7 Ways to Advance Your Career With Social Media
We live in a noisy world, with tons of information coming at us from multiple media streams. Rather than view these distractions as annoying, become an early adopter of some of the newer media sites and stand out. Or maybe you will find it easier to enhance how you use LinkedIn and Facebook to steal the show within your niche. Break out and be one of the first in your industry to embrace new marketing methods and tools.
The key is knowing what tools are on the rise and how to use them to advance your career.
1. Add bling to LinkedIn. Your LinkedIn profile can support embedded files. This means that you can upload PowerPoint, Excel and Word files under a job in your "Experience" section. Show samples of your work to prove you have the necessary skills for future jobs. Better yet, add video or pictures to your summary to highlight your career successes. Adding media content to your profile will instantly catch someone's eye and help differentiate you from similar professionals.
2. Complete your Facebook bio. If you haven't done it yet, now is the time. Beef up your Facebook profile by adding work history, interests and skills. This might just help you show up in a hiring professional's search results or gain the attention of one of your Facebook friends. Consider it an opportunity to publicize your marketable assets and hirable qualities. Though many consider Facebook to be a personal networking site, that hasn't stopped recruiters from using it to source talent.
3. Try a Twitter chat. These chats attract people who are interested in learning and chatting about topics ranging from advertising to wine. Twitter chats are online Q&A sessions and usually include a hashtag keyword to indicate the discussion thread. For example, if you are interested in workplace and leadership discussions, #WorkTrends runs on Wednesdays at 1 p.m. EST. For job search conversation and advice, join in Fridays at noon EST for #OMCchat. Check out Twitter chats on TweetReports.com to find the one that's right for you. The best way to get started with a Twitter chat is to observe one by following the hashtag on Twitter. Observe the format and what people are saying. Once you've gotten the hang of it and understand how that chat works, jump in by sharing your own thoughts or share a tweeted response you like. Be sure to follow up after the Twitter chat with people you interacted with during the chat. This is how you build your network and expand the potential reach about who you are and what you do.
4. Join or host a live stream event. That means the event is live and shared by an Internet-based camera. Popular applications that host live stream events include blab.im, Periscope and Meerkat. These applications provide both live video and a chat function. Participants can ask questions or share comments in the dialog box. You can also see the profiles of people watching the event and some you may be interested in following. To spread the word about your talent, you could host your own talk show or interview industry influencers. As with Twitter chats, watch and observe the format of the show and discussions before jumping in.
5. Share thoughts on Instagram. You may already have a personal Instagram account, but have you thought about how you can use your account to share personal and professional content? When sharing a photo or video, add your thoughts and several hashtags to lure the right audience. You could also tag company accounts you are following in your posts. You may decide to create a campaign in which you share visuals from your portfolio with the hashtag #HireMe. Instagram can be a brand-building tool for people interested in managing their career trajectory. Share photos of you speaking at events, winning awards, volunteering or participating in company events. These images provide a glimpse of what's important to you and help you stand out.
6. Tell your story on Snapchat. This application is known for its disappearing messages. Given its fast growth among younger users, this picture and video sharing application is becoming popular among businesses and marketing professionals. Not all messages instantly self-destruct. The Snapchat Stories feature will allow a series of snaps to last for 24 hours. As an active job seeker, you can use it to talk about your qualifications for a job after you've applied, share a day-in-the-life of what you do at work or use it as a video blogging platform to talk about issues in your field of work. You can deliver instant news from a conference or event you attend. If you are already using Snapchat, you may have even more creative ideas on how to use Snapchat for your job search.
7. Understand why these may or may not work. The sole purpose of trying any of these tricks is to get on the radar of a person inside a specific company. You'll win points for creativity and ingenuity if you tailor your message to your ideal employer. And because these platforms were designed for individual use, not marketing big brands, you don't need to obsess over how slick your campaign is. Focus on your message instead. Is it clear, engaging, humorous, appropriate or at least grammatically correct?
