Social media networks can be used either for personal/social or business/professional networking. Find a channel and develop a strategy for getting yourself out there, because whether you love it or hate it, social media is here to stay.
Think of yourself as a celebrity! Promote yourself in the best ways possible and get your name out there. Actors create a persona by what they do and the publicity that follows. If you don’t publicize the great things you’re doing how will people know what you’re all about? Your online presence is your portfolio. Here are some tips for starting to build your online portfolio.
- If you don’t have paid opportunities to work in the field you’re interested in then volunteer. Think of it as free portfolio building.
- Post the work you’re proud of. If you accomplished something big, or did a project that really resonated with you, make sure it’s displayed for all to see.
- Get crafty. Make yourself a more interesting you by showing off your favourite features. Don’t actively hide information of course, but you do get to choose what goes into building your online presence.
- Use your passions. This will help drive you and give you energy. It will also be visible to your audience and your energy will become contagious. Think of it this way – celebrities are popular because they’re always so charged with energy and fun to watch, not because they’re better than anyone else.
- Dont be off the shelf. Be different, be unique. Show people what you have to offer and that you can help them create something different. Stand out from the crowd, stop trying to blend in.
Regardless of whether you decide to use social media to create a professional profile or not, be wary of what information you put online and how accessible it is to others. Would you want a potential employer or client seeing your ‘night out at the bar’ photo album? The best way to keep this type of situation from occuring is to keep your social account private (only allow people you’ve approved to see your page) and keep this number limited to true friends. If you accept every friend request on Facebook, each wall post you make will show up on all their homepages – and you have no control over whom they’ve allowed to see their personal page.
The best advice I can give you is to say … don’t be anti-social. Get out there and show them what you’ve got.
