Become An Online Force To Be Reckoned With

By Ingrid Salas


New social media networks are introduced to the airwaves so frequently, it is hard to even keep up. That being said, if keeping up seems vital to your social life, it should be even more vital to your professional life. These social media outlets give everyone competing in the job market a chance to create their own brand.

What people find out about you online can create a first impression before an employer ever even meets you. It is important that your social media networks show your brand as a professional. Your website, Facebook, Twitter, etc., should all portray the same person.

Start fashioning your brand by making your own website. In today's world, it is easy for anyone to have their own piece of the Internet, regardless of their profession. Create a website that tells who you are. Address your skills, accomplishments, even career goals. If you are a photographer, create image galleries to give people an idea of your work. Post links to places you've been published.

List companies you've worked for. If you're a website designer, post links of the websites you've created. Post links to the companies you've worked for. For any profession, write your objective, where you plan to go with your career. Your website can be a manifestation of who you are. On your website, you can have links to your other social media accounts. Your website can be a sort of hub for all the other places online that people can find out about you, what you've done, and what you can do.

Create a professional Facebook account. Make it something you are comfortable with a potential employer viewing. Make sure your photographs are appropriate. In your profile picture, smile. It's something so simple but also universal. Try to make sure your default picture is just of you. A prospective employer doesn't need to see your friends or your pets.

There is no need to fill out sections on social media that call for your hobbies, favorite books or movies unless these sections can be relevant to your field of work. If you find a place where you can write little blurbs about yourself, keep the blurbs related solely to your career and where you want to take it. Your objectives should be very clear.

For Twitter accounts, it is easier for things to be less personal. For anything you write, you have a limited number of characters, keeping things a little shallower. Follow people that are pertinent to your skills, field, or professional interests. If you're a writer, follow other writers, publishers, and news outlets. If you are a chef, follow other chefs, food blogs, and restaurants. Make it known that you really care about what you do or want to do. When you tweet, discuss topics that would intrigue others in your field. Give the people whose accounts you follow a reason to follow yours.

Of utmost importance is the cohesion of all your sites. When people visit your website or view your Twitter and Facebook accounts, they must be assured beyond any doubt that they are seeing one person and that person is you. If they become confused as to whose site it is they are or who they are following, they will lose interest and go away. Know who you are and use social media so others know you too. A Google search can turn up some wonderful things. Make sure that what is floating around the internet about you is one of them. Your brand must say exactly what you want it to and mark you as a professional.




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