Simplifying Social Media. For Research, Connection & Differentiation

On 5/12/10, I shared with Right Management executives in transition the following presentation titled "Simplifying Social Media. For Research, Connection & Differentiation."

I described the session as follows:

"A social media revolution is upon us, with no sign of abating. Rather than ignore it, consider embracing it and all that social has to offer you for research, connection and differentiation. Come to this presentation for a perspective on how the social media revolution has changed the business landscape and how to make sense of the tools of social media for your job search."

It shouldn't come as any surprise that I care deeply about this subject. I have infinite respect for what the tools of social media offer business people. You see, I've had the luxury of having spent sixteen corporate years in a near-constant state of recessionary operations. As a result, I developed an affinity for discovering and making use of alternative, cost effective and creative approaches so I could continue to add value in my marketing and business roles regardless of whether my budget had been approved, reduced or slashed to nothing.

That's why I love sharing my experience in these type sessions. I've discovered that the larger, more successful and established an organization and industry are, the less likely their employees are to have been exposed to new and social approaches for research, connection and differentiation... Many in transition come from those large entities. My presentation, then, represents a practical introduction to the many possibilities available.

I promised my audience to share with them the presentation and the links within. I'm hoping they go explore and experiment.

Here goes...

The presentation:

Simplifying Social Media. For Research, Connection & Differentiation

View more presentations from Simple Marketing Now LLC.

The links:

Two video clips:
+ The updated version of Social Media Revolution
+ The Breakup

For more information about Social Media Revolution, I recommend that you read Social Media: Fad or Revolution?

Social Media for Research & Connection
Remember, Google is your friend. Definitely explore these tools:
www.Google.com
www.Google.com/alerts
www.Google.com/reader
http://blogsearch.google.com

These tools are valuable for researching words, themes and topics and the blogs that cover them:
http://alltop.com
http://www.blogpulse.com/
http://technorati.com

I strongly recommend that you read this article from John Jantsch, DuctTapeMarketing, titled 7 Insanely Useful Ways To Search Twitter For Marketing. Print it out and keep it for reference.

Twitter Resources:
http://twitter.com
http://search.twitter.com
Bing.com/twitter
@username, #eventname
www.twellow.com & www.twellow.com/twellowhood/ & http://wefollow.com
http://bit.ly/
TweetDeck: download to desktop
http://wthashtag.com

For more about Twitter and getting started with social media, I recommend: How to get started with Social Media: ‘How Do I?’ series and #TalkFloor radio interview series.

[Added 5/21/10: Top CMOs on Twitter]

On the subject of communities and patients taking medical information into their own hands, I came across these four sites:

– http://www.askapatient.com/
– http://www.medhelp.org/
– http://www.patientslikeme.com/
– http://exchanges.webmd.com/default.htm?

What they highlight is that end users [patients, customers, visitors, etc.] aren't waiting for legislators and legal organizations to find the health information they need. What other similar groups and communities exist in other industries? What can you learn from them? Who might you connect with as a result?

If you are interested in taking part in a Twitter Chat, here is a link to a spreadsheet that lists details on many of those taking place.

Social Media for Differentiation
I referred to the following examples:

+ Laura Gainor's presentation on how she used social media to be considered for a position at Comet Branding. Here is the link to her Comet Branding post [yes, she got the job!].

+ Absolutely Abby - aka Abby Kohut - shared her story at the . In April 2009, she launched 'Absolutely Abby' based on the concept of the never ending interview. Blogging everyday, with a different theme per day of the week, she posts links on LinkedIn, Twitter and her Facebook Fan page to drive traffic. As a result, she published a book in January 2010.

+ Social Steve - aka Steve Goldner - does a beautiful job using LinkedIn to promote his blogposts.

For additional perspective on marketing with social media, consider reading my e-book: Social Media's Collective Wisdom: Simplifying Marketing With Social Media.

Based on the comments I received on the presentation, I gave my audience something to think about and consider as they go about doing research, connecting and differentiating themselves.

Here are a few of them: "It's a great introduction to many social media platforms." "Great training about social media." "Great overview of value, purpose and navigation of social sites." "Best way to get intro to social media." "Good introduction to a whole new world for communicating and building relationships." "Go with an open mind." "Good overview and possible uses for a variety of web tools/social media."

Here is an article you may find of interest. My friend Linsey Levine brought it to my attention: Question of the week: How should I let my network know that I'm looking for work? I like the suggested alternatives that highlight how the tools of social media enable you to share value with and add meaning for others.

What you would you add to the list?

Many thanks to my audience for participating in my session and asking so many excellent questions.

All the best to you!