The document discusses the importance of personal branding for journalists, emphasizing that individuals have an image regardless of their awareness and that they should take control of it. It outlines the steps to discover and define one’s brand, such as knowing personal talents, setting goals, and creating an online presence through blogging and social media. The document also highlights the significance of owning a personal domain and username to reinforce one's brand identity.

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Creating your brand
Robin J. Phillips, Managing Editor,
Reynolds Center for Business
Journalism

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Creating your brand
 Do people really talk like that?
 Is this just a buzz phrase?
 Isn’t branding just marketing?
 I am shy.
 Isn’t branding just selling out?
 … and why should you trust me?

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Robin J Phillips | About Me
 25 years in the news game
 Experience in print, magazines, wire services, online
 Community news manager, azcentral.com
 Deputy business editor, Newsday, The Arizona Republic
 Small Business Editor, BusinessWeek Online
 Business Editor, The Record of Hackensack (N.J.)
 Co-founder, #wjchat, weekly online web journalism discussion
 Co-founder of Perfect Moment Project
 Digital Director, The Reynolds Center for Business Journalism

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What we’ll talk about
 People have an image of you … whether you like it or not.
 It’s important for you to know who you are.
 Journalists need to take control of their image.
 Your brand can be as simple as You Being You… online.
 Your brand or how you live your life online, good and bad, stays
around a long time.
 … and we’ll look at how some journalists handle their online
image.

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Why branding now?
 Historically, journalists’ reputation were closely aligned with that
of their employers.
 The promotion of their work was left up to their news
It’s not selling out
organizations’ marketing departments as part of the overall
branding strategy.
 In large part, reporters were comfortable letting the work
speak for itself. That’s all changed.

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So what is branding?

7. + Not just about being Googleable
.. but that’s
some of it.

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First things first

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To thine own self…
 Branding is knowing yourself.
 Know your talents and skills.
 Know your goals.
 And knowing this is all flexible.
 Once you know yourself, you can define your brand.
Ask your friends,
mentors, strangers.

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What is your brand promise?
 If you …
 Hire me
 Read my story
 Watch my newscast
 Buy my photos
 Follow me on Twitter
 You will get …
 XXX
 XXX
 XXX

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Task promise

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Brand promise
 What you stand for
 What you offer
 What people should expect from you

18. To be genuine, fun,
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Brand contemporary, and
different in everything we
promise do at a reasonable price.
To be the premier sports and
entertainment brand that brings
people together, connecting
them socially and emotionally
like no other.
To inspire moments of
optimism and uplift.

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Let’s get started
 Create a website – simple WordPress is just fine
 Begin blogging
 Take a daily photo, film a daily video
 Subscribe to blogs, comment when you have something to say
 Use your name or a consistent username
 Blog responsibly – write, edit, publish, shoot photos

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Do you own your URL? Username?
 Use your name
 Everything should be your name
 If you can’t get your name, use a derivative of your name

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Landgrab!

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Buy your domain name

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How others do it

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Not web, not Twitter, not FB

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… back to first things first

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Decide for yourself. Be that.