If you happen to be an adorable who can bake holiday cookies and play Jenga, then you鈥檒l have no problem expanding
your network on social media. The rest of us could use some advice. Connecting to
industry leaders can feel tricky, but with the right tools and a solid grasp of social
media etiquette, you鈥檒l effectively grow your professional network (without being
annoying).
Choose Your Platform
Know where to spend your energy: LinkedIn and Twitter should be your top priorities, but Facebook and Instagram can also expand your connections. Once you鈥檝e created your accounts, build an online brand by linking your social profiles to one another and to your personal website.
Set aside enough time to maintain your social presence. At least once a week, post
useful content related to your field, suggests Diana Prado, a media strategy manager
at USF.
鈥�(A)ll young professionals should have a LinkedIn account,鈥� says Kelli Burns, associate professor at USF鈥檚 Zimmerman School of Advertising & Mass Communications and author of Social Media: A Reference Handbook. LinkedIn allows you to showcase everything from your education to your work history and skills. But it鈥檚 much more than an online r茅sum茅; It also gives you the chance to connect with colleagues and future employers.
Before you invite others to connect with you, ensure your profile features a high-quality headshot and a professional headline (a description of yourself). 鈥淚 get a lot of requests from people who don鈥檛 have a photo and don鈥檛 have a description under their name,鈥� says Burns. Without a photo and headline, that request becomes an 鈥渁utomatic decline.鈥�
Ask a friend to take a professional photo that you can use not only for LinkedIn, but for all your social media profiles. Pro tip: When your friend takes the photo, look slightly to your left. That way, when you upload your photo to LinkedIn, it will appear as though you are gazing into your profile, says Burns. This guides the viewer鈥檚 eye to your content.
Not sure what to write for your headline? Use your current title and company (i.e., reporter at The New York Times). If you aren鈥檛 employed in your field of interest, write down what you hope to become (i.e., aspiring journalist), says Burns.
Once you鈥檝e filled out your profile, start expanding your network:
- Join LinkedIn groups.
- Invite colleagues to connect with you. Go beyond the default wording that LinkedIn provides, because 鈥渁 personal invitation just helps you stand out,鈥� Burns says.
- Search for professionals in your field. 鈥淵ou can do a search using your geographic
area and key words from your profession,鈥� suggests this . 鈥淵ou can also make use of the LinkedIn alumni tool. Simply go to > Network > Find
Alumni.鈥�
Along with posting industry-related content, be strategic about the connections you want to make on Twitter. This offers networking tips from career strategist Tim Tyrell-Smith:
- Follow the top 10 companies that interest you.
- Retweet their posts. (Note: Rather than simply retweeting, include your own commentary by selecting the option to 鈥渜uote tweet,鈥� explains this New York Times .)
- Create a Twitter list that includes each of the company鈥檚 accounts.
- When appropriate, 鈥渟end followers direct messages and notes of encouragement,鈥� says Tyrell-Smith. 鈥淏ecome a part of their lives by communicating with the company.鈥�
Not only will this help potential employers notice you, it will also give you an idea
of the company culture for when you land that interview.
With more than 2 billion monthly active users, Facebook offers you a wide range of potential connections 鈥� and joining a Facebook group is one of the best ways to reach them. If you鈥檙e a , for example, you can choose from many different groups designed to help you achieve your career goals. Participate regularly, support other members, and don鈥檛 be afraid to ask for advice when you need it.
One caveat: The culture of Twitter welcomes you to follow people you don鈥檛 know, but
Facebook still feels more intimate. Stick to friend-requesting contacts you鈥檝e met
in real life.
If you鈥檙e an artist, photographer, travel writer, real estate agent, or dog trainer, the highly visual Instagram is the ideal place to showcase your work. What if your job doesn鈥檛 translate easily to images? 鈥淓ven if your current role at work isn鈥檛 visual, you can use the platform to highlight personal achievements and passions,鈥� explains a NBC News .
To connect with other Instagrammers, send encouraging direct messages, comment on
their posts, and use relevant hashtags that help others discover your content.
Keep it Professional
Pretend you鈥檙e meeting a new person at a work-sponsored party. Do you:
A. Launch into a rant about how terrible your boss is.
B. Chug six beers without breaking eye contact.
C. Brag about yourself for 20 minutes straight.
D. Display your uncanny ability to even though you have four paws.
E. Congratulate your new acquaintance on their recent promotion.
The correct answer is, of course, D. But if you are not a very talented Australian
shepherd, then the runner-up is E. When meeting someone at an offline event, we present
ourselves in a polite, professional way. Your social media presence should follow
that same etiquette. Think about how you can enrich the lives of your followers 鈥�
and post like your dream company is watching. (They might be.)
Bring Your Offline Connections Online
R茅sum茅s are a condensed, one-page snapshot of what you can offer a potential employer. Your social media profiles, on the other hand, give employers an in-depth look at your passions and projects. Prado says she always checks a potential hire鈥檚 LinkedIn for interesting content and experiences that didn鈥檛 make the cut to that one-page r茅sum茅, which is why it鈥檚 important to keep your social accounts updated.
Burns suggests you create a unique LinkedIn URL and include it on your r茅sum茅 and business cards. When you network at in-person events, give your card to your new contacts so they can learn more about you 鈥� and continue the conversation 鈥� online.
After a networking event, wait to send an invitation or friend request, and include a personal note that mentions
your meeting.
Reach Out
Maybe, even after reading this post, the idea of networking makes you squirm. Reverse the way you think of it. Smart networkers don鈥檛 just ask for help, they also offer it. Consider how you can provide support and expertise to your connections. Although you may not have the same level of influence as a CEO, you鈥檒l be surprised how much you can aid others, whether endorsing a colleague鈥檚 skills on LinkedIn or encouraging someone who鈥檚 having a bad day. 鈥淕iving to get really does work 鈥� your connections are more likely to return the favor when you鈥檝e offered to help them,鈥� as this Balance Careers says.
When it鈥檚 time to reach out to someone on social media 鈥� especially LinkedIn 鈥� follow these tips from this Harvard Business Review :
- Contact peer-level colleagues, who are more likely to reply than a CEO.
- Get to the point. Keep your message to three sentences and under 100 words.
- Be warm: 鈥淭he pros who get the best response rates treat their messages as handwritten notes with a personal touch.鈥�
- Establish common ground. The Review says that 鈥渞eferencing a mutual connection boosts the acceptance rate of these messages by 51%, second only to attending the same school at the same time (53%).鈥�
Looking for more social media advice? Check out our guide on how to leverage social media for better career opportunities. Then start expanding your network today by connecting with us on , , , , , or through our website. Good luck.