How you come across to others online matters more than you know. Your social media first impression is just as important as your real-life first impression.
You've been preparing for that job interview for weeks. You're wearing your best suit and tie. You walk into your interviewer's office, look the person in the eye and shake hands firmly.
The bar is hopping and there's this cute redhead you've been dying to ask out. But you've already had one too many, so you spill some of the drink, fail to apologize and manage to slur a few words that make no sense.
Two first impressions, one good and one bad. Now think about how you use social media. When you follow someone on Twitter or Facebook and make that initial connection, is it like the job interview or the bar outing?
Whether we're communicating while out and about or typing from a bedroom in our pajamas, first impressions count. Here are five tips to make sure your digital handshake is firm.
Shore up your bios: Those few words by your name on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or any other platform matter. Put strong keywords up front. These are the things you'd want to tell someone if you only had 30 seconds to talk to them.
Don't be an egg: Twitter's default icon is an egg, so that's my name for people who don't bother to add a profile photo or image. One example of how important it is to upload an image: I won't follow an egg.
Don't take too many social media vacations: Are you the kind of person who tweets or posts a few times every few weeks? Find ways to make your posts more regular. There are several tools that can help you create an automated schedule, including Buffer, TweetDeck and Hootsuite.
Spelling and grammar count, even in 140 characters.
Bonus tip: When you see someone make a mistake, especially when it's someone you know, alert them. You don't want to come across as a know-it-all, but it's good karma to help someone out.
To read the entire article, go to: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-05-02/features/ct-tribu-social-media-first-impressions-20130502_1_social-media-instagram-job-interview
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