Written by Kylie Elliot, Account Executive on JAJ Enterprises Account Team.
Social media has become an important factor in how professionals live their every day lives. Mastering it can mean improving not only your connections with other professionals, but also your ability to get job in the public relations field. It is more than just about promoting yourself to other public relations professionals; it also can be a very important part of your portfolio by allowing you to express yourself and what you are interested in, if done properly. There are many different social media platforms out there, so how do you know which ones will work best for you? Here are our top choices for social media use and how to use them to properly network and promote your personal brand.
– Twitter — Twitter is one of the most useful social media platforms for developing yourself as a public relations professional, because you are able to follow and retweet posts from other accounts that interest you. This platform allows you to show what you are interested in and develop your own personal image. This can be used in your portfolio because it is a way to show your interest in a certain community or topic and express how up to date you are on what is going on in that field.
– Instagram — Instagram is particularly important for those who want to get involved in something that has a visual aspect, such as the fashion industry. Instagram is a great way to show your own personal style and passion for a specific industry. For everyone else, Instagram is an important part of your portfolio because it allows you to show yourself doing what you are love and interested in.
– LinkedIn — LinkedIn is one of the most important social medias to connect to other professionals in the public relations industry. This site is a huge help to your portfolio because it functions like an extensive resume and also can help show how connected you are to the public relations community. You can use it to keep in touch with old contacts or to make new ones.
It is important to keep these tips in mind to make sure that you are putting your best foot forward:
– Make sure to read over all posts for grammatical errors or typos before you send them.
– Things you post about on social media stay with you forever, so think about that before posting a rant about having a bad day at work or posting inappropriate pictures.
– Nothing is ever 100% private; no matter how strong your privacy settings are set. Someone who is looking will be able to find your profile.
– Use your social media to make a positive change in the world, as is explained in this New York Times article.
Kylie Elliot is a junior studying public relations and sociology at the University of Oregon. She is from Los Angeles, California and enjoys dancing, reading and lots of coffee.