Business professionals, entrepreneurs, and job seekers can learn from those that sport this fashionable cut when managing their online brand.   A popular saying when describing a mullet comes to mind-

“Business in the front. Party in the back.”

Wise words when considering your online brand as a business professional no matter what your industry, position, or responsibility level. Keep your business and professional profile in the forefront and in plain view of recruiters, prospective employers. and customers. Keep your personal life and party in the back. Users of social media need to be mindful doing your best to maintain a professional image while showing your creative and unique qualities at the same time.

Business in the Front.

Social media platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, Blogs, and Twitter are great mediums in which to develop relationships and grab the attention of hiring managers and recruiters. Share your expertise and lead with the business in all you do. Your posts, pictures, and tweets should be at least 70% business related. Lead with interesting articles, tidbits, and information that is industry specific or related to the job in which you currently work or aspire to.

Party in the Back

The remaining 30% of your social media content can be related to your personal side but be weary. I have visited FaceBook profiles with one too many drunk pictures and tweets leading me to search for talent elsewhere. If you are unsure if something is inappropriate, ask yourself if your mother would approve. Items that your mother would approve and/or tolerate are generally appropriate to display on your social media profiles. Social media is all about interacting and developing relationships. I encourage you to tweet or post comments seeking input and feedback from others. Commonalities make you interesting which lead to engaging conversations with persons from a wide variety of backgrounds.

Unfortunately, for Dog, the Bounty Hunter, this advice has come a little too late.   He is a good example of why your social media mullet is so important.

**To vote for Jessica Miller-Merrell’s blog post, please leave a comment below.  You can learn more about Jessica and her job search and social media blog at www.blogging4jobs.com.

First the NFL, the Marines, and now the SEC.  Is your company next?

What a difference a year makes.  Twitter and other social media platforms like Facebook and Friendfeed have grown at an enormous rate over the last 12 months.  According to Quantcast, a website quantifier, there were 26.5 Million Twitter users in the United States in June 2009 compared to a little more than 2 million users in June of 2008.  Last year these sites were not even on the radar screen of company executives, professional sports teams, and others.

The NFL has had an existing policy barring the use of PDAs and cell phones by its players and as of July 2009 had begun enforcing a social media policy banning players from using social media platforms during training camp, practices, and games.  The policy has resulted in several fines although it has not been finalized but that hasn’t stopped the NFL from enforcing their policy.  According to the Associated Press, the San Diego Chargers fined cornerback Antonio Cromartie $2,500 for complaining about the food at training camp on his Twitter account. Cromartie linked the quality of the food to the Chargers’ failure to reach a Super Bowl.

The Marines issued an order also earlier this month banning their soldiers from social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Myspace stating that these sites increase the risk that sensitive and secure information might be leaked or received by advisories.  And now the SEC.  The South Eastern Conference just released a new social media policy placing restrictions on how much tweeting, blogging, and video blogging reporters can do at games, practices, and news conference.  In addition, the SEC’s policy also includes restrictions for fans in the stands attending SEC sporting events banning them from using Twitter, Flickr, Facebook, blogging, or video blogging in an effort to keep fans not in attendance glued to the SEC’s preferred television network for the most up to date and complete coverage.

Can they do this?  Yes, they can try but the bigger question is how.   How does the SEC plan to police the 90,000 fans inside University of Florida’s Ben Hill Griffin stadium as well as the 100,000 tailgaters who remain outside the stadium updating their social media profiles and tweeting real time action and updates?  The Social Media Police. We’ll have to wait and see.

As these organizations try to develop a control mechanism and system to monitor and police the use of social media platforms, the rest of the world including corporate American is waiting and watching.  Corporate American Information Technology and Human Resource Departments over the last year have rushed to put in place strict social media and security policies to protect company assets.  However, what they are doing is creating a larger social media divide that could negatively impact the company’s culture and brand reputation.  Unfortunately, the very decision makers who seek to police and enforce with social media policies fail to understand the full scope and power of social media.  And even if companies block employees from viewing social media platforms on company computers, employees still have access to unrestricted internet sites using smart phones like Palms, Blackberries, and iPhones.

First the NFL, the Marines, and now the SEC.  Is your company next?

***As of August 18th, the SEC has issued a revised social media policy that includes the following:

“No Bearer may produce or disseminate in any form a “real-time” description or transmission of the Event (i) for commercial or business use, or (ii) in any manner that constitutes, or is intended to provide or is promoted or marketed as, a substitute for radio, television or video coverage of such Event. Personal messages and updates of scores or other brief descriptions of the competition throughout the Event are acceptable. If the SEC deems that a Bearer is producing a commercial or real-time description of the Event, the SEC reserves the right to pursue all available remedies against the Bearer.

With almost 27 Million users in the United States, Twitter is a must for businesses and professionals looking to build their brand, promote their business, and develop new relationships. Reports from companies like Nielsen and others claim Twitter retention is between 40-60%.  Most who log on for the first time find out, “Twitter Ain’t Easy.”

Twitter is not complex but for new users, it can be overwhelming.  There are new terms to understand, etiquette to learn, and third party tools to experiment and consider.  I often hear questions like, “Why are people I don’t know following me?” and “How can I find time to read everything in my Twitter Stream?”

People follow others to learn more about that person.  This form of acceptable “cyberstalking” is a way for others to develop relationships and promote themselves without making the full relationship commitment similar to online dating or chat rooms.  And yes, it is okay not to read every tweet in your stream.  In fact I wouldn’t recommend it.  There are not enough hours in the day.  Focus on a few people or tweets that peak your interest and engage.  It’s like shaking someone’s hand at a networking meeting when you’ve already read their bio.

• Learn & Observe. Take the time to read blog posts, books, videos and engage other tweeps before diving in.  It’s important to remember that what you tweet, how you tweet and when you tweet is a direct representation of you and as a job search candidate, a business professional or personal.
• Be Authentic.  Gear your topic, discussion, and posts to your target audience and be genuine.  Have empathy and be put yourself in the shoes of your audience.
• Use Third Party Applications. Free services like TweetDeck, TweetLater, Ping.fm, and others make your life easier.  With these tools you can create groups of followers, keyword search, post to multiple social media platforms like Facebook, Flickr, and Bebo, and also schedule your tweets or posts.
• Engage, Engage, Engage. Twitter is what you make of it.  Get out there and join in the conversation.  If you have good content, take time to engage others, and have a dialogue, the relationships and connections will follow.
• Be Organic & Patient. Not eat organic but grow your follower count organically and over time.  It’s the best way to develop creditability among Twitter power users.  Avoid following others in large numbers of 250 or more a day.  Doing so appears to others that you are spam.  (yes, these do exist)
• Manage Your Time. As my friend, Shelley Cademy says, “Twitter can be a soul-sucking black hole.”  Use Outlook or other calendar to schedule your time on Twitter so that you remain productive and focused on working, spending time with family, or whatever it is you do.