Walk the walk, talk the talk

Social media. We have all heard about the benefits and downfalls but this week Katherine Bradford and Lee Gills talked about social media from a new perspective. Bradford and Gills approached the subject in two very different ways, they both stressed the importance of social media and online communications but Bradford approached social media as a personal professional tool and Gills approached social media as an economic tool. These two approaches mixed appearance and business, approach and bottom line, and revealed to the class a way to use social networking as a means of professional and capital development.

Linkedin and Facebook are significant tools in the professional world today. These tools help you link and expand your professional as well as personal network, however Bradford explained to the class the importance of knowing when and how to use them. Her advice on how to best represent ourselves as professionals gave us insight to what our future employers will be looking for and how we can appeal to them. I think the underlying message of her lesson was to always be ready and on your game. Always have your game face on because you never know who you will run in to and when an acquaintance could turn into the gateway to the job of your dreams. That is why social media is such an important networking tool because it allows you to put yourself out there and show everyone what you have to offer.

Gills took a different approach to social media, he explained to the class how he has used this new technology craze and capitalized on it. He has formed a method that allows him to use social media to make other companies more effective and efficient. This system has allowed him to use his communication and messaging skills and marry them with his passion for sales. He has devised a way to incorporate creativity into his everyday business plan. In all of the lectures we have heard this semester we have never been exposed to the “business” aspect of the industry. The most important part of his job is knowing how to approach the C-Suite and sending messages that appeal to their business goals. This perspective proves that communications lends to more than just the marketing arm, it contributes and helps achieve the bottom line of all business transactions.

These two very different approaches to social media broke the monotony of our usual lessons on social media in our other classes. We usually learn Facebook is a great way to keep in contact with friends and family and Linkedin is a great networking tool, but we have never really been exposed to how and when to use them. Bradford and Gills allowed our class to grasp the importance of social media and taught us how to “walk the walk” and “talk the talk”.