I was asked this question during my social media session at the ASSP’s conference last month. I’ve been asked that question a lot, especially in the nearly 6 years I’ve been an independent safety consultant. I used to take offense to the question, because in my mind, the person asking the question was assuming all I do is post on social media. Only in the past two years have I been able to positively receive this question and answer with confidence. Because, yes, I do work, and I work a lot!
The question comes up because of my social media presence. I’ve got over 5,000 connections on LinkedIn and engage there quite frequently. I was an early adopter of Twitter and may be the only safety pro you know using Snapchat geofilters and lenses. I post quick videos on YouTube, I started a Facebook page for my business last year, and recently added a business Instagram profile. My most recent addition is the business version of What’s App.
To someone who is a novice at social media or is completely against it, this may seem a bit “extra.”
Again, yes, I do work, and I work a lot!
So, the question really is “when do you find time to post on social media?”
I fully subscribe to the Gary Vaynerchuk advice of “document, don’t create.” My social media posts are my water cooler, I don’t have coworkers and I don’t interact with clients every single day. I talk about what I do by posting on social media.
That’s it.
When you see my social media posts, I have not agonized over what photo to use, crafted a perfect message, or strategized about what time to post it* – I am documenting what I’m up to, often in real time.
*One of my social media “hacks” is to use the scheduled post feature on Facebook to publish a post on a future day. This is especially helpful if I have burst of content in one day or over the weekend. I try to post during the work week, during work hours for maximum visibility – because I KNOW some of you are scrolling through social media during the work day! And that is OK.
