Building your career with social media.

Social media is one of the most powerful tools for building your career through the power of your own brand. But where to begin? Here are some tips and pointers for you to consider.

The power of brand:

• Social media can do a lot to help your career.
• One of the things it does really well is help build brand.
• Cliché alert: “building brand” actually means something outside of marketing circles.
• Building brand – your personal brand in this case – is how you become a trusted resource that people notice and pay attention to in a specific area.
• It can help position you as a subject matter expert, and get you the notice you need to take your career to the next level.

Thought leaders to consider:

• Innovator: Steve Jobs
• Pundit: Malcolm Gladwell
• Marketer: Seth Godin
• Educator: Ken Steele

Thought leadership:

• You develop your thought leadership a little bit each time you share interesting, relevant content about your area of expertise / interest.
• You do it every time you answer a question, solve a problem, share your opinion or even just engage with someone on a professional topic.
• How can you get started?
  • Look at some of the leaders in your field
  • Question: what are you interested in, professionally?
    • What are some of the issues in that field?
    • Hot topics?
  • It’s about you:
    • What do you have to contribute?
    • What do you know that – while it may not be absolutely unique – not everyone else knows?
    • What’s your area of expertise? Everyone’s got one.
  • What can you do?
    • Answers questions
    • Provide a valuable service
    • Make connections

Mitigating Risk

• There are risks of using social media. It is possible to screw up.
• Using that as an excuse to ignore social media and avoid it isn’t the best solution.
• So what can you do to engage with social media and protect yourself?
• Nothing is ever truly private on social:
  • Assume social media is public. All the time. Forever. Even if you’re sending a private / direct message.
  • Acid test: don’t say anything on social media you wouldn’t want to see on the front page of the Globe.
  • Err on the side of caution:
    • Don’t say things you wouldn’t want attributed to you.
    • Don’t react in anger.
    • Don’t assume.
    • Don’t ignore privacy.
    • Don’t break copyright.
    • Don’t disparage.
    • Avoid jargon or marketing speak.
    • Don’t swear.

Resources

• An oldie, but a goody: NPR’s Nieman Lab study.