SSB BART Group Presents Using the Power of

SSB BART Group Presents: Using the Power of Social Media to Attract Talented Workers with Disabilities Debra Ruh, Chief Marketing Officer Mary Rainer-Skala, VP of BD (Formerly Mary Smith) www. ssbbartgroup. com Silicon Valley (415) 975 -8000 www. ssbbartgroup. com Washington DC (703) 637 -8955

Introduction § Founded in 1997, SSB BART Group helps companies implement accessibility throughout their Information Communication Technology (ICT) systems - including Web sites, Web applications, software, hardware, and IT services - making them accessible to everyone, including people with disabilities. § Our team includes industry leading accessibility experts who have the experience and expertise to provide the guidance necessary to meet organizations Accessibility compliance goals. § Our diverse team of engineers, programmers, and consultants, many of whom have disabilities themselves, provide a real edge in identifying needs and issues, and effectively testing and creating products and services with accessibility and usability in mind.

Consider This… § Right now someone is likely to be “Tweeting” about your company § Right now someone is likely to be blogging about your services § Right now someone is likely to be talking about us in an online social forum – #USBLN 2012 • NEWS FLASH!

What is Social Media? § Social Media, also known as “Web 2. 0, ” is a category of sites that are based on user participation and usergenerated content. § They include social networking sites such as Linked. In, You. Tube, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Linked. In, Pinterest, Google+, etc. www. Tec. Access. net • NEWS FLASH! 4

Understanding The Terms Social media/Emerging media? § The use of telecommunications to interact with others online through the sharing of words, pictures, video and audio. § Begins with a virtual representation of each user (a profile), his/her social links, and a variety of additional personal/professional information § Networks become richer with more personal connections and more diverse ways to spread and gather information 5

Social Media: 10 yrs old & growing Though online social platforms such as chat rooms or message boards have been around for decades, it’s been only recently that they’ve found mainstream reception. Most came online around 2004 and 2005. § Facebook: Over a billion users by the end of 2012 § You. Tube: Hundreds of millions users, 2 billion videos watched daily. 24 hours of video uploaded per minute. § Twitter: 400 million users as of September 2012 § Linked. In: 100+ million users, mostly business-oriented as of July 2012 § Pinterest: 10. 4 million users mostly women as of Feb 2012

Social Media Terms § Blog - Blog is a word that was created from two words: “web log. ” Blogs are usually maintained by an individual or a business with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order. "Blog" can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog. § Blogger - Blogger is a free blogging platform owned by Google that allows individuals and companies to host and publish a blog typically on a subdomain. Example: yourblogname. blogspot. com § Friends - No, not your pals you play poker with on the weekends. We're talking Facebook friends. These are individuals you consider to be friendly enough with you to see your Facebook profile and engage with you.

Social Media Terms (1 of 3) § Hashtag - A hashtag is a tag used on the social network Twitter as a way to annotate a message. A hashtag is a word or phrase preceded by a “#. ” Example: #disability and #USBLN 2012. Hashtags are commonly used to show that a tweet, a Twitter message, is related to an event or conference, online or offline. Also Proper Names use @ sign. Example: @SSBBARTGROUP or @USBLN § Like - A “Like” is an action that can be made by a Facebook user. Instead of writing a comment for a message or a status update, a Facebook user can click the "Like" button as a quick way to show approval and share the message. § Platform - the framework or system within which tools work. That platform may be as broad as mobile telephony, or as narrow as a piece of software that has different modules like blogs, forums, and wikis in a suite of tools.

Social Media Terms (2 of 3) § Post - an item on a blog or forum. § Retweet - A retweet is when someone on Twitter sees your message and decides to re-share it with his/her followers. A retweet button allows them to quickly resend the message with attribution to the original sharer's name. § Sharing - offering other people the use of your text, images, video, bookmarks or other content by adding tags, and applying copyright licenses that encourage use of content. § Social networking sites - online places where users can create a profile for themselves, and then socialize with others using a range of social media tools including blogs, video, images, tagging, lists of friends, forums and messaging.

Social Media Terms (3 of 3) § Tags are keywords attached to a blog post, bookmark, photo or other item of content so you and others can find them easily through searches and aggregation. Tags can usually be freely chosen - and so form part of a folksonomy - while categories are predetermined and are part of a taxonomy. Trend - A trend is seen on every social network. Facebook shows what is trending when multiple users are sharing the same link or discussing the same topic. Google+ highlights trending topic when a user conducts a search. Twitter has a section to the bottom right of its home feed which clearly shows what topics and hashtags are trending in tweets. And Linked. In shows what industries (in Linked. In Today) that a certain story is popular. § URL: Unique Resource Locator is the technical term for a web address like http: //www. bbc. co. uk/

The Future… § Despite some obstacles, Pw. D are extremely involved § More and more involvement due to technology improvements § Growing awareness – millions of users / customers § Mobility and other barriers to interaction do not preclude inclusion any longer

Here comes the Big Boom… § This is clearly not your father’s Oldsmobile! § More than 60% of Baby Boomers already use social media - and growing § 76 million in the Baby Boomer generation, a very social bunch § New expectations by the Boomer generation about remaining involved, plugged in

How do I begin marketing myself? § Social media is about conversations and networking. § You need a game plan. Decide what you want to accomplish. Are you looking for a job? Do you want to change careers? What are you passionate about? Do you want to become a Thought Leader? § Find the conversations to join. For example, if you’re targeting people in business or specific careers or jobs, then Linked. In is possibly the best place to start. § Good way to proceed is to look for groups: are the active groups on the social site interested in what you can help with? If so, then potentially that is a good place to start.

Looking at Platforms… § Let’s take a look at current trends and future projections § As we scroll through the next slides let’s have a discussion about how each of these new technologies can impact both your business environment and your quest to hire and communicate with customers with disabilities

Mobility 49 million people in the U. S. owned smartphones in May, up 8. 1 percent from three months earlier. Led by Black. Berry, Apple, Microsoft and Google’s Android operating systems. Of those users: § 32 percent browse the Internet § 30 percent use apps § 21 percent access social media sites or blogs § The majority of usage is data/text, not phone service

Integration Facebook now allows websites to integrate it into their own blogs or websites. It works best on sites with frequently updated content. How? § “Like”/“Recommend” button: Lets visitors to your site/blog “like” or recommend an article, video or other content and comment on it § Visitor activity is shown on their Facebook page and others’ News Feeds, expanding your distribution network

Integration

Location-Based Services § Location services let people with a mobile device (i. Phone, Black. Berry, Android) “check in” at businesses, events and more. § Users earn badges and keep a running tab on places they visit, can see who else is nearby, learn about deals and get tips from others who have been there before.

Social Media and Recruiting § 89% of Companies will use Social Media for recruiting in 2011. Up 6% from 2010. § 1 of 3 employers rejected candidates based on something they found about them online § 14. 4 Million people have used social media to find a job in 2011 § 24% Managers found good candidates from social media profile § 65% Companies that have successfully used Social Media § 55% Companies that plan to invest more in social media recruiting in 2011

Social Recruiting § Simply tweeting out a link to a job posting will get you visibility and viable candidates but to really reach your target audience. Join the conversations § Learn what is important to the targeted community § Know Your Audience § Learn the language and industries § Get Creative (Make your message stand out) § Be Open in Return (share information and communicate) § Take the time to brand your firm as a Employer of Choice § Remember as you cultivate your social media presence your brand will allow you to incorporate job announcements.

HR Managers & Social Media § 92% of Hiring managers in 2010 used or plan to use social media to recruit • 86% in Linkedin • 60% in Facebook • 50% use Twitter § 56% (up from 54% in 2008) HR Professionals that use networking websites to source potential candidates § 1 out of 5 employers use Social Networking Sites to Research Job Candidates

Recruit via Linked. In § Recruiters are posting positions on social media sites like Linked. In Groups (free) or Linked. In Talent Advantage. § Join Linked. In Groups that focus on people with disabilities • • • § Professionals with Disabilities Job Opportunities for Individuals and Veterans with Disabilities USBLN AAPD NOD COSD

Recruit via Facebook § Place positions for free in the Facebook Marketplace • Ad will require location, job category, subcategories, title, description and allow post an image § Facebook Pages • Use your Facebook Page as a recruiting tool. • You can also post job openings for your fans to see § Facebook Ad • • This is another option that allows a laser targeting ability This is a pay per click (how many people clicked on your ad) OR Pay per impression (how many people potentially saw your ad)

Recruit Via Twitter § Twitter can be powerful for smaller companies or a recruiter who wants to get an edge. § Only 140 characters but you can tweet short messages with a URL § Increase your network by including hashtags like #disabilities, #accessibility, #inclusion, #employment, #jobpost, #career, #staffing, #hiring § You can also engage with candidates and follow the topics the tweet about with messages like: • Stop by our job fair or career expo • Check out more positions at www. company. com

Pinterest § Where The Ladies At? Pinterest. 2 Million Daily Facebook Users, 97% Of Fans Are Women § Pinterest now has over 10. 4 million registered users, 9 million monthly Facebook-connected users, and 2 million daily Facebook users, according to Inside Network’s App. Data tracking service. § With gorgeous photography, and links to travel and shopping, Pinterest is becoming an obsession for flocks of women. § App. Data and Facebook’s advertising tool show that over 97% of Pinterest’s Facebook fans are women.

Pinterest & Recruiting? § Creative Positions – Allows a slick place for creative people to pin their portfolios § Allow a job seeker to share resumes and other content § Allow both recruiters and job seekers to find content via hashtags. Instead of cool – add #disabilities and relevant comments about pinned content § Boards can be filled with content showing recruiters the Thought Leaders in a space § Could allow recruiters to quietly observe the content § Allow recruiters to brand their firm as “Employers of Choice” by pinning articles and PR about the firm

Debra Ruh’s Pinterest

Mary Rainer-Skala (aka Mary Smith) Pinterest Board

Other options § Craig’s List § Disaboom § Disability Scoop § ODEP EARN § Getting Hired § Disability Specific Sites • • • NFB AFB Easter Seals United Way ARC UCP

Recruiters are also using… Recruiters are using Social Media to post positions and chatter with candidates. However they are also using it to: § Determine Culture Fit § Personal Branding Inconsistencies § Written Communications Skills § Trending Health Issues § Lifestyle Changes Some recruiters are using it at a deeper level sometimes before the first conversation ever happens and in those case a candidate is rarely given the opportunity to clarify, retract or explain…

ROI of using Social Media § Social media recruiting can allow employers to target diverse candidates. § It can also allow an employer to get to know a candidate a little better. § Are they a leader in the community? § Are they knowledgeable in their field? § Using tools like Linked. In, Facebook and Twitter takes recruiting back to its grass root day of networking but in the digital age.

Great Developments, But… § A growing concern exist over the accessibility of such technology § Digital Divide and Social Inclusion § Platform Developers lack awareness § Like Pw. D, Boomers will be very loyal customers, who wants them? § Boomers adding their voice to Pw. D will be LOUD

Accessibility Issues § Keyboard only users would experience varying degrees of difficulty, ranging from a lack of links that allow them to jump over main navigation links, to pages or features that were effectively inaccessible to keyboard users. § Many graphics lack any alternative text (or ‘tool tips’). § Most platforms use an unlabelled ‘CAPTCHA’ (Completely Automated Public Turing Test to Tell Computers and Humans Apart)

QUESTIONS ? ? ? • www. SSBBARTGroup. com • 39

Next Steps § Schedule some time to speak with an SSB expert in your industry § Sign-up for a webinar or online training covering further topics on Social Media and Accessibility § Contact the industry expert to setup a free trial of AMP § Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Linked-In (debraruh, SSBBARTGROUP) Point of Contact SSB Point of Contact Mary Rainer-Skala (formerly Smith) § mary. smith@ssbbartgroup. com § (703) 637 -8955 (o) § (703) 407 -8152 (m) Debra Ruh § Debra. ruh@ssbbartgroup. com § (804) 749 -3565 (o) § (804) 986 -4500 (m)