Use Facebook to Get Clients

I’m friends with a lot of resume writers on Facebook. Some of them are really good about letting the world know what they do. Others aren’t.

If you’re looking to get more clients, Facebook can be an excellent source of referrals. People do business with people that they know, like, and trust. People who know you from Facebook can be an escellent source of referrals — or even become clients directly.

When was the last time you actually talked about your business and what you do for people on Facebook? Do the followers of your personal profile have any idea what you do for a living? Or are you on Facebook keeping up with college buddies and parents from your kids’ school?

I know you know this, but it bears repeating: If you don’t toot your own horn once in a while, nobody else will do it for you. Don’t sit back and wait for people to find you. Be proactive and step out from behind your computer and tell people you’re a resume writer.

True, you don’t want every single post to be self-promotional, because that definitely gets old and could turn followers away from you. Instead, develop a social media plan so your posts are a good balance between personal, business, and fun.

Facebook allows at least three different ways to reach your audience — and if you’re on Facebook for business, you should utilize all three, because not everyone will see every single post you publish. Using three different avenues raises your odds that the people in your target market will see something of interest.

Step One: Optimize Your Personal Profile
Prospective clients will check out your profile if it’s public or semi-public. So, in order to grab their attention, post consistently and be sure you fill out ALL the space on your personal profile page as completely as possible.

• Add a bio — describe to your followers what makes you tick, and how you’re unique 
• Add featured photos — a nice, visual way to grab attention with photos from conferences, workshops, speaking engagements, etc. 
• Add your workplace information – link to your website, Facebook Group, and Facebook Business Page 
• Link other social media profiles — under the About >> Contact & Basic Info section 

Even though your personal profile is meant for personal stuff, you can certainly announce the launch of your book, post photos of your recent conference you attended. While these are business-related, you’re not purposefully promoting your business via your personal profile.

Step Two: Create a Business Page on Facebook
The standard rule of Facebook is you use a business page to promote your business while your personal profile is meant for personal communication. So, to stay in good standing with Facebook, create that business page and optimize it in the same manner as you did your personal profile.

Business pages have come under fire recently because users complain that they never see page posts in their news feeds, even though they have liked the page. While this is aggravating, don’t give up yet. If for nothing else, you can add your website link and other contact information here and, since it’s a business page, you can talk about your business and promote your products every single day, even multiple times a day, without penalty. You can also run contests from your business page as well as add an opt-in offer to one of the tabs. Consider this a quick overview of your business where your followers can decide if they want to move forward with a consultation. Put a “Send Message” button on your business page to make appointment booking even easier.

Step Three: Consider Using Facebook Groups to Woo Prospects
Facebook groups can be another great resource to chat directly with prospective clients. Public groups are a good way to handle customer service questions. Closed or Secret groups are best used for specialty discussion topics, or memberships. Keep in mind that successful groups need daily interaction from their host so they don’t forget about you but that’s easy to add to your overall Facebook marketing plan.

I don’t know of very man resume writers using public groups, but there are a few using Closed or Secret groups as a benefit of working with them.


Remember this important note: finding clients is all about building relationships, and that doesn’t happen overnight. Talk about your business, showcase your expertise, reach out to your followers, and when the time is right, they will remember your name because you talked about what you do.

Why Have a Facebook Business Page For Your Resume Writing Business?

Why should your resume writing business be on Facebook? Because that's where the people (and prospects!) are! Both Facebook and Mashable put monthly Facebook visitors at 1 billion, from December 2012 to February 2013. 

Visitors spend an average of 28.8 minutes per day within Facebook’s portals, hanging out with friends and acquaintances, and looking for entertainment or news. Its daily reach is an enormous 43%, with use and popularity still on the rise.

But wait – just because it’s the most popular social network in the world, is that any reason to use it for business purposes? Isn’t it primarily social? Won’t your voice get drowned out amid all those millions of users?

Great questions. Let’s see exactly what Facebook can do for you and your resume writing business – and why you should use it for that purpose.

Facebook is a Community
For a staggering number of people, posting their daily status update and seeing who has replied to previous posts is the most important action of their day – whether or not they openly admit it. And that goes for some surprisingly outgoing people, totally busting the supposition that Facebook is for introverts. (One survey last year revealed that people rank Facebook friends on a par with their local, immediate friends.)

Facebook is here to stay. It is a part of our times. But what does this friendship connection mean to business?

Mainly that people nowadays do not buy on product value alone: They buy on the basis of social proof. Google states that 70% of American consumers don’t purchase until they’ve read formal or informal reviews.

As far back as 2010, Ecoconsultancy stated: “81 percent of respondents said they'd received advice from friends and followers relating to a product purchase through a social site; 74 percent of those who received such advice found it to be influential in their decision.”

Facebook Is Where The People Are
Facebook is part of almost everyone’s day. Stats site Alexa.com shows it as reaping approximately 139.2 million visitors per month – and that’s in the U.S. alone. (Mashable put monthly visitors at 1 billion in a February 2013 infographic.) 

Did you know that 82% more visitors visit Facebook from outside the U.S.? It’s the world’s most popular social community… with the longest engagement time per visit at an average of 28.88 minutes per person. When you stop and actually visualize this, that’s an astonishing thought. (For example, one documentary on Mongolia showed two young Mongolian schoolboys accessing Facebook in their felt-covered Yurt.)

There is no point writing about a product on your blog on Monday mornings if 99% of your entire online net base (including subscribers) are busy chatting away on Facebook. Well, there’s a point – you can write a more in-depth product review or point out more benefits on your blog… but first, use Facebook to drive people to that carefully crafted blog post.

Facebook Pages Are Versatile
You can do all sorts of things to help enhance your business branding. You can customize the Cover background, insert your Profile Photo, write a powerful “About Me” blurb. (That’s just for starters.)

Facebook Pages integrate with other social networks, via apps. You can add Facebook apps – and then make those apps appear as a menu choice by creating custom 111 pixel X 74 pixel tabs for your apps.

For example, here’s an easy way to install the Pinterest tab on your Facebook Page – just visit Woobox and click on the “Install Pinterest Tab” button.

This is what a Facebook App Tab looks like…

From your Facebook Page, you can also:

• Run contests 
• Feature quizzes, surveys and polls 
• Feature your website URL in your “About Me” section 
• Gather “Likes” 
• Claim and operate under your vanity URL, making it easy for your Page – and business – to show up in Facebook search results 
• Install custom app covers to your tabs, showing anything you like 
• Run sponsored posts 
• Watch people share your posts (and sponsored posts) – unsolicited! 

And that’s just a taste of Facebook power!

Like this? Check out "15 Quick and Easy Ways to Get New Resume Clients From Facebook."

Beyond Marketing - Why Social Media is Important for Resume Writers

Most resume writers understand the value of using social media to market their resume writing business. They create Facebook pages, LinkedIn profiles, and dutifully fill out their Google business listing — all in the hope of expanding their marketing efforts. However, did you know there are many more benefits of social media than marketing? With proper use and deployment of social media, any business can do all of the following and probably more.

• Find subcontract writers and freelancers. Looking for subcontract writers? Or someone to handle a one-time project for your resume writing business? Use social media to help. Create a detailed listing of what you're looking for and post it on your social media accounts. Ask your friends and followers to share. It's more than likely that the person(s) who answer a call like this will be more compatible than using a huge impersonal job board.

• Create more sales. You may think that sales and marketing are the same thing, but they're not. Marketing is increasing your reach so that you can get more leads, but sales are different. Social media can increase sales outside of your marketing efforts just because your clients might share with others the positive experience of working with you on their career marketing efforts. And if they like what you are talking about on social media, they might like to buy from you more.

• Reward customers. Provide discounts, special incentives, and targeted career content for your customers using social media to "check in" or when they communicate with you via social media. People love getting free things, so take advantage of that by using social media to encourage more interaction with your customers and between your customers.

• Brand your business. It's important that you brand your resume writing business across all social media accounts as honest, relevant, and even generous. (For example, be sure to mention when you volunteer your services by speaking to organizations or participate in job fairs!) Be aware of how consumers, as well as your referral sources and other resume writers, view your business via all your social media interactions. Listen to your customers and be perceived as a company that does so. Demonstrate these things as often as possible as a way to brand your business on social media.

• Connect with your customers. You can set up private closed groups using Facebook that only your clients can see. It's a great way to increase your connection with your clients and to build a community. Encourage your clients to support other jobseekers in their job search.

• Easy project collaboration. Another use for private Facebook groups is easy project collaboration. In Facebook groups you can upload documents and communicate easily in one spot about various projects, without ever having to have a face-to-face meeting — but still be able to keep excellent records of the events and ideas as they unfold. I know of one group of resume writers that is working on a book project through a Facebook group.

By being involved with social media, you can increase your profile among prospects while building a stronger connection with clients. Use social media to form a connection with your community. Your resume writing business can be an integral part of your community in every way that it can. And those are benefits that extend beyond using social media only for marketing.

Scheduling Social Media Into Your Resume Writing Business

One question I get from resume writers quite frequently is: "How do I use social media to promote my resume writing services, without having it become a time suck?"

Social media is an activity that can require a large time investment. As a busy resume writer and career services business owner, you may not have an abundance of free time available for social networking. But being effective on social media doesn't have to take hours out of your day.One of the best strategies to maximize social media involves scheduling your interactions.

© Fotolia

Step #1 Establish Social Media Goals
What do you want to accomplish with your social media interactions and efforts? What's your goal? The goal needs to be measurable and timely. For example, instead of saying, "I want to increase my followers or fans on my Facebook business page" you might say, "I want to increase my page 'Likes" by 300 fans in three months" or, "I want to increase my Twitter followers by 10% by the end of the first quarter 2013." Knowing the specific goal you want to accomplish will help you direct the time -- and resources -- you spend on social media so you maximize your efforts.

Step #2 Create a Plan to Achieve Your Specific Goals
The next step involves some planning. You want to outline a step-by-step procedure to reach your goal. For example, if your goal is to reach 300 new fans in three months, you can approach it several different ways. One way might be to launch a "Like My Facebook Fan Page" promotion where you hold a sweepstakes and award the winner a free resume or LinkedIn profile update. This promotion will undoubtedly require some work on your part. Outline the steps you need to take to make it happen.

On Twitter, you can spend 10 minutes each day following new people — one of the best ways to get followers yourself is to follow more people, and engage with them so they follow you back!

You can also "spend your way" to new fans. You can set up a Facebook ad campaign and invest a couple of dollars each day towards growing your fan base.

Step #3 Pull Out the Calendar
Assuming you know how much free time you have in the day, the next step is to grab a calendar and start scheduling your social networking activities. If you don't know how much free time you have in a day, consider tracking your time for a week or two. If you are unable to complete your task list each day, you may need to prioritize and restructure some of your plans.

Taking a look at your calendar, break your social networking tasks down into small, manageable steps. Ideally, nothing will take longer than 30 minutes. It can be anything from accepting friendships on Facebook and sending each person a personal message (and inviting them to "Like" your business page) to scheduling your tweets for the week (I recommend Hootsuite for this!). Identify the task, put it on your calendar, and attack your plan in bite-sized pieces.

Step #4 Follow Through and Assess
Try to stick to your plan for a few weeks. Then step back and assess. What's working? What isn't? Are you still trying to do too much? Are you procrastinating on your social media goals? Are you getting distracted from your goal once you log on? (Block off 30 minutes on your calendar. Tell yourself you will spend the first 10 minutes doing "work" and the other 20 minutes doing "fun" social media activities.) If necessary, rework your plan so that it fits your needs and goals better.

Step #5 Celebrate Success
Evaluate your progress -- did you achieve your goal? (Put the goal deadline on your calendar to remind yourself!) Once you've reached your goals, take some time to celebrate your accomplishment. Then set a new goal and repeat the process. Scheduling your social media efforts gives them a purpose. It helps you grow your business without wasting your valuable time.

Two Smart Ways to Leverage Your Facebook Content

The Resume Writers' Digest Facebook page

Your Facebook presence can be a great way to get the attention of prospective resume clients -- and stimulate referrals.

Here are two tips to help you maximize your results on Facebook.

Don't forget to use your personal page on Facebook to drive your resume business.

I've seen a couple of career industry professionals recently who are working to transition their "followers" to their Facebook business pages. If you value your privacy but still want to spread the word about your services, it can be smart to keep your "friends" to people you've actually met and family members. Friend requests from people you don't know -- or prospective or current clients -- can be directed to your Facebook Business page.

Facebook actually made this more confusing in the past few months as they introduced the "Subscribe" feature, which allowed people to receive your public Facebook status updates in their News Feed if they "subscribed" to you. But outside of a couple hundred high profile individuals, the idea wasn't widely adopted. And it seemed to counteract some of Facebook's own standards. Why limit individuals to having 5,000 "friends" and encourage them to use a business page to promote their services (and create a  Terms of Service agreement that penalizes personal profiles set up as companies or organizations) and then later encourage adoption of subscriptions to personal profiles? I don't get it.

With that said -- even if you decide to limit your business promotion to your Facebook Business page, and keep your personal account's "friends" list to people you know well (or better, at least!), don't neglect sharing business-related information on your personal page. There is a lot of power in your personal account's Facebook contacts. If you have a particularly good piece of content, don't just post it to your Facebook Business page's wall. Post it on your own as well. Your friends might like it or share it, resulting in more of their network seeing the content, which leads to more views on your page.

An even BETTER tip is to link to your business page in the post. That way, when it's shared, you're also driving traffic to your Facebook Business page, which can result in referrals, new business -- or, at least, a new "Like."

The second tip has to do with post timing and frequency.

Post early (and late) and often.

There is a lot of research out there about when is the best time to post content on your Facebook page (early morning, before the employed go to work? Mid-morning, for the unemployed? Late nights for college students?)

Unless you have thousands of Facebook fans (I am actually a backup admin for a Facebook page with more than 54,000 fans), a more important guideline than "when" to post is "how often" to post.

Most people have their page settings set so that they "sometimes" see your status updates on their feeds. That means that the more often you update, the more likely it is that something you posted will show up on your followers' feeds.

Don't post more than once or twice a day; but try to post at least once every two or three days. If you can post good content once a day, so much the better -- but don't post shoddy content just to fill space. It's fine to be a "curator" of content as much as a content "creator." That means sharing interesting and relevant articles from other sources (even other resume writers!), but be sure to add your own commentary, or -- better yet, spark engagement by asking a question like, "What would you do if you were asked for your Facebook password in an interview?" on a link to an article about employers requesting access to applicant Facebook accounts. The more someone interacts with your posts (likes, comments, shares), the more likely that content is going to show up in their News Feed in the future.

If you find it difficult to remember to post (or if you prefer to "chunk" your marketing activities and do them all at once), use Facebook's "post scheduler" feature on your Facebook Business page or a third-party service like Hootsuite and write all your posts all at once, but schedule them to "drip" out over time.

These are a few smart ways of making Facebook more effective in your resume writing business.

P.S. -- If you haven't already, please "LIKE" our Resume Writers' Digest Facebook page! You'll get curated articles, links to our blog posts when they're posted, notifications about upcoming events (including free teleseminar traning), and more!

How to Make Your Resume Writing Business More Credible

© iQoncept - Fotolia.com

With so many resume writing businesses marketing and promoting themselves online nowadays, you may be wondering: "How do I set myself apart?"

One answer is through credibility. Credibility helps separate you from your competition (or colleagues, if you prefer the more collegial definition of "other resume writers.) It also helps your resume writing business appear larger to your prospects and customers. Credulity gives your customers confidence in you. This confidence and trust results in purchases and profits.

So how do you create this credibility? How do you demonstrate to prospective resume clients that you can be trusted?

Professional Policies and Procedures
One of the best ways to establish trust and credibility with your prospects instantly is to make sure you represent your company online in a professional and credible manner. The simplest way to accomplish this is to publish your policies and procedures on your website. Make sure the policies page is easy to find and that it covers all the information someone would want to know. For example, what is your privacy policy? What is your payment policy? (Payment in full up front? Half due now, and the rest when the resume draft is delivered?) What about refunds? Do you have a guarantee?

Transparency is a key credibility builder. Consider also including a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page on your site. It may cover much of the same material that your policies and procedures page covers, but that's okay.

Large Networking Presence
More than 800 million people are on Facebook right now. It's important to have a presence on mainstream social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. You may even want to have a Pinterest account. It's also important to integrate your activity and social networking presence on your resume writing business website. For example, include links to your social networking profile on your site. Allow people to connect with you on the platforms they use.

Social networking is a credibility builder because it's a personal way to connect with your company. Again, it goes back to transparency and availability. If you're open and easy to connect with online, it builds trust. Most resume writing businesses are solo operations -- so when a client is choosing to work with your company, they are really choosing you.

Additionally, if you're connecting with other notable experts (especially thought leaders in the careers industry -- other resume writers, career coaches, recruiters, HR professionals, etc.) on social networking sites, your prospects will notice that. You will earn credibility by association.

Great Content
Finally, great content is essential to building credibility. You want to make sure your content positions you as a knowledgeable expert in your industry. You can publish content on your website or blog. You can also publish content on your social networking profiles.

Each article, blog post, or web page will ideally offer value to your reader. When you offer value, you help build a foundation of trust with your readers. They begin to learn from you and about you. This helps them feel like youíre a company they can count on to continue to solve their problems.

In addition to publishing great content, it's also helpful to publish content frequently -- and on other websites. For example, if you are able to publish content on your site and contribute to other relevant blogs as a guest blogger, it helps establish your credibility. Publish articles on article directories or on sites like Squidoo. If other business owners are turning to you for great content, then you must be an expert!

Building credibility isn't difficult, but it does take a plan. Represent your resume writing business online in a professional manner. Make sure to be completely transparent and to publish content that offers value.

Should You Like A Facebook Page of Another Resume Writing Business?

• Tammy Shoup

  • Quick question ... I do believe in networking with colleagues but I'm not sure about "liking" other Facebook pages. How is this helpful? Thanks for any insight you can share.
• 

  39 minutes ago

  Bridget Weide Brooks

  • Hi, Tammy!
    
    There are two reasons to like your colleagues' Facebook pages. The first is the "give to get" principle -- if you like their pages, they are likely to like yours too!
    
    The second is to get ideas/information on things you can share with your clients. You might find articles and resources that your clients will benefit from when you see them posted on your colleagues' pages.

Tammy Shoup, of Breakthrough Resume Writing Service, asked me this question yesterday on Facebook. Her question is a common one. As resume writers, should we worry about "liking" the work of others, or sharing articles written by our peers -- should we be worried that it might encourage our prospective clients to seek our our colleague's resumes writing services instead of our own?

I reminded Tammy that clients always have choices -- but by sharing information from other resources -- including other resume writers -- we show prospective clients that we are committed to staying current in our field -- and sharing the best information -- even if it's not something we did ourselves.

By "liking" another resume writing business Facebook page (or following them on Twitter or Pinterest), we increase our connections to our careers industry community. We also have the opportunity to see articles and information that we can share with our clients. There is so much information out there, it's nice to have other resume writers help "curate" it.

But if you're worried about "standing out" among the many resume writing firms out there, here are some ideas that can help.

There isn't one set formula that every resume writing business should use to stand out. (After all, if everyone did that technique, no one would stand out!) What follows are a series of attributes that stand-out companies tend to share. Implement these in your own resume writing business and add your own twist to them to make your services stand head and shoulders out of the crowd.

Be Genuine
Most sole proprietor resume writing firms try to be bigger or more official than they really are. Businesses that are able to let that drop and actually share what's genuinely going on are often able to garner a lot of trust and loyalty. After all, when it comes to their career, clients want individual, personalized service. If you're a one-person shop, they will actually be working with you -- and that's an advantage in setting yourself apart from larger firms!

Be real about who you are and where your company is at.

Cultivate Win/Win
A lot of businesses -- not necessarily career service businesses -- treat their value propositions as win-lose. They make money, the customer loses money. I sometimes see this principle reflected in payment policies for resume writing firms. After being burned by one or two clients (out of one hundred -- or hundreds!!), the resume writer puts policies into place that "punish" future clients for the transgressions of a few.

Great companies, on the other hand, view their relationship as a co-creative one with their customers. Their customers want solutions and you're there to help provide that to them. You trust your customers to pay you (sure, you can still have policies, but you can be somewhat flexible when the circumstances warrant it).

View your customers as your partner in their career success and look to cultivate more win-win relationships with them. Involve customers in the design of a specific service program to fit their career goals, and you'll ensure you're really solving their problems.

Do Unusual Promotions
Did you know that Otis, the man who invented the elevator safety mechanism, got his company launched by placing himself inside a giant elevator in public and hacking off two elevator cables with a hatchet?

Unusual promotions garner a lot of attention. Try to come up with shocking or unusual ways of promoting your business. An "ugliest resume" contest might be one way to do this.

Write with Personality
Groupon launched its service with a successful business model — but they also had something else. They had fantastic writers that had real personality. People love reading personality-filled bits of content online. If you can get people to write witty, funny or edgy content, there's a very good chance you'll stand out.

Pick a Niche and Be World-Class At It
Don't try to be good at everything. Instead, try to be fantastic at just one or two things. Pick a niche and become the best in that niche. Stand out in that niche, rather than in the broader market. (I'm writing a cover story on this topic for the next issue of Resume Writers' Digest.) If you want to be known for something, don't just serve anyone.

Choose a Company Culture
A company culture permeates your website, your writing, and everything else about your resume writing service. If you're a solo resume writer, you may not think you have a "company" culture, but that's just a phrase. For example, the fact that your dog is your company's mascot speaks to your company culture. Is your resume writing business entrepreneurial and fun, or more corporate in nature? You can consciously shape your company culture.

These are some of the many ways you can stand out. Pick the ones that resonate with you and implement them in your resume writing business.

Engaging With Facebook Fans: What Is Your EdgeRank Score?

Last weekend, I took some time to learn more about Facebook's EdgeRank algorithm. EdgeRank is a measure of engagement with FB fans. The more a particular person engages with you (either your personal profile or your Facebook Business Page), the more likely you are to show up in their News Feed.

What, you may be saying, I'm not seeing everything from everyone in my News Feed? Nope. Facebook knows you are busy, and is showing you the things that it feels are most relevant to you. This article gives a pretty good explanation of what the EdgeRank algorithm is.

There are ways you can improve your Edgerank ranking -- for example, creating more opportunities for interaction and engagement with your fans. You can also partner with other Page owners (this is also a great way to increase the number of "Likes" on all pages) to increase engagement.


Ready to check out what your EdgeRank score is today? Use EdgeRank Checker (a free service). But be sure to come back and check out your score periodically. Are the things you're doing to increase engagement working?

EdgeRank Checker suggests the following tips to improve your score:

• Post content that inherently attracts interaction (ask questions, offer polls, ask for feedback)
• Encourage users to "like" your content (actually saying, "Click 'like' to ___" works!)
• Use photos and videos as often as possible.

I also recommend linking to your blog posts (if you have a blog) on your Facebook Business Page -- this can elicit comments, which are one of the highest engagement devices measured.

Shameless plug: Are you on Facebook? LIKE Resume Writers' Digest on Facebook!

Facebook Fan Page Resources

Great blog post by Joan Stewart (The Publicity Hound) about what to do if your Facebook Fan Page disappears.  The best resource in the blog post is Facebook expert Mari Smith's listing of 120+ Facebook forms that will help you reach the right person.

What NOT to Do On Your Facebook (& Twitter) Page

I am friends with lots of careers industry folks on Facebook. Some of them (Barbara Safani, Jason Alba, Dawn Bugni, Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter, etc.) do a fabulous job with their online brand.

Others, not so much. The screen shot on the left is from MJW Careers. I'm not sure who the resume writer behind this page is, but I do know that they write resumes for $50.

I am amazed they have 308 friends, since the majority of their posts are ... for lack of a better term ... spam.

For the past week or so, once or twice a day, they blast 3-4 posts on Twitter (that are automatically reposted on their Facebook page) about their cheap resume writing services. If you go back through the history, though, you find that they also apparently provide recruiting services. It actually was more interesting when they were posting "people needed" status updates for various *specific* positions versus the basic, blanket posts.

Some keys for resume writers to keep in mind with Facebook:

1) Remember the 80/20 ratio. Eighty percent of your posts should be content (resources, opinions, encouragement, links to good articles) etc. Only 20% should be promotional. And don't just rely on Twitter to update your status. Because of the way it's tagged, we can tell when it's a Twitter repost. Give us something original on Facebook every once in a while.

2) Think about your brand. For most resume writers, it's a good idea to set up a Facebook page for your resume writing business. While you can use your personal page to promote resume-related items, you're better off getting "Fans" (or "Likes") for your business page than to add friends to your personal page. You can then drive traffic to your business page by linking to items on your personal page.

3) Don't forget to have a personality. If you link to an article, provide some brief commentary. I always like hearing about resume writers whose clients are having success. But remember that -- like we advise clients -- anything you post online is totally public (even if you have your Facebook privacy settings locked down, there's nothing to prevent one of your "friends" from taking a screen shot of it.)

Best of Today: 9/20/10

“Facebook Job-Hunting App BranchOut Raises $6 Million from Accel and Super Angels”

Thanks to Mike Ramer for bringing this web resource to my attention – Ragan Communications publishes a daily newsletter for HR executives/managers – find the top headlines on HR Communicator

From the Resume Chicks Blog (written by Rosa Elizabeth Vargas): Dancing Before Writing Leads to Masterful Resumes

Resume Bear Blog Post: 20 Best Pieces of Advice from 20 Top Executives (from 2/1/09):   

--   I’m a sucker for good business advice

Build a Better Blog – Denise Wakeman: “Contests and Causes Drive Blog Traffic”

The EEOC on Video Resumes (compliance):

-       Found after seeing this article circulating on Facebook: “Create a Visual Slideshow Resume to Avoid the Slush Pile”

Marketing in a Down Market: Expand Your Network

From the July/August 2008 issue of Resume Writers' Digest:

Fourth in a series on Marketing Your Resume Writing Services in a Down Market

Resume writers tell their clients to network, but don't always follow their own advice. Yet there are more opportunities for business-to-business networking than ever before.

Traditional methods include professional associations (especially if you specialize in a niche, making contacts with these associations as well as contacts in academic programs turning out new graduates, is vital), plus business leads groups, alumni groups, and Chambers of Commerce.

Your return on your investment here will depend on the time you are willing to commit. Participating in organizational activities, writing for their publication and website, and volunteering to chair committees (membership recruitment and event planning are two in particular), can pay dividends.

Another growing area is using online social networking sites to cultivate referrals and build your credibility. Having a profile on LinkedIn or Facebook is quickly becoming essential. If you currently don't have a profile, create one!

Next up: Small-Space Advertising.

Best of Today: 9/14/10

Here are my "favorite" articles from today --

The Seven Deadly Sins of Social Media

Via CareerPro Resumes: How Recruiters Screen Your Resume (by Perry Newman)

The Facebookification of Twitter

Interesting article from US News & World Report, via @AvidCareerist (retweeting @ErinKennedyCPRW and @JobHuntOrg! “Beware the Interviewer in a Soft Chair”

The Real Power of Networking is in the Second Degree? – via Kristen Jacoway – “How to Find a New Job with LinkedIn”

– Great video explaining the process!

63 Lessons Learned from 2 Years as an Entrepreneur

QUOTE OF THE DAY:

@GayleHoward: Careers are linked to your life stages. Work situations perfect for one period of your life may be completely wrong for the next.

Online Reptutation Management

I was inspired by a post on Kirsten Dixson's Facebook profile, where she talked about "smart" businesspeople airing their political views. Having a bachelor's degree in journalism, my professors frequently reminded us of the need to keep our personal views private. But in today's online age, I find that many people aren't paying attention to that.

As I blogged about a few weeks ago, I've joined Facebook. It's addictive... that's for sure ... and part of the appeal is getting to know even more about the family, friends, and colleagues who post about their lives online.

But there is a definite negative to having an online persona. Just recently, one of my former clients lost her job because of things she had posted on her Facebook profile. A former newswoman in Omaha lost her job last year because of a photo on her Facebook page showing her with her arm around a local politician.

Caution your clients to be careful about what they post about themselves online. Spotlighting their political affiliations too publicly might get them into trouble. Posting about their weekend exploits (or, worse yet, PHOTOS! of those adventures) can get them into trouble. Remind them that information that they think is private isn't always ... especially online.

And if they're going to continue to showcase themselves online, at least make sure you tell them to keep their resume updated.

I'm on Facebook. Are You? Are Your Clients?

Well, I bit the bullet this week and joined Facebook. Once upon a time, I created a MySpace page (but never used it), and twice I've joined LinkedIn (resulting in two inactive profiles that only highlight my ongoing "identity crisis" caused by having a 15-year professional career in my maiden name, and my attempt for the past four years to "marry" my maiden name with my established personal brand developed with my often-mispronounced "old" name).

But I'm REALLY liking Facebook so far. Unfortunately, it's quite addictive too.

I was inspired to write this post by an e-mail from Jobsearch.about.com talking about online reputation management. The article noted, "There has been a significant increase in Facebook users over 25, with ComScore reporting an 181% increase in users in the 25-34 year old demographic and a 98% increase from those 35 years and older."

I'm not sure which demographic I appear in now, since I joined Facebook last week (just before I turned 35 on Sunday). In any case, I'm trying to persuade my husband to set up a profile (I've got several of my immediate family members in my network already, and almost all of his!). [By the way, he created my avatar, which I'm using as my current profile picture, above.]

I'll write in the future about online reputation management ideas (Wendy Terwelp has a great new program, Rock Your Network Online! that I'm excited to share more about soon), but I just wanted to show off my new profile picture.

Affluent Are Networking Online

According to the latest Wealth Survey from the Luxury Institute, 60% of wealthy Americans participate in online social networks, compared to 27% a year ago. These individuals have an average income of $287,000 a year and an average net worth of $2.1 million.

According to the survey, these individuals belong to average of 2.8 social networks, with roughly 110 connections. The most popular of these are LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and ExecuNet.

Source: ExecuNet, April 2008

Survey: Social Networks Attract Affluent Individuals

Thanks to Robyn Greenspan of ExecuNet for passing along the findings of this survey.

According to the latest Wealth Survey from the Luxury Institute, more than 60 percent of wealthy Americans (those with an average income of $287K and net worth of $2.1M) participate in online social networks -- compared with just 27 percent a year ago.

These affluent individuals are most likely members of 2.8 social networks (with roughly 110 connections). Those with even higher incomes belong to more social networks (3.4 on average).

Here are some of the most prominent social networking sites:

ExecuNet is a closed network which allows members to have a direct connection with thousands of senior-level business leaders.

LinkedIn: One of the most popular social networks for professionals.

Facebook: Originally for students, this network has grown to encompass more professional members -- but is still more often used by the Generation X and Y sets than the Baby Boomers.

I just found out about a new social networking service -- Ning -- that I'm experimenting with. I'll let you know what I think about it once I've had a chance to play around with it.