social media for professional development
DESCRIPTION
Social media is widely known for its involvement in connecting people and their personal lives, but the majority of social networks and digital media platforms can be used as professional development tools. This session designed specifically for Babson staff was intended to give a basic overview of these tools, how to use them for personal development and how to use them in connecting with students in one's role.TRANSCRIPT
Social Media for Professional Development
Gene Begin M’07Digital Marketing Director
Babson College
What is Professional Development?
Skills and knowledge attained for both personal development and career advancement; described as intensive and collaborative, ideally incorporating an evaluative stage (Wikipedia)
What has social media done for your professional development?
Twitterverse • Has helped maintain professional connections and provide opportunities to interact on an ongoing basis• Develop personal brand; work and home life has become the same if you want to use social effectively• Social Media makes professional development fun
Me • Researching latest developments, industry trends, and best practices• Connecting with like-minded individuals• Build confidence
Professional Development
OLD SCHOOL
NEW SCHOOL
• Facebook• Twitter• LinkedIn• Webinars• Podcasts• Blogs• Tutorials/Videos• Discussion Boards/Wikis• 1 conference a year (online, in person or even via a hashtag!)
• 1 or 2 conferences a year• Industry or function magazines• HR workshops• Case Studies• Consultation• Coaching• Continuing Education
A shift in how people discover, read and share news, information and content (Wikipedia)
Social Media…
is more popular than e-mail. *
*Mashable.com**Time magazine
Social Media
And porn. **
1.Learn - Learn your way around the space and discover how other users are utilizing the platform.
2.Interact - Now that you have a sense of the space, use it more frequently and understand its intricacies. Communicate and be a part of the conversation.
3.Engage - Now that you've built relationships and have become knowledgeable of the space, share content and conversation that will engage your new connections.
3 Steps to Social Media Use
Webinars/Video/Multimedia
YouTube EDU Channels and playlists Live Search
Online Conferences &
Webinars Live Recorded
Blogs & Blog Readers
Google Reader Yahoo MSN Newsgator NewsCrawler Microsoft Outlook
How to Use RSS Feedshttp://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-use-rss-feeds
Micro-blogging information sharing network Searches on twitter.com Community learning? Hashtags
#heweb #sachat #blogchat #highered
Twitter Applications & Platforms
• Twitter.com• Tweetdeck• CoTweet• HootSuite• EasyTweets• Tweetie
• Seesmic• Digsby• Echofon• Mobile – Twitter apps for iPhone & Android, UberTwitter, Twitterberry, etc.
Tweetdeck Example
Connecting with Students on Twitter
Students with public profiles Twitter: Mainly using for personal connections, but savvy networkers and social media influencers are catching on
Status updates Sharing of news and events
Many organizations use as a marketing channel Babson Pulse (Life@Babson feed) CAB Babson Players FME Businesses
Links business professionals and businesses together
Individual profiles and groups
Ability to message without sharing personal contact info
Groups: common interests stay informed and connected discussions, recommendations, sharing of content
Groups/business profiles SHOULD BE more for connection versus individual or business promotion
LinkedIn Group Examples
Babson College Community My Groups
Connecting with Students on LinkedIn
LinkedIn: Professional networking Students understanding the importance of collegiate networking
↓ Connecting with students NOW to leverage connections LATER Best way to professionally connect with students Students value the benefits of connecting to professionals Teach and encourage students!
Pages, events, groups, lists
Staff Guidelines: Friend Requests with Students• Groups and fan pages allow for communication without being “friends”• Do not initiate the request due to power of authority• Feel free to respond based on personal comfort level
Social Media Takes Time
Adapted from work by Aliza Sherman and Beth Kanter
1. Learn - Learn your way around the space and discover how other users are utilizing the platform.
3 Steps to Social Media Use
3. Interact - Now that you have a sense of the space, use it more frequently and understand its intricacies. Communicate and be a part of the conversation.
2. Engage - Now that you've built relationships and have become knowledgeable of the space, share content and conversation that will engage your new connections.
Key Takeaways
Professional development = personal development Social media is conversation Crawl before you walk Find your comfort zone Find the platform that is right for you and your goals
1. Learn 2. Interact 3. Engage
Questions?
Don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions.
Gene [email protected]
Twitter:@gbeginhttp://www.linkedin.com/in/genebegin
Babson Blogshttp://blogs.babson.edu
Babson Community LinkedIn Grouphttp://www.linkedin.com/groups?mostPopular=&gid=39858
Babson Facebook Pagehttp://www.facebook.com/babsoncollege