Social Media Tips and Tricks for Professionals
Today’s social media is not just about keeping in touch with friends and family. It can also be an efficient way to market you as a professional. There are very real benefits to tying your professional persona to social media, and here we provide some helpful hints for doing so.
Facebook as a Vehicle for Your Professional Information
Many of us have heard of LinkedIn, a social media website catering to the business professional. If you are using LinkedIn, you are one of approximately 44 million people who do so. But Facebook, with more than 250 million active users, can also be a vital platform for your professional information.
As Boris Epstein notes in his article on Facebook and professional networking, a smart approach to maintaining a professional profile on Facebook is to split your account so that you can reap the personal benefits of the social media giant while also connecting with your professional peers. Epstein goes into detail as to how this can be accomplished. But it is as simple as creating a list of professional contacts and manipulating your privacy settings and restricting access to various parts of your profile.
Put Your Real Self Out There
Whether you use that laptop to access Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn, you want to make sure that you are using your real name – or at least a version as close as possible to your real name. This way, those in your professional circle can easily find you without having to determine if some cutesy nickname is, indeed, you. On Twitter, in particular, avoid using underscores in your name, such as John_Smith. This makes it easier for individuals using mobile devices to search for you.
Update, Update, Update
Whatever platform you choose to use to market yourself professionally, you want to ensure that your most current information is provided. This means using that trusty laptop of yours to actively maintain and update your profiles often so as not to let them go stagnant. Let the profile speak to and echo your professional growth. Stop by regularly to also see what is new with your peers. Take cues from them as to how to best optimize the use of your particular favorite social media platform.
Be Part of the Group
They say, and by “they” we mean other business professionals, that success isn’t about what you know but who you know. Both Facebook and LinkedIn provide the opportunity to join user groups made up of individuals with like interests or backgrounds. Being a part of one of these groups is a great way to network and can put you in contact with others you share in your professional pursuits.
Understand the Conventions of the Social Media Platform(s) You Use
With the use of #s, @ symbols, and the 140 character limit, Twitter users, in particular, have created a language all their own. For instance, in his “10 Twitter Tips for Professionals,” Bill Sweetman advises that it is imperative to understand the difference between direct messages and public replies. The former is a means to exchange ideas in a protected fashion while the latter is a reply that is open to the community as a whole.
Twitter is also about sharing and not marketing yourself. Contribute information that reflects your professional interests and pursuits and attracts and entices followers to learn more about you.
The social media phenomenon can be a powerful means for endorsing your professional self. Whether it is on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter or some other site, use these tips to more effectively promote and grow your professional persona.
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