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How Twitter can affect your employability
The English language is an extremely powerful tool and we are continually reminded of this weapon with social platforms such as Twitter. What can 120 characters do?
In one tweet alone someone can go from being hired to fired. This was certainly the case with Justine Sacco in December (2013) who got sacked over her racist tweet which went viral.
It just goes to show that no matter what you say or do in life, there are always consequences.
Having said that there are of course positives. Ying wouldn’t be complete with yang. Twitter can of course be a way to show your employability; showcasing your up-to-date knowledge or skills within a particular area and linking through to your own website or pages online. It can be a great place to extend your job search as opposed to solely relying on recruiters or job pool sites. You can contact the people you need to get in touch with in real-time rather than through your CV or a representative.
Make your personal Twitter account be about you and your interests or views but of course be vigilant. Bear in mind anyone can read what you write. As a company you can communicate with your target audience, though remember that everyone is human, be personal. Companies should expect a (small) backlash of replies. Though not nearly as bad as British Gas received.
If you are handling a Twitter account then get someone to check over your scheduled tweets. A second pair of eyes is always a good idea and this helps you to keep in line with the brand voice and image.
My advice: think [and check] twice before chirping.
Useful Twitter and employability articles
Guardian Careers – Twitter tips: how I used social media to find jobs
Forbes – 4 Ways To Use Twitter To Find A Job
Mashable – 6 Ways to Score a Job Through Twitter
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Twitter hashtags: the ones to remember (or bookmark!)
As I find myself spending hours on social media, I constantly rely on my saved searches for Twitter. I have produced this short but comprehensive list of my top used hashtags on Twitter, great for adding to Tweetdeck. I hope you also find it useful if you are a writer or are interested in social media. As a general rule of thumb hashtags help give a ‘tweet’ context. For those who are not familiar with hashtags it is simply the # symbol followed by the subject or keyword related to the tweet.
Studies show that hashtags can increase engagement by 50% (1.5x) for brands and each tweet using a hashtag is more visible. This in turn means you will gather more Twitter followers. (Data taken from ‘Twitter for Journalists’ PDF).
The best hashtags on Twitter
This is by no means a definitive list just a few of the best; I will add to it as and when.
General: #news, #love, #photography, #fashion, #health, #fail, #followfriday, #competition, #win, #bloggers, #writing, #mustread, #beauty, #music, #follow, #book, #travel
Business: #jobs, #business, #sales, #economy, #marketing,#socialmedia, #startup, #retail, #smallbusiness, #tech, #SMBs, #restaurant, #csr
Tech: #android, #androidgames,#iphone, #iphonegames, #ipad,#ipadgames, #app
Education: #edtech, #education, #lrnchat, #teachers, #edu, #edtools, #school, #edchat, #ptchat
Environment: #climate, #solar, #globalwarming, #drought, #environment, #green
Social Change: #socialgood, #cause, #volunteer, #4change, #charity, #nonprofit, #philanthropy, #aid, #climate, #sustainability, #earthtweet, #eco, #fairtrade
Sport: #sports, #football, #sportsnews, #rugby, #f1, #active, #fitness, #lifestyle, #tennis, #footy, #…followed by the football team you support
Hashtags.org is a website which allows you to search for hashtags and find the trending ones. It also lists a number of topics and their related hashtags.
Related links
Useful hashtags for writers and authors
How to find the best Twitter Hashtags – this in depth article has everything you need to know from how to find associated hashtags to using a Twitter trend generator map.
How to use Twitter for customer service – a really informative article from Mashable.
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Online Marketing │Out with the words, in with the pictures
Infographics have been informing us since…well as of late, the rise in these popular graphics has been since the beginning of 2012. Infographics help to communicate messages or information instantly through graphic representation and minimal text/copy. Does it work? Do companies benefit from infographics or is it just more unnecessary information floating in cyberspace?
Why use infographics?
Infographics are a fun way to present information and as you know users do not spend a lot of time on one webpage to another. So if your business wants to communicate something quickly and clearly this could be a good way to do so. For example, the wine website Wine Folly uses infographics to help explain wine in a manageable way, please see ‘How to Choose Wine’. The graphics are simple but useful, the text clear and concise.
Infographics are also useful for social media facts and statistics. The data is easy to digest, visually pleasing and not too overbearing; ideal for light hearted (informal) presentations to clients or internally within a company. Long gone are the days of nine pages of reports on social media coverage, tracking links etc. Complex issues are made easier to understand through this method of delivery. This is beneficial to both you and your customer. [This comment in particular is applicable for digital marketing agencies].
Philosophical values and messages are perfect topics for infographic posters. Companies can build their brands around images and information they create! Clever eh?
- Easy to produce
- Clearly communicate messages, information, facts or statistics.
- Visual thoughts – brought alive!
- Build a company’s brand image – users will consider your company as a resource for user-friendly information.
- A helpful resource both internally and externally.
- Infographics can be shared very quickly.
- Used to display a wide range of topics and discussions. This could be anything from blueberries to porn infographics [don’t worry the latter link isn’t too offensive].
This all sounds good but…
Some infographics can look a bit amateur. Remember those (one off) nights when you would do your homework last minute. You walk up to the desk, hand shaking, reluctantly sending that haphazard piece of work to your marker. Well for infographics it can be just the same. Some companies rush into producing content quickly without considering the design element and publishing as soon as possible.
This can also lead to inevitable blunders such as not citing where you found information or date from or not hyperlinking quoted sources. I advise including a reference for everything you quote. Acknowledgement of sources is extremely good practice.
Infographics about your own company are only of interest to…well, you (most likely). Remember the content should be engaging and exciting for the reader and self-promoting narcissism will not get you anywhere! In fact it may lead to bad press for you.
6 Infographic tips
- Remember all inforgraphics need… a beginning + a middle + an end
- The content should as new and as original as possible.
- Use eye-catching graphics, flow charts, images, photographs, cartoons etc.
- Whatever you say, may it clear.
- Information should always be easy to digest and use, this then encourages sharing on different platforms i.e. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram etc.
- Infographics are popular at this point in time but so is Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, LinkedIn, Tumblr – but is your company using all those websites? No? Well infographics are like social media websites – only use if necessary or beneficial to you or your company.
If you have any comments about infographics or would like to ask me a question then please feel free to leave a message below. Use the hashtag #infographics on Twitter to find some great examples of infographics!
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