We’ve all heard the stories of irresponsible social media
users who’ve compromised their careers due to a careless post on Twitter or Facebook.
Whether it’s bashing the president’s daughters on your public Facebook page,
tweeting profanities about a past employer, or posting one too many Instagram
photos of a night out on the town, these familiar stories are constantly
resurfaced in media for the rest of us to chuckle at, gasp, or shake our heads in
dismay.
Despite our relatively quick dismissals of such acts of carelessness,
there is always a lingering fear that this could possibly happen to us. We’ve
all been there. Once in a while we may want to vent about our bosses, and once
in a while we may have a few too many drinks. But is social media the
appropriate outlet for these most personal aspects of our lives? No – and I’ve
learned this the hard way.
I’ll admit, although reluctantly so, that in high school I
was obsessed with the Jonas Brothers. As many other celebrities do, my beloved
Jonas Brothers offered their fans a chance to win free tickets to their Toronto
show by means of a contest. This contest called upon Jonas-obsessed teens like
myself to replicate one of the band’s music videos. Obviously my friends and I
jumped at the idea, and a video of us rocking out to “Burnin’ Up” was on
YouTube as fast as our 14-year-old-selves could possibly manage. Although this
video was never detrimental to any employment opportunities, I did have some acquaintances stumble upon the footage in recent years, which resulted in enormous
embarrassment. Needless to say, the video was almost instantly deleted – as
soon as I managed to pry the laptop out of their hands, of course.
This was my first lesson on where to draw the line with
social media usage – to keep all social media accounts CLEAN and free of
potentially embarrassing content. You never know when a post you made 8 years
ago – say a video of you dancing around to an outdated boy band – will come
back to bite you in the butt.
Since this most unfortunate occurrence, I’ve been able to
fine-tune my social media skills a little more to ensure my online presence is
not detrimental to my professional life. Of the many valuable lessons I’ve
learned as a student of Mohawk College’s Public Relations Graduate Certificate
Program, managing social media accounts effectively and appropriately has been
one that I will never lose sight of.
I’ve often struggled with determining the parameters of
appropriate social media usage and managing my online presence. As future PR
professionals, my classmates and I walk a fine line in the social media world.
We must represent ourselves professionally
on a platform that was designed for personal
use. How can we showcase our knowledge and usage of the platform without taking
it too far? How can we draw the line
between what's humorous and what's damaging to our professional reputation? Luckily,
we’re all part of a program that can help us to better determine that barrier.
One of the most significant lessons we’ve learned is not to
be boring on social media. Personality is tremendously important to most
employers, and should be clearly evident in your social media usage. On a class
trip to the well-known PR agency, Hill and Knowlton, we’ve even heard that
swearing is acceptable on social media accounts (of course given that it is in
moderation.) Currently, I’m working on mastering the art of respectable humour
and determining appropriate online expressions of my own personality, and this
is no easy feat.
However, social media usage should not only be thought of in
terms of what to avoid, but also as a tool to promote oneself. Social media
sites like LinkedIn provide wonderful opportunities for people entering the
workforce to make connections, build their networks, and showcase their
academic and professional accomplishments. More and more, employers are looking
to social media for prospective hires, and this platform’s opportunities to
promote one’s personality and prowess of the social media tool should not be
overlooked. However, users must be wary of the content they post. If in doubt,
turn those privacy settings ON.
While my social media presence and public image are in
constant negotiation with my relationship to the world of PR, I’ve learned a
great deal already about how to better manage these divergent forces. The
learning process is still in effect as social media continues to grow and more opportunities open for methods of personal and professional expression. As for
me, I won’t be uploading a video of me dancing around to the Jonas Brothers
anytime soon. Instead, I look forward to learning many more lessons as I navigate my way
through the social media and PR worlds – this time, the easy way.
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