Branding Yourself : How to Use Social Media to Invent or Reinvent Yourself

Erik Deckers is the co-owner and vice president of creative services of Professional Blog Service, a ghost blogging and social media agency. He has been blogging since 1997 and speaks widely on social media topics. He is also a newspaper columnist and award-winning playwright.

Kyle Lacy is founder and CEO of Brandswag, a digital marketing firm working with businesses large and small. His blog, KyleLacy.com, has been featured on The Wall Street Journal online and many other blogs. He is also constantly ranked in many top blog sites around the world, most recently AdAge 150.

Deckers and Lacy coauthored Twitter Marketing For Dummies.

I  Why Do I Care About Self-Promotion?

1  Welcome to the Party     3

What Is Self-Promotion?     5

  Why Is Self-Promotion Important?     5

  What Self-Promotion Is Not     6

  What Can Self-Promotion Do for You and Your Career?     6

Personal Branding     6

  What Is Personal Branding?     7

  Go Brand Yourself     8

  How to Build Your Brand     8

The Five Universal Objectives of Personal Branding     9

  Discover Your Passion. (Passion Is Fundamental to Achieving Your Goals.)     9

  Be Bold. (It’s Okay to Talk About Yourself.)     10

  Tell Your Story. (Your Story Is What Makes You Special.)     12

  Create Relationships. (Relationships Lead to Opportunities.)     13

  Take Action. (Even a Small Step Is a Step Forward.)     14

Who Needs Self-Promotion?     15

Meet Our Heroes     17

2  How Do You Fit in the Mix?     19

The Basics of Building Your Personal Brand Story     21 

  Writing Your Personal Brand Autobiography     21

  Prioritizing When Writing Your Personal Brand Story     22

  Writing Your Personal Brand Biography     23

  How Do Our Heroes Use the Personal Brand Biography?     25

Telling Your Complete Brand Story     27

Do’s and Don’ts of Telling Your Story     29

  1. Don’t Post Pictures That Would Shock Your Mother     30

  2. Don’t View Your Personal Brand Story as a Sales Pitch     30

  3. Don’t Post Something You Will Regret Later     30

  4. Don’t Ask for Things First.Ask for Things Second     31

  5. Don’t Get Distracted     31

  6. Don’t Underestimate the Power of Your Network     31

  7. Do Invest in Yourself     32

  8. Do Invest in Other People     32

  9. Do Be Visible and Active     32

  10. Do Take Some Time for Yourself     32

II  Your Network Is Your Castle–Build It

3  Blogging: Telling Your Story     35

What Is Blogging?     37

A Clarification of Terms     39

Why Should You Blog?     39

Choose Your Blogging Platforms     41

  Blogspot.com/Blogger.com     41

  WordPress.com and WordPress.org     43

  Other Blogging Platforms     44

Which Platform Should You Choose?     47

Setting Up a Blog     47

Purchasing and Hosting a Domain Name     49

Getting Inspired     49

What Should You Write About?     50

Finding Subject Matter     53

How to Write a Blog Post     53

Writing for Readers Versus Writing for Search Engines     55

How Often Should You Post?     56

How Long Should Your Posts Be?     57

But My Posts Are Too Long     58

Search Engine Optimization Through Blogging     59

How Does This Apply to Our Four Heroes?     60

Do’s and Don’ts of Blogging     62

  Do’s     62

  Don’ts     63

A Final Note on the “Rules” of Blogging     63

4  LinkedIn: Networking on Steroids     65

The Basics of LinkedIn     67

  What’s in a LinkedIn Profile?     67

  Cool LinkedIn Features Worth Examining     71

  Creating Contacts on LinkedIn     73

  Transforming Your Contacts into Connections     77

  The Importance of Recommendations     79

Ten Do’s and Don’ts of LinkedIn     82

  1. Do Upload a Professional Picture     82

  2. Do Connect to Your Real Friends and Contacts     82

  3. Do Keep Your Profile Current     83

  4. Do Delete People Who Spam You     83

  5. Do Spend Some Time on Your Summary     83

  6. Don’t Use LinkedIn Like Facebook and Twitter     84 

  7. Don’t Sync LinkedIn with Twitter     84

  8. Don’t Decline Invitations. Archive Them     84

  9. Don’t Ask Everyone for Recommendations     84

  10. Don’t Forget to Use Spelling and Grammar Check     85

5  Twitter: Sharing in the Conversation     87

Why Should You Use Twitter?     88

What Can Twitter Do for You?     89

How Do You Use Twitter?     91

  Creating a Twitter Profile     91

  Getting Followers     92

  Sending Out Tweets     93

  Retweeting Your Content     94

Applications for Twitter Domination     96

  Desktop Applications     97

  Web-Based Applications      98

  Mobile Applications     100

What Should You Tweet (and What Shouldn’t You?)     101

Do’s and Don’ts While Using Twitter     104

How Does This Chapter Apply to Our Four Heroes?     105

6  Facebook: Developing a Community of Friends     107

Why Should You Use Facebook?     108

What Can Facebook Do for You?     109

  Reconnect with Old Classmates and Co-Workers     110

  Use a Facebook Page to Professionally Brand Yourself      110

  Help a Cause and Be Philanthropic     110

  Find and Attend Local Events     111

What You Should Know First About Facebook     111

  Professional Page and Personal Profile     112

  The Basics: Creating a Personal Profile     114

  Staying in Control of Your Profile     116

Working with Your Personal Page Privacy Settings     116

  Setting Up Your Privacy Settings for Your Personal Account     117

Working with Your Customized URL     118

How Can I Use a Professional Page for Personal Branding?     119

Using Insights to Track Your Content Growth     120

Setting Up Your Professional Page     122

Top Five Tips for Using Facebook     123

Ten Do’s and Don’ts of Facebook     125

  1. Do Upload a Real Picture     125

  2. Do Share Industry-Specific Content     126

  3. Do Use Your Email to Find Friends     126

  4. Do Read the Terms of Service     127

  5. Don’t Use Inappropriate Language     127

  6. Don’t Spam People     127

  7. Don’t Poke People     127

  8. Don’t Tag Everyone in a Picture     128

  9. Don’t Sync Your Twitter Profile with Your Facebook Page     128

  10. Don’t Invite People to Your Professional Page Over and Over and Over     128

7  Bringing It All Together: Launching Your Brand     129

What Is a Personal Brand Campaign?     131

How Do Our Heroes Build Their P&T Statement?     133

Why Is a Personal Brand Campaign Important?     136

Building Your Personal Brand Campaign     137

  Developing Your Personal Brand Campaign     137

  Implementing Your Personal Brand Campaign     138

  Automating Your Personal Brand Campaign     140

Unique Ways to Launch Your Branding Campaign     141

How Should Our Heroes Launch Their Brands?     143

Do’s and Don’ts of Launching Your Personal Brand     144

8  Measuring Success: You Like Me,You Really Like Me!     147

Why Should You Measure     149

What Should You Measure?     149

  Reach     149

  Quality Versus Quantity     150

  Visibility     150

  Influence     151

How Should You Measure?     153

  Measuring Your Blogging Effectiveness     154

  Using Google Analytics for Your Blog     155

  Measuring Your Twitter Effectiveness     159

  Measuring Your LinkedIn Effectiveness     160

  Measuring Your Facebook Effectiveness     161

Ten Tools to Use for Measurement     164

Effectively Measuring Your Personal Brand     165

How Can Our Heroes Use Analytics and Measurement?     166

Do’s and Don’ts for Analytics and Measurement     167

III  Promoting Your Brand in the Real World

9  How to Network: Hello,My Name Is     171

Why Should I Bother Networking?     173

A Networking Case Study: Starla West     174

The Rules of Networking     175

  It’s Not About You     175

  Giver’s Gain Is Not Quid Pro Quo     176

  Be Honest Online and Offline     178

  You’re Just as Good as Everyone Else     179

  Avoid People Who Are Unhelpful     180

Network with Your Competition     181

Three Types of Networking     182

  Networking Groups     183

  One-on-One Networking     188

  The Follow-Up     193

  Be Honest     196

Do’s and Don’ts of Networking     197

  Do     197

  Don’t     198

How Would Our Heroes Network?     199

10  Public Speaking:We Promise You Won’t Die     201

Case Study: Hazel Walker, The Queen of Networking     203

Should I Speak in Public?     204

No, Seriously     204

But I Hate Speaking in Public     204

Overcoming Your Fear of Public Speaking     205

  Toastmasters     205

  Classes at Your Local College or University     206

  Seminars and Courses     206

  Speakers Associations     207

  Private or Executive Coaches     207

Finding or Creating Your Own Speaking Niche     207

How to Start Your Speaking Career     209

Identify Speaking Opportunities     211

  Industry Groups     212

  Civic Groups     213

  Conferences, Trade Shows, and Expos     213

  Introducing Yourself     215

  Promoting Your Talk     216

How Does This Apply to Our Four Heroes?     218

Giving Your Talk     219

Important Technology Tips for Presenters     221

Miscellaneous Tips, 140 Characters or Less     225

11  Getting Published: I’m an Author!     227

Why Should I Become a Writer?     229

Publication Opportunities     230

  Local Newspapers     231

  Business Newspapers     232

  Scientific Journals     233

  Specialty Magazines and Newspapers     234

  Hobby Publications     235

  Major Mainstream Magazines     236

  Go Horizontal Instead of Vertical     236

Build Your Personal Brand with Your Writing     237

  Publication Rights     239

  Create Your Own Articles Niche     240

  Getting Started     241

  Getting Paid     243

Paying Your Dues     244

  The Myth of “Exposure”     245

Do’s and Don’ts ofWriting for Publication     246

How Can Our Heroes Turn to Writing for Publication?     247

12  Personal Branding: Using What You’ve Learned to Land Your

Dream Job     249

Using Your Network to Find a Job     251

  Twitter: Make Job Connections in 140 Characters     252

  Use LinkedIn to Make Job Connections     253

Creating a Resume     256

  Should I Create a Paper Resume?     257

  How Does Social Media Fit in Your Resume?     258

  Six Tips for Listing Social Media on Your Resume     258

  Do’s and Don’ts of Resume Building     260

Don’t Rely on the Job Boards     263

  Try the Company Job Boards Instead     264

  Use LinkedIn to Bypass the Job Board Process     265

Skip HR Altogether, and Work Your Network     266

  Using Your Network to Land a Freelance Contract     267

  How Can Our Heroes Find a Job Through Networking?     268

A Social Media Case Study     269

Job Searching Tips in 140 Characters     271

Index     273

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