MKTG 347/Week 7: Social Media Personal Branding

When attempting to find a job, personal branding plays a major factor. Throughout the job hunt you are trying to showcase your best qualities so that potential employers will take an interest in you. Many of us already practice selling ourselves by making our resumes as professional and impressive as possible, and try our best to make a lasting impression if an interview is granted, but there are other ways to promote yourself and this starts with personal branding through social media.

Have a Clean Social Media Presence:Employers can easily search the web and be able to check out applicants social media accounts. According to a social media recruitment study done by CareerBuilder, in 2015, 52 percent of employers used the social media platforms to research their applicants. Many employers come across bad mouthing other employees, inappropriate language and pictures, bad grammar, and discriminatory remarks, which causes the employee to no longer be consider. So, it is important to make sure you have a clean social media presence on sites such as Facebook and Twitter. 

Once you have a clean social media presences, there are ways to utilize social media platforms to create your personal brand. The way to do this is through LinkedIn. Currently, LinkedIn has 350 million users from over 200 countries, so it is a great way to make connections and get your name out to the field you are interested in.

In order to properly build your personal brand, there are a few steps you should follow.

Fill out the entire profile: This includes things as simple as uploading a picture and providing background information about yourself. LinkedIn allows you to post a summary, showcase your skills, and even receive endorsements from others. The more information you have filled out, the better. 

Build connections: Unlike Facebook and Twitter, LinkedIn is more of a professional networking platform. There are millions of users from countries around the world that you have the ability to connect with by a simple click of a button. In order to find connections, all you need to do is go to "people you may know" tab, or you can run an advanced search and connect with alumni, co-workers, and friends. You can also join groups that you are interested in and make connections through there. 

Be Active: Even if you have a profile that is completely filled in and over 300 connections, that does nothing if you are not active. Like any other social media platform, posting content is expected. So, use your profile to showcase your work, share a blog post, or just start a discussion over a topic that you have an interest in. Read through what others have to say, and comment on their posts to help build your online presence. 

Social media platforms are a great way to build your personal brand, if you use them correctly. So, remember to keep your social media presence clean, and use LinkedIn to showcase your work and stay connected with others.