“Branding” is one of those constantly used buzzwords regarding marketing a product, a service, or a person. It is an important part of making your presence known to others and making sure they know something about you. Social media has brought personal branding to the masses. Whether it is Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Blogs, or countless other mediums, you now have tools easily and freely at your immediate disposal.
Personal branding is especially important when you are trying to stand out in this ever competitive job market. Dentistry has focused mostly on utilizing social media for marketing practices in local communities. There are very few in the dentistry field utilizing the power of social media for their careers.
Keys to using Social Media effectively in your job search
Brief Overview of the Most Widely Used Networks:
LinkedIn.com
- Be personable, but professional.
- Don't make everything public. Make private anything you would not want a potential employer to see. As a recruiter I am looking for your social media presence online, and employers are doing it, too.
- Completely fill out your profile information if you want others to find and communicate with you.
- Showcase your skills, abilities, experience, and personality.
- Utilize customized URLs such as www.linkedin.com/in/cguthrie or www.facebook.com/ETSdental.
- Ask others to add recommendations to your LinkedIn profile.
- Be an Active Participant in order to be noticed and recognized!
Helpful links to check out on this subject:
Brief Overview of the Most Widely Used Networks:
LinkedIn.comLinkedIn is this best site for putting your professional brand on display for potential employers. LinkedIn's sole purpose is for professional networking. If you are in the market for a new opportunity or you simply want your name to stand out there be sure to make your profile page public. Completely fill out your profile. You can hide contact info, but make sure you allow others to send you InMail and Connection Requests.
LinkedIn is also going to serve you well in your research about a practice. You can look up companies and groups where you can gain valuable insights into an organization and the people who work there. Check out the ETS Dental Group and the ETS Dental Company Page. Join in on discussions by answering questions others have or ask your own questions to start a discussion.
Facebook.com
Written by Carl Guthrie, Western Region Recruiter for ETS Dental.
Contact Carl at cguthrie@etsdental.com | 540-491-9104 | http://www.etsdental.com/
Facebook is the most well-known, most widely used, but the least productive when branding yourself. It's a better site for keeping up with personal and/or private relationships. You could create a Facebook page for yourself, but unless you are very famous you should not go this route.Twitter.com
Twitter is a quick and easy way to share knowledge, ask questions, and build your online presence in short snippets. 160 characters is all you get. Engage others by replying, re-tweeting, and direct messaging. Beware that Twitter is full of others who are constantly posting and it can get very noisy. Engagement is key to successfully utilizing Twitter.Blogging
Blogs are the base where you can share the most information about yourself. Use your blog to speak on subjects related to dental practice management, dental procedures, dental tech, etc. Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter are great ways to broadcast your blog posts. Sites to try: WordPress.com, Blogger.com, Tumblr.comDentalTown.com
DentalTown.com is a premier source of dental news, discussion groups, classified ads, and more. It is an excellent resource in getting answers to key dental question and where you can share much of your dental knowledge with doctors and other individuals solely focused on dentistry.
Written by Carl Guthrie, Western Region Recruiter for ETS Dental.
Contact Carl at cguthrie@etsdental.com | 540-491-9104 | http://www.etsdental.com/
