For us millenials, social media can have many different meanings. It could be used for keeping in touch with friends, chatting with other people who share our interests who may live across the country, or marketing for our own businesses or companies we work for. But when it comes to how we use these platforms universally, we’re cheating ourselves out of growing as individuals, maybe not in a social sense, but in a business and career sense that can propel us to levels previous generations could only dream of.
Most likely you’ve had a hobby or passion, but never made it into something more, such as a career. For instance, being from Boston I was an avid Boston Celtics fan, and some of my friends described my fanhood as unhealthy. For years I watched basketball, constantly learning every aspect of the game which made me grow as a fan to a journalist. After starting my first ever blog, Bostonbball.com, I began writing constantly and growing a following that eventually led me to an editor job at HardwoodHoudini.com, which is a blog on the Fansided Network.
Eventually it was time to move on and that’s where my passion for marketing grew as I picked up experience from running social media accounts for my own blog and the blog I was an editor for. The path that lead to me to marketing, and later starting a business, wouldn’t have been paved for me had I not used social media to my advantage.
Some of you may be reading this who have a hobby or passion, and speaking from experience, I say start writing about whatever it is that makes you happy. Become the guru, a leader, the go-to man of your hobby and begin to acquire a following. Make yourself an expert in your field and people will notice.
With social media, your articles and small blog posts can be shared across the globe, reaching people that would have never heard your name otherwise. We have an opportunity, more than any other generation, to make a passion into a career, as long as it can be sustainable and profitable in the long run. Sites such as Medium, WordPress, and Tumblr can help distribute your content, and don’t just rely on one site, use them all! Someone who read your article on Medium may have never heard of your blogs on other sites, and right there you may have just acquired a reader and follower for life.
As an entrepreneur, and someone who wants to help others pursue their dreams and goals, I share this info because as a generation, we don’t use social media correctly, or in reality we use it selfishly. If you want to be selfish, share the content from your blog posts and start showing your friends, co-workers, and followers that you have experience in your field and that you are worthy of their attention!