social media

Social networking strategy

Eric Vanderburg

Social networking is my thing this year and I just wanted to share my strategy with you in case you find it useful.

I spend about 30 minutes each day managing my Twitter and Linkedin accounts and it really helps.  Each day on Linkedin, I search for others I can connect with. I also look through my connections and find people whom I can endorse and after endorsing them I ask them to endorse me as well. I added my social networks to my email signature so that people I communicate with will add me or view my social networks.

Weekly, I look for one thing on my Linkedin that I can improve and then I improve that area.  It may be adding more detail to a section or revising some wording but I make regular edits.  Next, I Google myself to make sure that no negative information appears about me and that my positive sites appear early in the search results.

Most employers Google potential employees and they check their Linkedin, Twitter and public Facebook so it can really pay off.┬á You can also search for jobs on Linkedin but it will only show jobs that you are connected with so as you add more connections, more jobs will become available.┬á I never would have landed the book contract if it weren’t for Linkedin.

Privacy matters even for those who don’t care

Eric Vanderburg

There are so many ways to share on social media today and users, especially the younger generation, are sharing almost everything.  The problem is that some data is not meant to be shared.  A culture of sharing is developing that can be quite harmful for businesses and the confidential information they hold.  It is even more important in this day and age to educate employees on what they can and cannot share.  Consider implementing a social media policy that specifies sharable data and data that must remain confidential along with sanctions for those who violate the policy.  Make sure that all employees are aware of the policy and why it is in place.  Lastly, make sure the policy is enforced through both technical and procedural controls.

Social Media ÔÇô After the Breach | American Bar Association

Eric Vanderburg

Considerable effort can go into stealing personal and company information, but more and more individuals are just giving it away. Today, communication in the workplace has moved to Facebook walls and office gossip is tweeted around the world. YouTube videos portray ÔÇ£behind the scenesÔÇØ footage giving the entire world a glimpse into what once was restricted to employees and an occasional guest. Cast out into the Wild West of time and space that we call the Internet is all manner of private information, both personal and corporate. Telephone numbers, important contacts, addresses, social security numbers, banking and financial data, birth dates, private medical information, and even corporate decisions and strategy are readily and easily available. Moreover, comments made in a personal, trusting setting are now sent into the vast beyond, where they can remain permanently. Read more in the article published in the ABA by me and Timothy Opsitnick.

Know the risks of using social media

Eric Vanderburg

Benefits of social media:

  • enhanced collaboration
  • improved business relationships
  • increased productivity

Risks of social media

  • decrease in productivity
  • loss of confidential data
  • misuse of personal data ÔÇô privacy concerns
  • damage to brand and reputation
  • casual manner
  • once disclosed, hard to prevent dissemination of info
  • employees become publishers
  • burden of preservation for regulatory and legal purposes