Guy Kawasaki and Peg Fitzpatrick provide several tips and
helpful hints for customizing social media profiles in order to get the most out
of them. This is through hints as intricate as creating your own “vanity URL”
to making sure you use the right picture for your profile pictures. Chapter 11
of the book The Art of Social Media briefly outlines the possible ways to
optimize your major social media profiles. Fitzpatrick and Kawasaki outline how
to optimize profiles on
- Facebook
- Google+
- Instagram
- Linkedin
- Pinterest
- Slideshare
- Twitter
- Youtube
The tips provided in the book that affected my profiles most
were the ones that revolved around Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram. These
tips and hints were most helpful to me personally because I am present on all
of these outlets. My presence on these social media channels is not one of high
caliber, and could all use improvement in order for me to actually get the most
out of my profiles. However, as a senior in college, the most influential
social media outlet that I have been utilizing is the LinkedIn media channel.
The tips that were provided in the book to optimize my profile for LinkedIn
were the most influential to me personally because of my current job search.
The point of having
a LinkedIn account is to have a profile of facts about yourself to market
yourself in a professional setting. My account has been rated at an
intermediate level on the LinkedIn site, however there is a great deal of room
for improvement on the profile.The tips that were given for the
 |
| My LinkedIn page |
management of my LinkedIn
profile were all ones that had the potential to drastically improve the
appearance and functionality of my profile. One of the prime examples of
changing up how you conduct yourself on this professional channel is Kawasaki’s
tip to write a personal connection request. He states that the personalizing of a connection request on LinkedIn makes it more likely that the individual
will accept the request. I personally agree with this tip for increasing the
likelihood that the follow request will be accepted if it is made more personal
than the default message. Putting forth the effort to make a connection with the
person has been made such a high priority that LinkedIn now has interfaced an “are
you sure” option into the connection request. Instead of providing an upfront
default message, the site asks if you would prefer to create your own
personalized message. Another tip provided for the optimization of a LinkedIn
profile is to follow a niche when attempting to gain followers. This is a tip
that I actually have followed while on the networking site. As a member of the
LinkedIn community, I have been attempting to obtain followers within the
industries that I have interest in. I have also utilized the niche of alumni
from my university to make contacts that could help me to gain a position down
the road. As a matter of fact, one of the contacts that I made through this
method is currently attempting to help me obtain a position at a highly
respected company (even going so far as to help me edit my resume). The point is that LinkedIn can be a very
powerful tool for somebody who is looking to communicate with others on a
professional platform, and that having an effective profile is one of the best
things that you can do to actually get something out of the service.
Fitzpatrick and Kawasaki give a very comprehensive list of ways to create an
effective profile that markets who you are.
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