His theories were dismissed by the French general sta\ue001\ue001, but ironically had an avid \ue001ollowing
in the GermanWehrmacht. Adol\ue001 Hitler even studied de Gaulle\u2019s book as he planned the Nazi
invasion o\ue001 France.

The blitzkrieg was so success\ue001ul that panzer divisions became emblematic o\ue001 the German
successes early in the war. The Germans themselves began to believe that their key to victory
lay in having the best tanks, and built \ue001earsome weapons such as the Panther, Tiger II, and

As lethal as these weapons were, ultimately the Germans lost. There were many reasons why, but
strategic errors such as trying to \ue000ght a two-\ue001ront war and not investing enough in air power to
counter Allied bombing were chie\ue001 among them. The Germans got so caught up in the myth o\ue001
having the best tools\u2014tanks, and later, missiles\u2014that they lost sight o\ue001 the bigger picture, i.e.,

Much o\ue001 the discussion today about the \ue001uture o\ue001 recruiting and employment \ue001ocuses on Twitter, Facebook and other popular social media plat\ue001orms. These applications have already begun to change how recruiting is done while coming o\ue001 age during the worst recession since the 1930s.

One could argue that part o\ue001 the attraction o\ue001 social media \ue001or employers is the perception that they are relatively cheap, even \u201c\ue001ree.\u201d So, at a time when budgets are under scrutiny and being cut, using low cost methods seems prudent.

The other attraction is the luster derived \ue001rom using such tools. Employers want to appeal to
younger workers. They believe that by using the same media to reach prospects that those
prospects themselves use to chat with \ue001riends, employers will ingratiate themselves with
their audience.

Yet both o\ue001 these attractions o\ue001 social media are deceptive. Worse, the meteoric rise o\ue001
these plat\ue001orms is blinding people to the very real need to have a well thought-out, thorough
communications strategy be\ue001ore they go tweeting or creating Facebook pages. As my esteemed
colleague Rich Goidel likes to remind us, never con\ue001use the \u201cthing\u201d\u2014i.e., the tool or application
or plat\ue001orm\u2014with the \u201cthink,\u201d the strategy or creative concept that ultimately wins the day.

Twitter allows you to start an account \ue001or \ue001ree. So do Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, and virtually
all social sites. Creating posts \ue001or Twitter is dead simple: you just type up to 140 characters
(not even words!). Other sites require a little more e\ue001\ue001ort, but by and large they, too, are \ue001airly
easy to master on your own. Social networks, it would seem, are the proverbial \u201cmatch made in
heaven\u201d \ue001or recruiters contending with shrinking budgets.

First, there is the cost o\ue001 your time. The minutes (sometimes hours) spent cra\ue001ting the per\ue001ect
tweet or enhancing your Facebook page have a cost. And, while the initial cost o\ue001 composing your
message is still relatively low, then there are the costs associated with handling the replies.

Most employers sidestep these costs by simply tweeting a job title, brie\ue001 description, and
abbreviated URL that links to the employer\u2019s careers Web site and the complete job description.
The prospect is taken directly to the job description, and \ue001rom there he or she may go on to apply

The problem is that social networks are not broadcasting media. Sure, that\u2019s how they\u2019re being
used by more and more businesses as the medium grows and attracts attention. But we\u2019re
making the same mistake today we made back in the mid-90s when everyone treated Web sites
like electronic brochures. Everyone was so enthralled by the speed and cost savings o\ue001 the Web
(No printing! No inventory! Make changes on the fy!), that they overlooked the interactivity that
proved to be the real power o\ue001 the Web. Today the most popular sites are those that link us to
sources o\ue001 in\ue001ormation or people (think Google, Facebook and Yahoo); it\u2019s the linking that makes
the Web di\ue001\ue001erent \ue001rom print, not the economics (indeed, some Web sites cost much more than
brochures today).

I\ue001 you want to use social media, make sure to budget enough in terms o\ue001 resources, sta\ue001\ue001
and\u2014yes\u2014money to allow you to use social media in ways where it returns the most on your
investment: as a plat\ue001orm \ue001or dialogue with your prospects. Make sure you have a real budget
\ue001or doing social media properly or you may wind up looking like those employers in the late 90s
whose careers Web sites were static and unappealing. The pace o\ue001 change since then has, i\ue001
anything, accelerated exponentially so you need to ensure that you are prepared to do social

Those o\ue001 you who are parents have heard this re\ue001rain \ue001rom your kids ad nauseam. And we all
know the answer taught us in Parenting 101: \u201cSo i\ue001 all the kids want to jump o\ue001\ue001 o\ue001 a cli\ue001\ue001, you
do, too?\u201d Thus, it is surprising how many corporations are driven to start tweeting or blogging or
having a Facebook page simply because other businesses do so.

Don\u2019t misunderstand\u2014social media are very power\ue001ul and hold \ue001abulous promise. Like any
other power\ue001ul \ue001orce, however, social media can back\ue000re with un\ue001oreseen and negative results i\ue001
handled poorly.