Major Keys: How to Leverage Social Media for Professional Development

Major Keys: How to Leverage Social Media for Professional Development


Over the past week, the National Urban League held their annual conference, this year uniquely titled, “Save Our Cities, Powering the Digital Revolution.” There were lots of conversations taking place including, “Driving an Inclusive Economic Strategy” to “Black Women United: Learning Where the Real Power Lies.” The panel that I sat on was “Social Hustle: How to Leverage Technology for Professional Development.”

In case you missed it, here are some questions you should ask yourself in order to make the most of your social media presence:

When thinking about your online profile professionally, think about it holistically. What does your entire social media presence represent? If I view your profile across the board on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram am I going to get the same feel for who you are or will you exude something totally different on each platform?

Are you being consistent across all platforms? If you post a theme on Monday, have you committed to posting that theme every Monday or do you get sidetracked and post it on Monday this week and Wednesday the next week because it totally slipped your mind? When building an audience your viewers want to see consistency.

Social media gives us an opportunity to showcase the different facets of who we are; developing a narrative that is consistent with how you want to articulate who you are is really important,” said Lisa Mesa, Enterprise Relationship Manager at LinkedIn. “It’s important to be intentional.”

COLUMBUS, OH AUGUST 03, 2018- Friday Forum: Social Hustle: Leveraging Technology for Professional Development during the National Urban League Conference, August 03, 2018 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Mikki K. Harris)

 

“My typical formula is: an inspirational post in the morning, 2ish life captures during the day, and a quirky dating after-35 sucks post at night lol,” said Suezette Yasmin Robotham, M.S. who leads D&I for Google Search. 

Lastly, when you are posting to various platforms make sure that you are clear how each platform serves you. If you are a writer, Twitter may be a better fit, if your professional career is extremely visual, Instagram may work wonders, if you are a marketer or career coach, it may be best to hang out more on LinkedIn. Figure out what platform suits you best and put the majority of your focus there. Not all social media platforms are created equal.

The panel was moderated by Public Relations Professional, Amanda Littlejohn, and included Senior Director of Human Resources and Professional Development, for the NYC Department of Youth and Community Development, Jamar Ward; Diversity and Inclusion Program Manager for Google Search, Suezette Yasmin Robotham, M.S.; and Enterprise Relationship Manager for LinkedIn, Lisa Mesa.

 


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