Using Social Media Beyond Likes and Followers

Why are you on social media? I don’t know about you, but if I am going to be endlessly scrolling, I want to get the most out of my time, regardless of the social media site.

Social media platforms have expanded far beyond their original purpose as a way for socializing and communicating long distance; it's now an essential tool in professional networking, lead generation, and market trend analysis. For professionals looking to leverage these platforms, it offers a lot  of opportunities to not only share your thoughts, but also to gather valuable insights and connections. I want to talk about some of the advanced strategies that can help you capture the full potential of social media for your career and business.

Generating Leads: The Art of Engagement

Think about this: would you rather have a lead or potential client seek you out or would you rather spend time and energy searching for them? To me the answer is a no-brainer! Generating leads on social media is about creating value, it’s not just about pushing your product or service on followers, but about pulling potential clients into meaningful conversations and engagement. The trick is to be consistently engaged and responsive. When someone comments on your post, don’t just like it; reply with a thoughtful response or a follow-up question that continues the conversation. Remember the saying, ‘know, like, trust’ factor? This, you want this, before you even think about using this as a sales engine. Use tools on LinkedIn such as polls to spark interest and gather opinions from your network, providing you with insights while keeping your audience engaged. This in particular, helps me increase the visibility of my posts but also helps me establish credibility as an expert who values audience feedback and engagement.

Trendspotting: An Industry’s Crystal Ball

Using social media to spot the first developments in an industry requires you to be an active participant, using an investigative approach. Don’t just passively scroll to consume content; analyze it. See what top influencers in your field are discussing, note the shifts in topics over time, and use this data to anticipate future trends. One of my favorite things to do is to share articles or posts to my network, which shows that I am on top of current happenings, which professionals appreciate. Platforms like X can be particularly useful due to their fast-paced nature, allowing you to observe the immediate reactions and discussions surrounding new technologies and industry shifts. Keep in mind that if your target market is not utilizing this platform, you shouldn’t be either. Employing advanced social listening tools like Google alerts and also automate this process, giving  real-time alerts on specified keywords or topics, enabling you to stay ahead of the curve without constant manual monitoring. A huge time saver!

Personal Branding: Refining Your Online Presence

What do you want to be known for? For me, it’s leadership and executive coaching. Your online presence on social media should be a living portfolio of your professional life. To improve your personal branding, regularly create content that is in alignment with your career goals and professional beliefs. Share articles you find insightful, comment on changes in your industry, and post original content that showcases your expertise. Video content can be particularly engaging and is heavily favored by social media algorithms. A monthly video discussing a hot topic in your field can do wonders for increasing your visibility and reinforcing your expertise to your audience. I have several videos showcasing this on YouTube.

Strategic Networking: Building Meaningful Connections

Effective networking on social media isn't just about increasing the number of your random connections, but about enhancing the quality of these connections. I devoted several months for organic reach to find the right people who support me and my messaging. A strategic approach is to be proactive in your interactions. If you see a connection celebrating a professional achievement, don’t just congratulate them, share their post along with your genuine endorsement of their skills or accomplishments on their profile page. Such actions help form stronger online relationships and often encourage reciprocation. Participating in or even hosting webinars and live discussions on platforms like LinkedIn or Facebook can significantly broaden your professional network reach while positioning you as an  expert leader in your industry.

Social media platform should be used as a marketing and relationship building tool that extends beyond mindless scrolling! By engaging authentically in lead generation, staying on top with trendspotting, curating your personal brand, and strategically networking, you transform passive scrolling into active opportunity creation.

How have you leveraged social media to advance your professional objectives? I’d love for you to share your strategies and successes in the comments below, let's learn from each other, continue to change the way we use these powerful platforms, and most of all, keep the conversation going! Please like, comment, or share this article with someone you think might enjoy reading it.