[MUSIC] So what are the general rules to follow in all social media accounts? There are a lot of similarities across accounts and general actions that you should take to upgrade your information to ensure the information you want to be found by potential employers is what they actually find. So let's review some of the most important things you should be doing already. Your name, unlike usual website search optimization rules that state that the URL counts in the ranking, so how high in the list it shows up in the returns when somebody searches your name, the real ranking for social media profiles happens with your name. So be sure to enter the name you want to be found under, so Ally McApplicant, whatever name you put on your resume, be sure you use the same name in your profiles. Your profile photo, remember, if you are updating your social media accounts for a recruiter, be sure to pick an image that portrays a strong professional image, something from the shoulders up or a professional head shot. Be sure to use the same picture as your profile photo across all social networks. That way, employers recognize you. Another thing that helps improve the search return when your name is entered is naming the profile photo itself, the actual file, with your name before uploading it. Be sure you have named it yourname.jpg or so, like in our case, Ally McApplicant.jpg. Search engines will show the image in the image tab in the search return, something that you want employers to see. Keywords, by keywords, I mean most commonly used search terms in primary search engines. A whole class could be crafted around perfecting this, and there probably is one that exists, but I need to briefly mention that they need to do this in social media accounts. When naming this course, for example, this was something we thought a lot about. What would a candidate like you, yourself, enter as a search term to find a class like this? There are tools to help get it right. Like Google Trends, where you can consider two words and compare their search success, so we use things like employment and jobs. And in this case, jobs went out. This is really important when putting together your skills and experiences, using terms that are relatable and not buzzwords. Or industry specific terms, one may never use those terms in describing a task or a job. Add the most important keywords to your LinkedIn profile title and your summary, for example. Add those same top keywords to skills and expertise and other sections, like interests, across all of your social media accounts, be consistent in those terms. All of this effort will influence the search results that a recruiter will get when they type in your name. Your main social profile bio is usually just a sentence or two about you that says something personal. Update it to include your professional goals. Think of it as a perfect place to put your professional pitch, something we will cover in great detail in step three, and include those keywords. I like to encourage people to start with Twitter to craft their default biography because it limits you to 160 characters. 20 more characters than they allow you for a general tweet, pretty generous, right? So this forces you to say the most important aspects you want to communicate in a concise way. So think about what you would tell a recruiter in an elevator if you had 30 seconds or 160 characters. Also, be sure to fill out your entire bio in every account. I know this seems arduous, but take advantage of this to share the best about yourself, your professional achievements, and show a little personality, and again, think about those key terms. Don't skip the interests portion of your profiles. I know it seems like a professional may not care about what movie that you might be into or what books you read, but these sections allow you to influence perceptions. Populate these areas strategically with those books or authors that are prominent in the industry you are applying for. This shows you are an active, engaged professional. Be aware, however, you may be asked in an interview about your thoughts on those books or authors, so be sure that you've actually read them. So that leads me to the idea next of honesty. Since we've learned the majority of recruiters are looking to confirm information about you by searching you online, tell the truth. Embellishing will just catch up with you later, so make sure everything you post is accurate and consistent. Privacy, each social media network has specific settings that you can use to ensure that you want what you want to be seen as public. Experiment with the settings and use the tools that allow you to view your profile as a member of the public and test it to see if your settings are working. Again, a whole class could be done on this in each channel. Focus in on LinkedIn, which should provide the least amount of privacy as you build your pages for future employers. Facebook, Twitter, and Google all provide potential areas of concern if these accounts are being used for personal and professional use. So really put some work in there in your privacy settings. Accuracy, like cover letters and resumes, typos can force a recruiter to move on. So just spellcheck and have a friend or colleague review your profiles for accuracy before you make them public. After you set your privacy settings and selected the proper images, in addition to inserting key search terms to improve your social media accounts, in the end, the content that lives in these accounts is crucial to your social media image. There is so much content out there on each one of us, and it can be tricky to change it or remove it, if it's unflattering information that returns in the search. It's easier to remove items that you have posted or shared, but what if someone shared or re-tweeted something you posted that was politically driven or were complaints about a current job? It gets difficult to clean it up all over. So just remember, you are what you post and share. A good guideline, if your mother wouldn't approve of it, don't post it. Potential employers are making quick judgments and decisions without context. Be selective and strategic about your posts, shares, and tweets. Or simply lock down your accounts with your privacy settings, as we discussed previously, so they aren't viewable by the public. Make sure that you are monitoring your social media accounts, and stay active. Potential employers have been known to send friend or connection requests. You want to be attentive to those, try to post, like, or share a handful of items a week. Dormant or inactive accounts can send a message that you aren't engaged or aren't detail-oriented. Engage with friends, join and interact with groups, and post interesting items your connections want to see. Something that is often forgotten is connecting and promoting the profiles you've spent so much time building. Add your social networking profile links to your resume, your website if you have one, your email signature, your business card, or that leave behind item that you might hand out at an interview. Most importantly, don't forget to interlink your profiles with each other. Your social media profiles often provide you with areas to include your Twitter handle, your LinkedIn URL, or your Facebook credentials. If these are channels you want people to see, promote them. [MUSIC]
