5 Simple Steps for a Social Media Audit

Social Media continues to be a strong branding tool for recruiting Gen Y. However, when recruiters mention it to Executives they struggle to gain buy in. This article will outline 5 simple steps to conduct an audit and shape your 2012 social media plan to set you up for success in the new year.

Building a business case includes understanding why there is business rationale to using social media and speaking to Executives in the language they understand – dollars & cents. This means building a case that includes targets and ROI metrics. To design your targets, first understand why you want to use social media, audit your current use, and build a case to showcase your plan.

Potential HR & Talent Acquisition Uses for Social Media:

•      Recruitment & Promotion

•      Employment Brand Management

•      Employee Onboarding

•      Executive Culture Check

•      Knowledge Sharing, Training and Development

•      Employee Reward and Recognition

Once you understand the ways in which you want to use social media, start shaping your business case. All business cases have 3 main components:

5 Simple Steps to Creating a Business Case & Completing a Social Media Audit:

1.      Conduct an Audit:

·         Who? Audit yourself & your top 3 competitors

·         What to look for? Understand trends (i.e. which platforms everyone is using) & what hook is being used on each platform

·         Where? Audit  main social media properties (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Foursquare) and then integration via widgets of social media into their traditional job sites

·         When?  Do it NOW! Determine a regular frequency to complete an audit (at least every 6 months)

·         Why? Your New Hires & Existing Employees are already talking about you. Be part of the conversation

2.     Determine Metrics to complete in regular Audits to help determine ROI

Examples include: Sentiment, Post Frequency and type, Engagement, Growth and Share of Conversation versus competitors.

3.     Set Objectives

Having targets allows you to measure learnings, mistakes & successes. Many social media objectives are around branding versus always clear applications, interviews & hires. Setting social media targets should be SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely). Ensure you understand ROI and ask the right questions like:  What is the impact of shifting 1/8 of the advertising budget to build a Facebook page? Determine priorities that make sense for your recruiting targets and filter distractions.

4.     Work Your Plan

Remember as you work on your plan that you must:

·         Have a regular presence on social media sites

·         Listen and adapt ongoing as social media sites are always changing

·         Set monitoring and reporting standards for your organization/department

·         Assign responsibilities

·         Seek support & increased education with: internal departments and external resources  (tool kits, consultants, contractors)

5.     Work Smart

Use tools to work efficiently and effectively.

•      Determine Content Mixture and Themes for each Platform

•      Develop Regular Communication Calendar

•      Automate Activities with Tools: Excel, Social Mention, Hootsuite, Google Reader, Crowd Booster

Good luck in evaluating your current social media activities and in building a 2012 business case for increased investment in graphic design time and recruiter time. With regular activity you can drive increased hires from this tactic.

Remember that social media is only one piece of a successful Gen Y recruiting strategy and must be used in conjunction with strong on campus branding and a strong Employment Value Proposition. Good luck!

Students: Building Your Personal Brand For A Career In Sales And Marketing

Marketing and sales students – this post is just for you!

With leaves changing to fall colours, many companies have been hitting campus with gusto to find the best seniors for upcoming internships and new grad jobs.

The competition on campus between employers is getting hot as the economy picks up and companies’ hiring numbers increase. A shift is starting, where students will have more power as the number of jobs available increases; however, we aren’t quite there yet. As a student, it is important to play a lead role in choosing your first job out of school and selling yourself to your employer(s) of choice.

Your personal brand

You need to build your personal brand as a sales and marketing student because potential employers want to see that you can apply the basic principles of marketing. If you can’t sell or market yourself, why should they trust you to market or sell their products and services?

First, do a branding exercise to understand your unique value to a future employer. Think about how you present yourself both in person at company campus recruiting events or interviews, and in online spaces.

Things you should evaluate include:

·         How you dress

·         The language you use

·         How you can showcase specific accomplishments

·         How you come across to employers – do you seem credible/real?

Your personal brand - online

Your online personality should mirror how you come across in person. Ensure that, if your future employer seeks you out on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook, there is consistency in the things you say you are knowledgeable about or roles you played in extra-curricular activities.

Things like LinkedIn recommendations are very valuable, especially with LinkedIn launching a new student profile option.

In sales and marketing, future employers will likely perform a social media search on their top candidates – think of this as a “reference check.” Make sure that you hide information that future employers don’t need to see (e.g., Facebook photos) and remember that social media is PERMANENT. 

Your personal brand – in person

For in in-person events, network and showcase your personality as well as your interests and skills.

Marketing and sales is a lot about a “fit” in being personable, believable and coachable. When I interview for entry-level marketing roles, I look more for a strong personal impression than wide sales/marketing experience – I can teach you how to be successful, but I can’t teach you how to think critically or have personal credibility.

I want you to highlight your interests, where you think the industry is going, recent highlights at my specific company, and why you believe you fit the company culture. Show you spent some time researching my company online, even talking to past interns or employees, and understanding our culture.

Don’t treat every networking session, interview or online application the same. Most recruiters are very open to telling you the unique parts of their company, so talk to them and ask for a follow-up prep call prior to an interview.

If you don’t meet a recruiter on campus, reach out to them via LinkedIn. Recruiters will highlight great candidates’ applications if you wow them. Consider this reach-out like dating – you only have one opportunity to make that perfect impression that might lead to a relationship (or in this case, a fantastic career)!

Students: As I am now a regular contributor to TalentEgg.ca (Canada's leading job site and career resource for students and new graduates), I will be featuring monthly articles written specifically for students on my blog. I would love your thoughts on what you want to hear about! Please comment below to drive future articles.

"Expert" Article

Thanks to my relationship in guest blogging with a great student career website called Talent Egg (http://talentegg.ca/), I was featured as a Recruiting Expert with advice to Students on Corporate Tours in Tuesday July 12th's Toronto Metro.

Click here to read the article in its entirety: http://bit.ly/nMvzu7

It is an article about how students can stand out on corporate tours and is a build from an earlier blog post that actually received a lot of hits & garnered many comments.  Thank you to everyone for your words of encouragement on this exciting publication!

Global Campus Recruiting Best Practices

As I’m working internationally this week in Europe, I was inspired to share information about campus recruiting at a global level. As many of my readers know, my specialty is building campus programs & I have developed & successfully run campus recruiting programs in over 12 countries from North America to Asia to Western Europe and Eastern Europe. It may shock you that students around the world essentially want the same things – enjoyment of work, development opportunities, exposure to leadership, work/life balance. Though the cultures of each country influence the practices/students, best practices in student recruiting essentially do work globally. Building the right programming is important to find that perfect new hire!

Though many global companies build management trainee or global recruiting principles, there are some things to keep in mind that work globally & some things to consider in tweaking your programming for each individual market. Read on to find out more!

From my experience, here are some best practices for building campus recruiting programs in multiple countries:

-     Strong employment branding website with information about a day in the life at your company. Remember, your website should ENGAGE with students. Think blogs, twitter feeds, YouTube videos of your office, testimonials etc

-     Key messaging/job offerings that speak to students. Knowing what students want & ensuring your offering speaks to these categories is important. Look to local/nation surveys on student values to build out your messages

-     Campus Ambassadors, students who work a set number of hours per work promoting job opportunities with your company, helping to build your brand on campus & generate referrals.  I have seen this program work around the world. The key factors are training them, have ongoing management & KPI’s (key performance indicators) that they are rewarded for meeting.

-     Referral based programming works! Track referrals to applications & reward based on results.

-     Campus events are so important for building up your brand on campus and recognition among students. Job fairs, information sessions, company presentations, case competitions etc are a great way to engage students.

-     Relationships with Career Centers – Career Centers can make or break your experience on campus. Getting to know your contacts and  educating them on your company’s offering is very important as they will help market your campus events, promote your company to influential students & help you gain access to deans & professors

-     Relationships with Deans/Professors are very important. Guest lecturing in class rooms, supporting with real business cases to supplement curriculum and seeking referrals from influential professors will help gain traction with the right students.

-     Supporting student groups. Find those groups that are part of your target market and work to be a key advisor/support. Do not just provide sponsorship dollars but instead work to provide the group mentors, internships, and/or business advice as this will be a better use of your sponsorship dollars. By spending time with these groups you will get to know the top students you want to recruit for your company.

-     Giveaways are not a key part of a campus program. They are supplementary to educate students on your EVP (employer value proposition) but a cool giveaway is not going to sell a student on applying to your company

 Things to tweak on a country by country basis:

-     Consider Internet Access

o   Some countries outside of Western Europe & North America have limited internet access or slow speeds. Having a length application process that relies heavily on internet access/online testing may decrease your applicants and candidate engagement in some countries. Consider this access to technology when tailoring the application for each country.

-     On Campus activities really differ per campus. Some schools allow for class presentations by other students and some don’t. Know what’s allowed in your country & per campus to meet your KPI’s.  Work with your career center to understand what works best on their campus. Tailor this metric not only by country but also by school.

-     Postering/handouts – many schools internally have different rules about what is allowed on posters or if posters are even allowed to be hung on campus property. Ensure that you allow local offices to determine these nuances before ordering global quantities with a set design.

-     Timing – even within a continent, the countries may have very different calendar years. Your recruiting season in England and Germany are very different as German students don’t go back to school until October versus August/Sept in England. Thus, your timing for applications, interviews and job offers will be sensitive to each country.
-     Social media sites/usage varies per country. Ask your recent new hires what social media sites you should be using!

I hope these tips help you understand what global recruiting best practices work on a global level & what needs to be tweaked locally. Cheers & happy recruiting!

Thursday News Day: University & College Trends

I’m starting a new weekly Thursday post to share relevant news articles or blogs on the topics of talent management, recruiting, social media, & branding.  My goal is to provide you with interesting news articles and blogs resources. I hope you enjoy addition #1.

TALENT MANAGEMENT/RECRUITING:

“When a University Degree Just Isn’t Enough”

Featured in: Globe & Mail

Writer & Publishing date:  James Bradshaw; May 9, 2011

Link: http://bit.ly/k8uIsv

This article relates to my April 23, 2011 blog post on Balance Game for New Grads: Degree vs Experience vs Interest.  BA graduates are a shrinking portion of enrollment classes as students feel obligated to get graduate, professional or college credentials to prove their worth. – Do you think a BA still holds value? Are you hiring BA candidates?

“Job-Seeking University Graduates give it the Old College Try”

Featured in: Globe & Mail

Writer & Publishing date:  Tralee Pearce; May 10, 2011

Link: http://bit.ly/kTDgUH

This article speaks how colleges are seeing an increase in enrollment of students with university bachelors who are seeking specific job related training to be “job ready.” Colleges are essentially being used as finishing schools. - Colleges - are you using this trend in your marketing material?

Happy Reading! Any articles/resources you would like to share?

Career Services & Student Corporate Tours

University Career Services are trying to create new engagement with students and help prepare them for careers after school. One new offering I am seeing offered by career services is organizing corporate tours where they build relationships with relevant companies. Within this offering, a short office tour and information session is organized where students can talk to management and new hires to understand what a career at their company would look like.   I recently participated in one of these from a corporate standpoint & have some tips for students as well as for Career Services.

The students arrived looking dashing and all professionally attired to make a good impression. We started the introduction asking who had heard of our company before. I was shocked to see only 1 out of 15 students put up their hand. Would you really come into an interview without even visiting the company website & understanding their offerings, jobs and company vision or culture? Well these students did. Our first impression of the students was not good though they went on to have great questions throughout the tour.

Career Services: don’t assume that your students will do their due diligence in doing research on the companies you are visiting. Ensuring your students are prepared will make a great impression as this reflects on your campus & your services. This will help the company want to further engage your services to hire your students.

Students: Any time you are engaging with a potential employer, have your ducks in a row. Do your research.  Visit the company website, seek them out on Facebook & LinkedIn. Understand the basic values of the company and know why you might want to work for them. Remember, just because an interaction isn’t a job interview doesn’t mean it can’t get you a job! First impressions count more than ever now that the job market is picking up and companies have choices in the students they hire.

I applaud career services for connecting student’s to corporate life and building higher engagement between students and their campus services. Hopefully my above tips help make these offerings even stronger for all parties involved.

Social Media Recruitment & Engagement Tips for Universities

Being on social media sites for student enrolment/recruitment and then engaging students in your university services is not enough – you have to use the sites in the RIGHT way! I recently spoke at a conference (see the last post) on this topic and to prepare, I completed a quick and dirty audit of the 52 university/colleges that would be present. I found that though most were on social media sites, they weren’t using them the RIGHT way! Here are my quick tips on usage for student recruitment & engagement in student services with the 4 main social media sites: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube & FourSquare.

Everyone knows Facebook is important but few Universities are using it to create engagement & conversation. Instead, very PR messaging is used. Below are a few tips to make better use of your Facebook page:

Facebook Student Recruitment

-    GOAL: Help make my life on campus easier (calendars of events, tips/tricks, photos, etc)

-    Have a page with a Community Manager from career services

-    Get rid of the PR style messaging

-    Every message (even official) are conversational

-    Answer/create dialogue

Facebook Student Engagement:

-    GOAL: Adds to campus life. Making student life more fun & connecting me with other like    minded students

-    Separate pages based on interest/audience

-    Teams

-    Faculties

-    Not services – community management sits inside career or community services

-    Community Manager for each page but create a hierarchy of managers/auditing. (Create conversation, contests, photos, events etc)

Though twitter is still growing among the student population, it is important to have a presence on this medium. Get in now, make mistakes and learn while your students aren’t all on it! Here are some good tips for its use:

Twitter Student Recruitment:

-    GOAL: Have information available to help perspective students make important decisions & showcase student life on your campus

-    Have an account with a dedicated Community Manager

-    Be available to answer questions

-    Showcase “real” life at your campus

-    Tweet important information via a content calendar to highlight important events/deadlines etc

Twitter Student Engagement:

-    GOAL: Create conversation & showcase Q&A

-    Ask Us (twitter widget) on homepage of website to showcase Q&A from students

-    The vehicle for ongoing student support

-    Student says: “Where do I go to get my student card renewed?”

-    Manager tweets answer with link to YouTube video.

-    50% listening to students, 10-20% messages about University, 30-40% engaging

-    No PR style messaging; this is a conversational method

You Tube is an absolutely fantastic medium for having your current student population help you with recruitment. Give them a voice and answer WIIFT (What’s in it for me) by creating contesting on Why They Love XX school and give tuition credits. Then feature these videos on your Prospective Student/Admissions homepage so students can see why your current student’s love your campus.

YouTube Student Recruitment:

-    GOAL: Showcasing life at your campus

-    Have a YouTube Channel

-    Showcase videos on “admissions” home page

-    Contesting about why you love XXX campus or want to become a student at XXX

-    Give rewards that are inspiring & make them go viral; driving WOM

-    Video tours of campus

-    Engage influential students  & have them build “day in the life” videos that are unscripted

YouTube Student Engagement:

-    GOAL:  Create school pride & have the message go viral

-    Contesting

-    Challenges within relevant departments

-    Be comfortable with user generated content versus only professionally cut & scripted videos

-    Relevant prizes (ie: tuition credits!)

-    Interview style videos/vlogs

Very few universities are yet using location based services (LBS) – be one of the first! Foursquare or Facebook Places are great ways to build campus pride! The graphic above is big as this is the next BIG thing (LBS)!

Foursquare Student Recruitment:

-    GOAL: have information available  for potential students who are into location based sites

-    Check in for campus visits

-    Have reminders in prominent places for visitors to “check in”

-    Add tips to locations where perspective students might be (high schools, malls, transit etc)

Foursquare Student Engagement:

-    GOAL: Build campus pride & provide contextually aware advice

-    Tips at every location on campus from the university

-    Tips on where to eat, history of building, interesting info, profs etc

-    School pride badges

-    Earn badges for checking into multiple sports games etc

-    Encourage use of services & educate on services available

-    Tips at stores, malls etc nearby mall about discounts for students

Hopefully these tips help you understand a few quick and easy ways to use social media for recruitment and student engagement purposes! What universities do you think are doing a great job in using these sites?

Canadian University Uses of Social Media for Enrollment & Student Engagement

Universities and colleges are feeling the same pressure as companies in recruiting students & even further pressure to keep them engaged throughout a 4 year degree. It’s about targeting the RIGHT students & engaging them in student services to create a loyalty to the campus. I spoke at the SEMM conference last week put on by Brainstorm Consulting (Strategic Enrolment Marketing & Management) with an audience full of University & College enrolment directors, student service managers etc. It was a fantastic audience here in Toronto & I’m looking forward to presenting in Calgary on May 6^th in just a few weeks.  I spoke on the topic of using social media to recruit & create connections with students.  This blog post will be a 1 of 2 series as the below outlines what universities are currently doing in the social media space and post 2 will outline what they SHOULD be doing.

As this was a new topic for me (I typically speak on how to use social media for company student/new grad recruiting vs college recruitment/engagement), I spent a full day doing an audit of the 52 schools in attendance. I looked at the following things:

-     Did they have social media links on their home page (Were they “above the fold” – meaning, did I have to scroll down the page to find them?)

-     Where there social media links on the admissions page where prospective students can learn about university life on that campus?

-     Did the school use widgets to feature Twitter feeds, Facebook updates or YouTube videos?

-     Was the school present on social media sites (even if not listed on their website) in terms of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Foursquare, did they have a Blog?

-     If present, what where they doing right & what were they doing not so right?

-     Did I get a sense of the uniqueness of this campus via their social media efforts?

This was truly a quick & dirty audit as I spent about 10 minutes per school to understand what they are doing in the social media space.  Here is a quick summary of my findings:

-     77% of the schools had social media links on their home page or admissions page

o   Note: Most of these links opened in the same window (losing the audience) versus opening in a new browser

-     Though most schools were on the main social media sites (Facebook, Twitter), not all were listed on their sites

-     Only 1 school was on Foursquare (a location based platform)

-     Most of the schools did not use widgets to showcase social media efforts & most links were “below the fold” meaning I had to scroll & look for them

o   Ie: Did not have a twitter feed or have videos with campus or dorm tours right in their website but instead I had to go into YouTube to see them (risk of losing your audience to YouTube recommended videos is very high!)

-     Over 90% of the messaging on social media sites was PR orientated, which is against the nature of these platforms

-     At the conference, I polled the room and though 100% of the attendee schools were on social media only 10% of the attendees actually had a social media policy (SCARY!)

So, what do universities need to do? Stay posted for my blog post on Wednesday with Tips & Tricks for how universities/colleges should be using social media for recruiting & engagement purposes.

Are you involved with your University or Campus Enrolment or Student Engagement? Join me at the SEMM Calgary May 6^th conference: http://www.semmforum.ca/home.htm