It’s one thing to be a member of LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter; or any other platform in the social media ecosystem for that matter. But it is an entirely and much more important thing to be an actively engaged participant in the ecosystem. Through your active engagement, participation and contributions to the conversations that are occurring in these communities you generate greater visibility, credibility, connectivity and potential reciprocity. That’s called the network effect – the multiplying leverage and power generated by an expanding social sphere and the increased access you then have to the collective intelligence and generosity of the people you are directly and indirectly connected to.
So how do you become an actively engaged participant, rather than just a member? There are lots of ways. Following are just a few suggestions …
LinkedIn –
Use LinkedIn’s robust search capabilities to identify and join LinkedIn Groups (HINT: think the TMS Networking group) related to your field, function, industry or discipline, or personal interest. Once you’ve joined a group, click the “Discussions” tab on a group’s home page and start participating in the conversations (or start a new “thread”) – ask a question, answer a question, make a comment, share a link …
Following is a link to a useful article on LinkedIn groups and the job search campaign:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140603150430-780585-smart-use-of-linkedin-groups-for-job-search
I also encourage you to find and “follow” Companies and Thought/Industry Leaders of interest. You can participate and comment on the updates and discussions you will find there as well.
Fun Factoid – There are currently 2.1 million groups and 4 million company profiles on LinkedIn.
Facebook –
Facebook, like LinkedIn, hosts thousands of special interest Groups and Pages created by individuals and companies in an effort to connect with their target audiences. Use Facebook’s graph search feature to identify those that interest you and either “join” a Group or “like” a Page. Then get involved in and contribute to the conversations.
To learn more about how you can leverage Facebook Groups and Pages in your search campaign click the following link:
http://nsphire.com/use-facebook-groups-and-pages-to-reach-employers-and-recruiters/
Twitter –
You don’t have to be “tweeting” a lot, “following” a bunch of people nor have any “followers” at all to engage in and contribute to the relevant conversations occurring in the “twitterverse” – for that there are Twitter “tweet chats.”
Twitter tweet chats are prearranged, scheduled virtual conversations among interested members of the “twitterverse” that happen on Twitter through the use of Twitter updates (“tweets”). These updates include a pre-defined “hashtag” (#) linking the topics and updates together. Tweet chats normally include a formal agenda with a specific leader/moderator, but they might involve a free flowing discussion among all participants. Many tweet chats occur weekly or bi-weekly.
The following link will take you to a pretty good overview on how to find and join Twitter tweet chats:
http://janetfouts.com/how-to-participate-in-a-tweet-chat/#axzz3bq8BT2xT
Remember, it’s all about …
Visibility – Connectivity – Access – Engagement – Contribution – Generosity – Reciprocity