Section 3.04 Profile

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Building a great profile means others can see your story, proud to share it – Melvin Mayard

We have been speaking about this since day one!

Having a personal SM profile online forms part of a modern CV. In the very near future, it will be part of the selection process in filtering & researching the candidate’s true self. Those who are NOT online would be doing themselves an injustice and cutting themselves off all opportunities. Avoiding SM or keeping oneself 100% secret is a characteristic of the lack of confidence and deficiency in self-control skills.

The world has changed, and if you are not online, you may be alive, but you don’t exist.

Before you begin

The internet is a vast place. To make it work for you, you need to cut through the noise and be noticed for the right reasons. How? By being specific with your career and personal goals. It might be tempting to dive straight in, but first, take a moment to think about your professional brand. Be clear about who you are, what you have to offer and where you want to build your online reputation.

Find your USP

Your USP (unique selling point) is the thing that makes you different from the next person applying for the same role as you. It’s what makes you stand out from the crowd and what gives your business profile the edge when it comes to future potential customers

To work out what yours is, think about what you want to be known for, what you’ve already achieved, and what your goals are for your career. Then, make sure your online image fits.

For example, there are many painting artists comparing Picasso, Monet and David Hockney. Each with their own personal painting style is the UPS.

Credit to Picasso and Google.

Credit to Monett and Google.

Credit to David Hockney and Google.

This forms part of their profile, only thing is, they were not online, today we post their work online to build our own profile. peaking, commenting, sharing and criticising, whatever the case, to make conversation, is it your selling point?

Do your research

Take a look at how others in your industry present themselves online. Start by Googling someone you admire and pay particular attention to where they promote themselves. Do they post on a personal blog? Do they publish articles in online journals? Are they active on Twitter? This will give you a good idea of where you should start and which platforms you can best use to your advantage.

Where and how they’re promoting themselves online. Which achievements do they include in their bio? What do their posts tend to focus on? Which articles do they share? What sort of language do they use?

Find out what your competitors are doing, from a new launch, a small company and a vast organisation.

There are hundreds of advertising and marketing tactics, for example, such as,

Bottle caps with symbols and letters to collect.
Secret letter or words behind.
Competition on cereal boxes.
Online prize draw, win a mug, bowl, pen etc.
paying for a business logo to be painted on shops.
Give free stickers to children.
Collecting loyalty points

The golden rule; is do NOT re-invent the wheel, study what is already successful and do likewise.

Your name

Most recruiters will Google you to figure out whether or not you’re a suitable candidate, so it pays to know what they’re likely to see. Type your own name into the search bar and go through the results, thinking about how this would look to an employer or industry professional. If you don’t like what you find, now’s the time to change it.

First of all, you can update the settings on your personal social media profiles to make sure only your friends can see your posts. Then, if you see something you think could damage your personal brand reputation, contact the relevant website and ask for it to be taken down. If you don’t get a response, try mentioning the Data Protection Act to hurry the process along.

Google your name. What is the result?

Most of the time people are surprised and shocked to find their names and photos on search engines. your profile is part of the public domain. Approach it with a positive attitude, you need to be online and be genuine. Be passionate about your subject and engaged periodically as to your schedule. The future is online, avoid the internet is signing your own death certificate, it’s only a matter of time before you are dead as a fish in the water.

Creating your profile

When you’ve cleared up your social media history and decided how you want to present yourself, you can start building your professional profile. These days online networking is just as important as networking face-to-face, so presentation is vital.

Create and complete a full profile otherwise, the algorithm will be working against you. An unfinished profile is equal to an account not yet ready!!

Rule number one, ensure your profile is accurate about you. Lying to oneself is the more significant damage.

Write your bio

Think of your bio as your online elevator pitch. You have your future employer’s attention for 30 seconds – how do you make the most of it? Aim to give a general overview of what you’re about while keeping it short and snappy. As a guideline, your name, current job title and recent career achievement make a good summary. If you’re in the market for a new role, put a bit about your future goals too so recruiters know what you’re interested in hearing about.

Build your public image

If you’re using multiple platforms, keep your brand consistent across them. Use a similar bio and the exact language throughout. This will give the impression that you’re organised and concise and that you know your business. Once you start posting, you can link up accounts and share your posts across them all – this is a quick way to get your content out there and build your business reputation.

Follow, follow and follow

Now you’ve set up your business profile, it’s time to figure out how to start networking online. Start by going through your existing contacts and following them. Then, look at who they’re following to see if any of them seem like the right kind of people to network with. Spotted someone who ticks the boxes? Give them a follow. Seek out industry leaders, up-and-comers and relevant publications and follow them too. Professional networking via social media is a great way to reach people you might not be likely to meet in person, and by getting yourself out there, you’ll soon find your own followers racking up.

What to post

The type of content you post will depend on your industry, the current news in the sector, and what’s important to you and your contacts. It doesn’t have to be strictly business related. While it should be professional, it’s OK to show some personality – in fact, it’ll probably set you apart from the crowd. Don’t be afraid to show humor or personal insight into a current event. It’s a great way to break the ice with new followers and start a discussion.

Keep the discipline to post and share others’ posts at regular intervals, and keep it positive as much as possible.

Note: All your conversations on social media and legal bodies will become public information. It is as if you are speaking to the entire world. Nothing will remain a secret.

What not to post

Although social media can be a massive benefit to your career, it doesn’t come without its share of risk. Beyond the obvious, you need to avoid posting confidential information about yourself and your every move. This could be dangerous for those seeking an easy target.

Likewise, in your current employment, some guidelines help you avoid tarnishing your business reputation,

1. Don’t complain about your job. Moaning about named employers isn’t going to win you any brownie points – with the contacts you made there or anyone else.

2. Make sure everything you post is above the board. Lying is never a good look, and telling porkies on your profile – where people can easily fact-check what you say – is even worse. Stick to the truth so no worrying inconsistencies come up when you’re under the microscope.

3. Avoid anything that could be viewed as discriminatory. The Equality Act is there to protect people in the workplace based on the following characteristics:

Age
Disability
Gender reassignment
Race
Religion or belief
Sex
Sexual orientation
Marriage and civil partnership
Pregnancy and maternity

Create a blog

A personal blog is a great place to post your own views on what’s happening in your industry and can be a handy tool when it comes to social network marketing. It takes a bit more upkeep than simply posting a tweet, but over time and with the proper outreach, it can help you become a voice of authority in your sector.

First, decide on the topic of your blog. Lining this up with your key USP and sector will keep your online presence consistent. Then brainstorm some ideas and craft and post regular articles. Back up your views with links to sites that already have authority – this will give your voice more meaning.

Talk about your passion, it proves your profile is genuine. A profile without the subject conversation is not true. For example, if your interest is clothing manufacturing and you post only about cooking, travel and supercars, what would people think about you?

Take it offline

Don’t forget about your offline networking too. Getting out to industry events is as important as gaining a new follower. Have some business cards printed with your email and social handles, and the next time you’re at an industry event, hand them out. Afterwards, give the new contacts you’ve met a follow too. It’s polite, and it’ll open up your reach even further.

Online reputation management

Now you’re set up and posting regularly, it’s about maintaining an active presence online and continuing to build your reputation. Naturally, you should be updating your profiles whenever you reach a new milestone in your career, but you should ideally update at least once a month. By keeping your profiles active, you’re showing possible recruiters that you’re invested in your career.

The personal and professional

You may want to keep a personal social media account and a business professional account, and there’s no reason why you can’t. However, it’s essential to keep a strong dividing line between your personal and professional profiles – for more than one reason. First of all, the content you post will be different. Secondly, and importantly, it makes it harder for your professional contacts to find your personal accounts.

A lot of people tend to choose one username and stick to it and use the same email address for everything. This means that, with a quick Google, recruiters can find everything from your latest eBay purchase to your most recent personal tweets. Using different email addresses and usernames for work and play means recruiters will only find other professional profiles when they search those details.

There should be no room for doubt with a personal profile – Melvin Mayard.

Summary

Rule number one, make sure your profile is true and accurate.
Having a profile on social media is now part of your CV.
Google your own name and see what is being said about you on the internet.
Complete your profile or the algorithm will not be in your favour, it means your profile is not yet ready for your information to be shared.
Avoiding going online is not the answer, approach the internet with a positive attitude.
Avoid posting confidential information and your every move.
Keep your personal and professional accounts separate.

3.04 PROJECT GROUP WORK 3.04 Social Media Profile Tips.doc