Social Media and the Professional World

When I think about the phrase ‘social media’ I think about social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. When I think about what these networking sites are used for I primarily think of informal and entertaining purposes, but social media networking sites are used for much more than finding friends that we have lost touch with over the years. Social media sites have the capability of assisting us in finding jobs and advancing our careers. As was mentioned with marketing through social media, some people are still stuck in their old ways. Many people are still relying on face to face networking and hard copy resumes to move them up the corporate ladder. In order for these people to be aware of all of the job opportunities and networking possibilities that are out there, they are going to have to market themselves using social media.

However, in order to market yourself effectively through social media there are a few guidelines you need to follow. Dan Schawbel reveals 7 Secrets to Getting Your Next Job Using Social Media in his blog. Completing your professional profiles 100% and being active on sites like Twitter and LinkedIn are essential. Another one of the steps given is advertising yourself using AdWords and Facebook social ads. In his book, Secrets of Social Media Marketing, Paul Gillin lists some ways to differentiate yourself from the competition using social media. Appropriate visual aides including, images, pictures, audio, and video clips on your profiles are sure to get you noticed. If you keep professional, updated profiles about yourself and your career experience and goals, and are continuously actively seeking personal connections with people in the professional world then you are sure to reveal numerous professional opportunities. If you capitalize on social media in terms of getting your professional name out there, then there are no limits as to what job you could get or where you could be working within the next year.

On the other hand, if your professional profiles are not kept updated and are not inconsistent with your hard copy resume, then you could run into trouble. If employers see discrepancy, no matter how innocent, they may question your integrity or attention to detail and pass you up. Many other things that are revealed on social media sites could cause an employer to toss your application. If you use a short hand communication style or post unflattering pictures of yourself your professionalism may be up for debate. For social media to be effective in advancing your career you must pay close attention to details and be willing to invest the time in this worth while endeavor. I do not know anyone personally that has had experience with inappropriate social media content in their job search, but I am sure as I get older and my peers and I begin searching for more professional jobs that this will happen to me or someone I know.

In closing, I would like to take a minute to discuss viral marketing. I believe that viral marketing is a hit or miss method. I think that a company is more likely to achieve viral marketing when that is not the goal they have for the particular strategy or project. It seems to me that viral marketing happens by accident most of the time. I believe that it is so powerful because the type of message it is sending is not ‘buy me’, but rather ‘look how neat this is’. Viral marketing inspires emotions in people and those emotions are what attract the consumer to the particular product or brand. The examples of viral marketing that I have seen seem fun, and that is what makes them so attractive and/or effective.