Panelists' Typical Day: Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn
ByEvery day we hear about another social media tool, whether it’s Filtrbox, Dopplr, Brightkite or Plurk. Makes your head spin, especially if you’re new to social media and trying to decide how to get involved. But in reality, what are thought leaders in social media really using – consistently and on a daily basis – when it comes to social media? In our quest at Sawmill Marketing Public Relations to share the practical, we offer the following:
During the “Social Media 101: Getting Started” conference sponsored by the Greater Baltimore Technology Council (GBTC) in Baltimore last week, members of one panel were asked that question. “During a typical day, what social media tools do you really 
use? What’s your favorite?” The simplicity might surprise you.
Geoff Livingston, keynote presenter and author of the social media primer Now is Gone, said he pays attention to Facebook (“because people communicate with me there”), uses Twitter consistently (says it’s the #4 referral source to his blog, The Buzz Bin) and checks out Spin Thicket, a compendium of “news for a spin-eat-spin world.” The self-described “DC-based flack” called LinkedIn “a waste of time, but good for recruiting,” and said he doesn’t bother with MySpace or MyRagan, the PR/communicators’ social network.
Panelist Yair Flicker, president and co-founder of SmartLogic Solutions, also mentioned Twitter and Facebook (“to scope out new employees”) and talked about LinkedIn as well, noting he uses it for business development and recruiting.
Finally, Sean Oakley of Congruent Media said he uses LinkedIn consistently, sometimes to pose a question and get a feel for what people are thinking in a particular category. He also sets up RSS feeds on certain terms and questions from LinkedIn so he doesn’t miss anything of interest. Oakley also said he’d be lost without social bookmarks manager del.icio.us, where he sends clients to check his bookmarks, and he also enjoys StumbleUpon, but more for personal use.
So there you have it, dozens and dozens of tools out there, but at least in the eyes of the panelists at a social media conference, when it comes to what they use day in and day out, it pretty much boils down to Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
Some interesting stuff here. I’ve been in interactive and digital marketing for almost 10 years now and it’s absolutely crazy the number of social media sites have crept up. Every day we more and more ways to communicate with each other.
In response to Geoff’s comments about LinkedIn, I’ve commonly heard the same thing. It’s only been good for recruiters and job seekers. In fact, I know very few people that have closed business using LinkedIn. I can say that LinkedIn has really thought us that we can take traditional social networking, tailor it for a more mature and professional audience and still make it work. It was actually from this understanding that we launched Salesconx [http://www.salesconx.com], an online marketplace and network for b2b professionals. A lot of people refer to us as a LinkedIn meets an eBay. The problem with LinkedIn, IMHO, is that there’s no clear direction as to what people are supposed to do with it from a business development, sales and marketing prospective. I think that in creating a marketplace where people are going for very specific needs (b2b lead generation and appointment setting), you’re creating a very specific purpose and very specific relevance, for the right audience.
-Attiya
[http://www.salesconx.com]
I have indeed found Facebook and LinkedIn useful for recruiting. Resumes can give you one perspective on a potential employee, but social networking profiles can give you a completely different dimension on the potential employee. When making a substantial investment it’s of course always best to do your due diligence!
I’d have to go with Twitter as my #1 and LinkedIn and Facebook tied for #2. I have definitely seen benefits from networking on all three and I think LinkedIn is very under utilized – most people just join and leave it at that. I try to join groups that have real-world get togethers as well. Social media is wonderful, but there’s no substitute for face-to-face connections and relationship builiding.