Do I Need A LinkedIn Account? The Benefit Of Each Major Social Media Platforms & What Business They Best Serve
Let’s be honest, if someone doesn’t have an Instagram or a Twitter or a Facebook, we think they’re ~weird~. I mean, everyone and their mother (seriously, my mom and my friend’s mom and so many other moms) have social media accounts. There are times when we get off of social media for mental health reasons (understandably so!) but there are some people who don’t have social media just because they, simply, don’t want to have them.
Do I need social media?
Yes!
It’s a huge thing nowadays, especially if you’re trying to get a job.
Whether if you’re a photographer, a writer, a makeup artist, a stylist, or a model, your social media is your portfolio. You post things that represent who you are and what you do, and from a career standpoint, you want to post content that accurately represents that.
Nowadays, Instagram is the move. If you’re a photographer or a model, upload photos and share behind-the-scenes content on your story. If you’re a writer, share your work on your feed and connect with other writers. If you’re a makeup artist or a stylist, share with your followers the products or fabrics you use, talk about what inspires you, show recent work you’ve done. Your Instagram is your portfolio.
If you have social media accounts, potential employers (especially if you’re a creator) will obviously spend some time on your page(s). Your presence online is important – what you post (or lack thereof) will make or break potential work opportunities. That’s just the truth.
What social media platforms should you be on?
Get on the gram!
Instagram is one of the most popular (if not the most popular) social media platforms, especially for younger generations. It’s the perfect place for you to upload photos and videos of what you do for a living (or want to do for a living!) and share words that can inspire others. You can easily connect with similar creatives as well as connect with potential employers. You can market yourself and your brand in such an aesthetic-driven, particular way, and your feed is the perfect place to showcase your portfolio.
This platform used to be poppin’. It’s not as popular as Instagram, but it’s still pretty important. Why? It’s easier to connect with people.
If you have a large following on Instagram, you might not notice pending messages and comments. It’s not as easy to get followers on Twitter as it is on Instagram, and so if someone wants to reach out and connect with you, they can. You’ll have a better chance of noticing them, too.
It’s important to connect with people, as a creator and as a potential employee. Yes, your portfolio is important, but it’s also important to have conversations and make connections with people using your words.
It’s starting to become ~uncool~ to have a Facebook and say, “yeah, hi, you can find me on Facebook!” (You know what I mean?)
If you want to have a business profile on Instagram (to see analytics), you have to have a business page on Facebook that backs it up. (Unless things have changed and I just haven’t noticed them and you can get analytics without having a Facebook…)
There’s not really much of a reason to have a Facebook, unless it’s used for stalking/making sure potential employers or employees aren’t creeps or catfishes, you know?
This one is tricky. You’re most likely making your connections through Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook – and that’s fine! You don’t need to have a LinkedIn page – it wouldn’t hurt you to have one, but it also wouldn’t hurt if you didn’t have one.
If you want to have a LinkedIn page that people can look at, all you have to do is make it look as good as you can.
Include your most recent work or interning experiences and what you did while you were there, any relevant skills that are important to show people you know what you’re doing, any college experiences and what you studied (if you went and graduated), any relevant links to a website or social media pages (haha), a recent photo (so people actually believe you’re a real person), and even some references from other people (if you have them).
LinkedIn a good way to look professional and put-together… but it’s not 100% needed. As long as you have a website that shows your portfolio and or social media accounts that include more information about who you are and what you do, you’re good.
Social networking is important. If you’re an employer, a company, or a creator looking for potential jobs or people to work with, you need social media. You want to be able to showcase your work, market yourself to potential employers and companies, express yourself and who you are.
Before you meet with people in person, you have to make an online presence first. Why? That’s just the way things are nowadays. We’re in the future, kids. It’s all happening.
