original perspective. Sharing the intended meaning of his lyrics not only increases the accuracy of Rap Genius, but also gives fans a behind-the-scenes look into his music. In the same way that a business should aim to humanize their brand by sharing stories, Nas shared the stories that exist within his music.

Surprise - Nas surprised his fans by releasing the lyrics exclusively to Rap Genius to his latest single “The Don” before releasing the actual song. This unprecedented move allowed fans and followers of Rap Genius to get an early glimpse at the track before it was released to the general public.

Delight – Nas provided exclusive commentary to his music by providing details to his songs and how they related to his life. For hip-hop fans, it’s the equivalent of getting a free copy of the director’s and actor’s commentary to their favorite movie.

Contest - In addition, Rap Genius hosted a contest that gave up-and-coming musicians an opportunity to create their own song using Nas’ lyrics. The contest allowed fans to get engaged with the blog and Nas’ music. Contests work great for businesses because it gets the customers excited and involved, much like hip-hop fans got excited by this one.

Recognition - Finally, Nas showed some serious recognition for his biggest brand advocates. The editors at Rap Genius are very passionate hip-hop fans, and it’s no secret that they hold Nas in a very high esteem. A business creates loyal customers through recognition of their customers; much like Nas was able to do by recognizing the positive impact Rap Genius has on the hip-hop community. One Love.

Do you know any other musicians who successfully leveraged social media? Share in the comments in the comments below!

P.S. You can also check out what Nas himself said on his contributions to Rap Genius.

Check out this “Call Me Maybe” spin-off lip-sync...

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 14:04:45 -0400

Check out this “Call Me Maybe” spin-off lip-sync video that team #BOSopps put together for the Spring 2012 Buzz Builder video contest!

Social Engagement Leading to Political Power

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 13:49:00 -0400

By Meghan Crozier

It was during the 2008 presidental election that social media made its mark and showed us that there is a way for internet users to voice their opinion, organize their ideas and offer support. Social media outlets, including Facebook have grown so much in these past 3 years and everyone is certainly paying attention. This includes everyone from politicians to attorney marketers; social media has given the average citizen a new voice leaving the governement officials only an ear shot away.

Where does this leap forward in social media leave the typical target audience of politicians? The country saw first hand in the last election that President Obama heavily pursued the younger demographic, this generation (18 to 35 years old) is the largest group of social media users. Statistics show that the median age of viewers for TV evening news is about 63 years old, and it is safe to say that they may not be using the internet as their largest source of daily news. As the younger generation relies heavily on social media and other internet sources for all of their information, and with the structure of social media, it is unfortunate that much of the information they absorb is skewed as it’s exchanged with others. Over the internet people are itching to put their 2 cents in along with the content, making for a lean toward one side or another.

In terms of voting, social media, internet and web video mainly provides a medium for dialog between many of the swing voters and candidates. This allows the candidates to concentrate on their swing voters who are still tugging at the ropes of their choices, which is great for close elections. They can focus on swing voters without influencing the majority of voters they’ve already locked on, which is reassuring and effective. In a campaign the internet also allows for a lot of description and fine tuning as well as excessive focus on particular voters.

There remains a large risk for candidates attempting to gain an edge using social media however, due to the information overload and comprehension. Misinterpretation and misunderstanding are bound to occur, because society lives in fast forward. How often does someone watch the full video or read the whole article? All it takes is for someone to pass along something out of context or misinterpreted information from a snippet to cause confusion.

If we’re talking costs, this is the obvious benefit of an online campaign. Saving excessively compared to paying television stations to run ads. “A recent study conducted by SocialVibe found that 94% of social media users of voting age observe political content, and 39% of them share with about 130 of their friends online” (Samit, 2011). These findings are no shocker as today’s families are more likely to share interesting news articles with one-another via Facebook, email or text than they are to watch the nightly news together.

Social media will certainly play a vital role in determining the 2012 election. It will be Facebook friends, not the evening news, that will inform most of us. Candidates are left no choice and must effectively engage in the social sphere to remain competitive. Tapping into the right base of users could literally make or break a political campaign.

Do you believe in the power of social media during for politics? Share your thoughts in the comments!

What Social Recruiting Can Do for You...

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 09:47:55 -0400

By Akanke Small

It’s that time of year again! The temperatures are rising, the trees are blooming, and the days are getting longer – all of which can only mean one thing: Spring is just around the bend! For many college seniors though, the joy normally associated with summer’s arrival is being slowly tempered with the anxieties of entering the “real world” and facing all the other mysteries of post-college life, the most important of which is finding a job.

However, at Likeable Media not only are we well aware of social media’s power to impact our personal lives for the better, connecting us with friends, family and organizations we love, we’re also aware of how it can influence our professional lives as well. There’s been a growing trend in companies engaging in “social recruiting”, i.e., using social media to post jobs and find and hire candidates. That’s right folks, social media could actually help you land your next job!

Now before you waste hours making celebratory memes on Facebook or excitedly pinning your future luxury vacations on Pinterest, there’s some basics you have to know. In 2010 CareerBuilder.com conducted a survey of more than 2,500 employers. Of the 35 percent of companies that reported using social media in some way to promote their company, about 21 percent said they used it as a recruitment tool. According to the HR blog, blogging4jobs.com, another survey conducted by the social job board, TweetMyJobs, 45% of companies are planning to invest more in Social Recruiting in 2012. So now that you know the numbers, here are the places to look.

1. LinkedIn

Ok, so maybe that’s a given. But have you ever really used it for more than just adding people to your professional network? (No, you say? We thought so.) One of LinkedIn’s cool features is that like Facebook, you can join groups and organizations – your high school and college’s regional and national alumni groups are great examples. Not only can joining these groups help you keep track of what your connections are doing now, often times your fellow alums post questions to the group asking for references and referrals on behalf of their companies. Another sweet feature on LinkedIn is very reminiscent of Twitter: the ability to follow companies. In addition to hosting intense discussions, posting articles relevant to their industries, and describing the services and products they offer, these companies may also update their followers on job openings.

2. Facebook

Probably one of the best technological advances of the 21st century, and we’re not even halfway through it! Since its days as an Ivy League-only communication site less than a decade ago, this social networking powerhouse has grown tremendously. In addition to staying in touch with friends and family, users can subscribe to their favorite brands to show their interest, loyalty and appreciation. The flipside to this is that brands sometimes open up to their fan base with status updates advertising job openings. Just the other day on my own newsfeed I came across two brands that posted statuses asking qualified fans to submit applications for job openings.

3. Twitter

Another popular social media machine, Twitter has also proven itself to be a valuable recruiting tool. A few months ago, a friend suggested that I follow @BostonTweet. He occassionally asks about job availabilities and then retweets the responses to his followers (all 51,000 of them).

As well, there’s been another recent development in Facebook-based recruiting. Last October, Facebook partnered with the U.S. Department of Labor, the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) and other national employment and workforce agencies to create the “Social Jobs Partnership”. The partnership is a program which aims to leverage social networks to help employers tap into the well of Americans who are currently looking for jobs.

4. The Newbies

There are probably other social recruiting sites out there that aren’t even on your radar like TweetMyJobs. Mentioned earlier, employers submit their position openings to TweetMyJobs. Job seekers submit their job, industry and location preferences, as well as the preferred method of communication (email, phone, or Twitter); then, TMJ finds matches. So far lots of large companies like Wendy’s, Discover, Tiffany & Co., and City National Bank, are recruiting via TweetMyJobs. In addition, TMJ also boasts a public-private partnership that mirrors Facebook’s Social Jobs Partnership. Working with the city-governments of Newark, NJ and Atlanta, GA, TMJ powers those local networks’ platforms by helping connect employers with people looking for work in those areas.

Bottom line: Social recruiting is real and it’s here now. Companies are beginning to see the value in reaching out to their fans for their job openings. Why? Well who else would be more loyal to and enthusiastic about them than their fans? (If we weren’t, we wouldn’t “Like” them now would we? We do it because we care!) In essence, to borrow from (and perhaps even butcher) an idea made famous by former president John F. Kennedy, the growth in social recruiting platforms and strategies is a really good thing for one reason: it allows you to ask not what you can do for your beloved brands, but this time, what can your favorite brands do for you?

What can your favorite brands do for you? Hiring you is a start - wouldn’t you agree? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Check out this video entry from Team #Megabuzz for Likeable...

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 14:17:45 -0400

Check out this video entry from Team #Megabuzz for Likeable Media’s Spring 2012 Buzz Builder video contest!

Write Like You Speak

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 10:24:40 -0400

By: Alyssa Storm

Lets get to the point: clean, simple writing is the best kind. I won’t get as extreme as my Dad and say that commas are a sign of weakness. He’s torn many of my papers apart claiming I must reword the sentence if I use one. But I argue that ideas stated concisely and in plain language are underrated!

Sometimes when I crack a textbook, I’m flooded with words so big they haven’t yet made it into my native English speaker vocabulary. I read sentences so long they’d be labeled shameful run ons by any of my COM professors. So why do the same people who lecture us about clear communication try to sound like they’re the offspring of a Webster dictionary and a nuclear physicist in their own work? I’ve often wondered.

Here is an actual sentence from my required Cognitive Psychology book:

Say what? Oh yeah, sure. I reasoned that too…no really, what the *@#^! does that mean? I’m trying to learn here and paying a lot of money to do it!

Ohhhh, I got it. Maybe by the third time through. But that’s the thing: people don’t have time to read your jargon over and over to process what you’re actually saying. Nor do they want to. They’ll speed through the text but tune out the meaning. Sorry if you think I’m slow, but my highly-educated by a top notch, award winning high school then nationally ranked university 21-year-old cerebrum did not comprehend that extraneously long sentence because I reasoned that it was a bit preposterous about half way through and aforementioned brain shut down a little bit in the process of trying to read it, let alone understand it. See- was that last sentence likeable?

Marketers take note: don’t waste your dollars on advertising messages that an average to intelligent consumer can’t understand. Keep it simple. And why not make it social?

If you want to engage people, take a hint from the social media world (Just not the grammatically incorrect, sloppily spell-checked posts please! That’s also a sin.)

Casual language is effective because it’s more relatable.

Warren Buffett knows what’s up. I leave you with his wise words, “Too often, I’ve been unable to decipher just what is being said or, worse yet, had to conclude that nothing was being said. Write like you speak.”

More than just a financial wizard; an effective communicator.

Do you agree keeping it simple is a great way to engage through social media? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

CONGRATS to the Buzz Builder Spring 2012 video contest...

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 16:32:31 -0400

CONGRATS to the Buzz Builder Spring 2012 video contest winners!

Shout out to members of LIKEABO$$ Onur HasbayMelissa Reohr MJ Dickerson Alfredo Gil on Dan Bergeron’s team

Here’s a side note from them:

As Likeabo$$ team, we wanted to make something unique and creative for this video challenge. Our goal was to show the enthusiasm of buzzbuilders as well as represent the Likeable Media as a brand. In this video we used stop motion technique which means the video is not a continuous shot. It is made up of near 1500 individual photos. As you may guess, stop motion takes a lot of time and effort; however we were still able to manage to complete our video by March 4th. After watching the video if you are feeling likeable and can’t resist to watch it again, then we have completed our task successfully.

The Best Business Strategy: Relationships

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 14:34:00 -0400

By Pavel Konoplenko

Social media’s ability to strengthen and develop relationships between people has driven its growth and prevalence. As more businesses become involved, a plethora of resources – blogs, white papers, articles, and websites – have emerged to help companies leverage all these new networks. However, a narrow focus on social media obscures the fact that its success is a process of relationship-building and communication, not an overnight gimmick or shortcut. Even worse, this isolated emphasis can even overshadow business basics. Knowing the seven ways to increase your click-through rate is beneficial, but worthless long-term without understanding the bigger picture of your business – and business in general.

The act of doing business itself is a relationship; a bond between consumer and producer, customer and company, buyer and seller. It’s essential to understand business – and social media’s role in it – from the context of relationships because that’s the only way to leverage social media’s full value - social media offers an unprecedented way to connect and build relationships. We are all familiar with more personal relationships – whether they’re friendly, familial, or romantic – and the relationship between customer and business is no different. Here are 5 aspects of great personal relationships that must exist in order for a business to succeed.

1. The core of a successful relationship is the mutual exchange of added value. A business wants your time and money, and you want their product. If you value your time and money a lot more than their product, it’s not going to work out. You want the relationship to be equal; no one wants to contribute and invest more than the other person. It’s unhealthy to remain in a relationship where the other person doesn’t provide reciprocal value and positive emotion.

2. Emotion brings up a valuable point; the strength of a relationship is dependent on the emotional bond. We can never rationally explain why our best friends are our best friends, or why we’re attracted to our partners. They evoke positive emotions and add value to the time spent together: it just feels right. Brands have to elicit an emotional connection with their fans as well. We all know that fanboy who swears by the brand even in the face of a contradicting argument, because emotion almost always trumps rational facts. Always remember, your favorite people are those that make you smile the most; same with brands.

3. As the focus on social media engagement is at its highest, the importance of the final product has never been greater. The business must deliver value on its side of the relationship if they want their customers to invest time and money in return. Delivering a disappointing product is like breaking a promise, and we all know broken promises will quickly ruin any relationship. However, the good news for a socially engaged company is that by listening, they would quickly discover the customers’ dissatisfaction and will use their feedback to effectively improve the product.

4. To build on the previous point, actions always speak louder than words in any relationship – sorries don’t mean much when you keep doing the same thing. Having a pretty cover photo and well-designed tabs with a terrible product is like meeting an attractive person without a personality – it’s nice and all that, but when there’s no substance, it’s not worth our investment to continue spending time with them. Perform actions as a company which build an irresistible product, culture, and brand and use social media to have the conversation. But it’s always doing first; seeing is a lot better than just hearing from the business.

5. Surprise and delight – it works in business because it works in relationships. Being there for your friend when they least expect is important because it shows empathy and understanding. Surprising and delighting the customer shows that the business cares about them even when they’re not making a business transaction. A business must also appreciate their customers as loyal brand advocates and give them recognition. You wouldn’t introduce a person you’re dating as just a “friend” (and if you would, shame on you), so recognize your customers as something more than just a source of revenue, and truly show it! Social media gives you an easy and accessible channel through which the business can show attention and recognition.

Remember, if you want to rise to the top, focus on people and relationships with them; if you want to stay at the bottom, focus only on the bottom line.

Agree or disagree? Have any similarities you want to add? Share you thoughts in the comments below!

Only IPO’s Deal in Absolutes.

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 12:45:06 -0400

By Adam Lichtenstein

Facebook went public and e-marketing came along for the ride. In a relatively short time social media has gone from viable tool to integral marketing practice.

As brands start snatching up all that is social, the top platforms are watching their ceilings rise. Thus marking social media’s official assent into the world of big business.

Integrating with other platforms was an option, but why partner when you can purchase? With such astronomical budgets, it’s hard to imagine a Facebook/Twitter not trying to assimilate the potential competition. Is this how it begins? Have companies like Posterous, Rapportive, & GazeHawk joined the ‘Dark Side’?

Twitter Buys Posterous

LinkedIn Buys Rapportive

Facebook Buys GazeHawk

Social media has always maintained an entrepreneurial spirit, but this new trend could end the happy-go-lucky streak for e-branding. How will this affect the culture of social media? If ‘making it’ becomes being bought by LinkedIn than why even try?

Will social media maintain its current level of creativity in innovation or will more sinister forces prevail? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

4 Steps of Facebook Therapy

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 10:14:29 -0400

By: Anne Hurst

Facebook is the website that we love to hate. We check it regularly, yet hate how much time it takes up in our lives. Even worse, 45% of us say that Facebook brings out our inner stalker. Is there a way we can avoid getting distracted on Facebook? Is it time to check-in to Facebook Therapy?

If you admit that you spend a little too much time on Facebook, try these four steps towards a healthy social media existence.

1) Clean your friends list. Chances of you actually needing to contact certain people on your friends list are slim to none. A good rule of thumb is to stay Facebook friends with people who you would actually be interested in speaking to if you came across them in everyday life. Otherwise, adios. You don’t need the clutter on your news feed. Plus, do you really care that a kid on your elementary school soccer team recently got promoted to assistant store manager at Burger King?

2) Filter your news feed. You’ve probably realized that there are some people you genuinely need to stay connected to, but still aren’t interested in on a regular basis. Take full advantage of Facebook’s subscribe/unsubscribe feature. It will clear your news feed for only the updates that are truly relevant to your life.

3) Change your password. Most of us probably log into Facebook without even thinking about it. To control your intake, change your password to a random assortment of numbers and letters. Write it down on a piece of paper, and hide it somewhere out of the way, be it in a bookshelf, under your pillow, etc. Having to get up and find your password each time you log in makes you more aware of your Facebook usage.

4) Live your life. Facebook will always be there, but opportunities in life can pass you by. Just because you don’t spend your time taking pictures of your life and posting them on Facebook doesn’t mean you aren’t social. In fact, you’re probably living in the moment more and not caring about making a show of your life. That’s perfectly fine!

Facebook can be an excellent accessory to your life. Make it your friend, not your crutch—and put away your inner stalker for good!

How do you avoid spending too much time on Facebook? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Path: The Storytelling App

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 12:48:00 -0400

By: Jon El Kordi-Hubbard

In a market filled with social networks and applications, creating a new idea for a product can be difficult. Yet if the idea re-innovates an old concept, it potentially can have the chance to enter the marketplace. In my personal opinion, Path achieves this goal of innovation. Created by former Facebook employee, Dave Morin, Path has recently hit the 1 million-user mark. Being a relatively new app, Path has plenty of room to grow and increase its user base. It is labeled as the “smart journal that lets users tell stories” creating an authentic experience with friends and family that sign up for the application. How is the experience authentic?

Dave Morin, the creator of Path, took the exact opposite approach from Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook. Rather than making the world a more open place, Path wants to make it a more private experience. Path only allows users to have up to 150 friends to create a more personal and intimate network. The Path team’s goal is “to create an experience that is trustworthy, warm, and loving.” So how exactly does the app work?

Path chronicles days and moments through a life timeline, and shares these moments with friends at specific times. The moments can be “location-based” like Foursquare, with photos like Instragram, or as personal notes that users can save for later.

Path is fully integrated with Foursquare, Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr. So users can specifically choose where and with who they would like to share their moments.

Path also has a full emotion sets like happy, sad, excited, and love.

You can too share what music you are listening to from the iTunes integration, or listen to 30-second samples from songs of friends.

The cover photo (as shown in the first picture) is very similar to Facebook’s Timeline. It is a wallpaper for your own Path. Path also can give automatic GPS location updates to recognize that you have traveled. For example if you board a plan in San Francisco and arrive in New York, Path will recognize that you have traveled via plane.

Path is a wonderful application to share your whereabouts with close friends and family members. As Dave Morin says, “it helps share life with the ones you love.” It is true that mobile phones are personal devices, so maybe the apps should be as well. I highly recommend Path for everybody.

What are your thoughts on the app Path? Would you, or have you, already used it? Share your thoughts in the comments below!