Congrats on your new job! Now what?

Posted by Laurinda Shaver

Hypothetically lets say you’ve got a new job and you want to tell the world and update your online profile status. Where do you start? For the sake of argument, lets take me for example in my new role as Director of New Media and Production at an amazing company called videoBIO. How do you maximize this opportunity to raise your profile in the industry? Naturally I would start with LinkedIn as my professional online status lives there. But what are the other professional tools online that you can lever to build a consistent, professional image online?

1) Take a look at all the communities and networks you are registered with. How do you describe yourself? Are you professional, targeted and focused in one and personal, irreverent, and off-tone in another? What is the take away you want people to have on you? What do you want them to think about when they think of you? Remember, people usually only retain one or two things so you better make sure this first impression is the right one.

2) The most effective way to build that brand image is to be consistent. Use the same picture and an identical bio. That way, anyone reading it would get a clear idea of who you are no matter where they see you online.

3) Don’t hold back! If you don’t promote yourself and tell people what you are up to, who will? Use your communities’ status updates, walls, and other announcement tools to let people know about your change. If you don’t tell your community, how are they going to know? This will spark conversation, as people will respond in kind.

4) Use your twitter account to connect with people in your industry. Twitter can be frustrating at first (yes, I did swear at it more than once) but once you get the hang of it, it’s a real resource for timely information. Graeme Newell has a great post about How to Make Your Twitter Feed Worth a Damn.

5) Very importantly, get a videoBIO. I did. The feedback has been amazing. I am getting queries from people I have not heard from in a long time to professional associates who are very curious on how they can use this remarkable tool. It’s a great way to stand out in the cluttered online space and most importantly, get your unique perspective across in a dynamic, personal way.

What did I miss? How would you use this opportunity to raise your online profile?

As a side note, I’m thrilled to join the VideoBIO team. There is nothing like working on a remarkable product and working with you to create them! I thrive on your input. Contact me at Laurinda@videobio.com and on twitter @VideoBIO. Let’s talk.