For more than 20 years, I have been in Academics, and we used to tell our students about the importance of Social Networking Sites and how it can help them to grow their network. Very few students used to follow the advice and used to have “some” activity on Social Networking Sites. I always used to wonder why it is so. After many hours of thinking, it was realized that we tell them to post on Social Networking Sites but do not guide them on what and how to post. Also, we never talk to them about how they can increase their presence on this platform. I shared following tips with my students and now can see their visibility on Social Networking Sites:
1. To start with, repost the post by your institution/ university/ organization with or without your own thoughts. If you were part of the organizing team of the events/activities, write about how you contributed and how your contribution helped you in learning something new. If you were among the audience, you could write about your learnings from the deliberations by the speakers.
2. Send invitations to the guests who visit your institution/ university/ organization. The chances of accepting the requests are higher before and after the visit of the guests. This will help you in growing your network.
3. Read newspapers, business magazine online or printed version, and share some interesting news, with/without your thoughts. Share your learnings and key takeaways from the news article.
4. Repost the posts by others which you can relate to due to your interest, hobby or passion. Specially for the students pursuing career in International Business, students can follow leading organizations like World Bank, IMF, WTO, World Economic Forum etc. and can share their posts.
5. Whenever you are posting on social media, you should be very confident about your content. Therefore, in the beginning when you lack confidence, start with just reposting without your thoughts; gradually, when you develop the confidence, add your thoughts to it. Initially just 1-2 sentences will be sufficient, gradually you can increase the content.
7. Read books and you can share the book review as part of your post.
8. While pursuing studies, students work on lots on assignments & projects. Summary, interesting, key learning from academic work can also be shared on Social Networking Sites.
9. Students do participate in club/committee activities, or participate in inter college/university competitions. Achievements, learnings during such events can also be shared with the network.
10. The most important thing to remember is that you have to be mindful of what you write on Social Networking Sites or any social media, as your posts reflect your thoughts and personality.
11. Be ready for some criticism as well, so be humble in your approach to reacting to such comments.
Author-
Dr Alka Maurya,
Director & Professor
30th September 2024