Making the Most of your Personal Social Media Accounts

Do you have a brand? If so, is your brand easily identifiable on social media? While we have all heard the social media horror stories, social media is a powerful tool for businesses and individuals. As a public relations professional (or future professional) it is exceedingly important to have well-cultivated social media accounts. What does well-cultivated mean, well here’s some tips for maintaining your social media in a way that keeps your brand consistent and will impress future employers.

Be easily identifiable: By keeping your profiles and user names consistent you make it easier for future employers and contacts to connect with you. Keep the variations to a minimum so your accounts will stay memorable and is easily identifiable. You can do this by reserving your unique username across numerous channels, even if you’re unsure you’ll use them. Additionally, keep your name consistent. Use the same name across all platforms and try to avoid a nicknames that wouldn’t be used on your resume. Similarly, try to use the same picture for your social media accounts, this will help your brand create a lasting, consistent impression.

Keep it clean: Yes, yes, everyone curses. I’m not here to call you out for dropping the occasional F-bomb, but you should avoid a Kanye-esque Twitter rant. Try to keep your social media “clean” and avoid posting things that you wouldn’t want a future employer to see, because chances are they will see if. If your friends tag you in inappropriate posts, be sure to remove the tag. You could be held accountable by a potential employer despite that you were not the original poster. While having a lot of personality is a good thing, be sure to display the side of your personality that matches your brand and would not scare off a potential employer. When you’re in doubt and wondering if your post is questionable, wait 15 minutes to post it, if you still think it’s that funny, memorable, share-worthy, and unlikely to ruin a future interview then go for it.

Post regularly: As Millennials, it’s assumed that we know everything about social media. While that may not be the case, fake it until you make it. Be active on your social media channels and take advantage of using them in the ways they were intended. While the recommendations for how often you should be sharing each day varies by platform, they all share one thing: you should be sharing daily. Take advantage of the time you have to use social media, learn about different audiences, experiment with posting at different times, and see which methods are the most successful for your various accounts.

Be social: There’s a reason social media is called social media, you’re supposed to be social. While it’s easy to share your ideas and leave it at that, there’s much more to social media. Take a risk, engage with accounts you wouldn’t normally interact with. Participate in Twitter chats, follow new people, say hello, contribute to interesting conversations, but above all be social. Social media offers the unique opportunity that allows you to interact with individuals around the world, take advantage of it. Build your network, learn something new, and take advantage of the fact that you can do so while binge watching the new season of House of Cards and lounging on your couch.

Every public relations professional should make efforts to continuously grow their social media accounts. Social media allows for public relations professionals to grow their personal brands and networks in a method that suits the on-the-go and crazy lifestyles that are the norm. 

Ashley is a senior seeking a degree in Advertising & Public Relations. Prior to returning to school, Ashley took 3 years off to adventure around the country learning from members of the United States Olympic 3-Day Eventing Team. These travels led to a lot of fun stories, an addiction to sweet-tea, and a relentless passion to pursue her goals. Additionally Ashley is a member of GV-PRSSA, is on the executive board for the ODK Honor Society, & is an account associate at Grand PR. 
Currently Ashley is a technical writer and social media manager at 834 Design & Marketing while also working as a Digital Marketing & Public Relations Manager for Ecogold Equestrian Textiles. In her free time Ashley can usually be found out in Rockford, where she keeps her two horses: Donatello (named after the turtle, not the artist) & Valhalla (No, she’s hasn’t watched vikings, she’s just a nerd). Despite a busy schedule, she competes in the sport of 3-day eventing on a national level and gets the opportunities to chase all her dreams. Ashley’s interest in sports is not limited to horses, as she is an avid football, basketball, and hockey fan. When not at the barn, she can be found at a local brewery, consuming absurd amounts of coffee, or enjoying a good book.