Hello, and welcome back! Let’s jump right into Part II. As you might remember, we’re talking about the benefits of using social media as a professional tool, for reaching clients, sharing ideas, connecting with colleagues and like-minded individuals, and for making yourself known (and respected) in the business world. We’ve already covered LinkedIn, and now we’re on to Twitter and Facebook.

Twitter

You might have heard the uproar when Twitter, with its 328 million users, changed its most distinctive feature, the 140-character limit for a tweet. By doubling the limit to 280 characters, it offers more room to express your thoughts and ideas. However, brevity is still king/queen on Twitter, and just because you have 280 characters to use, doesn’t mean you should unleash them all upon the world.

Twitter is more informal than other platforms, but make sure you learn the differences among your retweets, replies, and your DMs (direct messages). Twitter allows you to have a private account (“protected” in their vernacular)—but if you are using Twitter for business, having an open account makes more sense.

Expand your network and grow your influence

The instantaneous nature of Twitter means you are able to:

• Know about developments in your areas of interest in real-time
• Share, comment, and be part of a global conversation that extends beyond people you are friends with
• Create video, via Twitter’s live video tool, and interact with those posting videos that matter to you

Twitter Polls, which lets you provide users with up to four answers to choose from, and to see the results in real-time, can be another way to engage with, and expand, your network. Savvy businesses often run polls about specific products or industry developments to gauge responses from both existing and potential customers.

Teach millions about your business, products, or services

Well-written, timely posts can help you raise your company’s profile, especially when you use hashtags (#) in a professional manner. Using popular hashtags when they are relevant to you works well, as does occasionally using hashtags around your products or services. Keep hashtags simple, clear, and unique, so that your competitor with a similar product doesn’t hijack your hashtags.

Furthermore, you can reach specific audiences and talk about your business by using Twitter’s ad platform. (It’s really quite easy to use—even if you don’t feel very tech savvy.) And as long as you take the time to create great, pertinent content, readers will likely become followers and engage with you.

Using Twitter to find a job

Everyone’s obsessed with getting more followers, but for job hunting, whom you follow is more important. Build lists of influencers by industry and topic (these lists can be public or private), and you’ll be able to see what they’re interested in and what they’re thinking about—and get ideas on how to reach out and connect to them.

When someone in your industry asks a question or requests assistance, it’s your chance to participate and show how responsive and useful you can be. I know of numerous instances of Twitter conversations turning into face-to-face meetings—ultimately resulting in job offers!

Facebook

With the largest number of users, Facebook is a global phenomenon beloved by both companies and your dear, sweet grandmother. With more than two billion users worldwide, Facebook is the most powerful and influential of the social networks. It’s a great way to connect with family, friends, and friends of friends.

While Facebook remains mainly a personal socializing network for most people, it’s actually quite useful for business and professional outreach, as well. Many business professionals, including me, have a business-related Facebook page, which is used to post professional information only. (And it’s best, if you’re using Facebook this way, that you refrain from posting photos of your recent vacation or comments about the weather. You can lose professional credibility—and followers.)

Facebook Live is a relatively new thing, but it’s becoming increasingly popular. It allows you to broadcast instantly around the world, and can be a useful tool for businesses and organizations to share behind-the-scenes content, new product releases, industry updates, employee spotlights, and other relevant information.

Expanding your influence through Facebook

Use Facebook to:

• Connect with influencers in your field
• Share articles and other items that show the world your interests
• Help shape what others think of you

But remember that just because you post something doesn’t mean everyone will see it. Facebook’s algorithms determine what content appears in particular folks’ feeds. It takes time to build a good reputation on Facebook, but joining relevant groups and being an active (and professionally behaved) contributor will get people’s attention for the right reasons.

Building a business page has its benefits

In addition to a personal profile, creating a business page lets you connect with people who want to know more about your work. You can share updates, progress reports, and ideas with a wide range of folks who may not visit your website on a regular basis.

Facebook’s powerful ad tools allow you to target potential customers and clients based upon specific sorting criteria. Learning how Facebook ads work is essential for your digital marketing plan, and given how challenging it can be to get your content out there, it may be in your best interest to pay Facebook to boost your posts. (It’s easy, and it’s actually relatively inexpensive.)

For a business to succeed on Facebook, it’s about associating with a community that engages with your content. Just like in the offline world, if your product, service, or idea is something people like (or need) and want to connect with, they will want to do the same on Facebook.

Finding a job through Facebook

Use Facebook to follow companies you are interested in and to get ideas about openings and opportunities. You can also put your personal network to work to help you identify employment leads. Your friends and family can be helpful if they know that you’re looking—and what you’re looking for.

Don’t forget…

Whether you’re on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, or all three, following correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation rules will help you stand out and create a good impression. And remaining professional at all times is an absolute must. (In general, always resist the urge to rant and rave on any SM platform—it’ll come back to haunt you.) Also essential: Make sure you have a clear bio that explains who you are, along with a recent, professional headshot.

So there you have it. A quick social media tutorial. If you’ve been apprehensively sitting on the sidelines, I hope you’ll be inspired to jump right in and connect with the world via this exciting, relatively new medium. I believe you’ll find it to be professionally beneficial, refreshingly interesting, and downright fun! Social media is here to stay, so why not embrace it, enjoy it, and utilize it as the powerful professional tool that it has come to be.