It's interesting listening to the differences in opinion between those who have a blog and actively manage their online presence and those who still post drunken photos on Facebook. Being at university, I have never seen the divide so evident. Many people I have talked to just don't see why they should waste their time with a blog and be careful about what they say on Facebook, they have set all the privacy settings up after all . . .
I therefore thought this would be a good opportunity to share some of the reasons I have for maintaining my online presence.
Owning a blog/website
I own two personal websites my blog www.loukmedia.com and my website www.louisegriffiths.com, one acts as a blog and the other as an online resume. Here are some of the reasons I take the time to update them:
- A blog allows you to give your opinion on topics of relevance and in return get some great feedback and points of view you hadn't thought of from people who comment, tweet and facebook in response to your blog posts.
- A blog gives you something you can put on your resume which showcases your ability and passions much better than any resume can on its own!
- There no better way to show your understanding, not just on the topic you write about but about social media and the importance of the internet as a whole than to be a part of it.
- Blogging makes you think about your topic, it makes you do research and be involved in the online community. It forces you to keep up to date with news things in your field.
- It allows you to establish yourself, prove yourself and position yourself within the community.
- Someone looking to hire may remember or come across your blog and be interested in contacting you.
- Having a copy of your resume online allows you to send potential employees a link whether it be on their website or through twitter etc without the hassle of getting an email address to send an attachment or posting a hard copy.
- Being in the marketing industry, it also allows me to practice writing a fundamental skill for any good marketer.
- It's enjoyable and I talk to some great people through it!
Social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter & LinkedIn
- Facebook is great to add those who you see as mentors or respect in your industry, just remember to send a message with your invite explaining why you are adding them. All it takes is a little bit of self control in terms of what you post and being careful about which contacts can see what. Remember the golden rule: Don't post anything you wouldn't want your parents, employer or potential employers to see, no matter how safe you think your privacy settings are! It's a great way to also keep up to date with companies you are interested in through fan pages.
- Twitter is often my uplink to what's going on. I can quickly skim through and see what kind of things are going on. It's the go to place for articles and blog posts as people are always recommending good reads. Get involved and soon your followers will start RT'ing your posts and opinions!
- LinkedIn should be the number one thing anyone should set up TODAY! In an increasingly online world an up to date and well presented LinkedIn profile is your portal to a large array of job vacancies. Don't wait until you are looking for a job, start adding people now, getting those recommendations and joining groups. When the time comes, your profile won't look like it was just started yesterday.
The one key piece of advice though is to NOT start a blog if you are not going to update it. There is no use to a personal blog that hasn't been updated in over a year. If you don't think you have the time, then instead try submitting posts on sites like ezine articles and commenting on others peoples blogs instead.
Are there any other benefits you can think of?