This presentation on Journalists' Personal Branding was created for the Kiplinger Program at Ohio State University in April 2012.

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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.