4 Social Media Tips from COM Week

After attending this year’s Social Media Seminar for COM week, I learned some valuable info about LinkedIn and Twitter that I would like to share with those of you who are new-ish to the social media world. I’m by no means am I a social media guru, but I’m on my way to learning the tricks and the trades of different social media platforms. I know most of the basics, just like everyone else, but I feel like there’s something new to learn every week! 

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Here are a few pointers that I took away from the seminar last week:

1)     You can upload your resume on LinkedIn!  

One part about this social media platform that intimidates me is the tediousness of entering ALL my work/school/extra curricular information. I kept procrastinating on updating my LinkedIn page due to lack of time to sit down and type everything in. But, who knew, all you have to do is click “Upload resume” and voilà! There it is. All your important info automatically revised in LinkedIn form. Wonderful.

2)     LinkedIn users can also register for events.

Through your LinkedIn page, you can create events and have them open for registration. This section is located at the very bottom of your profile. Prior to learning this, I thought Facebook was the only social media platform that allowed users to create and “attend” events. I thought this little tidbit of information was pretty interesting as well.

3)     RT=Retweet, which is important for getting your name out there on Twitter.

Before the social media seminar I understood “retweeting” simply as clicking on someone else’s tweet for it to appear on your own Twitter. During the seminar, I learned that the retweet is important in order for people to recognize you on Twitter. It helps others get their Twitter handle out there. Every time you retweet, that person can now be seen by all of your followers. Therefore, your followers can now follow the person whom you have retweeted. #prettysweet.

4)     Use a handle at the beginning of a tweet for the tweet to go directly to that user’s profile.

If you use a Twitter handle as the very first part of a tweet, that tweet will go directly to his or her Twitter page and notify that person that someone has tweeted at them. However, if you tweet and use a handle in the middle of the tweet (or anywhere besides the first word), the person will be notified that they have been mentioned, but it will not go directly to their personal page. Interesting!

I hope this helped a few of you get more acquainted with LinkedIn and Twitter. Social media is an ongoing process that is constantly changing. It’s difficult to keep up with all the new information. As public relations students, we should try our best to keep ourselves updated with all aspects of new social media. Good luck and keep it up!

This post was submitted by Lauren Harris. Lauren is a junior Public Relations major with a minor in Ethics and Social Policy. As the Director of Administration, Lauren is responsible for recording minutes for each meeting, coordinating social events, finding volunteer opportunities in the Springfield community, and contacting local professionals to speak at meetings. You can contact her via email at lfh90@live.missouristate.edu or follow her on Twitter @Lo573.