Social media speaker at the Brisbane Institute

A few weeks ago I was honored to be one of the guest presenters at The Brisbane Institute’s Packed Lunch event. This event focused on using social media to power up your online presence and my presentation was on using social media to enhance your professional brand.

Social media and recruitment

The core aspect of my presentation centered around being aware of what recruiters will see when they look you up online. With around 82% of recruiters stating that they use social media to check on potential employees, can you really afford not to have a great online presence? If you have ever cyberstalked an ex, a friend, a workmate, then you’ll know how tempting it is to see just what Google can reveal about someone, so make sure that when you’re the stalkee, you’re projecting what you want to. You want to ensure that a recruiter or recruitment agency who use social media to learn more about you, don’t uncover drunken photos from the weekend or volatile opinions that are likely to offend.

Using social media to build your brand

There are many ways you can use social media to build your personal brand, but some of the most obvious are:

• own your online presence by purchasing your own name in as many URL’s as possible
• engage with influencers in your area
• become an expert in your field by delivering solid content regularly
• protect your privacy by ensuring that your settings for all your accounts are under control
• keep all of your profiles up-to-date
• use Linkedin to engage and answer questions on your field of expertise
• be human – always respond with the correct tone and content
• be strategic and think about what you want your professional brand to be then project that

The main thing is that what’s out there is public and you have to remember that when it’s public, it means that it can take a very long time to disappear, and you can reach a multitude of people that you might not even be aware of. Don’t put anything on your social media sites that you don’t want your parents, grandparents or potential employer to see.

Social media for young professionals

One of the best things about presenting at the Brisbane Institute on social media was that the room was full of young professionals, but also, had a nice diversity about it. The questions came from people who were just starting off in their careers, but also those who were trying to integrate social media into their existing organisation. It is always a pleasure to get to speak at these events, because it reminds me why I love speaking about social media. Just because I live in a bubble where social media is an accepted part of life and where it’s second nature to tweet, post and blog, that isn’t the case for everyone. Speaking at public events on social media always leads to questions about the basics of social media and that’s refreshing and awakening to hear. The Brisbane Institute is one of the foremost organisations in Australia, if not the world, for encouraging a think tank environment, where people can share ideas, learn from others and benefit from networking with other professionals. It really was a pleasure to present there and if you’d like to see my presentation, you can see the full thing here: Power up your online brand using social media.