10 Ways to Use Social Media to Manage Your Career

10 Ways to Use Social Media to Manage Your Career Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram go everywhere we go. Were always connected. Why not use social media to help you manage your career! No matter where you are in your work life: recent college graduate, mid-career or closing in on retirement, “there is an app for that” as the saying goes. Social media is about word of mouth marketing, developing relationships and connecting with people. There  will always be competition for jobs. The good news is that you don’t have to hire an ad agency to help spread the word about your  talent and expertise. All you need is a goal. Use these 10 strategies to help you leverage the power of social media to manage your career and expand your reputation of excellence. 1.   Expand your sphere of influence Use LinkedIn to connect with past colleagues, professional association members, and professional peers Connect with high school friends, college friends and friends of friends on Facebook Pay attention to the “Who to Follow” recommendations on Twitter and LinkedIn Join and participate in relevant LinkedIn groups 2.   Secure your brand When someone searches for your name, you want them to find the best references online. Creating social media profiles is one good way to do this. You may also want to publish content, get mentioned in newspapers, and own your own domain (website URL). Build a complete profile on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram Use Slideshare to host your presentations Create Google alerts using your name to see when you are mentioned (read Meg Guiseppis post) 3.   Keep Current with Industry Trends By staying up-to-date with whats happening in your industry, you add value to your current organization and prepare yourself for future shifts. You may begin learning new skills or technology as a result of what you learn. Subscribe to industry newsletters Use tools to find articles related to your occupation or industry Join professional associations 4.   Share current information Demonstrate you are “in the know” by regularly adding status updates to your social media accounts. Share articles and links to great content on LinkedIn as a status update (get ideas here) “Like” good articles on Facebook so others can see what you know Re-tweet industry experts Create your own list of “who’s who” on Twitter or follow other lists (heres how) 5.   Give to get Take the initiative and proactively give a shoutout or complement to people you respect. It goes a long way and shows you value them. You cant expect reciprocity, but you may just get it. Give a recommendation on LinkedIn to get one Offer a friend help on Facebook Respond to a tweet or re-tweet (always tag the person you are retweeting or who wrote the article) 6.   Be your own PR firm Use video and audio to promote your personal brand Create Slideshare presentations (see examples) Create a LinkedIn profile and incorporate multiple forms of media (get ideas) Update your status regularly across Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram 7.   Nurture relationships Respond to questions and comments related to your niche on user forums, blogs and LinkedIn Engage with people across social media and take the relationship to the next level Develop trusting online relationships by promoting their services, thoughts or ideas 8.   Demonstrate technical savvy If you worry that you may be perceived as old, using social media is a fantastic way to debunk the myth that older workers are behind in technology. Read about cutting-edge social media strategies and test them yourself 9.   Monitor your work Do you know what type of status updates do best with your network?   Every week or so, assess your progress. Look at your activity on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram and see how many likes and comments you received 10.   Don’t knock it before you  try it This may seem like a lot of work. But if you are already using social media, then most of these actions wont take much more time. It just requires you to have a goal to promote yourself and share your professional side. Originally posted on BrandYourself.com