Do you want a career in the social media sphere? Well, then read on as we have a whole host of different tips and pieces of advice for you to do so.
Make Sure Your Online Presence Is Professional
Since you want to work in social media, you need to be prepared for people — potential employers, customers, and clients — to look you up online. What will they find when they Google your name and find you on your social networks? Take the time to scrub your online presence so that the results of these kinds of searches are thoroughly professional.
If you’re actively seeking work in the social media field, make sure you have a complete and well-crafted LinkedIn profile. You should also (at a minimum) have consistent and professional accounts on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus.
Watch Your Posts
One of the most challenging aspects of shifting to a professional persona is internalizing the fact that you’re always on the job. Everything that gets blogged, posted, shared, and tweeted can have a bearing on how others view your professional competence. Consider the long-term ramifications of everything you post and make sure you screen out contentious material.
Manage Your Privacy
Of course, you don’t have to take up the life of a monk or a nun to get work in social media. As a professional in the industry, though, you need to have a good understanding of compartmentalization. Review your privacy settings on your social networks — Facebook in particular — to protect your personal information and your interactions with friends and family. It’s possible (if not easy) to build an effective barrier between your professional and personal activity on social media. Here are some great tips from Capita IT Resourcing.
Join The Conversation
A completely blank social media presence is nearly as bad as an unprofessional one. Establish the right history for yourself by making an effort to get involved with conversations and discussions that focus on your industry. Try to be a contributor, too; share links and content and answer questions when you’re confident in your answers.
Build Strong Connections
If you have a particular dream job in mind, it’s well worth your time to investigate your potential employer through social media. Check LinkedIn to find out who the key movers and shakers at the company are, and start following their professional interactions online. You can make contact with them either directly or indirectly (e.g. by retweeting their posts) in order to join your professional networks together.
Keep Tabs On The Industry
The most important networks to be a part of vary from industry to industry. LinkedIn is once again a good starting point when you go looking for the most important blogs, news sources, and discussions. Take a look at what industry leaders are paying attention to; they can be valuable weather vanes pointing the way towards the latest developments. By finding — and then joining — the cutting edge, you may position yourself to pick up promising employment opportunities in the future.
Create Your Own Content
While you can go a long way to establishing a positive presence simply by following and reacting to others, nothing sets up a great social media beachhead like content of your own. Start up a blog to demonstrate your professional expertise. This can be a powerful factor in your favor when you apply for a job — and a sufficiently popular blog might even attract new job offers to you!
