From the course: Creating a Career Plan

Share your brand on social media

From the course: Creating a Career Plan

Share your brand on social media

- Today there are three ways to communicate with prospective employers and clients, verbally, in written form, and via social media. By social media, I'm talking about your digital identity, your presence on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, Snapchat, Pinterest, Reddit, YouTube, Vimeo, your own website, et cetera, et cetera. Each one represents yet another way for you to reach your audience. You can't afford to not be engaged in social media. Without it, you risk being seen as out of touch. A standard part of the hiring process today is for employers to check you out on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. I would never hire someone without doing this first. It's critical that everything you post is a positive reflection of who you are and what you've done. As I travel around and present career workshops, I'm noticing continued resistance to fully engaging in social media on the part of many people, and not just baby boomers. Maybe it's just that learning and adapting to a new technology is scary. But whether you like social media or not, you need to get onboard the train. Don't worry, it's not a replacement for traditional forms of communication. Social media simply gives you more choices. Look at it as an opportunity to engage with your audience in new and very creative ways. I hold a master's degree in communication arts. During all my years of studying media, I've learned that every new medium changes the media that came before. Television changed radio, cable changed network television, et cetera. Radio didn't go away. It morphed into something different. Same with network and cable TV when the internet gained widespread usage. Similarly, making a new friend on Facebook isn't like making a friend in real life, but a Facebook friend can become a real friend. Texting isn't the same as a phone call, but it can help streamline the process of scheduling one. And connecting with someone on LinkedIn is no substitute for a face-to-face meeting where you sign a new client, but it can lead to that. That's the power and beauty of social media. It opens doors to the relationships and networks you will need in order to move your career forward. How you use them, which ones are most appropriate for what you're marketing is something you need to decide for yourself based on your particular audience's needs. Social media is a marketing tool I use myself constantly. To give you an example, a client of mine, College Performance Partners, initially found me on LinkedIn. We attended a trade show together, and at the show I met someone in the publishing industry. This woman and I stayed in touch via email after the show, and she later introduced me to my publisher, Cengage PTR. The way you use social media needs to be customized to your particular situation, just like your general career strategy, but I encourage you to jump on in. The water's fine.

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