Comunica-2.0 por alilogo

La Web 2.0 y los consumidores forman un tándem provechoso. Cada vez más personas recurren a las redes sociales para informarse sobre los productos y servicios que se disponen después a comprar y al hacerlo influyen también en otros usuarios. Un estudio desarrollado por la compañía de investigación de mercados Gartner clasifica los consumidores en seis tipologías distintas en base a su comportamiento en los social media:

1. Los mediadores
Son aquellos consumidores que sirven de bisagra entre las distintas tipologías de compradores. Se mueven en diferentes círculos sociales y disfrutan conectándose a la red de redes para compartir opiniones sobre productos y servicios.

2. Los vendedores
Este tipo de consumidor es aquel que trata de inculcar en los demás sus propias ideas y preferencias. Está presente en un gran número de comunidades online para el intercambio de opiniones sobre productos y servicios y tiene muchos contactos.

3. Los buscadores
El buscador es aquel consumidor que depende del consejo de otros para tomar una decisión de compra. Confía generalmente en los compradores con más pericia y experiencia y sigue los consejos de éstos en relación a marcas y precios.

4. Los expertos
Los expertos son a las redes sociales lo que los “brokers” a la bolsa. Por regla general, están especializados en determinadas áreas de productos y servicios y otros consumidores acuden habitualmente a ellos para pedirles consejo. Sin embargo, a diferencia de los vendedores, los expertos no tratan de convencer a los demás sobre la adquisición de un producto o servicio

5. Los independientes
Confían de mala gana en los consejos de otros consumidores. Prefieren investigar por sí mismos y en base a la información encontrada, tomar una decisión propia. Son los clientes con los que más difícil resulta conectar.

6. Los otros
En esta última tipología se integran aquellos consumidores que reúnen características del resto de grupos. En función del contexto, asumen el rol de mediador, de vendedor, de buscador, de experto o de comprador independiente.

Twitter has become a great resource for just about anything, including jobs. From industry chats to Twitter accounts dedicated to posting vacancies, there are a ton of resources for landing a gig.

We’ve already chronicled how to get a job through Facebook (

)

and YouTube (

)

, and now we’re taking a look at the job hunting process on Twitter.

We spoke with nine Tweeters who have landed jobs through Twitter (

)

to get their top tips for success on the platform. Below you’ll find a guide to their job hunt strategies on the microblogging service.

If you’ve also been successful in finding a position via Twitter, let us know about your experience in the comments below.

1. Tweet Like an Industry Expert

Words to tweet by: You are what you tweet. Keep in mind that everything you tweet lends to — or takes away from — your online persona. Whether or not you’re searching for a job, make sure your Twitter stream represents you as a professional individual that has important and unique thoughts to contribute. Your goal should be to become an industry expert — or at least tweet like one.

Share links that are relevant to your followers, adding commentary to the latest industry news. This shows that you’re keeping up with industry trends and gives potential employers a look into what you read and care about, which will help them to envision how you may fit into their company’s work environment.

If your commentary on Twitter is interesting enough, you may have employers knocking on your door. Christa Keizer, a recent intern at Cone, a strategy and communications firm, used Twitter during her job search to “[post] relevant, industry-related tweets on a daily basis to establish credibility.” After commenting on one of Cone’s blogs, Marcus Andrews, the New Media Associate at Cone, tweeted to Keizer, thanking her for her comment and asking her about her summer work plans. A few tweets and an interview later, Keizer was hired.

Kate Ottavio, an account executive at PR agency Quinn & Co., had a similar experience. Prior to working at Quinn, she worked at a small PR agency in Connecticut. One day, Allyns Melendez, HR Director at Quinn, started following Ottavio on Twitter — she waited for Ottavio to follow back, and then asked her if she’d like to move to New York, where Quinn is headquartered. Little did she know, Melendez was looking for a new hire for the real estate division of the firm. Melendez had first searched for “PR” and “real estate” on LinkedIn (

)

, where Ottavio’s profile popped up.

Although Ottavio wasn’t looking for a job at the time, her Twitter strategy had always been to “represent myself as a knowledgeable and reputable PR professional. I tweet about 10-20 times a day about anything from personal experiences to Mashable (

)

articles to PR blog posts.” Loving the opportunity that Quinn presented her, she promptly accepted.

2. Use Twitter Hashtags

There are lots of ways to use Twitter hashtags to get a job. Here are a few types of hashtags to get you started:

• Job Listings: You can find general job advice and lots of listings through hashtags like #jobs, #recruiting, #jobadvice, #jobposting, #jobhunt and #jobsearch. To narrow it down, though, seek out more specific hashtags, such as or #prjobs or #salesjobs.
• Industry Conferences: Most conferences these days have their own hashtags — when a relevant industry conference is approaching, get active with attendees using the hashtag. Whether you’re attending the conference or not, you can contribute to the conversation. Many conferences also have live streams, so it’s as if you’re attending anyway! Live tweet panels and speeches that you’re interested in and connect with other tweeters along the way. By using Twitter for networking within your industry, you’ll increase your chances of getting hired down the road.
• Job-Related and Industry Chats: Getting involved with industry chats is a way to show your industry in a particular field and represent yourself as a knowledgeable person. Check out this Twitter chat schedule to get a head start. Also, if your search isn’t going so well, get involved in job-related chats, such as #jobhuntchat, #careerchat, #internchat and #hirefriday for friendly advice.

Liz (Pope) Schmidt, now the media and research manager at Sevans Strategy, attested to the power of industry Twitter chats: “I began participating in #Journchat, created and hosted by Sarah Evans [owner of Sevans Strategy, a public relations and new media consultancy]. Although I had known Sarah from a past virtual work experience, I was able to reconnect with her through Twitter. I mentioned her in several tweets and participated in her online discussions. Soon after, based on a direct message conversation with Sarah on Twitter, I came on board at Sevans Strategy.”

Besides scouring job search hashtags, job seekers can also follow Twitter accounts dedicated to posting job openings, use Twitter search to find postings or keep an eye out on the Twitter streams of companies they might want to work for.

3. Connect with Recruiters and Current Employees

Don’t be afraid to research the companies that you want to work for to find out who currently works there and who is involved with recruiting. After all, while you’re searching for a job, recruiters are scouring the web at the same time looking for pertinent information about job candidates. Interacting with current employees and active recruiters is an easy way to learn more about a company and its job opportunities.

Take Connie Zheng’s word — she’s already been hired for two jobs through Twitter. “I got my PR internship at Text 100 using Twitter, as well as my entry-level position at Burson-Marsteller using Twitter,” she explained. She advises job seekers, “Use Twitter as a research tool to identify who the appropriate HR person or recruiter is at the desired company.”

Shankar Ganesh, a student at the Shanmugha Arts, Science, Technology and Research Academy in India, recently landed a marketing consulting internship at business apps provider Zoho Corporation by connecting with a technologist employed by the company. “I wanted to spend my summer as an intern at Zoho (

)

, so I approached employees using Twitter,” he recounted. “I showed them what I had done previously and my website for credibility. My interest was forwarded to Zoho’s HR team, and we got in touch.” Soon after, he was offered the internship.

Even if a company isn’t hiring, it’s a good idea to stay in contact with recruiters and employees. When a position opens up, it’s likely that you’ll be one of the first to be contacted, said Alison Morris, an account coordinator at The CHT Group, a strategic communications firm based in Boston. Morris told us how she landed her current position on Twitter:

“In April 2010, Ben Hendricks, Senior VP at The CHT Group, and I began corresponding about corporate communications and social media’s role in the corporate environment. Much to my dismay, CHT was not yet hiring. In June, after a few months distance, Ben sent me an email to let me know the agency was hiring and that he wanted me to apply. Still looking for a job, I sent over my resume, and about a week later, I was employed.”

Keep an eye out for socially savvy companies like CHT — it also recently hired Marissa Green as an account coordinator through Twitter and is now looking for a spring intern, with Twitter being one of its main recruiting outlets.

4. Build a Relevant Network

A lot of successful Twitter job stories actually end with the punchline, “I wasn’t even looking for a job.” In many cases, these lucky new hires just found interesting opportunities serendipitously, which makes sense given that it’s Twitter we’re talking about.

Twitter is all about networking, so build a network that makes sense for you. You’ll find that a lot of the opportunities that are presented to you are simply organic. Here’s an anecdote along those lines from Marketing & Communications Manager for digital agency ChaiONE, Meghan Stephens:

“Through Twitter, I am connected to other marketing professionals, digital creatives, community stewards, and new media experts — simply because those are the types of people that I enjoy interacting with and learning from… When it came time to look for a job in the technology sector, all I did was turn to those who I already gained inspiration from. When glancing through my stream, I saw a job link posted by my now-boss that sounded immediately like what I was looking for. I read through the description, realized I already knew the company through another connection made on Twitter, and sent in my resume.”

5. Start a “Hire Me” Campaign

After seeing a job posting for HeadBlade, a men’s grooming company that makes products specifically for guys that shave their heads, Eric Romer immediately set up a website, Twitter page, Facebook Page and YouTube account all in the name of nabbing the job.

‘The posting for ‘Interactive and Social Media Marketing Manager’ was tweeted from the HeadBlade Twitter account, which I had been following for several months,” explained Romer. “I have been a die-hard ‘HeadBlader’ using their products religiously since 2005, so this was literally a dream job.”

“While there were several channels used, Twitter was by far the most effective getting on HeadBlade’s radar,” said Romer. “I received a call from a company rep within 48 hours of my initial blog posting, and flew from Indianapolis to L.A. within 10 days for an interview.”

While a full-out campaign of this nature may not be the best strategy for every job opportunity that comes along, this type of passion is what really stands out in the job recruiting process. If you encounter your dream job, go all out.

6. Take It Offline

Three simple words: “Let’s get coffee.”

Once you’ve gained a certain level of dialogue with a potential employer, an in-person meeting can really boost the relationship.

DJ Waldow, director of community at Blue Sky Factory, said that he landed his job at the company through connecting with Blue Sky Factory’s CEO Greg Cangialosi on Twitter. After initially “stalking” Cangialosi on Twitter, Waldow began engaging with him. Eventually, all of the tweets lead to an in-person meeting, which Waldow feels really sealed the deal. He wrote of the experience:

“The transition from online to in real life is critical… All of the loose connections you’ve made with that person are suddenly solidified when you put the name/avatar/tweets together with a face. Nothing can replace this. Nothing.”

Your Tips

With the increasing popularity of Twitter, more and more job seekers and recruiters are turning to the social network to find leads. We suspect that a sizable number of Mashable readers have used Twitter in some way to find a job. If so, let us know about your experiences in the comments below.

Social Media Job Listings

Every week we put out a list of social media and web job opportunities. While we post a huge range of job listings, we’ve selected some of the top social media opportunities from the past two weeks to get you started. Happy hunting!

• Social Media Manager at Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas, NV.
• Social Media Associate at Morpheus Media in New York, NY.
• Director of Social Media at Frontier Communications in Stamford, CT.
• Social Media Marketing Manager at M80 in Los Angeles, CA.
• Product Manager Social Media Community, CNN.com at Turner Broadcasting System in Atlanta, GA.

More Job Search Resources from Mashable:

- 5 Tips for Aspiring Social Media Marketers
- HOW TO: Use Twitter Hashtags to Boost Your Job Search
- HOW TO: Land a Career in Digital Public Relations
- 10 Tips for Aspiring Digital Marketers
- What Companies Want in a Social Media Intern

Image courtesy of Flickr (

)

: alancleaver & chichacha

For more Business coverage:

• Follow Mashable Business
• Subscribe to the Business channel
• Become a Fan on Facebook
• Download our free apps for Android, iPhone and iPad

La reputación online cada día toma más trascendencia. Los empleadores buscan en Internet qué es lo que se dice de una persona específica, observan cuál ha sido su accionar web y determinan,  de acuerdo a lo que han observado, qué tan buen candidato es éste para ocupar el puesto que ofertan. Así mismo, una persona que va a adquirir un producto o servicio intenta asesorarse por medio de las opiniones que encuentra en Internet o le pregunta a sus contactos, a través de los canales de Social Media  en los que participa, cuáles son sus opiniones.

Muchos se preguntarán en medio de estas opiniones dónde queda la verdad. Pero es que, si algún día existió, lo cierto es que ahora con los Social Media  la relatividad de ésta es mucho más visible que antes; la verdad depende del punto de vista desde el cual se mire y su credibilidad se presenta cuando convergen múltiples opiniones. De allí que muchas marcas se muestran rehacías a estar en la Web, pero ni siquiera esto las salva, pues, el hecho de que no tengan actividad online no quiere decir que sus usuarios no estén hablando de éstas.

La reputación se ha trasladado hacia Internet

Desde hace algunos meses, tanto las empresas como  las personas están entendiendo que la reputación  online hace parte de sus vidas, quiéranlo o no. Lo que se diga de una marca (personal o empresarial) en Internet, afectará positiva o negativamente aquello que se pretende representar: un trabajador ejemplar, un periodista de gran talento, un candidato a la presidencia que quiere el cambio y una empresa con responsabilidad social, entre otros ejemplos.

De hecho hace unos días me pasó algo similar. Busqué un instituto de inglés, en apariencia muy reconocido a nivel Internacional porque tiene varias cedes en diferentes países, estaba lista para pagar, pero antes decidí buscar en Google que era lo que las personas habían dicho de éste y, para mí sorpresa, después de leer más de 50 comentarios en diferentes sitios, concluí que era una gran estafa. No necesité más pruebas que esos comentarios de los cuales nunca podré saber a ciencia cierta si eran verdad o no, pero la mayoría de usuarios como yo nos decimos: “cuando el río suena es porque piedras lleva”. La pregunta que me planteé, entonces, fue ¿por qué  arriesgarme con este instituto que tiene una negativa reputación online cuando hay otras opciones?

El anterior ejemplo se puede aplicar a muchas otras esferas. El reto está, como marca, en ser lo más transparentes posible para que el río no suene y, en el caso de que suene, estar preparados para enfrentar una crisis en Social Media. Estas crisis a diferencia de las de antaño tienen sus propias características, conocerlas te da puntos a tu favor y te permiten planear la estrategia a adecuada para resolverlas.

Consecuencias y efectos

Sobre reputación online, podemos decir que es la suma  de lo que hace en la Web y lo que se dice. Es aquello que está visible cuando se busca una marca, que bien puede ser el nombre y apellido de una persona. O, como se dice en Wikipedia, es el reflejo del prestigio o estima de una persona o marca en Internet.

Dentro de este contexto y, a nivel general, podemos decir que  Twitter ayuda a que los comentarios sobre algo -sean rumores o no- se expandan fácilmente, Facebook a agrupar a personas con opiniones similares – quienes van pro o en contra a algo-, y  YouTube es la plataforma donde se pone la evidencia de aquello que se quiere hacer masivo.

En fin, las herramientas están ahí para quien desee utilizarlas como quiera, los controles legales contra a aquellas situaciones que afecten el buen nombre no  serán muy útiles a menos que seas el hijo de un presidente o algo similar. Las personas sin influencias de este tipo pueden acudir a los abogados que quieran, pero estos casos tardan mucho en solucionarse y mientras tanto ¿dónde queda tu reputación?

Cómo responder

Así que, en vista de que  últimamente diversas personas y empresas se han visto afectadas por  ataques contra su imagen, lo mejor es estar preparado y tener en cuenta que lo básico es:

-Conservar la calma.
-Nunca  responder ahí mismo sin haber pensado antes las repercusiones de cada acto.
-Pensar sobre el porqué se presenta esta situación,  no siempre el que  crítica  es un troll. Además, si son muchas personas las que comparten una opinión es porque algo huele mal.
-Monitorea y analiza el contexto de las opiniones negativas que se están diciendo sobre tu marca. Descubre  quién está detrás, cambiará mucho el sentido si quién lo dice es anónimo o un influenciador.
-Reflexiona. Puede que lo que se diga sea cierto y que tú no hayas sido transparente en tus actuaciones.
-Lee que otros casos similares se han presentado y cómo las personas o empresas implicadas han respondido. Aprende de ello.
- Por último, toma una decisión. Según el nivel de cada caso, las acciones que se realicen deben ser más drásticas. Pero cada una debe ser aplicada por fases.

Generalmente, lo que se hace en estos casos es: primero se responder de la manera adecuada, por ejemplo,  si te equivocaste pides disculpas públicas. Luego no te debes quedar allí discutiendo sino armar un plan,  una estrategia que visibilice más las cosas positivas de tu nombre que las negativas que otros están diciendo. Entre más ingenio tengas en tus acciones más resultados positivos tendrás.

El consejo más común y  efectivo es: ser proactivo y no quedarse quieto, no sólo para enfretarse a las críticas sino también para mostrar la otra cara de la moneda.

Caso de éxito

Un excelente ejemplo de cómo manejar la reputación negativa en Internet, es  la forma cómo  reaccionó Danone  después de que comenzara  a circular un email que alertaba a los consumidores de no tomar Actimel, pues, producía adicción, destruía la flora intestinal y dañaba la salud de los niños.

“Danone siguió la estrategia habitual: responder a todas las webs y blogueros que estaban escribiendo sobre el asunto. También se usó la televisión con un spot en el que un periodista aseguraba a los espectadores que debían confiar en Actimel y que siempre era bueno tomarlo. Sin embargo la verdadera campaña comenzó en febrero, cuando la compañía dio un paso más allá y lanzó una campaña online que le reportó grandes resultados”, se cuenta en Iprofesional.

La campaña fue hacer un website llamado Creador de rumores en el que se invitaba a los internautas a crear su propio rumor enviándolo a sus amigos. La foto incluía el siguiente mensaje: “No creas todo lo que ves en Internet. Verás lo fácil que es difundir un rumor sobre ti”. Los  resultados: más de 40.000 personas entraron el site y fueron creados y enviados más de 100.000 rumores.

Está demostrado: ¿La verdad? ¿de qué verdad hablamos?, el asunto está en la influencia que pueda llegar a tener una visión y  difundir la que como marca más te convenga. Pero, recuerda, que si ésta va en contra de  lo que creen tus usuarios tarde o temprano se darán cuenta y perderás la poca credibilidad que te quedaba y te tocará empezar  otra vez desde el principio.

Vía: Pulso Social

Sobre la auotra: Lina Ceballos. Periodista que un día se involucró en lo que insiste nombrar como Comunicación en Red y no ha podido salir de allí. Directora de Al-medioDÍA (http://almediodia.info), generador de contenidos y experiencias alrededor de la Comunicación en Red. Cofundadora y Coordinadora de Pio.la (http://pio.la). En Twitter @linaceballos (http://www.twitter.com/linaceballos)

via socialblabla.com

Being on Facebook is a bit like going to prom. Everyone’s going; no one is quite sure what to do when they get there. And while newsrooms have a huge advantage when it comes to building a Facebook following, very few stations truly have a defined idea of what they hope to gain from those users. Here are 8 tried and true ways to make sure your newsroom is getting the most out of each and every fan.

1. Always Include a Link: Posting a news update without a link to your website just invites your fans to go elsewhere to find the whole story. By posting a link to the story on your website, you’ll get more interaction and more clicks.

2. Ask Questions: According to Facebook, status updates which ask simple questions or encourage a user to “Like” the story have 2-3x the activity. This means 2-3x the chance for clicks to your website.

3. Post Every 2 Hours: Studies suggest newsrooms should post to Facebook once every 2 hours, unless there’s major breaking news. NPR even conducted a survey of their fans to find out the best frequency for posting to Facebook. Their survey and others suggest posting too often or too infrequently both result in a loss of fans.

4. Best Times to Post: Weekdays 11 a.m., 3 p.m., 8 p.m. are peak times on Facebook. Make sure you’re hitting all of those times so your story gets found.

5. Post Provocative, Passionate Debates: This content gets 2-3x more interaction on Facebook. Take advantage of it, and make your Facebook page a forum for debate.

6. Don’t Forget Sports: Important sports game wins get 1.5-2x more interaction from fans on Facebook. Need some help writing the post? Check out these 5 Ways Your Newsroom Can Write Winning Sports Posts on Facebook.

7. Read and Respond: Try to read and respond to posts and comments on your Facebook page at least twice per shift. Look for story ideas, questions and feedback.

8. Try a Social Media Management Tool: There are several free tools out there to help manage your Facebook interaction, but they’re all designed for the general population. Or you can check out the newsroom social media manager, SocialNewsDesk. SND was created — in the interest of full disclosure: I am the founder of SND — specifically for newsrooms and includes features like “post later”, “spell check”, “frequency manager”, “comment manager,” and “quick post” to make your social media management faster, simpler and more effective.

Social media doesn’t have to be just another drain on your newsroom’s already limited time. It can be one of the most effective story-sourcing resources you have. And if used correctly, it can send thousands of page views to your website. So go ahead, put on your prom dress and make it work.

What do you think? What are some other best practices for newsrooms to get the most out of Facebook?

About Kim Wilson

Kim Wilson is the Founder of SocialNewsDesk.com, a social media solution for newsrooms. The company creates technology to help newsrooms manage and profit from their social media efforts. Her blog, www.KimWilson.com, focuses on trends, tips and resources for improving social media in journalism and news. Kim is a graduate of the University of Florida with a degree in broadcast journalism, serves on the UF Advisory Board to the College of Journalism, and is currently an adjunct professor in the UF Journalism College. Her course, “Entrepreneurial Journalism,” focuses on innovative ways to create revenue and new business opportunities in the journalism industry.

Related Posts:

• Facebook for PR Launches
• How to Build a Better Online Newsroom
• Facebook Media Page Just for Journalists
• How Not to Be Annoying on Twitter and Facebook
• Facebook for Public Relations

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Tagged as: facebook, newsroom

This post originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about leveraging social media and technology in small business.

When Facebook (

) overhauled its Groups this month, users responded with a healthy dose of skepticism and a little bit of confusion. Would these new Groups be powerful new social tools, or just another social media distraction to keep track of? Business owners can wonder the same.

First off, you need to know that unlike Pages (

), Facebook’s new Groups are not made strictly for brand promotion. But that doesn’t mean you can’t get some value out of them, either by using them to reach out to would-be clients or customers or to facilitate communication and community inside your company.

Here’s what you need to know about how Groups can be used by your business.

1. Groups Are Made By Users, Not Your Business

Way back in the day, businesses would set up Facebook Groups that their customers or clients could join for updates, promotions and other helpful information. Those days are over.

Facebook has moved that function to Pages, which are specifically made for promoting brands, businesses or publications. The new Groups are not intended for that by any stretch of the imagination.

You can’t create a group to promote your brand because Groups are meant to form organically out of Facebook’s network of users. Users add each other to Groups to create communities based on interests, careers or other commonalities, and they also do so to reflect real-world social groups — for example, a clique of close friends, or a family.

Since you have to be friends with someone to add them to a Group, forming a Group around your business isn’t practical, and it probably wouldn’t be welcome anyway. The bottom line: Don’t try to create a Group around your brand or business.

2. You Can Market In Groups, But Take It Easy

You can request to join an existing Group, and if you’re admitted, you’ll be able to post items to the group’s news feed. It’s here that you can promote your services, but we’d advise against the direct approach. If users wanted to receive promotions directly, they’d “Like” your Facebook Page. Not everyone in the Group is likely to have done so.

There are alternatives. You can more subtly promote by hosting events (concerts, tastings, or what have you) that would be of interest to the members of the Group, then post notifications about the event in the feed. Don’t overdo it or word it like a sales pitch and you should be fine.

Better yet, engage in Group discussions and add something to the community besides a pitch. If you can find a Group of ideal clients or customers and demonstrate that you’re a considerate and reliable source of info and insight, that can go a long way towards building your brand in their eyes.

3. Groups Are Ideal for Internal Communications

Not bold enough to step out into the wilds of Facebook Groups formed by others? That’s okay, because arguably the biggest opportunity for businesses in Groups is facilitation of communication and community inside the company.

Enterprise-focused social networks like Yammer (

) have been a niche product for a while now, and Groups are (among other things) Facebook’s answer to those services. You can add your company’s employees and partners to a Group and set it to private to use it as a free alternative to something like Yammer.

Employees can share updates on what they’re working on or pass links and other items around that might prove helpful to the organization as a whole. You can also use it to make company announcements.

4. You Should Get Focused with Groups

Because the new Groups feature was designed for intimate settings, the setup is ripe for targeting and interacting with very niche audiences. Check out this post by Mashable’s Jennifer Van Grove in which she discusses how the new Groups feature could be used for consumer review groups, event groups and live chats, using the group chat and document uploading features within the platform.

Do you have any other ideas for utilizing Facebook Groups in small or medium businesses? Be sure to share them in the comments.