Capilano University

Building Your Personal Brand Online

Mhairi Petrovic

August 2010

Agenda

What Is Social Media? Your Personal Brand Online Defining your goals Social Media Tools Guidelines for Safe Personal Branding Examples of great Internet networking Monitoring Your Brand Online Recap

What is Social Media? On-line technologies that allow you to share content

and interact with others. Internet networking hubs. Social media tools include wikis, blogs, podcasts as

well as social networks like Facebook and You Tube. These are just tools like the phone, or classifieds that

you can use to help you find a job. A tool that you can use to assist in your job hunt.

Who uses it?

Over 400m Facebook, 200m MySpace users, 30 m on Twitter, 3 billion photos on Flickr Hundreds of thousands of videos uploaded to YouTube 180m+ blogs 77% of active Internet users use blogs No longer the domain of the youth or techies. Over 35 demographic is the fastest growing Practically EVERYONE!

Why People Use Social Media

To find and share information To be social To connect To showcase themselves and what they do To communicate effectively with many people at

once or with one at a time To build their community/network/friends

Your Personal Brand On-line Be true to real life Always conduct yourself professionaly in

these forums Highlight what sets you apart Be active in the community See yourself as others see you 8 out of ten recruiters check your online

profile

What Are Your Goals ? What are you trying to achieve? Who is your intended audience? What are your strengths? How much time do you have to allocate to

this?

Professional Networks One of the oldest networks LinkedIn - Largest professional network in NA All professional users Your credentials online Get to know and interact with industry peers Establish your expertise Showcase your talents by answering questions Learn and share your knowledge Find jobs and get referrals

Social Networks - Facebook

Facebook is more professional and authentic

Create a profile and begin adding friends Spread the word Referrals are better than cold leads Become a groupy Create a company “Page” Advertise

Social Networks: Twitter

Micro Blog 140 character limit Link to your site or blog 3rd largest driver of traffic Short, sharp bursts of info Promote your offering Establish you in your niche

Jobs on Twitter

The Key to Social Networking Success Know your goals and act accordingly Grow Your Network Join Groups or create your own Use your status box Ask questions Using widgets appropriately Set the right privacy setting

Enter the Blogosphere

Web log Cronological Order Constant flow of information Categorized by subject Interaction builds community Blogging has mass appeal

Who is blogging?

180 million + blogs

There is a blog out there on every topic

Canadians are taking advantage of blogs

89% of businesses use blogs

Not just young folk

Blogging 3 Steps Step 1 – Get Aquainted

Step 2- Collaborate

Step 3 – Blog Yourself

Examples of Social Media Successes

Mari Smith on Facebook Rob Duncan on LinkedIn Wiggly Wigglers Threadless Yes We Can – Barack Obama

Guidelines for Safe Personal Branding Online

You are in control Google Yourself! Do the granny test on the results Always portray yourself professionally Be selective about who you add Add applications that are specific to what you do Schedule internet networking time Join and contribute to groups Be true to who you are Be respectful and don’t use profanities

Privacy Every tool has capabilities to allow for

effective privacy control Know how to change these Use them to give appropriate access

according to your goals You choose how much or how little you

make public For blog privacy, you can limit access or

commenting capabilities

Monitoring Your Online Brand

Always check your profile view Google Yourself Tweetscan Google Alerts Pipl

Internet Networking Recap

Done right can really advance your career and grow your business

Done wrong can damage your chances Focus on the hubs appropriate to your

niche Use networks appropriately Be safe Schedule time in these forums Enjoy

Join My Network

Mhairi Petrovic on LinkedIn “Out-Smarts” on Facebook mhairi@out-smarts.com 604 290 4099 Questions – let me know!