Social Networking Sites are becoming increasingly popular as a way to maintain contact with coworkers, classmates and friends. It is important when signing up for any of the various networking sites available, that you consider creating an effective and marketable online brand. Recruiters and companies are relying more and more on search engines and networking sites to source candidates as well as to find relevant information about potential candidates to make corporate decisions about who they will decide to interview and ultimately hire. It is crucial that you know what your online brand says about you and that your online brand is a reflection of how you want to be perceived in the workplace. In order to effectively achieve this, there are several steps you can take to create an effective online brand. Here are a few tips and tricks when creating your online brand:
Google your name. Be aware of what your online brand says about you.
Sign up for relevant networking sites to your industry.
Maximize your online potential by taking the time to write relevant information regarding yourself including the companies you have worked for, positions you have held, responsibilities you have had, as well as any awards or recognition you have received and posting the information on various sites.
If you feel you do not have time to write different versions for several sites, create the content once and copy and paste it to the relevant sites to your industry and position.
Be conscientious and keep it clean. Never put information online that could potentially be damaging to your reputation or career.
Reach out and keep in contact with members of your network. Your network can help ease your way through your career path by providing future job possibilities, employee referrals as well as by providing reference checks for future employment.
Buy your domain name and use it as an effective marketing tool.
Create a blog. Write articles and post on forums that are relevant to your industry and experience.
In order to maximize your search optimization potential, always use your full name whenever possible when writing articles online or as your screen name.
Track your sites and blog. For example, Google Analytics offers a tool to track relevant information to visits your site that can be utilized for research, relevance and analysis.
Sign up for Google Alerts using various forms of your name including any nicknames or screen names you may use as well as the names of relevant people and companies in your industry so that you always have the latest relevant information posted regarding yourself as well as information regarding your industry, peers and competition.
Keep your information current and relevant to your career goals and ambitions.
Use technology to your advantage. For more information on relevant networking sites to research or sign up for, please see my article entitled “Social Networking Sites: The Lists”.
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