Google's new release - SideWiki - is going to fundamentally change the way people interact with websites. In essence, the tool makes every page of every website truly socially enabled. Companies must immediately begin to develop strategies around the management of SideWiki commentary on their career sites - even if the adoption of the tool is slow at first. Those that are prepared to listen to, and engage in, the conversation will be well served. Those that ignore the impact of this tool will find their employer brands at risk of being hijacked, distorted, or diminished. On the flip side, SideWiki has the power to be a significantly positive tool that enhances the dialogue and conversation around well articulated employer brands - literally allowing each and every employee to be a part of the recruiting process by sharing insights, stories, experiences, etc. 

One question that I still do not know how to answer is: How will SideWiki impact SEO and SEM? Since Search is such a critical component to a recruiting strategy, we will need an answer to this question quickly.

Jeremiah Owyang posted about SideWiki on his blog earlier today. I think he is absolutely on target with his comments.

How will you prepare for SideWiki?

Let me know what you think.

Want to know more? Reach out to me with a comment here and join the conversation.

SZE

I have been traveling the world for the past four years evangelizing about the shift in candidates' behaviors and the social media revolution on behalf of the agency. Much of what I have shared with audiences from New York and London to Vancouver and Minneapolis is captured nicely in this short YouTube video by Erik Qualman of Socialnomics fame.

The video does a nice job of putting into perspective the media revolution we are currently experiencing. As always, I am happy to discuss these issues, and more, with any reader.

Let me know what you think.

Want to know more? Reach out to me with a comment here and join the conversation.

SZE

My friend Sarah Vroman shared this link with me and I found it to be a perfect explanation for the current social media boom. People ask me all the time "Why would anyone want to Twitter or Facebook?" and I never have the perfect answer. The article by Joshua-Michele Ross is a worthwhile read.

Let me know what you think.

Want to know more? Reach out to me with a comment here and join the conversation.

SZE

Last week, I commented on the BusinessWeek article Debunking Six Social Media Myths.

As I shared the excitement of being "published" in such a notorious publication, it also brought about further discussion (with both colleagues and clients) in regard to what I call the "courtship phase" of social media planning - or getting to really know your organization before putting down a deposit on the honeymoon suite.

Here's some thought starters:

1) What is your current level of engagement with your target audience?
Take a look at the chart below. Where are you? Where can you reasonably expect to be in 6 mos., 1 year, 2 years?

2) Do you have buy-in from all levels of your company?
Sure, starting with the executive suite and running it by the lawyers are great, but how about the mid-managers, and the rest of the troops? These are the folks that are going to carry your message and really tell your story. Solicit their input from the start - not on the launch date.

3) How will you sustain continued communication? Social media is a 24/7 committment. Due to the level of involvement, many organizations are creating new positions, such as a Social Media Manager, and/or identifying individuals to regularly (not randomly) participate.

4) Take a thorough assessment of your target audience.
Go beyond the traditional demographic data and delve into the interests, hobbies, and non-work-related activities of your current employees - especially those that have been around for a while. Remember - every employee and potential new hire are, in fact, "media snacking" consumers.

5) Integrate, integrate, integrate!
Social media plans are not stand-alone campaigns. Ensure that all elements integrate within both internal and external marcom plans.

6) Monitor, measure, and modify.
Don't expect to get it 100% right the first time. Be prepared to hit a few bumps. And, be weary of those who aren't able to demonstrate how social media will meet your goals and objectives.

So the word is out – the economy contracted by 0.3% in the last quarter. Let’s put that in perspective. 0.3% of the solar system would be the equivalent of Rhode Island, 0.3% of time I spent studying in college would be the equivalent of the time it took to write this sentence, and 0.3% of quality television programming would be, well, impossible to determine since it’s mathematically impossible to divide by 0. Yet apparently this is enough of a change to send the economy into a tailspin. Ah, the mysteries of life.

It looks like the economy will continue to shrink over the next 1-2 quarters (I have it on authority of the online version of the Magic 8-ball (www.msu.edu/~vandrag2/8-ball.html).

With that in mind, should we abandon the employer brand? Of course, not (imagine haughty laughter). In fact, I would argue that we are faced with the convergence of something entirely new during this downturn that makes the need for well-managed employer brands more essential than ever. I’m speaking of business cycle meets social network.

Now you’re probably thinking I mean branding your organization on sites like Facebook, MySpace, or LinkedIn. That’s fine, but it’s not what I’m driving at.

I’m actually talking about incorporating our understanding of how social networks form, evolve, and thrive, above and beyond networking sites. Think sociometry. For those of you who didn’t put this on your summer reading, Wikipedia defines it in this way: Sociometry is a quantitative method for measuring social relationships. It was developed by psychotherapist Jacob L. Moreno in his studies of the relationship between social structures and psychological well-being. (Way to go, Jacob.)

A lot of it has to do with identifying nodes within the network – key points of intersection that bind people together – the same points of intersection that will drive opinion of the employment experience within your company, and therefore, outside of your company as well. Think of these nodes as network leaders, or for our purposes, the ideal employer brand evangelists.

Targeting these network leaders during a downturn is akin to identifying and communicating with trend leaders from a product adoption standpoint, key influencers that through their engagement, give everyone else permission to engage.

During a downturn, they are the most important audience you can imagine, and when the economy turns around, you’ll be in position to capitalize on the strong employer brand foundation you’ve created.

r

Random rave: to Ted Kirschner for my new blog photo. I feel so iconic now.

Ads, commercials, billboards, radio spots, events, direct mail, web sites, banners, transit posters, and even bumper stickers all have two things in common. One, they are various forms of media. Two, they have to be deliberately created, and therefore lack spontaneity and the believability that accompanies that trait. In effect, these media and their corresponding content represent manufactured messaging.

Person to person communication can certainly be as planned and contrived as any of the outlets listed above, but has the potential to be natural, and therefore in some respects, more insightful. At its best, this form of communication is organic, occurring out of compelling need (either need to tell or need to hear).

So, who cares?

Anyone trying to convey an employer brand should.

Why?

Because the majority of active and latent candidates in the employment market form their opinions about an employer based on personal interaction with brand representatives and the brand experience.

Again, so?

It means that your manufactured messaging (for those with short memories, see paragraph one) is going to have limited impact.

Can anyone stop me from this assault of serial questioning?

Probably not.

The following diagram shows how organic messaging reaches candidates. Sometimes the content and/or experience will be direct, but often it is filtered through social and professional networks. In all cases, however, it offers a higher degree of perceived transparency than manufactured messaging, and therefore, a higher potential to be trusted.

Embracing organic messaging as a fundamental part of your employer brand building strategy will enable you to achieve your goals in a more effective manner. It also puts the concept of re-recruiting at the forefront, which in turn, gives me yet another mildly intriguing topic to write about in the future.

r