Today, social media impacts our personal and professional lives whether we like it or not. Employers make checking social media a part of their research when hiring new employees. Even in everyday life, it’s not unusual to look up an acquaintance’s social media to get updates and learn more about them.
When you use social media well, you can build ‘social credibility’. It’s where you develop a positive reputation for yourself online through the content you create and how you engage with others.
Why does social credibility matter? We’ve laid out a few reasons already but here are a few more factors to consider:
- Improve your chances of getting hired by great companies
- Make a positive impression even before you reach the interview stage
- Take control of your image online
- Influence others and help them by sharing your experience
Let’s take a look at how you can build your social credibility.
Set a goal
When building your social credibility via social media, it’s important to set a goal. Creating posts on social media or your blog sporadically and when you’re in the right mood won’t make a difference to yourself or others.
Set goals for yourself. What do you want to talk about or write about? You could share information about your work experience, news in the industry, or your opinion on important events.
It’s also important to commit to creating posts on a regular basis. By sharing what you think every week or every month, your followers will start to expect your content. And you’ll gradually but steadily increase the number of people who follow you.
Make blog posts
While you can easily (and for free) share your thoughts through social media, it’s always a good idea to create your own blog.
Part of the reason is that you’ll build a personal brand. You’ll also have direct communication with your readers and more control over your platform.
Make it a practice to build a website or a blog for yourself. Write thought-provoking posts that are a few hundred words long. This is a chance for you to explain your ideas and knowledge in detail. You’ll provide valuable information that benefits others.
And be sure to invite people in your life to add comments and discuss their thoughts. You’ll build online credibility and develop your image online.
Share social media posts
If you can’t always write long blog posts, then a good idea is to be active on social media. All you need is a few minutes to share information through your phone.
Being active and regularly posting thoughtful content is the key to winning an audience. When employers, potential partners, and other people see that you share good quality content often, they’ll view it positively.
Engage people
One mistake that people make with building their image online is that they don’t engage other people. You see a lot of people creating posts but not everyone responds to comments and discussions.
You don’t always have to make create content from scratch, but it is important to view other people’s posts and acknowledge their comments.
If someone adds to or disagrees with what you’ve said, engage them in a friendly discussion. Or if a person in your network has made interesting posts, let them know.
Being active brings you under the radar of other people. You’ll become more recognizable and can even cross paths with the right people who will boost your career.
Get into action
With the tips given here, you’ll do something very important: let people know you’re a real person who shares authentic content. Something that is not so readily available.
You’ll also have more control over your online image and build your reputation. Work with these social credibility tips to not only grow yourself but to also add value to the lives of others.