7 Ways You Can Use Social Media To Your Benefit
Ever since social media came into existence, much has been said about the degree to which our interactions on these platforms have affected our lives. Having started as a pastime activity, social media interactions are now intertwined with our lives and almost certainly affect how we perceive the world.
Social media has provided excellent platforms for reaching out to our target audience-customers, fan base, students, political supporters, potential financiers, congregations and even our distractors. So much so that social media has become an intrinsic part of our lives, capable of building us or breaking us.
Below are the key aspects of social media we can get to work in our favor :
1. Branding Yourself
Social media is now the world’s biggest platform for showcasing talent and skill. Social media platforms run on algorithms that are designed in a manner that allows employers to narrow down on their target candidates for job openings at the click of a button. As a person looking for opportunities, the onus is on you to package yourself in a manner that will make you a hit with those who come across your social media profile.
It is an open secret that employers are increasingly turning to social media to get a better glimpse of applicants’ skills and personality traits that often miss from resumes. Going by this trend, you stand a better chance of getting hired if you are on social media than if you are not. It is the ultimate ground for identifying, publicizing and developing talent and skills.
2. Marketing Products and Services
Social media is the world’s biggest marketplace. The different social media platforms present users with a bird’s eye view of what is popular within certain demographics and certain regions. The platforms link us to billions of people who are always readily and freely talking about their likes and dislikes, their fears, aspirations among other snippets of their lives.
For businesses, this provides rich ground for reaching out to customers and attending to their needs at a low cost. In addition, customer feedback on social media is very fast or even instantaneous in some instances. That said, you should also develop proper customer relations skills for social media since not all the customer feedback will be exciting. With proper approach, social media can work in a business’ favor and help expand its brand.
3. Sourcing for Business Ideas
Social media platforms are an excellent source of business ideas. More often than not, companies, innovators, motivational speakers and other creatives share great business ideas on their social media platforms for free- and sometimes even without knowing it! In some instances, such ideas may have been implemented elsewhere, but not within your geographical location. With a keen ear/eye and a touch of ingenuity, you can package such ideas and create successful businesses out of them. You can also get useful contacts to help you start and grow your business.
4. Networking
The Internet made the world a global village, but social media has made it a community. We are typically on social media in search of people and organizations with whom we share common interests. The smart move therefore is to get the most out of our interactions with them.
You should strategically and intentionally go after a few people and specific institutions to establish fruitful engagements, beyond the typical entertainment value. It could be in form of sharing ideas, providing links to jobs or business opportunities, mentorship, or any other useful information.
5. Source of Motivation
We are living in a world where the pressures of life may at times be too much for one to bear alone. Social media has provided us with great platforms where we can share our experiences through hard times and encourage one another. In addition, one can learn from high achievers on how their journey has been, the obstacles they have overcome and how they tackle everyday challenges.
There are also many inspiring stories that can encourage and give you inner strength to overcome barriers. However, keep off overly-flashy success stories from people with questionable character. Such will certainly exert undue pressure on you, may make you belittle yourself and discourage you.
6. Learning Platform
Social media has made us understand our world better. We can now interact with people from different nationalities, cultural and socio-economic backgrounds. This has broadened our understanding of each other and made us appreciate our differences more.
It is now easier to understand concepts in a contextualized and simplified form. That is better than in the past when we almost entirely depended on text-book definitions, which may not always have been accurate.
7. Staying Informed
Social media is just as powerful as the mainstream media, and it provides us with a limitless supply of information. It facilitates real-time person-to-person conversations, which can then be broadcast to wider audiences worldwide.
In addition, we can be selective on the kind of information we want to consume by filtering out unwanted content. However, one should always be on the lookout for suspicious news and misinformation, which can be harmful.
Always verify sensitive information before you spread the news or hit the share button. Also, be careful not to divulge sensitive personal information because there’s a risk that it may be used to harm you. You should also keep off insensitive discussions and arguments that consume your precious time without adding value to your life.
