How Social Media Management Tools Can Boost Your Job Search

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• December 17, 2014
• By Ron Stewart
• 10 Comments

Distinguishing yourself from other careerists with equally well-presented resumes is no easy feat. In today’s digital world, outlandish marketing tactics such as billboards and t-shirts asking for a job aren’t the only ways to get noticed.

With the majority of recruiters looking at social profiles, creating an online personal brand and optimizing social media could be the way to clinch that dream job you’ve always wanted — and look awesome doing it.

Know your worth

You might know your strengths, but do those strengths come across when employers look at your social media channels? The first step to having a stellar social media brand is to know what you’re really worth.

Klout is a popular way to find out how influential and engaged you are across online social media platforms. The site will give you a “Klout score” — but remember, this can go up and down at any time.

If your Klout score isn’t as high as you’d like, don’t despair. A number of tools are available to help you manage and get the most from your social media profiles.

How to share social media posts like a pro

You can use social media tools to manage your personal brand. Building a personal brand may be straightforward for social media savvy grads, but maintaining it requires time managements skills and an overall strategy.

Posting insightful opinions and sharing valuable content is an essential way to encourage engagement on social media, but it’s time consuming, too.

One great example of social media management software is Commun.it. This tool allows you to manage, organize and increase followers across multiple social media profiles. They’ll also give you advice on the most influential and relevant social media accounts to follow.

How about LikeAlyzer? Enter your Facebook page address and this nifty tool analyzes it and recommends changes you could make to improve your engagement and outreach.

If you’re struggling to find content you want to share, Swayy is an ideal solution. The app connects to Facebook and Twitter, checks out who your audience is and suggests content you could share. It’s as easy as that.

How to make your mark and network

No doubt you’re already networking, connecting with friends of friends and using key hashtags (such as #marketingjobs) to find the most influential people in your field. But there’s another way to enhance your “it’s who you know, not what you know” strategy.

Wefollow.com is a Twitter directory organized by shared interests. Sign up, plug in your interests and the app helps you discover prominent people in your area of interest.

Take advantage of Twitter chats too. These Q&A sessions hosted by industry brands offer everyone who knows anything about the field a chance to participate and share their knowledge.

Whether you want to discuss healthcare communication and social media (#hscm) or human resources (#hrtrends), you can find a relevant chat.  If you add a comment of real value, you’ll get a retweet, which can boost your exposure. Use Gnosisarts or Tweet Reports to find relevant chats.

If you want to make your mark, create your own Twitter hashtag. Twitter hashtags are ideal if you want to provoke conversation or network with a certain crowd.

But a hashtag like #marketing isn’t going to cut it. You need to be unique, specific and purposeful.

Want to get your dream job?

Be bold and be brazen. Getting your dream job means proving your worth. (Click here to tweet this bit of inspiration.) Once you’ve designed your own personal brand, don’t give up. Focus your energies on upping your Klout score, effectively managing your content sharing and using creative strategies to meet people in high places.

Ron Stewart has worked in the recruitment industry for 30 years, having owned companies in the IT, construction and medical sectors. He runs the Jobs4Group and is CEO of Jobs4Medical. Ron is a regular contributor to Brazen Careerist, Talent Culture and Jobs and Careers Magazine.

Brazen powers real-time, online events for leading organizations around the world. Our lifestyle and career blog, Brazen Life, offers fun and edgy ideas for ambitious professionals navigating the changing world of work.