Finding opportunity The benefit of social media involvement depends on how much effort you put into it, says the author of Internet personal branding book 'Me 2.0'

E1

John Pollack
Telegraph-Journal

Stumble Upon

del.icio.us

Digg

Facebook

Print

Email

Speak Up

Along with being the hottest Internet trend, social networking websites - Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook - can be powerful tools for finding business and career opportunities.

Enlarge Photo

Matthew Sherwood/Telegraph-Journal

It takes 60 seconds: Even if you don’t have time to write a blog and actively participate in online discussions, you can still benefit from a few minutes a day of targeted participation in social media,’ says Radian6 chief executive Marcel LeBrun. ‘Find the couple of blogs that are the most active communities of your topics, read and participate in those conversations,’ he says. Then post links to the most interesting blogs you read that day.

But for people on the outside looking in these opportunities won't likely throw themselves at you right after signing up to the websites.

"If I want to loose 10 or 20 pounds it's not going to happen overnight," says Warren Sukernek, a Seattle-based social media marketer, who found his current job with a New Brunswick technology company through Twitter.

But much like with losing weight, Sukernek says your long-term efforts in building online networks will pay off eventually.

Sukernek had been on Twitter for about 15 months and had roughly 2,500 people following his 140-character messages, when last December he sent out a note alerting his network he was looking for a job.

"I was laid off from a large advertising agency, so I sent out a tweet and by the next day I had about a dozen interviews," he says.

Sukernek's strong Twitter presence along with running a popular marketing blog had made him a leader of online discussions within his industry, he says.

When he needed it, he had a large network of people in the industry who respected him and were willing to help.

It was one of his contacts who pointed him towards Radian6, a social media monitoring firm that was looking for a content marketing director, the position he now holds.

Sukernek says there's no magic bullet to using Twitter or any other social media site to find opportunities - the same networking principles of building relationships and respect apply with or without technology.

"However, tools like Twitter accelerate that whole process," he says.

He doesn't think he would have had the same luck with a much smaller network of people he has actually met face-to face.

Even if you don't have time to write a blog and actively participate in online discussions, you can still benefit from a few minutes a day of targeted participation in social media, says Radian6 chief executive Marcel LeBrun.

"Depending on what your topic is, you figure out where that community is active and you spend a few minute on that," LeBrun says.

This could be tracking down key people in your industry on Twitter and contributing to their conversations as well as generating interesting discussion of your own. But blogs are also important, LeBrun says.

"Find the couple of blogs that are the most active communities of your topics, read and participate in those conversations," he says. Then he suggests posting links to the most interesting blogs you read that day. "That will take 60 seconds."

Dan Schawbel, author of Internet personal branding book Me 2.0, says the benefit of social media involvement depends on how much effort you put into it.

"You get out what you put in," he says.

But one thing's for sure - there are plenty of opportunities to be found.

Schawbel has heard of a wide variety of opportunities being found through social media - everything from jobs, to business deals, to public speaking invitations.

"I've even heard of two people getting married from meeting on Twitter," he says. "I think it's just about any type of opportunity you can find, because its just meeting new people."

But establishing yourself as a leader online takes time, he says.

Schawbel calls himself the leading personal branding expert for Gen-Y.

He says it only took him six months to reach this status, but he was putting in more than 100 hours per week to get there.

This involved writing a blog, and publicizing it on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. But he went even further by writing guest posts on other blogs and writing articles and appearing in interviews for print and broadcast news outlets. Having written a book didn't hurt either.

Unless you are a celebrity, author or already have a large following, it will take months, often more than a year, to become a leader online, Schawbel says, but once you have enough followers they will start talking about you.

"Once you reach the tipping point this becomes easier and people will just help market you," he says.