Social media recruiting done right

Murphy-Goode Winery becomes the talk of the Twitterverse

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AqKRvFFH_E[/youtube]

I’m not going to lie. It’s hard to work in PR and branding these days. You are bombarded with all sorts of expert information and advice. People are constantly suggesting you try this strategy, platform, or network. Your brand is not only expected to sustain a stable presence on old media channels but reinvent itself and strive under new media expectations.

All day I read articles, blogs, case studies about brands that tried something — usually — missed the boat, and are now enjoying the not always positive feedback we are all so ready to give.

But then again, every once and a while a company comes along and really hits the nail on the head. Today’s gold star for Social Media Dominator goes to: The Murphy-Goode Winery. Their latest social hiring strategy and contest has all the components of a successful online media initiative: purpose, vision, viral potential, rich media goodness, and more.

I thought it would be beneficial for other companies to read a bit of the backstory, and understand how a boutique winery in Northern California has the whole online world watching its every move.

The backstory: Murphy-Goode

I first stumbled upon A Really Goode Job after a conversation with applicant Maria Ogneva (@themaria). She pointed me to a Mashable post that covered the guidelines. Basically, Murphy-Goode is looking for a “Lifestyle Correspondent” to live on site at the Murphy Goode winery for 6 months, learning all about wine, wine making, wine tasting and surrounding Sonoma wine country. The daily activities will involve sharing these wine stories, adventures and experiences with the rest of us via multiple rich and new media channels — such as social networks, video sites, photo galleries, and more.

Not a bad gig, huh? Did I mention they are going to pay the lucky guy/gal’s travel expenses, a 10,000 a month stipend plus accommodations, and provide computer, internet, PDA, and digital and still camera access. Wowzers. I’m excited just blogging about this. OK, moving on …

Why this was successful

A clear goal: They had one — to hire the right person for the job. To even be considered the person had to demonstrate their knowledge in social media by producing a quick video, writing blog posts, pushing viral content, and gaining buzz. Murphy-Goode did just what every company tries to do (whether with traditional hiring methods or new age ones), they weeded out the bad applicants at no cost to them.

They are left with 912 strong candidates. It was a win-win. By carefully choosing the way they were going to promote the position, most of the work was done for them. Well done guys, well done.

Secondary successes

It doesn’t stop there. As we all know, social media enables companies and brands to capture long-term benefits from successful initiatives. It’s the beauty of a strong, viral message. If you Google “Murphy-Goode winery” right now, you will notice that 6 of the top 10 SERPS are actually covering the contest. They have dominated their brand name with positive listings. This is what we call great online reputation management. They created the right kind of buzz and let it run wild.

In addition to taking control of their brand, they are also gaining visibility to their services. Confession: I have never heard of the Murphy-Goode winery, and I am a wine lover. I mean seriously, I love love love it. OK, you get it. Anyway, I have now visited their site about a dozen times, shared their link on my Facebook page to my 1,000 plus friends, and tweeted about them to my over 3,500+ followers. All because @themaria vouched for them, sent a link my way, and applied for the job.

Now that is successful social media. Taking an idea, creating buzz on multiple platforms, letting people push your message around in a positive light, and reaping the rewards.

Lastly, not only did they get their name in front of people, but the right people. If you check WeFollow.com (a user-generated directory of Twitter users) there are 1,054,832 Twitter users that have tagged themselves with “wine.” These are wine-lovers, drinkers, enthusiasts, journalists, winery employees, and more … and for the past few weeks the top wine story on Twitter has surely been the Murphy-Goode hiring contest. As a company, it’s crucial to focus your social media efforts on the right platforms for you. No point yelling your message into a room of people who aren’t listening … right? Right? Bueller … Bueller?

So why bother with social media?

I meet with a lot of companies, and almost always I am asked to “give an example of how a company has increased their bottom-line with social media.” Well, now, in addition to my usual spiel of stats, graphs, etc., I can also hand out this case study. What it comes down to is any company can find success with a social media strategy; they just need to have the right goal in place. They need to understand where their audience is hanging out, and get in there with a good story … start passing it around. The rest usually takes care of itself.

I will surely be visiting Murphy-Goode on my next visit north, and since I find it bad luck to visit a winery without purchasing a few bottles, this social media strategy not only gained them 1,000 great applicants, a few pages of top-rated SERPS, media attention from top blogs like Mashable, thousands of site visits, BUT also a few actual wine bottle purchases from me. Yum. Yum. Talk about reaping the rewards of social media.

Side note: For anyone who would like to vote for Maria, and help her snag her dream job, you can view her video above, and vote here: Maria Ogneva.

Joanna Lord is a social marketing consultant and founder of YourJobStop, the job resources board. See her business profile, contact Joanna or leave a comment below.