Your personal brand reaches beyond the workplace, classroom, and home. It lives on the Internet for millions of strangers to view. Do you own your online name? Here are some key tips to help protect and build your personal brand using social media.

1. A GUIDE
SOCIAL SMARTS FOR SUCCESSFUL CAREERS

2. Introduction
When an employer, recruiter, or friend types your
name into a search engine, what do they find? As an
employee, you cultivate your professional reputation.
As a student, you spend hours learning and perfecting
assignments. Why not take the same care with your
digital footprint?
Your personal brand reaches beyond the workplace,
classroom, and home. It lives on the Internet for
millions of strangers to view. Do you own your online
name? Here are some key tips to help protect and
build your personal brand using social media.
social smarts for successful careers kaplanuniversity.edu 877.445.4238 (Toll Free)

3. Facebook
Twitter
Say “no” to
controversy.
While Facebook invites users to share thoughts,
steer clear of controversy. A statement on subjects
like politics and religion can potentially offend
employers, colleagues, recruiters, and even family
and friends. When in doubt: don’t share.
Be aware
of photos.
You can spend the majority of your professional career
showcasing your strengths and skills only to have one
bad photo set you back. Delete and untag photographs
with conduct you wouldn’t want your colleagues or
potential employers to see.
Become a
thought leader.
Make sure the content you share is noteworthy.
Take the time to learn about current events and
share the latest industry news with your audience.
Understanding your industry can help you provide
beneficial information and showcase your knowledge
during online discussions.
Lock down
your profile.
Facebook privacy settings are continually evolving.
Be aware of these changes and adjust your profile
accordingly. Make sure you are sharing the right
information with the right people. Visit the Facebook
Help Center for more information.
Choose your
handle carefully.
If your handle is @xoPrincessxo, your tweets may be
overlooked by industry professionals and recruiters.
Your handle is a Twitter signature and the first
impression you have when tweeting, responding, or
mentioning users. Make sure your handle is
professional and memorable (@JohnSmith, @JSmith,
etc.).
Create lists. It can be difficult to keep up with the most important
and relevant tweets. Create lists and group followers
by categories (companies, recruiters, coworkers, or
friends). This cuts down on noise and allows you to
keep track of tweets you want to read. Click here to
learn how to use Twitter lists.
Hashtag wisely. Hashtags categorize tweets and lead users to
conversations surrounding a specific topic or theme.
They can help you start a discussion, join a chat,
or get information. Before incorporating a hashtag,
understand its meaning. Using a hashtag out of
context could offend others and discredit your
personal brand.
Fact:
An average of million
tweets are sent each day.
500
3 social smarts for successful careers kaplanuniversity.edu 877.445.4238 (Toll Free)
Fact:
The Facebook
population is almost times
that of the United States.

4. Google +
SlideShare
Take advantage
of Google+
communities.
Similar to Facebook groups, these communities
connect you with individuals with the same interests.
The focus of these communities can range from
hobbies to professional networking groups. This is
another opportunity to grow as an industry thought
leader.
Boost
your SEO.
Google+ is the social interface between you and the
Google search engine. Your profile and what you share
provides Google with information about your interests.
When users share your content (blog, articles, videos)
it boosts your rank in Google search engine results.
Optimize
your profile.
Having a profile with little or no information works
against you. Make sure to add a professional photo,
write a summary that includes your professional
experience and your passions, and use keywords
when writing content.
Instead of listing
your skills, show
them off.
SlideShare allows you to upload presentations and
share them with millions. Social networking sites give
you space for a brief description of employment and
skills. With SlideShare, you can upload professional
accomplishments or samples of projects you
previously led. These slides can bring your resume
and experience to life.
Learn from
other leaders.
SlideShare was named among the world’s Top 100
Tools for Learning. The White House website, IBM, and
Pfizer are just a few of the millions who use SlideShare.
Take advantage of the variety of information shared by
industry leaders, brands, and companies.
million monthly page views.
215
Fact:
SlideShare has
million monthly visitors
and
60
social smarts for successful careers kaplanuniversity.edu 877.445.4238 (Toll Free)4
Fact:
Google+ is the number 2 social platform in the world
with million monthly active users.
540

5. LinkedIn
Personalize
your connection
invitations.
LinkedIn provides generic copy for connection
invites. Address the person you wish to connect
with and personalize the message. You can reference
where you met (“It was great meeting you at
___________ event”) or upcoming projects (“I look
forward to working with you on ___________.”).
Don’t endorse
a stranger.
If you have never collaborated with the individual or
witnessed their talents, why are you endorsing them?
Endorse people you have established real connections
with and/or have worked with (colleagues, former
classmates, and friends).
Fact:
The Society for Human Resource
Management (SHRM) reports that
95%of companies that use social media in their recruiting efforts use LinkedIn.
Sources
http://mashable.com/2014/01/30/facebook-china-population/
https://www.census.gov/popclock/
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1418091/000119312513390321/d564001ds1.htm
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/15/technology/the-plus-in-google-plus-its-mostly-for-
google.html?_r=0
http://c4lpt.co.uk/top100tools/
http://www.slideshare.net/who-to-follow-on-slideshare
http://www.bitrebels.com/social/10-personal-branding-mistakes-to-avoid-on-twitter-
infographic/
http://socialmediatoday.com/samrichter/1700011/ways-build-personal-brand-online-world
http://www.copypress.com/blog/21-social-media-rules-for-personal-brands/
http://www.shrm.org/Research/SurveyFindings/Articles/Pages/
SocialNetworkingWebsitesforIdentifyingandStaffingPotentialJobCandidates.aspx
http://www.slideshare.net/about
https://support.twitter.com/articles/49309-using-hashtags-on-twitter
http://www.hashtags.org/platforms/twitter/whats-the-point-of-all-these-hashtags/
https://www.globalwebindex.net/Stream-Social
http://www.jillceleste.com/3-simple-reasons-why-you-need-to-use-google-plus-for-
personal-branding/
http://rebekahradice.com/dominate-your-personal-brand-using-google-plus/
5 social smarts for successful careers kaplanuniversity.edu 877.445.4238 (Toll Free)