10 Ways Shopper Marketing Can Help to Improve Sales in a Tough Economy

Although Shopper Marketing has only really permeated the marketing mainstream over the last few years, its proponents argue that it is an important move away from the short term and adversarial past of trade marketing and sales promotion tactics to a more strategic marketing discipline that has a key role to play in an integrated marketing approach.

And now we find ourselves in a recession where those very same tactical initiatives are the ones that conventional wisdom suggests we should favor.

So if Shopper Marketing really is a key strategy for driving sales and a different approach to the past, what principles can we draw upon to deliver greater returns?

Here are ten ways that I believe Shopper Marketing can help to improve sales in these challenging times.

1. Sell to the shopper, not the consumer.
Utilizing insight into shopper behaviors and motivations is a key principle of Shopper Marketing and the main differentiator over traditional ‘brand push’ strategies. In times of change, when shoppers will be thinking harder about every item they put in their basket, such understanding is more critical than ever.

Consumers use, shoppers buy. Shopper Marketing complements the ‘passive’ awareness and preference building role of consumer marketing by focusing on the ‘active’ purchase decision making process of the shopper.

Do you understand the barriers to purchase for your brand and category and how they may have changed as a result of economic pressures? Has the consumption occasion changed, what role does price now play versus other factors such as convenience, wellness or sustainability?

Are shoppers’ trips and missions changing in a way that will affect your brand? Are your shoppers making fewer, bigger and more planned trips? Are they shopping different channels in different ways?

2. Know your brand
Every brand marketer commits significant resource to understanding how their brands are perceived by consumers, but do they have the same understanding of the assets and equities that influence shopper choices?

In a recession, non-essentials are hit the hardest – how can you make yourself essential? Price is undoubtedly a major driver of choice but it is not the only one. How important are trust, quality and familiarity?

What opportunities are created by changes in usage or consumption occasion? How can you re-frame value? Consider how you can ‘Up’ the benefit and ‘Down’ the price to remove or minimize the inevitable trade-offs shoppers will have to make.

Kraft is promoting the taste, value and nutritional benefits of its cheese slices when used to make a toasted cheese sandwich. Trading up to a premium laundry detergent to prolong the life of expensive clothes may be a wise financial decision. Remaining loyal to a bottled premium beer may be important if nights on the town are substituted by nights in. Hallmark is stressing the variety of powerful emotions that can be unleashed – by sending a 99c card. Emotional imagery at the point of purchase may dissuade pet owners from compromising on quality or treats for their beloved pets.

3. Offer solutions.
Keep in mind that the final purchase decision is made in favor of the product or selection of products that provides the shopper with the most convenient response to her or his shopping motivation.

What is the purpose of that particular trip and how is it impacted by financial considerations?

Think about themes, co-locations and adjacencies that address shoppers’ needs for value – healthy meal options for the whole family, fun nights in that won’t break the bank, pamper yourself and be kind to your purse, save money and save the planet.

4. Collaborate
If shopper insight is a central pillar of Shopper Marketing, so is retailer collaboration. Recessionary pressures will affect shopper segments in different ways, presenting different challenges and opportunities to each retailer.

Understanding how your retail partners are reacting to these changing times and working with them to meet their own shoppers’ evolved needs will deliver incremental returns for both parties.

What programs will they be developing? How do they relate to your shoppers? How can you bring your knowledge of consumption and usage occasions to the retailer’s knowledge of buying behavior?

Working with Kraft and Wal-Mart, under the ‘Simple Mealtime Ideas’ banner, we provided convenient, affordable and delicious meal solutions for their price conscious shoppers. The program was communicated in-store with POP materials, on in-store screens, sampling and out of store on walmart.com, with email blasts and print ads.

5. All shoppers are not the same.
Just like the general population, shoppers are not one homogenous mass. Exciting demographic changes present segmentation opportunities for focusing tailored offerings and messages whether that be based on ethnicity, age, families or singles. All have distinct needs that will be affected by an economic downturn.

And it’s not just about pure demographics. How does a shopper’s frugal financial mindset relate to other more positive areas of interest like health & wellness and sustainability?

6. Think about the path to purchase.
Whilst the ‘first moment of truth’ is undoubtedly when a shopper selects one brand over another, the decision making process does not take place entirely at the shelf.

If shoppers are planning or combining their trips more or looking for deals, what role do coupons (and coupon websites) play, is on-line a channel for raising awareness, do retailers loyalty programs influence planning decisions, can radio talk to your shoppers while they drive to the store?

7. Align your brand and sales teams
Those organizations that see winning with shoppers as the sole remit of the sales and customer teams will not be as successful as those that realize shoppers’ changing habits need to be addressed by the whole organization.

Recession beating solutions may present NPD opportunities, require new pack formats or equity communication that focuses on relevant attributes. This will require an integrated planning process with brand and sales teams working in unison.

8. Keep it simple
In times of change and uncertainty, clarity is key. Value messages, especially in-store should be simple and to the point. If things get too complex, shoppers will resort to the cheapest price.

Shoppers will also look for familiar cues of trust and re-assurance. Combine relevant value messages with these valuable equities. Be proud and confident and not apologetic. Shoppers are looking for re-assurance that they are making the right choices. Be transparent and don’t sell people what they don’t need – you will lose their trust and loyalty.

9. Innovate wisely
While marketing in a recession is undoubtedly about marketing to the core (brands, consumers and retailers) times of change create new opportunities as consumers and shoppers re-evaluate their needs.

New segments will emerge from changes in consumption and shopping behaviors while digital technologies in and out of store present new engagement opportunities. Whilst all expenditure should be carefully considered, an insight led and integrated planning approach can reveal opportunities for competitive advantage that can last well beyond the current recession.

McDonald’s for example, is currently targeting Starbucks dominance with a value and convenience message that, if successful, may fundamentally change the behavior of certain coffee drinkers. P&G’s cold wash detergents appeal to both a value and environmental mindset.

10. Evaluate constantly
This recession is far from over and none of us knows how things will play out. More change is certain however.

It’s important that we stay close to the consumer and our retail partners ensuring our products and messages are relevant to their needs and remaining flexible as these needs change.


Source: http://www.wpp.com/wpp/marketing/hottopics/downturn/shopper-marketing.htm

How Online Advertising is like a wayward teenager

Like an adolescent with plenty to still learn about life, online advertising must now be shaped and given a strong foundation for future growth and prosperity.

If online advertising were a person, he’d be a young teenager. He’s learned how to take care of himself to a certain extent but still needs quite a bit of supervision. 

  And, although he has matured, he’s got a long way to go before he can be expected to be self-sufficient. Like an early teen, online advertising is still in a life stage in which we can shape it and help craft it in ways that will ensure it will grow and prosper in the years ahead. 

I’m talking about establishing a foundation on which to build a future empire. And that empire is digital advertising for news media companies.
But we’ll only get there with the help and guidance of digital advertising programmes, procedures, metrics, and, most importantly, advertising sales reps and their advertisers. All of these things need to have a solid foundation for future growth to be sustainable.

News media companies should not have primary interest in the short-term gains that digital advertising could bring. As an industry, we’ve been far too dismissive of future growth.In the early days of online advertising, we were happy to take online ad buys, put simple display ads up, and collect the money. It was, essentially, the same process for accepting print advertising we’d done for so many years – order taking with the expectation of success and repetition.

The approach we need now is one of foundation-building. We’ve got to start with a solid framework, build solid walls and plumbing, and put on a roof that will last 30 years — not one we’ll need to replace every five years.
For advertisers and sales reps who have little or no knowledge of how digital advertising works, now is our time to establish some basic education and understanding and plant seeds for future growth. 

We can’t be in this for short-term gains. Certainly, we need a sense of urgency. But it’s more important to educate sales reps and advertisers with a deeper understanding of what they need to know, and get a better (and more effective) campaign commitment within weeks instead of days.
It’s never too late to address foundation issues. In some cases, it may mean tearing out what you have in place (internally, if your infrastructure at your news media company for digital advertising is not sound), and/or addressing the basic needs of your advertisers to help them understand what their digital marketing goals and possible gains could be.

I’ve known some sales reps who haven’t felt comfortable asking some of their long-time accounts basic needs assessment questions (with respect to their digital marketing), because they thought they’d appear as if they don’t know their account as well as they should after so many years.
There is no shame in approaching advertisers honestly with the “let’s grow, learn, and evolve digitally, together” mentality.

So let’s take a look at our young teenager with fresh eyes and make sure we’re bringing up someone who will be ready to lead us into the next phase of news media. If we’re not sure, it’s not too late to revisit the basics and ensure our foundation is sound.

Source: http://www.inma.org/blogs/integrated-advertising-sales/post.cfm/how-online-advertising-is-like-a-wayward-teenager

How to Halt a Facebook Hoax

The Internet can be a cruel and unforgiving place. Think about it, there are trolls, phishers and con artists lurking around almost ever corner. Scams and hoaxes everywhere.
On occasion, social media propels one of these scams to viral fame. Facebook, as the grandaddy of social media, is a particularly fertile breeding ground for misinformation. According to Facebook users, we're going to have to pay for Facebook; Facebook is shutting down; we need to post a ridiculous legalese privacy notice on our timelines to protect our data; and Morgan Freeman is dead.

Nobody likes playing the fool, and it's particularly embarrassing to be the victim of a social media hoax. In other words, the next time one of these scams pop up, you don't want to be duped into endorsing it.
While we realize Mashable readers are among the most savvy social media users on the web, consider sharing the following list of tips and reminders with your friends and family. If we all work together to identify and inhibit these fallacies, we can nurture a smarter and more useful Internet for ourselves and posterity.

1. Be Part of the Solution

Now that social media has turned most of us into citizen journalists of sorts, we must assume the responsibilities of the trade. That means everyone who enjoys the benefits of sharing must also actively attempt to make the Internet a space for truth and accuracy. Misinformation is insidious, and it can be very harmful.
As Winston Churchill said:

"A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on."

"A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on."
In the early stages of the shooting at Sandy Hook, mistaken reports surfaced that the shooter was Ryan Lanza, the actual shooter's brother. Immediately journalists, both pro and amateur, began sharing Ryan Lanza's Facebook picture. Moments later, hate groups started springing up. Facebook is the new court of public opinion, and it had all but convicted an innocent man of a heinous crime.
This situation obviously wasn't a premeditated hoax, but it is the type of situation newly anointed citizen journalists need to handle responsibly. The first step is to take ownership of that substantial responsibility.

2. Scrutinize the Source

Unless you witnessed something firsthand, you can never be absolutely sure that it happened (and research shows even eyewitness testimony can be dodgy). From playing the game "Telephone" as children, we all know that information gets warped and loses accuracy each time a story is told and retold. For these reasons, it's always good to maintain a healthy sense of skepticism when considering stories you hear, from the remarkable to the banal.
That being said, we have been on Facebook long enough at this point to know how our friends act on social media. Everyone has a few friends who are social media rockstars. They share current and pertinent content on a daily basis. Everyone also has a few friends who are, to put it gently, more likely to share viral misinformation.
It's not enough to scrutinize who told you the information; try to trace it back to the original source. Who originally reported the information and how did that person arrive at his conclusion?

Above, my friend and colleague Alex Fitzpatrick shares an important bit of information. Being a pro journalist, he also provides the source of the information. If only it was always this easy.

3. Cross-Check the Information

Don't absentmindedly hit the re-share button. If you have any doubt that something might not be true, it's you're responsibility to get to the bottom of it.
Start with a Google search. Has the information been reported by a reputable media organization?
Odds are you're not getting paid for your work on social media. It's not your responsibility to get the story first; it's your responsibility to get it right.

SEE ALSO: Not a Hoax: Facebook Might Have to Give You Ten Bucks

Sometimes a bit of critical thinking is all it takes. When Facebook charlatan Nolan Daniels posted a fake picture of himself with the "winning" Powerball ticket, Gawker debunked him by pointing out that, if the ticket was real, the numbers would list from lowest to highest.

This instance brings up another tell-tale sign of spam — it tries to propagate itself. Usually there will be some trick, attempting to encourage people to share the content. In Daniels' scam, he offered $1 million to one lucky person who shared his photo. More than 500,000 Facebook users took the bait.

SEE ALSO: Viral 'Privacy Notice' on Facebook Is Fake

In another scam, many felt compelled to post a fake privacy notice on their timelines, hoping it would protect their Facebook data.
The hoax was successful for two reasons. First, it touched on something most people are particularly cognizant of and concerned with: privacy in the age of social media. Secondly, the spam spread because, well, we're not all expert lawyers.
To avoid falling for this type of hoax in the future, check one of the many news sites that covers social media. Those outlets will certainly have reporters assessing the veracity of any viral content.
Or you could have just asked Boromir.

4. Share Your Findings With Others

Not only should you avoid sharing misinformation; you should actively try to debunk it. If you've done your homework and found that a rumor is false, share it with your friends.
But be polite and discreet when proving people wrong. We have all made mistakes before — there's really no need to be condescending or sanctimonious.
Discourage friends from sharing spam by posting a carefully worded status explaining how you know a piece of content isn't true. Don't single anyone out, and encourage others to pass along the message.
If you notice a specific friend endorsing a potentially embarrassing sham, don't correct the person via comment. Send a private message notifying him or her of the mistake.

5. Report to Facebook

Posting lies is not necessarily against Facebook's terms of service, which read:

"You will not use Facebook to do anything unlawful, misleading, malicious or discriminatory."

"You will not use Facebook to do anything unlawful, misleading, malicious or discriminatory."
True, it does say the word "misleading." But at the same time, Facebook has not removed the Morgan Freeman tribute page, which is certainly misleading.
In any event, if you see a hoax spreading, it can't hurt to report it. If enough people do so, Facebook may take action — particularly if the misinformation is potentially harmful.
To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook post (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action.

6. Work Together

Social Media Journalism 101 is only a starting point from which we can begin to correct and prevent misinformation. For the benefit of all, share your own pro tips in the comment section below.
Photos via iStockphoto, LeicaFoto and Facebook

BONUS: 8 Social Media Hoaxes You Fell for This Year

8 Social Media Hoaxes You Fell for This Year

Previous 1 8 Next

1. Fake Hurricane Sandy Pictures

While everyone waited the arrival of Hurricane Sandy, social media users shared completely fake storm images, including this one, which combined a New York harbor photo with a 2004 picture, taken by photographer Mike Hollingshead.

Show As List

source: http://mashable.com/2013/01/29/facebook-hoax/

Why You Can't Say Hashtag in France

French Twitter users are saying "au revoir" to the word "hashtag" in an effort to protect the French language from anglicisms. 

Instead, hashtag will be replaced with "mot-dièse," meaning "sharp word" in English. The change comes from the French government agency called the Commission Générale de Terminologie et de Néologie, which is responsible for promoting the French language. The group's main goal is to keep French relevant in the age of the Internet, where most widespread terms have their origins in English. 

It's a legal requirement for all government correspondence and legislation to use "mot-dièse," but French Twitter users won't be punished if they use "hashtag" in its place. 

This isn't the first time France has changed up its vocabulary to avoid English words creeping into the language. In 2003, France replaced the word "email" with "courriel," and attempted to create new terms for Wi-Fi and blog. 

The country's government is actively involved in Internet regulations: In 2011, France banned the words "Facebook" and "Twitter" from television and radio in adherence to a decree prohibiting the promotion of brands. More recently, a French court ordered Twitter to identify users who tweeted racist and Anti-Semitic posts, the New York Times reports. 

Some Twitter users are upset over the use of "dièse," saying it represents the slanted musical symbol for a sharp note rather than a hashtag.
What do you think of the French switch from hashtag to "mot-dièse?" Let us know your thoughts in the comments. 



Source: http://mashable.com/2013/01/29/france-renames-twitter-hashtag/

The Radical Advertising Strategy Of Chrysler's Kumbaya King

This story originally appeared in the June 6, 2012, issue of Forbes magazine:

On any other day the actor Sean Penn would score a seat at the head table for a private luncheon where he was about to be honored for his extraordinary earthquake relief efforts in Haiti.

But on this particular April day in Chicago all the seats next to the host, Chrysler Group’s chief marketing officer, Olivier François, were taken. There was the Dalai Lama of Tibet; former ­Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev; former Polish president Lech Walesa; American political activist Jody Williams; and microcredit pioneer Muhammed Yunus of Bangladesh—all Nobel Peace Prize winners meeting in the U.S. for the first time at an annual summit to tackle global problems like violence and poverty. Penn and his family were seated at the next table. Chrysler was the sponsor.

A smiling François warmly greeted each one of his special guests (Penn ­included), chatting in his heavy French accent about the challenges of achieving peace, prosperity and social justice, and assuring them of Chrysler’s commitment to their causes. “Peace is not merely the absence of violence,” he said. “You’ve reminded us that peace ­begins when the hungry are fed, the homeless are sheltered and the poor are given a voice. Peace is precarious unless it is based on justice and human dignity.”

It was a moving tribute to the power of the individual to better the human condition. But how does rubbing elbows with the Dalai Lama and backslapping Sean Penn help Chrysler sell cars? Simple, explains François, 50, one of Chrysler Chief ­Executive Sergio Marchionne’s most trusted aides. “People buy products, but they are also buying into brands and buying into values,” he says. “I think it’s probably valuable to tell you what I’m standing for and try to find a connection between you and me through our shared values.”

A Paris-born poet and songwriter with degrees in economics, marketing, finance and political science, François is guided by emotional instincts and political idealism more than research or focus groups. In his short tenure at Chrysler Group, he boosted ad spending by 36% to an estimated $1.2 billion in 2011. But it isn’t how much he’s spent that’s made his reputation. It’s how well.

He first gained notoriety during the 2011 Super Bowl with an audacious two-minute paean to Detroit’s ­hardscrabble spirit starring rap star Eminem. The estimated $6 million commercial reminded America that Chrysler was not only still alive but also proudly turning itself around. Over the next two weeks consideration of the Chrysler brand jumped two ­percentage points on Edmunds.com, according to the auto shopping ­website. More than 15 million people have viewed the ad on YouTube.

He followed it up during this year’s Super Bowl with “Halftime in America,” starring Clint Eastwood, an ad he describes as a rallying cry for struggling Americans. Again he struck a nerve. The ad generated 18 million views on YouTube. Saturday Night Live even did a spoof. “There is a moment to speak about the product,” François says of the ad. “But there is also a moment to give this product a soul.”

Not everyone is buying it. “This is an Italian-owned car company blatantly trying to guilt America into buying more of its cars and trucks, and willing to do it by using any means necessary,” wrote automotive blogger Peter DeLorenzo, a 22-year veteran of Detroit’s ad business. “Even if they have to drag Clint Eastwood into the mix in order to pull it off.”

Republican strategist Karl Rove saw the Eastwood spot as a thinly disguised endorsement of the Obama Administration’s auto industry bailout. “I was, frankly, offended by it,” Rove told Fox News. While acknowledging that it was “an extremely well-done ad,” Rove said it was “a sign of what happens when you have the government getting in bed with big business like the bailout of the auto companies.” Chrysler executives, he said, must have felt it necessary to “repay their political patrons.”

Marchionne, in an interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes, didn’t take kindly to the criticism: “I paid back the loans at 19.7% interest. I don’t think that I committed to do a commercial on top of that.”

Whatever the truth, the buzz is good for business. Sales of Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge and Ram vehicles are up 33% so far this year, triple the growth of the U.S. industry. The company’s market share currently stands at 11.4%, a full two points ahead of last year. And Chrysler is on track to post at least $1.5 billion in net income in 2012.

Provocative issue advertising is nothing new for François, who created similar ads in Europe, when he ran Fiat Group’s Lancia brand after a 15-year career at Citroën. One spot, featuring Richard Gere, was seen as promoting Tibetan independence from China. Others sought to win the release of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi of Myanmar, winner of the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize.
“Providing humanitarian aid is part of our corporate culture, doubly so now that Chrysler Group and Fiat have become partners,” said François, who joined Chrysler in October 2009, shortly after Fiat took control. He is also president and chief executive of the Fiat brand worldwide.

“What he has so brilliantly latched on to,” said John Grace, president of BrandTaxi, a consultancy in Stamford, Conn., is that cars are commodities. “Values are becoming the most important part of differentiating a brand.” Chrysler’s Super Bowl ads, says Grace, “just made your heart beat. You wanted to stand up off the couch and say ‘Yeah!’ You can’t tell me ten other ­companies that make you feel that way. He’s intelligently touched on what we’re all searching for, the need for ­essential truths.”

François isn’t surprised at the success of his unique cocktail of do-gooding, sales and celebrity. But he does see it as more than just marketing. “This sounds extremely idealistic,” he says. “Why wouldn’t peace be part of our long-term business plan?”


Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/joannmuller/2012/05/16/chryslers-kumbaya-king/

Think Like Zuck: How Leadership Diversity Sparks Innovation

Wow. I just finished Ekaterina Walter’s fascinating book, Think Like Zuck. 

I know: another book about Mark Zuckerberg. What more is there to say, right? Wrong.

Walter’s book is not just about Facebook’s founder; it’s a very engaging look at why his company is successful. And in it, she hits on something that many of the other books seem to have missed: the power of diversity in innovation. I’m not talking about demographic diversity alone. Please don’t get me wrong—demographic diversity is absolutely vital to innovation. And efforts to make companies more demographically diverse still have a long way to go.

But, building on the knowledge that diversity is power, I propose expanding the definition of “diversity.” Not as a counterpoint to the demographic meaning, but as a flourish upon it. Musicians call such things embellishments. Maybe you’ve heard jazz performers and others add their own riffs to the music they’re exploring.

So, okay . . . How does Leadership Diversity relate to Innovation?

1) Yin Needs Yang
In Think Like Zuck, Walter posits five “musts” for business success: passion, purpose, people, product, partnership. It was her thought-provoking chapters on people and partnerships that made me really sit up and start thinking—about diversity and about why we need to think about it.
Because of Zuckerberg’s passion and smarts, Facebook was doing fairly well nearly from its start. But didn’t go into orbit until Zuckerberg picked Sheryl Sandberg to be his COO. Walters writes:

She had a completely different style from his. I think their differences are what make the Zuckerberg-Sandberg duo such an extraordinary team. They complement each other very well. What Mark lacks in experience, Sheryl brings to the table in abundance. When he doesn’t feel like stepping into the limelight, she steps in for him masterfully. The difference in age, as well as gender, contributes various perspectives and capabilities.

“Yeah,” I thought, “that makes a lot of sense. So why don’t more companies get this? Isn’t it obvious?” Nailing the point, she quotes Leslie Bradshaw of JESS3 (a social media company that’s worked on projects that included Nike, MTV, Samsung, NASA, American Express, Twitter, ESPN, Google):

In our partnership, Jesse [Thomas] is the yang, and . . . I have enough yin to balance it out. If you look beyond our personalities, the fact that our genders are different also adds diversity. The perspective I bring as a woman is very different from what he brings as a man, and that helps balance out the way we hire, the way we treat our employees, and the way we approach strategies when we execute for clients.

“Of course” I shouted (luckily, I was alone HA). Of course diversity allows you to do more—think more, think differently, think better! It seems self-evident, really—yet so hard to get a lot of managers and CEOs to risk hiring or involving people who are different from them, who do things differently, think differently. “Everyone needs to be talking about this!” As you can see, I was pretty fired up.

2) It’s Been Proven: Two Brains (and Personalities) Are Better Than One
Inspired by Walter’s book, I read Hutch Carpenter’s article on cloudave.com, pacing back and forth attempting to find past threads of stuff that inspires my thinking:

A key aspect of the next generation of innovation is the ability to tap a much larger set of minds in pursuit of valuable ideas. . . . The historic method of innovation relied exclusively on a designated few. [“So true!”] . . .  Diversity is the key element here. That is, engaging a broad set of different perspectives to generate something better than one could do individually. . . . Cognitive and heuristics diversity—that’s what benefits innovation. People who see things in a different way, and bring a different practice to solving problems.

“Good, good, yes,” I thought, still talking to myself, “of course—put people together, you get more ideas. Like one plus one, right?”
Not quite: it’s one of this kind plus one of another kind. Hutch goes on to cite a study by Ron Burt of U. Chicago, finding that “people with more diverse sources of information generated consistently better ideas.”
So, not just more sources. More diverse sources.

3) E Pluribus . . .(What?! “Out of Many . . . “)
Then I found out something totally cool. Are you ready for this? Group diversity leads to better innovation than a genius inventor (or an isolated group) working alone—even when s/he gets input from diverse sources. Although the “lone inventor” may come up with great innovations—okay, we’re all thinking Alexander Graham Bell—it’s less likely that will happen than with communities of diverse thinkers who are free to explore ideas.
It’s true: Zuckerberg didn’t work alone. And neither did Alexander Graham Bell. Facebook and the telephone may have been visions of “lone inventors,” but those visions became world-changing products only because Zuckerberg and Bell worked well with others who thought differently from them.
As Ekaterina Walter makes abundantly clear, Mark Zuckerberg, along with many others, has created a platform more powerful than any since the invention of the printing press for letting our voices be heard. Is this social community?
Okay, then . . . let’s use that platform to create a new world of work. All of us, together, make up a diverse collection of talents, personalities, styles, backgrounds, brains, ideas, experience. A diverse community—an orchestra, you might say. Let’s start riffing, together  . . . This is a place that not only makes me happy …. but may just inform the future of work.
What are your thoughts?



Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/meghanbiro/2013/01/27/think-like-zuck-how-leadership-diversity-sparks-innovation/

What Employers Are Thinking When They Look At Your Facebook Page

Why interview when you can Facebook stalk? Yesterday, I told you about a study suggesting that employers can judge candidates’ future work performance by spending five to ten minutes lurking on their Facebook pages.
Some readers were outraged by this. “I truly wish employers would stop using Facebook as a professional tool,” commented one. “That was never its intention! … Does it give employers a potential view into people’s somewhat personal lives? Yes! But truly what does that prove?”
Like it or not, Facebook and other sites like it are becoming the digital proxies for our real world selves. Our profiles on Facebook, Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, et. al. reflect our likes, dislikes, personalities, and best photo angles, and are likely more useful to employers in seeing what we might be like to work with than a short interview. If you don’t want employers (and love interests) to come snooping on your page to get a sense of who you are, set your privacy settings high; limit your content to “friends only.” If you are willing to let it hang out, here’s a sense of what employers will be asking themselves as they review your content. This is the sheet that the reviewers in the study used to rate the Facebooking college students on the “Five Big Qualities” that supposedly convey how good an employee will be. (High ratings are good for everything but “Neuroticism.”) After looking at publicly-available photos, status updates, conversations with friends, and Wall postings, the raters scored each candidate accordingly:
Potential love interests are probably asking the same questions, though they likely have a slightly different context for “openness to experience” and care more about how good you look in your photos.
While some readers were put off by the idea of being stalked by potential employers, others recognized the utility of tapping into all the information out there about a given candidate.
“If I’m an employer, and it’s legal, and I’m about to make a major investment in someone that I’ll have to work all day with, I’ll use it,” said “gugie.” Puneet Thiara agreed with her: “The costs associated with hiring and training a new employee far outweigh the risk of not doing ALL of your research. You could say it’s similar to me researching a company I am applying for and checking out members of its groups on Facebook to see what kind of people work for the company.”
But other readers want employers to stick to the social networks intended for professional use. “I — and I know many others are with me here — use ‘social networks’ (other than LinkedIn, that is) for just that. Networking SOCIALLY. In my opinion you have no more business examining my Facebook entries than you would crashing a private cocktail party,” wrote a person who spelled “anonymous” in a very eccentric way. “[S]ocial networks should not be used IN LIEU of face-to-face meetings.”
Brettb was of this opinion as well:

[J]udging the character of an individual with such heavy weight on their personal life, which nine times out of ten will never interfere with their professional life, is wrong. The practice of physically sitting down and going through the motions of an interview with a candidate and asking probing intellectual questions while vigorously researching reference data is a much better way to select a qualified candidate. So what if Johnny had a few too many beers one night in Cancun when he was in college and someone took a photo, or if Susie openly supports her local death metal band. Does that make them bad people? No – get to know the candidate if you want to make a judgment of character. See how they handle themselves in a professional atmosphere and if they are personable or rather, someone you feel you can work with.

In my opinion, those who don’t want employers looking them up on Facebook pages are fighting a losing battle.
Christian Miller won the comments section with this remark:

Any candidate worth considering should be smart enough to set their privacy settings in order to hide all content from any potential employer. Anything a competent HR staff can find via google search is fair game.

Good luck, job seekers. And along with polishing your resume, dry-cleaning your interview suit, and researching the companies you’re interviewing with, do pay a visit to your Facebook privacy settings page.