Some Business Rules for Social Media

Do you invite Twitter “followers” to become friends on Facebook? Or, can you link up with LinkedIn business connections on Twitter? Of course, those links are possible – but do you really want to go there? In this article, Linda explores the barriers you might want to erect in your social media meanderings.

Social vs. Business

Using "social media" implies that you want to socialize with folks. You can socialize at a pool party, and you can socialize at a Chamber of Commerce meeting – but would you socialize with those Chamber members at the pool? On the other hand, would you invite your pool party friends to a casual business social event?

To help define the difference between the pool party and casual business socializing, the word, "networking" often is used for the latter social experience – one that focuses on business. But, then you have a confusing situation with the term, "social networking."  Just what IS social networking?

Social networking, basically, is business networking in a casual atmosphere; however, you don't want that atmosphere to become so casual that your business acquaintances know your deepest and darkest secrets. What happens when that acquaintance loses a job and goes to "the other side"? Or, what if your business relies on the absence of volatile topics such as religion or politics? While those two topics might be fine to banter about with relatives or close friends, you may not want to include them in your encounters with business associates.

In this article, I'll provide you with the social networking tools that employers look at as well as provide some barriers that may help you keep your personal business from your business associates.

Where Are Employers Finding Employees?

How handy is this? A free report from Jobvite, maker of recruiting software, that reveals how recruiting professionals use social networking sites to find and vet candidates for jobs. Their answers revealed that social networks are viable channels for sourcing high-quality candidates and that they plan to increase their sourcing from these resources this year.

In many cases, recruiters are using social networking sites far more than they are using traditional methods for hiring such as job boards and third-party recruiters and search firms. But, which social networking sites are they searching through? The following image provides some clues:

In the image to the left, Jobvite asks recruiters if they use social networks or social media to support recruitment efforts. The answer is, overwhelming, yes. In the image to the right above, the social media most often used to source job applicants is LinkedIn, followed by Facebook, then Twitter, a personal blog, YouTube and MySpace in last place.

If you are seeking a job (or career), then you might heed the outline shown to the right above and use LinkedIn more often than any other social networking tool. But, you need to think about your listeners and followers – are they the same on LinkedIn as they are on Facebook? No? Then, you might want to continue to build a presence on the other social media networks as well.

The problem I have with the information above is that Jobvite is not clear on whether recruiters source applicants through Facebook personal pages or professional pages. I would think the latter, as anyone who has graphic design skills, development skills or knowledge about how to build a business can develop a Facebook Page, one that is completely devoid of personal information other than what you want to present on that Page.