Everyone is talking about social media these days and it can get overwhelming very fast. This article focuses on the most basic steps to create your online social media presence and lays a solid foundation to build upon.
First things to consider:
- Know your audience and what information you are trying to share with them.
- Decide who you want to invite to connect with you.
- Establish a starting point for how frequently you are going to talk and when you are going to check in.
Three major sites to build your online presence:
- Facebook (http://www.facebook.com) — Great site to reconnect with old friends, schoolmates and family. Often thought of as more personal where you share pictures, updates on your life and let others follow what you are doing.
- LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.com) — Focused on professional contacts and networking. In many ways it can be your online resume as well as a great source for leads and to see when others are switching jobs.
- Twitter (http://www.twitter.com) — Quick distribution of short updates (140 characters or less). Often Twitter is used to get breaking news out or to share with your network something that one of your connections shared with you.
Tips — Maximize the information and minimize the amount of time it takes to keep connected:
- Facebook — I review the newsfeed at the end of each day to see what others are talking about. This takes about 10 minutes each night but I feel like it gives me a good pulse on what others are doing and can quickly get a recap of the day. I also look at the events section each day to see who’s birthday it is and to see which events are coming up that I might want to attend.
- LinkedIn — Each day I go in and look at profile updates. This is a great way to see who has recently updated their listed job so that I can drop them a note to congratulate them and keep the relationship strong. If you are an iPhone user, I highly recommend the app CardMunch which lets you scan a business card directly from your phone and the data is formatted so that it can go right into your contacts as well as letting you connect on LinkedIn.
- Twitter — I mainly use Twitter to send out time sensitive information or details on an upcoming event to spark interest. I tend to look at Twitter when I am watching for news on a specific topic or to see what is trending hot at the moment in cyberspace.
Building your online presence:
- Consistency in naming is very important. This will be very important as others search for you. I personally have chosen to use timhuebsch as the common link between sites. It can be your name, a nick name or something you want to establish as your personal brand. The most important thing is to choose one and then consistently use it across all sites.
- Avatar image — Almost as important as naming is a consistent image of yourself. This can be a photo you take of yourself or a design you have created. You want to have something that is a little catchy and which differentiates you so that it is memorable yet still professional.
- Personal Website — One thing I recommend for everyone is to buy your domain name if it is available. This is a great place to serve as your home base and at the same time can allow you to create a stable email address you can always keep. If you choose to have Google Apps host it, the cost is only $10 a year which includes the domain name, hosting and full email access — Fantastic deal
My recommendation is to start out with these suggestions and then follow your interest to see how involved you want to get. Keep an eye on how much time you are spending on the sites and force yourself to take a break from them for a few days if you feel like it is taking over your life.
Tim,
Thanks so much for the tip on the Cardmunch app! It is FABULOUS!
Christy
Really great advice, Tim! Having a social media presence is critical these days, but the maintenance can feel overwhelming. I am going to try to follow your advice, so I stay consistent without feeling overwhelmed.