Twenty years ago (possibly even less) marketing terms like brand and branding would have only applied to business but, with the constant changing of technology (social media specifically) these terms have evolved to include people too. Students like you and me are now a brand and our online presence is helping to shape that.
In the realm of social media I like to think of myself as ‘modernly old-school,’ I approach these sites with cautious resistance. This could be both a good and a bad thing. The good thing is that my brand is closely controlled by me; I am not where I don’t want me to be. The bad thing is that I am difficult to find, my future employers could think that I’m trying to hide something, I’m not.
Now let’s move on to the important stuff!
The Benefits of Social Media:
1.Networking. Two websites, New Media Hire and Partner Technology; cite Linkedin as the best tool for networking. The fantastic thing about the internet, social media, and networking is that there are different venues for presenting your brand. For instance, myspace has been used for artists, photographers, musicians, and other content creators (New Media Hire).
2. Relationships. I’ve been reading about several ways of implementing social media into my internship and the fantastic thing about this ‘new’ form of communication is that it opens up a dialogue between company and customer. Companies are using blogs and other on-line media as ways of building mutually beneficial relationships with their clients.
3. Job postings. Twitter is becoming a big outlet for job ad distribution (New Media Hire). Hiring managers have turned to these microblogging sites so they don’t have to weed through so many resumes (Partner Technology). Less resumes means a better chance for you!
4. Know before you go. Social networking sites afford a unique opportunity to see what’s important to the company that you’re applying for. My dad takes me to a lot of his company stuff to ‘trophy me off’, before we get there I like knowing a little info about the key people at the table. Boss to the left is a University of Florida Alum, we chit chat about those things. (Keep up with the news). You want to go into your meeting with people so that “they know that you roll like a boss” (This is what one of my boss’s told me while I was preparing for a Familiarization tour)
The Negatives of Social Media:
1.Think Styrofoam. Styrofoam takes forever to breakdown, in fact it never decomposes! (ways2gogreen.com) Think of what you post online like Styrofoam, it won’t go away as easily as you think it will. Jeff Lipshultz’s Blog discusses this a little more.
While looking for more information on the ills of social media I came across this PowerPoint that I thought was extremely informative and creative in its explanation of social networking.
Here is the link to the powerpoints creator Ms. Annalaura Brown.
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