Turbocharge Your Career with Social Media

Can LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+, Twitter and YouTube impact your business and career? You Bet!Social media is the darling of savvy corporate recruiters for many reasons. It wasn't  just celebrities sending 50 million tweets per day in 2010. Entrepreneurs and corporate types alike leverage social media to get their message out to customers (& potential customers), increase their visibility to further their careers and become known as experts in their profession. Follow these 5 steps to turn website visitors into customers or take your career to the next level using social media.

Step #1: Leverage LinkedIn. It’s where savvy corporate recruiters are mining their next $100,000+ hire. From medical sales, marketing professionals to IT hotshots, I personally know people recruited from their LinkedIn profile. There are others that have made business connections through this platform. What does that mean to you? Create a profile if you don’t have one personally or for your business. Have a professional photo taken (if you’re within driving distance to Indiana; I recommend Michael Florence Photography-he’s on LinkedIn). Write a career summary that POPS!! If you are in job seeking mode, focus your career section on results or achievement NOT job duties.

Step #2: BLOG. When results from the search engines repeatedly point to you, people will take notice. Blogging is the fastest way to go from local to global. Blogging takes commitment (from a woman who only had 2 posts in September). When you blog, remember Content Rules!! And Frequency is a very close second (and no, 2 blog posts a month are not good enough). Can’t decide what to blog about? Start with your area of expertise. What do you want to be known for? Head to Blogger, Wordpress or if you are an artist, check out Tumblr and start your blog.

Step #3: TIYF. Technology is Your Friend. Repeat it until you believe it. If you are in the corporate arena, a smart phone is de rigueur. Link your e-mail account to it even if you only check at certain points throughout the day. Take a class, many libraries offer free courses on software and many community organizations offer free or low-cost programs on social media.

Step #4: Consolidate Platforms. You have to manage all the information, and not let the information take over. If I’ve overwhelmed you with the idea a personal social media strategy is just one more thing for the to-do list—there’s a simpler way. From a free platform like, Tweetdeck (my preference) or HootSuite or Hellotxt among other being launched daily, you can manage your social media from one site and update them all at once.

Step #5:  Smile, You’re on Candid Camera! If you read this blog, you probably remember Candid Camera. Today’s version is YouTube. Spice up your blog with video (expect to see some here soon)! A friend of mine had an interview with a company in Dubai via Skype. He got the chance to travel to the United Arab Emirates for the in-person interview and landed a new job. More companies will adopt video recruiting technology like HireVue, LiveHire and OVIA. So get ready for your close-up, it is the next big thing. Entrepreneurs-video of your products/services or video customer testimonials will help you convert your web visitors into customers.

There’s a lot out there in the world of social media and it can seem overwhelming at times. Rest assured, the technology community is a friendly place with lots of people willing to share their expertise. So jump right in and give your business or career a boost!