Social Media and You: How you can use LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook to build your business and your career

Dani Nordin :: 617.412.0585 :: [email protected]

Social Media and You

Using twitter, Facebook and LinkedIN to enhance your career and boost your business


Common concerns

• Feel like it’s “wasting time”

• Uncomfortable mixing “personal” and “professional”

• Can’t see relation to business

• Concerns about privacy

• Can’t keep track of everyone/can’t manage time

• Not sure where/how to start


Feel like it’s “wasting time”

• Once you get things set up, you can implement a solid social media strategy in about 30-60 minutes a day

• Easy to implement during coffee breaks or when you need to take the focus off work for a minute

• When mixed with in-person networking (for example, following up after an event), it can be a powerful and easy way to keep in touch with folks you’ve met

• Social media works with your schedule; can be more productive (and more targeted!) than multiple in-person events


Uncomfortable mixing “personal” and “professional”

• The landscape of business has changed; social media has brought about an interest in openness and transparency

• Sharing information about yourself as a person deepens relationships and builds trust more quickly; people hire folks they like and feel that they get along with

• You don’t have to (nor should you) share anything online you wouldn’t share with a colleague, client or coworker


Can’t see relation to business

• Business is all about personal relationships and keeping in touch; social media provides tools to expedite that process

• the zen kitchen’s web presence (including our website and social media activity) has resulted in several inquiries and new jobs from people met casually in an online setting

• By engaging with prospects in a more casual, friendly way (i.e. “chatting” on Facebook, twitter), you gain trust and credibility with prospects without the pressure of being “salesy”

• All of your social media activity adds to your findability online (Google searches, etc.)


Concerns about privacy

• Facebook gives you the ability to group friends into “lists” and restrict access to posted content based on said lists

• Twitter gives you the option to lock your posts: you can easily have a “personal” account and a “business” account with the personal account locked

• Again, you never have to (nor should you) share anything online that you wouldn’t share with a colleague or coworker


Can’t keep track of everyone/manage time

• Once you get things set up, you can implement a solid social media strategy in about 30-60 minutes a day

• Third-party apps and aggregators make it easy to:

– extend your profile

– group your social media friends into topic-specific lists (clients, friends, prospects, etc.) for easy skimming

– help services work together to save time


Where to start


Start with your Goals

• Who do you want to meet?

• How do you want them to interact with you?

• What do you want them to know about you?

• Who do you already know that you want to connect to?

• Where are they hanging out online?


Start with one site/tactic and branch out from there

LinkedIn:

• Find and network with people from a specific company

• Keep in touch with professionals you met at an event

• You prefer to keep things “strictly professional”



Twitter:

• If you think in soundbites (think quick, short) or tend to pass on links to interesting articles or videos you find on the Internet

• Are willing to share a balance of personal and professional information



Facebook:

• Find and network with old friends, colleagues, etc.

• Are comfortable taking a more personal, get-to-know-me approach to networking

• Group friends into lists and specify which information they get to see – but still, be careful how much you share.


Get Set up


Profile tips

• Picture: have a professional headshot

• Pay attention to proper grammar and spelling

• Summary: focus on your ideal client + how you can help them

• Work experience: focus on accomplishments, not duties

• Get recommendations from colleagues on LinkedIn

• Use Apps, status messages and other add-ons to keep profile fresh/keep colleagues informed of what’s happening


A good summary is:

• Short (about 1-2 paragraphs for Facebook and LinkedIn, 1-2 sentences on twitter)

• Focused on the person you want to reach, not on you

– What are your ideal client’s needs?

– How can you help them?

– How does your experience relate to their situation?

• Includes info on awards, education, experience relevant to the work you want to be getting


When making connections

• Pay attention to grammar and spelling

• Remind people how you know them and why you want to connect with them

• Include your name, business name and URL in the closer

Example

“Hi [name], this is [name] from [company]. We met at [event] recently and talked about [subject]. I noticed your profile on LinkedIn and wanted to extend a connection request. Thanks in advance, and hope you’re having a great week.

Cheers,

Dani Nordin :: founder/principal :: the zen kitchen :: http://tzk-design.com


Recommendations

• Good recommendations build trust and credibility

• Give them to people you’ve worked with and you’ll usually get one in return

• Only get recommendations from people you know well and/or have worked with directly; *never* get them from people you don’t know well

• Ask for recommendations that show how your skills relate to the work you want to be doing


Referrals

• LinkedIn is best used for research purposes; i.e. finding out about a person/company before you make contact

• Ask for referrals only from people you know well and trust - and preferably from people you’ve actually worked with

• Never ask for a referral from someone you’ve just connected to


Maximize your Impact


Extend your profile

Facebook Apps:

• Twitter App: updates your status based on twitter posts

• Notes App: import your blog into Facebook’s Notes section

• Games and quizzes can be a great icebreaker


Extend your profile

LinkedIn:

• Slideshare/Google Presentation: share presentation slides on your LinkedIn profile

• Blog Link/Wordpress: link your blog to your LinkedIn profile.

• Answers, Jobs, Groups: start and continue conversations with people relevant to your areas of interest


Manage your time and connections


Use third-party apps and aggregators to manage it all

• Seesmic (twitter, Facebook):

– Support for multiple user accounts

– Easily create user lists based on criteria you set

– Can post to twitter and/or Facebook

– Manage Facebook pages you have access to

– Save twitter searches


Use third-party apps and aggregators to manage it allHootSuite (twitter):

• Organize key info in columns and tabs for easy skimming

• Schedule tweets for later delivery (great for keeping timeline spaced well and sharing articles)

• Support for multiple profiles


Thanks!

Any questions?

Technology

Social Media and You: How you can use LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook to build your business and your career