Taking a break from sending tweets and updating my LinkedIn profile, I organized a panel of social media experts to participate in Harvard Business School’s 20^th Annual Dynamic Women in Business Conference last Saturday.  Entitled “Beyond the Buzz,” the panel focused on how students and professionals can use social media most effectively to promote their personal and professional brands.  Each offered some targeted advice:

Take control:

Whether you like it or not, you have a social media presence, so it is in your best interest to control it.  At a minimum, make sure your Facebook, LinkedIn, and other online profiles are professional and flattering because they will be viewed (and judged) by potential employers and colleagues.  This is even more important if you are pursuing a career in a media-related field.  When a friend recently interviewed at a news publication, her interviewer looked her up and began following her on twitter in the middle of the interview.  Participating in social media is not an option; it is a necessity if you are in the business of networking – which you are by definition if attending business school.

Be patient:

By promoting “The Happiness Project” on her popular blog, author Gretchen Rubin garnered massive pre-sale orders, contributing to top spots on best-seller lists around the world.  Rubin credits her success to methodically building her brand presence online through consistent six-day-a-week blogging, frequent tweets, and monthly videos.  She stresses that you need to build a relationship and trust with your audience so that when you ask them for help – such as buying your book – they do it.  The same is true for a job search; gradually building your online network now will give you the credibility you need later.

Be real:

Katherine Tasheff, who has held a variety of digital media positions and currently works in book publishing, argues that the importance of a trusting relationship in social media makes authenticity even more important.  Tasheff claims that the easiest way to sabotage your brand is to be disingenuous; your audience is smart and can “smell” dishonesty from miles away.  To avoid this, Katherine recommends not differentiating between your “real” and online self and committing to being “as authentic using social media as in real life.” Furthermore, she notes, since the average Internet user in the U.S. spends over thirteen hours per week online, perpetuating a “fake” self online is a significant – and poor – investment.

Have a strong voice:

Social media is inherently different from other forms of traditional marketing: people come looking for you.  For this reason, it is particularly important to have a strong voice.  Alexandra Samuel started her business in 2005 after readers of her blog reached out to her, struck by her then novel conviction that companies must have web 2.0 websites to survive; readers asked her to implement social media strategies for their businesses.  Given the breadth of social media, a strong voice is needed if you want to stand out.  At the same time, do not pull a Kenneth Cole – the designer currently is embroiled in a PR nightmare following his recent tweet: “Millions are in uproar in #Cairo. Rumor is they heard our new spring collection is now available online at http://bit.ly/KCairo.”

Never stop learning and experimenting:

To conclude the panel, each panelist gave some practical real-world tips for social media success. Here are my favorites:

• End each blog entry with a question
• Ensure tweets are at least 10 characters under the limit so others can retweet
• Remember that a strong voice attracts, so don’t be discouraged when it also repels
• Research what’s out there so you don’t end up launching an idea or site that’s redundant
• Never miss an opportunity to broaden your network – online or off

What is your number one piece of advice for using social media?

–Alexandra Bochicchio

[Editor's Note: The following is the first in our new series Business School Diaries, written by Alexandra Bochicchio, a first-year at a top business school (which we'll call "XBS").]

I officially have finished my first semester of business school!  After living, breathing, and talking XBS for the past three and a half months, I am looking forward to a one-month hiatus.   While school definitely has been fun, it has not exactly been the vacation my friends and colleagues told me it would be.  Specifically no one warned me about the emotional rollercoaster: I fluctuate daily among self-doubt, apathy, gratitude, and excitement.  While I by no means have it all figured out, I do want to share a few things I wish I had known in September.

You’re no different from anyone else. Because I am introverted and hoping to make a career switch out of finance, I immediately thought I was different from my seemingly networking-loving, super-social classmates.  However, over the course of the semester I have realized that we all are at turning points in our careers and slightly nervous to have made the decision to step off the professional treadmill and go back to school.  While people show insecurities in different ways, at the end of the day we all want to be accepted by and learn from one another.

Differentiate yourself. I used to stand out as the smart, former college athlete who worked in finance.  However this now describes 90% of my classmates (just swap out “consulting” for “finance”).  Therefore, I need to find other ways to distinguish myself.  One of my best decisions was applying to be the first-year writer for the XBS parody show.  Although I applied because I thought it would be fun, writing for the show has led to a disproportionate number of conversations with classmates and potential employers.  Graduate school allows me the time and resources to explore things outside of the core curriculum, and I need to make sure I take advantage of this.

Be vulnerable. One of my biggest fears is looking stupid or weak, and I used to live by the philosophy that it was better to remain silent and be thought a fool than speak out and remove all doubt.  However, I have made the best connections with classmates when I let my guard down or am not 100% politically correct.  There is so much pressure to be professional in business school that it is easy to forget how friendships actually are made: I (while not too inebriated) share something personal, you share something, and BOOM! a little trust is formed.

You were let in for a reason. Sometimes a dumb comment in class can lead to a downward spiral: Why did I say that?  That was dumb.  I am dumb.  XBS was dumb for admitting me. This is cockamamie.  More often than not no one notices my stupid comment or action (however, the same can be said for the few times I thought I made a brilliant contribution).  Because admissions are so competitive, schools take it very seriously, and no student is accepted because of a fluke (one exception – is the school currently constructing a library in your name?!).  The sooner I accept this, the sooner I can stop the downward spiral and instead concentrate on trying to say something brilliant (a work-in-progress).

Keep your eye on the prize. My classmates and I asked about twenty-five questions during our last finance class in hopes our professor would let slip a nugget of knowledge which would give us an edge on the final exam.  And XBS doesn’t even give grades.  Our professor said it best when he pointed out most of us have worked for a number of years and some even have families; being overly stressed about an exam is, well, silly.  The stakes in business school are relatively low – I would much rather mess up my net present value calculation on an exam than during an important board meeting (warning – I may be rationalizing a bit).  Although it is a constant struggle, it is essential to maintain perspective and remember everything will work itself out.  This philosophy has served me fairly well thus far; there is no reason to think it won’t in the future.

–Alexandra Bochicchio