Building Your Social Media Profile as a Writer: 5 Steps

Why Does It Matter?

If you’re serious about building a long-term career as a social media writer, building a robust and attention-grabbing profile is a must. With more than 80% of the U.S. population having a social networking profile, you are gaining access to a huge market of prospective customers. It would be remiss of you to miss the opportunity of reaching out to them.

It is important that you establish your presence to connect with new audiences, identify new ideas, and generate interest in your services. You also need to do this in a way that ensures your privacy and protects sensitive data. Below are the 5 key steps that will propel you to a great start.

Step 1: Choosing Your Audience

It may seem obvious, but you really need to start by determining whom you will be targeting with your profile, messaging, and services. That depends on several factors, such as your language proficiency, writing skills, past performance, type of services, etc. Whatever the combination of factors, be purposeful and strategic in your choice.

The above decision will shape your style of communication, content, and selection of services. It will also help you identify areas for your professional improvement. This audience includes your potential customers, so you need to be aware of their likes and dislikes, needs and whims, and strengths and idiosyncrasies.

Step 2: Choosing Your Username and Image

This is another building block in setting up your profile. It is worth spending quite a bit of time choosing your username, as it is a bad idea to change it afterward. It should be easy to remember and be reflective of your area of work and services.

It also needs to read and sound well. If you are targeting non-English-speaking audiences, make sure that your username does not have undesirable connotations in the respective languages or induce some awkward associations.

Pick a nice photo of yourself. You should choose professional attire. Smile! No one likes to work with a gloomy face.  Be creative with your background. If possible, make it thematically linked to your work or services.

Step 3: Selecting and Structuring Content

Next is the subject matter. This is what your business or services are about. Include data about your skills, accomplishments, and types of services.

Put together a work plan with milestones, deadlines, and types of posts to track progress. If you are an Undercover Writer, you need to keep reaching out to your audience in a systematic manner.

Make sure you take note of the feedback you get, even if unpleasant or unsolicited. It will help you adjust substance, and fine-tune your targeting strategies. If possible, pick a friend or a colleague whom you will be using as your sounding board to test ideas.

Step 4: Enhancing Your Network

Don’t be artificial and avoid looking phony. Be genuine, honest, and forthcoming. Not only would your customers want to find a top-grade professional, but they would also want to get to know you as a person.

Be fun to work with without compromising your professional approach to work. Nothing beats an advanced work ethic when it comes to attracting and working with good customers on a long-term basis.

Also, think about building relationships rather than just a network of followers or customers. Many platforms, such as LinkedIn, allow you to connect with people in the same trade. Start with the people you know, and gradually expand to those whom you would like to know and those you need to know.

Step 5: Safety & Security

Finally, none of the above makes much sense if you set up your profile in a way that compromises your privacy or the security of any sensitive or personally identifiable data. While you need to communicate actively, frequently, and substantively, make sure you do not offer the kind of information that can potentially put you in harm’s way. This may include your bank details, various identity-related numbers, pass codes, and the like.

You should exercise the same degree of prudence when posting on social media. Choose your words, sentences, and images wisely. If you work for a company, make sure you are familiar with company policies to avoid unwittingly breaching any of those. Avoid linking up with any suspicious contacts or accepting invites from dubious sources.

Bringing It Together

The need for creative writers is unlikely to diminish in the years to come. As a writer, you are tapping into a huge market where there is no room for mediocrity and slack. An imposing social media profile is your business card with which you enter that market.

Be methodical about your approach to developing your profile. Clarity of purpose and your audience also matter. Build your network and keep honing your skills to establish a reputation of a reliable, hard-working, and fun-to-work-with professional who can cater to varying needs of customers with his or her A-game.

Jessica Fender is a professional writer and educational blogger at Is Accurate. Jessica enjoys sharing her ideas to make writing and learning fun. She is also featured on Forbes,  AMA Boston, HR Exchange Network . You can connect with her Twitter | LinkedIn