This document provides an introduction to personal branding and using social media. It discusses discovering your unique qualities and communicating them online to highlight your skills, knowledge, credibility and relevance. It also covers confronting the challenges of social media, such as the time investment required. The document then discusses using social media to become a thought leader by consistently sharing fresh, unique and relevant content. It provides guidance on creating a personal branding strategy, including positioning yourself, marketing your brand, and monitoring your online presence.

1. Pragma
Hello
Meet Lyndi (and Quirk)

2. Branding yourself
online

3. Life before Quirk...
Freelance SEO copywriter, Tutor (UCT), Masters
Student.
Meet Lyndi Lawson Life@Quirk
Head of Education
Quirk
My team, the money, new
business, lecturing, workshops, learning about
learning, project management.
Achievements
GAIQ qualification
Started Quirk Education
Co edited and published the Quirk eMarketing
textbook (2009,2010, 2011)

5. It has changed the world

12. Digital is local…
Just over 6 million
South Africans online

13. 11 million South Africans
have had an internet
experience on a mobile phone.

14. 7 716 260 Egyptians
4 016 580 South Africans
3 247 680 Nigerians
1 081 820 Kenyans

17. In 2011
• 2.1 billion internet users
• 555 million websites
• 294 billion emails sent every day
• 5.9 billion mobile subscriptions
• 2.4 billion social networking accounts

18. It’s also EVERYWHERE else

19. For business (and people in business) the knock on
effect of this is interesting…

21. Importantly (for today’s workshop)

23. Users are customers and potential customers

24. Introduction
People search for information on businesses and the people in them

25. Companies aren't faceless entities any more…
…people want to work with people

26. Today’s workshop is on
Social Media and its application to Personal
Branding
• An introduction to personal branding
• An introduction to social media
• Confronting the challenges of using social media
Break
• Using social media to become a thought leader
• Creating your personal brand

27. An Introduction to Personal
Branding

28. So what is it?

29. Discovering what makes you unique

30. And communicating that

31. It’s highlighting your:
• Skills
• Knowledge
• Credibility
• Personality
• Relevance
• Integrity

32. Its also creating the right perception of
yourself
(in this context, online)

33. What a personal brand is not . . .

34. • Self important
• Artificial

36. It is about what is relevant to your
audience.

37. Digital means that communication
is a two way street

38. People want to communicate with other
people

39. And… they want to know more about those
people

40. So, personal brands affect companies

41. Employee engagement and personal contributions
strengthen the brand profile.
• Create first impressions
• Influence perception
• Relationship building
• Critical for business success
• Improve corporate culture

42. They can dictate whether business is won… or
lost

43. Thus, it’s vital for companies to hire the right staff who
will project the right personal image for the
brand.

44. Personal brands also affect individuals
• First impressions
• Perceptions
• Networking
• Relationship building

45. Prospective employers, business partners, investors
and contacts will check you out online.

46. • Up to 81% of employers use Google to vet
candidates
• 70% of employers have rejected candidates based
on what they find on social media
• Some even ask for Facebook passwords!

47. They can make or break careers

48. So, own your brand –
make sure people see
what you want them to
see.

49. But…

50. There is intense competition for attention in
the market

51. Individuals need to learn how to get and keep that
attention by making sure they stand out

52. And…

53. You need to be aware of assumptions and
stereotypes
(it’s human nature)

55. Who would you choose to do business with?

56. It’s worth remembering that

57. First impressions count

58. And that truly strong personal brands in a business
context are built on

59. Thought leadership: you need to
demonstrate it

61. A thought leader is an innovative individual who leads
conversations in their field. They are distinct
personalities – people or brands

62. What makes you a thought leader
• Expert
• Insightful
• Ahead of the curve
• An attentive audience
• Consistent
• Respected

63. New thoughts and opinions : analysis NOT repetitio

64. You may not be able to control everything that is said
about you online

65. But you can steer the conversation in the right
direction

66. What impression do you want people left
with?

67. An Introduction to Social Media
Channels

68. Social Media is….
• Networking
• Publishing
• Sharing
But not all channels and platforms were
created equal…

69. “You wouldn’t run around a house with a screwdriver
and say what can I fix with this.”
- Nora Garmin Barnes, Researcher

71. Social Media Benefits
•Low-cost
•Viral possibility
•Creation of brand ambassadors
•Direct feedback and insight
•Tools are free
•It’s easy to use
•It’s accessible
•The audience is already there

72. There are 4 key Social Media channels

73. 1. Bookmarking and Aggregating
2. Content Creation
3. Social Networking
4. Location

74. Bookmarking and Aggregating

75. Content Sharing

76. • Many platforms - most are free
• YouTube: 48 hours of video uploaded every
minute
• 1 trillion video views in 2011
• 160 million blogs

77. Excellent for:
• Proving your thought leadership
• Sharing expertise
• Can be branded
• Can be hosted on the company site

78. Social Networking

79. Facebook
• World's biggest network
• 850 million users (4.8 million in SA)
Excellent for:
• Personal content
• Social interactions
• Media linking and sharing

80. Twitter
• Microblogging platform
• 225 million users (1.1 million in SA)
• Can create a branded business accounts – Eg:
@PragmaSteve
Excellent for:
• Finding news
• Positioning yourself
• Connecting with people you don’t know

81. LinkedIn
• Business-centric social network
• 147 million users (1.6 million in SA)
• 11th most popular website in SA
Excellent for:
• Hosting your online CV
• Business networking
• Contacting people for work-related purposes
• Connecting with professional groups

82. Location

83. Don’t worry, you don’t have to use all of
these

84. Community
management
Support and
Sales and lead customer
generation service
Strategic
use of Reputation
Insights and
research social management
media
Advertising SEO
and
awareness
Communication
and outreach

85. Some examples of brands using Social
Media channels

90. The Challenges of Social Media

92. 1. Social Media takes time, investment and
effort

93. Creating content
• Who will do it?
• What will we write?
• How will we write it?
• When will we find the time?

94. 2. Building an audience is hard work

95. 3. There is always something new to learn

96. 4. It’s hard to measure results

97. 5. It’s hard to keep things private

98. 6. You expose yourself to negativity

99. Social Media to become a
Using
Thought Leader

100. Demonstrate content and ideas
that are:
• Consistently fresh
• Unique
• Relevant
1. Create value for the
community
2. Attract a following that
respects and trusts your
opinion
3. Consider how you brand
yourself

101. Let’s look at some examples

102. Meet David Graham - Digital Channel
Executive
(Delloite)

103. Personal branding
examples

104. Personal branding
examples

105. Personal branding
examples

106. Terrence O'Hanlon - Publisher
(Reliabilityweb.com)

107. Personal branding
examples
Linkedin

108. Personal branding
examples
FB

109. Personal branding
examples
conference

110. What makes these good
examples?
• Consistent
• Professional
• Relevant
• Interesting
• High engagement

111. Creating your personal brand

112. Your strategy:
1.Positioning yourself
2.Marketing yourself
3.Monitoring and Optimising
your Personal Brand

113. 5 Preliminary Questions
1.Do I need a personal brand?
2.What resources (time,
money, attention) do I have
available to devote to it?
3.What do I want to achieve?
4.What are my specific goals?
5.What is my online ‘home
base’?

114. 1. Positioning yourself

115. Strate
gy

116. A good strategy
reduces
guesswork, and makes
ideas
more effective.

117. It’s all about the planning

118. Your brand is much
more than just your
job title—it should
evoke your purpose
in life, what you
want to accomplish,
and the impact you
want to have on
others.

119. Step 1: Know what’s
out there

120. Your personal brand is
defined by your Google CV

122. 75% of searchers don't look
past the first page of
results – so you need to
control what appears here

123. How does Google Rank
Content?
• Relevance
• Importance
• Popularity
• Trust
• Authority

124. Your goal:
Maximise the good content –
minimise the bad

125. Determine your persona
• Professional
• Insightful
• Interesting
• Relevant

126. Position yourself with
reference to:
• The industry
• Your role in the business
• Your experience
• Your competitors

127. How do I fit in to the
Pragma business and brand
image?

128. Create a value proposition
• Why are you relevant to
your audience?
• What value are you
creating?

129. Situational analysis – where
you are in your career
• Your values
• Your attributes
• Your passions

130. Audience analysis – who
should be engaging with you
• Target audience
demographics
• Primary and secondary
research
• SWOT analysis

132. Competitor analysis – who
else is doing something
similar in your field?
• Does anyone provide an
identical service?
• What makes you stand out
from them?
• What are their successes
and failures?

133. What is your unique selling
point?

134. A short exercise

135. 1.Using the pad in front of
you, brainstorm and in five
minutes, list every
personal attribute, value
and/or passion that comes
to mind
2.Sort through your values,
attributes and passions and
narrow the list to the 12
characteristics
3.Narrow the 12 concepts to

136. Write a personal brand
statement

137. “I am a highly qualified,
proven, results-driven
executive who wants my
legacy to include mentoring
young talent.”

138. “I am a passionate, people-
oriented leader with solid
business acumen, a strong
work ethic and integrity.”

139. 2. Marketing yourself

140. Really, it’s about
• Crafting your brand
• Choosing your channels
• Building an audience
• Creating great content

141. Let’s talk about choosing your channels

142. Remember that you personal
brand is made up of
• Your social network
profiles
• Your owned media
• Other people's content
about you

144. Don’t worry, you don’t have to use all of
these

146. Consider
• Audience
• Time Commitment
• Relevance

147. Let’s talk about building an audience

148. Know your target audience

149. Be humble and authentic

150. Engage with influencers –
respected people with large,
influential followings

151. Start small and meaningful –
the crowds will come

152. Let’s talk about creating great content

153. Thought leaders need to
create meaningful, original,
relevant content

154. Build your channels slowly
and steadily.
Add more channels to push
negative results off the
first page.
Keep content fresh.

155. Keep all messages on brand –
consistent tone, style and
content.

156. What should YOU write about?

157. • Industry news
• Your opinions and insights
• New developments
• Breaking topics

158. Don't write about yourself
or your brand!
Personal brand ≠ sales

159. Make use of writing best
practice
• Simple and clear
• Scannable (bullets and
headings)
• Short
• Optimised
• Keywords
• Links

162. 3. Monitoring and Optimising your efforts

164. Monitoring and managing your online
reputation

165. Drive your online brand using real world
relationships

166. Get endorsements

167. Make sure you brand is everywhere that you
are

168. Create physical assets

169. Network network network

170. Connect with them through
the mediums
• Follow on Twitter
• Connect on LinkedIn
• Comment on blog

171. Join existing communities

172. Building close relationships
is the key – it pays off in
the long term

173. • Build up a rapport
• Offer value
• Interact meaningfully
• Engage

174. Johannesburg Business Club –
7 000 members

176. Build associations and partnerships

177. Online, it’s all about
communities

178. One person alone may
struggle to build a
meaningful brand - a group
can be more effective

179. • Capacity for more updates
• Better ideas
• Mutual benefit

180. Build internal partnerships –
you are your own community

181. External partnerships – find
people and brands that
provide value and
support, not competition
But
Build something valuable
before approaching a partner
– what do you offer to the
relationship?

182. Find your niche

183. Attention is the currency of
the Internet

184. 1. What do I do better than
anyone else?
2. What do I know that no
one else does?
3. What gives me the edge to
create insights?

185. We have covered
Social Media and its application to Personal
Branding
• An introduction to personal branding
• An introduction to social media
• Confronting the challenges of using social media
• Using social media to become a thought leader
• Creating your personal brand

186. /Fin

187. Life before
Quirk...
Freelance SEO
copywriter, Tutor
Meet Lyndi Lawson (UCT), Masters Student.
Head of Education
Quirk
Life@Quirk
My team, the money, new
business, lecturing, worksho
ps, learning about
learning, project
management.
Achievements
GAIQ qualification
Started Quirk Education
Co edited and published the
Quirk eMarketing textbook
(2009,2010, 2011)