I’ve been on LinkedIn for a while now and for those who are new to the network it feels a bit like trying a new clothing brand that you’ve never tried before. You don’t know your sizing or the quality of the clothes until you place that order. Well I’m here to explain why you need to be on LinkedIn.
I have been told time and time again that LinkedIn is like your online CV for jobseekers and students. It is a place to share and boast about your qualifications, experience, skills and achievements. It is probably one of the first chances to make a good impression with a future colleague so it is important to keep it up to date with clear, informative information about you. Academic tutors and previous/current employers are able to recommend you and endorse your skills which strengthens your profile. For example, I am wanting to work in social media so every time I’ve done some experience with someone I have asked them to endorse me on that particular skill.
Use keywords for you to get recognised. We use search engine optimisation (SEO) to get our blogs noticed and listed high in Google’s rankings similarly LinkedIn works in the same kind of way. Have a look at job descriptions of positions that you are interested in and use those keywords in your profile. I have had a document since University with all the phrases and unusual words that I have come across so I can use them when writing cover letters, CVs and updating my profile. Just like with any other social media platform, the more people who interact with your posts the more likely it will show up on other people’s timelines who are related to your connections so get posting, commenting and engaging with people on LinkedIn.
So you’ve found the HR Manager of the advertised job that you really want, what do you do? Send a connection request and add a note. Make it personal, explain why you want to connect with them. If they accept remember to say thank you and that’s when you can start talking to them. At first it might feel a bit unprofessional then sending a well worded email but trust me it works. If a particular job interview doesn’t work out, that is okay. Stay connected, they can recognise your talents and keep up to date with your achievements; you never know where it might lead in the future.
Until recently I have always seen LinkedIn as a professional networking space and that I have to think about how I want to present myself on that little space of the internet. Unlike my other profiles I do try and pay more attention to using the correct language and tone, check my spelling and grammatically errors a bit more but it has become more personal than when I first started out. My connections are sharing more of their interests each and every day. I spotted someone sharing a sunrise and sunset pic of my local area explaining why he loves working here and it got people talking. That’s what you want to an extent. In addition to that, make sure you include a fun, inviting profile picture. People with no profile picture are put at the bottom of the search results and will be a huge disadvantage for you. LinkedIn have recently introduced a feature where you can record yourself saying your name which is super helpful for those of you will unusual names like myself.
Personally I believe LinkedIn can be super helpful. What are your tips or advice for creating a LinkedIn profile? Have you got any advice on how to use the social networking site? I would love to know your opinions.
♥
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I first heard of a Media Kit when I started getting emails from brands asking to work with me, however, the term gets thrown around a lot these days. I think it is important to have a Media Kit for you blog even if you hardly receive emails from brands and advertisers because you learn new skills that may be helpful in the future. You can save yourself from answering endless amounts of questions and it tells the brand that you take your blog seriously; think of it like a CV for your blog. For those of you who don’t know what a Media Kit (or a Media Pack) is, it is a document that explains what your blog is about and what you can offer brands and advertisers. It should include all the information they need to know, for example: statistics, content that you post and a disclaimer for your blog. I know that a lot of brands and magazines have something similar that shares the font they use, brand colours and readership/audience.
I created my Media Kit myself earlier this week and I really enjoyed creating it and learning new skills. I thought I would write this helpful guide for anyone else who is interested in creating their own. I used Becky Bedbug’s How To Create An Effective Media Kit For Your Blog which was extremely useful and I highly recommend giving it a read.
Your Media Kit should include:
Information about your blog – where you are based, your age, your blog genre
Content that you can offer – sponsored posts, social media advertising etc.
Your demographics – age, location, gender etc.
Disclaimer/Policy
Contact Details – blog name, website address, email and social media
Some other information you could include: information about yourself (your likes, perhaps why you started blogging), previous brands that you have worked with, an image of yourself, your most popular posts/videos.
Remember that first impressions are always important! I created mine in Photoshop but there are a range of different platforms that you can create a Media Kit on. Before you start, you want to decide on how many pages you want your information to be displayed on. I have tried to keep to one page but I know a lot of bloggers decide on two. After Jemma from the lovely blog Dorkface created my header, I wanted to remain consistent and decided to maintain my design and message with the brand of my blog. It could be as simple as keeping to the same colour scheme and using similar fonts as that which you can find on your blog. As Becky states: “try to make it fit with the overall look and feel of your blog“. Once you have created your media kit, it is usually better to save it as a PDF file. It can easily be shared without being edited by other bloggers who may want to copy it.
So, how do I get my Media Kit out there?
Honestly? This is something that I am still learning myself. I have started by uploading my PDF file to Google Docs and adding a link to my Contact Page so anyone who visits my blog has access to it. When a brand or advertiser emails me asking about the opportunities that I offer then I will be sending over my Media Kit. Perhaps when I feel more confident with my blog, I might send it out to some PR agencies and brands that are related to the content and value of my blog.
Finally, keep your Media Kit current. I am going to update mine every other month to reflect the statistics and the information is still current. If anyone is interested in creating a Media Kit and are looking for some help, feel free to email me.
Have you got a Media Kit for your blog? Have you got any tips?
♥
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Are we really growing up in a world evolving around technology and more importantly, social media?! I believe we are. But should it revolve around technology and social media?
Many people these days love the internet. I know I am one of those people. The first thing I do when I wake up is check the likes of Twitter, Instagram and my emails before I look out the window. A significant event happens in my life and I immediately want to grab my phone and capture it. Have you ever thought to just take in the moment for what it is? By that I mean using your own eyes instead of looking through a viewfinder whether that be on your phone or camera. As a society, we have taught ourselves this behaviour from following what everyone else does. A friend of mine showed me a video from The IT Crowd which I thought was quite interesting and explains exactly how one mention can attract you to following the trend.
Just think of the trending topics on Twitter and Facebook. Thousands of people keep updated through the trending topics across social media platforms. What about how the social networks grew the active followers base? This was done by word of mouth between friends, family and colleagues. So what would life really be like without the internet. We could have an actual conversation with real people around us. You never know, we may even be able to relax without being disturbed by tweets and other notifications. The other week I found myself getting distracted by the internet, maybe this was due to a five month break from University but I switched my phone to night mode and it was the best thing I have ever done! I could finally switch off from everything but more importantly I have control on when to talk on social media.
“The first tweet was sent on March 21, 2006 by Jack Dorsey, the creator of Twitter. It took over three years, until the end of May 2009, to reach the billionth tweet. Today, it takes less than two days for one billion tweets to be sent.” – Internet Live Stats
One of the topics I explored at University is UGC (User-Generated Content) and whether Journalism is dead. I came to the conclusion that it isn’t dead at all but Journalists must adapt to the world around them. They are using social media to their advantage, to assist in gathering information and writing their stories but what would it be like if no one captured a significant event and it was up to the Journalist to find the story themselves. Essentially, it would be giving them their old job back and not having to rely on social media. It’s never going to be dead because people are always going to have the need for news.
Does that mean that a Journalist is just going to have to sit behind a computer browsing the social networking sites to gather news stories? No, it doesn’t mean that but how many times is a Journalist in the right place at the right time with a camera crew to capture breaking news. Then think how many times is there a random person with a smartphone present in order to capture what’s happening and publish it to social media. For example, information about the Boston bombings were speculated across social media platforms via smartphones before Journalists could get down to report on it. This provides an opportunity for society to be aware of what was going on without the need of a Journalist to be involved. There’s no competition between the journalist and social media, it’s just part of their job just like interviewing sources and communicating with PR’s is essential to their career too.
What I am trying to say is that the internet is an overwhelming place and I think it’s important that we all have a break from time to time. Of course, I love the internet. I think everyone does for different reasons but I don’t want to feel so wrapped up in it any more. Yes, I may have missed out on capturing some moments in my life but I will still remember them. They just won’t be shared on the internet with the rest of the world. Your emails and notifications will always be there for you at the end of the day but a possible life changing conversation with someone may not be. I don’t know about anyone else but I miss the days where my life didn’t revolve around phones, laptops and social media.
What are your thoughts? Do you think it’s important to have a break from the internet now and again? Let me know what you think.
♥
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Social media has become a big part of our lives. We communicate, engage and interact every second of every day with friends, family and professionals but the question is ‘Are we oversharing?‘
As someone who is keen to work in digital marketing, some people may believe that it is important to be on every social network possible in order to increase engagement on numbers on every platform however I don’t think this is necessary. From a professional perspective I do believe it is interesting from an organisations point of view to test the waters with different platforms. This enables them to see what works best for themselves and figure out where their audience is at. However, when it comes to us regular joes, I think we should stick to what we know, understand and have the most interest in. Personally I choose to use Twitter as a place to rant my thoughts and Instagram as a way to get creative with my photography and share my life in real time with my followers. When I am posting regularly on this little space, I find promoting my posts on Twitter will give my post engagement as it is where my audience is at most of the time.
Once you’ve chosen your platform, the next step is to be able to use it in a positive way. Nowadays there is so much negativity being shared due to various different reasons. I’ve always wanted to be that positive and happy account that someone can turn to when they are having a bad day, a bit like turning to a friend when you are feeling a little bit upset or down and just want to have a chit chat. However, I also want to be relatable and if I am having a bad day I want to share it in order for my followers to understand that they aren’t feeling alone and not everything online is pitch perfect all the time. There’s two ways that I have made my accounts more positive. The first was to de-clutter my social media accounts. I’ve been on social media now for over 10 years so you can imagine the amount of times I have hit the follow button and now the content they are putting out is either not relatable to me or just not having a positive impact on my mental health. Secondly, I have curated a feed that either inspires me or motivates me to get creative. This allows me to get some form of pleasure when I open up the apps rather than dreading seeing something negative pop up. Before I did this I felt so overwhelmed, lost and crowded in a world of numbers and lots of differing opinions.
Social media is amazing for networking and reaching out to people. Don’t stop using it just because you are having a bad mental health week. The networks we have created are an extension to ourselves and our personality. Like I said previously, I love Instagram for being able to get creative especially now I have left University and I use Twitter to promote my blog. Although, since growing up online I found that I want to share a little bit less about my personal life and what happens in it and more about the things that I enjoy and advice for those who are in my age group. I have found myself stepping away from hitting publish straight away and thinking about what I am sharing on the world wide web. I remember when I was at University, my tutor explained to me that a new employer doesn’t want to see you drunk with your knickers on full display staggering out of a night club. You’ll regret it later on. I’ve heard this being said so many times before but ‘what would your mum think?’ If you think she would be ashamed, annoyed or upset about what you are publishing, commenting or engaging with online then the answer is simple. Don’t do it!
Back in my University days, I remember understanding how important it was to look after thee reputation of the brand or client you are working with. From a brand’s perspective you are there to protect your brand from damage and promote and share the positive things that they do. Now if you think of it on a more personal level, the key is to control the content of your social media. Plan what you are going to publish, sustain the effort that you put into publishing that content and establish a mutual understanding with those who you communicate and engage with. I know that a lot of people who work in social media, whether it is as a PR executive or a well-known influencer, they keep their personal and professional lives separate from each other. You can do this by restricting what people see on your accounts through close friend lists or by having separate private social media accounts.
It is safe to say that I am a Twitter addict. I’m obsessed. I post my thoughts and then delete them, sometimes. However, it is important to monitor your screen time. I believe that growing up in the digital does have its positives but too much screen time can start to have an affect on our mental health. It can be easy to compare what we are doing with others online but I think it is important to understand that we are only seeing 20 minutes of somebody’s lives in a video or what they want to share and not the full aspect of what is happening behind closed doors. There has been plenty of times in the past where I have posted something to Instagram saying how happy and proud I was of something that I achieved when really I was crying in the bath because I was struggling with communicating with my close group of friends. I have allowed myself to have other hobbies such as reading and doing more things outside of being online and it has really helped me to take a step back from social media.
So, are we oversharing? As a society, I believe that we are rapidly sharing a lot of information about our lives on social media but we are still learning where our boundaries are. I feel as though it is a positive thing that we can communicate our thoughts and views online however it is important to understand that everyone will have different views and that they are entitled to their opinion. You have to understand before clicking on Twitter, Instagram or TikTok that everyone is at different stages of their lives and to try and not compare yourself with others. Remember you don’t need to be online all of the time to keep up with everything.
What’s your opinion? Do you think we are oversharing on social media? Let me know in the comments or send me a tweet.
♥
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