Eating lunch outside in Old Town recently, a man I didn't know approached my table. "You're the social media queen!" he said. I looked behind me, convinced he was talking to someone else. Social Media Queen isn't a label I'd attach to myself.
My confused look prompted him to explain. Turns out he's the business partner of a woman I know, and he and I had connected through her on LinkedIn (an online business networking site). Then I remembered that recently, I have been more consistent in posting updates on my LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook accounts.
Suddenly, a wave of joy swept over me. If this little bit of extra effort was building my reputation as an active social media maven, hooray!
People in my life would tell you that when it comes to jumping on technology advancement bandwagons, I'm usually hiding under them. But as much as I resisted the idea of social media, eventually I admitted that it offers some pretty cool pluses: direct connections to supporters and an effective, efficient way to differentiate myself.
So rather than fight it further, I've made social media part of my routine. Each Monday, I pick a theme, usually some universal topic such as passion, fear or courage. Then I study my calendar for the week, looking for ways to tie that theme into 140-character statements (the maximum length on Twitter) related to my activities.
For instance, this past week's theme was fishing (in honor of summer), and one day's post was, "True story: One job hunter sent a resume and intro letter to 20 co's that she liked, but who weren't advertising jobs. She landed a job offer!"
Once I've composed my five statements for the week (I reuse the same posts on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter), I schedule their delivery using a tool like Hootsuite.com. The entire process takes less than 30 minutes, yet voila! My messages are posted Monday through Friday, and people confuse me with being a social media guru.
Turns out it isn't painful and doesn't take much effort. So I still have plenty of time to enjoy lunch outside in Old Town.
My confused look prompted him to explain. Turns out he's the business partner of a woman I know, and he and I had connected through her on LinkedIn (an online business networking site). Then I remembered that recently, I have been more consistent in posting updates on my LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook accounts.
Suddenly, a wave of joy swept over me. If this little bit of extra effort was building my reputation as an active social media maven, hooray!
People in my life would tell you that when it comes to jumping on technology advancement bandwagons, I'm usually hiding under them. But as much as I resisted the idea of social media, eventually I admitted that it offers some pretty cool pluses: direct connections to supporters and an effective, efficient way to differentiate myself.
So rather than fight it further, I've made social media part of my routine. Each Monday, I pick a theme, usually some universal topic such as passion, fear or courage. Then I study my calendar for the week, looking for ways to tie that theme into 140-character statements (the maximum length on Twitter) related to my activities.
For instance, this past week's theme was fishing (in honor of summer), and one day's post was, "True story: One job hunter sent a resume and intro letter to 20 co's that she liked, but who weren't advertising jobs. She landed a job offer!"
Once I've composed my five statements for the week (I reuse the same posts on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter), I schedule their delivery using a tool like Hootsuite.com. The entire process takes less than 30 minutes, yet voila! My messages are posted Monday through Friday, and people confuse me with being a social media guru.
Turns out it isn't painful and doesn't take much effort. So I still have plenty of time to enjoy lunch outside in Old Town.
Katy Piotrowski, M.Ed., is the author of "The Career Coward's Guides", and provides career and job search support with Career Solutions Group in Fort Collins. She can be reached at 224-4042, or send email to katy@careersolutionsgroup.net.
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