What is a personal brand and why do you need it? How do you brand yourself as a professional using social media? Which networks will benefit you and where do you start? This presentation will begin to answer these questions and more.

1. The How of the It:
Personal Branding on
Social Media
Presented by: Reema Ibdah
Social Media Specialist

2. What “it” is…
Personal branding “refers to the way other people see you as a business
owner or representative of an idea, organization, or activity. Are you a
genius? An expert? Are you trustworthy? What do you represent? What
do you stand for? What ideas and notions pop up as soon as someone
hears your name?
When you have a personal brand, people recognize and care about your
name, what you’re working on, what you offer, and what you’re about.”
- Wikipedia

3. Why it matters…
 Helps build awareness, community and authority in
your industry around your name, or “brand” in terms
of your unique combination of skills, experience and
background
– Build trust, credibility, networking, establish self
– Social media is a free and accessible way to complement
your resume
– Social media skills are becoming integral to any role

4. The How…
 Social Media is one of the easiest means to build a network surrounding
your personal brand
– It is where people (and recruiters) are:
• FB: 1.28 BILLION+ users
• LinkedIn: 300 million+ users
• Twitter: 255 million+ users
… and it’s FREE to use
(Other Social Media tools include Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, SnapChat,
etc.)

5. Notes
 Follow along with notes posted on Twitter
@PDIToronto

6. How it helps…
 You get to control the message re: how you
define yourself/brand
 Hone, define and amplify your identity

7. Which network is for you?
 Which social media network gives you the maximum
return on your efforts?
 Professional: LinkedIn | Twitter | Facebook
 Conversation: Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook
 Amplification: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram & Google+/YouTube
 Networking: All (not ranked: Vine, reddit, Instagram)

8. Social Media for Recruitment
 Branchout (recruitment site of Facebook)
https://branchout.com/
 BeKnown (Monster app/Facebook)
http://beknown.monster.com/
 LinkedIn Jobs
 Twitter Search

9. How to engage…
 Content – localize? Comment on current events
 Be diligent
– Work at it patiently and keep your objective in-sight
– Talk about what you’re passionate about
– Follow people you would like to know/connect with and proactively
engage them
 Have an interesting and professional profile: look like a person
people want to talk/connect to

10. Profiles: Good and Bad Examples
 “I’m an expert at Finance. I am probably the smartest person at
Finance I know and if you follow me you will get to hear more”
– Good or bad?
 “Early-riser with a passion for writing, coffee, and the outdoors.
You can find me reading the Finance section of the paper at
Starbuck’s or crunching numbers on the patio”
– Good or bad?

11. Good and Bad Examples cont’d
• How can we fix these profiles to be even better?
– What is the brand/idea/topic?
– What is the associated belief/feeling we want to convey?
– Who is the target audience?
– How do we want the target audience to feel about us and
remember us by?

12. Is it working?
 Ask your colleagues for feedback!
 Is it improving your “brand” image?
– What are you providing to your audience, and is it positively received?
Does it improve your credibility as a professional?
 Bottom-line: Does it help you achieve your desired outcome? Are
you building relationships? Establish benchmarks for yourself.

13. How to be Strategic and Current
 People won’t listen unless you give them something to care about
 Think about personal branding on social media like a flexible business
plan:
– What is your identity and beliefs?
– Who are your targets? What is your value to them?
– How often do you want to engage with them?
– What is your benchmark for success?
– What are others who are similar to you doing?
– Be innovative and adaptive to change when you need to

14. Tips
 Be strategic about your posting. Don’t oversaturate your audience.
 Connect and Engage
 Make sure your headline is compelling, and you fill out your bio so you look like
a person others want to talk/connect to/believe in
 Always Be Adapting – social media is constantly changing. Change with it and
keep your digital identity fresh. But don’t compromise your message.

15. More resources…
 Twitter:
@PDIToronto (notes) and @BecomeaCMA
 Leading Indicator (blog):
– How to Find Your Voice on Social Media
– 7 Ways to Stand Out on LinkedIn

16. References
 Techcrunch: Facebook Passes 1B Mobile Users, 200M
Messenger Users In Q1
 Twitter: Twitter Reports First Quarter 2014 Results
 LinkedIn Blog: The Next Three Billion [INFOGRAPHIC]
 Wikihow: How to Build Your Personal Brand