Alex Rosborough's Blog

‘Social media’, the future of professional networking

Since the introduction of social media to the public in 2006, it has dominated the lives of almost everyone on the planet. Society has never been more connected.

With a few taps we can connect with each other no matter where our location on the planet. This technology has become so efficient, it has become essential to our way of life in the 21^st century.

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However, we are consistently bombarded with negative headlines regarding the destructive nature of this technology. From mental health problems in children, to data theft and hate crime.

It has been well documented that the introduction of social media has separated hate crime with the consequences associated with such practice.

Why use social media technologies?

Before the introduction of such technologies, networking was reliant on face to face interaction and a series of handshakes. Networking was reliant on people investing time and money in travelling to locations for networking engagement.

These technologies allow for networking from any location at any time from a mobile device in your pocket.

Networking has never been easier.

We form new friendships. We build new relationships. We uncover long lost relatives. All at the tap of a few buttons we connect with each other at speeds that would not have been conceptualised just a few decades ago

What can this mean for professional networking?

In attending a talk on the benefits of social media by Christian Dunn of Bangor university, the benefits became astonishingly clear.

Coming from a background of journalism, Christian highlighted the importance of social media in the job application process, with 93% of employers using or planning to use social media as a part of their recruitment process.

It was also noted that 55% have reconsidered applications based on their social media presence, with 61% being negative.

This highlights the impact of social media in terms of employability.

Embarrassing videos and obnoxious photos on google

Many think of social media as exactly what is states on the tin ‘social’. Today, this is clearly not the case as businesses and employers home in on this technology for marketing and recruitment.

Christian described how 85% of all job vacancies are filled via networking, highlighting the demand for us to become professional with our social media presence.

Many people worry about their search engine results page (SERP) as a lot of us have content appearing here that would be regarded as having a negative impact when it comes to professionalism.

During the talk it was discussed that the most effective way we can take control over this is by overwriting the negative content with positive content.

However, there are other less effective methods of removing negative content as outlined below.

So what does this mean for my social media presence?

As an entrepreneur you may be surprised to learn I am absent from all social media platforms. As I have been attending networking events since the age of 16, I have been completely devoted on the old method of meet and shake hands networking.

However, with the up and coming expansion of my businesses, and plans to enter the scientific sector, this has opened my mind as a much easier and more effective method of networking.

I have always relied on social media solely as a business marketing tool. With my plans to enter the scientific sector, the information provided at the talk has made me feel more comfortable in selling myself online.

Thursday 7th November 2019