Everyone is talking / chatting / tweeting / updating / messaging / emailing about social recruiting, social media and social networking - you could say we have all become a little obsessed with it all!
But when these subjects are mentioned it is always Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and (lately) Google Buzz. While these are certainly all part of the mix, there is something that people seem to keep paying scant lip service to - which is a BIG mistake - it is of course the mothership of social media - your blog!
Now just in case you are thinking of a sinister mothership image such as the one from the Will Smith film Independence Day (great film by the way), don't panic!! Blogs are not bad, they are not the anti-christs of social media and they are not alien platforms from another planet! Substitute the word 'hub' for the word 'mothership' (which might make you feel a little more comfortable with this concept) as a description of what I mean.
I think Debbie Weil sums it up well in her Corporate Blogging book, when she says that blogs are no longer online diaries (remember the phrase weblog?) - that was back from 2004, when 'Blog' was voted THE Word of the Year. Blogs should now be classed as 'social websites' and respected accordingly.
For me, this is absolutely what I believe to be the case, and always have done.
When you are trying to attract people through social websites - whether that be Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn etc - I believe that if they see your website address on your profile (because we all look at people's profiles before you decide to follow them or link up to them, right?), and what appears to be a corporate/businesslike web url, they could well be put off from the start. After all, we are talking about the word social here. If, however they see a blog url (or a non corporate looking url) then there is more of an inclination to click through and find out more.
My reasoning is simple - users of social media websites are becoming more and more sceptical, of companies trying to sell them products or promoting their services directly. They tend to push back - I know I do!
So there is me talking about the blog being your social media hub, but what does that really mean?
Very simply, you direct all your social media channels to your blog first , as shown below - (and you can even embed the content from all these sites into your blog, if you choose):
Obviously, you will have very obvious links from your blog to your website, and from your website to your blog, so don't think it will mean people will not visit your website!
Why a blog as the hub? It allows you to talk to your clients, employees, job seekers and the industry in a less formal way. It fosters a community that you create, that you can engage with in two-way conversation. You can start the conversation on Twitter (for example) and continue the discussion on your blog.
The world is fast going social, and having a central medium where you can enable and aggregate your online conversations will be key to your online success. Blogs allow you to do this.
Your 'brochure website' will still be there - it will get you sales and it will attract customers and job seekers who want to 'buy' - but it won't engage them in a conversation like your blog will.
