Are you relevant?

Relevancy: n. Relating to the matter under consideration; pertinent.

– Webster’s New World Dictionary

If you watch American Idol you know that Simon Cowell thinks it’s very important for the contestants to be “relevant” as an Idol. The same thing goes for your marketing prowess. For purposes of this Blog, let’s group everyone into two categories – Millennials/Gen Y and Gen X/Baby Boomers.

Social networking and the use of it for marketing is a part of our every day lives now. Facebook, Twitter, online forums, blogs, the list goes on and on. The latest debacle reported on by MediaPost about Skittles and Agency.com proves that consumers have a big say in pushing messages though and what can happen when they’re not managed properly. (of course whether the agency and company “planned” this is a debate for another blog – remember, no media is bad media)

So, just how “relevant” are you when it comes to social networking? Let’s take a little quiz, shall we? How many of these questions can you say “yes” to?

1. I tweet all the time. It’s a clever way to get my brand message across to my target market.
2. I have more friends than you do on Facebook AND I have a page set up for my company, product and/or specific promotion.
3. I update my blog regularly and promote it to everyone I know.
4. I participate in at least one online forum to promote to people I know are interested in my products/services.
5. I post videos on YouTube to drive traffic to my Web site.
6. I have a profile on LinkedIn and I update it regularly.

I bet if you’re in the Millennial/Gen Y categories you can answer yes to all five of these questions. If you’re a Gen X, maybe, and a Baby Boomer, you’re might be saying, “What the heck is a Tweet?”

Here’s my advice for each group:

Millennials/Gen Yers –

• Keep it clean. Your current bosses, future bosses and grad schools are looking at your online profiles. Companies and schools have their pick of the litter right now, and if you do anything, and I mean anything, they might view as negative, you’re not going to get the job and it might even cost you your current one. And don’t tell me they can’t access your Facebook page if they’re not a “friend.” There’s always a way.
• Make recommendations to your bosses on how to utilize social networking tactics for your company and your clients. Our generation knows you know this stuff and if we’re smart, we’re going to rely on your expertise – so use it to get ahead. One note of caution – be sensitive to the fact your boss might not know that much about it and be careful you don’t make them look like an idiot. It won’t get you any points doing that.

Gen Xers/Baby Boomers –

• You need to learn this stuff and understand it and how it can help your business and you personally. You may not feel like you want to Twitter, but you better understand how it’s being used and how it can affect your company’s/client’s business.
• Don’t make yourself look out-dated by not knowing about social networking. So many of my friends that are older than me are worried about getting a new job if they get laid off because of their age. Well, you’re not doing yourself any favors if you can’t compete with the Millenials and Gen Yers (or Xers for that matter). Yes, you have wonderful experience to sell, but it’s not enough any more. You have to stay RELEVANT!

I live in the B2B and pharmaceutical marketing worlds and social networking just hasn’t caught on quite as much there yet. But if implemented well, these tactics just give you more in your arsenal to promote your company/brand.

Now that you’re relevant, off you go…Tweet away… (you can follow me on Twitter at angelamorsa)