Leveraging Social Media Platforms to Enhance Your Geospatial Career
Social media is a potent tool for developing a geographical identity that is consistent with your objectives and principles. It enables communication and connection with the outside world, peer learning, creativity inspiration, and enjoyment in the production and appreciation of one's own work.
To be successful, you may not necessarily need to be active on social media. I'm adamant that social media shouldn't be a binary medium. There are many beneficial aspects as well as drawbacks. If social media is not used effectively for your career, it can cause a disconnect from real relationships and time. Without social media posts, many successful people and businesses exist.
Consider your instincts and how you spend your time on social media.
Here are five ways to use social media to supercharge your geospatial career:
- Build Your Personal Brand & Choose the Right Platform
- Stay Informed about News, Data and Trends
- Create and Share Engaging Content
- Network and Collaborate
1) Build Your Personal Brand & Choose the Right Platform
Create platform goals to reflects your interests and style. What do you hope to achieve by using social media? Is it a place to contribute original content, build a following and acquire likes, land a job, or market a product?
This will impact the kind, tone, quantity, and target audience of the content. Some accounts concentrate on GIS-related humor and memes, in contrast, I provide various GIS content that grabs my attention, whether from my professional work or personal interests.
From the interaction on the post, I can gauge who my geospatial audience is and use that information to drive forward.
Platform Summary: There is more casual discussion due to the word limit set on the console, the type of visual content being shared, and less direct work connections. Contrarily, using short sentences encourages clear communication and comments that leave an impression on your audience. Examples of visual content include gifs, memes, maps, apps, and programs. Easy to share information = wide variety of GIS content!
Networking: The larger community for outreach and interactions outside of work relationships creates a more casual atmosphere for collaborating in and sharing creative ideas.
Favorite Feature: List! I created a list that only shows tweets from GIS accounts that I have added to the List group. If you want to divide them into Different topics, you can construct them by theme. A list is an excellent way to begin the day with GIS news.
Platform Summary: LinkedIn is more than simply a job search engine; it's also a platform for developing your professional brand and establishing yourself as an industry expert. This is my go-to tool for learning about companies' and individuals' work and abilities. Furthermore, my immediate GIS relationships established through GIS roles make it my go-to site for sharing my own professional geospatial work.
Favorite Feature: Personal branding is a great example. LinkedIn allows you to sell yourself by creating your own personalized page. Photo for your profile, professional background, accomplishments, and links to your portfolio and other resources to help you improve your abilities.
Unique Feature: Some unique aspects include the opportunity to join groups (college alumni groups and GIS networking groups) and job analytics when looking for new opportunities.
Platform Summary: Instagram's visual and storytelling skills can be utilized to share GIS work. It's the ideal platform to share visual content - especially maps. Treat is a gallery app for displaying your GIS work. There is no professional vibe here.
Network: Instagram recommends profiles and content based on your interests. Take advantage of it by following other GIS influencers in the field. Connect with other GIS enthusiasts, professionals, and organizations in the GIS community to broaden your network and learn from others.
Favorite feature: This platform is DESIGNED FOR VISUAL TELLING. Graphics and video hosting (less text). Stories. With Stories, you may capture geographical events or behind-the-scenes footage in real-time. Excellent for engaging, Enables creativity by incorporating music and maps. It enables me to put my twist on it.
Caption: A re-creation of Charles Joseph Minard’s map of Napoleon’s disastrous advance to Moscow (1812-1813) by @sarahbellmaps shared on Instagram.
2) Stay Informed about News, Data, and Trends
Utilize Podcast Apps for Latest Geospatial Trends and Stories
I primarily use podcasts to stay current on valuable GIS news, trends, insights, and intriguing stores. I am consistently moving, or on a hike up the cascades, where I live in Washington with a dog.
Podcasts have really increased my ability to stay up with GIS trends and implement them for my work.
Location Derived Data
Integrating geospatial analysis with social media data unlocks valuable insights by identifying trends, sentiments, and behaviors in specific locations. This fusion optimizes marketing, tailors services, aids disaster response, and fosters community engagement. Leveraging this synergy creates impactful initiatives across domains.
One can also use social media geotags to curate crowdsourced data. NASA has a program dedicated to using crowdsourcing data to improve products such as the Center of Excellence for Collaboration and Innovation.
3) Create and Share Engaging Content
Multimedia
As little text as possible should be used to emphasize maps and applications together with a compelling synopsis of the goal, process, and result. Post pictures of you and your team with your audience so they know your face and can see what activities you are passionate about.
Caption: Example of a LinkedIn post by Sid Pandey being concise and conveying his message more visually than text heavy.
Positive Impact
Give examples of how your geospatial skills have helped solve certain difficulties or had a positive influence on your professional or academic experience.
Tag the members of your team who helped, and give them the chance to re-share and interact. By doing this, you may demonstrate that you are a team player and strengthen team ties.
Relatable
To make the text more relatable, break the formal tone and add your personal style or spin like being satirical, intellectual, or academic.
On the GIS social media platform, humor is highly relatable. It's energizing and gives you a sense of belonging and recognition. Share stuff that is relatable and easy, rather than sophisticated. This frequently receives the most incredible feedback.
Caption: @Pokateo_Maps is a Twitter account that shares fun maps and map memes.
Valuable
Share informative material. What geographic content has value?
New. New data, technology, trends, and project trends is always new and exciting.
Implementable. Sharing content with adequate workflow details for implementation. Offer resources.
Promote. Promote geospatial events, conferences, and webinars.
Caption: An example of a LinkedIn post by Jordan Carmona sharing valuable information to the GIS community.
Unique & Original
Utilize the platform to motivate yourself to find a solution to a geographical challenge that interests you or will help your neighborhood. Perhaps it's simply a unique and creative art map creation motivated by your curiosity.
Style, date, topic, setting, tone, etc. can all be unique. Your creative flow is at its best when YOU are the audience!
Providing geographical content you've curated in your time shows your enthusiasm and diligence. Be truthful about why you share it, what motivated you, and how.
Finish, Share, Next
The content doesn't have to be of the highest caliber! Sure, you should only distribute a paper that has been spell-checked or a map with a legend, but I would like you to rigorously complete one assignment, distribute it, and then move on to the next.
Set up deadlines and goals for the quantity and sort of material you would like to produce. Several platforms have facilitated my ability to make higher-quality products more quickly such as Canva, Grammarly, Quilbot, and ChatGPT-4.
Consistency
To have a solid online presence, consistency is essential. Have realistic objectives for your social media presence. Every week, share a trend again, along with your insights.
Once a month, produce content for a team project. Social media presence requires commitment and time to develop. I want you to know that your efforts will be rewarded. Initially, let the relationship develop naturally, calmly, and casually. Have regular, sincere interactions with your connections. This may result in a video chat or collaborative effort.
4) Network and Collaborate
Join Geospatial Groups
Participate in geospatial groups on social media platforms. It's a good idea to research an organization's mission, events, and membership perks before considering joining it to see which best suits your hobbies and professional aspirations.
Some organizations provide discounts for early-career professionals or student memberships, making it easier for people to enter the business.
Here is a list of geospatial groups for you to connect with:
- Geospatial Graduate Student Organization (GGSO)
- United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation (USGIF)
- Esri Young Professionals Network (YPN)
- American Geophysical Union (AGU)
- American Association of Geographers (AAG)
- Urban and Regional Information Systems Association (URISA)
- Ethnically Diverse Geospatial Engagement (EDGE)
- Northwest GIS User Group (NWGIS)
- American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS)
- Women in GIS
- Women in Geo
Caption: Esri Young Professionals Network is an example of one of many groups you can join to connect with others and expand your network.
Engage Online
Interact with online material created by geospatial experts and businesses to raise your profile and demonstrate your interest.
Participate in dialogues and discussions by liking and commenting. While sharing their work, add your unique perspective. What did you learn and find engaging, and what are the next steps for you? While offering feedback, could you mention other people's opinions?
Here is a list of online GIS communities you can engage with:
| Platform | URL |
| GIS Tribe Group | |
| GIS Community | |
| GIS Chat | |
| R/GIS |
Participate in Challenges and Contest
Participate in virtual challenges or events related to geospatial technology. Participating in mapping competitions or hackathons can attract attention and demonstrate your skills.
Here is a list of ongoing mapping and GIS challenges:
- GIS Certification Institute Map Contest
- British Cartographic Society Map Awards
- The #30DayMapChallenge
- GeoHipster Map Calendar
- Atlas of Design
- URISA Digital Competition
- ArcGIS StoryMaps Competition
Caption: The ArcGIS StoryMaps Competition is just one of many examples of competitions and challenges you can participate in.
Conclusion
After all of that information, I want to conclude. It is difficult, confusing, and time-consuming to share your work with the rest of the world. Start small and practice.
That is the content the world requires and will attract your ideal audience, but remember that you are the audience, so it is worthwhile.
Have fun and good luck. I promise doors will open for your career, and what a fantastic way to document your geospatial journey!
What an exciting time to be a cartographer, data scientist, geospatial engineer or analyst, project manager, administrator, and remote sensing scientist!
Let's Connect
Brooke W. Hatcher - Seattle, WA
Lead Geospatial and Imagery Engineer at New Light Technologies (Washington, D.C) URISA Vanguard Cabinet Outreach Vice Chair.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brooke-hatcher-2a5186104/
Twitter: @_AtlasBrooke
Instagram: TheAtlasBrooke
