How To Start More Conversations With Your Social Media Profiles

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What can you do today to ensure you start productive conversations with your social media profiles?

This is the question we're asked more than any other - so we thought we'd share 5 things you can do right away to spark more discussions with your social media profiles:
 

1. Make yourself look credible

Did you know, when someone searches member profiles on Social-Hire, the very first thing they see is how recently you logged into your account. So be sure to log in to your account regularly so that you look like someone who is still active and can still be contacted via the site!

The same holds true on LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+ and Twitter. Whilst these sites do not show when you were last logged in, the recency and frequency of your activity can encourage or deter people from contacting you via your social media profiles. After all, who wants to waste their time trying to contact someone who looks like they may no longer be an active user of the site?

We recommend using Buffer as a great way of keeping your profiles active. As you go about your daily life, whenever you see something your networks would find interesting simply click the buffer button to share this on your social media profiles. You can "buffer" messages to send out in the future, so a few minutes each day can keep all your activity streams vibrant and full of relevant / engaging content.

2. Make sure you can be easily found

Try searching for yourself on each social network. Does your profile contain keywords for your sector and location that will mean you appear in relevant search results? Have you completed your profile 100% so that all the ways someone might search on the site are being catered for? Are you sharing content with keywords and Twitter hashtags that your target audience are likely to be searching for? And have you added a professional photo or logo to your profile, as profiles with a professional picture are far more likely to be clicked on in the search results?

Don't underestimate the importance of investing your time in getting this right. One of our team achieved a twentyfold increase in their LinkedIn exposure (appearances in search results) simply by putting themselves in the shoes of their target audience and rewording their profile accordingly!

Do likewise on LinkedIn, Google+, etc and in our experience 90%+ of you will find ways you can improve the ease with which your social media profiles are found on each network - and how appealing they look when presented in search results.

If you're engaged in a job search and looking to be found by recruiters, one suggestion would be to use suitable job adverts as a source of insight. Find a few job openings that look like a great fit. Now what experience, qualifications and industry buzzwords are mentioned in those adverts? Have you included these - where appropriate - in your social media profiles and / or your activity stream? Think about it - any recruiter proactively searching for candidates to fill a role is likely to search for candidates with these terms in their profiles. So make sure you're doing all you can to appear when such searches are undertaken.

3. Add links to your other web pages and social media profiles

Remember, not everyone who sees your social media profiles will be a member of that site, or will be connected with you in a way that allows them to easily make direct contact. So make it as simple as possible for people to contact you in the way that's most convenient for them by including links to your other social media profiles on each of your accounts.

4. Get yourself on other people's radars

Regardless which of the social networks you are on, when you follow or connect with someone they usually receive a notification to this effect. So it stands to reason that someone proactively connecting with and following others is going to achieve greater visibility than someone sitting back and waiting for others to find them. On Social-Hire, for example, whenever a candidate or recruiter follows another member of the site that person will receive a notification to that effect, encouraging them to review the other person's profile. 

Similarly, the actions of commenting on someone's post, retweeting them or sharing their content usually results in you appearing on their radar. It will usually generate goodwill too, which is a great foundation on which to build a social networking relationship. So show interest in others' content and help them to spread the word about whatever they are talking about. This will go a long way towards getting you on the radars of others.

5. Ask questions

Sharing great content will, over time, result in others sharing your updates - and therefore extending your network reach. However, you can accelerate this process - and spark immediate conversations that help to build relationships - by asking questions within your updates.

When you share some content, ask people what they think of the article. Do they agree with all the points raised? Are there additional tips anyone can add? Have you seen these kinds of issues within your own business? These types of questions encourage people to participate in the discussion rather than simply sharing - and so spark conversations that you would otherwise not have had.

We really hope these tips help you get the most from all the social networks you're using. Feel free to add your own ideas or experiences in the comments section below!

 

Image source: R.Rasmussen

 

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