Use Social Media Effectively

I don't know about you, but I sometimes feel like it can be so hard to keep up with social media.  Even if I login everyday, I have 300+ Facebook news feeds and 50+ tweets to look at.  And that's not it.  Then, I have to keep track of Linkedin, Google+, YouTube, Google Reader, Foursquare, Yelp, and so much more.  On top of this, I have e-mails, text messages, and phone calls to deal with too.  Then, once I feel like I get a handle on everything, Facebook goes and changes their home screen, and I have to relearn how to use it effectively!  Come on!  Sometimes, I just feel like giving up and throwing in the towel!

Recently, PricewaterhouseCoopers (now PwC) highlighted the need for young professionals to embrace social media in order to effectively build their networks.  I found two parts of their presentation particularly interesting:  making over your online image and developing your personal brand.  Take a look at the thoughts they have to share:

Online Image Make-Over

• Study profiles of people you admire in order to understand what, where, and how they post
• Beef up your Linkedin profile with a headline, specialties, experience, apps, and recommendations
• Make Facebook more professional by adding work experience, incorporate professional pages and events into your account, and remove inappropriate material
• Use Twitter appropriately and connect it with Linkedin or add it to your e-mail signature
• Follow companies and people you admire in the professional world
• Tweet professional events you are attending and books you are reading

Develop Your Personal Brand
The people in your personal and professional networks can have a large impact on the way other people see you (especially potential clients and employers).

• Spend as much effort (if not more) on building relationships than skills
• Don't just look toward your network when you need something; make sure you develop genuine relationships
• Make sure you have an accurate, up-to-date database of people in your network
• Keep track of important information about the people (birthdays, hobbies, connections, etc.)
• Connect with your network on multiple social media sites
• Share short hellos and interesting articles to show interest in your network
• Join groups in addition to connecting with people
• Groups show dedication and interest in your field
• Go the extra mile and be thoughtful
• Send "happy birthday" and holiday messages with a personal touch
• Reach out to connections to ask if there is something you can do for them
• Share what you are doing in your life
• Update at least once a week about books you're reading and events you're attending
• Invite people to support events and organizations your involved with

Well, there you go.  A quick summary of why we can't just through in the towel and give up on social media.  Networking is becoming more important in succeeding as a young professional, and social media is a component of networking that isn't going anywhere.  I'd like to finish with an experiment, and I could use you're help...

This is where you come in (ACTION REQUIRED)
If you have come across this blog post via a social media sites, add a comment below by clicking where it says "comments" and let me know how you got here(Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Linkedin, etc.).

Also, if you liked what PwC and I have to say, share it with your own social media network.

Let's see how many people we can get to comment!!!