Who do you think recently is the most successful user of social media for professional promotion? Politics and political issues aside, I offer that President Trump is that person. Primarily, he uses Twitter as his platform of choice for communicating directly to his audience. However, 2nd to him might possibly be me!
I was recently interviewed for the “Secrets of College Planning” show on Princeton Community TV by Anthony Uva, the show’s host. We discussed Information Technology topics that would be helpful to high school aged students looking to enter a college or technical school after completing high school. The broadcast date for my appearance was Friday, May 19, 2017. Since the broadcast, I learned that my appearance twice registered in the Top-10 list of broadcast views for Princeton Community TV shows in June and July. In fact, my appearance was the station’s number 1 show for July. Why was that?
Princeton Community TV is a local television station with a dedicated following of viewers and show hosts. Being local community television, it of course has a relatively limited broadcast range and limited viewership. However, they do post their programs on their own Princeton Community TV Vimeo channel, making the shows available world wide via the internet. Vimeo is an internet based video hosting website which allows users to upload and share video content. That was my key to getting my show robust attention.
I used several social media platforms to announce my appearance on the show. My platforms of choice, which I regularly use professionally, are LinkedIn, Twitter, Email Marketing and blogging. In LinkedIn, I posted that I appeared on the TV show to my network connections, and to each of the LinkedIn groups where I am a member. I emailed my entire list of over 1,600 email contacts, and I tweeted. The result of my social media campaign increased viewership to my appearance on the show via Vimeo, I generate additional traffic to my own website, and I even received a few requests asking of my availability to speak with prospective clients.
Social media is a tremendous resource for growing your professional brand awareness and your business. When you have a presence on social media you are able to promote your professional brand by quickly sharing content with a wide audience. In addition, you make it easier for your customers to find and connect with you. Not only does social media help you direct people to your website, but the more social media shares & likes you receive, the higher your search engine (SEO) ranking will be.
Social media is a big topic and there are many relevant platforms. If you are new to using using social media, it may even seem overwhelming to start. But, it does not need to be. Think of the old joke, how do you eat a 1,000 pound elephant? The answer of course is, one bite at a time. So, start using social media in the same way. Start with only one platform. Use that for a while and until you get comfortable with it. When you are very comfortable, add another social media platform. As for which social media platform to start using, use the one that you determine your audience members (prospective customers) use. Also, look to use the one that your competition uses the most since they are already communicating with your prospective customers.
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