Understand the value of a well-made social profile. Learn how LinkedIn and Twitter can help you define your digital persona and improve your professional reputation.

1. PICK ME, PICK
ME!
The Value of Professional Networking, Social Media, and E-Portfolios

2. Agenda
■ Social media platform overview
■ Creating a personal brand
– Twitter
– LinkedIn
– Digital portfolios
■ Homework
■ Final thoughts

3. Why We Use Social Media
■ Communication
■ Building relationships
■ Reputation management
■ Customer service
■ Information
■ Entertainment

4. Not All Social Networks are Equal
■ LinkedIn
• Professional network connecting 300+ million members from 170 industries,
worldwide
• Digital resume and professional image
■ Twitter
• Timely content in 140 characters or less
• Professional and personal branding

5. “YOU NEED TO THINK AND ACT
LIKE YOU’RE RUNNING A
START-UP: YOUR CAREER.”
Reid Hoffman
Linkedin co-founder
Author of The Start-Up of You

6. How Are You Perceived?
■ Online Reputation
– What do search results say about
you?
■ Professional Relationships
– What do your colleagues &
managers say about you?
■ Personal Relationships
– What do your friends and family say
about you?
■ Audiences tend to trust people
more than corporations

7. Creating a Personal Brand
What are Your Goals?
■ Gain awareness (be visible)
■ Build trust (be consistent)
■ Earn loyalty (be valuable)
3 Steps:
■ Discover who you are
– Your USPs (Unique Selling
Points)
– Your passions
– Your skills
■ Create your identity
– Consistency is key
■ Make it visible

8. A Quick Note About Facebook
■ Companies use Pages, so can individuals
■ Think you’re private? Think again.
– Manage privacy settings
– Be comfortable with what you post
Read more: Being Professionally Personable on Facebook (Harvard Business
Review)

9. Using Twitter
to Build Your
Brand

10. Build Your Profile
160 CHARACTERS
USE # AND
@
PROFESSIONAL PICTURE
HANDLE THAT MAKES SENSE

11. Build Your Profile
■ Header photo (1500 x 500 px)
■ Profile photo (400 x 400 px)
■ Name
■ Bio (max 160 characters)
■ Location
■ Website
■ Theme color
■ Birthday

12. Who to Follow

13. Create/Subscribe to Lists
■ Lists are curated groups of Twitter users – create your own or subscribe to ones
created by others
■ Useful for reading tweets, not tweeting to a specific group

14. How to Tweet
■ 140 character limit (includes text,
spaces, images & URLs)
– Twitter counts the characters for
you
– Try abbreviations to fit limit
– Links & images take up 20
characters
■ Retweeting lets you repost to your
followers or comment

15. What’s With the Symbols?
■ @mention – tags user within a tweet
■ # (hashtag) – searchable word/phrase; groups conversations
Hashtags for Financial Professionals
@ #

16. What and When to Tweet
■ What?
– Trending topics
– Mix of professional & personal
– Source attribution
■ When?
– Depends on audience & location
– Live tweet events or TV shows
– Participate in Twitter chats
– Schedule it!

17. Share a Variety of Content
Read more: How to Balance Your Personal and Professional Brand on Social Media

18. Crafting the Perfect Tweet
■ Use hashtags & links together
■ Don’t hashtag overload (2 = ideal)
■ Tweet longer (120+ characters work best)
■ Clear Call to Action (CTA)
■ Urgency
■ Tweet frequently (1-5 times per day)
■ Use pictures (2x engagement)
Read more: 10 Tips for Crafting the Perfect Tweet

19. Anatomy of a Perfect Tweet

20. Branding
Yourself on
LinkedIn

21. Complete Your Profile
■ Professional photo
■ Descriptive headline
■ Experience, education, certifications
■ Organizations, volunteer work
■ Publications (articles, videos, photography)

22. LinkedIn Profile Checklist
■ Photo: Professional, high quality
■ Headline: Tell people what you’re excited
about now & what you want to do in the
future.
■ Vanity URL: Make yourself easy to find.
■ Summary: A few short paragraphs of what
motivates you, what you’re skilled at, and
what’s next.
■ Experience: Jobs you held and
accomplishments at each. Include photos,
write ups, or videos.
■ Recommendations: Ask managers,
peers, or co-workers to write a
recommendation. This gives authority to
your strengths and skills.
■ Education: List all of your educational
experiences, including summer programs.
– Courses can show skills & interests you’re
most excited about
■ Volunteer Experience & Causes
■ Skills & Expertise: Add 5+ skills you want
to be endorsed for.
■ Honors & Awards: Don’t be shy to brag
about your accomplishments.
■ Projects: Showcase digital campaigns or
projects.
■ Interests: Add anything else about
yourself; helps with search!
■ Organize sections

23. Make Connections & Find News
■ Join groups based on…
– Area
– Industry
– Interests
■ Start & join discussions
■ Use Pulse to find news
– Comment
– Share with your network

24. LinkedIn Publishing
■ Way for members to contribute
professional insight
■ Long-form content becomes part
of your profile
■ Searchable on/off LinkedIn
■ Added to Pulse (if content is
relevant)
■ Read more: Writing tips

25. Build Your
Digital
Portfolio

26. About.me
■ Personal homepage
■ Summary
■ Location
■ Job history
■ Education
■ Interests
■ Link to social profiles

27. BrandYourself.com
■ Mission: help people take back
control of their own lives online
■ Look better in Google results
■ Digital resume
■ Social stream
■ Links to additional projects

28. Why You Need to Build a Website
■ A website isn’t static; it’s dynamic
■ Having a website makes you more
findable
■ Not many people have one –
having a website can help you
stand out.
■ You gain some new skills
■ Top Free Personal Website
Builders:
– Self-Made/Self-Hosted
– Tumblr
– Flavors.me
– Weebly
– Wix
– Re.vu
– Enthuse.me
– Designedyou.com

29. Personal Blogs

30. Guest Blogging
■ Blogging is one of the best ways
to build your visibility, credibility,
and brand message online.
■ Recruiters and hiring decision
makers routinely search the
blogosphere when they're vetting
candidates.
■ Do some research before diving
in:
– Look for blogs relevant to your
expertise and/or industry.
– Find out which blogs the recruiters
and hiring decision makers you
want to attract are visiting.
■ Some ideas to find the right blogs:
– Consult with your professional
network.
– Do a Google search of relevant
key words for your industry/field
and your areas of expertise.
– Use the LinkedIn Groups search
feature to connect with relevant
professional networks.
– Look at the blogrolls

31. Your Homework
■ Create or update your LinkedIn profile
– Goal: connect with 30+ people by end of month
– Post or share an update at least once/week
– Leave and request a recommendation from colleague/manager
■ If Twitter is right for you…
– Create/update your branded profile
– Have a conversation
– Share news/relevant posts to your audience

32. Final Thoughts
■ Personal branding is a way to
– Establish credibility
– Grow your network
– Attract opportunities
■ Before you post, ask yourself...
– Is it valuable?
– Does it fit with my personal
brand?
– Did I include source attribution?
– Did I add relevant hashtags?

33. QUESTIONS?