Building your online presence where your skills excel

Social media is a big deal, and several professionals have recognized the importance of having a presence online. While anyone can have social media accounts and use them for anything, if you are a professional, the case is different, depending on you. It is up to you to decide what you want to do with your social media, the type of online presence that you need, and where you would like to build such a presence. 

Having an online presence as a professional transcends posting pictures or videos on Instagram or making random tweets on Twitter. Building an online presence requires intentionality and strategy which includes creating your online presence where your skills best excel. 

What does it mean to have an online presence? 

Having an online presence means that you have a visible representation of yourself, your career, or your business on the Internet. This includes having information about you, your skills/business, content, and interactions. An online presence can mean having a website, being an active part of a social media platform, and joining online communities or networks. This is why you come across several people on the internet (social media, especially) and their bio mainly talks about what they do. It means that they have chosen that platform to build their business and skills. 

Why do I need an online presence? 

While you can decide to keep building your skills behind closed doors, it is more profitable to bring them to the open, where a good number of people can see it m, contribute to them, and help you grow them. Currently, about 5.7 billion people use the internet daily, so if you are not making an effort to have an online presence, you are losing out on good time visibility. Also, the following reasons are why you should think of an online presence for yourself: 

  • With an online presence, it is easy to network with people from various career backgrounds and professions. 
  • An online presence effortlessly helps you to market your skills. 
  • If your online presence does good marketing for you, best believe you will have several customers and your online presence helps you to properly engage with them. 
  • If you have skills that you are building online, it could land you a job as you never can tell who has been watching and loves your craft. 
  • Also, an online presence encourages feedback and this can help you to do better and improve your skills. 
  • Your skills can reach a lot of people if you are building online. 

How do I recognize an online platform where my skills excel? 

Many people may not know this; while it is important to build your skills online, if you do not strategize you may not get results. Here are a few things you need to know before deciding where to start building: 

What type of skills do you have? 

Check what your skills are because the type of skill that you have can help you choose whatever online platform best suits you. For instance, if you are a writer, you may want to build on Twitter, Medium, Subastack, or other social writing platforms. Considering that this is the platform that hosts a variety of writers, it comes off as a community too. Also, people who want to read about a lot of stuff can go to these platforms and they can find you. But, if you are good with visuals, you may want to consider building your skills on platforms like Instagram, YouTube, or TikTok as these platforms support and help you build your visual skills. If you build an online presence, make sure it caters to the specific skill(s) that you have.

Consider where you have more followers 

An average Nigerian has at least 2 social platforms that they use. This doesn’t annul the fact that some can have 3 or even 4. However, leveraging social platforms where you already have a major presence can be a very good and valuable idea. This is because you already have a couple of people interested in your content and what you have to offer. Also, instead of moving to a platform that barely recognizes you and may not engage with your content, chances are you will get even better engagement when you use a platform where you have already established a connection. 

Recognize all social platforms and identify how they work 

If you need an online platform to build your skills, you don’t just get to it. You need to identify the available social platforms and see how they work, the features, and how they can help you. Some of these platforms include the following: 

Facebook: 

On Facebook, you can send a friend request to have someone as your friend. You can post pictures, and videos and add captions to add context to what message you are trying to pass. Also, you can join groups and communities that are suitable for your field/career. 

 Instagram:  

This is a platform dedicated mainly to visual content. People who mainly have photos and videos as their content can find the platform useful. So, whether you are a photographer, makeup artist, or content creator, Instagram can be the best platform for you. 

Read Also: Identifying the difference between skills and skill quality

 Twitter

Twitter, which is now called X, is known for short and detailed written posts known as tweets. You can make a tweet as long as you want to and you can also add a tweet to your already-made tweet. This style is called “threads”. It is a platform where you can share your thoughts, news, job offers, and any other type of update. Users can follow you if they like what you do, like your posts, drop a comment, and even retweet your content. This platform is good for writers and all types of creatives. You can make good art and share it on Twitter and a lot of people retweet it because they find it good too. Twitter is that reliable. 

 LinkedIn

LinkedIn is mainly for professionals. You can talk about your skills, find job opportunities, and connect with people who have relevant views as you. If you are looking to build your skills on Linkedin, create your profile, make posts, and connect with people. 

 YouTube: 

If you have a skill, the more you engage in it, the better. Now, think about creating content with these skills and sharing it with a large number of people. YouTube is a platform that allows people to share and watch videos on different topics. Also, if you are a creator, you can make money from creating videos and getting enough people to watch you do what you know how to do. 

 TikTok

If you are really creative with videos and need a chance to do well at it, show up on TikTok now and then. The platform allows people to make short-form videos that resonate with certain music. Usually, there are various trends on TikTok and you may constantly have to swerve towards them to remain visible. 

Show up on these platforms accordingly 

Just like workers must show up at a site to have the building completed and in good shape, it is also important for anyone looking to build their skills online to show up on platforms that they have recognized to be useful to them. Proper skill building is achieved only with consistency. 

Hence, if you are a good writer, build on Twitter, Medium, or Substack. If you can find your way to look perfect before the camera, build on YouTube and Instagram. If you are a designer or a photographer, Instagram can work best for you. Substack, Spotify, and some other platforms will gladly have you if your voice is great and you do well with podcasts. Most importantly, recognize what this platform will be before deciding on building your skills online. Don’t go ahead to start building without a plan. 

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