Building Digital Eminence

How to look great online

Laura Nicholas, IBM Corporation Social Media & Communications StrategistJanuary 2011

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Agenda

� What is digital eminence?

� How do I create it?

� Where do I start?

� What does it take?

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What is digital eminence?

A person with eminence is known and respected for their achievements and knowledge.

�Digital Eminence

�is how you appear online.

What do people

see when they

Google me?

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Agenda

� What is digital eminence?

� How do I create it?

� Where do I start?

� What does it take?

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Eminence is created by demonstrating

expertise and building awareness of it.

You know how to do this in the real world through

in-person interactions

but

you can expand this through social media.

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Businesses use social media…

� Listen to what is being said about them and their industry.

� Share thought leadership and ideas.

� Publicize brand messages, news, and announcements.

…to engage with employees, clients and business partners.

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You should too.

Social media gives you a vehicle to publicize professional

activities and ideas which helps improve your digital eminence

and

gives you a way to engage with and learn from other

professionals you may never meet in person.

Recognition Reach

Relationships Resources

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Agenda

� What is digital eminence?

� How do I create it?

� Where do I start?

� What does it take?

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#1

Define your

personal brand

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What is a personal brand?

What do I want to be known for?

“Your personal brand is composed of values, a

mission, and a positioning statement that depict

what you do and who your audience is. It is an indicator for how valuable you are to employers and

customers at every stage of your career”.Dan Schawbel, PersonalBrandingBlog.com

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Write your bio

� What makes you unique?

� Think about your knowledge, your experience, your personality, your talents and your goals.

� Use your resume, recent projects and job roles as input.

� Consider how others brand you.

� Ask a colleague, mentor, friend or spouse for help and feedback.

Your bio is your branding statement

and will drive all of your eminence activities.

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#2

Look Great on LinkedIn

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LinkedIn is your own personal web page

Make it Great!

1. Open profile to full view so your photo / bio appears in search.

2. Add your well written bioHighlight subject matter expertise and include keywords

3. Add links to other web properties you ownTwitter, blog, YouTube, etc.

4. Add additional Groups that line up with expertise and interestsProfessional associations and topical interest groups.

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#3

Share ideas through

Microblogging

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Did you know you can microblog on

LinkedIn?

� Network status bar � Use the Network Status bar to publicize events, share

news and links to thought leadership and other publications

� Groups

� Monitor and participate in discussions to stay informed,

find topics for conversation starters and create visibility in your point of view

� Start a new discussion thread

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But wait, what will I write about?

� You want to showcase knowledge and expertise that supports your personal brand

� Share links to news, articles, events, thought leadership

� A few good sources…� Industry issues

� Articles you wrote

� Articles and books recently read

� Events� Speaking engagements

� Thought Leadership

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#4

Blog – on

someone else’s blog

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Post comments to blogs you follow or

write a guest blog post

� Follow leading blogs in your industry � Write comments to posts where you can add value� This shows your knowledge and ability to craft a convincing

viewpoint� Comments show up in Google results when you post using a

comment management tool such as Disqus Profile.� Share blog posts with colleagues and clients

� Pursue guest blogging opportunities, start with company-owned blogs.

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#5

Launch your own

web property

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Establish your own web property

But, consider these questions first…• Who do I want to reach?

• What will I write about?

• What do I want to achieve?

• How much time can I spend?

• How will I promote it?

� Set up a Twitter account � Launch a traditional blog

� Share videos on YouTube� Share slides on SlideShare

� etc.

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Agenda

� What is digital eminence?

� How do I create it?

� Where do I start?

� What does it take?

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To get results you need

� Time

� Willingness to learn

� Desire to interact online

Start small. Observe. Join in.

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Take Action!

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Get started today

1. Define your personal brand.

2. Shore up LinkedIn.

3. Use LinkedIn to share ideas and links to content you find useful.

4. Look for opportunities to comment on blogs and volunteer to write a guest post.

5. If you want to establish a Twitter account or blog, take time to plan first.

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Evidence of your reputation is

only few clicks away.

You have the power

to make it look great.

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Learn more

� Social media school on SocialMediaTodayhttp://socialmediatoday.com/school/

� Chris Brogan – Social Media 101

http://www.chrisbrogan.com/social-media-101/

� HubSpot – Internet Marketing bloghttp://blog.hubspot.com/

� IBM Social Computing Guidelineshttp://www.ibm.com/blogs/zz/en/guidelines.html