Your online personal brand is a key tool in your networking arsenal. Your social media profiles are not only your opportunity to show off your relevant qualifications, projects, experience, and achievements, but also to make new connections.
Your social media profiles act as your landing pages for employers and connections, for people you meet at events, or by chance, to find out more about you and to build a more permanent contact you can regularly communicate with. Consistency is critical for every social media platform. It is easier for people to find you if you present a uniform image or style for all your accounts. Of course, this isn’t necessarily true for profiles that are not public nor intended for professional connections.
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So, which social media sites do we think you should pay particular attention to for professional networking?
This is your first and likely one of your most important social networking platforms for building a professional network and real life connections. Your LinkedIn helps you build relationships with people in your industries or working your dream job. Forging these connections and making an impact can lead to amazing opportunities.
Try to make meaningful and intentional connections through this most popular social networking site. It can be very tempting to build a large network quickly on social media by connecting with any and everybody.
It is highly unlikely that everyone you connect with on LinkedIn will become a regular contact for you but, you should try to keep your connections within the industries you are or want to work in. If you are sending an invite to connect, take the time to personalise the message you can send alongside it, especially if you haven’t met or talk to the person before. To people who are especially well-known or who receive multiple connection requests per day, a personalised message could stand out amongst the masses and secure you that coveted industry connection.
So, let’s say your request to connect has been accepted. How are you going to make people pay attention to you? How are you going to become memorable to your growing network on this platform and other social networking websites?
Be consistent with your social media posts. You don’t necessarily need to constantly create posts and graphics for your profile, but sharing your thoughts on articles and engaging with other people’s posts will keep your name in your network’s timelines.
This is your chance to join relevant groups of people on the largest social networking site in the world who either already work in your dream job or also aspire to build careers in similar industries. If you are trying to re-direct your current career path and enter an entirely new market, Facebook groups are a great way to start your search and gain knowledge about your new interest.
Opportunities are constantly being shared by Facebook users and can be a great social network service platform to ask questions and gain advice on your area of interest. You can grow your social media presence through your interactions and the use of the social networking tools there.
Clubhouse
The app that took off during the COVID-19 pandemic as a space to host worldwide events and discussions. The platform is used purely for virtual talking, no sharing media or even texts between members of a room, making it a unique social media site. Currently you can only active a Clubhouse account with an invite from another active user but once your profile is up and running, you can join rooms hosted by celebrities, coaches, journalists, experts, and by people you are already connected to or want to meet.
Join and engage in themed or industry events that are relevant to your career journey or you brand. Be bold and ask to be a speaker if you know you have something valuable to contribute to the presentation or discussion. Collaborate with others and be a co-host for an event and then when you are ready, host your own event for your network to attend.
You could have the chance to make an impression on someone you admired.
Creating a professional network takes time. However, using social media for networking is an excellent place to start curating a high-quality range of connections that can help you advance your career, business and understanding or your particular sector.
Growing your own profile on any online social network, while individual to you, should be part of an overall social media marketing strategy aimed at boosting awareness and presence of both you and any company you represent. Networking online can bring you job opportunities, but also opportunities for business growth through reaching a broader audience.
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