Decoding Social Media

You might be a huge fan of social media, or you might avoid Facebook and Twitter like the plague. But no matter what your personal preference is, social media might play a significant role in your career as a developer.

In this article, we will navigate how to use various social media platforms to promote yourself as a programmer and create your personal brand. Consider social media as a huge marketing platform. We’re not talking about spamming people with messages, but using strategic, targeted messages and techniques to position yourself in front of hiring managers and decision makers.

Twitter

Twitter is a great platform to learn what topics are trending in the fields that interest you and a great place to follow people that inspire you and make a difference in various industries. You can also join lists, which are a helpful way to follow specific segments of users and information. You can also use Twitter to build your professional network, interact with people, collaborate with others to finish projects, and send direct messages to others.

Twitter can also be used as a platform to promote your work. Are you working on an exciting project? Share the good news with your network. Have you learned new skills and acquired new knowledge? Tell your network. Are you facing a technical problem or challenge?  Ask your network to recommend solutions.

Reddit

Reddit is another important platform where you can interact with others regarding topics and fields that interest you. For example, if machine learning is your primary focus, you can find valuable content on Reddit and start interacting with authors and commenter’s regarding that topic. If artificial intelligence is the field you want to specialize in, you will find current articles, resources, and recent news that helps you stay up-to-date and keep your knowledge fresh.

You can also share your own valuable blogs and articles to start building your brand as a thought leader.

Facebook

 Hate it or love, Facebook, even with its controversies, is still is the largest social media network.

With Facebook, you have several options. You can use it strictly as a personal network, purely as a professional network, or a mix of both. No matter what option you choose, make sure to never post anything that might hinder your career as many employers check candidates’ Facebook accounts (even if they do not admit it).

Many companies have started to post career opportunities on Facebook and apply social media recruitment tools. Also, you can join Facebook groups related to your field, and engage in discussions. Through your interactions, you will make connections and network.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is an excellent platform for professional networking. You can build significant business and professional relationships and find career opportunities. LinkedIn also allows you to post your own articles and quality content to help develop your personal brand. You can use hashtags on LinkedIn as in other social media platforms to attract organic traffic to your profile.

You can also follow interests, fields, and influential people to stay up-to-date.

Quora

 Quora is your destination to find answers to your questions, as well as offer your meaningful answers and knowledge. By answering questions, you will promote yourself and your work.

GitHub

 Although GitHub is technically not a social media platform, because it is a communication platform for IT professionals, we can consider it a professional networking platform. We mainly recommend GitHub as a learning platform, but if you take the time and invest the effort in answering questions, sharing your open source codes and other technical information, you will start to make connections and build your personal brand.

Just remember, no matter which social media networks you use, you do not need to become a celebrity to make connections. All you need to do to support your career is to establish yourself and your brand. You don’t need to spend long hours interacting, posting and browsing the news-feed. Once you target your messages and understand who and what to follow, you will begin to see results.