1.There is a lot of advice out there about keeping your online activity from hurting your career. But there's a flip side. When handled correctly, social media can help you professionally. The key is to be proactive about managing your activity and image.
2.you need to make a conscious choice to use it for professional purposes, understand what your goals are, and then actively manage your digital footprint.
3. Put your professional self online. potential employers and current colleagues, will see you. "More and more we have to realize that there is no such thing as private space online," says Clark. Dutta concurs: "Privacy today is something you have to work hard at. You have to assume your actions are public by default."
4. Decide which social media channels you'll use for what purposes.

there are three things social media is particularly suited for:
1. Building your personal brand
>the more you comment on or write about a certain area, the more likely you'll be affiliated with it.
>echo chamber effect" in which even a small amount of content can go a long way toward establishing you as an expert.
> "Social media can be a way to demonstrate your familiarity with a field," says Clark. "If you blog or tweet about a topic it shows that you're in the game."
2. Demonstrating your proficiency with all things digital
Employers are increasingly looking for this competency in potential employees.
3. Learning from your digital network
When you post information, people like, comment on, or forward your thoughts. This means that not only can you put ideas out there but you can learn a lot as well.
How to start
Figure out what space you want to play in. . Before you join the conversation, think about what topics you want to be associated with. "You need to ask yourself, what you want to be known for? What are you passionate about? What are your distinctive views

Establish a presence.
Give people something to see when they look for you online. One of the easiest ways to do that is to set up a LinkedIn profile

Generate content.
To truly establish yourself as an expert, you need to create a following. Create content that people want to share. "If you want to drive home that you have expertise, post articles that show, don't tell, you have expertise Play by the rules If you are banned from mentioning your job or company, you can still accomplish the goal of demonstrating proficiency in social media by blogging about other things you care about, such as baseball or cooking. While not strictly professional, it might just cause a boss or recruiter to take notice?
Principles to remember
Do:
Consider what potential employers or colleagues will see when they find you on social media — you don't want them to see nothing
Decide which social media channels you'll use for professional purposes — it's ok to mix personal and professional
Create content that others can forward, retweet, or repost
Don't:
Say you're an expert — show it by posting compelling content
Limit your social media activity to one topic — participate in many conversations so you don't get pigeonholed
Inadvertently violate company policy — check what rules your employer has set around social media