When I started my CFO-Coach Fan Page on Facebook (if you are on Facebook, you, too, can become a fan) and sent out invitations to my Linked In Finance Executives, I received several responses (thank you) saying, “I’d love to but I’m not on Facebook.” Uh oh. Not on Facebook? That might mean no Twitter or other Social Media either.
Here are several reasons why I believe Finance Executives should step beyond Linked In and embrace the power of other social networking sites. Here are four of them.
— Creates a more visible online presence
Linked In is a great networking tool and provides the opportunity for a long-term, updated career portfolio. Because of its very nature (business), it doesn’t afford recruiters and companies the chance to know you from a bigger picture perspective. Since culture fit is the hardest thing to hire for, Twitter and Facebook can add that perspective to your overall online presence. How do you think? What’s your communication style? What are your interests outside work? What books are you reading? Done right, it’s all good.
— It positions you as tech savvy
Just like an AOL address speaks volumes about your technical skills (or lack thereof), so does NOT leveraging the cool new web 2.0 tools. You probably don’t even know what you’re missing … but those younger folks coming up behind you DO know and are using it to their advantage.
— Your colleagues aren’t doing it
Part of standing out from the pack means going where others are too afraid to go. Or, for whatever reason, just haven’t gone there yet. Blaze the path. Those that do definitely get on the radar screen of recruiters looking for top talent.
— Builds density within your digital footprint
Have you figured out your Google Quotient yet? If the only thing that appears is your Linked In profile … well, that’s better than nothing. However, the more dense your footprint, the more credible you are. And if you have a common name, it’s only a matter of time until your are competing with them for those coveted first page spots.
I have a few more reasons, but you can only read about them in the discussion area of my Fan Page. Consider this your personal invitation to get inside career information specifically for the Senior Finance Executive community and join me … and your peers … at the CFO-Coach Facebook Fan Page.
I can attest to the value of being visible in multiple places as Cindy suggests. An important piece of LinkedIn is your status update. These updates when done frequently and thoughtfully signal an involvement with the site that goes beyond building your contact list. As well, a presence on Twitter provides a spontaneous medium to pass along thoughts or information to your followers that you believe may be useful.
Early on (I’ve been active on both for 6 months)I questioned the number of cross over users between LinkedIn and Twitter. That question was answered the other day when a comment and link I posted to my status update on LinkedIn became my most re-tweeted tweet on Twitter.
So, if you are going to be involved, be involved and actively manage them all. You will be able to build your network faster and more extensively.