Quick Highlights:
- Building a personal brand on social media can help differentiate you from other job candidates,. It demonstes seriousness about your career and proactive nature to potential employers.
- Focus on LinkedIn for professional networking and consider additional platforms like Instagram or Twitter based on your career goals and industry.
- Create a professional image with quality photos and concise bios.
- Consistently post relevant content to maintain an active and engaging online presence. Avoid controversial topics and oversharing personal information.
Social media continues to play a powerful role in the job market. No longer just for personal use, social media platforms are a great way to create a public persona that will be attractive to employers. As a result, social media branding for students is a topic that deserves attention from any grad-to-be.
Building your brand on social media might sound like a fun challenge but it does come with some difficulties. This page will provide some actionable strategies to help you craft a brand that is going to ring true with potential employers when you hit the job market.
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Why Personal Branding is Important
Before we get into some personal branding tips for college students, let’s talk about why this topic matters. As you start to look for jobs as a recent college graduate, you’ll face a lot of competition. That’s just the reality of the job market in basically every niche. In building a personal brand online, you’ll have something that many other applicants won’t have, and it could make all the difference in getting your career started.
The primary message you’ll be sending to potential employers is that you are serious about building your career. Taking the time to research social media strategies for a job search and using some of those strategies effectively says a lot about your proactive nature. Good social media accounts alone probably won’t get you hired but they can shine a good light on what you offer to any company that chooses you.
How to Select the Right Platforms
As you know, there are many different social media platforms, some bigger than others. Which ones should you use for your professional life? As a starting point, LinkedIn is an easy choice. This is the go-to platform for professionals and career-minded individuals. Among the top LinkedIn tips for students are trying to network with others in the industry you’d like to work in, and highlighting your resume on your profile page to attract interest.
After creating a LinkedIn page, you can develop a professional social media presence by carefully choosing one or two other options. For example, using Instagram for personal branding makes sense if you have a career path in mind that is visual in nature. If you are going to do something involving news or current events, like journalism, you might want to add Twitter (or “X”). Twitter networking strategies can be similar to those on LinkedIn, including reaching out directly to people you want to connect with.
Facebook won’t necessarily be a great fit for many personal branding efforts, but it’s also an option if you think it makes sense in your niche. You don’t need to be on every platform when enhancing a professional image online, so be selective and avoid those that don’t serve you.
Bringing Together a Professional Image
Branding yourself effectively is just like branding a product or service. The same principles apply. Good images are always a plus in branding, so have quality photos of yourself to use on these profile accounts. Don’t just use a random selfie that you took somewhere along the way. Put some effort into presenting yourself as a sharp, prepared professional – first impressions go a long way, even if they are digital.
Also, you want to write a bio that is engaging and highlights both what you have accomplished and what you hope to do moving forward. Even if you are just coming out of college, this can be achieved. Remember, when writing a bio, less is more. You don’t want the words to get in the way of the message. Be concise with your writing style and get straight to the point. Nobody is going to read through a longer version anyway.
Lastly, one other key to keep in mind is one of the fundamentals of brand building – consistency. You want your personal brand to look the same from one place to another online. This will build trust and confirm that you are the same person from LinkedIn to Instagram and beyond.
Creating Your Unique Content Strategy
Content curation for a personal brand is a task all its own. By creating your own original content, and by promoting content you like from others, you’ll be able to carve out a niche. Online networking for college students is more effective when it is gathered around a specific topic. As you start to post content, it will become clear to those who see your profile what you are all about.
You don’t have to create or post a ton of content, but you should be consistent. Try to establish a schedule that repeats week after week. Maybe you write one article of your own on a given topic each week, and post links to two or three others. That will keep your feed active without going too far. Of course, you can experiment to see what works best in your niche and what fits in your schedule.
Avoid These Key Mistakes
For the most part, developing a personal brand is a simple process, and you may enjoy it. There are a few ways it can go wrong, however. It would be a shame to destroy effective social media profiles through one of the simple mistakes below.
Diving Into Controversy
It’s just not worth it. Resist the temptation to post something controversial on your social media platforms when you are trying to build a personal brand. Remember, things on the internet live forever, and one single post could come back to haunt you years down the line. A good rule of thumb is if you are unsure about posting something, it’s best to just skip it.
Oversharing Personal Information
There are plenty of great ways to share personal information with people close to you. Send a text message or an email, or make a phone call, when you have personal information to pass along. Social media is not the place, especially when your professional career is at stake.
Being Too Self-Promotional
Building a digital identity for job seekers involves walking the line between marketing and unflattering self-promotion. If you go too far, it won’t be a good look and it may turn off some potential employers. Be proud of your accomplishments and experiences without directly bragging about them in every post.
Becoming a Well-Rounded Candidate
Social media job hunting is about more than just posting a few times and waiting for the offers to roll in. The market is always competitive for attractive positions and the best candidates are those who thrive not only on social platforms but also throughout the rest of their qualifications.
Creating a professional persona online is just one of many steps you should take in the pursuit of a great career. Use the advice on this page to attend to your social accounts while also finishing your education strong and gathering relevant experience. Good luck!