Week 5 EOC: Social Networks and Job Hunting

Social networking has become a major part of people’s everyday life, especially Facebook.
Companies have been using Facebook as a source, for searching for potential employees and to see if potential employees and current employees are showing professionalism. In the article “Recruiters Turn to Facebook to Find Candidates” they are talking about the battle between Facebook and job boards. “More companies are trying to tap Facebook Inc.'s 750-million-plus user base to find new employees, threatening traditional job boards and competing with LinkedIn Corp., which has dominated the online professional networking arena.” (Recruiters Turn to Facebook to Find Candidates, The Wall Street Journal. Page 1) Many feel that more companies are beginning to turn more towards Facebook to find future employees than from companies like LinkedIn Corp. “Candidates have been 50% more likely to apply to positions they found through Facebook than through other means, said Mr. Staney. "[Job boards] just blast it out. This is much more efficient and targeted," he said. (Recruiters Turn to Facebook to Find Candidates, The Wall Street Journal. Page 2) 

Technology has also become a great way to spread the word about new products. In the article “Marketing at work 5.1 Brand Ambassadors: Employing Real Customers to Get Out the Word it” it talks about how technology can help companies gain valuable resources to make their products more successful. The company JetBlue and many other companies have started looking for people on the internet that have started to talk a lot about their products, such as bloggers, and have asked them to become  ambassadors for their company. “Brand ambassador programs leverage the power of peer-to-peer communication. Consumers hear about products and brand experiences from others just like themselves—people they trust—rather than from commercial marketing sources. ‘It’s the value of having someone there who wants to talk to you about the product and the features,’ says one brand ambassador. ‘It’s not really about sales; it is about sharing of information. If you go about it in a way that is positive and relatable, it’s a positive experience for [both parties].’” (Marketing at work 5.1 Brand Ambassadors: Employing Real Customers to Get Out the Word it, Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management Corporation. Page 143) Companies like to use ambassadors because they have a wide range of subscribers and are about to get the word out about things extremely quick. JetBlue stated “We used to assume the best reps would be the cool kids in any given group. But we learned that most kids are not cool. If marketers want consumers to feel a connection to their ambassadors and to feel that an ambassador is accessible, they have to look beyond the cool customers” who are typically thought of as influentials. The best ambassadors, he says, are “friendly, everyday brand loyalists who love to talk to people.” (Marketing at work 5.1 Brand Ambassadors: Employing Real Customers to Get Out the Word it, Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management Corporation. Page 144)