7 Keys To A Strong Social Media Presence
Would you like to expand your professional network? Do you work in a knowledge-oriented business that sells services? Will you ever be searching for a new career, board, or volunteer position? Would you like more clients?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, creating a strong, career-focused social media presence will assist you in achieving these goals. Your current and future clients are on social media. When a prospective client or contact researches you before an appointment or seeks to connect on social media after meeting you at an event, what will they find on your social media profile?
The following seven action steps will strengthen your personal and professional brand through social media.
1. Pick a Couple Platforms Your Clients Frequent
It is better to be active on one or two social media platforms where your clients hang out than to be sporadic on four. I’ve selected three social media platforms where my clients frequent: LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter and maintain those regularly.
2. Develop an Engaging Professional Profile
Fill in all the platform’s profile blanks. I particularly like LinkedIn for professional profiles because, beyond the basics, they have a Volunteering, Skills & Endorsements, Recommendations and Accomplishments sections. Think through each section strategically and proof your writing for grammatical errors. Top it off with an eye-catching, professional photo in your power outfit complete with a friendly smile and open body language.
3. Set Social Media Goals
Determine what you want to accomplish on your professional social media page. I work with many professionals who are hired by clients looking for sharp, competent consultants that deliver benefits to solve their clients’ pressing design, financial, and legal issues. People hire people, not firms, so your professional social media presence not only builds your credibility but enhances your organizations’ credibility. Spend time strategizing about what goals you want to receive from the platform you have selected.
A few possibilities may be:
A bigger network
More clients
Increased exposure
Name recognition
Knowledge credibility
Speaking engagements
Future job prospects
4. Identify Your Content Strategy
Once you’ve selected the right platforms and established your goals, you will be able to develop your content strategy. Content strategy is the information (words, photos, material, videos) that you develop for your social media presence delivered in a way that underscores the knowledge you are selling and the information your clients are seeking.
5. Speak with a Consistent Voice
A consistent voice means communicating online similarly to how you communicate in-person. Your “voice” is part of your brand and includes the attitude, personality, and approach that you want to convey. When you remain on brand and message, your audience becomes comfortable with you, familiar with your message, and it breeds confidence and recognition.
6. Post Regularly and On A Schedule
Condition your professional network to expect how and when they will hear from you. I post similar, but not identical, content on all three platforms about three to five times a week. I particularly like LinkedIn’s Articles section because this increases access and readership to an audience wider than my own and is more likely to show up in internet search queries. Choose “Write an Article” rather than just posting your articles to receive the same benefit.
7. Sell Softly But Be Free Flowing With Tips
People buy from individuals they know and like. Just like you wouldn’t sell your services at the first in-person meeting or first phone call, don’t try to sell your services on social media immediately. Selling softly means sharing tips and information that interest your audience and help solve some of their pressing problems. When they read an information-focused blog about a subject they are currently wrestling with, they get the idea they can hire you for that service. Selling softly, giving before taking, and remaining humble goes a long way toward building a strong network and client base.
Developing a strong social media presence may at first feel overwhelming, but remember all the benefits. View the effort of establishing a strong social media presence as you would any project, break it down into smaller steps, schedule them into your calendar and set a goal of having your profiles up and running by the first of the year. Don’t let your next client wonder why they can’t find you on social media or, worse yet, find a scarce and lackluster profile.
