This is a copy of the Powerpoint presentation that Suzanne Marks and Tony Nino gave to the Southern California Regional Rapid Response Roundtable in January. These are the people who corporations and laid-off workers turned to as the economy disintegrated. They helped the corporations survive during the economic meltdown, and helped their laid-off employees find new employment opportunities. Now that the economy is recovering, these are the same people who can help employers find the right applicants, as well as help job seekers find the perfect jobs.
When it comes to low-cost, high-impact ways to connect employers to job-seekers, few tools are more powerful than Social Networking. There is a virtual toolbox of applications that can the reach across a broad array of demographics with remarkable results. The meteoric rise of Facebook, Twitter, Linked-in, mobile apps and sites, blogs, YouTube, e-news distribution, SMS messaging and e-surveys has led to a kind of intense personal trust and involvement formerly only attributed to the all-powerful word-of-mouth advertising and personal references.
However, to reach the majority of decision makers and influencers, you’ve got to go Mobile. According to OnlineMedia Daily, this is the year that mobile-enabled and mobile-friendly websites have gone from merely useful to essential. Our client, FWIB, the Foothill Workforce Investment Board, is embracing both social media and mobile media. Before we attended this roundtable, I did not realize how advanced FWIB was.
After our presentation, we were approached by Workforce Investment Board and Rapid Response representatives from all over Southern and Central California who said they were not allowed to use any of these tools. They were prohibited. The single most effective methods of reaching workers and employers simultaneously… for FREE!... is Forbidden. And it’s not just Facebook, Twitter, Linked-in, YouTube, e-news and SMS messaging; at least half of the representatives complained they are not even allowed to use Google! Unbelievable, but true.
As our State and states around the nation struggle to recover from the worst recession in our lifetimes, there are rules in place that undeniably slow the pace of that recovery. It is beyond me. It baffles me, but it is happening. These social marketing and outreach tools may be new, but they are not evil. At least no more evil that the hammers and screw drivers that fill our toolboxes at home. Certainly, as any self-respecting sore thumb knows, hammers can do harm. That doesn’t mean we don’t use them, especially when something needs repair.
Our State economy needs repair, and it needs it now. We have the tools to help at our fingertips. They are numerous. They are effective. They are free.
Unfortunately, they are also forbidden.