Social media can feel like a prerequisite to building a professional brand — and the truth is, you’ll need to log on if you want to grow your career. But if social media isn’t your thing, there are ways to find a balance between staying offline and maintaining an executive brand.
“Networking social media platforms aimed at working professionals, like LinkedIn, are worth spending the time to update and maintain with some regularity because of the career growth and development opportunities they hold,” says Charlie Gray, president and co-founder of Gray Scalable.
But building a professional brand online doesn’t have to take over your life — or feel like a chore. Here are five tips that can help you get the most out of social networking, without becoming a burden.
Be strategic
You don’t need an account for every social media platform — find where your audience is and focus on building your presence there. For example, if your professional network is on LinkedIn and Twitter, you don’t need to worry about posting on Instagram or Facebook.
“Executives should understand what sites are their best natural domain and focus on those. If they’re in the design business, I’d focus on Pinterest and Instagram for example. If they’re in the recruiting or marketing business, LinkedIn is the platform of choice,” says Gray.
To get an idea of what platforms you want to try, look at other industry leaders to see where they frequently post and engage with an audience.
Find focus
Take time to think about what you want to get out of your online presence. Do you want to grow your audience, engage with clients and customers or connect with other industry leaders to create networking opportunities?
“With a system and a plan, you can make it your servant and goldmine. Think of it as going to a virtual…
