Looking for a job? Make sure your personal brand is consistent.

When looking for a job, we often turn to LinkedIn as a tool.  Users are able to have their own online profile with a photo, description, previous work experience, and accomplishments. Recruiters often use the site to reach out to potential candidates and it's easy to comb through job postings and utilize your connections. But what about the other social media platforms we use every day? 

According to this article, Twitter is the "best job search tool you're not using" (Che, 2015).
While much less structured than the obvious choice, LinkedIn, "Twitter offers a strong network of people in various fields, and companies and hiring managers are increasingly sharing open positions on their accounts" (Che, 2015). By improving you're profile, participating in industry-related conversations, and creating a network of connections, you might be on your way to finding a dream job. This is especially true if that dream job happens to be in marketing or social media.  Create a  personal brand for yourself!

While LinkedIn and Twitter might help in your job search, some of your other social media accounts may do some serious damage.  Have a couple wild nights back in college?  Make sure those Facebook posts don't haunt you in your professional life.  While it may not be ethical, or the policy to look at a candidate's online presence, it has been my experience that... they do.  And who wouldn't?  Our social media profiles offer a glimpse into our lives, the unfiltered, non-suit wearing, real version of who we are. 

According to a recent study, "93% of hiring managers will review a candidate's social profile before making a hiring decision. And that review matters: 55% have reconsidered a candidate based on what they find, with most (61%) of those double-takes being negative" (Davidson, 2014). Apparently drug-related and sexual posts are among the worst offenders.  Frequent alcohol use and spelling and grammar mistakes also count against you.

My advice when looking for a job?  Delete any incriminating posts or photos and set your profile to private.  Look at your profiles from an outside perspective. Do a Google search of yourself.  What are you presenting to the world? If you happen to somehow be connected to the hiring manager's best friend and they still manage to see your profile, is it true to you and the brand you are trying to present? If not, you might want to revaluate your social media activities or the types of jobs you are applying for.

References

Che, J. (2015, Jun 6). Twitter Is The Best Job Search Tool You’re Not Using — Here’s How You Can. Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/16/twitter-job-search_n_7571260.html

Davidson, J. (2014, Oct 16). The 7 Social Media Mistakes Most Likely to Cost You a Job. Time. Retrieved from http://time.com/money/3510967/jobvite-social-media-profiles-job-applicants/

Sorry IHOP, it's going to take a little more than pancakes...

In response to Ste-Aira’s blog post on consumer-focused social media, I am in agreement. While it is important to stay true to your brand and drive traffic to your site, it is just as important to intrigue and engage your target audience. The best companies maintain this delicate balance, utilizing both a push and pull strategy on social media.

In an article posted by The Digital Marketing Institute, the author states that, “Brands need to move away from the kind of push marketing that has dominated traditional marketing for centuries. It achieves the very thing you don’t want: repelling your customers, annoying them and causing them to unfollow, unlike and disengage” (Digital marketing Institute, 2017). Rather than solely using your account as a means of shameless self-promotion, engage and interact with your followers.  This will keep them loyal to your brand.

I’ve always agreed with the 80/20 rule, which is also mentioned in the article. The rule says that 80% of your content should provide value, entertainment, or engagement to your audience and the other 20% can be about you. 

One company that does only self-promotion is IHOP.  Their twitter feed is all about the pancakes… and not much else. Well, except for waffles and omelets, and bacon.  The posts also look they are written by a twelve year-old.  While the images are enticing, (because let’s face it - who doesn’t love pancakes?), this kind of account gets really redundant and annoying after a while.  A recent post actually says “don't be mad cause we doin pancakes better than you.” Sorry, but I’ve already unfollowed you IHOP.

IHOP could offer contests, polls, nutrition info, staff stories, share user generated content, anything else but just their own photos with poorly written intros. Upon further inspection of likes and retweets, the brand’s engagement rate seems pretty low for the amount of followers, so I don’t think I’m alone in this sentiment. What do you think?

Reference

4 Signs Your Brand is a Social Media Sinner. (2017). Digital Marketing Institute. Retrieved from https://digitalmarketinginstitute.com/blog/4-signs-brand-social-media-sinner