How To Meld Your Personal & Professional Online Brand

Eric MelinSenior Social Media Community Manager

@SceneStealrEric

Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying & Embrace Air

How To Meld Your Personal & Professional Online Brand

You may not know it, but you already have a personal brand.

You may not know it, but you already have a personal brand.

And it may get you fired before you even start your job.

93% of hiring managers will review your social media profile before a job offer.1 out of 3 companies rejected candidates based upon something found in their social media profiles. - Staff.com, Jobvite 2014 surveys

92% of companies use social media for recruitment. 79% of recruiters report they have found candidates through LinkedIn. 26% find candidates through Facebook.14% through Twitter. - Jobvite survey, 2014

Why Develop a Personal Brand?

• Build credibility with your target audience

• Showcase your specialty

• Differentiate yourself from competition

• Refine and develop your focus

• Forces you to be consistent, develop routine

Images: personalbrandingblog.com, executiveresumebranding.com

A strong professional network gives you a leg up.“Increasingly, job hunters are tapping into their social networks and connecting with peers who are currently employed in their chosen field to find out about job opportunities that haven’t been posted publicly.” - Fast Company, 2014

Tell your own story. Don’t let the web do it for you.

The web and social networks are gathering and sharing info about you already – it’s time for you to own that info and shape it so it’s beneficial to you.

You can’t start soon enough.

“Your personal brand is essentially your professional reputation. It’s what other people say about you when you’re not in the room.” – Rosetta Thurman, Stanford Social Innovation Review

Your brand isn’t your resume – it should reflect facets of your personality, not just job-oriented stuff.

Image: branditecture.com

Be genuine.

More than self-promotion, it’s a representation of who you really are.

If you are genuine, you can connect with others with similar interests.

Real people are well-rounded.

They have hobbies as well as professional goals.

Intelligent, media-savvy, and that you understand business communication best practices.

Having a personal brand also shows that you are:

That’s personal and professional development.

Your personal brand can morph and change over time.

10 years ago I didn’t know what a personal or professional brand was ...

Or at least I didn’t THINK I knew what one was.

I knew enough about branding to get on game shows?!

...and fooled publicists into thinking I was

important enough to interview A-list movie stars!

I parlayed that media savvy into public speaking.

Once I started my real career ...

But your personal brand can take you to some strange places.

Melding the personalities can be challenging ...

... really strange places.

Melding the personalities can be challenging ...

It can also give you authority, legitimacy, and confidence where you least expect it.

No one wants to interact with acompany stooge.

Don’t separate business/personal.

Content/news organizations can pull off a “broadcast only” attitude because there’s an audience that wants their content in real-time.

But real people need to create/curate content and engage as themselves.

Where to start, you narcissist?

Image: huffingtonpost.com

yourself.

Try to get your name as a unique URL.

If you don’t have a unique name, create one.

If you don’t have a unique name, create one.

Do research - look at successful people in your field.What social media platforms are they on?How does their strategy differ on each platform?

Different platforms work better for different industries/verticals.

Image: blog.socialcontentmarketing.com

Don’t spread yourself too thin. Be strategic and consistent.

Image: emilyridge.ie

If you’re going to have a homepage, keep it

current.

Time for some self-examination.Define yourself.

Image: huffingtonpost.com

Image: thefirstfewseconds.com

Define yourself.What are your values?

Examples: Family, friends, hard work, positivity, community, passion, generosity, curiosity, fun, faith, leadership, making a difference.

How can you express those values?

Define yourself.What are your strengths/goals?

Think about things you are naturally good at.How can you help others?How can you tie those into personal andprofessional goals?

Image: thefirstfewseconds.com

+  goals!

Interests

Define yourself.What are your interests? How can your interests reinforce your personality?Do facets of your interests dovetail with your values and strengths?

Not sure?

Ask friends to name the first things that come to mind when they think about who you are.

Build a hub for your brand.

Make sure your bio tells people exactly what kind of content they can expect from you.

Don’t try to be all things to all people.Carve out your niche. Differentiate yourself.Exhibit unique opinions.

Don’t try to be all things to all people.Carve out your niche. Differentiate yourself.Exhibit unique opinions.

But don’t be a jerk or a contrarian just to be different. Be able to back your opinions up.

Because you’re probably not the only person saying something “different.”

You don’t absolutely HAVE TO get a professional headshot, but it wouldn’t be a bad idea.

Image: theantisocialmedia.com

Let your profile pic reflect your personality, but don’t be an idiot.Make sure its fairly recent and you’re recognizable.Put your best foot forward.

Images: andrewmacarthy.com

Post with purpose.

Everything you share, post, or respond to is building your brand.When you are authentic and honest, it will start to come naturally.Stay cognizant of your values, interests and strengths.

Post with purpose.

It doesn’t always have to be original content, buteven retweets and reposts should fit your brand.

Create and curate content within your interests.

If you find a piece of content valuable, its likely others will too.Become an authority in your niche.Share content and add more value to it.

Ask questions.Help others.Reciprocation is the best kind of conversation.

Get excited about things. Exhibit passion.

Be a true community member.Support others.Don’t just self-promote.

Get excited about things. Exhibit passion.

Be a true community member.Support others.Don’t just self-promote.

What Not to Post About• Drugs, sex, alcohol, guns -

unless its part of your brand

• Bad grammar, poor spelling

• Complaining - especially about your job

• Don’t post when you’re supposed to be working (or not working) - unless its part of your brand

• Negativity about client, boss, co-worker

• Company secrets

• No oversharing!

• Stay away from politics - unless its part of your brand or job. Either way, be aware of the bigger picture.

Unless its Part of Your BrandI use Untappd, but I don’t

share what I drink to a wider audience.

In small doses, something like this helps build my brand. It’s a yearly local event when Chocolate Ale is rolled out, and it illustrates that my movie

criticism can be lighthearted.

Connect your online world to your real-life world.

Relationships are more important than resumes.Network and participate in person.

Don’t let this be you ->

Live your values.Live your brand.Reach your goals.If you examine your brand and find it isn’t living up to your values, take a moment and re-calibrate. If a job change or goal change occurs, refine and revise your brand.

Bring your best self.

Share it with the world.Bring your heart, soul and head,Your passions and your promise.Great things will happen!

Meghan M. Biro, Forbes

Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying & Embrace Air

Thank you!

@SceneStealrEric

How To Meld Your Personal & Professional Online Brand