You may wonder what Social Media has to do with being a great project manager…. Well I am just listening to one of my favorite speakers Spencer Horn in one of his podcasts on LinkedIn.
Hacking LinkedIn To Improve Teamwork
Wow there are more new ways of using LinkedIn even for improving team work. This is interesting!
But my main point actually is, if you talk about topics within your specialty, you will become known as a specialist or an authority. Giving thoughtful comments on LinkedIn or Twitter increases your visibility and gives you credibility.
Be careful what you post
Your LinkedIn is not for social things. Concentrate on professional things there. Also make a conscious decision on Twitter what you want to use it for, social or professional. I use mine for purely professional things. Hence I do not even connect with people who use it for political statements or for social things. This is just a decision I made. I keep Facebook for social things.
These days employer do check your social media platforms. Even if you use a different name on your Facebook for example, you can easily be found if you put your phone number on it, even if is was hidden. But the easiest way to deal with social media is to always remember:
- What you post is public
- It can be found
- What you post does NOT go away
Be active
To build a name you need to be active. The more active you are the higher you will appear in any search. So spend time on LinkedIn to be noticed. Richard Bliss recommends that you make 2 thoughtful comments 5 days a week. Make them on other people’s posts, or repost something with your own comments. Likes alone will not really improve your rating.
Use the power of # and @
I didn’t believe these things are so powerful. I actually thought this is just some fashion thing young people do. But when I started using them, my hits went up drastically. Think of it:
- every time someone searches a keyword that you are using as hashtag, you will be found.
- every time you tag someone or a company, anyone connected to them can see what you posted.
- Your favorite hashtags determine also what people will find you for. For example I want to be known for project management, leadership and servant leadership. Therefore I choose my hashtags are around these 3. Choose the hashtags you use carefully.
You see it is not difficult to be visible! Let’s increase our visibility today