Have you been Facebooked ?
OPP is a company whose service is based around the psychology of business.
They are presenting their findings of a survey into the use of Facebook by employers at the British Psychological Societies conference this week. In brief their report will note that..
56% of Employers will check out the social media presence of applicants for posts.
It is interesting to note that in the survey, which was conducted around the use of Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, 27% of the respondents said that they would feel uncomfortable having the same thing done.
The same survey found that despite over half of the potential employers would make reference to social media 37% thought that the on-line profiles may be misleading in any case.
However a study by another group in the publication Cyberpsychology, Behaviour and Social Networking found that on-line behaviour was reflective of and an indicative of off-line behaviour.
So here’s the thing…
57% of employers will check out potential employees social media presence and, since it is generally the rule that once we know something we can’t un-know it, what they find there will have some effect upon their assessment of the applicant.
It follows then, that your BUSINESS will be checked out by potential clients..
The question has to be about the quality and relevance of you and your businesses social media presence.
… and here’s a sobering thought….
One business I have worked with has used Facebook to create a list of ‘friends’ which are clearly their target audience. A recent status update brought immediate enquiries and bookings for the services they were offering. How much business – a 70% increase on what they had during the same period this time last year.
The power of social networking cannot be underestimated.
The key message for now has to be …
If you have a social media profile on-line use it and keep it current.
Alan
Related articles
- Social media, the ultimate career-squasher (nakedsecurity.sophos.com)
- Guardian Jobs Reminds You to Monitor Your Social Sharing (pamil-visions.net)
- Study: Why Do People Use Facebook? (readwriteweb.com)
- Failure To Adopt Social Media Poses Personal And Professional Risks (marketingland.com)
- Twitter For Business: How Twitter PR Is Beneficial To Company Success (alanjonesuk.com)
- Marketing and Social Media: Press Releases, or, Market Segmentation for Fun and Profit (alanjonesuk.com)
- How to be ethical in social media (publicrelationssydney.com.au)
