Building a Professional Online Presence

Having a professional online presence is something absolutely important in today’s world of a new electronic age. Whether you’re searching for jobs, looking for new clients, or maybe trying to build a reputation in your field, people are going to search for you. You have no idea what they are going to find, but it’s going to impact the perception of who you are as a professional. These doors open opportunities that would have never existed.

Why Does A Professional Online Presence Matter?

Before I dive into how to create an online presence, it’s a good idea to cover a little about why that even matters.

• First Impressions Matter: First impressions are everything and today the first impression is truly often online. Indeed, even recruiters and employers may look up your profiles online even before they meet you. A well-shaped online presence also shows that one is serious about his or her profession.

• Networking Potential: Once installed, the strong web presence allows one to touch base with potential industry leadership figures, prospective clients, or colleagues at points around the globe. Therefore, one’s chances for making contact and knowing an opportunity for which they would otherwise remain oblivious increase.

• Building Credibility: The main impact of sharing with other people online such success and knowledge is that it builds upon one’s credibility. The more people believe in someone, the more likely they will hire that someone for their work and later whatever opportunities come their way once they have a strong online presence and are actively sharing valuable insights.

• Career Development: Most employers are currently scouting the internet before making that hiring decision. Online professional presence becomes the separator to help move the needle in getting that dream job.

Now that we know how to do it, let’s now take a look at how to create one.

Clean up existing online profiles

Clean up what you have before building something new. Do a simple search for yourself just to see what comes up. You want to make sure there is nothing unprofessional or embarrassing on there that’s accessible to employers or clients. Here’s just a few things to check:

• Social Media: Purify your social media networks of any out-of-place posts, comments, or photos. Make sure that the private settings also restrict as many people as possible from viewing your work.

• Old Accounts: If you have any unused or old accounts, you can even delete them or update the information with something relevant to your work and not out of date.

• Google Yourself: Search for potentially negative results. If you find any, try to neutralize them: start by contacting the webmaster or create great content that will push down older information in the search results.

Profile on LinkedIn

LinkedIn is obviously where all professional networking occurs. It’s often the first place potential employers go looking for you, too. Establish yourself on LinkedIn, so you come up professionally in any search.

• Professional Photo: Your profile picture should contain an image of you-a clear, high-resolution, professional photo. It is not necessary that the image should be taken by a professional photographer but must be well lit, clear, and for your industry.

• Charming Headline: Your headline must tell of your skills and the type of work that you do. It’s far from just a job title. It’s like a tagline summarizing who you are professionally.

• Expanded Summary: A summary that captures the background of your career, skills and passion. You make it interesting. Remember this may be your one shot at finally getting a chance to tell your professional story.

• Showcase Your Experience: A pretty good idea would be putting your experience up there, such as work experience. Here you should list out your work experience and focus on achievements and responsibilities that can better display your skills.

• Share Articles: On LinkedIn, you can also share articles or insights on your area of specialization. Here, you may comment on the latest news about developments concerning your industry, as well as participate in relevant groups related to your field. All this will enhance your presence and prove that you indeed are an active participant in your career.

Your personal website or portfolio.

One of the best marketing you could ever do in your career is owning a personal website or portfolio-your own space where you can show your work and accomplishments.

• Professional Domain Name: Ideally, your domain name should be your full name-for example, YourName.com. If that’s not available, then pick something closest to it. This makes it pretty easy for people to find you.

• About Me Section: Write a little section that explains who you are and what you do but explain why you do it too. This is important because there needs to be some personality behind the professionalism.

• Portfolio: If your work can be visualized– whether it is design, writing, or coding– write a portfolio section that presents your best work. If the type of work you do cannot easily be visualized– for example, project management– you can talk about past projects with successes or case studies.

• Blog or Insights: This will enable you to have a blog where you can write on industry trends, professional experiences, or topics related to your field. That will show expertise and helps keep the website active, which may support rankings in search engines.

Presence through Social Media-Be Professionally Active

Social media participation becomes something more than just personal data. Most people use their outlet-like connections on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook for discussions with other professionals that can be of help to them for insight or just connecting with important people in one’s industry.

• Twitter: Share articles, comment on industry trends, and join the conversations with others in your field. Following thought leaders and keeping up with relevant discussions can help gain visibility.

• Instagram: If the field of work is overwhelmingly visual, like design, photography, or fashion, Instagram is going to be a very fantastic source with which you can share some of your work and connect with other folks in the same field.

• Facebook: Continue joining professional groups as well as sharing news and reports coming in the industry and join the discussion on your career.

This means that your post would show a lot about the kind of image you will want to put out for your career. You are all right being a fun person, but it has to be kept respectful and decent and suitable for your profession.

Share Your Expertise

One of the great ways for you to create strong professional online presences is to share what you know. Not only does this put you into a category of experts, but it also helps peers in your field. Here’s how to do this:

• Writing Articles or Blog Posts: Express your thoughts concerning the industry trend, challenges, or success tips. Share them on LinkedIn, in-house, own website, or industry websites

• Making Videos or Tutorials: If you are comfortable with being on camera, you can create short videos sharing your expert views. You might share success advice, industry analysis, or how-to tutorial material.

• Discuss: Whether it is a thread in Twitter or a LinkedIn group, your best chance to connect and share what you know is by contributing to the conversation .

Stay Current and Engaged

Having an online presence is just the first step. Your profiles, your website, and your social media all must be refreshed and updated regularly. That includes

• Posting new work or achievements.

• Writing articles or engaging in discussions.

• Keeping your contact information up to date.

All of this keeps you active online and, thus visible and relevant in your industry.

Conclusion

Time will pass in getting a good professional online presence, but when done right, it is very worth all of the fuss. Clean up your existing profiles, create a LinkedIn account-and even start up a personal website-so everyone can see that you mean business for your profession. Your online presence would best reflect engaging and active behavior, so maintain it as that best represents who you are as a professional.

FAQ’s