MySpace. Facebook. LinkedIn. It seems everyone either belongs to one or more of these social networking sites or knows someone who does – and that's just three of the biggest names out there accounting for an audience share of over 400 million readers.
The list of social networking sites goes on and on and on, and new sites with new readers keep popping up every day. The advertising possibilities of so many viewers can be a bit daunting (how do you choose the right site to target who you're looking for?) but can also be completely overlooked.
As younger generations grow into working age, they bring with them their online habits, networks, friendships, and mindsets. Today, you might not need to know everything there is to know about these social networking hubs, but what about tomorrow?
To find out more about what social networking can mean for your organization, the benefits and the pitfalls, you need someone who can guide you. You need someone like The David Group.
Google Analytics is a great tool to have in your job marketing skills. There are few online applications out there that are better at slicing and dicing the data that is compiled about visitors to your company's website.
The only problem?
Analytics is updated with new features and tweaks so frequently it's hard to keep up with the latest developments. While there are many books on the subject, the speed of online updates means you'll have to move almost as fast as Google if you want to keep up with their newest offering. Thick volumes about CD or DVD based software packages, like Microsoft Office or Adobe Creative Suite, are immensely helpful because the software is only seriously updated every few years, the online world is an ever-changing one.
Two incredibly helpful resources can make your life easier. As always, blogs – like this one ;) – are your best resource. With the instant response times of online published material and the hive-mind power the internet has harnessed, bloggers will keep you up to date on every new twist and wrinkle.
One of your best starts is, of course, the Google Analytics Blog itself. Tapping the source should almost always be step number one. To make that power even easier to undestand and harness, Google's done one better by creating their own dedicated YouTube channel stocked with videos showing you how to get started and how to begin putting Analytics to work for you.
Office work, let's face it, can somedays be trying. Rapidly approaching deadlines, an inbox filled with requests, administrators and managers who misunderstand your placement in the company, positions that need filled, desk supply shortages. It is important now and then to find a way to squeeze some fun into your hectic schedule.
Studiesindicateandexpertsagree that fun breaks can actually boost employees' productivity by relieving stress and stimulating the brain. These can be games or short videos or quick exercise routines on the stairs or in your office. Otherwise, employees feel like they're simply going round and round and gaining nothing, as in the following example:
An example of fun – YouTube videos.
Fun can also be a great way to brand your company, letting prospective candidates know that you value a healthy work/life balance and that you're an employer who is pleasant to work for – as well as one with an eye on success. Branding strategies that are compelling and entertaining hold the attention of your target market and leave your audience with a pleasurable impression of you as an employer of choice.
With just a little investment of time, energy, and initiative, your standing online and in the general job search market can rise exponentially. Perhaps your greatest asset in the recruiting and retention end of business is your company's reputation. Turning current and prospective employees frowns upside down is the most essential step along that path.
To that end, consider advergaming as a highly effective tool in burnishing your reputation and spreading the word that you're an employer who "gets it." A targeted game, using your branded colors and associated with your organization's goals and market placement, can deliver serious market penetration when it comes to name recognition.
The fun and timely advergame below was a little something we cooked up for our clients and for everyone associated with making The David Group an effective leader in recruitment advertising. Isn't it time you started thinking about where fun fits into your branding toolbox? We can help you find the answer.
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone out there – and enjoy the GAME.
We've all been there before – the first day on the new job. You go through it all, excitement, nervousness, giddy heights and the overwhelming fear that you might not be up to the job. It's natural enough to go through this, but is there a way organizations could make the experience easier for new hires?
Onboarding services – like the kind the David Group can help you build – can slow this emotional carnival down and give new employees a chance to find their groove.
Years and years ago, during graduate school, I got to experience several first days with companies when I was a temp. Temping can be the ideal arrangement for full-time students, but, as the name implies, jobs come and go. There were good employers and bad employers like everywhere, but one particular bad example stands out even years later.
The job was an overly technical one, not the kind of thing you could just walk in and take on. The client had a proprietary software, the entire work process had to be done on this software, and no one had ever bothered to create a manual. After the usual walk through the building, watching my supervisor point at one person after another while rattling off at least thirty new names, she sat me down at a chair and started to train me to do the job.
And here my troubles began.
Not only was the software confusing, the precise process I was performing was never explained to me and my trainer had little patience or ability for the task. What the goal I was meant to accomplish was completely left out of any explanation. Was I in the billing procedure, the marketing function, the inventory department – what?
If you couldn't guess, I flailed on the software for half the day, constantly getting out of my chair to approach my supervisor with questions. Somehow in the twenty minute tutorial, I hadn't managed to absorb every contingency and its accompanying alternate work flow chart.
And each question only increased my supervisor's frustrations. By 11:30am, she was openly raising her voice at my incompetence and sighing heavily and sarcastically. By my noon lunch break, I was on the phone to the temp agency requesting reassignment.
While my example might seem a little extreme, the fact is that 90% of new employees make up their mind whether or not they will stay in a position within the first six months of hire. New employee turnover rates can bedevil the best companies if they don't have a thorough and inviting onboarding strategy in place.
That means, obviously, a well-developed, easy-to-follow training process with manuals and competent instructors, but there are a lot of easy to implement procedures that can make all the difference in the world. A welcoming gift is simple to provide and it doesn't need to cost much at all. It can be as small as a cookie or the first day's lunch on the company. The important thing to remember is that onboarding has to start almost immediately after an applicant accepts your offer, has to have the new employee's comfort and satisfaction in mind, and can't simply disappear after the first couple hours of employment.
If you're not sure what you should do, then consider consulting experts who can guide you in the nuts and bolts. The payoff is almost sure to follow.
As organizations negotiate the tricky path to successful internet branding, they could find their reputations challenged from an unexpected source. A growing cottage industry is developing online to give former and current employees or organizations a place to gripe about their employers. While the emergence of these sites is still relatively new, you need to be aware of who is out there, communicating without your knowledge.
Whether it’s through sites such as Job Jabber, TeCross, JobVent or countless others, anonymous workers can log in and rank your business on a variety of metrics. Built up work frustrations can spawn toxic postings tearing down your image in an easily accessible, searchable database.
What can you do?
The most important thing is not to lose your cool. It’s a natural desire to respond immediately to any criticism, acting out of a defensive posture. But a reactionary approach to these sites could actually harm your image more than the original complaint. If you or someone from your organization show up to respond to every posting, readers will see it for what it is – the corporate line.
It is always important to pick and choose your battles, to make the most of honest criticism and to fight unfair complaints. Regular monitoring of these sites can alert you to disgruntled current and former employees, but they can also alert you to issues employees may not feel are not being adequately addressed.
Top employers hear what their employees tell them and the rest of the world online. Responsive employers listen, learn and grow. We’ll help you put together an effective strategy to counter complaints that affect your brand and image and to fairly address concerns. Let our years of communication success help you manage your message.
Our new corporate website is getting closer every day to completion and launch, and I have to say we're pretty excited about the new look, the new functionality and the new content.
Kudos to the Designers who have really taken our site in a fresh new way.
