Social Media Tips…for job hunters and freelancers

So, you are looking for a job or on the path to self-employment, you know that networking will certainly help you and that social media is a very useful way to build connections and to stay connected with those you already know …but how do you use social media and how can you make it work for you to help you reach your goal ? …here are some tips.

1. Of course it is OK to be flexible and to change plans if you have to, but do try to have a social media goal and know what it is you want to achieve. My goal is to use Social media to help me get my blog more widely read and to help it make an income and get writing opportunities. If you don’t have a goal it is only too easy to end up knowing Social media can help you, but just playing on Facebook all day instead. Playing is not the same thing at all as being productive.
   
2. Make the most of and expand and promote your most popular posts, from your blog if you have one as well as your social media accounts. Always reply to comments.
3. Follow your tracking to see which are your most popular posts and recycle them by putting links to them elsewhere and in other posts, this will get hits to your site, so that the other posts will have more chance of being seen. Rewrite them and post them elsewhere with links back to your site or page.
4. So many posts on Facebook seem to be about music and cats, and grandchildren and a few other things. These are very popular topics, just not very relevant to getting jobs perhaps. However, do try to become involved in conversations that help you make and maintain links with people, such as current affairs and things that you see your friends and contacts enjoying. Humour and controversy are good conversation starters , be interested in people and what they have to say and post but also watch your social media footprint and protect your online image . Increasingly employers are looking up job applicants on social media when they receive their CV.
5. When you get the chance and can answer correctly and in an interesting way, answer questions being asked on your social media sites.
6. If you use Twitter, and job seekers and entrepreneurs should be using Twitter, follow your own tweets and see which ones get the most response and re-tweeting. Expand them into blog posts, or if it was from a blog post already then write more on that subject.
7. Remember that every connection counts , everyone is important and with so many connections on social media going on to connect with each other and other people , every connection can say a lot about who you are . Give everyone attention, respond but remember the social media etiquette, many people do not like it if e.g., they tag a certain person in a post and others reply, to tag one person very often means that it is intended as a personal post for them e.g. a family member or special friend even if it is on their timeline and seen as public.

8. Be sure to be yourself and show your personal style, even if you choose to post e.g. a quote for the day from a site where these are posted to be shared, try to bring into the post some personal reference to make it personal from you to your audience. Do not appear to just copy and paste content from elsewhere. My posts about job hunting for older and disabled people appeal to readers because I write from personal experience and not from training I have had as a career consultant …because I have never worked in any field of recruitment .
9. Be consistent and post regularly. This actually does not mean that you have to post every day, regularly yes, but it could be that three or so times a week is all you can manage and suits you better, and as long as it is regular, you will not lose readership.
10. Remember that images really count and make a post .Use various media not just images but also video. For free images that you can use in blog posts Google free images for blogs and you will find plenty of resources . Sometimes embed a suitable Facebook post into your blog for something different and as a good way to get readers to your blog and to your Facebook page.

            https://blog.bufferapp.com/free-image-sources-list

           http://www.huffingtonpost.com/courtney-seiter/53-free-image-sources_b_5331703.html

           http://www.foreveramber.co.uk/free-images-for-blogs

           http://www.wheretofindfreeimages.com/

           https://lorelle.wordpress.com/2006/10/04/free-photos-for-your-blog/

           http://www.freeimages.co.uk/

           http://www.freeimages.com/

           https://creativecommons.org/image/

          

11.  Be sure that your posts have a title if they are a campaign, e.g. a sales advertisement for your product or service or perhaps an appeal that you are supporting, but even just an image posted on Facebook is far better with some words of introduction.
12.  Get to know the search terms to use to find the best social media pages and sites to help you in your job search or building your business. I have found that there are many pages and groups on Facebook and LinkedIn and hashtags on Twitter for job hunters and for writers. Also do not be afraid of discovering Google +, true it may seem like unknown territory because it is not as widely known and used for social media as Facebook , Twitter and LinkedIn but it is growing in popularity, do check out their communities . I have joined communities on Google + for bloggers and writers and for people looking to make money from home, do check it out. Also, when you write a blog post, share it to Google + along with your sharing to Facebook and Twitter, Pinterest and whatever else you use.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_social_networking_websites

http://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/40-most-popular-social-networking-sites-world

http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/2701-Beyond-Facebook-74-Popular-Social-Networks-Worldwide

13. Use surveymonkey.com or other survey software to create free surveys. You can ask questions and share the link on social media. Asking questions in a poll means that people may interact with you by responding. My WordPress blog has built in software where I can add a poll to my posts.
14. Check “Who’s Viewed Your Profile” in LinkedIn to see who is finding you.
15. If you find yourself getting endorsements that are not relevant on LinkedIn, and it can happen that people who view your profile endorse you for a skill you do not think you have, be aware you can remove endorsements completely. However, do also look at your profile and assess how accurate a picture of you it is and also if maybe you do have a skill that you have not recognized. My friend certainly discovered this and was amazed at how her skills transferred to the job market when she was putting together a CV to return to work and thought she had ‘only’ been a stay at home mum for fifteen years ....