Whether you love social media or hate it, you can’t escape its importance. 60% of employers use social networking site to research candidates who apply for their jobs, according to CareerBuilder. Your online presence tells the world what you’re all about, and it’s important to carefully craft the image you’re making available to potential professional connections.
Samantha Kuncio, one of Market Street Talent’s Technical Recruiters, attended a recent Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce Business Development Series event featuring a panel of local “Social Media Gurus” – Raya Al-Hashmi (Raya on Assignment), Dan Freund (My Friend Dan), Kathleen Cavalaro (the (un)official city of portsmouth), and Robin Pinzone (REP Branding) – who shared their insight on successfully managing your image. Sam was kind enough to share a recap of the event and what she learned:
“On Wednesday March 11, Tori [Leavitt, Operations + Account Support] and I attended a networking event about social media marketing – something that is becoming a key piece of advertising for almost any type of business. The room was filled with small business owners, restaurant managers, tech recruiters, real estate agents etc. It was interesting to observe the different industries in the room and made me realize how prevalent social media marketing is.
In the 2 hours we covered a great variety of topics. Surprisingly enough, the best thing I took away from the presentation is that there is no right or wrong way to market via social media. A lot of what the “gurus” did was trial and error. They all mentioned a few specific things such as the time of day you post, and the important message of ‘don’t share too much.’ It was interesting to hear their stories and see the faces behind their Instagram or Facebook posts.
They also mentioned leveraging relationships with their social media. Each of them had a way to connect with the community which helped build their initial platform. The phrase ‘don’t post and ghost’ was a good takeaway – after you make a post to social media, make sure you interact with your followers. Another important topic we went over was to keep up with your analytics. You need to have a measurable way to see how effective your advertising is. Both Facebook and Instagram have analytics available for you to review.”
Thank you, Sam! All four panelists also stressed the value of being authentic and real, which helps you connect with your audience and show them the person behind the brand, job, or skills. Your social media presence tells a story about who you are and what you’re all about. Think about what matters to you and what the the purpose of building your social media portfolio is. What’s your goal? Keep your posts in line with the message you’d like people to hear from you, and have fun!
Are you working on your social media brand? Share your suggestions on Facebook or Twitter.
