5. Social media in your professional life
Social media used to be solely for fun, but this is not the case anymore. Since social media has evolved to connect people globally, it becomes more and more essential for businesses and professionals to be involved in. However, it might be challenging to incorporate your professional life into social media. Creating a professional social media presence is beneficial in at least four ways:
- Discover new ideas and trends.
- Connect with audiences with the same expertise.
- Bring attention to your work.
- Enhance your influence and personal brand.
Composing a professional post and yet ensuring it is not too bland may not be an easy task. You also have to consider the confidentiality of your work before posting it publicly to prevent from hackers or those who might overshare your contents. Therefore, to use social media effectively in professional environment, here are some tips you might want to consider.
Consult with your managers
Confidentiality, privacy and credibility are factors that determine your professionalism, especially when it comes to teamwork and collaboration. Sharing your work on social media is inevitable. In fact, X (Twitter) is a popular platform for researchers to share, attract people with similar interests and even advertise available positions. Thus, if you are unsure about the privacy of the work, you should consult authorised personnel.
You are what you present
Self-policing is a good practice to work on. When people approach your professional account, they want to know aspects of your professional life. This may include what you are working on, who you are working with, or what achievements you have. Therefore, you should think twice before sharing your personal life and personal interests. Although your personal information could help visitors know you better as a person, you do not want to dilute your content or overwhelm other connected professionals with irrelevant details.
Create your own content
Regardless of your field and interest, your account is fundamentally personal. That is, you should create your own content and avoid the habit of resharing others’ work. One reason is that the algorithm does not prefer shared content. Another reason is that your creations are better at presenting your individuality, dedication, and expertise.
These are some platforms that are widely used by professionals:
With more than 500 million members, LinkedIn has become a quintessential and optimal professional network. It functions as your online resume. It works best when you use it as career management alongside job hunting. By initiating connections with people you already know, LinkedIn offers a variety of ways to expend your network by finding relevant professionals. It also has the recommendation feature which allows you to give and receive formal recommendations to people who you have worked for, or with whom you want to connect. Job hunting is one of the most fascinating parts when it comes to LinkedIn. Spend time getting to know the search features in detail. These features let you drill down into networks of people, companies and job postings. Learn how to set up a good LinkedIn account.
Watch Job alerts in LinkedIn (YouTube, 1m21s)
X (Twitter)
With more than 328 million users, X (Twitter) has become a semi-formal platform for professionals. With more a compact design, less features and advancing to 280 characters a post, it is a new e-newspaper-like platform, allowing experts to provide more in-depth information by minimising distracting information.
