Social Media has been around for a while – but has only been named such in the past few years. This is online networking and communications. It’s keeping people in the loop on what is going on in your life. Some sites are more friend and family oriented, some are more professional oriented. There are lots of them. Some common ones are LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Yelp, YouTube, TripAdvisor, and FourSquare. The list really goes on and on. A lot of employers are keeping their employees (and potential employees) in the loop on what is happening with their businesses. Some associations use social media to advertise their events. You can find employment, friends, people to network with, and all types of events and information online. You could find it before, but now you can talk with someone else to get their opinion. There are concerns about privacy, and you usually have some options to limit access or limit what is seen by your followers/network. But you have to keep up to date on these as well. Some changes happen overnight and you really need to be prudent, particularly if you publish things you don’t want seen by everyone. A good rule of thumb is, if you don’t want it seen, don’t post it.

Chapters can use these tools to recruit members, brand their chapters, share news and legal updates, alert readers of events going on in the HR community, discuss topics of interest, get advice, and develop initiatives that can help with your SHAPE goals. HR Professionals can use these tools to brand themselves and their organizations, post jobs, recruit, and gain different perspectives. Note: be careful in the recruiting process, there are legal things to consider, like who’s an applicant, are you following discrimination rules, and more. In the next issue of Virginia Human Resources Today, Mary Roome-Godbolt, Cox Communications Recruiter, and I will team up to share some tips on using social networking and media as a recruiting and branding tool.

If your Chapter would like assistance setting up a LinkedIn Group or Twitter account, or you would like a brief tutorial on either of these, please Contact Us for Social Media support.

It depends on how you use or view social media. Some see it as an invasion of privacy, or over sharing of information. Some may use social media to search on candidates to see what type of people they are based on pictures, wall postings, and more. You really need to check with your legal counsel to see what is and is not legal. Sometimes what is posted on someone’s Facebook wall isn’t necessarily reflective of their work values. Also, you want to be careful you do not discriminate against anyone based on information you find on their site (a resume doesn’t tell you gender, race, religion and family status – where a lot of the social networking sites will tell you). Also, if you are recruiting off of these sites, you should concern yourself with whether or not the candidates you view are now considered applicants, particularly for those that must comply with OFCCP guidelines.

You also have to keep your sites current. Having outdated material is on par with having no material. Those who would check your site for up-to-date information will now go someplace for the information if they know you don’t keep yours fresh.