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Linked In, Facebook, and Finance Executives

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Are there any synergies created for CFOs and other Finance Executives by using both Linked In and Facebook? I’ve actually blogged about this several times in the past, but the question was raised again … so I’m happy to respond again.

I believe there are synergies. The traditional view, and one that is held by many Chief Financial Officers and Senior Finance Executives is, draw a line in the sand and never the two shall mix. With all due respect to those who hold that view, it’s an outdated view for many of the reasons I cite in my previous post about CFOs missing the social media boat, and the sequel.

Here’s the skinny from my humble vantage point … 

In the tough and competitive job search climate today, a presence on Facebook combined with a strong professional presence on Linked In can actually work to a candidate's benefit … if done correctly. The ability of a candidate to showcase a 360-perspective is very restrictive on Linked In. Facebook, on the other hand, is much more open and transparent (hobbies, interests, circle of friends, communication style, including grammar and spelling). And, Facebook privacy controls help to keep private things private and non-private things public.

Culture fit is the most difficult part of hiring today. With a branded Linked In presence and a professional / personal Facebook presence, a recruiter and/or a company get a much more accurate, and complete, picture of a potential candidate. When you walk into a room … that picture already precedes you and can give you a huge advantage over the competition during the interview process – your fit with the company culture has already been decided.  

The more tools you use, the more of a time drain social media “can” become. However, with all the seamless integration now available across platforms, it is almost painless to create one post and populate your Linked In status bar, Facebook page, and even Twitter simultaneously. 

And that is all good for building density around a digital footprint that screams … Subject Matter Expert … while separating you from the competition.

CFOs, Social Media, and Email

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Remember when …

–The Post Office was actually relevant because all correspondence came through your mailbox?

–IBM Selectric typewriters and “White Out” transformed office environments?

–30-second jingles heard on TV were “the” advertising medium?

And then …

–Mail was first replaced by fax transmissions, and now email.

–Memory typewriters and gargantuan computers replaced electric typewriters. Does the product “White Out” even exist today?

–Thankfully, intrusive push advertising became easily handled with a push of the mute button.

And today …

–There’s a computer in almost every home; and

–According to an Internet trends report by Morgan Stanley, email usage is flattening out as social media usage is increasing. 

What does the SM trend mean for you as a Chief Financial Officer? Maybe nothing if you are one of the few CFOs embracing the power of Web 2.0 technology. If you’re not onboard, you might get run over because this train is coming … and coming at full speed.

Beyond the typical career strategies social media facilitates (Tweeting, Social Media Boat, Sequel), here are some ways you can begin easing into the new technology …

–Use a private or internal Twitter account to rapidly and transparently communicate with your entire finance or executive team and/or track high priority projects;

–Encourage your executive leadership team to get on Linked In with complete profiles to raise the visibility and credibility of your company;

–Make your loyal clients or customers feel exclusive and inclusive with a private group on Linked In or a Facebook fan page. (If you’re a CFO and would like to join my CFO Careers group on Linked In, please send me an email and I’ll send you an invitation to join … or follow my Facebook Business page.)

I’d love to hear how you, as the chief finance leader, are leveraging the power of social media either corporately or individually.

Executives, Careers, & Social Networking

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Yesterday on Twitter I mentioned that I was reading a very interesting book on social networking entitled “33 Million People in the Room” by Juliette Powell. I’m not all the way through the book, but I will be in a few more days. It’s that interesting.

It’s no surprise where I stand on the importance of having a strong online presence. I’ve mentioned that CFOs seem to be missing the boat on social media … much more so than CEOs. The curious, or maybe not, fact is that operational CFOs seem to “get” it more than the traditional finance leaders do. 

In any event, this paragraph jumped out at me last night and it’s definitely worth your consideration …

Researchers Nguyen and Dang "discovered that not only are socially well-connected CEOs more likely to make more money, they are also far less likely to be fired for poor performance, and, amazingly, they were more likely than their unconnected peers to find new and solid employment when they were shown the door.” 

Now I know the author says “CEOs” but there is no question in my mind that it applies equally to Chief Financial Officers and other Senior Finance Executives.

The author of the book also says, as I’ve said, to ignore the power of social networking is to put yourself on the path to extinction.

If you are a finance leader and want more career-related information, you can get it by following my Facebook Business Page. You DO have a Facebook account, right?

There is a Difference!

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Most Connected vs. Well Connected

Have you noticed these types of monikers attached to members on Linked In, Facebook, and Twitter? The “most connected” statement always makes me think Rolodex. Is it really possible to have a relationship with 16,000+ people on Linked In? Perhaps I’m a little old-fashioned but it seems to me that building relationships is about quality not quantity. Unless you are building a cold call contact list (like a recruiter), being well-connected to, and engaged with, a few will serve you better than merely collecting a lot of names.

Networking vs. Showing Up

These are very different. Many of my finance executives struggle with the networking concept. And I understand. For many CFOs, their jobs are demanding. Who needs one more thing to take time away from family and other priorities. 

However, networking today is defined as raising your visibility among those who need to know about you. That means engaging people. Just having a place holder on the various social networking sites with no picture, no interesting bio, and no conversation is merely showing up. Being a wallflower doesn’t raise visibility, it merely takes up oxygen.

Job Searching vs. Searching Posted Positions

A well-balanced job search strategy includes a variety of activities with searching posted positions as one of the “least” effective. And, the posted position game becomes even more ineffective the more senior your position. 

The best of all worlds is to do the things you need to do before you need to do them (managing your career) rather than being forced to give up power and do them because you have to do them (searching for a job). But, if you do fall into the latter category, move away from the job boards and diversify your search strategy.

And while we are speaking of job boards, the CFO recruiter who joined me on the Proformative Insight and Strategies for Seasoned Executives in Transition webinar told me he rarely, if ever, posts positions on public job boards. He’s not alone.

Branding vs. Marketing

This came up on the Proformative discussion boards following the Insights and Strategies webinar. There is an important distinction between authentic branding and marketing. Marketing is the pitch, persona, and perhaps even spin used in selling yourself. Branding, on the other hand, is leveraging the combination of your unique strengths, passions, and values that others … regardless of how they know you … all see in you and which attract “likeness”. This naturally pulls the kinds of opportunities that are a good fit with who you are. 

Branding occurs at the intersection of how others see you as it aligns with how you see yourself.  It requires honest feedback from people who know you and is why a person just can’t say I’m going to have this brand and then put it out for the world. If it isn’t who you really are, the world won’t buy it, at least not for long. 

Think of it this way. If you believe yourself to be a strategic finance leader but when asked, your team and the CEO and Board members all say they view you as a micro-managing bean counter … who are you really?

Make it Personal, PLEASE!

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I don’t often rant, but I’m about to. I’ve blogged previously about the importance of personalized invitations on Linked In … and yet … I still get invites that are canned. At least I can look at the profile to determine who the person is. I’d like to suggest, strongly, that personalizing Facebook friend requests is also highly recommended. 

This morning I received a friend request on Facebook with no personal message and no way to determine who this person was because all of his settings were at the highest level of privacy. I didn’t know who he was nor could I glean any information from his info page. He was a nameless person who, for all intents and purposes, could have been unsavory. How would I know?

I sent him a very nice message stating that I was careful about who I friended and asking how he found me and why he decided to reach out to me. His response …

Delete the friend request. Too complicated.

Seriously? This from a professional? Too complicated to personalize an invitation to someone with whom you would like to connect? Where I come from, that is actually professional and courteous. If you're going to invite people to join you, give them a reason to say yes.

The Sequel … Are CFOs Missing the Social Networking Boat?

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If you identified with yesterday’s post and recognize that you are a CFO who is missing the social media boat, here are a few thoughts for your consideration. 

There’s an interesting article on Digiday entitled “Forever Jung: What Makes Social Media Social.” Here’s a relevant excerpt … 

The more a message resonates, the more “social” it becomes. We have many “tools” to facilitate this sharing:  email, Twitter, Facebook, Digg, Reddit, etc.  But it’s imperative that we not confuse our tools with our goals. It is the connection to the “second psychic system” that remains the essential component of “social media.” Understanding this reintroduces the notion that what we say is more important than how we say it.  Empty messages don’t connect because the collective deems them not worth sharing.

Social media sites are merely facilitators of conversation. And NO message is an EMPTY message. 

Content may be king of the Internet, but engaging rules social media. In fact, the infamous “6 degrees of separation” has been reduced to 5 degrees by virtue of the Internet. Think about that. It is quite likely you can reach your target prospect through a mere five people. But not if you aren’t engaging with anyone.

I was reading a newsletter in which a gentleman said he had applied for a CFO position with an Internet start-up. However, the response he got was that his knowledge of the Internet and social media experience were so UNDER-whelming that he referred to himself as a “fossil.” He could well be on his way to being extinct. 

Here’s something you may not know. Since 2005, the demand for social media jobs has increased by 325%. How will you compete for finance leadership positions at companies who are integrating social media to support their core business practice and mission if you, as an otherwise qualified CFO, have missed the social media boat … professionally and corporately? 

If nothing more, embracing social media can put you at the front of the pack. In fact,  as a senior-level finance executive, it could even help you leave the competition in the dust. Not solely because you are perceived as “Internet or Web 2.0” savvy, but because you have strong visibility among the people who need to know about you. Playing in the social media arena goes a long way towards helping you be prepared for the unexpected, or, even better, ensuring that you can execute your 3-to-5-year career plan. You do have a plan, right?

Are CFOs Missing the Social Networking Boat?

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There are lists of CEOs who tweet and CIOs who tweet … but where are the lists of CFOs who are active in any kind of social media? Yes, I do have a CFO list on my Twitter stream, many courtesy of CFOWise. Are there any others?

I was talking with the owner of MyCFONetwork.com earlier this week, catching up after the holidays, and inquiring whether his membership was engaging with each other within the various communities. He said not really. In fact, what he was hearing was that they wanted more content. 

Wait. More content? Are CFOs missing the social media boat? I’m going to go out on a limb here and say, ah … yes! 

Whether you tweet or don’t tweet isn’t the issue. The real issue is that not embracing social media is a huge career mistake.

Twitter, Linked In, Facebook, and even MyCFONetwork are merely tools that facilitate the ability to  … talk with people – and – get on the radar screen of people who need to know about you. In case you didn’t know, or you forgot, it is not who you know that matters today, but rather “who knows about you.” 

I read a great article in which this quote appeared …

The only thing avoiding social media does for you is it takes your voice entirely out of the conversation. It doesn’t make you invisible, it makes you mute.

And, it makes you vulnerable.

I spoke with a CFO yesterday who was happily employed one day and shown the door the next. He was caught completely unaware, and was completely unprepared for a job loss and a job search. His digital footprint is non-existent. That means, 

–he has two huge obstacles to overcome … age bias and unemployment; and

–his search must ramp up from ground zero. 

He is in his mid-50’s and, understandably, very worried. He doesn’t have the luxury of a strong online and offline network, visibility among his target market, and the credibility of a dense digital footprint. What he does have is an uphill battle.

Look for Part 2 … Getting IN the Boat … coming up next. 

My Social Media Christmas List

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My Christmas list is short No, really, it is … at least in terms of social media requests. All I really want for Christmas are …

–Personal invitations on Linked In. Is it really too much for people who want to connect with me to write a personal note? 

–Completed profiles and intelligent tweets on Twitter from people who choose to follow me. Please re-read my last post.

—Facebook to stay the same for at least two consecutive months. Enough of the weekly learning curve, already.

Santa baby, is this really too much to ask?

On a more serious note … my warmest wishes for a joyous Christmas holiday! 

Win Visibility and Positioning in 2010

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One of my readers asked for some tips on winning visibility and positioning in anticipation of a recovering 2010. Josie, this post was written with you in mind.

If you read my post from last week, The Competition is Heating Up, you know that competition for every job is going to be even more fierce in 2010. The competition for opportunities though, can be far less. Amazingly, companies are still complaining about finding top talent. That means, it’s time to move out of the war zone (posted position game) and into a smaller battle field (online and offline networking) in order to out-maneuver the competition!

—Visibility … With today’s Web 2.0 technology, there is just no excuse for any CFO to not have a strong digital footprint. Create an integrated strategy with all of your social networking sites, using hash tags to push a post or tweet to your other sites. For example, use a Twitter account to gain visibility among recruiters AND build credibility around your digital footprint. Push selected tweets to your Facebook account and Linked In status update bar merely by using hash tags. 

You are who Google says you are … particularly to people you want to know about you. Set up Google alerts on your name so you can see what’s being said about you and by whom. Google your name, in quotes (i.e., “cindy kraft”), at least weekly to monitor your digital footprint. It’s not enough to have “stuff” in Google, a credible online reputation delivers clarity and consistency around your value proposition.  

—Positioning … Boring, dull, commodity — being like everyone else — is out. Well, lost in the masses for sure. In high school we all wanted to be “like” the cool kids. As senior-level finance executives, the goal is to stand alone so you can be noticed. Identify what you have that a company is willing to pay (big bucks) to get, and then shout it to your target market … clearly, consistently, and constantly.

I was asked in Monday’s Netshare Ask-a-Coach call about the marketability of a subject matter expert vs. a generalist. My belief is that knowing a lot about a little trumps knowing a little about a lot … and, that everyone is an expert about something, they just might not realize it or know how to unearth it. 

Win solid positioning by understanding what it is that you do well and love doing and who needs it, and then build your communication strategy around that message. 

The Wall Flower Syndrome

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A couple of my colleagues wrote some good posts about networking this week … See  “How to Find Your Old Contacts” at the Interns Over 40 blog and “Explain to your network how they can best help you” by one of my favorite bloggers, Paul Copcutt.

Here’s the sticking point for many of my CFOs and senior finance executives. IF they show up, few of them actually engage. Networking … is a verb. It requires action. Standing against the wall and hoping a) no one notices you, b) someone will reach out to you first, or c) merely enjoying the chow … does NOT constitute networking. Neither does using your name to create a place holder within social networking sites. 

MyCFONetwork.com has launched a great regional networking site specifically for senior-level finance executives. It’s a great concept and an even better, easier, and more efficient way to network with your peers. However, just showing up doesn’t constitute networking in today’s social media world. A wall flower is still a wall flower whether in the physical sense or the social sense. 

Wouldn’t you like to be the finance executive who got a call from a networking contact with the inside scoop on an opportunity at a much bigger company with a very nice increase in annual salary and a cushy benefits package that resulted in a new position within just a couple of weeks … even in this economy? If so, you must move away from the wall!

If you aren’t connected with me, please connect with me on …

Linked In 

Facebook 

Twitter 

And, of course, I would enjoy engaging in conversations with you in any of the MyCFONetwork.com communities!