We all know it’s nearly impossible to avoid the cosmic powers that social media holds and even though that may be the case, many industries just don’t mesh well with the world of social media. One cooperate field, however, that has found the marketing and advertising transition into social media to be quite simple, is the fashion industry.

Networking sites such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Tumblr have all transformed the way we engage with each other as well as our favorite brands. From skincare brands to big brands like Victoria’s Secret, the fashion world can’t get enough of sharing the latest styles and trends using social media as their portal, connecting their world with ours.

Whatever type of fashion trend you follow, it is meant to be shared because it’s what people see when they get their first impression of you (or in this case, your brand). Do it the right way, you’ll have much success. But, use social media incorrectly and you’ll never live it down!

There have only been three major fashion brands to pass the 5 million “likes” mark on Facebook (according to WWD). These names are Burberry with 9 million likes, Dior with 5.4 million and Gucci with 5.5 million. Crazy right? Now, of course that doesn’t shut out all other top name brands that are racking in social media fans by the second with the networking and advertising they’re producing.

With so many ways to spread your brand – including Twitter which can be used by trend setters to converge or using blogger outreach as a means for collaborations and launching ad campaigns – social media as a whole has become a force to be reckoned with.

Related articles

• Fashion PR Fridays: Fashion, Marketing & Social Media Links 5.18.12 (prcouture.com)
• Decoded Fashion Conference Highlights Fashion and Tech’s Tricky Relationship (betabeat.com)
• Social Media Is Taking Over Search & SEO (socialmediatoday.com)
• Models Now Shine on the Catwalk and on Social Media Networks (epiphanysearch.co.uk)
• Models Now Shine on the Catwalk and on Social Media Networks (epiphanysolutions.co.uk)

While accountants have always played a foundational role in business, more recently the professional profile of the accountant has risen as the finance, insurance, and banking sectors have come under greater scrutiny thanks to some well-publicized financial chicanery in recent years. Internal audits and accurate accounting are now prime vehicles for companies to showcase their fiscal integrity. Managerial accountants in the private sector are more frequently than ever called upon to provide guidance and vision with regard to fiscal matters, and to help determine the direction that will be taken by a company’s CFO.

Helen Coster, columnist for Forbes Magazine, recently described how increased government and SRO scrutiny of corporate financial health has meant more job opportunities for accountants. She noted that companies that accepted TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program) funds were particularly keen on hiring strong accountants, with companies as diverse as Siemens, McGraw-Hill and Aon increasing the number of staff accountants and internal auditors in their employ after accepting these federal funds. This is supported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2010 projections report showing that the accounting industry can expect 16% employment growth during the current decade ending 2020.

So, how can accountants seeking to ride this rising tide of demand better showcase themselves to potential employers? Today’s young accounting program graduates grew up online, and might have even taken their first steps towards career preparation online. Young accountants, especially aspiring accountants learning how to become a CPA are in-tune with the fact that decisions made in the virtual world can impact their lives and careers in very real ways. The use of online forums has only become more crucial in recent years, with social media and blog sites now one of the most powerful platforms available to young professionals.

1. Get Your Profile Out There!

Social media sites like Facebook and Linked In are powerful and popular platforms that connect human resources managers and accounting departments to strong job candidates. This might seem obvious, but the first step to creating an online presence is to take the time to carefully compose a social media profile that reflects one’s professionalism and knowledge of the field of accounting. This shouldn’t be done hastily or without some forethought, as many experts caution social media neophytes that once something is published on the web, it generally stays there forever. While this shouldn’t prevent ambitious accountants from making use of these resources, they should undertake crafting their online profiles with the same care given to a resume.

2. Control Your Professional Image

All professionals need to carefully cultivate their online persona to project professionalism and expertise in their particular field. Accountants, in particular, are often exposed to some of the most sensitive information in an organization, and as such, are carefully scrutinized when considered for a position. Lisa Buckner, an accountant based in Cincinnati, notes the importance of crafting a profile that instills confidence, saying “I know that human resources directors go to Linked In first and want to know: who are you networking with? Is it friends from high school, or professional contacts in the business world?”

Cultivating and maintaining a rich network of professional contacts helps display a job candidate’s priorities and reciprocal value to other professionals.

3. Keep Your Profile Rich, Deep and Current

Many job seekers make the mistake of only taking advantage of the most basic features available on sites like Linked In or Facebook. Beyond simply posting a resume, users can also list organizational affiliations, academic or professional accomplishments, and participation in symposiums, seminars or conferences. Candidates can link to interesting articles that impact accounting and finance in general, and their specialty in particular. By taking time to explore all the verticals available on social media sites and updating them often, profiles will always display personal attention and an awareness of recent developments in the field. Under the scrutiny of a job recruiter, abandoned pages can sometimes be more harmful than no page at all, as they suggest a loss of interest.

4. Become Your Own Marketer

Social media sites provide powerful ready-made platforms for ambitious young accountants to make their skills visible to the right eyes. However, there are even more ways an accountant can create an online presence. Creating a blog using simple platforms like WordPress or Tumblr allows users to create unique personal and professional pages, and unlike LinkedIn or Facebook, the user has almost total control over the visual and contextual environment.

Aspiring accountants can reflect, editorialize and give reasoned opinions on their personal experiences and issues affecting the field of accountancy. Rather than a forum in which to air grievances, complain or moan, blogs can actually be a place where accountants can project a thoughtful sense of commitment to the profession, display knowledge of major figures and successful role models, and situate themselves as candidates who not only understand the profession, but who also have a personal stake in it.

5. Maintain a Sense of Enthusiasm

It is up to individual accountants to shape the view of their profession to anyone who may be paying attention, even those with little knowledge of accountancy. After all, the first person to view any of these social media outlets when considering a candidate for an accounting position will most likely be in human resources. While education and experience will forever remain foundational to piquing the interest of HR, candidates who exhibit genuine pleasure in their work will always rise to the top. By keeping the tone positive, professional and genuine across the full spectrum of social media, young professionals can ensure an online persona that will always be an advantage to them as they look to get started in their careers.

The thing about marketing nowadays is that there are more options for small business owners who are looking for more customers to take a look at their products and services. There have been numerous theories and schools of thought dedicated to various methods of online marketing, all of which are quite effective in their own way. One of them is inbound marketing, and this one has its own set of advantages.

What is Inbound Marketing?

This thing called inbound marketing is a principle that puts together a set of online marketing techniques for attracting page views to your website. Instead of having to charge them for whatever they can get for free online anyway, you can use this to get a good clue on what the people are looking for, then address those demands and concerns. In essence, you let the people come in and do a lot of the work for you.

It requires planning and preparation though since marketing is not exactly witchcraft. You make use of different methods like search engine optimization, content marketing, conversion rate optimization, and social media marketing in order to get your own little corner of the web to more people out there. Inbound marketing is basically a collective term that encompasses methods that bring the people in, hence the name.

Cost of inbound marketing

The good thing about inbound marketing is that it costs little to nothing at all, making it an ROI-focused strategy that anyone who’s willing enough can learn. The goal in itself is to make your website more visible so that more people can get to your products and services. If you do well enough, there will be people who can find out about your business and become your customers in the process if you have what they want at a good enough price.

Tapping the online market

A big part of inbound marketing fundamentals is the use of search engines, mainly Google. With three billion search queries per day, an ocean of possibilities is right there for online marketers everywhere to take advantage of. A good chunk of that can be your target market, so all you have to do is to make your website visible enough for that niche to take notice, then give them what they want when they do come in. But first, you have to make your website visible to them.

Marketing your website

Content and blog marketing can help increase web traffic by a half more on average. Four times the number of your pages can be indexed by search engines by marketing your site and content properly, increasing chances of having your website discovered by potential customers. Social media can also help you get more exposure, especially since more and more people are now logging on to social media websites like Facebook and Twitter. It also helps with interacting with customers, which is a good way to keep things going smoothly.

Beyond marketing

Through inbound marketing, you can increase your revenue and help you know more about how to improve your business. Soon enough, you’ll see that it can become more than just marketing, but also a way to become a better entrepreneur as a result since you become more connected with your customers. It can also help build relationships with fellow entrepreneurs who are doing the same thing with inbound marketing. The resulting exchange of information can be very beneficial indeed.

Having control over marketing your brand

Also, since you do most of the work yourself with inbound marketing, it means that you can dictate what image you are putting out to the public. In traditional marketing, you would be a client of a public relations firm, which then decides on how they will market your brand. Perhaps you can get what you pay for through that route, but the only time when you can express how you want it done is during consultation. Otherwise, you’ll have to trust the fate of your brand in the hands of others. While they are more skilled in traditional marketing, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out online inbound marketing at all.

By putting the reins of your brand’s marketing in your own hands, you can be sure that everything that is being put out for the sake of your brand is to the beat of your own drum. Not only is it a more sensible way to do business, but you also can get more involved with the marketing of your products and services, which is a good thing when long term goals are to be considered. In the end, you get more ROI and other gains as a result of inbound marketing.

If there’s anything we’ve learned about social media over the last few years, it’s that most businesses aren’t doing it right, but those who “get it” are hitting home runs.

There’s no other way to say it. This infographic by our friends at GetSatisfaction brings it into perspective nicely for us.

Click to enlarge.

Via: Automotive Internet Marketing and Automotive Social Networks

Despite all the posts raving about it on basically every social media blog and news site known to mankind, Google+ is most assuredly not the next great social network.

I said it. Wanna make something of it?

Let me be the first to say: TurntableFM is the future of social networking.

A lot of jokes have been made about G+ being like Facebook, but not Facebook. And for many people, that’s enough. Sure, it has the Sparks and the Hangouts and is a very nicely designed social network.

But TTFM has something neither FB nor Google has: the ability to create an all-but-instant emotional connection between users.

I was working from home a couple Sundays ago and wanted some background music while I did some computer housekeeping, so I signed onto TurntableFM to see what all the fuss was about. The first room I found was labeled “80’s alt/new wave.”

Ah, the music of my teen years. You know, when I wore black on the outside because black was how I felt on the inside. (If you get the reference, you want to check this room out.)

The point is, music works on an emotional level and creates connections between people on a much stronger level than posting funny pictures on Tumblr or tweeting interesting stuff on Twitter or posting all that stuff on Facebook.

“Music is a really personal choice. When you can find a group of people who like the same music you do, there is an instant recognition of a kindred spirit – someone who shares a connection to a moment of time even though you’ve never met,” said Kristin Elliot (SheNerd).

Exactly.

I mean, don’t get me wrong – I’ve made new friends on Twitter and Facebook and Tumblr. People I consider actual friends, some of whom I’ve met in real life. In fact, Kristin joined Neex (the alt/new wave room – short for New Wave Excellence) on my recommendation; we’d first met because of Digg and Twitter.

But after less than a week of being on TTFM, NYC-area denizens of the alt/new wave room had our first meetup scheduled, for tomorrow. These are people who I added on Facebook without thinking twice about it. Heck, Kristin and I hadn’t connected on Facebook yet until TTFM.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized this was the social network we’ve been waiting for.

It’s not just the sullen youth of the 1980s who’ve found a home on TTFM. I’ve heard from friends of all ages, from all over the country, who have become addicted to TTFM’s addictive charms.

It’s all about the music. If you like the same music as someone else – particularly if it’s a specific genre you’re unlikely to hear on commercial radio – you have a connection that’s much stronger, even, than the TV shows you watch and the books you read.

Music strikes an emotional chord (pun intended). It has the ability, somehow, to remind us of things we thought we’d forgotten. You might see a TV show from your youth, but you aren’t going to remember what you were doing the first time you saw it. You know why? Because you were watching television.

Music serves as the soundtrack to our lives. A few notes of a song can take us back to our first kiss or the time we squeezed 12 people into a Datsun. We’re suddenly back with the people we shared these experiences with, and even if the people you’re talking to didn’t have those exact experiences, they had other experiences that were probably pretty similar.

“You make online friends instantly, because music has this ‘straight to your heart’ quality, which is much more effective than that often tedious creation of your online persona through text and images,” wrote Aleksandar Macašev (DJ Ellen Ripley), a fellow member of Neex.

For those of us in Neex, we were more likely than not to be kind of shy in school, certainly not in with the popular crowd. We don’t carry those scars with us, however – we carry that as a badge of honor.

The next stage of social networking is the niche, as many have said for years. TurntableFM’s niche is music. But it has the ability to create niches within that, niches that strike at our emotional cores.

I really liked the different thoughts everyone had about TTFM and so I’m sharing all their comments here almost in full.

DJ Ellen Ripley (Aleksandar Macašev)

Music seems to be the best social glue ever. It transcends all kinds of boundaries (age, ethnicity, background…) and it is so emotionally charged that sparks fly every time you meet a music soul mate.

I’m originally from Ex Yugoslavia (SE Europe) and it’s amazing how I instantly bond with someone from any part of the world over a couple of songs we both like. Like we grew up together.

I stumbled upon turntable.fm info on a random Facebook post literally five days ago, and being a bit of a social networking geek I clicked it immediately. After a couple of rooms I got stuck with this 80s Alt New Wave crowd and now I just can’t get out. It’s almost always there in the corner of my screen whether I’m DJing or not. It’s also this generational thing (30-40-ish) and it feels like founding a long lost family. You make online friends instantly, because music has this “straight to your heart” quality, which is much more effective than that often tedious creation of your online persona through text and images. Besides all of that one of the best features of turntable.fm is listening/DJing in real time and it simulates a real life situation better than any other social network service on the market.

After a couple of days I really wanted to meet some of DJs, so I initiated a live meetup for the NYC crowd. We’re gathering in East Village this Wednesday, 20 July.

eforce (Erica Forrette)

I have been on TT since nearly the beginning and even created my OWN “80s alt” room, but then I found Apa’s room. I have enjoyed hanging out in there so much because first of all, the music takes me back. What really adds to it for me is my fellow DJ’s. I thought I was an 80s music trainspotter, but man, I’ve discovered some great new (to me) music that I’d never heard before. I agree that I feel totally relaxed and at ease interacting with everyone; the shared interest in the music we play is a natural affinity- and respect-creator and genuinely creates what may be considered an instant connection. It’s been really interesting to watch how this mini-society has been working too. The group works together to ensure the rules are followed, and that everyone gets their turn. It’s so refreshing to see an online society not full of trolls and “LULZ” seekers. This group is super respectful of one another. Again, because of our shared musical tastes? And that’s also what keeps me coming back.

SheNerd (Kristin Elliott)

Kurt Vonnegut said it best: Music to me proof of the existence of God. It is so extraordinarily full of magic that in tough times in my life I can listen to music and it makes such a difference. (from the music doc 1GiantLeap)

My own thoughts: Music is a really personal choice. When you can find a group of people who like the same music you do, there is an instant recognition of a kindred spirit – someone who shares a connection to a moment of time even though you’ve never met.

I inadvertantly ruined a guy’s date at Red Rocks Amphitheater seeing Peter Gabriel. His date was in the restroom and he and I started chatting about our PG music and concert experiences. She came back and we kept talking about PG. She piped in her dissatisfaction that he had not performed Sledgehammer, and he looked at her and said, “You don’t get it. He’s more than that song.” The night didn’t end well for him.

Chris Hampton (apollonia666)

What I love so much about the 80′s alt/new wave room is that it has connected me with so many people who love all of these bands and artists and songs that nobody else I hang out with anymore ever even knew. It’s a nostalgia trip, sure, but in addition to wallowing in stuff we’ve always loved, we get to rediscover so much great music we’d not thought about for years, and introduce each other to so many bands otherwise forgotten by music history. I feel like I’ve found my tribe. It’s felt sort of like a whirlwind romance, but I hope it lasts longer than those usually do!

Timm Booker (Kaidoz the Timelord)

This site is the single most addictive thing since love itself was discovered. I can’t tell enough people about it, even though they look at me as though I have three heads! The camaraderie and the discovery for me has been groundbreaking. No radio plays this, no clubs dare play this, so it is up to us to keep these songs alive. Books have libraries and art has museums, music now has Turntable.fm!! And I am a better, happier person because of it!!

Benny Blanco (bennyblanco)

For me, TurntableFM has brought back an energetic feeling of the old chat rooms (vrave) in the ‘good ol’ rave days’ of the early 90′s and you just can’t get enough. I’ve had a few days where productivity at the day job may not be where it should be. I’ve dialed back the daytime consumption in fear of somebody catching on. My evenings are spent more and more with TurntableFM alongside as regular as ‘brushing my teeth before going to bed’.

This time, the feeling is only slightly different in that all of us on TurntableFM are highly accustomed to interacting in the digital realm and feel comfortable and at ease with the chat format after 20 some years of practice. The polarizing glue to all of this is the fast rotation of musical selectors and we have audio as the new technological component playing for us in the background. The conversation stays mostly focused on the music being played, a news tidbit somebody may have picked up or a past recollection or experience of why the song being played is special for them.

My personal selfish reason for enjoying Turntablefm so much is two fold. One, I desperately want to get ‘schooled’ on some music I slept on or missed out at the time (at least in the 80′s alt / new wave booth). The second reason is the gaming aspect of trying to earn ‘awesomes’ so I can have a bigger and better avatar, but that takes time which I cannot always give in to. Restraint is practiced frequently. I’m conscious of it too.

The social aspect has been a bit secondary, although I do find it easy to jump into a conversation to add tidbits, facts, urls, stories on the artists I’m well versed in. I think the sharing of information is something people appreciate here. Increasing their knowledge. The knowledge is already pretty high and I feel right at home and at ease with all the selectors. Trying to one-up the others on song selection is part of the fun for me anyway. If I were to attempt to have a similar conversation OUTSIDE of some of these TurntableFM rooms, I’d be just another boring music snob, but here on TurntableFM, everybody is pretty well educated in their areas of expertise which is comforting and can continue the dialog back and forth with such ease and added humor.

I have pondered aloud a few times in 80s alt / NEW WAVE as to what will become of TurntableFM in the future, the coming months. Right now, is the gold rush moment of this site, and I’m a bit terrified of the explosion of traffic that is yet to come. I’m down with more great people to come aboard, but I loath the potential of TROLLS coming in and disregarding room rules that have been setup and the overall vibe possibly changing for the worse.

Perhaps the only thing in business more painful than looking for a job is finding someone to fill a position. Getting hired is hard, but hiring can be even worse. It’s normally easier for an applicant to know what they’re getting into when applying for a job than for the business to know what they’re getting when looking at people.

Social media can help.

The infographic design below by our friends at MindFlash gives us some helpful information on using social media to reach out and add people to your company. While it’s not necessarily a replacement for help wanted ads (yet), it’s still a very effective way to make the process easier.

Click to enlarge.

One of the biggest challenges facing businesses today is adjusting to the use of the Internet as a community and conversational tool rather than simply a broadcasting medium. It’s human nature to want to “belong” with other like-minded people. As a result, groups have been forming on the Internet to facilitate this.

It can be traced back as the origin of social media.

This graphic by our friends at Flowtown makes it clear through statistical analysis that we’re a people of belonging. Whether through religious organizations, work groups, or hobby-based interactions, we are a people who migrate towards social media to fill that need.

Click to enlarge.

The team over at MerchantCircle are going on the offensive, trying to attract local businesses to use their services to fight corporate retail stores like Wal Mart and Starbucks.

Apparently, it’s working.

The concept isn’t new but they have been able to carve a strong niche by combining social networking with standard directory-style listings to create a service that the important companies (Google and Bing) love and that consumers can utilize. With the trend of reviews and hyper-local advertising increasing in 2011, MerchantCircle is a company that we will be watching closely.

Here is their CEO Ben Smith, IV, appealing to small, local merchants by pointing out that the “big guys like Wal Mart, Home Depot, Starbucks are using the Internet to beat up the little guy.”

The message makes sense.

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Read more about Social Media Marketing on this blog.

One of the greatest strengths of the Internet is in filling the “need to belong.” It’s human nature for many to feel part of a like-minded group. Even those who are more introverted or socially inept in real life can “spread their wings” and show strength in their abilities to interact in online group settings.

This Flowtown infographic has a ton of data, but it’s worth the time. Understanding how and why we interact the way we do online can help us to better comprehend how the real world and the Internet have become interchangeable and complementary. Our actions online may not always reflect our actions in real life, but we do tend to express more of our hidden feelings and desires there.

Click to enlarge.

There are varieties of software’s that can assist with organizing your company and sometimes it is difficult to figure out which one will best suit you. In the age of getting social – perhaps the smartest move would be to have the two integrate as one.

Many companies use Salesforce, a software that helps maintain, manage and communicate throughout your business and gives users the ability to ensure the project at hand goes to the correct employee and department. Salesforce is a great way to get organized and an opportunity to see how all of your departments are doing with their work flow. With this ease, it will make tasks faster to complete and for the business owner, the ability to over-see completion.

This software has become more social as well and looking to you to add it within your time spent on Salesforce with its new feature “Chatter”. Businesses around the world have started using this new way to collaborate and have seen results.

Some improving their work-flow from closing 10 tasks a day to 40 which is a huge hike in productivity and ultimately, success. Others have said that it has provided better insight to their company and raising sales as well.

Can getting social at work truly improve your quality of work?

According to Salesforce, Chatter can help your company find hidden connections, follow sales deals, receive instant answers to questions, stay connected with your colleagues, unite your team, collaborate on presentations, and find customer references.

The abilities through using this Facebook/Twitter like look and feel of a social network, Chatter also allows your company to streamline world wide communication on global accounts, share sales tactics, find a competitive expert and make a smooth transition from sales to service. Ultimately it seems as though Salesforce’s Chatter will help you deliver a smile to a customer as well as keep your employees interacting and working as a team.

This innovative thinking may be exactly what you need to help with off-site employees, keeping informed regularly of what is happening in and with your company and perhaps even freshen up your business, which could then rejuvenate your employees.

It has been proven that 53% of people will use Social Networks for business; with a whopping 46% of people using Social Networks while at work for personal reasons. Perhaps Chatter is the perfect way to intrigue your employees to engage again on working while still fulfilling their need to engage with people while at work.

Do you use Chatter? Or will you?

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