As millennials, we are looked at by previous generations as being nonproductive in society. The usual criticism of our generation is that we are on our phones “constantly,” as they say. Even though it looks like we are just looking at what other people are doing or shopping for clothes, they do not know about the advantage that we as “millennials” have: the ability to create personal brands.
Individuals have their own talent. Whether it is singing, designing clothes, hardware/software development, or engineering, we have it a bit easier than the previous generations who had to go from place to place, to let as many people as possible see said talent. In the age of social media, a person can share his or her talent on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, for millions to see.
When creating your personal brand, social media is a must to build your reputation. If you write for a website, you can instantly share your article on the vast platforms with just a single click.
What helps increase your audience is by using hashtags that relate to the topic of your work. Say you write about the New York Yankees, you just use “#Yankees,” and the post will show up for anyone who searches for that term. The more you use social media, the more you learn how you can bring in a larger audience. On Twitter, you can view your “tweet activity,” where you can see how many people viewed your post, clicked on your link and visited your profile. That is a lifesaver for anyone, as you get a better feel of what viewers like and do not like to see. It might make more sense to view social media as your own personal agent.
With positives, come the negatives. When writing on a specific topic, you are not going to please everyone. Journalism helps build a callousness internally, as you are bound to get the ever-convenient “FAKE NEWS,” reply. You can provide all the facts in your article from various sources to make your article legitimate, but some person from North Dakota will refuse to believe it. And guess what? You are the one at fault.
Most content creators firmly believe that the best practice when using social media is to avoid the comments section. Even if you are emotionally tough, it can still take its toll to read anything hateful directed at you. Also, never feed the trolls, because that is what they want: attention. And if they continue to tag you in direct tweets or posts, there is always the mute button, which can come in handy, but only when necessary.
Regardless of the negatives of social media, it plays a crucial role in fostering your passion or career. We have the power to show our work to millions from the comfort of our homes, right off our phones. It does not get any easier than that. So, go ahead, use your social media accounts for the good of you, not just to view memes or post selfies. Produce “You, Inc.”
Just remember to ignore the trolls. They have nothing better to do than knock others down.