Taking Control of Social Media For Your Career

1. Taking Control of Social Media for Your Career
Cindy Royal, Ph.D
Associate Professor
Texas State University
School of Journalism
and Mass Communication
croyal@txstate.edu
cindyroyal.com
@cindyroyal

2. When nothing, or
nothing good, is found
about you, you end up
in the "less likely" or
"no" piles.
•Google yourself
•Google others in your
field and compare
•Work on public image
•Not optional any longer
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/susan-p-joyce/job-search-tips_b_4834361.html

3. Start a Blog
Blogging allows you to explore your passions, improve writing skills,
communicate with others who share your interest

4. LinkedIn • Your LinkedIn profile can connect you to
thousands of professionals
• Search for connections at companies of interest
• Create a LinkedIn profile that reflects your
interests and background much like a resume
• Include your Website on your LinkedIn profile

5. Facebook • Facebook is a fun place to share with friends
• But remember, any friend can be a potential
career contact
• Friend faculty and professional contacts, as
long as you keep your Facebook activities
professional and above board. Use privacy
settings and friends lists carefully. As an
alternate, subscribe to people, allow them to
subscribe to you

6. Twitter
• Start a Twitter account; free & simple
• Follow interesting people. Some suggestions at the end
of the presentation
• Use widgets to repurpose
to your Web site or blog.
New content all the time.
• Respond to questions
• Retweet interesting items

7. Photos
and Visuals
• Instagram - add filters to photos; share with
your friends (Facebook purchased in 2013)
• Pinterest – another visual platform; pin items;
grouping
• Tumblr – a blogging platform that relies
heavily on the visual (Yahoo purchased in
2013)
• Other photo sharing sites still exist like
Picasa and Flickr

8. Video • Use your phone
• Learn to use simple editing software
like iMovie or Windows MovieMaker
• YouTube
• UStream

9. Go Mobile
• Find apps that will allow you to expand
your social media activities
• News apps help you stay in touch
• Twitter apps – allow you to Tweet
when you are on the go.
• Qik and Ustream – live stream video
from phone

10. Location-based • Foursquare (NYC)
• Location as part of other apps, like Yelp, Facebook,
Twitter, etc.
• Share location, photos with friends
• Get tips and recommendations
• Locations can provide
incentives to users
• Integration with Facebook,
Twitter, Tumblr, etc.

11. Messaging
• WhatsApp
• GroupMe
• Threema, Line
• SnapChat

12. Analytics
Use Google Analytics or those associated with your blog platform
to get information about users, locations, link referrals, etc.

13. Future
• Wearables
• Data
• Drones
• Platforms in
media
(Platisher?)
• Second-screen
engagement
• Coding for
everyone
• Bitcoin?

14. Leveraging Social
• Employers look at social presence
• Digital/social media planning likely a part of many careers:
social media editor, PR, event planners, marketing
• Demonstrate comfort, expertise, enthusiasm
• Make contacts, ask questions, learn about companies
• Use social network to complement in-person networking
• Stay up-to-date conceptually, as well
• Try new things, have fun!

15. Don’t…
• Curse or use foul language
• Describe illegal activities
• Exhibit rude behavior
• Denigrate religion, politician, political group,
ethnicity, etc.
• Seem to be drunk/drugged
• Slam current employer
• Discuss your search for a new job
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/susan-p-joyce/for-your-job-search-and-career-participate-in-social-media_b_4834620.html

16. Some Twitter follow recommendations
TX State faculty/recent grads
@cindyroyal
@jonzmikly
@mairalg
@jacieyang
twiter.com/daleblasingame
@kymfox
@sjmc_txst
@txst –
that's the official txstate twitter
Professional Media
@nytimes
@mashable
@smashingmag
@techcrunch
@statesman
@universitystar
Other organizations
@aejmc
@ona
@ojr
@sxsw
@niemanlab
@PBSMediaShift

17. Resources
− SXSW Interactive
− Read Tech blogs like Mashable, Read Write Web,
TechCrunch, SmashingMag, 10,000 Words, Wired.
Tech section of NY Times and FastCompany.com
− Online Journalism Review Archives - ojr.org
− We The Media by Dan Gillmor
− Convergence Culture by Henry Jenkins
− The Long Tail and Free by Chris Anderson
− What Would Google Do? by Jeff Jarvis
− Remix by Lawrence Lessig
− Digital Journalism journal –
www.tandfonline.com/loi/rdij20
− International Symposium in Online Journalism –
https://online.journalism.utexas.edu/
− Digital Riptide – digitalriptide.org