Dinosaurs Do Dance on the Social Networking Stage

Photo courtesy of BrandRepublic.com

I recently read the Wall Street Journal column, Managing Your Career about a 63-year old veteran turnaround executive who wants to broaden his reach through online strategies. George Langis is a conventional networker and admits he was skeptical about integrating what I call, Networking 2.0 tactics into his traditional methods.

“Dinosaurs do dance,” he said. “I lead change in companies. I can certainly change.”

The article made me think of two dinosaurs in my network – and for the record I am using dinosaur affectionately and not in a mean spirited manner. I am also using fictitious names to protect their identities.  

Dinosaur #1

Lonnie is a senior manager at a large telecommunications company. Like Mr. Langis, she is a conventional networker. In the 15-plus years that she has been with the company she has risen through the ranks to her current position. Her advancement is the result of her talent, super intelligence, hard work and being noticed by the right people within her organization at the right time. All of this has helped to expand her network – both inside and outside the company.

Lonnie has a LinkedIn profile but rarely uses it. About 3 or 4 years ago, she and other managers were asked to create a Facebook profile. Many of her colleagues did so, but Lonnie hasn’t because she doesn’t see the need for it.

So, it was quite funny when I received an email from Lonnie last month that said she was attending a senior leadership conference with other managers from her company and learned that she was among the 25% who did NOT have a Facebook profile.

“Social Media is taking over!” she exclaimed.

Dinosaur #2

Allison is a former senior executive for a financial services company. She holds a master’s and a doctorate degree. In 2002 she left the company to start her own consulting practice providing leadership development for company executives and boards of directors.

Allison is a conventional networker too. Most of her work comes through referrals. However, Allison wants to create a business development strategy to grow her business. I did a Google search and discovered Allison has a presence online, but the information is old and outdated and none of it speaks to her current area of expertise.

I presented Allison with a plan to extend her personal brand. It includes maximizing use of her LinkedIn profile (she has received numerous invites to connect online but has ignored most of them) and a website with a built-in lead generation form.

Allison is reluctant to use online resources as part of the strategy because, like Lonnie, she doesn’t understand the need for it. But I have convinced Allison that what I am proposing is most appropriate for her. I intentionally did not suggest Twitter or Facebook because she needs to take baby steps with this. Our efforts to increase her exposure and grow her consulting practice are just now getting underway.

Will Leaders of Change Make the Change?

I suspect there are a lot more dinosaurs out there than we realize. And whether they see a need to manage their personal and professional brands is up to them. Researchers are finding that senior level execs are beginning to see the value of social networking to manage their professional brand:

•  The average professional belongs to 3-5 online networks for business use; LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter are among the top used.
• There is a convergence of Internet, mobile and social media taking significant shape among professionals as decision-makers are broadening their reach to gather information.
• Professional networks are emerging as decision-support tools.

The two middle-age professionals in my network have achieved a level of success without having a presence in social networking, but for how long?