by Cody Hodge

Created on: September 30, 2010

Why is it so important to be social media savvy? When you are at work, you are going to spend time on your computer. While you shouldn’t spend an inordinate amount of time on your computer, it is going to be a valuable tool that you can use to network and gain clients. Whether you are self-employed, or work for another company, you should be familiar with social media.

What does social media do for you? Social media is the tool that is driving the web these days. Whether you just use Facebook for fun, or Twitter for talking about your favorite football team, you are using social media. With so many people using social media, it stands to reason that it would be a great way to reach out to customers and employers.

At the very least you should have at least one social media account. Whether it is a Facebook account, or a Twitter account, you should be using social media. If you don’t have a web presence you are going to be running behind. Just like a business wouldn’t be caught dead without an Internet presence, an individual shouldn’t be without one either.

If you are a writer, you can be found by publishers and other writers when you post your writing on Twitter or Facebook. A professional in another field can find like-minded professionals on sites like LinkedIn that allow professionals to network in an online platform. This is valuable because you can use these sites from anywhere and turn any time in to a good time for networking and making new business contacts.

Using social media is like using a telephone these days. Would you go to work without a telephone? It is now a basic tool that everyone uses, and social media is the same thing. If you are not on the Internet in some form, you are missing out on a huge tool that can help your career. There are moments when one contact can take you from a middling career to the next big job just because someone find you online.

If there is one piece of advice to be given to any professional, it would be to get on Facebook and Twitter. Get that media presence out there and make your company and your own personal brand known to the millions of other users of social media. Business demands innovation and adherence to progress, so what are you waiting for?

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