| I felt the need to write this article after a | | | | who asked the aforementioned question, and for a |
| recruitment firm asked one of our clients if the | | | | lot of money. I don't know why 80% of marketing |
| marketing person whom they were staffing needed | | | | employees don't learn social media, but they don't. |
| to know social media. The job was a product | | | | From what our sales recruiters have observed, |
| marketing position and our client is a transoceanic | | | | however, the best ones always do. Personally, this |
| fiber optic cable owner and operator. This question | | | | makes me skeptical of many of them. A lack of |
| immediately raised concern amongst myself and my | | | | knowledge regarding social media and its uses results |
| company's sales and marketing recruiters. The | | | | in marketing departments opening up the company |
| problem with social media is that some marketing | | | | checkbook to the first person who calls and says the |
| employees do not take the time to learn about its | | | | words "social media." Since this type of media is an |
| strengths and weaknesses prior to moving forward | | | | aspect of marketing, it is the marketing department |
| with a marketing plan involving social media. What | | | | head's responsibility to stay up to date with how |
| marketing professionals and the people who hire | | | | useful or irrelevant it is to the company's business |
| them need to understand is that "social media" is | | | | development. |
| exactly what it sounds like. It is something that most | | | | Another facet which made the aforementioned |
| people view and disseminate in their free time, and | | | | statement seem like the individual did not know what |
| there are only certain industries that are truly able to | | | | they were talking about it is the fact that if our client |
| benefit from it. From what our sales and marketing | | | | was to put something on YouTube, it would not be |
| recruiters have observed, most of these companies | | | | found. How many tech departments at hedge funds |
| benefitting from social media do not sell their product | | | | are searching around YouTube or Google Video for |
| to other businesses. Instead, they sell straight to the | | | | transoceanic cable providers? Instead, the |
| consumer. For example, YouTube is technically social | | | | prospective head of marketing for this company |
| media, but most CEOs just use it as an excuse to | | | | would need to know that they are not going to |
| get themselves on web television. While some | | | | create a huge buzz via the social media channels, |
| business to business social media initiatives do turn | | | | including Twitter. Most firms with a B2B focus might |
| out to be successful marketing tactics, more often | | | | start a blog hoping to get followers on Twitter, but |
| than not they simply use up time and energy (and | | | | their target market is probably not searching around |
| money) that might be better spent focusing on other | | | | for blogs or Twitter feeds. Optimizing the company |
| forms of business development. | | | | blog for SEO is not going to work either unless you |
| The sales and marketing recruiter who asked our | | | | are an expert at search engine optimization. Twitter |
| client about whether or not the candidate needed to | | | | really works best for online newspapers, celebrity |
| know about social media really had no idea what he | | | | watch lists, sports news (fantasy football) trending, |
| or she was talking about. First of all, to get an expert | | | | etc. Everybody is talking about social media, but only |
| in the field (somebody who knows what they are | | | | a small percentage of the population actually knows |
| talking, as opposed to just throwing the phrase on | | | | what it is. The statement by the above-mentioned |
| their resume) it is going to cost a lot. | | | | recruiter showed a lack of any knowledge of this |
| Second, a company (our client) that is marketing | | | | form of media because, for the most part, our client |
| themselves as a cost effective transoceanic fiber | | | | would want to stay out of social media. Besides |
| service with 10G capacity (instead of the 40G lines, | | | | signing on a large client and wanting to get the word |
| which make up the majority of transoceanic cables) | | | | out (technically PR marketing, not social media), |
| is mainly targeting technology departments within | | | | seemingly the only interesting media the firm would |
| financial-related companies and most likely has no | | | | be able to get to draw attention to themselves |
| need to create a social buzz about their product. The | | | | would be negative coverage in online or traditional |
| product is cost effective but not cutting edge. | | | | media. |
| However, our client was about to hire the vendor | | | | |