Using your personal social media for business may at first seem insane.
Why, when you have spent years meticulously updating your Facebook privacy settings, would you suddenly invite the world into your personal life?
And the answer is, it’s good for your career.
Social media is an incredible tool that you can use to promote yourself. Whether or not you own your own business or are on the lowest rung in a huge corporate, it’s important to talk about your interests and your achievements in a public forum.
I work in PR, managing and raising the profiles of clients all over the world. and to be honest, most of these clients are men. It may be stereotypical, but in general men are more comfortable shouting about their achievements, and as a result are often (wrongly) perceived as more successful. You don’t have to brag about things that you haven’t done, or take credit for your team’s work, but I would strongly advise using the power of social media to sometimes ‘show off’.
Pick your channels
I like Twitter and Instagram the best, because it’s easy to engage with people. That’s the goal here, to build relationships online that can turn into something meaningful later on.
Do some research
Put aside some time where you research all the key players in your industry. Who are they? Who do they follow? Where are they speaking? Twitter lists are great for keeping tags on these important people.
Then – who are the journalists writing about your industry? What are the important publications? You very likely already know and read them. So stick them on another list and check up on that too.
Interact with people
Once you’ve done that you can start interacting with people. You don’t have to awkwardly @ message them if you don’t feel comfortable, but like their tweets or if they do something they’re proud of, congratulate them. Mostly, be kind and encouraging, and people will start to be the same to you. If they’re journalists and they’ve written something you like, tweet it and make sure you tag them so they see it.
Once you have relationships with people in the media, they can come to you if they ever need a comment or a story from someone with your expertise. Then, you can share this over your social media and again promote your work and your skills.
Talk about things you’re proud of
The second point to all this is to actually talk about your achievements. I think women in general feel less comfortable owning things that they’re good at – I know I do. But it’s important to genuinely take credit for the things that you worked bloody hard to achieve. If you saw another woman tweet about a conference she was speaking at, or how pleased she was with a project, you would never (I hope) think she’s showing off. You’d be pleased and happy for her. And that’s how everyone will feel about you!
It doesn’t have to be confidential information – like tweeting if you get a raise – but saying you feel proud of something is totally acceptable, and massively encouraged. The people that you’ve worked so hard to build relationships with will see you’re doing a great job and they’ll keep you in mind for the next article they’re writing, or the next conference they’re organising.
It may seem like a lot of work, but by just spending 10-20 minutes every day doing this goes a long way to building your own ‘brand’. Social media can be a fantastic tool to raise your profile, and if done properly it can lead to all kinds of opportunities!
About the author
Charlotte Wood is a Consultant at Right Angles, a boutique PR agency that works with clients across the world, raising and managing their profiles. She is based in Covent Garden.
