1. Pragma
Hello
H ll
Meet Lyndi (and Quirk)

2. Branding
g y
yourself
online

3. Life before Q i k
Lif b f 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
2.1 users
• 555 million websites
• 294 billion emails sent every day
• 5.9 billion mobile subscriptions
• 2.4 billion social
i l networking accounts
t ki

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)
today’s

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
Today’s workshop is on
Social Media and its application to Personal
li ti
Branding
• A i t d ti to personal branding
An introduction t lb di
• 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
i ti

31. It’s highlighting your:
g g gy
• Skills
Skill
• Knowledge g
• Credibility
• Personality
P li
• Relevance
e e a ce
• Integrity

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

33. What a personal brand i
is not . . .
t

34. • Self important
• Artificial

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

37. Digital means that communication
is a t
two way street

38. People want to communicate with other
p
people

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

40. So, personal
l brands
b d affect companies

41. Employee engagement and personal contributions
p y g g p
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
Thus it’s vital for companies to hire the right staff who
will project the right
p j g p
personal image for the
g
brand.

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

45. Prospective employers business partners, investors
employers, partners
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 th fi d on social media
h t they find i l di
• Some even ask for Facebook passwords!
p

47. They can make or break careers

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

49. But…
But

50. There is i t
intense competition for attention in
titi
the market

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

52. And…
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
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 i
d t t it

61. A thought leader is an innovative individual who leads
conversations in their field. They are distinct
field
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
l i titi

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….
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 ”
this.
- Nora Garmin Barnes, Researcher

71. Social Media Benefits
L
•Low-cost
•Viral possibility
p y
•Creation of brand ambassadors
•Direct feedback and insight
Di f db k d i i h
•Tools are free
oo s a e ee
•It’s easy to use
•It’s accessible
•The audience is already there
The

72. There are 4 key Social Media channels

73. 1. Bookmarking and Aggregating
2.
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 i SA)
illi (1.1 illi in
• Can create a branded business accounts — Eg:
@PragmaSteve
@P S
Excellent for:
• Finding news
d g e s
• Positioning yourself
• Connecting with people you don t know
don’t

81. LinkedIn
• Business-centric social network
• 147 million users (1 6 million i SA)
illi (1.6 illi in
• 11th most popular website in SA
Excellent for:
• Hosting your online CV
• Business networking
• Contacting people for work-related purposes
• CConnecting with professional groups
ti ith f i l

82. Location

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

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

85. Some examples of b
brands using Social
d
Media channels

90. The Challenges of Social Media

92. 1. Social Media takes ti
time, i
investment and
t t
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
di

95. thi
3. There is always something new to learn

96. 4. It’s hard to measure results

97. i t
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.
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
l

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.
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.
5 What is my online ‘home base ?
home base’?

114. 1. Positioning yourself

115. Strategy

116. A good strategy reduces
d d
guesswork,
guesswork and makes ideas
more effective.
o e e ec e

117. It’s all about the planning
l i

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 iimpact you
t
want to have on others.

119. Step 1 Know what s
1: 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?
• Wh makes you stand out f
What k d from them?
h ?
• What are their successes and failures?

133. What is your unique selling point?

134. A short exercise
i

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

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.”
acumen, integrity

139. 2. Marketing yourself

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

141. Let’s talk about choosing your channels
h l

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
di

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
t content
t t

153. Thought leaders need to create meaningful, original,
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
fresh.

155. Keep all messages on brand — consistent tone, style
tone
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
g p gy

164. Monitoring
M it i and managing your online
i
reputation

165. Drive your online brand using real
l world
ld
relationships

166. Get endorsements
d t

167. Make sure you brand is everywhere that you are
h

168. Create physical assets
h i l

169. Network network network
t k

170. Connect with them through the mediums
• Follow on Twitter
• C
Connect on Li k dI
LinkedIn
• Comment on blog

171. Join existing communities
iti

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
i ti t hi

177. Online, it’s
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.
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
li ti
Branding
• An introduction t
A i t d ti to personal branding
lb di
• An introduction to social media
• Confronting the challenges of using social media
• Using social media to become a thought leader
g g
• Creating your personal brand

186. /Fin

187. Life before Q i k
Lif b f 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)