- The Fluxus Blog

Candidate education?

Wed, 19 May 2010 04:45:09 -0800

I've been doing some PR and blogging for one of my current clients www.total-cvs.co.uk and thought I might include my latest post here as I thought there were some points that may be of interest to more than

Some interesting stats have been flying around lately with the big one being 7.3% of the world population being signed up to Facebook and that Linkedin jumped from 10 million users in 2007 to 50 million at the tail end of last year, the monster grows and grows!

It does present some interesting opportunities for those of us involved in the candidate services side of things. Despite the growth of both platforms there is still a huge lack of understanding on the candidate side of what influence both sites can actually have on their career prospects. They also very rarely know how to use the sites effectively to help them develop their personal brand.

Education is still a core part of the recruitment industry's responsibility if it wants to continue growth in the right way. I worked on a project last year with recent grads who didn't even know what Totaljobs and Monster were, introducing them to Linkedin was like a whole new world.. So why is this? When I started in the industry far more years back than I care to admit job boards used to be required to educate not only client side but also candidate side and they fulfilled that role very well. As more money flooded in less investment was made in education, we all believed people just "got it" and for a while they did. Job boards were everywhere and spending like it was going out of fashion but we forgot the next generation.

Now job boards are scrambling to have a social media presence because while nobody was thinking about it gen X and Y started doing different things online to just finding stuff through Google they actually started to engage, review, discuss, write and share information. Suddenly the need to spend £250,000 a month on paid search (you know who you are...) was not as important as catching and engaging. Now that has started to happen (aside from those who's strategy is “cool sounding” tokenism) we all need to remember that though social media is exciting, we in the industry get it and some understand it, but the crucial thing is the audience we want to attract may not actually understand what it is they are doing putting information out there.

Do we start education all over again..? I believe we as those on the candidate side really do, whether job boards believe that or not is another question.

Social Media Regulation

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 07:31:20 -0800

We've finally hit it, social officially became mainstream! After years of being described as a flash in the pan or a fad by some famous and not so famous faces: Is Social Media A Fad Sick of the Hype Don't like Social Networks (all apologies to Mr Hurst!). The Guardian released the news first and apparently the ASA standards will be in place by the end of this year.

Rae Burdon COO of the AA said: "The industry has delivered a clear mandate that first and foremost will protect consumers and children [and] that will also protect editorial content,"

But what does regulation mean and how is this going to affect the world of social media? Well no more outlandish claims on websites, blogs and twitter feeds, if you're using it for marketing then it has to fit the same parameters as print, radio and TV advertising which is,, lets face it about time. We've all seen some pretty outrageous claims and counter claims and we'll hopefully start to see them scaling back.

The other major area of impact will be in the consulting world as more and more companies will want to bring things in house and develop larger teams in order to ensure they are not only hitting the channels they need to be but also that they are complying with a new set of rules. Smaller businesses will have to start employing people who ACTUALLY KNOW what they are doing too, so it's win/win for the world of social!

Social Policy or Not?

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 01:52:24 -0800

Manpower reported that US companies are getting way ahead of everyone else when it comes to having a social media policy but it's still not as widespread as perhaps it should be.

29% of US companies have a Social media policy in place wile in Asia PAC that number drops to 25% and only 11% across EMEA, with the Americans pulling the numbers up it takes the global figure to 20%. Despite a huge amount of searching I couldn't find any figures specifically for the UK which is disappointing.

In some of my recent experience I have found that companies who want to use social media as a part of their marketing and sales strategy are keen to get a policy in place. I find that a little surprising with most as they are rushing from having nothing to suddenly wanting to control interaction completely. I have to say in the case of SMEs I generally advise against shutting people down without knowing what they bring to the party.

There is, undoubtedly a cost to social media use which does, like it or not, hit businesses and that should be managed. Morse's survey of nearly 1500 UK office workers concluded that Social Media use was costing businesses £1.38bn. So yes, there is an argument for getting a policy in place to regulate the time spent using social channels for those who do not need them as a part of their job.

63% of companies who have a social policy say it has been a benefit to them, but that's a low number and what form that benefit takes has not really been clarified. With only 4% of businesses actually being harmed by the actions of an employee using Social Media getting being heavy handed with your policy may be a little pointless for a vast number of companies but that will not stop the thriving business in scaremongering and selling social policy.

If your company is willing to embrace social media and make it's use more effective internally and externally then the social policy may be irrelevant to some extent. Building internal social channels for collaboration on projects is a great start, marketing can and should be using social media, if they aren't then where have you been?? Sales can and should understand the benefits social. If everyone is given the opportunity to use a platform they know and understand in a new and effective way for business then they are less likely to misuse it as a resource.

IPad?

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 09:03:43 -0800

Shamelessly stolen but it does sum up thinking about the ipad!

Job boards, a recovery sign or just moneymaking

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 03:06:19 -0800

As many will know I used to work for Onrec and as such I saw just about every permutation of job board rise and fall, some were a raging success and others were doomed from the first time I spoke with them (unfortunately this accounted for the VAST majority of new launches I encountered). There were many people who actually had good ideas they just launched them at a time when the market was in a terrible state and they had nothing like the money they needed to enter it at the time and survive. I sincerely hope those that had good ideas will have the courage to give it another go when the job market is more stable (and by the way, I don't think that's happened yet, personal opinion only!!).

The one group of sites I used to REALLY hated hearing from was ones launched by recruiters, people who own a high street or specialist agency who just thought "I'm not doing well with placing temps and perms right now, blimey, you can set up a job board on the cheap, I wonder if it will a) give me some leads or b) make me some cash on the side"

I really thought the industry had seen the end of these chancers but apparently not, I get them coming to me through linkedin and through my site (two announced with some fanfare today) and I have one thing to say to them all.. Can you PLEASE stop, it's pretty obvious to anyone with a brain that you are not doing this to launch a real service, you are trying to build candidate databases for your core business and we do really understand that you are using it for lead generation in a tight market...

Rant over....

Post Title.

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 06:12:08 -0800

OK, been v. busy recently and not really had time to blog, chasing clients, work and new opportunities should really be no excuse but I'm going with it... Do as I say, not as I do has been the motto for the last few weeks!

Anyway, I just quickly wanted to share this with people, it's a quick vid on google social search and how it works, come on people, this is important, pay attention! Thankfully in an unchallenging format!

Sales and Social where's the connection??

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:26:13 -0800

I've read a few things recently that have talked about what influence SM has on sales. There's the SM consultant POV that says people want to have a conversation and not be sold to but come on , as much as people would like that it's not Actually a reality is it? If we all waited for a conversation to be fruitful then no one would ever make money!

There are some that say the rise of UGC means the salesperson has no clout anymore because the views of everyone else are more important and accessible. Well, yes, people do read reviews and tripadvisor is responsible for me not staying in a vast amount of hotels but when making a B2B purchase does UGC carry as much weight? What influences people to write about bad B2B experiences? I've been on the receiving end but mainly from people and companies that can't pay their bills or who did not use the service in the way they were advised to or who expected something other than what was sold to them.

Personally I see Social Media as a great tool for a salesperson and a method of engaging with customers in a way they have never been able to before. Yes, it involves a sea change in the way businesses measure sales activity but it can't be dismissed. Getting salespeople to make 100 calls a day in an increasingly social environment means they are going to start getting tweeted about as “that annoying sales guy", whereas if salespeople are clever and understand how to interact with their prospects they can start to build trust and awareness without having to come on strong. They can find out what is going on within a business and really effectively spot opportunities and understand where their solution can fit.

Social is not the death of sales people. Alex Shultze would have you believe it's time to panic and sales teams should be in turmoil but personally I believe there's never been a better time to be in sales if you're willing to embrace a few new ideas. It's not about running round like a headless chicken and worrying what everyone else is doing, reading and saying, it's actually about thinking how your customer behaves, understanding your market and becoming a part of the community and not the opportunist who sits just outside and hopes to makes something from it. If you're a part of the community then you can become a trusted resource and the go to guy when people do need to buy.

Social Media, what are you scared of?

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 06:23:32 -0800

A couple of recent experiences talking to potential clients about social strategies brought us a few things so I thought I'd share them with you, social media is not terrifying, honestly! The top 4 objections I have had are below, hopefully the gentle advice included will help some people wavering on the subject think about it in a better light!

Why are you scared of Social Media?

For a huge number of businesses “social” is still a dirty word conjuring up all sorts of images that will damage them and bring the company into disrepute. Well, here are the top 4 blocks to Social as I see it.

1- Social Media wastes my staff's time
We have all heard it, we have all seen it and in all probability, if you work for a large corporate then you'll have it in place.. The dreaded block on Social Media channels (though lets face it, they can't block them all, how long did it take most to cotton on to Twitter??). The big question is why block one channel and not all? A company I used to work with blocked access to Facebook and myspace as a bit of a knee jerk but I did point out to them that they had recently allowed most of their staff to have smartphones as their company mobiles (and those without a work phone invariably had a smartphone anyway)... so people just went to social sites through their phone.

With the way people use the internet these days it really is stupid to try and stop it, are you going to take phones from people and check what they are doing when they are on lunch, or even in the toilet (hey, we've all looked at the internet in there!).

The value to workers of having Internet access - in terms of research, communication, and speed - is far greater than the threat of lost productivity. Sure, make some policies and guidelines for internet usage and what you post but don't just stop it. You never know, you may have a really well read blogger working for you who is helping your company's brand without you even knowing!

2- Social media is expensive!!
OK, the tools to do most things are free but knowing what you are doing is another thing entirely, some people profess to be “experts” and will fill your mind full of things you probably don't need.. The people to look for are those that don't say they are experts, lets face it this media is changing so rapidly that keeping up is a full time job in itself. Perhaps look for evangelists, people who rhapsodise about social and who ACTUALLY use it to some effect other than vanity.

Integrating a social strategy into the overall marketing and advertising strategy is not an easy thing to do but when done right it adds so much it IS worth doing.

If you are doing it then please do it right! The web is littered with half baked community sites, employer brand ideas that never went anywhere and blogs that never get filled up! Make sure you get someone good on board who really knows their stuff and who can really help. Yes it may cost but how much were you going to spend on traditional advertising this year???

Just remember what Geoff Livingstone said:

"Parroting and/or reporting what you see on the Internet does not equate to actual savoir faire. Nor does it make someone fit to offer insights or counsel." 3- Social Media will damage our brand!

What if someone says something nasty???

Trust me, someone is, just because you can't hear them doesn't mean it's not happening, ex client, ex employee, rival company, they are all out there and no, it's not paranoia. What they say, how strongly they say it and to who really depends on you, if your brand is being damaged by these conversations you really need to manage them and make some changes.

If you build a community of people who have positive opinions and experiences of you then they will defend your brand for you but if they don't have a channel to express that then there is nothing to stop the damage being done.

There are instances where employees damage your brand but it's how you respond to that that can really set you apart. If you are monitoring the buzz around your business you should be able to recognise threats almost as quickly as you recognise opportunities.

4- We'll lose control of our brand.
I said it before and I'll say it again, they are already talking about you, blogging, tweeting etc. are all really easy things to do, anyone with half a brain and over the age of about five can set themselves up and start talking about whatever they want

Russ Klein, president for global marketing, strategy and innovation at Burger King: "As consumers “wrest control away from brand-management control freaks,” he advised his peers, “get over it,” because “turning your brand over to the consumer is taking control - and in fact, if you do, they’ll return it to you in better shape.”

Face it, you don't have control anymore, so it's just better to join the conversation and get involved.

If you monitor effectively and you know where people are talking and about what then you can tap into the most honest and effective marketing resource available.

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Thu, 24 Sep 2009 06:18:39 -0800

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