personal branding

H ll PragmaHello PragmaMeet Lyndi (and Quirk)Meet Lyndi (and Quirk)

Branding yourself g yonline

Lif b f Q i kLife before Quirk...Freelance SEO copywriter, Tutor (UCT), Masters Student.

Meet Lyndi Lawson Head of Education

Quirk

Life@QuirkMy team, the money, new business, lecturing, workshops, learning about learning, project management.

AchievementsGAIQ qualificationGAIQ qualificationStarted Quirk EducationCo edited and published the Quirk eMarketingtextbook (2009,2010, 2011)

It has changed the worldIt has changed the world

Digital is local…

Just over 6 millionJust over 6 millionSouth Africans online

11 million South Africans11 million South Africans have had an internetexperience on a mobile phone.

7 716 260 Egyptians7 716 260 Egyptians

4 016 580 South Africans4 016 580 South Africans3 247 680 Nigerians1 081 820 Kenyans

In 2011

• 2 1 billion internet users• 2.1 billion internet users

• 555 million websites

• 294 billion emails sent every day

• 5.9 billion mobile subscriptions5.9 billion mobile subscriptions

i l t ki• 2.4 billion social networking accounts

It’s also EVERYWHERE else

For business (and people in business) the knock onFor business (and people in business) the knock on effect of this is interesting…

Importantly (for today’s workshop)Importantly (for today s workshop)

Users are customers and potential customersUsers are customers and potential customers

IntroductionIntroduction

People search for information on businesses and the people in them

Companies aren't faceless entities any more…

…people want to work with people

Today’s workshop is onToday s workshop is on

li tiSocial Media and its application to Personal BrandingBranding

A i t d ti t l b di• An introduction to personal branding• An introduction to social media• Confronting the challenges of using social mediaBreak• Using social media to become a thought leader• Creating your personal brand• Creating your personal brand

An Introduction to Personal Branding

So what is it?So what is it?

Discovering what makes you uniqueDiscovering what makes you unique

i tiAnd communicating that

It’s highlighting your: g g g y

Skill• Skills• Knowledgeg• Credibility

P li• Personality • Relevance e e a ce• Integrity

i ht tiIts also creating the right perception of yourselfyourself

( )(in this context, online)

i tWhat a personal brand is not . . .

• Self important• Artificial• Artificial

It is about what is relevant to your audienceaudience.

Digital means that communication

tis a two way street

People want to communicate with other ppeople

kAnd… they want to know more about those peoplepeople

l b dSo, personal brands affect companies

Employee engagement and personal contributions p y g g pstrengthen the brand profile.

• Create first impressions• Influence perception• Relationship building• Relationship building • Critical for business success• Improve corporate culture

They can dictate whether business is won… or lost

Thus it’s vital for companies to hire the right staff whoThus, it s vital for companies to hire the right staff who

will project the right personal image for the p j g p gbrand.

Personal brands also affect individualsPersonal brands also affect individuals

• First impressions• Perceptions• Networking• Networking• Relationship building

Prospective employers business partners investorsProspective employers, business partners, investors and contacts will check you out online.

• Up to 81% of employers use Google to vet candidatescandidates

• 70% of employers have rejected candidates based h t th fi d i l dion what they find on social media

• Some even ask for Facebook passwords!p

They can make or break careersThey can make or break careers

So, own your brand –So, own your brand make sure people see

h t t th twhat you want them to see.

ButBut…

i t titiThere is intense competition for attention in the marketthe market

Individuals need to learn how to get and keep that i iattention by making sure they stand out

AndAnd…

You need to be aware of assumptions and

stereotypesstereotypes

(it’s human nature)

Who would you choose to do business with?Who would you choose to do business with?

It’s worth remembering thatIt s worth remembering that

First impressions count

And that truly strong personal brands in a businessAnd that truly strong personal brands in a business context are built on

Thought leadership: you need to d t t idemonstrate it

A thought leader is an innovative individual who leads conversations in their field They are distinctconversations in their field. They are distinct personalities — people or brands

What makes you a thought leaderWhat makes you a thought leader

• Expert • Insightful • Ahead of the curve• Ahead of the curve• An attentive audience• Consistent• Respected• Respected

New thoughts and opinions l i NOT titiNew thoughts and opinions : analysis NOT repetitio

You may not be able to control everything that is saidYou may not be able to control everything that is said about you online

But you can steer the conversation in the rightBut you can steer the conversation in the right direction

What impression do you want people leftWhat impression do you want people left with?

An Introduction to Social Media Channels

Social Media isSocial Media is….

• Networking• Publishing • Sharing• Sharing

But not all channels and platforms wereBut not all channels and platforms were created equal…

“You wouldn’t run around a house with a screwdriver and say what can I fix with this ”and say what can I fix with this.

- Nora Garmin Barnes, Researcher

Social Media BenefitsSocial Media Benefits

L•Low-cost•Viral possibilityp y•Creation of brand ambassadorsDi f db k d i i h•Direct feedback and insight

•Tools are freeoo s a e ee•It’s easy to use•It’s accessible•The audience is already thereThe audience is already there

There are 4 key Social Media channels

1. Bookmarking and Aggregating2 Content Creation2. Content Creation 3. Social Networking 4. Location

Bookmarking and AggregatingBookmarking and Aggregating

Content SharingContent Sharing

• Many platforms - most are free• YouTube: 48 hours of video uploaded every minute

• 1 trillion video views in 2011• 1 trillion video views in 2011

• 160 million blogs

Excellent for:Excellent for:

• Proving your thought leadership• Sharing expertise• Sharing expertise• Can be branded• Can be hosted on the company site

Social NetworkingSocial Networking

FacebookFacebook

• World's biggest network • 850 million users (4.8 million in SA)

Excellent for:• Personal content• Social interactions• Social interactions• Media linking and sharing

TwitterTwitter

• Microblogging platform225 illi (1 1 illi i SA)• 225 million users (1.1 million in SA)

• Can create a branded business accounts — Eg: @P S@PragmaSteve

Excellent for: • Finding newsd g e s• Positioning yourself• Connecting with people you don’t know• Connecting with people you don t know

LinkedInLinkedIn

• Business-centric social network 147 illi (1 6 illi i SA)• 147 million users (1.6 million in SA)

• 11th most popular website in SA

Excellent for: • Hosting your online CV• Business networking• Business networking• Contacting people for work-related purposes

C ti ith f i l• Connecting with professional groups

LocationLocation

Don’t worry, you don’t have to use all of thesethese

C iCommunity management

Support and tSales and lead customer 

serviceSales and lead generation

Strategic use of R t tiuse of social media

Reputation management

Insights and research

SEOAdvertising SEO

Communication 

Advertising and 

awareness

and outreach

b dSome examples of brands using Social Media channelsMedia channels

The Challenges of Social MediaThe Challenges of Social Media

ti i t t1. Social Media takes time, investment and

efforteffort

Creating contentCreating content

• Who will do it?• What will we write?• What will we write?• How will we write it?• When will we find the time?

di2. Building an audience is hard work

thi3. There is always something new to learn

4. It’s hard to measure results

i t5. It’s hard to keep things private

6. You expose yourself to negativity

Using Social Media to become a

Thought Leader

Demonstrate content and ideas that are:

• Consistently fresh• Unique • Relevant

1 Create value for the community1. Create value for the community 2. Attract a following that respects and trusts your opinionopinion 3. Consider how you brand yourself

lLet’s look at some examples

Meet David Graham Digital Channel ExecutiveMeet David Graham - Digital Channel Executive(Delloite)(Delloite)

Personal branding examplesPersonal branding examples

Personal branding examplesPersonal branding examples

Personal branding examplesPersonal branding examples

Terrence O'Hanlon PublisherTerrence O'Hanlon - Publisher (Reliabilityweb.com)(Reliabilityweb.com)

Personal branding examplesPersonal branding examples

LinkedinLinkedin

Personal branding examplesPersonal branding examples

FBFB

Personal branding examplesPersonal branding examples

conferenceconference

What makes these good examples?What makes these good examples?

• Consistent• Professional• Relevant• Relevant • Interesting• High engagement

Creating your personal brandCreating your personal brand

Your strategy:

1. Positioning yourself2 Marketing yourself2. Marketing yourself3. Monitoring and Optimising your Personal Brand

5 Preliminary Questions5 Preliminary Questions

1. Do I need a personal brand?2. What resources (time, money, attention) do I have

available to devote to it?available to devote to it?3. What do I want to achieve? 4. What are my specific goals? 5 What is my online ‘home base’?5. What is my online home base ?

1. Positioning yourself1. Positioning yourself

SStrategy

A d strategy dA good strategy reducesguesswork and makes ideasguesswork, and makes ideasmore effective.o e e ec e

l iIt’s all about the planning

Your brand is much more than justYour brand is much more than just your job title–it should evoke your purpose in life, what you want to

i taccomplish, and the impact you want to have on otherswant to have on others.

Step 1 Know what’sStep 1: Know what s out there

Your personal brand is defined by your Google CVYour personal brand is defined by your Google CV

75% of searchers don't look past the first page of

results — so you need to control what appears here

How does Google Rank Content?How does Google Rank Content?

• Relevance• Importance• Importance• Popularity• Trust• Authority• Authority

Your goal: Maximise the good content minimise the badMaximise the good content — minimise the bad

Determine your persona

• Professional• Insightful • InterestingInteresting • Relevant

Position yourself with reference to:

• The industry• Your role in the business• Your experienceYour experience• Your competitors

How do I fit in to the Pragma business and brandHow do I fit in to the Pragma business and brand image?

Create a value proposition

• Why are you relevant to your audience?• What value are you creating?

Situational analysis — where you are in your career

• Your values• Your attributes • Your passionsYour passions

Audience analysis who should be engaging with youAudience analysis — who should be engaging with you

• Target audience demographics• Primary and secondary research• Primary and secondary research• SWOT analysis

Competitor analysis — who else is doing something

similar in your field?similar in your field?

• Does anyone provide an identical service?Wh k d f h ?• What makes you stand out from them?

• What are their successes and failures?

What is your unique selling point?What is your unique selling point?

iA short exercise

1. Using the pad in front of you, brainstorm and in fi i li l ib lfive minutes, list every personal attribute, value and/or passion that comes to mind

2 Sort through your values attributes and passions2. Sort through your values, attributes and passions and narrow the list to the 12 characteristics

3 Narrow the 12 concepts to five3. Narrow the 12 concepts to five

4. Narrow your list to the top three

Write a personal brand statement

“I am a highly qualified, proven, results-driven executive who wants my legacy to include mentoringexecutive who wants my legacy to include mentoring young talent.”

“I am a passionate, people-oriented leader with solid business acumen a strong work ethic and integrity ”business acumen, a strong work ethic and integrity.

2. Marketing yourself

Really it’s aboutReally, it s about

• Crafting your brand • Choosing your channels• Choosing your channels• Building an audience• Creating great content

h lLet’s talk about choosing your channels

Remember that you personal brand is made up ofRemember that you personal brand is made up of

• Your social network profiles• Your social network profiles • Your owned media• Other people's content about you

Don’t worry, you don’t have to use all of thesethese

ConsiderConsider

• Audience• Time Commitment• Time Commitment• Relevance

diLet’s talk about building an audience

Know your target audienceKnow your target audience

Be humble and authenticBe humble and authentic

Engage with influencers respected people withEngage with influencers — respected people with large, influential followings

Start small and meaningful the crowds will comeStart small and meaningful — the crowds will come

t t tLet’s talk about creating great content

Thought leaders need to create meaningful originalThought leaders need to create meaningful, original, relevant content

Build your channels slowly and steadily.

Add more channels to push negative results off theAdd more channels to push negative results off the first page.

Keep content freshKeep content fresh.

Keep all messages on brand consistent tone styleKeep all messages on brand — consistent tone, style and content.

What should YOU write about?What should YOU write about?

• Industry news

• Your opinions and insights• Your opinions and insights

• New developments

• Breaking topics

Don't write about yourself or your brand!

Personal brand ≠ sales

Make use of writing best practiceMake use of writing best practice

• Simple and clear• Scannable (bullets and headings)• Scannable (bullets and headings)• Short • Optimised • Keywords• Keywords • Links

3. Monitoring and Optimising your effortsg p g y

M it i iMonitoring and managing your online reputationreputation

l ldDrive your online brand using real world relationshipsrelationships

d tGet endorsements

hMake sure you brand is everywhere that you are

h i lCreate physical assets

t kNetwork network network

Connect with them through the mediums

• Follow on Twitter

C Li k dI• Connect on LinkedIn

• Comment on blog

itiJoin existing communities

Building close relationships is the key — it pays off inBuilding close relationships is the key it pays off in the long term

• Build up a rapport• Offer value• Offer value• Interact meaningfully• Engage

Johannesburg Business Club 7 000 membersJohannesburg Business Club — 7 000 members

i ti t hiBuild associations and partnerships

Online it’s all aboutOnline, it s all about communities

One person alone may struggle to build a meaningfulOne person alone may struggle to build a meaningful brand - a group can be more effective

• Capacity for more updates• Better ideas• Better ideas• Mutual benefit

Build internal partnerships you are your ownBuild internal partnerships — you are your own community

External partnerships — find people and brands that provide value and support, not competition

But

Build something valuable before approaching aBuild something valuable before approaching a partner — what do you offer to the relationship?

Find your niche

Attention is the currency of the InternetAttention is the currency of the Internet

1. What do I do better than anyone else?2 What do I know that no one else does?2. What do I know that no one else does?3. What gives me the edge to create insights?

We have coveredWe have covered

li tiSocial Media and its application to Personal BrandingBranding

A i t d ti t l b di• An introduction to personal branding• An introduction to social media• Confronting the challenges of using social media• Using social media to become a thought leaderg g• Creating your personal brand

/Fin/Fin

Lif b f Q i kLife before Quirk...Freelance SEO copywriter, Tutor (UCT), Masters Student.

Meet Lyndi Lawson Head of Education

Quirk

Life@QuirkMy team, the money, new business, lecturing, workshops, learning about learning, project management.

AchievementsGAIQ qualificationGAIQ qualificationStarted Quirk EducationCo edited and published the Quirk eMarketingtextbook (2009,2010, 2011)