Making Social Media Work for You (Part 3): Facebook
In past columns, we have illustrated how social media can extend your professional reach, noting that Twitter can be a great starting point. However, using social media to promote your professional image doesn’t have to stop at Twitter. Facebook, which started as a tool for Harvard undergrads to connect with their friends, has evolved into a professional networking tool that many organizations and individuals now use to their advantage. You too can use Facebook as a tool to expand your influence, network with colleagues and even educate and communicate with patients.
In addition to serving as a platform for sharing information with your professional network, Facebook offers a platform for staying connected to others in the fields of health and health care. For example, many health and health policy organizations, like RWJF, Health Affairs, and a variety of Human Capital programs, have a Facebook presence. By “liking” an organization’s page, you’ll be able to view updates on your home page or “News Feed” each time you log into Facebook. Organization pages allow users to interact through private or public messages—thus giving you access to their networks, as well.
To get started, sign up at www.facebook.com, create an account, and you’re in! As with all social media tools, you can select your level of interactivity. Below are some tips to help you get started:
Create: Build a profile that describes you and reflects your goals for participating in the Facebook community. Whether personal or professional, a profile can always be modified to fit your evolving needs—and you may want to have separate professional and personal profiles. Developing a profile that accurately represents your interests and goals will help you create a rich online network. Additionally, Facebook has several features through which you can interact with your “friends.” You can invite friends to events and groups you create (where you can discuss common interests), write notes (as you would a blog post), share videos, photos and other resources.
Connect: Facebook allows you to search for friends and colleagues using key words or email addresses, and send them a “friend request” to become connected. In addition, you will want to find organizations you’re interested in and “like” their pages. Not only can you connect with people and organizations, but you can demonstrate your interests and share resources by “liking” news articles, notes, status updates, comments and almost anything else that users and organizations share on their respective Facebook profiles.
Share: Once connected, share what’s on your mind by updating your profile’s “status.” You can post links, photos, or text of any length in your profile; you can discuss your interests and what’s relevant in your professional sphere. Do you use other social media platforms? Facebook makes it possible to share your online activities with your friends and connections. If you’re a Twitter user, you can stream your tweets on your Facebook page, share your blog posts with friends, and even update others on your recent accomplishments including news articles and online publications.
Quick Tip: Remember that information spreads quickly through social media, and if you share links to recent accomplishments or publications in your Facebook community, this could garner immediate attention and support from colleagues and friends. Not to mention, friends will have the opportunity to “like” and share your post on their own walls, further expanding your reach.
In addition, ensuring that your organization is on Facebook can be a great marketing move. Remember to keep your page updated, interesting and comprehensive so you will keep your audience engaged.
Whether you are connecting with friends and colleagues, keeping up to date with an organization, promoting your own organization or sharing your interests and accomplishments, Facebook is a platform that can help you achieve your professional goals. If you haven’t already joined Facebook, do that here. Next, check out the Facebook pages for RWJF and the Human Capital programs—and don’t forget to “like” or join them and stay connected! Links to these pages are listed under "Related Web sites" below.