1. 7047QCA DIGITAL DESIGN THEORY & PRACTICE
FRED 04
MASTER OF DIGITAL DESIGN, GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY
LECTURER: DAVID KEANE
SOCIAL
MEDIA
for Personal Branding
NASTITI MAYAWULAN
S2822152
Women's silhouette[Image] was created by Ambrozjo, retrieved May 28, 2012, from Stock.
xchng: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1361098

2. abstract
Social media has become a common activity in people's internet behaviour. Companies are using social media to
brand and market their products and services. Branding is different from marketing. With branding, we create an
image for the world to see about us, but with marketing, we offer something to the public. Branding is important
for companies as well as personal. Personal branding is a process of developing a mark around one's name or
career to express skills, personality and values because we need to sell our quality and skills to potential clients or
employers. By having a good image, we can take advantages of it, such as asking for a higher pay or a promotion.
To build a personal brand, one must discover what the brand will be, write a blog, create a website. integrate the
social network, put an online resume and live the brand.
Building a personal brand requires a tool and social media network is a good one, because mainly people are visit-
ing social media sites when they are online. You do not have to have account in every social media platform, but
it is advised that you have an account in three largest social media platform right now, which is Facebook, Twitter,
and LinkedIn. There are various ways of using different social media platform for personal branding, but to have
an updated work experience and skills, make clear of the passion and interest as well as consistency across the
platforms are the things to be paid attention.

3. FRED REFERENCES
Domain name, "profile picture", "cover photo", URL
KEYWORDS
Social media, branding, marketing, advertising, promotion, personal branding, blog, website, CV, online portfolio, privacy set-
ting, microblogging, tweet, follower

4. social media on the rise
Social media has become the norm of today's life.
According to comScore, a global leader in measuring Social network
the digital world and the preferred source of digital Others
21.9%
marketing intelligence, social networking accounted 16.3%
for 21.9 per cent of Australians’ time online in De- Community
cember 2010, leading as the top online activity. Aus- 2.1%
tralians visited portals for 19.7 per cent of their time, Auctions
2.4%
while instant messengers accounted for 11.6 per cent
Search/navigation
of time and entertainment accounted for 11.1 per 2.3%
cent of total online time1.
News/information
3.0%
Many companies, big and small, are already make Games
use of social media to improve their relationship with 3.2%
their customers, because with social media, you can E-mail Portals
get intimate with thousands of people. They can 5.9% 19.7%
have instant feedback, discussions, questions and Entertainment Instant Messengers
answers, or just throwing trivia of some random stuff 11.1% 11.6%
that interests people. They brand and they market
Figure 1. Time allocation of Australia's online period
themselves there.
1
comScore, Inc. (2011, February 18). Social Networking Accounts for 1 of Every 5 Minutes Spent Online in Australia[Press Release]. Retrieved May 28, 2012,
from comScore: http://www.comscore.com/Press_Events/Press_Releases/2011/2/Social_Networking_Accounts_for_1_of_Every_5_Minutes_Spent_Online_in_
Australia, illustration by Nastiti Mayawulan

5. what is branding?
People often confuses branding with marketing. Although both are closely related, the two are different.
Branding vs Marketing
What a company should say, what it stands Provides the vehicles to deliver the
for, and what kind of value it delivers to messages.
its customers
How the world sees the product/service, The way of promoting the business and the
the image projected and the business per- services offered through various means of
sonality that people come into contact with advertising, promotion and publicity
CREATE COMPETE

6. personal branding
Companies do branding to promote their products and services. But how about individuals? Apparently, people
also need to do branding. We can see wide variety of people in the social media being known as an actor, an
author, a marketer, a motivational speaker, an athlete, and so on. This is called personal branding.
Personal branding is a process of developing a mark around one's name or career to express skills, person-
ality and values (Lake, 2012). People needs to brand themselves because we always have to sell ourselves to
attract future possibilities such as new employer, potential client or a career promotion. We are always judged
by the first impression, whereas in this modern world will appear in a simple Google Search, so it is important to
keep our image in a good way.
According to Dan Schwabel, a personal branding expert, students and entrepreneur also need to do branding
for themselves. It is about reputation, the size and strength of the network, and what unique value they can con-
tribute to a company or a client. With those things in hand, one has a sense of being, confidence and purpose.
It makes him stands out from the crowd, being visible and valuable so he can ask for a premium price (higher
sa-lary), and the network he has can because of his brand can help them from uncertain working environment.
If he is an entrepeneur, it allows him to grow the business.

7. how to build personal branding
Building a personal brand is a timeless task. But to start on it, there are several steps that people can take as follows:
1. Discover what the brand will be.
One should have a clear idea of who he is, what he wants to be known as, and the type of content he can
consistently publish. He should list his qualities, select one or two that can be the most important ones and
build the brand around it. Among his peers, he would stands out if he were to build his brand around his
passion and expertise.
2. Write a blog, create a website.
A blog is a great medium to let people know one's knowledge, way of thinking, where the passion lies, way
of approaching things, and problem solving. By letting people know what is inside his head, one will make
an impression to them.
Companies may have presence on Facebook and Twitter that reflects their brand, but their online home base
is always their website. The same thing happens to personal brand. People can put anything on their social
media account, but a personal website will make someone to have a complete control of his image. It is re-
commended to have a domain name based on one's own name to solidify the image. Make sure the website
is simple and clearly reflects the personal brand that is being created.

8. 3. Integrate the social network.
The social media accounts should be filled with information for people to know about oneself, reflecting his
passion and interest. Every time someone posts an article on his blog, he should put a link on his tweet or
Facebook status to encourage people to visit and read it. Syncing the blog with LinkedIn account is also im-
portant to make the recent posts appear on the profile.
4. Put a virtual resume.
One can put an online resume in his blog or website. An online portfolio is more accessible than the printed
one, so it is a great idea to have the works up in the internet and put the links in the CV or LinkedIn account.
Potential employers and clients can go look it up and see the demonstration of skills by themselves.
5. Live the personal brand.
A person should not build a personal brand merely to present himself to the world. It should be a real life
identity as much as the projected image. An amount of time should be spent emphasising the elements of the
personal brand in his life.

9. Using different social media platforms to
brand yourself
Building a personal brand requires a tool. One of the most useful tool is social media network, because mainly people
are visiting social media sites when they are online. You do not have to have account in every social media platform,
because it will be a hassle in managing them. Below is how you manage an account in three largest social media
platform right now, which is Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
1. Facebook
To brand yourself on Facebook, choose a cover photo or a profile picture that reflects your personal-
ity or interest. Make your work and education history updated and relevant. Add milestones and
experience that can enrich your image. If you have any undesirable content in your account, please
customise the privacy setting and hide it.

10. An example of it is as follows:
Cover photo of Brisbane that I took myself, exhibiting both my skill and interest on photography
Profile photo showing my face
Figure 2. Facebook account page

11. Important milestones
Updated work experience and education
Figure 3. Facebook account page - About

12. 2. Twitter
This is a microblogging site where you can post message (“tweet”) with maximum of
140 character, much like an SMS. Despite the limitation of the characters, Twitter can be
powerful, since there is a tendency that Twitter users are choosing to consume information
rather than publish it themselves2. So you can create an interesting content and share it
via Twitter. However, one of the goals of having a Twitter account is to gain followers and
few people want to follow an account that does not look legitimate, so set your Twitter bio
to match the rest of your online branding. This is how people will find you and recognise
you now and in the future. Do brand yourself based on your passions and skill set.
I use my Twitter account as an example. My bio tells people that I am a design student who has interest in pho-
tography and video shooting as well as social media. Strangely enough, I got new followers from various places in
the world all of the sudden. When I checked their bios, it turned out that they are either social media practitioner
or enthusiast, just like what I put on my bio. I guess the bio did help in finding people that share the same interest
and has a potential for sharing the knowledge together.
Another important thing to do is to link your Twitter with your blog to publish your posts, so your followers will be
aware that you are sriting something and become interested in reading it.
2
Romero, D. M., Galuba, W., Asur, S., & Huberman, B. A. (n.d.). Influence and Passivity in Social Media. Retrieved May 28, 2012, from HP Labs: http://www.hpl.
hp.com/research/scl/papers/influence/influence.pdf

13. Twitter bio that states my passion, skill and interest
Figure 4. Twitter bio

14. 3. LinkedIn
LinkedIn is mostly used by business professionals for networking, so by nature it is
often used by job seekers and employers. It has become an essential tool to share
business expertise, find jobs, advance professional knowledge, and build personal
brands. For LinkedIn, updated profile with the latest experience and skills is a must.
Have a headline that sells an experience to stand out, since this is the first part that people will read on your profile
and you would want them to continue exploring it.
Visibility is important. You want to be discovered by people. One of the ways to achieve that is to edit your LinkedIn
URL to include your name, since this will make your profile to show up at the top or near the top of the first page
of your Google results. Write your ‘Summary’ in the first person and tell a story. By doing that, you are speaking
directly to the person or organisation that is looking for you in the network.
Build your credibility and validation for your brand and experience by having people who know you well write
recommendations on LinkedIn. People would appreciate what other people say about us. Even as a student you
can request recommendations from your lecturers, classmates, assistants or virtually anyone with whom you have
shared an academic experience.

15. Updated work experience and education
LinkedIn URL that contains my name
Figure 5. LinkedIn profile

16. Figure 6. LinkedIn profile - Summary
"Summary" that tells a story and is
written in the first-person view
Recommendations from my former colleagues and manager
Figure 7. LinkedIn profile - Recommendation

17. conclusion
Branding is different from marketing. With branding, we create an image for the world to see about us, but with
marketing, we offer something to the public. Branding is important for companies as well as personal, because
we need to sell our quality and skills to potential clients or employers. By having a good image, we can take ad-
vantages of it, such as asking for a higher pay or a promotion. To build a personal brand, one must discover what
the brand will be, write a blog, create a website. integrate the social network, put an online resume and live the
brand. Building a personal brand requires a tool and social media network is a good one, because mainly people
are visiting social media sites when they are online. There are various ways of using different social media platform
for personal branding, but to have an updated work experience and skills, make clear of the passion and interest
as well as consistency across the platforms' profile page are the things to be paid attention to.

18. references
Ambrozjo. (2011, August 15). Women's silhouette[Image]. Retrieved May 28, 2012, from Stock XCHNG: http://www.sxc.hu/pho-
to/1361098
comScore, Inc. (2011, February 18). Social Networking Accounts for 1 of Every 5 Minutes Spent Online in Australia[Press Re-
lease]. Retrieved May 28, 2012, from comScore: http://www.comscore.com/Press_Events/Press_Releases/2011/2/So-
cial_Networking_Accounts_for_1_of_Every_5_Minutes_Spent_Online_in_Australia
ComScore, Inc. (2012, January 04). People Spent 6.7 Billion Hours on Social Networks in October. Retrieved May 8, 2012, from
ComScore: http://www.comscoredatamine.com/2012/01/people-spent-6-7-billion-hours-on-social-networks-in-octo-
ber/
e-Biz MBA. (2012, May). Top 15 Most Popular Social Networking Sites | May 2012. Retrieved May 12, 2012, from e-BizMBA:
http://www.ebizmba.com/articles/social-networking-websites
Elmore, L. (2010, January 3). Personal Branding 2.0, Vol. 62 Issue 1, p12-14, 3p. Retrieved May 20, 2012, from EBSCO Host:
http://web.ebscohost.com.libraryproxy.griffith.edu.au/ehost/detail?sid=74b06e8e-b7bd-4d38-8056-88fa0977ac47%4
0sessionmgr13&vid=1&hid=14&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=anh&AN=48949661
Lake, L. (2012, April 22). What is Personal Branding? Retrieved May 21, 2012, from About.com: http://marketing.about.
com/b/2012/04/22/what-is-personal-branding.htm
Margenau, S. C. (2011, June 8). What is Branding? What's the Difference Between Marketing and Branding? A New Look at an
Old Debate. Retrieved May 21, 2012, from ImageWorks Studio: http://www.imageworksstudio.com/blog/what-brand-
ing-whats-difference-between-marketing-and-branding-new-look-old-debate/index.html

19. Nielsen. (2011, Q3). Social Media Report: Spending Time, Money and Going Mobile. Retrieved May 08, 2012, from Nielsen Wire:
http://www.nielsen.com/content/dam/corporate/us/en/reports-downloads/2011-Reports/nielsen-social-media-report.
pdf
Romero, D. M., Galuba, W., Asur, S., & Huberman, B. A. (n.d.). Influence and Passivity in Social Media. Retrieved May 28, 2012,
from HP Labs: http://www.hpl.hp.com/research/scl/papers/influence/influence.pdf
Schmoozy Fox. (2011, August 10). Branding creates, marketing competes. Retrieved May 28, 2012, from Schmoozy Fox: http://
www.schmoozyfox.com/2011/08/10/branding-versus-marketing/
Schwabel, D. (2009, February 6). Personal Branding 101: How to Discover and Create Your Brand. Retrieved May 21, 2012, from
Mashable: http://mashable.com/2009/02/05/personal-branding-101/
Tabaka, M. (2010, April 6). The Succesful Soloist. Retrieved May 29, 2012, from Inc.com: http://www.inc.com/marla-tabaka/
what-is-your-personal-brand.html
Voss, C. (n.d.). Personal Branding With Social Media Infographic. Retrieved May 22, 2012, from Chriss Voss Show: http://thechris-
vossshow.com/personal-branding-with-social-media-infographic/
Weber, J. (n.d.). How to Create Your Personal Brand in 6 Easy Steps. Retrieved May 30, 2012, from Pick the Brain.com: http://
www.pickthebrain.com/blog/how-to-create-your-personal-brand-in-6-easy-steps/
Wrappa Branding and Design. (2012, February 15). The difference between branding and marketing. Retrieved May 22, 2012,
from Bizcommunity.com: http://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196/111/70807.html

20. possible future investigations
Social media trend in Indonesia, how the companies can take advantage of the growing Indonesian Facebook and Twitter users,
questions & answers
Question 1: How about if a potential employer wants to see my Facebook page? If they see my LinkedIn profile, I don't mind. But
I feel uncomfortable letting people that I don't know prying over my Facebook.
Answer: There is a Privacy setting that you can adjust on Facebook. If it is set at Public, then no matter if it is your future client,
employer or a total stranger resides at the other part of the world, every one will be able to see the content of your Facebook
page. If you feel it should not be displayed freely, then you can set it to Friends where only your friends can see your photos and
other stuff. Don't forget to own the LinkedIn URL with your name, because it will appear at the top-most result of your Google
search. By having it at the top, hopefully your future employer would go to your LinkedIn page instead of Facebook.

21. Question 2: Which one is better; using a unique Twitter name (for example: @littlegirlontheprairie) or using my real name for
personal branding?
Answer: It is better to use your real name for your Twitter name (or Twitter handle, some might say). You are promoting your-
self, so your real name will be best to build an image of you. If there is already a Twitter handle with the same name as yours,
then you might want to modify yours a little bit. For example, your name is John Doe, but Twitter handle @JohnDoe is already
claimed by somebody else who happens to have the same name as you. In this case, you can modify your Twitter handle to @
JDoe, @JDoeDesign or whatever suits the brand that you want to build.
Question 3: Is it necessary to have a headshot for LinkedIn profile?
Answer: LinkedIn is a professional networking website, so it is better if you invest on having a good headshot for your profile
picture. Avoid having a group of people in the picture since it would not be clear which one you are. Your credibility can be as-
sessed by other people by looking at something as simple as a good profile photo.

22. NASTITI MAYAWULAN
© 2012 - S2822152