Managing Your Online Presence

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Developing an online presence takes time and commitment. With a few simple guidelines, you can curate the online presence you want! Be thoughtful about it, and remember it won’t happen overnight, and it takes some effort. Start by thinking about what you’re looking to get from your online presence, professionally and/or personally. Here are a few things to keep in mind as you start or maintain your online presence.

#1: Google yourself. 

It may seem odd, or perhaps you do it regularly. Either way it’s important to be aware of what information is on the world wide web about you. If you don’t know what’s out there you can’t manage it. 

Try looking for yourself in a variety of ways.  If you have licenses or certifications try your name with and without, also try adding your city and state.  

This can be a surprising process finding out what information is out there, whether it be photos or links to personal social media accounts such as Twitter and Facebook (or even that LiveJournal diary from high school or college). IT may be surprising but often personal blogs are easily found with general searches for someone’s name or general topics.  

#2: Join social networks. 

Even if you don’t want to be overly involved in social networks, it can be important to simply be a participant. Not only do they help you connect and interact with your peers, but they can also help keep you informed and boost creativity.

Keep in mind that different platforms may serve a different purpose for you and that you don’t need to be on them all. Pick the ones that work for you, between Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Pintrest, Google+, LinkedIn, and the many others out there you have options. Take a moment to think about what it is that you want to gain from them and choose from there. 

Twitter and Facebook are more socially focused, but can also be ways to engage professionally with peers and professional organizations. LinkedIn is primarily focused on career aspirations and connecting with colleagues. Tumblr and Pinterest are great tools to inspire creativity. 

#3: Optimize your presence.

When your online presence goes stagnant it’s almost as bad as not having anything at all. To truly have a space in the online world it’s necessary to update regularly and engage with others. When determining what you want to get out of your social networks and other tools you utilize such as blogs or personal webpages find ways to engage with your target audience and stay active.

You can often post across platforms with different tools to help keep all active and changing, but remember that each platform is different. Blogs are not intended for Twitter, but writing a teaser with a link to you blog is a great way to drive traffic 

#4: Protect yourself. 

Once you click publish, it’s no longer private! Seriously, once it is out there you can never erase it completely. You may be able to limit and hide it, but there’s no guarantee it’s not lingering out there somewhere. So be cautious of what you publish, however don’t let it keep you from being active and sharing what you want. 

Be aware of your platform and where you’re posting. Perhaps your Facebook is limited to your friends and you can publish more freely and you keep posts limited on Twitter and maintain it more professionally. At the end of the day remember what you do online can reflect on you IRL (in real life).