Social Media in Focus

Local businesses that want to better understand the benefits and potential risks of social media now have two new resources available to them. Companies that need a basic primer can now turn to a new guide released last week by a Honolulu staffing firm. And those who’d like to explore more advanced topics in person can attend a full-day conference on Friday.

Social Media and the Workplace: A Guide for Hawaii Employers” was created by ALTRES, Hawaii’s largest locally-owned employment agency. The 14-page whitepaper provides a good overview of the social web, how it’s being used in the “real world” (noting how local Twitter users tracked news of the February 27 tsunami scare), how business can benefit from social media tools, and the pitfalls and risks involved.

The guide covers the development of a “social media use policy,” but notes that one may not be needed if existing policies are written well enough. And it addresses the role social media can play in both hiring and firing employees.

As someone who is obsessed with the social web, I’m frequently meeting and speaking with businesses and organizations that are eager to learn more about Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking services and tools. Many simply don’t know where to start, or just want an easy-to-digest overview. I’m glad there’s now a locally produced, concise, plain English guide available. It can be downloaded for free from ALTRES.

If a written guide isn’t enough, there’s “Next Level Hawaii.

Participants will be able to immerse themselves in a full day of social media studies at the Hawaii Convention Center on Friday, learning from and meeting with experts and leading thinkers from Hawaii and the Mainland. Among them, entrepreneur and multimedia powerhouse Chris Pirillo, blogger and author Geoff Livingston, WordPress guru Aaron Brazell, and local vlogger and consultant Roxanne Darling.

Organizer and local Realtor Kelly Mitchell has put forth several conference takeaways:

  • Learn social media’s importance for generating profits, new customers and broader market awareness.
  • Learn how to build an immediate presence on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc. that will help you grow your organization’s visibility in the social media world.
  • Learn how to start conversations and engage new customers and contacts that help you grow revenue and achieve your organizations marketing objectives.
  • See an overview of some of the most critical standards, norms and behaviors for social networks so you can be successful in this emerging world.

For all the things social media allows us to accomplish online, sometimes there’s no substitute for meeting and learning in person. Tickets to Next Level Hawaii are $199, with discounts for groups, and include an opening night cocktail reception on Thursday and a “Meet the Speakers” casual talk-story event on Saturday.

1 Response

  1. Ryan – Thanks for covering these developments in the business community. It’s been a long time coming – remember when you, Burt, Peter, and I spoke about blogging etc at IABC in Jan 2005??? But it is here in full force right now and companies are scrambling to learn. We’ve crossed another milestone on the web!
    Aloha, Rox

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