Social media is changing all the time, and using it well is important for your career.
Why?
Employers and clients will review social media channels to learn about you. This can happen before job interviews or an engagement. Your social profiles should be professional, but also interesting to a potential employer or a new client.
Pro Tip: Before applying for accounting jobs, review your social media profiles and adjust your privacy settings. If possible, view your profiles as a visitor and adjust what others can see.
Here are some other pro tips to use social media to your advantage for your accounting career.
Post about your industry
As you read about trends and updates in your industry, share them on your personal profile. It sends a signal to employers and your clients that you follow the news and are ready to give them your thoughts or guidance.
Pro Tip: Join or follow industry groups on LinkedIn and share interesting posts from those groups. Add a comment above the shared post about why you shared it and what you liked about it.
Follow, like and comment
Build a network of professional contacts on your social media channels. Identify colleagues, clients and potential clients, media and industry experts that you can follow. Watch for opportunities to like and comment on their posts.
Your activity feed will demonstrate your active participation in professional networking. It only takes a few minutes a week, and people will appreciate and remember you when the next accounting career opportunity comes up.
Pro Tip: Remember to tag individuals when you are celebrating their announcements or responding to their posts!
Update your profiles
On social channels such as LinkedIn, update your account profile when you join a new group or achieve a milestone. Keep the profile information as current as possible and share your accomplishments on your feed. You could also ask for endorsements and recommendations from other professionals.
Pro Tip: When you are hired or promoted at your accounting firm, add a personal post about how excited and proud you are to work there. It will help you and the firm stand out in a positive way.
Add articles and videos
If you are asked to write an article for your accounting firm’s blog, find out if you can publish it on your personal social channel, too. If you are featured in an expert video that your firm posted on company pages, share it on your profile, too!
These resources highlight your knowledge and experience in an industry or practice area. Firm leaders will appreciate that you are expanding the reach of the firm’s brand and resources, too. Everybody wins!
Pro Tip: Make sure that the published article looks good with a high-resolution photo and link to your bio and firm website. If sharing a video, find out if you can upload it directly to the social channel so that it plays when people scroll over it on your feed.
Attend or create social events
Social channels offer live webinars, training events and quizzes that help you build your skills. They may be sponsored by the channel itself or by someone in your network. Take advantage of these training opportunities to learn, but also network with other professionals.
For example, attend industry association live chats or webinars. They are often less formal than in-person conferences and they can help you expand industry relationships.
Pro Tip: If you can host a live webinar or chat on LinkedIn, the recording remains on the channel for even more people to see. Consider including this in your personal marketing plan. Ask your supervisor, if necessary, before proceeding with this social content strategy.
We’re always looking for new ways to help professionals enjoy their accounting careers at LvHJ. Share this article with your friends and let us know if you have other ideas to use social media effectively for your career.
Next: How to Use LinkedIn Effectively
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