In today's world, maintaining a strong profile online is vital to creating opportunities and securing your stance as an influencer in your industry. Yet, with so many people trying to do the same thing, the marketplace has become saturated. You need to make sure you stand out from the crowd, but for the right reasons. You need to be interactive and consistent whilst maintaining professionalism and adding genuine value. It can be hard knowing where to begin when it comes to professionally raising your online profile, so we have put together some top tips to help you maintain a strong presence online.
If you really want to boost your professional online profile and add value and credibility, a great way of achieving this is to publish a blog. A well-maintained blog site allows you to clearly showcase your ideas, demonstrate your expertise, and provide advice and influence opinion on topics of interest relevant to your industry. Done well, this can establish authority within your area of expertise and help to increase your professional visibility within a crowded marketplace.
A blog is an inexpensive way of showcasing your talents and adding value to your online presence. Use a blog to discuss and curate online content that is relevant to your expertise or business. The most successful form of blog writing for this purpose is content which helps to solve any challenges people are experiencing in your line of work. Try providing advice on trending situations relevant to what you do. At first, this may appear counter intuitive, as in a way you are giving away expertise for free, but trust us on this. If you begin sharing just a little of your expertise online, people will notice and trust what you are sharing. This, in turn, will provide the opportunity for a sustainable work flow of new clients.
If you feel you do not have any advice to impart, try curating articles that develop discussion on topics of interest relevant to your profession. In the same way, this engages with potential clients and can lead to an increase in more work for you. Not only will readers feel like they have gained something for free, but it demonstrates your expertise on the subject and your passion for your line of work. Opportunities are more likely to be given to those who can showcase that they are knowledgeable, experienced and passionate about their work.
The increased use of social media over the last decade is staggering. For professionals, this is extremely useful. It means that each social media platform has a pool of untapped potential clients waiting. Social media has helped to boost several businesses and professionals over the years by increasing awareness of their brand or expertise and subsequently securing more work.
However, your professional social media is not the place to share those photos of you from last Friday night. No matter how great you look, it will damage your professional appearance. Use your platform in the same way you would use a blog, by sharing content relevant to your line of work. You can share links to any blog posts you have recently created, photos exampling your recent work, or thought-provoking one-liners that get people discussing topics relevant to your line of work.
Most importantly, select a professional social media platform. There are now platforms specific to the connection of professionals. It is essential to your professional online presence that you take advantage of these platforms and create a good profile. These are a great way to quickly share a virtual resume along with a showcase of your talents and expertise. Clients use these forms of social media regularly to recruit and search for professionals suitable for their requirements.
When it comes to social media, the more you put into it, the more you will get out of it. It can be hard work maintaining an influential profile on social media. So hard that many people have developed jobs doing exactly that. It is best to select at least one, or even two platforms to use. Many more, and it can become confusing and hard to maintain to a high level. Different platforms offer different forms of sharing so it is best to choose a quick-to-share account which requires little maintenance and one that allows you to provide a wealth of information.
Do a little research into the type of clientele you wish to attract and find out what forms of social media they use the most. If research isn't your thing, consider asking clients directly through a survey. This way you will be able to find out people's preferred choice of social media and what they would like to see you using in the future.
Another way to boost your online presence is to virtually connect face to face. For many, reading reams of text just doesn't cut it, and no matter how hard you try, it never will. Consider creating video content discussing ideas and showcasing your work. This will allow people to make a face to face connection with you and are subsequently more likely to want to work with you. Ultimately just get out there and begin sharing your ideas.
If you have a strong influencing presence on social media, your sales and workload can be set to rise dramatically. The increased use of social media has seen some business emerge from out of the woodwork and be rocketed sky high in popularity.
The internet has been around for a while now, so it is likely that you have been sharing personal information online for quite some time. Some social media platforms allow you to be tagged in posts and photos that you would rather forget about. Whilst those photos of you five years ago on a night out might hold some great memories, would you really want to show potential clients them? If not, it is probably best to start tidying up your online presence. Untagging yourself from various photos can be a time-consuming process. If you have not done so already, consider setting any personal accounts on social media to private. This helps to prevent anyone from viewing your profile without you accepting them as a connection.
There are options available online to search your name and check the results. If you are not happy with what has been said about you on the web, you have the ability to alter this. You can also sign up to some systems to make sure you receive an update each time you are mentioned online.
However you decide to increase your profile, the above tips will help you to create a strong professional presence online. Whilst many may take some time to set up, you will reap the benefits for a long time to come, with very little maintenance.
For more guidance with your professional presence, it can help to have a PA, which is where SmartPA comes in. We can help you manage your professional presence on the internet, allowing you to use your time for what you need it for most. Get in touch with us today to start the discussion.