Social Media and Self-Promotion

Between MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and the many blog sites available, it can be a bit overwhelming to know what's good for you to use as methods of self-promotion and networking. Not only that, but keeping up with everything can be a full time job in itself!

Before you jump into everything, though, make sure you understand what each social media outlet is, and what it can do for you.

MySpace is probably one of the best known social networking sites. It began as strictly a social networking site, and became popular for musical artists to promote their bands, gigs, and albums. The film industry jumped on board next, and soon MySpace became the social networking site for cool, hip companies to connect with clients. MySpace now seems to be "out," however, in favor of newer social networking sites such as Facebook.

Facebook began as a social networking site exclusively for high school students. Some time after it's creation, Facebook opened to college students, as well, and several years ago, also became available to anyone with an email address. There are many who say Facebook is more "professional" than MySpace because its appearance is more streamlined (not nearly as customizable as MySpace), which makes it look "cleaner."

LinkedIn is marketed for professionals. It is meant to be a tool for people who want to promote themselves and their businesses to further their careers. LinkedIn allows you to network with others in your industry, reach out to other professionals who can help you move up and forward.

Twitter is one of the newest social media sites, and is considered a "micro-blogging site." For those familiar with MySpace, Facebook, and LinkedIn, you can better understand Twitter as just your "status" on the other sites. Each post is limited to 140 characters, and usually answers the question "What are you doing?" Lots of people use Twitter to let clients know what they're working on, where they are (particularly if they're at conferences or in workshops), or to promote sales, giveaways, etc.

Using social media sites is a great way to promote yourself and get yourself "seen." However, be sure you know the purpose of using each of the sites you use, and use them to their fullest advantage. If you use Facebook to promote your freelancing, for example, you may not want to put up pictures from your 21st birthday party. Keep in mind also that if friends post on your Facebook page, anyone else who can see your page can see those comments.

Also, don't let social media serve as an excuse to keep from working. Yes, it can be a valuable tool, but updating your Twitter status every fifteen minutes instead of researching for an article or checking in with clients is counter-productive.

Do you use social networking sites to promote yourself? If so, which one(s) and why?