The three social media that you can use to advance your career are the Blog, Facebook and Twitter.

So before I share with you 10 Social Media tips – allow me to introduce you briefly to each of these three media.

1. Blogs

A Blog is a website usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary and descriptions. You can either have a Blog created by a web designer as a separate entity, or as part of an existing website, or you can set up your own at www.blogger.com . With 40,000 blogs in Australia and 130 million in the world, they are providing a powerful place to share information in text format, photos and even video. One of the effective ways to drive traffic to your Blog is to find other blogs or forums that relate to the industry within which you wish to launch your career, and start commenting. Find your niche and communicate. If you would like to design a blog that complements your brand talk to the team at www.oe-design.com.

2. Facebook

Facebook helps you to connect and share with the people in your life. With over 5 million users in Australia alone and growing, it can open up a large audience. The average user has 120 friends on their site. An interesting statistic is that more than half of Facebook users are outside college and the fastest growing demographic is those 35 years old and older. These could represent your future bosses.

3.Twitter

Twitter can advance your career by allowing you to access the leaders in your industry. Through using search.twitter.com you can identify your specific niche and begin to engage influencers. Don’t forget to use www.tinyurl.com as part of your brief posting strategy and drive traffic back to your Blog.

So when you create your Blog, your Facebook account and your Twitter account – what next?

Position yourself in a positive light by using the following 10 Social Media tips.

1. Ensure you project a professional image while using social media at all times. Your future employer could be watching you.
2. Discrete is the word. Use wisdom sharing in such an open medium. Share positive comments.
3. Choose photos that are discrete.
4. Build relationships. Build trust. This is a powerful form of communication. A future employer can quickly get an idea of who you are by how you present yourself in your profile.
5. Create a professional Blog to show your understanding or keen interests in line with your chosen career. Post regularly. Now when it comes to blogging – either write it, copy and paste it and give accreditation to the writer by including their website address, or hire a ghost writer.
6. Meet and interact with the leaders in your industry via Twitter and point them back to your Blog.
7. Read well and then ask strong questions. Twitter is a great place for questions.
8. Sell yourself subtly. Social Media is a ‘not in your face’ medium. It’s all about subtle.
9. Upgrade yourself and share it in your social media circles. Your next opportunity is more likely to come from a social networking referral than from a job posting or advertised job opening.
10. A little wisdom and a lot of smart work(using social media) will help you forward your career, even in a tight economy. Employers hire when they don’t advertise, and often when they don’t think they have an opening, or even have a hiring freeze – that is before they meet you.

So your three social media career advancement friends are Blog, Facebook and Twitter. Use them wisely and consistently, and they will serve you well.

And while you’re at it follow Peter Sinclair – the CEO of OE Design – The Web Designers at www.twitter.com/OEDesign