Social Media: The Minimum You Should Do

Are You Participating?

While social media may appear to be ubiquitous (especially to those of us in the industry), a quick scan of usage numbers indicates there are still a large number of people on the sidelines. In the U.S., Facebook claims roughly 60 million users, LinkedIn estimates it has 21 million accounts and estimates place Twitter’s users at close to 12 million. In a country with almost 250 million people over the age of 18, that leaves a lot of room for growth.

If you are one of those still waiting to jump in, accept this blog entry as your invitation to dip your toe into the pool … There are a wide variety of tools out there, so where do you start? We believe there are two basic social media platforms that everyone should have in place – now: A LinkedIn profile and a Google profile.

LinkedIn Profile: LinkedIn allows people to create professional profiles that outline your current and past job history and education. Some people have expanded their profiles to include personal blogs and additional “widgets” like reading lists and public updates on upcoming travel. Starting a profile takes just under 20 minutes and LinkedIn walks you through the entire process. A photo is optional (and encouraged).

Why LinkedIn? Savvy business people are using it to research other people – including you. Before a meeting with a new client, agency, vendor or job seeker, a scan of LinkedIn can yield a wealth of information. And, not being on LinkedIn (or having a scant profile) is also telling … it tells someone that you are not all that “plugged in” to modern technology. Finally, search engines love it. If someone searches for your name, your LinkedIn profile will usually rank in the top results.

Google Profile: Creating a Google profile takes even less time. A Google profile is a quick overview of you, including professional information, education history, places you have lived in the past, contact information, etc. All of the information is optional, so it is only as complete as you desire. To get started, go to Google.com and put “Google profile” into the search field.

Why a Google profile? When someone “googles” you in Google (the most popular search engine on the Web), your Google profile will appear. Having a Google profile helps you take a bit of control over what Google serves up about you.

So what are you waiting for?

Want to learn more about how we think companies should be using social media, visit the social media section of our website.

Nicole Provonchee is the Vice President of Business Development at Parthenon Publishing.