If it didn’t at least entice your curiosity to keep reading, I hope the title made you stop and think. To be clear, almost all of us use social media to some degree in our daily lives, whether we choose to post our activities on Facebook, make a social statement on X, or show off our [fill in the blank] dogs/ cats/ rabbits/ kids/ kangaroos on Instagram. Or perhaps you get your dance moves from TikTok? It’s all out there, available to us at any time for whatever the current reason or need.
Do you ever stop to think about the reason behind a post before you post it? By that I mean are you venting? Bragging? Complaining? Or are you trying to make a statement about something only to be deeply disappointed when the post gets fewer responses than those with flight attendants performing the mandatory, pre-flight safety demonstrations? If so, you might want to take a deep breath and think about the consequences of what you’re posting, not just in the context of your friends and family that might see it, but also your co-workers or even your boss. Although as professionals, surely you haven’t actually “friended” your boss on Facebook, right?
And, if that’s news to you, then it might be time to reframe your use of “socials” to the professional side of things. Let’s look at the positive ways you can use any social skill or channel to your benefit.
Put thought into your posts.
Instead of doing a photo dump of all your vacation shots that you haven’t even bothered to label or include a brief explanation with, why not focus on a handful that show you doing something meaningful like learning how to drive on the opposite side of the road (skill improvement!) or maybe visiting a museum (educational enrichment, even on vacation!) instead of showing your endless but colorful frozen drinks with tiny umbrellas purchased during that afternoon at the beach. The point is, to those who know you the drinks on the beach are (possibly?) a given but the surprise element of sharing something out of the ordinary shows a softer side to your social skills and shares a more positive story.
Keep your public identity consistent.
By all means, (pretty please?) use LinkedIn as the professional tool it was created for. Think about your other posts and who might be viewing those, too. Most Facebook accounts are now auto-linked to Instagram, meaning even if you’re not Facebook friends with someone your Instagram account is fairly open to the world — employers, co-workers, current or potential future bosses, and just about anyone else. Surely, you’ve heard stories about job seekers who were turned away from desirable positions because the human resources people did their research and saw personal posts across multiple channels that were not in line with their company policies or standards. Whether you agree with that situation doesn’t matter. It’s a fact, and it does happen in the professional world.
Find the right channel for your message.
Successful social networking includes much more than knowing what and how to make a good social post. It also includes soft skills like making positive instead of snarky responses to those you interact with online. It can also be making a conscious decision to send a personal follow-up note to a new associate with whom you recently interacted on a business level to thank them for that conversation — and yes — even a simple email can accomplish this. You might also think about making a direct phone call to talk in person instead, of shooting off a short text message that might also inadvertently highlight your use of misspelled words and poor grammar, not to mention run the risk of mixed meanings by the recipient.
The most important takeaway regarding your positive use of social networking is that when done well and in a more measured and thoughtful manner, it gives you a better professional platform to position yourself with those around you. That’s always a good thing, right?
