social media | –‌–‌–‌–‌–‌–‌–‌–‌–‌––‌ MMC –‌––‌–‌––‌–‌–‌–‌–‌–‌–‌

By Michelle McIntyre

Twitter’s usage facts are impressive. According to the company, there are 255 million active users monthly and 500 million Tweets are sent a day.

Twitter is an important tool used by companies in conducting social business. According to Gartner, businesses leverage social media to drive growth, improve business processes and drive innovation. Marketers use it to gain valuable insight from customers and prospects.
Let’s face it. Twitter is important so community managers want more followers and tweet shares.

Retweets are definitely sweeter than being ‘favorited,’ especially if the retweeter has more followers than you, or at least a list of followers strategic to your business. Sometimes 50 strategic followers are better than 5k random ones.

I’m proud to say that when I Tweet about entrepreneurship or tech trends, I have been retweeted more than once by @SVForum, the top Silicon Valley organization for tech startups and their investors. My client prospects follow SVForum on Twitter. This is a good thing.
I noticed I am more likely to be retweeted if I do these two simple things.

1. AIM FOR 100 CHARACTERS OR LESS. People are more likely to retweet a shorter Tweet. Twitter rules say your tweet needs to be 140 characters or less, but Twitter users actually like 100 characters or less.
Use these free and easy services to shorten your URL links: TinyURL.com and Bitly.com. To use the services, copy paste your long link and make a short one. You should not have to register, sign in or pay for either service.

2. USE TWO HASHTAGS INSTEAD OF ONE. When I am managing the Twitter handle for @SVIABC, I like #communications and #pr since the organization promotes quality in the communications field. Sometimes I add #social, #socialmedia or what the social studs use, #SoMe. What a hashtag does is it includes your tweet in the ongoing group conversation on that topic. Many more people can then see your tweet even if they are not follow you. Pretty cool, huh?

What other tips do you have to increase retweets?
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Michelle McIntyre is the president of MMC high tech PR. @FromMichelle on Twitter

According to a story, “Should Companies Monitor Their Employees’ Social Media?” in the May 12, 2014 edition of The Wall Street Journal, job candidates need to beware that prospective employers are tracking their social media networks to get a glimpse of what they are like.

The story covered results of a survey sponsored by Careerbuilder.com.

Although the article doesn’t refer to consultant candidates, there is no doubt they use similar research methods to check them out as well.

Here are the sites that employers are using to research candidates:
Facebook: 65%
LinkedIn: 63%
Twitter: 16%

Here’s what employers look for when they research a candidate using social media:
To see if the candidate presents himself/herself professionally: 65%
To see if the prospect is a good fit for company culture: 51%
To learn more about the candidate’s qualifications: 45%
To see if he or she is well-rounded: 35%
To look for reasons not to hire the candidate: 12%

Not surprisingly, here is what survey responders said hurt candidates:
Candidate posted provocative or inappropriate photos or info: 50%
Got a good feel for candidates personality: 50%
Candidates showed a wide array of interests: 50%
Background supported professional qualifications: 49%
Evidence of creativity: 46%
Excellent communication skills: 43%
Great references: 38%

Prospective employers need to be careful as well. The story says that these searches put the employers at liability. The story says that “An employer who learns than an applicant is gay, Moslem, disabled, or over 40 years old, and then hires someone else may face discrimination charges.”

To read the entire article, visit wsj.com. The most interesting stats are on page R2 of the print edition.

If you haven’t bought a hard copy of The Wall Street Journal lately, pick up a copy at Starbucks or at a neighborhood store. It’s nice to read an actual “print edition” newspaper every once in a while.Of course you could also subscribe and get it at home or at the office.

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Michelle McIntyre is president of Michelle McIntyre Communications LLC, on the executive team of TEDxSanJoseCA, and director of communications for SVIABC. She’s @FromMichelle on Twitter.