It’s the start of a New Year and, therefore, there is no better time to improve your online presence in terms of how you market your business and, of course, yourself.
Online marketing has never been so important in the professional world. Most people, and employers, will look at your personal social media profiles and that of your business in order to come to a decision about whether to use your services, purchase your products etc.
Here are a five ways in which you can boost your professional online presence for both yourself and your business:
- Review your LinkedIn Profile
LinkedIn is a social media platform for professionals where you can share your skills, interests and qualifications, as well as endorse others for their skills.
The start of the New Year can be a great time to update your LinkedIn profile with any skills you have developed over the previous year and add any significant experience you have gained.
You may also want to update your business LinkedIn profile if you have gained any significant clients, launched a new product, employed new staff etc.
In addition, it is worthwhile beginning to share posts on your LinkedIn profile relating to your profession, skills or interests. You can do this for both your business LinkedIn page as well as your personal LinkedIn page.
- Add a New Photo
A new photo or image may just give your social media page that quick refresh it is looking for. On your personal profile, it may be of benefit to update your profile image with a more professional photo, perhaps of you wearing work attire rather than a holiday snap, particularly when it comes to using sites like LinkedIn and Google+.
- Give More Thought to Your Personal Facebook Posts
Okay, so you don’t want to be too professional in all of your personal Facebook posts (you communicate with friends and family over Facebook after all!), however, it doesn’t hurt to give a little extra thought into what you are posting.
For example, if you are a hairdresser and you have spotted an article all about Rita Ora’s hairstyle in her last concert, then why not share the article on Facebook? Not only will this show a little further passion for your chosen career, your friends may want to take a look too!
When you compare a post highlighting a relevant and interesting article, with a posted image of you looking slightly worse for wear after a Christmas party with ‘#partiedtoohard’ attached to the photo, you can see how you can make your personal Facebook page slightly more professional.
- Add an ‘Edge’ to Your Business Facebook Posts
What is meant here by ‘edge’, is a post that not only leads people to your website and highlights your product or service, but taps into the interests of your customer base.
For example, a Sports Massage Therapist may post an article about ‘Nutrition that can increase the effect of a Sports Massage’ or ‘Foods that fuel good healing’ etc.
A link to an article on an external website that is relevant to your business makes for a good post on Facebook that will most probably spark interest. A link to your own article is even better and is sure to make your business more credible.
Sparking interest is an essential element to your social media marketing strategy. For more information on how to build a community on social media, and ultimately, how to keep people engaged with your social media profile, check out this blog article from Assertive Media.
- Write a Personal Blog
Similarly to how a link to your own business article is stronger than highlighting another business’ blog, your own personal blog can work wonders for your online professional presence.
Of course, if you want your blog to boost your professionalism, you should focus on blogging about your career, and articles related to your industry, rather than about a hobby such as gardening or baking.
Ultimately, a professional blog, combined with the other mentioned techniques, may capture the attention of other professionals in your industry and may even help with business networking, headhunting, professional development etc., and make you online presence considerably more professional.
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