Separate yourself from the crowd: Using social media tools to jump-start your career

From WSJ MarketWatch:  May 27, 2009, 5:01 p.m. EST

By Jennifer Openshaw

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Twitter. Facebook. Blogs. Let's face it: It's
nearly a full-time job just to keep up with these new media tools,
never mind to learn them well. But how can you use them to strengthen
you current career or, even better, to build yourself into a brand?

Think about online shoe retailer Zappos, which, thanks to its
Internet-savvy CEO Tony Hsieh, has grown to $1 billion in revenue in
about eight years. OK, the service is great everyone says, but that's
not the only thing going for it. Hsieh -- and many others from Ellen
DeGeneres to up-and-coming politicians, home-based business owners and
concerned employees -- have embraced online social media tools to take
their names, companies and aspirations to the next level.

A talk with Twitter's founders

Twitter Co-founders Biz Stone and Evan Williams tell MarketWatch
Columnist Therese Poletti at the D Conference how they plan to attain
their goal of generating revenue by the end of the year. (May 27)

Though most experts agree there's no
substitute for face-to-face networking, using social media tools can
help you become a thought leader in your space and even drive customers
to your business.

"Let's say you're an insurance salesman and you're really passionate
about what you do," says Jason Falls, vice president of interactive
media at Doe-Anderson, a Louisville, Ky.-based brand building firm, and
author of the SocialMediaExplorer. "If you blog about it, then people
searching the Web looking for third-party recommendations or
information about insurance are apt to find your blog because you're
posting frequently and it's relevant to those keywords."

In essence, Google, through its search engine, will crawl for
information based on a person's search terms and suggest this as a
place you might go to learn about insurance, Falls notes.

"You start to develop a following not only as a thought leader or
expert in the field but also as the preferred place to purchase that
particular product or service," he adds.

As an entrepreneur myself in the online world, I've been fascinated
with how these tools are taking off. I've also been concerned about how
ordinary people can increase their value on the job. Here's a look at
how you can use these tools to boost your career or maybe even save
your job:

• 
  

  
  First, pick your niche.
  Today, it's all about niche specialties. What's your forté? Whether
  it's shoes (Zappos), humor (DeGeneres), or even topics you'd think not
  even your mother would care about like customer service or bowling,
  it's all about knowing something that others will find valuable. And if
  you're worried your expertise won't attract others, think again. Did
  you ever think you'd see a cable show "At Home on the Range?"

  
  


• 
  

  
  Know what you want.
  If you're going to spend time using social media tools, then know why
  you're doing it in advance. Do you want to become an expert to get into
  the media? Do you want to generate customers for your company? Do you
  want to help build your product's brand? Are you looking for another
  job? Remember, companies -- just like you -- want to keep up with these
  tools. So why not turn yourself into a voice or knowledgeable expert
  for your company by taking what you know to the social media world?
  (Before going too far with this, check your company policies and with
  your management team to find the "win-win" for everyone.)

  
  


• 
  

  
  Blog about it.
  Take your expertise to the Internet. While you could certainly write
  for other outlets -- whether it's your industry newsletter or magazine
  -- the blog benefits you because you are building a relationship
  directly with your readers and can respond and manage content. You
  might even leverage others to join you as writers for your cause. And
  most blogging platforms today are free and easy to use, like wordpress,
  LiveJournal or Blogger, owned by Google. Others, such as TypePad, offer
  additional services for a nominal fee. Either way, be sure to take
  advantage of RSS feeds to allow others to get your blog postings
  automatically.

  
  


• 
  

  
  Get linked.
  So you can't keep up with all those social networking sites? Join the
  club. But probably the most important is Linked-In because of its high
  concentration of people searching for professional contacts or
  services. Falls recommends not only the basics of building a profile,
  but also joining groups. Remember that insurance expert? That expert
  can now jump into the "Answers section" and answer questions (check the
  directory organized by topics or search for key words), further
  positioning himself/herself as an expert. The more active you are, the
  more credibility you build.

  
  


• 
  

  
  All the talk About "T."
  Everyone, including Oprah, is now getting into the Twitter action.
  Sure, you can create your Twitter account and handle (mine is
  @jopenshaw) so others can follow you and your "tweets" of 140
  characters or less (no kidding!). You can also send tweets out from
  your phone (just activate your mobile device from your Twitter profile)
  so that when you spill that Coke onto your jeans -- as Hsieh did -- you
  might send out a humorous tweet that you've just spilled it on the
  other leg to even-out your blue jeans!

  
  

If you really want to use Twitter to build your brand, check out
search.twitter.com where our insurance expert once again can show what
he knows: he can search for relevant terms like "car insurance" and
start monitoring the conversation. When someone posts a question, he'll
be alerted and can respond to that person. Falls points out recent
changes to Twitter that allow your answers to be seen by anyone
monitoring the conversation, not just by those following you.

Are you guaranteed to build your brand, business or job with these
social media moves? No, not at all. But you can avoid common mistakes
and even use these new tools to land a better job in your organization.

Just remember: Face-to-face communication still has much more impact.
As Falls notes: "That offline action of truly networking with people at
events or conferences is very powerful in building your personal
brand." So don't fall to the temptation of replacing your normal
networking with new online tools. Remember, too, the tools are tools --
you need to do the right things with them.

That said, it's all about getting an edge, and the new social networking tools make that easier than ever.

Jennifer Openshaw is the author of "The Millionaire Zone
" and host of ABC Radio's "Winning Advice." You can find her on Facebook, Twitter @jopenshaw or email at jennifer@familyfn.com
.