Here's how you can maximize social media for self-promotion as a freelancer in business networking.

Personal branding and crafting your unique identity in the space is essential for using social media to grow your business. What sets you apart from others with the same or similar qualifications? What’s your story and how can you use your story to help others? Is that your motivator? Are you more relatable or professional? Both? Finding branding elements that give color to the pictures and videos you share is sometimes even more important than your resume.

Yes your social media profiles are your virtual business cards. There's a lot to update and fill in but to not be overwhelmed, you can start with the top-down approach and/or prioritize the sections. I usually start with the profile photo (must be professional or relevant to your industry/work, don't be afraid to do something different like Richard Branson). Then you make sure your name, titles, tagline, etc. are all correct. If your work takes you across several platforms, just make sure it's consistent.

Be you. Be you. Be you. People will know when you're pretending or acting like what you think someone should be or what you think the audience might expect from someone in your role. Whether on LinkedIn or all other social media, you want your friends and family, those that really know you to think, "Yep. That's them. 100% who they are in real life."

Showing up for your community and audience is crucial. It shows you’re a real person and care about them. Even if you have a team assisting you with your posts, whether it’s a content team, PR etc, taking time to interact with your followers and show the BTS and highs and lows can really set you apart. It also invites younger generations to look up to you and seek out mentorship and guidance which additionally allows you to cultivate a leadership role in your industry.

Yes you really do need to engage regularly and there are several different ways to engage. One piece of advice is to create a weekly and monthly schedule for engagement. You can start with content and categorize what you want to post. Then you can set reminders for yourself on other types of engagement such as reposting and commenting.

Consistency is important in the beginning for two reasons: First, it helps you build the habit of posting and creating content. Second, it gets your name and content out there. Once the habit is there and people know what to expect from you, you have more flexibility in posting less often from there. Engaging with others' content consistently is also important. That is a great way to start building genuine connections with others on LinkedIn. I have loads of friends and business contacts on LinkedIn now because of regularly engaging with their content or their comments on others' content.

Hashtags are there for a reason so be sure to use them to your advantage. My advice is to not overdue is because it won't be effective and also it will take away from the structure of your post. When you are searching in Linkedin, the hashtags will show up. So use it as well when you are searching for relative posts and people that you want to connect with.

3-5 hashtags is it. Find the ones either (a) relevant to your content and/or (b) unique to you. I use a mix of my two own (#mindfullyemily and #emilylitigates--which relate to the content I create) and three that are more thematic and overarching themes for my content (#biglaw #professionalwomen and #lawyerwellbeing). Occasionally, I'll mix it up if a post isn't related to one of those topics, but here, too, consistency pays off.

This took me some time to get used to. But, if you consistently post, build a genuinely connected network, and remain authentic, your connections will want to share the highs with you, root for you, and celebrate you. Don't hesitate to share your wins. And remember: sharing the lows or losses is genuine too, since we are all human after all.

I often see people struggle to network or not finding success with it and I think a big part of that is not networking for the right reasons or proactively. Going to events, checking in on people, taking time to be interested in others. Not just clicking connect and racking up the follower count and saying you know people. The approach to your outreach and fostering the relationships you build is what takes you to the next level. And why people look up to you to learn!