Man cannot live without society because by nature he is supposed to share his life with fellow human beings. He is different from others in the sense that he has a thinking mind that wants to express and connect with the outside world. These basic instincts make him form relationships, raise a family, make friends, and also fall in love. He also created festivals because he wanted to celebrate. He lived the same way for the next thousand years.
Social Media is a Byproduct of Technology
Then gradually technology started controlling his life, and everything changed. The Internet was born and mobile phones replaced the conventional landlines. His interactions with his friends, and family members became lesser as people spent more time talking on their mobiles.
Personal meetings and get-togethers became rarer. And then came social media with channels such as Facebook and Twitter. Instagram, a visual based platform and Whatsapp too came. People were mesmerized as they never thought anything like this was ever possible.
The reach of technology and development may have broken common hearths and fitted them into modular kitchens, but an ever-increasing population on Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, Instagram and Google Plus only indicates that we have all become lonelier than ever before.
Social media is now no more just a habit, it is compulsion. However, there has been increasing concerns among people whether the cyber world is standing against the real world.
Questions are constantly being asked, but experts claim that social networking sites are quite useful, and not a waste of time. With a little understanding of these virtual mediums, users can get extraordinary results in their favor. Social media can bring many benefits – economical, social, psychological, and educational.
New Job Opportunities
In the days of rising unemployment, social media platforms have come as a fresh ray of hope. Sites such as Twitter, LinkedIn are giving job seekers an excellent platform to directly connect, engage, and get a job on their own terms and conditions.
Although it is also true that with greater access to something, comes greater chance to get things wrong. However, with a little caution and the right approach, social media profiles can be turned into a tool for finding desired results.
These platforms are unsuitable only for those who do not know how to use it properly. Because in a few years of their existence, sites like Facebook and Twitter have become bread and butter for most people.
There is hardly a day when they do not visit the site, and engage with others. To use social media platforms for fun and entertainment is one thing, and using the same sites for professional networking is altogether a different thing.
Anybody can think of himself as an expert of social media, but it is not so simple. It is not just about downloading the app, filling up some routine details and using it. To leverage social media for your career growth needs a focused approach and a sound strategy. That is why when it comes to using social media for finding a professional match, all the usual suggestions prove to be a hindrance rather than helpful.
What are you supposed to do?
To use social media for pushing your career further, you need to do following things:
1. Keep your basic details up-to-date. If you maintain accounts on other social platforms too, you can easily get more benefit by providing their links in the bio. Especially adding links to other websites on your company’s page can give an additional push. This is an ideal way to divert traffic to other destinations as well.
2. The bio that you provide for different social media platforms should be unique. Therefore, if you are giving certain information for your Facebook, you should not replicate that for your Instagram, or Twitter account.
Similarly, the way you describe yourself on Facebook will be different from that of LinkedIn, because both these platforms fulfill different objectives. LinkedIn is more about your professional background than your thoughts.
Moreover, Facebook emphasizes your thoughts and expression. However, of late, even Facebook is used for growing your business, and attracting customers to achieve economic growth.
3. Keep a definite target and try to generate the same kind of traffic to your account. Do not forget to update your posts on your wall, and keep adding more people to your friend list.
4. You should always describe your product clearly, failing which even a good platform will not be able to give you the desired benefits.
5. Those who are on LinkedIn often complain that they get a lot of vague messages from job seekers. It is true that sometimes the combo of a regular social media profile and professional profile becomes tricky to handle especially for young professionals.
This essentially happens because they are more comfortable with social media profiles than professional profiles. This in turn leaves a wrong impression on the company.
6. Always fill the basic information correctly while setting up your social media profile. In case, you don’t wish to share your information, change the privacy settings, but avoid providing false information.
7. The simpler your profile picture on the social platform, the better for you. If it is a professional account, always put your company’s logo on it. This way people will easily recognize you.
8. Same photograph on every social media account can increase your credibility. Also keep changing cover and profile photos and avoid using very old photos.
9. Keep the same user name on all sites because it becomes easier for your clients to discover and know more about you.
10. If you wish to convert your Facebook account into a professional account, do not give personal information such as your relationship status.
11. While creating your page, fill the ‘about’ column carefully , because the more impressive the ‘about’ is, the better offer you will attract.
12. Always choose the appropriate network. Regardless of what your expectations are, you should always choose the same platform. You can choose Facebook for friendship and networking, but when it comes to your professional needs, LinkedIn is undoubtedly the best platform.