One of the issues that many young people fight as they get into the corporate working world is having to fight off boredum. I know, you’re thinking – “wait, I work 60+ hour crazy weeks and bust my ass” – to you, I say I’m sorry. Many of use work the normal 40 hour weeks and can face slow times when we get bored. So fight your boredum and utilize the time to hit up the social networks and build your personal brand.
Start posting updates on Twitter. Once you get started, use the Search area to find people talking about similar topics to you and start connecting with people. If you’re writing a blog too, use Twitter as a way to help get more readers to your site and increase interaction. The most important thing is that you are using it and being active. Connect with like minded people and users interested in the same topics to build your personal brand. If you’re really passionate about a certain subject, go and crush it and make yourself an authority in that area. The best part is that Twitter is a constantly updated stream, so you can always stay fresh on what’s happening.
Besides being able to just keep updated and connected with your friends, Facebook is a great way to find new people, groups, and info about things your interested. One of the neat features of Facebook is their chat/instant message system. Now you can see which of your friends are on Facebook, chat with them, and quickly pass the down time at work. If you can’t find anyone on to chat with, then start flipping through pictures to check out what people have been up to, where they’re travelling too, and what they are doing. If nothing else, you could start playing one of those ninja games or whatever and try to recruit people.
One of the most under-utilized social networks out there is probably LinkedIn because the power of finding connections on the site is huge. So, first, if you’re not on LinkedIn, then you need to be. Sign up for an account, join a couple groups relating to the college that you’re at or graduated from, and then find people you may know. As you build your connections, completely fill in your profile information, and then start looking for people outside of your immediate reach that you want to connect with. Have your connections make recommendations for you or give you “LinkedIn cred” by giving a testimonial about you. As you start interacting on a professional level, you can start to see the benefits. Looking for a new job? Hit up LinkedIn first. See if there is someone within your degrees of seperation at the company you want to work for. Build up a relationship and work the connection. LinkedIn is gaining a lot of steam lately with different bloggers publishing tips on how to better use the site, so search around and you’ll find plenty of help!
What Say You?
These are obviously just a couple of the sites out there. There are plenty of others that are niche specific or more general. Check them out and get your face all over the place!
Thu, Aug 6, 2009
Social Media