The Benefits of Blogging & Tweeting Professionally

Are you a blogger who wants to go to the next level? Or are you looking for different ways to grow your professional network using social media? Then these three articles are for you.

The dos and don’ts of hashtags, Introduction to Blogging, and How Blogging Can Help You Grow Your Professional Network are great resources for understanding the professional side of using social media. 

Hashtags

To begin, have you ever wondered what the point of using hashtags was all about? Does it just #MakeYouSoundCool? Possibly. But there is also a marketing strategy that many companies and businesses use it for to make themselves more marketable and wide known. For example, Hayley Dorney from Twitter Business shared in her article how PFL uses easy to remember and easy to type hashtags consistently on their twitter feed to engage their audience.

By making the hashtag simple enough to remember and spell, PFL is able to reach more people and have a higher chance of making their hashtag known and trending.

Additionally, other tips Dorney gives are doing your own research, giving people a reason to use your hashtag, and partnering with influencers. 

You can do your own research for your hashtag by checking the hashtags that are already trending and using them in your own tweets to enlarge your capacity to reach a broader audience. Examples of hashtags you could use to market your product could be #PlayStationShowcase if you have a PS5 controller accessory you are trying to sell or #NFLKickoff if you are into sports betting. Either way, creativity is key and by taking advantage of popular hashtags you can draw a greater audience.

Another way of using hashtags professionally is by giving an incentive to people to tweet your hashtag. Etihad Airways is a good example. They make known a free giveaway they are giving away by using twitter and tweeting the requirements to enter in. The requirement is to tweet using their special hashtag, tagging a friend, and making sure your profile displays your location.

In doing so, Etihad Airways is making their free-to-enter giveaway easier for people to enter into by using just hashtags.

Moreover, partnering with influencers or followers can also engage your viewers. By partnering with a well-known organization such as McDonald’s or even small local groups using hashtags makes you more marketable. 

In addition, there are also some things you should not do when you go around hashtaging on Twitter. 

You shouldn’t over-hashtag your tweets because it bogs down your tweets and draws the reader’s attention away from the original meaning. You shouldn’t be forceful in your tone by typing in all caps and you shouldn’t use hashtags carelessly without a purpose intended. By getting creative with it, you can make professional hashtags for whatever purpose you need it for.

What is Blogging?

Another way to expand and grow your professional network is by blogging. A blog is a simply a website version of a diary which allows the user to express his or her thoughts on a certain topic. You can usually access blogs and browse them and post them online through a website which is designated to blogging. Examples could range from this website blogger.com which allows me to type my personal blogs and post them for others to see—or a website like reddit.com allows users to type their own thoughts on a thread or respond to a certain subject. Blogging websites store the data and information of your blogs so you can easily return and continue on what you were writing. They are also organized into subjects or headers so you won't get lost for what you're looking for. (For more details on how blogging works see here.)

Blogs usually contain the content of a person's blog, a comment section, permalinks (to conveniently access other websites) and sometimes plugins which adds tools that make blogging more functional and practical.

Wix.com is an example of a blogging website

Additionally, blogging can also be a great tool for those who are looking to enhance their professional network and digital portfolio.

 

Blogging for Professional Use

Blogging can not only be for recreational or private use but also for professionals who want to build their own network and establish their businesses, industries, or work places online. One of the things blogging professionally can do is to offer value to contacts or customers. An example could be is if I was a painter and I owned my own business I could write and post blogs on the best tips and tricks when painting your own room. I could share my expertise to an audience of people who may need their room painted and in return it will increase my chance of a client scheduling an appointment with me.

Blogging professionally can also keep you in touch with people for your network. When you post a blog on a website such as Twitter and a contact reads your blog and retweets it, you are becoming acquainted with and cognizant with people you otherwise wouldn't have known. And when you get close with a person through social media, you could feature that person as a guest on your blog and let them share their experience with your business. 

Example of how creating professional blogs can connect you to your audience

Blogging promotes the "ethos" of your business and when you learn to use it professionally you are setting you and your business up for success.