PR + Social Media Summit 10.14.09

Managing Your Personal &

Professional Online Brands

Agenda• About Me• My Online Branding Story• How to manage your online

brand(s)• Q & A

About Me

About Me• UW-Milwaukee grad• PR Account Executive at B+L• Account work

– Lakefront Brewery– Wisconsin Dept. of Tourism– Zilli Hospitality Group

• Milwaukee Chorister• French fry & ice cream lover

My Online Branding Story

My online branding story

My online branding storyIt all started with a tweet…

My online branding story

My online branding story

My online branding story

My online branding storyWhat I learned…

• Always think twice before you post.• Even if you’re a small fish in a big

lake, you can still make a huge wave.

• Social media is a great way to build your brand and raise awareness.

How to manage your online

brand(s)

How to manage your online brand(s)

Online Brand Management Theories

How to manage your online brand(s)

Online Brand Management Theories

1.Keep your personal life off the internet.

2.Keep your personal and your professional online identities separate.

How to manage your online brand(s)Online Brand Management

Theories

Secret option 3: Merge your personal and professional online identities with care.

How to manage your online brand(s)

“Instead of trying to balance our lives, why not find the right position or career in which we can truly be who we are and work to maximize vividly appealing, obvious strengths instead of constantly trying to minimize our faults?”

How to manage your online brand(s)

General guidelines for creating a successful online brand

How to manage your online brand(s)

General guidelines for creating a successful online brand:

• Think before you post. – Is this something you would openly

share at a cocktail party or networking event?

How to manage your online brand(s)General guidelines for creating a

successful online brand:

• Post information that interests you on a personal and professional level

• Be helpful, useful to others. In the online world, content is king.

• Interact with people in your networks

How to manage your online brand(s)

General guidelines for creating a successful online brand:

• Use the same avatar photo on all your social networks.

• Use the same username on all your social networks– Real name v. alias

How to manage your online brand(s)

Guidelines for creating a successful online brand on:

• Facebook• Twitter• Blogs• LinkedIn

How to manage your online brand(s)

Guidelines for creating a successful online brand: Facebook

• Take advantage of ‘lists’ and privacy settings

How to manage your online brand(s)

Step 1: Create a “Friends List”

Step 2: Click “Settings”

Step 3: Click “manage” under Privacy

Step 4: Click “Profile”

How to manage your online brand(s)

Step 5: Click the desired drop down menu and hit “Customize”

Step 6: Type in a Friends List

Step 7: Click “OK”

Step 8: Click “Save Changes”

How to manage your online brand(s)

Guidelines for creating a successful online brand: Twitter

• Experiment and take advantage of different applications.

• Resource: Mashable Twitter Guidebook http://mashable.com/guidebook/twitter/

How to manage your online brand(s)

How to manage your online brand(s)

Guidelines for creating a successful online brand: Blogging

• Take advantage of your blog description to point out that your postings do not reflect your employer’s views or opinions

How to manage your online brand(s)

Guidelines for creating a successful online brand: Blogging

• Be sure to follow your company’s social media policy.

• When in doubt, ask your employer.

How to manage your online brand(s)

Guidelines for creating a successful online brand: LinkedIn

• LinkedIn is a professional social network, but there are still ways to show personality.

How to manage your online brand(s)Guidelines for creating a successful

online brand: LinkedIn

• Include a profile picture• Include links to social networks with

more personality• Don’t be afraid to list interests outside

your profession like travel

Q & A

Sarah SoczkaPR Account Executive, Boelter+Lincoln (B+L)ssoczka@boelterlincoln.comBlog: http://sarahsoczka.blogspot.com/Twitter: http://twitter.com/sarahsoczkaLinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahsoczka