Branding Yourself: How to Use Social Media to Invent or Reinvent Yourself(Que Biz-Tech)

Want a new job or career? Need to demonstrate more value to customers or employers? Use today’s hottest social media platforms to build the powerful personal brand that gets you what you want! In this completely updated book, Erik Deckers and Kyle Lacy help you use social media to attract new business and job opportunities you’ll never find any other way. From Facebook to Pinterest to video sharing, this book is packed with new techniques and ideas that are practical, easy, and effective. Deckers and Lacy show you how to supercharge all your business and personal relationships…demonstrate that you are the best solution to employers’ or partners’ toughest problems…become a recognized thought leader…and turn your online network into outstanding jobs, great projects, and a fulfilling, profitable career!   DISCOVER HOW TO: • Choose today’s best social media tools for your personal goals • Build an authentic storyline and online identity that gets you the right opportunities • Make the most of Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter—and leverage new platforms like Pinterest and Google+ • Build connections and prove expertise by sharing video on YouTube and Vimeo • Find yourself on search engines and then optimize your personal online presence • Promote your events, accomplishments, victories…and even defeats and lessons learned • Integrate online and offline networking to get more from both • Reach people with hiring authority and budgets on LinkedIn • Use Twitter to share the ideas and passions that make you uniquely valuable • Avoid “killer” social networking mistakes • Leverage your online expert status to become a published author or public speaker • Measure the success of your social media branding • Get new projects or jobs through your online friends and followers   Learn more with Branding Yourself Video Lessons. For additional information go to quepublishing.com/BrandingYourselfVideos.  

Table of Contents:
I  Why Do I Care About Self-Promotion?    1 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    7 How to Build Your Brand    8 The Five Universal Objectives of Personal Branding    10 Discover Your Passion (Passion Is Fundamental to Achieving Your Goals)    10 Be Bold (It’s Okay to Talk About Yourself)    11 Tell Your Story (Your Story Is What Makes You Special)    13 Create Relationships (Relationships Lead to Opportunities)    14 Take Action (Even a Small Step Is a Step Forward)    15 Who Needs Self-Promotion?    16 Meet Our Heroes    18 2  How Do You Fit in the Mix?    21 The Basics of Building Your Personal Brand Story    23 Writing Your Personal Brand Autobiography    23 Prioritizing When Writing Your Personal Brand Story    24 Writing Your Personal Brand Biography    25 How Do Our Heroes Use the Personal Brand Biography?    27 Telling Your Complete Brand Story    30 The Law of Anecdotal Value    32 Surround Yourself with People Who Have Passion    33 Sharing Memories and Stories    33 Do’s and Don’ts of Telling Your Story    34 1. Don’t Post Pictures That Would Shock Your Mother    35 2. Don’t View Your Personal Brand Story as a Sales Pitch    35 3. Don’t Post Something You Will Regret Later    35 4. Don’t Ask for Things First    Ask for Things Second    36 5. Don’t Get Distracted    36 6. Don’t Underestimate the Power of Your Network    36 7. Do Invest in Yourself    37 8. Do Invest in Other People    37 9. Do Be Visible and Active    37 10. Do Take Some Time for Yourself    37 II  Your Network Is Your Castle–Build It         39 3  Blogging: Telling Your Story        41 What Is Blogging?    43 A Clarification of Terms        45 Why Should You Blog?    45 Choose Your Blogging Platforms    47 Blogspot.com/Blogger.com    48 WordPress.com and WordPress.org    49 Other Blogging Platforms    50 Tumblr    52 Which Platform Should You Choose?    54 Setting Up a Blog    54 Purchasing and Hosting a Domain Name    56 Getting Inspired    57 What Should You Write About?    57 Finding Subject Matter    60 How to Write a Blog Post    60 Writing for Readers Versus Writing for Search Engines    62 It’s About the Quality of the Writing    62 Google Expects You to Write Good Stuff    63 How Often Should You Post?        64 How Long Should Your Posts Be?    65 But My Posts Are Too Long    66 SEO Through Blogging    66 How Does This Apply to Our Four Heroes?    69 Do’s and Don’ts of Blogging    70 Do’s    70 Don’ts    71 A Final Note on the “Rules” of Blogging    72 4  LinkedIn: Networking on Steroids    73 The Basics of LinkedIn    75 What’s in a LinkedIn Profile?    75 The Employment Section    75 Your Photo/Avatar        77 The Education Section    77 The Summary    77 Your Websites    78 Cool LinkedIn Features Worth Examining    79 Creating Contacts on LinkedIn    81 Using Your Email Database    82 Other Ways to Connect: Colleagues and Classmates    83 Building Off Your Second- and Third-Degree Network    84 Transforming Your Contacts into Connections    85 The Importance of Recommendations    87 Ten Do’s and Don’ts of LinkedIn        90 1. Do Upload a Professional Picture    90 2. Do Connect to Your Real Friends and Contacts    91 3. Do Keep Your Profile Current    91 4. Do Delete People Who Spam You    91 5. Do Spend Some Time on Your Summary    92 6. Don’t Use LinkedIn Like Facebook and Twitter    92 7. Don’t Sync LinkedIn with Twitter    92 8. Don’t Decline Invitations    Archive Them    92 9. Don’t Ask Everyone for Recommendations    93 10. Don’t Forget to Use Spelling and Grammar Check    93 5  Twitter: Sharing in the Conversation    95 Why Should You Use Twitter?    96 What Can Twitter Do for You?    97 How Do You Use Twitter?    99 Creating a Twitter Profile    99 Getting Followers    100 Sending Out Tweets    101 Retweeting Your Content    102 Applications for Twitter Domination    104 Desktop Applications    106 Web-Based Applications    107 Mobile Applications    109 What Should You Tweet (and What Shouldn’t You?)    110 Personal Branding Case Study : @applegirl    113 Do’s and Don’ts While Using Twitter        113 Twitter Tips in 140 Characters or Less    114 How Does This Chapter Apply to Our Four Heroes?    115 6  Facebook: Developing a Community of Friends        117 Why Should You Use Facebook?    118 What Can Facebook Do for You?    120 Reconnect with Old Classmates and Co-Workers    120 Use a Facebook Page to Professionally Brand Yourself    120 Help a Cause and Be Philanthropic    121 Find and Attend Local Events    121 What You Should Know First About Facebook    122 Professional Page and Personal Profile    123 The Basics: Creating a Personal Profile    124 Staying in Control of Your Profile    127 Working with Your Personal Page Privacy Settings    127 Setting Up Your Privacy Settings for Your Personal Account    127 Working with Your Customized URL    129 How Can I Use a Professional Page for Personal Branding?    130 Using Insights to Track Your Content Growth    133 Setting Up Your Professional Page    134 Top Six Tips for Using Facebook    135 Ten Do’s and Don’ts of Facebook    136 1. Do Upload a Real Picture    136 2. Do Share Industry-Specific Content    138 3. Do Use Your Email to Find Friends    138 4. Do Read the Terms of Service    138 5. Don’t Use Inappropriate Language    138 6. Don’t Spam People    139 7. Don’t Poke People    139 8. Don’t Tag Everyone in a Picture    139 9. Don’t Sync Your Twitter Profile with Your Facebook Page    139 10. Don’t Invite People to Your Professional Page Over and Over and Over    140 Facebook Tips in 140 Characters or Less    140 7  Say Cheese: Sharing Photos and Videos        143 Why Video    144 Where to Put Your Video    146 YouTube    146 Vimeo    147 Flickr    148 Shooting Video    149 Video Do’s and Don’ts    150 Recording Screen Capture Videos    151 Case Study: Gary Vaynerchuk    151 What Should I Make Videos Of?    152 Why Photos    153 Where to Post Your Photos    153 Picasa    153 Flickr    154 Photobucket    154 Instagram    154 Facebook    155 Copyright: Permission, Creative Commons, and Licensing        156 Creative Commons    156 Embedding Videos and Photos in Your Blog        158 Adding Photos    158 Adding Videos    160 SEO for Videos and Photos    161 YouTube SEO    162 Photo SEO    163 The Video Resume    165 A Cautionary Note About Video Resumes    167 Photos and Video Tips in 140 Characters    168 8  Other Social Networking Tools    169 Google+    170 BranchOut        172 Twylah    174 Pinterest    176 Quora    180 How Does This Apply to Our Four Heroes?    181 9  Googling Yourself: Finding Yourself on Search Engines        183 Have You Ever Googled Yourself?    184 What Do You Want Others to Find?    186 Search Engine Optimization    187 What SEO USED to Be    188 Keywords    188 Titles    188 Body Copy    189 Anchor Text    189 Backlinks        190 What SEO Looks at Now        190 Time on Site    191 Bounce Rate    191 Click-Through Rate    191 Page Load Speed    192 How Can You Influence These Factors?    193 Quality of Content    193 Quality of Design    194 Ease of Navigation    195 A Quick Note About Backlinks    196 Video        196 Personal Connections/Social Media    197 Reverse Search Engine Optimization    198 What if You Share a Common Name?    199 Search Engine Tools    201 Google Alerts    201 Google Image Search    202 Google Blog Search    202 Bing    203 Yahoo!    204 Other Search Engines        205 The Value of Reputation Management    206 Reputation Management Tools    207 BrandYourself.com    207 Reputation.com    207 Google’s Me on the Web    209 How Do Our Heroes Use SEO?    210 Reputation Management Tips in 140 Characters    210 10  Bringing It All Together: Launching Your Brand    213 What Is a Personal Brand Campaign?        215 How Do Our Heroes Build Their P&T Statement?    217 Why Is a Personal Brand Campaign Important?    220 Building Your Personal Brand Campaign    221 Developing Your Personal Brand Campaign    221 Implementing Your Personal Brand Campaign    223 Automating Your Personal Brand Campaign        224 Unique Ways to Launch Your Branding Campaign    225 How Should Our Heroes Launch Their Brands?    228 Do’s and Don’ts of Launching Your Personal Brand    229 11  Measuring Success: You Like Me, You Really Like Me!    231 Why Should You Measure    232 What Should You Measure?    233 Reach        233 Quality Versus Quantity    234 Visibility    234 Influence    235 Measuring Influence    235 How Should You Measure?    238 Measuring Your Blogging Effectiveness    238 Using Google Analytics for Your Blog    240 Setting Up a Google Analytics Account    241 Installing Google Analytics    242 Getting an Overview of Your Website Performance    242 Measuring Your Twitter Effectiveness    243 Other Total Influence Measurement Tools    245 Measuring Your LinkedIn Effectiveness    246 Measuring Your Facebook Effectiveness    248 Measuring Your YouTube Effectiveness    250 Nine Tools to Use for Measurement    252 Effectively Measuring Your Personal Brand    254 How Can Our Heroes Use Analytics and Measurement?    255 Do’s and Don’ts for Analytics and Measurement    256 Analytics Tips in 140 Characters    256 II  PROMOTING YOUR BRAND IN THE REAL WORLD    259 12  How to Network: Hello, My Name Is    261 Why Should I Bother Networking?    263 A Networking Case Study: Starla West    264 The Rules of Networking        265 It’s Not About You    265 Giver’s Gain Is Not Quid Pro Quo    266 Be Honest Online and Offline    269 You’re Just as Good as Everyone Else    270 Avoid People Who Are Unhelpful        271 Network with Your Competition    271 Three Types of Networking    273 Networking Groups    273 Meeting People    274 The Networking “Dance”        274 What Should You Say?    275 Networking Faux Pas    276 The Follow-Up    278 One-on-One Networking    278 How to Set Up the One-On-One Networking Meeting    279 What to Talk About During Your One-On-One    280 No One Wants a Sales Pitch    281 The “Pick-Your-Brain” Meeting    281 The Follow-Up    284 Forwarding Articles and Links    284 Sharing Opportunities    285 Making Connections and Introductions for Others    285 But I Just Don’t Want to Meet the Other Person    286 Be Honest    286 But What if the Other Person Isn’t Honest?    287 Do’s and Don’ts of Networking    288 Do    288 Don’t    289 How Would Our Heroes Network?    289 13  Public Speaking: We Promise You Won’t Die        291 Case Study: Hazel Walker, The Queen of Networking    293 Should I Speak in Public?    294 No, Seriously    294 But I Hate Speaking in Public    294 Overcoming Your Fear of Public Speaking    295 Toastmasters    295 Classes at Your Local College or University    296 Seminars and Courses    296 Speakers Associations        297 Private or Executive Coaches    297 Finding or Creating Your Own Speaking Niche    297 How to Start Your Speaking Career    299 Identify Speaking Opportunities        301 Industry Groups        302 Civic Groups    303 Conferences, Trade Shows, and Expos    304 Introducing Yourself    305 Promoting Your Talk    306 How Does This Apply to Our Four Heroes?    309 Giving Your Talk    310 Important Technology Tips for Presenters    311 Miscellaneous Tips, 140 Characters or Less    316 14  Getting Published: I’m an Author!    319 Why Should I Become a Writer?    322 Publication Opportunities    323 Local Newspapers    324 Business Newspapers    325 Scientific Journals    326 Specialty Magazines and Newspapers    327 Hobby Publications    328 Major Mainstream Magazines    329 Go Horizontal Instead of Vertical    329 Build Your Personal Brand with Your Writing    330 Publication Rights        331 Create Your Own Articles’ Niche    332 Getting Started    334 Getting Paid    336 Paying Your Dues        337 The Myth of “Exposure”    338 Do’s and Don’ts of Writing for Publication    338 How Can Our Heroes Turn to Writing for Publication?    340 15  Personal Branding: Using What You’ve Learned to Land Your Dream Job    343 Using Your Network to Find a Job    347 Twitter: Make Job Connections in 140 Characters    347 Use LinkedIn to Make Job Connections    348 The Art of the Connection    348 Should You Connect Directly or Ask for a Connection?    350 Use LinkedIn to Get Inside Info    351 Creating a Résumé    352 Should I Create a Paper Résumé?    352 How Does Social Media Fit in Your Résumé?    353 Six Tips for Listing Social Media on Your Résumé        354 Do’s and Don’ts of Résumé Building    355 Don’t Rely on the Job Boards    358 Try the Company Job Boards Instead    359 Use LinkedIn to Bypass the Job Board Process    361 Skip HR Altogether, and Work Your Network    361 Using Your Network to Land a Freelance Contract    362 How Can Our Heroes Find a Job Through Networking?    363 A Social Media Case Study    364 Another Social Media Case Study    367 Job Searching Tips in 140 Characters    368 Index    369

About the Author :
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. Erik coauthored No Bullshit Social Media: The All- Business, No-Hype Guide to Social Media Marketing with Jason Falls.   Kyle Lacy is a principal of Marketing Research and Education for ExactTarget, a leading global provider of interactive marketing solutions. He has an in-depth understanding of the application of social and interactive media for both small and large businesses and regularly speaks on topics ranging from social media adoption to interactive marketing trends across email, mobile, and social media. Kyle has been recognized as one of Indiana’s 40-under-40 by the Indianapolis Business Journal, Anderson University’s Young Alumni of the Year, and TechPoint’s Young Professional of the Year. Learn more about Kyle at KyleLacy.com.   Deckers and Lacy coauthored the first edition of Branding Yourself.