We have seen many articles written about why people need to be on social media for personal branding or for prospective jobs or internships, but an article passed by my newsfeed that got my attention. It read “Quit Social Media. Your career may depend on it.”
Hmm – this article title caught my attention. Many of my sports and social media professional friends shared this article and the responses were pretty consistent with each other. Some asked the question – how do I respond to this article when my entire job involves social media? My fellow professor colleagues said the same thing – what do we tell our students when employers say they have to be on social media when they read an article like this?
My answer is simple: No, you shouldn’t quit social media. I’d recommend switching the word quit with “embrace.” I would say I think the author tries to make an argument why people need to quit social media. I do find it interesting that he mentions he has a blog, which of course is a type of owned media in itself. If they have set up the comments function, technically that allows for two-way communication, which in itself is a similar characteristic to social media.
Yes, there are definitely challenges when it comes to social media. This is why we have to have a balanced approach and understand with many positive features and opportunities, there are some negative consequences and challenges to deal with. You have to come in with that perspective.
Based on the two objections the author makes in this article, I’d like to respond to each of them with my rationale for why social media IS essential to be on more than ever
1. Social media opportunities are not as scarce. They are if you do not have the right connections ahead of time. I would be interested in hearing the “criteria” the author uses when it comes to deciding what opportunities warrant an answer versus others. You never know what opportunity may come up based on an email, Twitter chat, or even a Snapchat message. I wouldn’t be where I am today as my role as a professor without social media. I have received more speaking engagements, professional opportunities, network connections for my students, internships, and formal partnerships from social media alone. However, all of these things could not have happened without the relationships and the networks that needed to be developed and sustained.
2. Social media is addictive. Yes, if you let the technology and platforms take over your life 24/7, that may be the case. We do need to limit our time on social media, but not completely abandon it. That’s what education is for and having a set routine in place so you are able to streamline a few tasks that won’t make you spend hours upon hours of time online. With the systems I have in place, I spent about 15-20 minutes a day on social media. I have made it part of my routine and integrated into my time management process each day, which I share with my students.
I do want to highlight an element here in which the author does make a unique point by stating, “A dedication to cultivating your social media brand is a fundamentally passive approach to professional advancement. It diverts your time and attention away from producing work that matters and toward convincing the world that you matter.”
I couldn’t disagree more with this last point. If you were to look at a job candidate (student or even a professor), social media plays a huge part in it as a deciding factor, especially if you have two equally qualified applicants. I have seen this more often than not over the last few years and the final decision has come down to who has the better digital footprint. Having the opportunity to understand how to present yourself, how to share and cultivate a community, and be viewed as a thought leader in your industry and among other circles are just some of the other ways in which social media and establishing a personal brand is not only necessary, but essential for all parties involved.
There are many reasons why your career does depend on social media for the positive reasons, and here are some of them:
- Tenure and promotion: We are still in the early stages on this, but there is a movement for social media activities and content to be used in tenure dossiers and promotion packages. We are already seeing sites like Academia and ResearchGate among others to help share their research with others outside of academia. This is still evolving in academia, but looks promising.
- Opportunities to connect and maintain relationships with students: We all try to keep up with where our students are going, and as professors, we are able to do this if we connect with them on social media (ex. LinkedIn and Twitter are two I of course use).
- Recruitment and personal branding for reputation purposes: we are seeing more brands (and universities like Georgetown) focused on reputation and who all contributes to the overall image. Donors, prospective students, and boosters are looking all the time to see who is active and present online and who is not. This is a factor of their overall decision, especially for students attending universities. Personal branding is not just focused on marketing or even public relations any more, but really has become universal.
The point of all of this is – we have to be on social media, but we need to have a balanced approach to it. Your online personal brand is only good if your offline brand and persona is the same. This comes through education and understanding the environment, community, and relationships that need to be maintained and invested in to make things right.
If we are told to quit activities because it can “hurt” our career – I would not be where I am today as a professor. Have I been told to spend less time on social media over the years? Yes. Have I been told to study something more “traditional” since social media was considered to be a “fad?” Absolutely. I took all of these points into consideration to make my own judgement when it came to social media – and I am forever grateful I listened to my gut on it.
As Dr. Newport mentioned in his article, he is not on social media. In order to understand what social media can offer both positively or negatively, you first have to experiment around with the tools yourself. You may learn something new you didn’t know about before, and this could lead to some positive experiences both personally and professionally. Plus, I think in some areas, not being on social media is like a professional death sentence. For example, if I came into a social media class without having an established persona, presence, and reputation in the field – this would not go over well.
My first recommendation is to talk with fellow colleagues who are on and who have found benefits with it at your university or discipline. There are a lot of professors (like me) who have used it successfully in and out of the classroom who would be willing to chat more about this with you. Second, I’d chat with fellow colleagues out in the workplace to get their take on social media use. I am sure alumni and fellow colleagues in the area would appreciate sharing their insights on it. Lastly, there are a lot of resources on what are some of the benefits (and challenges) to be aware of on social media.
When it comes to social media, we have to understand what we are able to control ourselves, but there are going to be some opportunities and avenues that may be more appropriate for others to take advantage of. When I teach social media at the University of Louisville, I tell my students they may work in the field or they may not, but what they want to be aware of is how it works and what to do in the case they are asked to be part of this industry in the future.
Dr. Newport – I do appreciate you sharing your thoughts with all of us in your article. With that being said, I will be powering up my smartphone, getting my coffee from my Keurig, and will continue to work hard to make sure I am providing the best social media education and training needed for my students so they are prepared to enter the field.
Let me know what you think about this. Hope you all are having a great day!
Best Wishes,
