The Social Media Gender Gap (Part 2)
Men and women use social media differently. In Part 2 of this series, The Public Speaker explains how we can learn from each other and get better at promoting ourselves and building online relationships.
Lisa B. Marshall
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The Social Media Gender Gap (Part 2)
Today we pick up with Part 2 of our mini-series on the social media gender gap.
In Part 1, I talked about the research on the difference between men and woman and their use of social media. I recently spoke with LinkedIn expert Viveka Van Rosen about this phenomenon. You most likely know her by her Twitter handle @LinkedInExpert or as the Author of LinkedIn Marketing: An Hour a Day.
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In her book she treats women as a separate demographic, so I asked her to help me understand this better. Viveka explained that there are real differences between how men and women use LinkedIn:
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Men tend to focus more on outbound communications while women focus more on inbound.
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Men are better at promoting themselves. Women tend to be less comfortable with this.
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Women are typically better at communication and they may not realize LinkedIn is a great platform to foster engaging professional relationships.
What Men Can Learn from Women on LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a great place to make new connections and nurture existing ones. This is where women stand out. For example, I really love the Professional Women’s Network, Powered by Citi. I think this group is one of the best for creating engaging professional relationships.
You can see how this group applies the three main tips Viveka Van Rosen offers for using LinkedIn to make quality connections:
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Focus on providing benefit to your audience. Offering tips, training videos, ebooks, etc. is a great way to share with your customers. In Professional Women’s Network group there are highly active moderated discussions and well-known guest professionals directly answer member questions.
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Call out your target audience. Sometimes that means excluding some people. But being too broad won’t attract customers. Targeting your audience will bring you quality leads that lead to sales. Again, in the Professional Women’s Network, the target is called out directly in the name! Professional Women who are interested in networking!
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Provide content specifically for your target audience. You don’t have to be everything to everyone. Again, as example, you’ll see the content in the group we’ve been talking about is very focused on women professionals, with discussion titles like, “If Women Succeed, America Succeeds!” “What does it mean to be an independent woman?” and “Leadership-masculine, feminine, or balanced?”
Keep in mind these same points can also apply to your profile — that is, you can offer tips and ebooks, you can make references to your target audience, and provide links to content that targets their needs. During my interview with Viveka, I was flattered because Viveka mentioned that my LinkedIn profile was a good example of these points. I’ll let you decide for yourself.
What Women Can Learn from Men on LinkedIn
In my conversation, Viveka said that men are better at promoting themselves. Her overarching message for women using LinkedIn is this:
Don’t be afraid to shine!
Women need to quit looking at promoting themselves as bragging and realize it’s a critical part of career growth and customer engagement. Here are some tips from Viveka for promoting yourself on LinkedIn:
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List your accomplishments. This isn’t bragging. This is promoting yourself to your target audience and potential clients. If you don’t list your accomplishments, they won’t know why they should hire you or use your services.
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Ask people to recommend you. If you have a client or a colleague that you’ve worked with successfully, ask them to write a LinkedIn recommendation for you. This way, prospective clients or employers could read a personal account of your qualifications.
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Post a good, up-to-date photo of yourself. You should look professional and approachable. A headshot where you’re smiling and looking at the camera is best.
Men and women use social media differently. Yes, men may be better at promoting themselves and women may be better at building engaging relationships. But these are both valuable qualities in the marketplace. Let’s take the time to learn from each other!
You can hear my full in-depth interview with Viveka van Rosen on my new podcast, Smart Talk: Inspiring Conversations with Exceptional People.
Also this week, I’ve got a great interview with Modern Manners Guy, Richie Frieman. Visit smarttalksuccess.com/stitcher or smarttalksuccess.com/itunes to listen.
This is Lisa B. Marshall, Helping you maximize sales, manage perceptions, and enhance leadership through keynotes, workshops, books, and online courses. Passionate about communication; your success is my business.
About the Author
Lisa B. Marshall Lisa holds masters with duel degrees in interpersonal/intercultural communication and organizational communication. She’s the author of Smart Talk: The Public Speaker’s Guide to Success in Every Situation, as well as Ace Your Interview, Powerful Presenter, and Expert Presenter. Her work has been featured in CBS Money Watch, Ragan.com, Woman’s Day, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, and many others. Her institutional clients include Johns Hopkins Medicine, Harvard University, NY Academy of Science, University of Pennsylvania, Genentech, and Roche.