Earlier this week Techcrunch posted about the re-launch of Startuply, a free job listing service. The Startuply site is really cool, featuring simple job search functions, company profiles, and even maps of where the company is located. You can post a job listing or search for positions, mostly for web development and design related opportunities, but also for marketing, sales, etc. Companies featured include well-known startups like Twitter, Seesmic, Mint.com, Digg, Evernote, meebo, Slideshare and more

(Photo Credit: Sven Jones)

Social Media Connects Startups with Influencers

The development of Startuply and similar sites proves that there is a huge market for startups, and all of these companies are searching for ways to connect with one another, find talented employees, and share in their successes. What better way to do that than through social media?

It appears that social media can serve to project or repel startups. Consider the successes of Twitter this year. Even among the “Fail Whale” times of downtime, thousands of tweets led to thousands of blog posts which have led to thousands of news articles on Twitter. Now that’s the kind of buzz a startup can only dream of.

Factor in the success of Startup Weekends (and other events like PodCamp and BarCamp) across the country that are filled with attendees who Twitter, post Flickr photos, and blog the events - creating a bustling community of Web 2.0 evangelists and influencers just itching to get their startup out there.

Influentials are the 10% of the population who shape the attitudes and behaviors of the other 90%. And, these influencers are online. According to a recent Washington Post.Newsweek Interactive and RoperASW study, two-thirds of online influentials (67%) are asked for or forward advice and information about products and services, whether it’s about career choices, computers, restaurants, or web sites. They spend an average of 2 hours a day online and nearly all (95%) access the web at least once a day.

(Picture Credit: Social Media.biz)

So What If I’m Not a Web 2.0 Startup?

Companies who cater to Web 2.0 savvy people benefit from interacting with that community. But, what about the companies who are financial (Mint.com), IT and heavily technology oriented, or have a more traditional business focus? They can still benefit from utilizing Web 2.0 strategies.

For example, a client of ours, StackSafe, chose to integrate traditional PR and marketing efforts with social media outreach to help build their online brand. Before the company officially launched at DEMO ‘08, they researched their market and online communities, started a blog, got onto Twitter and Facebook, and hit the ground running. They also developed online solution center portals that integrated RSS feeds, video, Flickr photos and real-time Twitter updates.

The results have been tremendous. A Forrester report touted the advantages StackSafe had by using Web 2.0 tactics to launch their product. InfoWorld named StackSafe a Top 10 Tech Startup in 2008, Gartner named StackSafe a Cool Vendor in IT Operations, and the company was a finalist for the 2008 American Business “Stevie” Award for “Best Marketing Campaign”.

What Can You Do?

Startups should seriously consider social media as a way to get word-of-mouth buzz going about their company. A recent study from Beeline Labs and the Society for New Communications Research found that 35% of enterprises supporting online communities have increased word-of-mouth for their brands and 28% have seen an increase in brand awareness.

By thinking proactively about your brand online and how you want to connect with your community and users, startups can benefit by gathering favor from influentials and developing great relationships that will carry them through the startup phase and beyond.