How to effectively use social media for skill development

In this guest article, Ankita Katuri, Co-Founder at The Smarketers introduces us to how trainers, trainees and training partners can get started with social media like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn. Ankita is a content marketing strategist with enormous experience in working with content and social media for a wide range of marketing requirements. Let’s read on about how to effectively use social media for skill development.

”All you wanted to know about…” is a knowledge series on skill development and employment brought to you by LabourNet Services India Pvt Ltd in partnership with National Skills Network (NSN).

Today, social media is the biggest platform to share thoughts, ideas and the easiest way to reach out to a vast group of people. Also, access to social media has become easier with its introduction on mobile phones in the form of apps. Social media allows people to share their thoughts, ideas and opinions.

It enables direct communication with authorities, it allows your message to reach a wider audience, and also is quite handy. Sharing on such a public platform can be done is various forms like pictures, videos, simple content or even URLs etc. Social media is a convenient platform to engage with audience directly, a game changer for any individual.

Social media like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn can be used in various forms and structures. Keeping in mind the skill development initiatives in the country and the fact that so much is happening on the skill front, social media can be used as a platform to give and carry updates, provide tiny bits of information about the process of training, various stories of placement, and any other information worth sharing. It can be the best way to communicate the positive impact skill development programs have created, the challenges and also the outcomes.

Online media carry a strong and influential voice, and so much can be learnt from engaging directly with people through channels like Facebook, Twitter etc. which can also help us network with authorities from different fields, or even just to be updated with skill development.

With various skill development schemes coming up and lot of trainees graduating each day, social media is the best platform to share one’s experiences. Listed below are a few examples:

• Interesting placement stories of trained candidates and how they are using their knowledge and skills
• How training was completed, and the new courses that people are enrolling into and any new skill they have learnt?
• Training institutions can also provide information on how many people they have trained, how many have acquired jobs as soon as they finished training and which industry sector courses are being offered.
• Training companies can also share the challenges the trainers faced during the process of training.
• Engagement with audience can be further amplified by using visual content such aspictures and videos. Well crafted visual content is likely to reach a wider audience and resonate more strongly with them.

Read on below to find out how to use Facebook, Twitter and You tube to share your views and tell us how the NSDC, MSDE, all of your trainers and training institutes have changed your life. This is also a great way to connect with your trainers and respective institutes and thank them by highlighting their impact in your skill development endeavour.

Using Facebook for skill development activities

• Create a unique Facebook ID and password and login to your account.
• Find friends and follow pages like NSDC, MSDE, PMKVY etc
• Type in your content, or attach a picture or a video or enter a URL and do not forget to tag the people or the pages related to. Tagging helps you directly connect to authorities and have communication. You might create your own Facebook page and post content or can also create a page with your company’s name.
• Also, another important aspect of Facebook is to enable hash tags in your post. for example : An update on skill development schemes #skillindia @NSDC @MSDE
• Post your content by clicking on the post option.

How Twitter can help skill development activities

• Create a twitter ID and password and login to your account.
• Follow people like NSDC, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, MSDE-Skill India, PMKVY etc
• Post your content in the form of videos, pictures, or URL within a word limit of 140 words.
• Your URL should be shortened using a short URL creator
• Do not forget to hashtag and tag
• Post your content by clicking on the tweet option

YouTube’s right use for skill development activities

• Create a unique YouTube channel for your organization.
• Upload video testimonials and appreciation posts and upload them onto your channel.
• Provide the link to your channel on other social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.

How LinkedIn helps you build your professional network

• If you are a training partner, create a LinkedIn page for your company, organization and invite people to follow your page
• Share your posts regularly – at least twice a week
• Your post could be your blogs, occasional pictures and information on events etc
• If you are a trainer, connect with relevant professionals, share updates about your training, achievements and seek suggestions and advice on necessary topics.

In today’s socially driven age, it is very much necessary to be social media friendly to truly make an impact. Social media is incredibly powerful and when leveraged in the right manner, can bring tremendous success to both you and your organization.