Ready for your weekly fix? Here’s an excerpt from Hawaii Business Magazine’s December 2016 issue of “The Careerist”:
Q: If a 10-year-old can master social media in his spare time, why does my boss think it’s so important? I’ve been a dependable employee for years, and now I feel like I’m being edged out in favor of people who are social media “experts.” I think this stuff is totally overblown and that folks jump on the bandwagon about anything nowadays. Can I ignore him and wait for this to blow over?
A: Oh, my friend, I fear you’re still holding on to a buggy whip, certain these cars will disappear so you can hitch up the wagon. You’ll be gone long before social media takes a back seat, so my best advice is to hire that 10-year-old and get yourself trained, right now. You’re the employee who mastered the fax machine, your mobile phone and email. You can do this.
Remember back in the day (before Al Gore invented the internet), when we’d never even heard the term “website?” Today, there’s not a real business without one. Social media is just the next rung in that digital ladder. While the research is mixed on how many customers actually plunk down money because of social media, its ability to brand a company’s personality, position it as a player in its niche and heighten visibility is uncontested. A 2014 AdWeek report notes that almost 50 percent of Americans rely on Facebook as their top influencer for purchases, eight out of 10 users are influenced by their friends’ posts, and 97 percent of all consumers use online searches as their go-to source for finding a business.
I posed your question to Barbara Guss, a well-regarded Honolulu professional recruiter, who says, “Get on it! The world is moving faster all the time and people get passed over if someone else can do the job better.” So grab a box of malasadas and bribe that smart 10-year-old to get you up to speed. Oh, and remember to show him the buggy whip. He’ll think it’s about the coolest thing he’s ever seen.
Click here to read the full article: The Careerist: The Dreaded Christmas Party
