The World Cup began yesterday, and you don’t need to be in Brazil to feel the excitement. For the first time in World Cup history, social media networks have transformed into a hub of country support, score updates, and conversations surrounding the largest soccer event in the world.
Tag: twitter
Chelsea Williams is a recent graduate of Webster University’s Advertising program and a large-breed dog lover who appreciates creative hash tag usage, breakfast-for-dinner and a well-organized planner. She’s also a bride-to-be and one of my best friends!
I wanted to write this post because I keep seeing tweets that look something like this:
@username: Well guys, I need to start applying for internships so it looks like it’s time to make my Twitter private 😦 #NoMoreRetweets
And I’m all like:
As a young professional trying to break through the clutter (no matter what your profession), now is not time to hide on social – It’s time to shine! To quote one of my besties and social media professional, @tweeeterin, “So you want agencies and companies to know you and hire you, but the first thing you do is hide?” Social media is such a powerful resource and like many things (ahem… internships) you get out of it, what you put in. So use it to your advantage!
If you’re not sure where to start, below are four steps to getting noticed (in a good way) on social:
1. Create Your Personal Brand
This is your chance to showcase who you are, what you excel at and a little
unique personality – Just because you’re growing up, that doesn’t mean you
have to be boring. Employers want to hire someone they would enjoy having
around the office everyday, so it’s good to show your fun side. While setting
your accounts to private may be a simple solution to potential snooping,
making them public could place you way ahead of your competition if you use
them to your advantage. It’s like you’re saying, “Go ahead and look for my
social media profiles. Check out how awesome I am”. Your Twitter bio is a
great place to start in creating your personal brand. If you had to sell yourself
in 140 characters, what would you say? Here are a few examples of some of
my favorite Twitter bios:
@joshkocurek
2. Adapt Your Content
One of my favorite things about public social accounts is that it sort-of holds
me accountable for what I post. Sure, you’ll see me posting about last night’s
Bachelorette episode and adorable puppy videos but that stuff’s harmless – I’m talking about negativity. People love to endlessly rage with negative rants on Facebook and Twitter and it showcases them as an unpleasant person (and probably not the type of person your coworkers want to work with everyday). Having a public social presence makes me think twice about what I post. Think positive – because you can never take back a post that you regret.
3. Be Easy to Find
No sense in having a public social space if no one can find you, right? Take
advantage of the opportunities social gives you to share your various media
platforms. For example, post a link to your LinkedIn profile on Twitter or if you
write a blog, be sure to link to your other social accounts. Add this info to your
email signatures, too! The more they intersect, the better!
4. Network!
Find people in your field and join the conversation! You can search for other professionals on Twitter and join in on discussions that apply to you. For example, I like to join the #BareItAll chats because it directly relates to my field of social media and marketing, where we share insights on industry trends and strategies. I’ve connected with several other professionals (who I would’ve never met otherwise) this way and still keep in touch. This kind of professional activity can put you miles ahead of your competition because employers will notice your enthusiasm about your industry and eagerness to learn. But don’t forget: While online networking is important, never underestimate the power of good, old-fashioned, in-person networking!
So what do y’all think? Are your social media accounts public or private? Have you had any experiences where your public social media account had a hand in landing you a job?
I’d love to hear your thoughts! You can find me on Twitter – @chelsrose. Talk to you soon!
P.S. Thanks, Ashley, for letting me guest post on Glatz & Glamour! xo
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Tina Fey – Twitter Guardian
Seriously though, aren’t there times that you wish people needed a license to tweet?
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Social Media Resolutions
Ask anyone who works in social media (because it really is an employment option, I promise!) what their biggest pet peeve is, and I can promise it will be the misuse of social media, followed by grammar mistakes. So in 2013, let’s all make a few social media resolutions together:
- Stop posting your Instagram photos to Twitter – it’s a pain to click through. Twitter has photo filters now, too.
- Edit the caption on your Pinterest posts. If you don’t have a kid, don’t keep the caption, “totally doing this for little Billy!”
- Don’t like your own status. Ever.
- Use proper grammar on Facebook. You don’t have a character count or excuse.
- Be smart. This goes for company accounts, too. Hurricanes are not good excuses to shop, and it is never okay to mock a tragedy.
- If a status becomes a conversation, take it to your timeline or messages. Or just expect no one to ever comment on your status again. Your choice!
- Don’t drink and Facebook. Drink and Tweet instead.
- Remember, you can remove someone from your Newsfeed without unfriending them. It will save you plenty of headaches.
- For the love of God, STOP USING HASHTAGS ON FACEBOOK. If that means you have to create two messages in Hootsuite/Sprout Social/ETC, by all means, do it.
Are you making any social media resolutions this year? Personally, I’m trying to cut back on texting.
OK – I may take some heat for this, but as a social media manager, I literally spend 8 hours a day with Facebook and Twitter open on my desktop. I see EVERYTHING. So, I’m going to sum up the top 5 most ridiculous things I see:
1. “Going to X/Hanging with X”: OK – Isn’t that what foursquare is for? It drives me nuts to see a Facebook status say “going to the grocery store” or “hanging with my friend.” It’s the old-fashion (as in 2009) rule, if you don’t have anything interesting to say, don’t say anything at all.
2. Photos of themselves: Seriously, that was cool in 2005. Stop with the Instagram pictures of you posing in a mirror, or in a tanning bed, or in your car. It makes you look conceited and gives people the impression that you’re an attention whore.
3. “OMG this is so #Freaking cool, I’m going to post it from @Hootsuite to Facebook, too!” Learn to differentiate your networks. It kills me when I see this on a personal account, but brands? Good lord.
4. “LIKE if…” That is the quickest way to get me to defriend you or unfollow your brand. Just don’t.
5. Chain Letters: Why can’t these things die already? I still haven’t died from the letter I didn’t send in 7th grade. I found true love after midnight. If you found yourself posting something you forwarded when you were 12, STOP.
What pet-peeves do you have with social media? Comment below!
