This post originally appeared on the Cielo blog.

As marketing publications everywhere share their predictions about the future of digital and social media, here are a few recommendations on how to incorporate some of what they are saying into the recruiting and employer branding space:

1) Think video.

As social algorithms continue to change and grow, video will become increasingly valuable for generating engagement and adding followers. Videos have been shown to elicit higher engagement, including more likes, retweets and shares – especially on Facebook. The ability to regularly create video content – and then integrate it with other content – will be critical in 2018 and the years ahead.

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This post originally appeared on the Cielo blog.

It feels like a new social media network launches on an almost monthly basis, and as platforms come and go, you may be asked why your organization isn’t on a particular network yet. Does, “I saw Company X do something really interesting on Website Y; we need to do something like that!” sound familiar?

In this ever-changing world, it’s important to make sure you don’t suffer from “Shiny Object Syndrome” – creating a presence on the latest site just because it’s fancy and new. Social platforms should be assessed from a strategic perspective, not simply a trend perspective.

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This post originally appeared on the Core Creative blog.

“The art of conversation lies in listening.” – Malcom Forbes

Listening is important – in business, in life, and in social media. For the purpose of this blog post, however, we’re focused on the last part.

Social listening allows you to be in the same room with the people who are talking about you, but not necessarily to you. And just like you wouldn’t run up to someone at a party and say, “I heard what you said about me!” … you must be cautious with how you interact in the social space.

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This post originally appeared on the Core Creative blog.

Brand values are important to any business. Identify the values with which your company can and should align, and you can represent and express those values for your customers so they can identify with them, too. Make your business stronger by adhering to those values, ensuring you are staying on the right track. Your employees should know them and believe in them so you can create harmony throughout your company – total brand alignment; what we call say it. live it.™ at Core Creative.

At the beginning of this year, as part of our Level Up initiative, I had the opportunity to attend NMX Business 2014—the premier social business event for business owners, marketing, advertising, PR and IT executives and change makers—in Las Vegas, Nevada. NMX Business is part of the larger New Media Expo conference, formerly known as BlogWorld.

For two and a half days, I attended sessions with speakers from the telecommunications, health care, marketing and publishing industries. Here are the main takeaways you can apply to your business, content marketing and social media. Align them with your company’s brand values to help build equity.

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This post originally appeared on the Core Creative blog.

Just like many people resolve to be healthier, happier and more financially stable every New Year, you can set goals for yourself when it comes to social media. Doing so can help you develop a deeper understanding of how social media functions as a whole, and how it can work for you and your company.

Why not challenge yourself to move beyond the core competencies you’ve developed. What is your basic understanding, your safe zone? This year, challenge yourself to move outside of that zone.

Social media is a powerful tool to help serve your business and customers while building your brand, yet not everyone is able to spend enough time to learn the nuances of the networks. With that in mind, take these resolutions as tips to help you get better when you do need to increase your social media activity and identify more strategic ways to utilize it to serve your business.

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This post originally appeared on the Core Creative blog.

Young Professional Week, a program hosted by young professionals networking group NEWaukee, took place April 14 – 21, 2013. Events throughout the week covered a variety of topics – from sustainability to water innovation and women in leadership to social change. As an active young professional in the Milwaukee community, I am thrilled this event (known as #ypweek to most) has become an annual occasion.

The conclusion to the week’s cornucopia of events was a keynote speech from Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos, at the Hilton Milwaukee City Center Hotel. Tony gave a brief overview on how he got to where he is today, but spent the majority of his time discussing culture, community and innovation.

I could write for days on all the things I learned during Tony’s speech. To save time, you can check out my synopsis on Storify. For this blog post, I’ll simply address the three major topics that were discussed; the three areas on which businesses must focus to become (or remain) successful.

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This post was originally written for the NOISE Inc. Trendspottings newsletter.

By now, you’ve probably heard of the popular niche social network, Pinterest. Although it launched nearly two years ago (March 2010), Pinterest has seen an incredible rise in users over the last several months. Experian Hitwise, an Internet analytics firm, estimates that Pinterest received nearly 11 million total visits during the week of December 11 alone. That’s almost 40 times the number of visits six months earlier (CNN).

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