Tech Tips & Tools for Career Practitioners

Deb Osborn, PhDFlorida State University

Current Technologies

What are the Leading Social Media Platforms?

Depends on Who You Ask

http://milkshakesandmargaritas.typepad.com/milkshakes_and_margaritas/2009/07/it-is-hard-to-find-a-book-that-will-hold-the-attention-of-both-my-8-month-old-baby-and-my-six-year-old-first-grader-but-duck.html

https://socialmediaweek.org/blog/2016/08/study-facebook-twitter-youtube-top-3-social-media-channels-u-s-companies/

http://www.smartinsights.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/statistic_id272014_global-social-networks-ranked-by-number-of-users-2016.png

Leading Social Networks(as of April 2016), worldwide

In millions

Fastest Growing Social Networks

Most Engaging

Want Interactivity?

Technologies US Teens are Using

https://www.statista.com/statistics/199242/social-media-and-networking-sites-used-by-us-teenagers/

Who are the Top Players?

• Facebook• Twitter• Instagram• Snapchat• Youtube

Potential For Career Service Delivery: Facebook• Facebook Page

• Facebook Live (live video casting)• Instant Articles-https://instantarticles.fb.com

• Potential ideas: • Advertise, share success stories, post questions

and fill-in-the-blanks, market career fairs and activities, share inspiring quotations, post videos, highlight services, polls, statistics, job openings, success stories, behind the scenes pictures, post questions and fill-in-the-blanks

Facebook Tips• Integrate profile picture with cover

photo• Pin to top. • Complete the “About” section and

milestones and accomplishments.• Determine desire for comments.

Potential For Career Service Delivery:

Twitter• Tweetchats• Twitter moments-Create SM editorial calendar of holidays. B4 the

days take place, create content to tweet to promote it• Lists• Use Tweepi to find new peeps• Paper.li• Advertise live streaming videos (Facebook Live and Periscope)• Potential uses:

• Throwback Thursdays/Flashback Fridays, hashtag holidays, songs about work, Motivational quotes, advertising, advertise events, industry events, link to blog, use fill in the blanks with your quotes – When you say you’ll be ready in 5 minutes, you REALLY mean ___ minutes

Twitter Tips• Keep profile/bio sharp-attract niche followers

• Tweet often – those with 15,000+tweets have b/w 100,000 to 1 million followers.

• Use hashtags – but only 1-2 per tweet, and mix them up

• Schedule/automate tweets

• Retweet content of influencers-use @mention, and make a comment on it, add something

• Twitter chats

More• Have strong headlines

• Have a link to the full story, use url shorteners

• Be negative – sometimes (Don’t! Stop! Without! Avoid!)

• Pictures

• Don’t use the full 140 characters-leave room from RT symbol

• Get suggested by Twitter. Get followed by influencers, tailor tweets to industry

Potential For Career Service Delivery: Instagram

• Stories• Potential topics:

Behind the scenes, sneak peak shots; Reposts from followers; Quotes, quote images (quippio and quick, wordfoto apps); Cool stats; Timely posts, newsjacks (national holidays); Funny posts, cool illustrations; Hyperlapse videos ; Lighthearted animated GIFS (no longer than 60 seconds); Mosaics

Instagram Tips• Shoot square photos, make them shareworthy.

• (e.g., inspiring quote, fact)

• Ask to Tag a friend• Post a picture of your unique Snapcode (for

snapchat)• Add text to photos with over app• Use Instagram’s Explore feature (find hot

hashtags)• Mix videos and photos

Potential For Career Service Delivery: SnapChat

• Photos• Stories• Potential uses:

• In the moment demos/advertising, behind the scenes/hot off the presses info, flash codes (snap this keyword/coupon), scavenger hunt – snap picture of item in career library, reward for finding it, interview pics/dress for success, contests, vote (on best job search advice, who wears it best, etc.), feature your followers

Snapchat Tips• Create snapchat contest (and advertise these on

other SM platforms)• Send snap fulfilling certain conditions (answer a

question; take a specific photo or video)

• Entice followers by showing just enough to get them curious to learn more

• Caption snaps with a “visit us online”• Use your snapcode-makes it easier for people to

find you • Ask influencers to advertise your contest• Include influencers in your picture/video

Youtube

Potential For Career Service Delivery: YouTube

• YouTube Channel• YouTube Director- video ads

• https://www.youtube.com/yt/advertise/make-video-ads.html

• Potential ideas:• Overview career services, Showcase events,

Deliver Workshops, Interview students, Demonstrate skills or how-to videos, Share research findings, Outline steps to career decision making, interview local employer, archive panel presentations, review career assessments, respond to work-related news

Youtube Tips• Tag your videos• Use the description box to give information (and links to

FB/Twitter) about the video• Consider video length • Quality, quality, quality• Create a youtube trailer showing what your channel is about –

and ask them to subscribe.• Choose your channel name and icon purposely.• Review other youtube channels regularly.• Address local communities relevant to your videos.• Pilot content.

General Tips• Cross-market (Tweet it, post it, blog about it, email signatures).• Vary content and style• Be consistent and strategic in posting content.• Consistently scan for great ideas.• Pay attention to trending topics (Pokémon go?) and viral

photos• Determine ideal posting times• Determine SM goals, evaluate pros and cons of SM

investments• Learn where you “fans” are likely to be

More Tips• Customize for different SM• Add social sharing buttons• Follow the 80/20 rule

• 80% useful, 20% self-promotional• Use Lists (Top Tens, 7 steps, etc.)• Use visuals - visme, canva, vine• Choose topics to attract traffic

• Pick a topic that attracts traffic-google trends, buzzsumo, feedly

• Connect with top influencers• More Tips-Analyze Headlines

http://coschedule.com/headline-analyzer#

Even More…• Curate content (get the best info on a

topic and share it)• How to’s, news, research, case studies

• To build social authority, take screenshots of compliments and share

• Use infographics

Infographics• Easel.ly• Visualize.me• Visme.co• PiktoChart• Canva• Infogr.am• Venngage• Dipity• iCharts• InfoActive• Creately• Gliffy• Wordle• Simle Widgets

Find Hot Hashtags• Ritetag - This analyzes hashtags across Twitter to find

popular/trending hashtags and can then automatically add these hashtags to tweets or Facebook updates when you are sharing.

• Hashtagify.me - enter any hashtag and it will give you a selection of related hashtags to use in your updates

• Twitonomy - analyzes a person’s account to see which hashtags they use the most often

• Tagboard - a search tool for hashtags across multiple platforms. You enter in a hashtag and it displays a board of content that has that hashtag included

• Iconosquare -an Instagram tool that allows you to search for hastags on Instagram and see how many times each has been used.

• Trending - There are some platforms (e.g. Twitter) that show what is trending on the platform.

What about Apps/Other Tools?

Self-KnowledgeOptions Knowledge

DecisionMaking

Self-talk

Challenge: How to Stay Current

Strategies – Google Alerts

• Daily alerts in email format• Based on search terms you identify

Twitter Lists

Twitter Lists

• Read your favorite Tweeps

• Organize by subject• Save time (don’t have to

scroll through hundreds of posts or remember who you ilke reading

Find People Who Love Technology

Tweeps:@TechnologyTwins@counselingtech; @CareerTechForum; @dsosborn; @Melissa_Venable; @PeterCareyNCDA Technology Committee; Tech Tips

Summary• Technology will always be evolving.• New technologies will emerge, older platforms

will grow.• Not all will last.• Be willing to take calculated risks.• Know your current and potential audiences and

go where they are, use what they use.• Be willing to let some things go, be willing to fail,

but aim to succeed.• Avoid information overload by being selective.

• Deb Osborn• https://twitter.com/dsosborn• https://www.linkedin.com/in/debosborn• dosborn@fsu.edu

• Melissa Venable• https://twitter.com/Melissa_Venable• https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissavenable• https://www.pinterest.com/melissaavenable/• melissa@onlinecolleges.net

@TechnologyTwins