Whether you are a job seeker, entrepreneur, or company the first step in engaging with your targeted audience is to become a go-to source of valuable information. The idea is to stand apart from your competition and be relied upon and trusted by your network. The best method to begin this process is to understand how to find information that will make a difference to your network and establish you as that go-to source. The first step is to research, read, collect, and aggregate information.

Step 1: Set up a Google Reader

RSS logo courtesy of RSS wiki

Google Reader allows you to aggregate RSS feeds from blogs and websites that contain valuable information. The reader is a storage area you can set up like your own custom newspaper. Tip: You can share parts or all of your Google Reader with your audience. This is a great method to help your network discover new information and what you are reading.

Step 2: Join Twitter.com

Twitter, first and foremost, is the resource where I find 80% of my research and value content. The strategy is simple:

• Identify your industry, niche, people, associations, companies and news sources
• Utilize the “Search” box and input names of people, companies, industry, or company names
• Follow those sources of information. Ex I follow @guykawasaki, @peterkim, @chrisbrogan because they write blogs, offer value, and offer free download resources
• Once you begin following someone or organization of interest go to their Twitter home page and check to see who they follow. This is called mining your resources resources.

Step 3: Global Social Media Network

Blogger Ray Schiel authors one of the best resources for anyone interested in valuable information on social media, blogging, and Web 2.0. Go to Ray’s “Resource” page to find the following:

• A list of 105 Corporate blogs from Rubbermaid to Clorox to Hewlett Packard
• 75+ Corporate Facebook pages, how they are set up, and how they engage their audience
• Dozens of Podcasts
• A list of over 150 entrepreneurs, companies, global corporations in every niche on Twitter

Twitter, like blogs, is fast becoming an effective tool, for jobseekers willing to take the next step in their integration into social media, as a job search strategy. Consider the testimonial provided by David Murray in David Meerman Scott’s eye opening article “How David Murray found a new job via Twitter.”

The Scenario

David Murray was laid off from his job. He immediately jumped into the traditional job search strategy of completing a resume, calling people, and networking. David quickly realized he would have to utilize Web 2.0 tools in order to stand apart from his job seeking competion

The Strategy

Twitter Public Announcement: Dave decided to reach out on Twitter, @DaveMurr, in order to publicly announce he was looking for work. As Dave explained, in Scott’s article:

“I guess you could say I used a new tool for old school networking. . . The response was overwhelming and I received several leads and opportunities that were far more fruitful than my previous attempts.”

How Did He Do That?

Twitter Search: Dave gives social media star Chris Brogan credit for his Twitter search strategy. Brogan outlined his strategy of utilizing RSS feeds aka Really Simple Syndication as a method to keep up with his thousands of followers.

Dave’s Search Strategy:

1. Enter Keywords into Twitter’s Search that match the company, industry, niche, or community you are targeting. Examples of Dave’s search keywords included: “Hiring Social Media”, “Social Media Jobs”, “Online Community Manager”, and “Blogging Jobs.”

2. RSS Feeds are available for every keyword “conversation” on Twitter. Dave simply clicked on the RSS chicklet next to the search box of the information he wanted to track.

3. Google Reader is a tool that allows you to aggregate information, via RSS feeds, into one spot so that you can read what is important to you. It’s like creating your own newspaper or library.

Dave simply ” pulled the RSS feeds of these keyword conversations into Google Reader and made it a habit to check these first thing in the morning everyday.”

Next Step

Introduce Yourself is as easy as following and reading conversations. If something sounded like a good fit for Dave, he took the initiative to introduce himself via Twitter.

1. Hidden Job Market: According to Dave, “Many times when inquiring about the open positions, the jobs had not been officially posted.” And more pointedly, “How cool that on Twitter you can express interest in a job opportunity that hasn’t even been announced yet? It’s like inside information.”

The Results: Dave’s New Job

Dave is happily employed as Assistant Webmaster, Client Services for The Bivings Group. Davide Meerman Scott’s best quote came from Heather Huhman Entry Level Careers pages for Examiner.com:

“The Internet is changing just about everything – the internship/entry-level job search included. Gone are the days of printing out your cover letter and resume on ’special’ paper, sticking both in an envelope and mailing the application package off. We are officially in the Job Search 2.0 era.”