by John Darer® CLU ChFC CSSC RSP
When you decide to use social networks for business, you’re signing up for the job of keeping them fresh and active. Yet, hilariously, some people treat this like the Ronco Showtime Rotisserie—just “set it and forget it.” Spoiler alert: it doesn’t work that way, and the consequences aren’t nearly as tasty.
As an example, today I observed a person in this industry who has a Spoke listing that associates him with a company with which he has been dissociated for over 20 months, including tags linking him to prospective customers seeking out the former company over the Internet. A person who has not updated a profile in more than 20 months, or kept up to date with material changes in their profile could be perceived by the public as careless, lazy or not credible by a prospective customer if the truth is later discovered.
For employers and business partners who dissociate social network tags can live on and possibly, in a worst case scenario, even harm the reputation of either party through the "guilt by association" theory.
Some services, like ZoomInfo, grab whatever is out there about you on the Internet. Others like Spoke require human input.
If you leave a company, don’t forget to update your details—unless you’re aiming for the “former employee who won’t go away” award. On the flip side, companies should play detective online to ensure ex-staff aren’t accidentally or intentionally posing as part of the team. Let’s avoid any awkward “Wait, do you still work here?” moments!
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