Lessons from The Art of Social Media

After reading the first few chapters of Guy Kawasaki’s “The Art of Social Media,” I realize I need to do a lot of profile building on my own accounts before I can start to focus on what matters. Managing a professional presence on a variety of platforms takes a lot of work. Kawasaki talks about how profiles are like resumes. I really like the analogy, because it pushes me to think about how my actions or lack of account management over the years could change the perceptions of people who encounter my page. Here’s some of the advice I think I’m going to take.

Profile pictures are extremely important. I need to update my current accounts with a more recent photo of myself. Each profile should have the same main picture so that the consistency of my media puts off a more competent image of my social networking capabilities. I should also increase the quality of the photos I use. The only decent camera I have access to is my iPhone, which doesn’t have the best quality as my model becomes more and more dated.  Dr. Aggie mentioned getting headshots last week in class so I could take that opportunity when it arises.

Part of college is figuring out who we are or at least what we want to represent. If I don’t communicate my goals effectively on social media, I could actually be a detriment to my success. If people look at a lackluster account, odds are that they will pass over any actual information I try to put out. I need to “tell my story” as Kawasaki says in chapter one. Bolstering a bio and becoming more active in my posts would be a good place to start.

Does anyone else have these issues? I think a big reason that I haven’t kept up with accounts is that I find it hard to manage everything. Last week we looked at a few sites that could help me restructure my presence online. Maybe it’s time for building.