Recently I wrote about what is social media.
Most of you who are online are already using facebook and email; many of you are also using twitter.
Start a blog
Take your social media usage a step further by adding a blog to it. Most widely used blogging platform currently is wordpress. It is so popular because of ease of use, a huge user base, and engaged community and a global developer group which continuously works on making it better day by day.
Just head over to www.wordpress.com, create a free account, pick a name, theme and start posting with simple content editor. No need to know HTML or complex technology. With wordpress you will get as close as you can get to creating a website in no time.
Once you create a blog with wordpress – you can post text, add audio or video as content of your choice. WordPress is what I use to run Mohit Pawar’s blog.
WordPress features at a glance;
- Design: choose from range of themes and change the design whenever you want.
- Customization: you can add a logo or a customized header to personalize your blog.
- Post by email: this features makes blogging as easy as sending an email. Just compose your post (article/ essay) like an email and send it a unique wordpress email and post appears on your blog in real-time.
- Community features: with wordpress your readers can like your posts on facebook, comment on your posts, and you can respond to the comments of your readers.
WordPress provides a lot more functionality but the above should be enough to get you started with blogging.
The best part is that all this can be done in couple of clicks. You do not need a great deal of technical knowledge; if you can send an email or currently maintain a profile on a social network you can create a blog and start posting.
Add LinkedIn and SlideShare
Social media is about sharing, letting others find you and connecting with like-minded people.
LinkedIn is one place – where others can find you and your can connect with peers and colleagues. Chances are that you already have a LinkedIn profile set-up. If yes then focus on completing it 100%. If you are yet to create a profile on LinkedIn then go create one.
In the beginning most people use LinkedIn as an online resume but it is more than that. You will know when you explore after creating your profile.
To further make social media work for you — utilize the power of SlideShare. SlideShare is world’s largest community for sharing presentations.
A working professional or a student can create a presence (starts with creating an account) on SlideShare and upload PowerPoint presentations to your account. If your presentation is good other members of SlideShare community will get to know you. This is a good opportunity to enhance your personal brand and connect with like-minded professionals.
Hope a mix of a blog, LinkedIn and SlideShare will give you an opportunity to use social media for your benefit.
Is there anything you want to share or ask, please go ahead?
