Executive PA Australasia Issue 2 2019 | Page 58

DEVELOPMENT How to use social media to further your career progression How much thought have you given to building and developing your social media profile? Social media expert Nicola Moras shares some hot tips to shape the perfect online presence THE EXPERT Nicola Moras is a social media specialist, sought- after speaker and author of Visible, a guide for business owners on how to generate financial results from social media and digital marketing. Nicola helps clients around the world achieve visibility, impact and profits, enabling them to become ‘professionally famous’ online These days it’s critical for professionals to create a powerful personal brand online. This enables them to set themselves up for the future—for internal or external career progression. According to the 2018 CareerBuilder survey, 70 percent of employers use social media to screen candidates during the hiring process, and about 43 percent of employers use social media to check on current employees. This is why it’s critical for you to embrace social media and grow your online brand. There is a basic model to work through to make this happen. Own your experience: establish and own your work experience, knowledge and ‘good will’ that you bring to the table. Know who you’re talking to online: this is important so we can create a conversation online and be efficient with our content. Powerful positioning on strategic platforms: as a successful EA you don’t have time to be present on all the platforms all the time, so you need to be selective. When you follow this model, it will help build your personal brand as well as help you stand out for potential employment opportunities. Let’s break each of these down further. Own your experience One of the most overlooked things when building a powerful online personal brand is 58 Chief of Staff | Issue 2 2019 the experience you have outside of the role that you’re doing now. The EA industry is competitive and it’s crucial to the future proofing of your career that you are able to stand out for who you are, not only what you do. Step 1: What is your entire work history like? Break it down into 5 year segments and document all that you did. Step 2: What life experience do you have? For instance, have you travelled overseas or completed different areas of study outside of the profession you’re in? Break this down in 5 year increments as well. Step 3: What are your innate strengths, gifts and talents? For example, you might be great at developing great systems. Or people always come to you with their problems because they feel like you hear them. This is important to position yourself as different. It helps people to get to know who you are, not only what you do. Know who you’re talking to online When you know the target audience for your online profile building, you are able to create and craft conversations that build rapport. This will influence the content you create in Step 3. As with the offline world, the fastest way to build connections is to find common ground. It’s necessary to do the same thing online. Step 1: Who are the specific types of people you want reading your content and engaging with your profile? Step 2: What are the challenges and problems that these people face on a daily basis? What are their goals, dreams and desires? Step 3: Brainstorm what you can share with them to make their lives easier, to motivate them or inspire them. How can you add value to these people? Step 4: What platform is your chosen audience spending most of their time on – is it Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram or elsewhere? Powerful positioning on strategic platforms Being selective about the platforms you build your presence on is a crucial point. In the previous step, you figured out what platforms your audience spends the most time on. Choose the main platform to start with and start sharing your ideas, tips, advice, anecdotes and advice there. Be strategic about what you’re posting, the links that you’re sharing and even the post that you’re clicking ‘like’ on. Create content about the things you’re passionate about and that will reflect well on you. By cultivating a powerful online presence, you create a profile around you that supports your future endeavours, fosters new and important connections and can bolster your career. S www.nicolamoras.com.au