Tag Archives: Chicago

Social Networking for Career Coaches Helping Job Seekers

The Career Transition Center of Chicago is a volunteer-driven, non-profit organization providing professional assistance to individuals in employment transition. CTC represents an alignment of academic institutions, faith communities, and businesses concerned with supporting people in their search for meaningful employment and sustainable success.

Over the past several years I worked with the Career Transition Center of Chicago providing coaching to job seekers. Laura Sterkel, Program Director, asked me to recommend resources for their coaches related to Social Networking. I am speaking to the group about social networking for a job search this week. Anita Jenke is the Executive Director.

Giving Tree Band Green Guitar

Do you remember the “The Giving Tree” book written by the late Shel Silverstein? It is one of the first books I owned. Enter the Giving Tree Band from Yorkville, Illinois.

The Giving Tree Band uses social networking to connect with their fans and share their message of environmental sustainability. The band knows their audience and how to connect with them. They made a green statement when they recorded their “Great Possessions” album in 2009. While recording, the group stayed near the Aldo Leopold Legacy Center where they recorded the material to reduce their carbon emissions. Even the instruments used were made of recycled materials. After the recording, the band raffled off this guitar, signed by the band, through the Chicago Blues & Blue Grass Festival. Kyle also a song writer and guitarist, won this Taliesin model guitar which Jason Harshbarger of Highland Strings created from reclaimed materials.

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Guitar Giving Tree Band used on the “Great Possessions” album
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Guitar inlay Giving Tree Band used on the “Great Possessions” album

Read more about the band’s eco friendly practices and recording. Purchase the Great Possessions album.  Listen to their music on MySpace and Facebook. Follow Giving Tree Band on Twitter.

Ford Fiesta Movement Blog Campaign

Instead of using old marketing techniques, Ford is introducing the new Fiesta to the U.S. with the Fiesta Movement Campaign. During this promotion they are giving the cars to 100 bloggers throughout the country. During the next six months, Ford hopes the bloggers will promote the car to their followers through social networking.

My brother, in the market for a car heard about the campaign. There were a couple cars in the Chicago area but he could not find a way to contact the drivers. He called me for assistance.

I went online and found one of the bloggers Derek PrettyBoy Dow @Oprettyboy1 on Twitter. A few tweets between us and we had an appointment scheduled for my brother to view and sit in the car. Less than twenty four hours elapsed between my brother’s first call to me and his email to all thanking everyone for their help.

Thanks for your help Derek. Search for hashtag #fiestamovement to learn more.

Chicago Blackhawks Tweet

According to a Daily Herald report this week, Chicago’s Blackhawks pro hockey team are tweeting to their fan base. Over 30,000 followers to the @NHLblackhawks use the site to keep up with the latest news. The Blackhawks team is owned by the Wirtz family which turned to Twitter and Facebook as a way of connecting with their younger fans. Their current Facebook fans number over 200,000 and continue to grow.

Rocky Wirtz heads up the organization, infusing new techniques his father William shied away from. The Blackhawks social networking presence connects them with new fans and increases interest in the club.

The Hawks could learn a few things from other Chicago Sports teams. Ozzie Guillen, White Sox manager uses Twitter to communicate. Recent posts include updates on his trip to Six Flags and a remembrance of a good friend who passed away. He tweets to followers in both English and Spanish.

Social Networking Class July 2010

New summer social networking for business classes added to our summer schedule. Check out these sessions in the Northwest Suburbs of Chicago. These sessions are designed for business owners and employees who want to leverage the power of social networking tools to gain market share. Learn how you can rank higher in Google and other search engine results without paying for these hits. See how you can use these tools to build relationships and community with your current and potential customers.

  • Blogging Basics – 7/12/2010 Students will need access to a web based email account (Yahoo, Gmail, Hotmail, etc) to participate in this class.
  • I’m LinkedIn, Now What – 7/19/2010 Create a free LinkedIn.com account before class
  • Facebook for Business – 7/26/2010  Create a free Facebook.com account before class

Register early as these sessions have been selling out. Contact Elgin Community College for information on class fees, dates, times and locations. For information on upcoming classes and other events visit our website events page.