Since the Facebook boom, I’ve noticed that people are reluctant to use other platforms out there. They tend to stick to what they know and see little or no point in using new types of social media. My interest in the internet and technology have given me an opportunity to understand and make the most out of the different platforms, for professional and personal reasons. So, I wanted to share my thoughts on how to use social media in 2013, looking at some of my favourite platforms and how I use them.
In my professional life, social media keeps me up to date with industry trends and important news. For personal use it keeps me in touch with people I care about, acts as a news source and gives me a way to connect with people across the world in a way we could only dream of a few years ago.
I’m not saying that traditional networking, meeting with friends in person and making an actual phone call are out of the window – but instead I believe in blending the two together. Either way, by the end of this article, through outlining my experiences you’ll hopefully gain some insight about how you can use social media in your every day life. So, let’s start it off with Facebook.
Facebook needs no introduction. It reshaped the way we connect with our friends, family and brands – both on and offline. In a nutshell, Facebook for me is the go-to platform when I want to share a photo, message or event with people who are close to me.
I may follow a few brands and join groups but ultimately it’s just my corner of the web where I can be myself, get back in touch with old high school friends and share that silly photo from the family dinner the night before.
I find that the most effective way to use Twitter, is to consider it as a news feed, constantly providing up to the minute news about what’s important to you. You see unlike Facebook, Twitter allows you to follow people and brands relevant to your interests without needing them to ‘approve’ or follow you back. Assuming that you’re in to marketing for example (like me), you’d follow the relevant thought leaders, brands and other professionals in the industry.
Twitter is an amazing networking tool too. You can easily ‘tweet’ somebody a message and engage in existing conversations. In fact, many people build up rapport with others on Twitter and continue to build on these relationships offline. An example? I got my current job via a search on Twitter. I searched for “marketing” and “London”, came across the Chairman’s tweet about the vacancy and I replied! We exchanged a few emails afterwards and after we met for the interview he made me an offer.
Does this sound familiar: “it’s not what you know but who you know”? Well LinkedIn comes in pretty handy when trying to network with other professionals in your industry.
As opposed to Facebook and Twitter’s features that are optimised for personal uses, LinkedIn is basically your online CV and representation of you in the professional world. You can make it accessible to other professionals in your line of work, recruiters and authority figures in your industry.
As with all social media, it’s important to bear in mind the ‘social’ element to it all – it’s not just about you! Join groups, connect with other professionals, engage in conversations. All of these things will expand your network and build your personal brand online.
Pinterest’s user interface is clean, simple and completely visually-based. It allows you to ‘pin’ an image from a website to a board of your choice. Let’s say you’ve been looking for new iPhone cases – you can pin the image of the case you’re looking at from that web page to your ‘phone cases’ board.
Consider it somewhere to gather inspiration for that new bedroom redesign, look at cool new gadgets or simply to have a look at desk setups. What I like about Pinterest is that it is what you make it; a mood board, inspirational source or personal portfolio.
Here’s Pinterest’s about page that outlines the fundamental ways to use the platform.
Google+
Think about all of the Google based apps you use whether you’re an Android phone & tablet user or not. You probably already use either Gmail, Google Maps, Google Drive and/or YouTube. What Google has tried to do with all of these applications is create an online ecosystem that ties in all of your experiences across the web.
So why do I use it? As the editor of this blog, I use Google Authorship to attribute my work to my personal profile. That way, when you search for an article online – my face will appear next to the search results.
Why should you? Google’s strong community-based features allow you to easily join in conversations about subjects that matter to you. Unlike Twitter where you have only 140 characters to express yourself, G+ gives you an uncapped way of engaging with others individually and via communities. Think of it as a really big forum with a much nicer interface. On top of that, the Hangouts feature allows you to have a multi-person video calls for free to help you keep connected no matter where you are.
One of it’s best features for me though is to easily share content with the people (circles) that I want to. Nothing has to be publicly shared and displayed for the world to see, giving me a little more privacy and control over who sees what.
Conclusion
I suppose that you could compare the different social media platforms to a tool box where each tool has its job to do. In the same way, I have a particular need to fulfil from each platform. Sure, some of them overlap in their features and how they’re used but when logged in to each one I have an objective in mind. I know what I want to do with it.
Facebook and Pinterest are my personal/family orientated platforms. I use Twitter and Google+ as my industry related news feed and social networking tools, and LinkedIn allows me to promote my personal brand as well as being my CV.
Hopefully, this article has given you an idea of how I use social media and why. Maybe you’ll think it’s a waste of time or maybe you’ll see value in investing a little more time in managing your online presence. Either way, leave your opinion in the comments section below and share your thoughts.
