Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Always Listen to Your Blogger
Everyone is very familiar with the saying, "always listen to your mother". In my case, that advice has always tended to come in handy. Therefore, I am extending the same advice to companies, with a slight twist on words. Just as important it is for one to listen to their mother, it is important for companies to listen to bloggers.
As of Jan. 2008, 120 newspapers have gone out of business (sm lecture notes). Less and less people are watching the news and more and more people are turning to online sources. The blogosphere has had an incredible launch in the last year with thousands of people blogging on an array of topics. Recently, I started to realize how much of the content bloggers wrote about concerned businesses and were reviews about their products and services. And, why should this concern businesses? Well, bloggers are part of something called social media (if you are reading this, then you are all too familiar with what social media is). Reminded by my social media prof., social implies interaction. It is for this very reason that companies should listen to bloggers.
If there is negative press about a company (not social media), the press only reaches the people who watch a certain news channel or read a certain magazine. Most of the time, companies are able to get a wind of news stories and interject the bad press. Companies keep close relations with journalists which also help them track certain news stories and come up with a crisis response, the instant it is needed. The blogosphere is different. Once a story is posted, it can be reached by millions of people in a number of seconds. The story is free and available to anyone who can get granted access to the internet. If something negative is written about a company, then that news is picked up by another blogger. This blogger also spreads the news or the news is spread by a person who reads the blog and then posts in on another social media site for someone else to read. Again, social implies interaction. In a matter of second, negativity about an organization is moving through the internet and reaching millions like wildfire.
With that being said, I think it is essential for a company to hire a team of people dedicated to tracking and responding to what is said in the blogosphere. This way negative press does not have the ability to spread across the internet and if it does, a company is aware of it and able to respond immediately. Furthermore, if a company is not aware of what is being said, then they are not able to respond. This could look like ignorance. On the other hand, if a company is aware and responds, then they look active and are given an advantage over other companies. And that is why companies should listen to bloggers.
As of Jan. 2008, 120 newspapers have gone out of business (sm lecture notes). Less and less people are watching the news and more and more people are turning to online sources. The blogosphere has had an incredible launch in the last year with thousands of people blogging on an array of topics. Recently, I started to realize how much of the content bloggers wrote about concerned businesses and were reviews about their products and services. And, why should this concern businesses? Well, bloggers are part of something called social media (if you are reading this, then you are all too familiar with what social media is). Reminded by my social media prof., social implies interaction. It is for this very reason that companies should listen to bloggers.
If there is negative press about a company (not social media), the press only reaches the people who watch a certain news channel or read a certain magazine. Most of the time, companies are able to get a wind of news stories and interject the bad press. Companies keep close relations with journalists which also help them track certain news stories and come up with a crisis response, the instant it is needed. The blogosphere is different. Once a story is posted, it can be reached by millions of people in a number of seconds. The story is free and available to anyone who can get granted access to the internet. If something negative is written about a company, then that news is picked up by another blogger. This blogger also spreads the news or the news is spread by a person who reads the blog and then posts in on another social media site for someone else to read. Again, social implies interaction. In a matter of second, negativity about an organization is moving through the internet and reaching millions like wildfire.
With that being said, I think it is essential for a company to hire a team of people dedicated to tracking and responding to what is said in the blogosphere. This way negative press does not have the ability to spread across the internet and if it does, a company is aware of it and able to respond immediately. Furthermore, if a company is not aware of what is being said, then they are not able to respond. This could look like ignorance. On the other hand, if a company is aware and responds, then they look active and are given an advantage over other companies. And that is why companies should listen to bloggers.
Monday, April 12, 2010
The High Profiler
The high profiler...who is he/she? Well, the high profiler (according to me) is the employee who is not only an asset to a company but a public figure head as well. He/she makes public appearances, is well know in the community, and attracts a lot of media attention. So what happens if this said high profiler does something to attract negative attention to themself and ultimately the company they work for?
Scenario: high profiler has been arrested (use your imagination) and released. He is too important to fire but the media is all over the situation and what happened. Now the company has a decision to make: confront the media and try to "PR" the situation or turn a blind eye and let the whole thing blow over.
Think about what you would do if you were that company. If I were in charge of human resources or the public relations department, I would confront the situation head on. Since the employee is an important figure head, his/her reputation is going to affect the company. The media is going to look to the company for a response, even though they had nothing to do with the situation. However, questions like, "has this behavior been typical of him/her" "where does his/her future lie" etc. will never go away. The company could develop a bad reputation if they do not take responsibility and address the situation. The company needs to explain why the high profiler is still with the company, what are the consequences for his/her actions internally, what will he/she be doing to make it up to the public (e.g. volunteer work, etc), and an assurance that it will never happen again. While this may seem like a lot, a company needs to realize that what an employee does outside of work can affect them and they need to be ready with a response!
On the other hand, even if the company decided to fire this high profiler, they still should have a response prepared for the media/public. It is the professional thing to do.
Do you agree? Thoughts? What would you do if you were the aforementioned company?
Scenario: high profiler has been arrested (use your imagination) and released. He is too important to fire but the media is all over the situation and what happened. Now the company has a decision to make: confront the media and try to "PR" the situation or turn a blind eye and let the whole thing blow over.
Think about what you would do if you were that company. If I were in charge of human resources or the public relations department, I would confront the situation head on. Since the employee is an important figure head, his/her reputation is going to affect the company. The media is going to look to the company for a response, even though they had nothing to do with the situation. However, questions like, "has this behavior been typical of him/her" "where does his/her future lie" etc. will never go away. The company could develop a bad reputation if they do not take responsibility and address the situation. The company needs to explain why the high profiler is still with the company, what are the consequences for his/her actions internally, what will he/she be doing to make it up to the public (e.g. volunteer work, etc), and an assurance that it will never happen again. While this may seem like a lot, a company needs to realize that what an employee does outside of work can affect them and they need to be ready with a response!
On the other hand, even if the company decided to fire this high profiler, they still should have a response prepared for the media/public. It is the professional thing to do.
Do you agree? Thoughts? What would you do if you were the aforementioned company?
Sunday, April 4, 2010
The Online Advantage
Last week, I talked about the importance of presenting yourself well online. However, I mostly covered the question regarding employers and how much of your personal info online should be available to them. This week, I want to talk about the following: how individuals who have more of an online presence (not just Facebook/Twitter) increase their chances of getting a job.
Originally, I thought an online presence could impact a person negatively. But then two weeks ago, I had an interview for a summer internship. As you may have guessed, I was put at an advantage becuase I had an online presence and was knowledgeable of social media ...I got the job!!!! I started to realize that an online presence did not necessarily mean Facebook or Twitter (while those are still good sites to become familiar with). I realized that it meant blogs, LinkedIn, Flickr, vlogs, podcasts, personal websites, etc. Nowadays, so much is done online that it is really important that a company hires someone who can research and work both off and online. Also, an employer has a better chance of becoming familiar with who you are and what kind of work you do by the online presence you have created. This way you can spend time during an interview expanding on your strengths and background, since a company already has a taste for who you are. Furthermore, if a company likes what you are online, then a company will probably like you in person as well. I definitely thinks this creates an advantage for someone over someone who does not have an online presence and just sends in a resume for an employeer to look at.
Lastly, as I mentioned above, social media is becoming even more critical to all organizations. There is a difference between being knowledgeable about social media or being knowledgeable about social media and actually utilizing social media. Do you think an employer is interested in someone who can just spit out facts about social media or actually has experience with it. Therefore, if you have Facebook and Twitter-great start! However, I highly encourage that you start exploring other social media applications and get your name out there! I promise, it will pay off!
Originally, I thought an online presence could impact a person negatively. But then two weeks ago, I had an interview for a summer internship. As you may have guessed, I was put at an advantage becuase I had an online presence and was knowledgeable of social media ...I got the job!!!! I started to realize that an online presence did not necessarily mean Facebook or Twitter (while those are still good sites to become familiar with). I realized that it meant blogs, LinkedIn, Flickr, vlogs, podcasts, personal websites, etc. Nowadays, so much is done online that it is really important that a company hires someone who can research and work both off and online. Also, an employer has a better chance of becoming familiar with who you are and what kind of work you do by the online presence you have created. This way you can spend time during an interview expanding on your strengths and background, since a company already has a taste for who you are. Furthermore, if a company likes what you are online, then a company will probably like you in person as well. I definitely thinks this creates an advantage for someone over someone who does not have an online presence and just sends in a resume for an employeer to look at.
Lastly, as I mentioned above, social media is becoming even more critical to all organizations. There is a difference between being knowledgeable about social media or being knowledgeable about social media and actually utilizing social media. Do you think an employer is interested in someone who can just spit out facts about social media or actually has experience with it. Therefore, if you have Facebook and Twitter-great start! However, I highly encourage that you start exploring other social media applications and get your name out there! I promise, it will pay off!
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