Social Media – What’s the Real Point of it All?

The key to making any social media site work for you so you can become memorable is to use the site regularly. That means posting something, either an update or a question/answer, every seven days at a minimum. Why? Because the more you use any social media site, the higher your “Google Juice” will be—in other words, Google’s algorithm will notice your regularity and you’ll get a higher ranking with Google than you would otherwise. Additionally, the more you interact and post on these sites, the more prominent you’ll become within your network—your name recognition in your industry will grow.

Remember that these days, people will look you or your company up online. That’s why you want a positive presence in the social media scene. For example, in 2008, I Googled one of my executive coaching clients Steve, a petroleum engineer, and got six results. Today I Googled his name in quotes with the words “Oil and Gas” after it, and I saw 475 results. All he did was put up a LinkedIn page, offer his expertise to others, and speak on his specialty in the US and Canada.

Even if you are an engineer, scientist, or doctor and already work over 60 hours a week, you still need to be present in the virtual world. If you can just pick one thing to do, pick LinkedIn. Then join a couple of groups so people with like minds can see what you are all about. If you have a recent article, post it. You don’t have to spend more than 30 to 60 minutes a week to at least be visible.

For aggressive, results-oriented business leaders, staying active on LinkedIn in particular is of paramount importance because you always want have an eye out for top talent. Realize that currently there are over 90 million LinkedIn users worldwide. One new user joins every second of every day. And unlike social media sites like Facebook where many people use the site for entertainment, all LinkedIn users are business minded. That means the connections you develop on LinkedIn are more likely to positively impact you or your company in some way, whether it’s now or in the future. Therefore, if you want better or more professional business relationships, LinkedIn is the place to be. Even if you have a business profile on Facebook and Twitter, LinkedIn makes a perfect addition to your personal or business branding efforts.

 

Social Media – Have a Clear Purpose

The following is the third in a series on social media.

Many people think they’re going to get business from being on social media sites. While you can get business from your online activities, this shouldn’t be your ultimate purpose. Rather, your purpose should be to make people aware of who you are by sharing your expertise.

Any business networking site is a place for you to give, not just to get. So to get business from your social media activities, you have to contribute meaningful content. You can find many groups to belong to that have strong, relevant conversations going. If you post something in the discussion that’s smart and useful (good content), then chances are someone will ask to connect with you. Now you have one more person to share your message with.

Other examples of good content are asking thought-provoking questions, posting a motivational quote, and sharing a business tip. No matter what you post, if you get a reply, acknowledge the person for their feedback or contribution. Just as you can’t take people for granted in the brick and mortar world, you can’t take them for granted in the virtual world either. Everyone who reacts to your content is a potential relationship and you need to treat them as such.

When you’re replying to a question someone else poses, you want your answer to be in that first page that comes up. That way anyone who replies or scrolls after you will see your photo and business information, as most people go to the start of the conversation and read several responses before they dive in. With that said, pay close attention to what the question is and don’t answer anything capriciously. Always remember that your reply is posted forever. Make it work for you. Make it count.

Social Media – Don’t be a Contact Collector; Be a Contact Cultivator

The following is the second in a series on social media.

The goal of social media is to build relationships, not just to collect contacts. If you’ve been on any business networking sites, you’ve likely seen people with 500+ connections on LinkedIn or 4,000 friends on Facebook. At first you may think, “Wow, that person sure knows a lot of people.” But does he or she really know those connections? Or is this person just collecting contacts?

Rather than accepting and sending invitations to anyone, be mindful of whom you connect with. When you do make a connection with someone, look over his or her profile and then add a personal note to the person where you indicate a shared interest, club, affiliation, etc. For example, you could respond to someone by writing, “I see you attended Northwestern University (or are a member of the Miami Business Association, or have a pet beagle…). I have a similar interest in that I (also attended Northwestern…am a member of the Tulsa Business Association….have a dog named Summer…etc.).”  You get the idea. Find a shared interest to build upon that will make you stand out and open the lines for real communication later.

If You Don’t Stand for Something, You’ll Fall for Anything

As a leadership coach, I come in contact with managers and everyday leaders who have no idea what they want in life or who they are without their titles. They might be able to tell me their roles in life, like mother, father, daughter, son, sister, brother, but they don’t have the foggiest notion of why they “do what they do” and “act the way they act,” especially under pressure.

Many times they don’t know their values. They’ve never given thought to their personal “non-negotiable.”  Many don’t have a moral compass, a set of values that they will NOT go beyond.

Socrates said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” While that’s a little harsh, it does make the point that you must examine your life. For what?  To pinpoint your “moral compass” – your true values. Leaders know their values, why those values are important, how those values play out in life and most important what they will sacrifice for those values.

You can’t have one set of values in your work life and a different set in your personal life. Your values go with you everywhere.  A mess up in one area of life can easily affect another. For example, it was a seemingly personal value that distracted and somewhat derailed Bill Clinton’s career, not a business value, which shows that values are not compartmentalized. So if you don’t examine your life and know what you stand for, you can easily get sidetracked.

Getting to know yourself starts with honesty – with others and especially with yourself. While most people have “cash register” honesty, meaning they’d never steal money from their employer, they aren’t always honest in other ways.

Perhaps they tell the world they value one thing and display something else. Their insides don’t match their outsides. For example, some people will tout the value of hard work and claim they work harder than anyone else. Yet when you look at their work behaviors, you find that they’re spending much of the day on long conversations about how busy and overwhelmed they are. Some spend a lot of time on social media – things that don’t advance the company. That’s not personal honesty or personal awareness.

I’d invite you to take a half-day – go to a quite place and think about what values you will sacrifice for. If you’d like a template, below is a link to a list of values. Pick 10 and then pare it down to 5. You’ll be amazed.

I Googled “List of Values” and they can be found at listofvalues.com. You’ll see by the length of the list why I suggested a half-day of alone time for you to pare your values down to the top 5!

The Top Meeting Pet Peeves that Plague Organizations – Tip #4

The following is the fourth meeting pet peeve in a weekly series of 5.

Pet Peeve #4 – Using PowerPoint When It’s Not Needed

PowerPoint is an essential business tool, but it’s not effective for all meeting types. Unfortunately, many people believe that ALL meetings require the use of PowerPoint. Not true! Typical information sharing meetings require a facilitator asking questions and everyone contributing in round-robin style. Watching someone read PowerPoint slides is not how these meetings should run. After all, if people simply needed to read pages of text, you could just send them the file and skip the meeting completely.

Of course, if your informational meeting needs more of people’s senses involved, then use PowerPoint to add that visual component. Likewise, if you’re combining everyone’s data and showing it in chart or graph form, PowerPoint is great. But don’t use PowerPoint just for the sake of it. Know why you’re using it, and then do it right.

The Top Meeting Pet Peeves that Plague Organizations – Tip #3

 

Pet Peeve #3: People Arriving Late to the Meeting

The following is the third meeting pet peeve in a weekly series of 5.

How many meetings have you arrived to on time, only to have the meeting start late as everyone waits for others to show up? Even worse, if the meeting does start on time, it restarts 10 minutes later when a few people straggle in. Rather than continue with the meeting, the facilitator attempts to bring the late comers up to speed by rehashing everything that was just covered.

But why penalize the people who arrived on time? A better approach is to close the door when the meeting starts and put a note on the door that says, “Meeting in Progress.” Those who arrive late will know to sneak in as inconspicuously as possible…and, hopefully, they won’t make the same mistake next time. Additionally, unless the late person is the boss, don’t restart the meeting later. When meeting start times are enforced and honored, people will make the effort to be on time.

The Top Meeting Pet Peeves that Plague Organizations – Tip #2

The following is the second meeting pet peeve in a weekly series of 5.

Pet Peeve #2: Lack of Facilitation

Some people mistakenly believe that meetings run on their own—that all you have to do is get a group of people together in a room and they’ll automatically produce good results. Wrong! Getting the people together is the easy part; leading them in a productive discussion takes skill. That’s why solid meeting facilitation is so critical.

The facilitator’s job is to control the flow of the meeting, to help attendees work together, to provide structure to the meeting, and to get everyone involved. When attendees are allowed to have their cell phones ringing during the meeting, when one or two people are permitted to dominate the conversation, or when it’s acceptable for key people to not contribute to the discussion, good facilitation is lacking. Therefore, make sure all your meetings have an effective facilitator at the helm.

The Top Meeting Pet Peeves that Plague Organizations

Tell most business people that there’s another meeting on their agenda, and you’ll likely see them shake their head, roll their eyes, and mumble something under their breath. That’s because nearly all meetings succumb to a few pet peeves—those annoying meeting happenings that derail the meeting’s purpose, waste time, and cause friction and frustration among attendees.

While all types of meetings fall prey to pet peeves, it’s the process-oriented, information sharing meetings that most business people dislike…and that are the most common. Even though the role of this sort of meetings is to keep others informed and to learn how what they’re doing fits in the big picture, many people leave these types of meetings feeling confused, aggravated, and sometimes overwhelmed.

This is a huge problem for business, because if a meeting isn’t informative at the very least and enjoyable at the most, then the company is wasting a lot of money getting people together. Additionally, if your meetings aren’t on the mark, you’ll get the reputation for holding poor meetings, which erodes morale and productivity.

To ensure your meetings are effective, informative and enjoyable , be aware of the top five meeting pet peeves and avoid them at all costs.  The following is the first pet peeve in a weekly series of five.

Pet Peeve #1: Not Having an Agenda or Not Sticking to One


The top three rules for Toastmasters are to start the meeting on time, end it on time, and always have an agenda. This rule should be true for business meeting too.

Having an agenda is not only simple courtesy; it also tells attendees that the meeting has a goal and will be productive. An agenda gives the meeting facilitator control over the meeting’s flow, keeps the meeting on task, and reduces confusion among participants. Realize that the agenda does not need to be elaborate; a simple bullet list of topics is all you need to prepare.

Remember to send the agenda out a day or so before the meeting so attendees can prepare. And if you forget to send it out early, bring copies of the agenda to hand out when the meeting starts. On meeting day, stick with the agenda. If a topic comes up in conversation that is not on the agenda, offer to address that topic after the meeting. This way you keep the meeting on schedule and don’t derail the meeting’s purpose.

Are You Executive Level Material? Tip #9

The following is the 9th in a series of 10 tips to help you become more promotable in your job.

9. Dress at the top of your level.

People do judge you by how you look. For example, if you’re in a position or company where everyone wears jeans and t-shirts, you should dress a notch higher. If you’re a man, wear khakis and golf shirts, and if you’re a woman, wear slacks or a skirt with a tasteful top. A good rule of thumb is to dress as if you were meeting with your top client. What attire would be professional yet comfortable to accommodate a key client meeting? Additionally, no matter where you work, casual day does not mean shorts and flip-flops. If an executive sees you dressed like that, they’re going to view you as a “kid.” Even an iPod in your ear can make you look like a kid. When you’re on your way up (usually in the 25-40 age bracket), the last thing you want is to be called a kid.