Social Media Made Simple: What Are You Known For Online?
A polished profile is a great start to owning your digital presence, but there's more to your story.
Welcome to Article 6 of Social Media Made Simple—and the start of Phase 2: Intermediate Strategies!
In Phase 1, we covered the building blocks: why social media matters, how to get seen, polishing your profile, posting with purpose and building connections. Phase 2 is where we shift from getting started to getting intentional about using social media to support your professional role and reputation. Why? Because there’s a difference between having a presence and having one that’s actually working in your favor.
Your Profile Matters, But Your Activity Tells the Story.
In article 3, we got your LinkedIn profile in shape—that’s your foundation. While that gives people a general idea of who you are, what really shapes their perception of you is what you do over time.
In our last article, we talked about how consistent engagement puts someone on your radar. Their name shows up enough that you start to recognize it, and you form a sense of who they are, what they know and what they can offer. And the same is true for your social media presence and how people perceive you.
Here’s what Phase 1 touched on but didn’t get into: LinkedIn’s algorithm doesn’t just reward posting in general, it pays attention to what you’re posting about. The more you engage around a specific topic — steel industry trends, safety, supply chain, recruiting, operations — the more LinkedIn associates your profile with that area. That shapes how you show up in searches, whose feed you reach and which conversations find you. Being intentional about what you engage with isn’t just good for your reputation, it’s also how you get in front of the right people.
Social Media Is Being Noticed in New Ways
Think about the last time you Googled something and noticed the AI-generated summary at the top of the page. Search tools and AI assistants are increasingly stepping in to help with the kind of background research we used to handle manually, pulling from publicly available information to give people a quick read on a person, company or topic before they ever make contact—and information available on social media is no exception. A clear, active presence is more likely to represent you well than one that’s sparse, outdated or hard to read.
Interested in learning more about selling in the age of search, social and AI? We’re joining Ryerson to host a webinar on exactly that! Join us on Friday, July 31 at 11:30 AM (ET). More info and link to register here: https://conta.cc/3QN1K3e
What Do You WANT to Be Known For?
Think about what you know well, what problems you help solve and what you’d want a new contact to walk away knowing about you. Then take a look at your profile and recent activity. Does it reflect that?
This is going to look a little different for different roles:
- In sales, that might look like proof that you know your product, are easy to work with, and follow through on what you say you’ll do.
- In operations or manufacturing, maybe it’s the skill, the precision and the pride that goes into what we produce.
- In safety, it could be showing your commitment to making sure everyone works smart and goes home safe every day.
- In HR or recruiting, maybe it’s that you care about more than just filling a seat—you actually care about whether someone belongs and can grow here.
Remember, this isn’t just about having an optimized LinkedIn profile—we’ve already done that. This is about being intentional with your ongoing activity so that everything you post, share and comment on is working together to reinforce who you are professionally.
Let It Guide What You Share
Once you have a sense of what you want to be known for, use that clarity as a filter. Before you post, share or comment, ask yourself whether it connects to how you want to be seen professionally and how it might contribute to the story you’re offering the digital world. If it supports your story, go for it. If not, scroll past.
As you engage, think back to what we covered in article 5 about meaningful engagement, then take it one step further. A comment that actually reflects your role or your perspective does more for your digital presence than a few quick “like” reactions ever will. This intentionality tells people you’re informed, engaged and worth paying attention to. That’s the difference between just being active and actually being present—and over time, that presence is what makes your name stand out and mean more to your audiences.
What’s Next?
Now that we’ve looked at what your ongoing activity says about you, we’ll turn the lens outward. In the next article, we’ll look at using LinkedIn to help find and connect with the right people and conversations, so your presence is more than just visible.
Ready to start? Comment on an Olympic Steel post you relate to. And don’t forget that you’ve got the Olympic Steel Social Media Toolkit at your fingertips—find quick tips, pre-written posts, links to follow our socials and more!
As you engage on social media, remember that your activity represents both you and Olympic Steel. Please keep interactions professional, positive and respectful, and use good judgment in all online activity. Employees are encouraged to reference the Social Media Toolkit for tips and best practices. All employees are expected to adhere to Olympic Steel’s Employee Handbook, Section 3: Standards of Conduct, 3.7 “Social Media.”
