Unleash Your Brand

By Robin Low
The
The
The Digital
Digital
Digital Age
The DigitalAge
Age
Age
 are you using social media?

If you are a student and a young adult, the chances

are – Yes, you are using Social Media to connect
with your friends.
Do you have a blog, Facebook account, Twitter
account? Do you leave comments on blogs or
forums?
 digital footprint
Internet users are becoming more aware of their digital
footprint

Most internet users are not concerned about the amount of

information available

Most do not take steps to limit that information

Fully 60% of internet users say they are not worried about
how much information is available about them online

Majority of online adults (61%) do not feel compelled to limit

the amount of information that can be found about them
online.
I know you
Anyone can tell a great deal
about you from your digital
footprints.

- where you've been

- where you are
- who you know
- where you work
- what your hobbies are
- what you think about certain
issues
-and much more.
 why should you be concerned?

HR departments, recruiters, universities are searching

the Internet when you Interact with them.

They're looking to:

a) validate what your actual resume said
b) learn more about you … in a non office
environment

GOOGLE is a very common tool!

In essence, your digital footprint is your resume.
 generation Y, the millennials

Gen Y, are major drivers of the next three trends.

Uploading audio, video and other media sharing.

Communicate via text-messaging, Twitter and instant-

messaging over e-mail.

Keeping in touch with each other online via social-

networking sites.
why should you be concerned?
 Differentiation
1998 No of people
• Graduating in China– 800,000
• Graduating in Canada– 1,000,000

2008 No of people
• Graduating in China– 7,800,000
• Graduating in Canada– 1,250,000

• India ???

www.bls.gov and World Socialist Web Site

 Globalization
• Developed nations outsourced
manufacturing and white collar jobs.
-- less jobs for their people
• Job insecurity, mergers and acquisition
• Job competition – many people with
similar skills globally compete for same job
• World travelers – people are free to travel
across borders freely
Understanding your Digital
Footprint
 properties of social media

1. Persistence. What you say sticks around. This is

great for asynchronicity, not so great when
everything you've ever said has gone down on
your permanent record.

2. Replicability. You can copy and paste a

conversation from one medium to another,
adding to the persistent nature of it. This is great
for being able to share information, but it is also
at the crux of rumor spreading.
 properties of social media (cont)

• 3. Searchability. It is quite easy to track someone down

or to find someone as a result of searching for content.
Search changes the landscape, making information
available at our fingertips.

• 4. Scalability. Social media scales things in new ways.

Conversations that were intended for just a friend or two
might spiral out of control and scale to the entire school
or, if it is especially embarrassing, the whole world.

• 5. (de)locatability. With the mobile, you are dislocated

from any particular point in space, and location-based
technologies make location much more relevant. This
paradox means that we are simultaneously more and
less connected to physical space.
 dynamics of social media
1. Invisible Audiences. We are used to being able to
assess the people around us when we're speaking.
We can adjust to our audience. Social media
introduces all sorts of invisible audiences.

There are lurkers who are present at the moment but

whom we cannot see, but there are also visitors who
access our content at a later date or in a different
environment than where we first produced them.

As a result, we have to present ourselves and

communicate without fully understanding the
potential or actual audience. The potential invisible
audiences can be stifling.
 dynamics of social media (cont)

2. Collapsed Contexts. In choosing what to say when,

we account for both the audience and the context
more generally. Social media brings all of these
contexts crashing into one another and it's often
difficult to figure out what's appropriate, let alone
what can be understood.

3. Blurring of Public and Private. These distinctions

are normally structured around audience and
context with certain places or conversations being
"public" or "private." These distinctions are much
harder to manage when you have to contend with
the shifts in how the environment is organized.
 google you
It's critical to learn how to monitor
and manage electronic information
about yourself.

• You can't control all the information

• You can ensure that your digital
footprint presents an accurate,
favorable, and professional image of
you.
 google you

Google yourself (yes Google is now a

verb) and find out what information about
you — if any — is already online.

You may find very little is linked to your

name, or you may discover much more
information about you than you
anticipated.
 Hi I’m Robin Low…
• http://www.facebook.com/socialhub
• http://www.facebook.com/DMacademy
• http://www.facebook.com/catwisdom
• http://www.linkedin.com/in/robinlow88
• http://digitalmediaacademy.blogspot.com/
• http://life-in-boston.blogspot.com/
• http://reviewsguru.blogspot.com/
• http://satsugaicat.blogspot.com/
• http://www.slideshare.net/robinlow
• http://www.slideshare.net/dmediaacademy
• http://twitter.com/robin_low
• http://twitter.com/satsugaicat
• http://www.rediscoverosarito.org/
• http://www.greenyarn.com/
• http://www.facebook.com/Greenyarnllc
 YOU

If an online search of yourself

reveals items that you wouldn't
want hiring managers to see,
such as photos or commentary
you posted in an open forum,
contact the person who posted
the information or the website
administrator to ask that it be
taken down.
 YOU

Not happy with the results? Re-

evaluate your participation habits
and make adjustments.

It is never too late or too early to

start and rebrand yourself.
Personal
Personal Branding
PersonalBranding
Personal Branding
Branding
• Today, staying in a company for a long period of
time is a rare phenomenon. The median years a
person stays in one job is 4.1 years (2008), an
average person will have to have 7-10 jobs. With
that 4.1 median years of employee tenure, the
person has to have multiple of jobs. Of course,
there will be people who can stay in 3-4 jobs
throughout their lifetime. It depends on
education, age, and gender.

• Your personal brand will the constant in the ultra

dynamic environment, where you must
demonstrate values to attract opportunities that
align with your skills, passions and strengths.
•More information here: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/tenure.nr0.htm
 what is personal branding?
• The process by which individuals and
entrepreneurs differentiate themselves and stand
out from a crowd by identifying and articulating
their unique value proposition, whether
professional or personal, and then leveraging it
across platforms with a consistent message and
image to achieve a specific goal.

• In this way, individuals can enhance their

recognition as experts in their field, establish
reputation and credibility, advance their careers,
and build self-confidence.

-- Dan Schawbel
 why is personal branding important?
• "18% of working college graduates report that
their employer expects some form of self-
marketing online as part of their job.“
-- Digital Footprints, Pew Internet and American Life Project, December 2007.

• "22% of managers screen their staff using social

networks and 10% of admissions officers verify
potential students using social networks.“
-- Careerbuilder.com & Kaplan

• "There are 1.5 million graduating college

students for 2009 and employers are only hiring
1.3% more of them. Differentiation through
branding is imperative for success."
-- Hartford Courant & WSJ
Process
A well-executed personal branding campaign
creates a strong, consistent, and specific
association between the individual and the
perceived value they offer. Personal branding is
common among entertainment, political, and
sports figures. In business, individuals such as
Donald Trump, Martha Stewart, and Jack Welch
have created enormous personal visibility and
success by actively promoting their personal
brands. Donald Trump will show you how to get
rich. Martha Stewart will show you how to look
good. Jack Welch will show you how to manage
a business.
Personal branding typically begins with
establishing an inventory of core
competencies, expertise, demonstrated
abilities, and existing level of recognition,
informed by market research or feedback.

Questions to be answered revolve around

who needs to know about you, what need
are you best-positioned to fill, and what
differentiates you from others in your field
or space?
 Personal Branding consists of three elements:

• Value Proposition: What do you stand for?

• Differentiation: What makes you stand
out?
• Marketability: What makes you
compelling?
 Keep it Real
• Branding is not bragging. Many people label
themselves as "Gurus", "Experts" or "world
renowned", and those who are not will run the
risk of being exposed. Sincerity and being
authentic will build trust which is important when
building relationships. Like romantic
relationships, genuineness, openness and being
up front from the start are important for personal
branding as well. Maintaining open
communication and assuming accountability for
your actions is also key.
visibility creates opportunity
 success is being prepared for opportunity

• Though this saying is true, opportunity

usually comes with visibility. (E.g. Susan
Boyle)
• Other ways of getting visibility is
networking.
Opportunities and advancements will arise
through networking and visibility. Effecting
brand messaging can create awareness
and create opportunities. Visibility also
allows you to spread influence within your
company or industry, capturing the
attention of peers and convincing them of
your abilities while establishing trust and
mutual respect.
 Networking Tips:
• Keep in mind that networking is about being genuine
and authentic, building trust and relationships, and
seeing how you can help others.
• Ask yourself what your goals are in participating in
networking meetings so that you will pick groups
that will help you get what you are looking for.
– Some meetings are based more on learning, making contacts,
and/or volunteering rather than on strictly making business
connections.
• Visit as many groups as possible that spark your
interest. Notice the tone and attitude of the group.
Do the people sound supportive of one another?
Does the leadership appear competent? Many
groups will allow you to visit two times before
joining.
 Networking Tips:
• Hold volunteer positions in organizations. This is
a great way to stay visible and give back to
groups that have helped you.
• Ask open-ended questions in networking
conversations. This means questions that ask
who, what, where, when, and how as opposed to
those that can be answered with a simple yes or
no. This form of questioning opens up the
discussion and shows listeners that you are
interested in them.
 Networking Tips:
• Become known as a powerful resource for
others. When you are known as a strong
resource, people remember to turn to you for
suggestions, ideas, names of other people, etc.
This keeps you visible to them.
• Have a clear understanding of what you do and
why, for whom, and what makes your doing it
special or different from others doing the same
thing. In order to get referrals, you must first
have a clear understanding of what you do that
you can easily articulate to others.
 Networking Tips:
• Be able to articulate what you are looking for and
how others may help you. Too often people in
conversations ask, "How may I help you?" and no
immediate answer comes to mind.
• Follow through quickly and efficiently on referrals
you are given. When people give you referrals,
your actions are a reflection on them. Respect
and honor that and your referrals will grow.
• Call those you meet who may benefit from what
you do and vice versa. Express that you enjoyed
meeting them, and ask if you could get together
and share ideas.
-- Stephanie Speisman "99 Tips for Successful Business
Networking."
The dos and don'ts of effective networking
1. Reach out. Stay connected
2. Meet, talk and listen. No one is too insignificant,
too old, too young, too vague or too remote until
you have spoken and interacted with them.
3. Network with your own sort and reach out to
those who are beyond your professional realm.
4. Develop your communication skills, you will not
only win contacts and clients but friends for life.
5. Be your best. People size you up during the first
15 seconds after you are introduced.
6. Give and receive -- Give in order to receive.
 Do's
• Make strong first impression.
• Meet people. Meet more people. Call, send e-mails,
notes and cards. But the best way is, almost always, to
call in person.
• Try to remember about facts of each person you meet,
including the person's name.
• Circulate when you meet a group at an official meet or
seminar. Don't stick to the one or two people you know.
Introduce yourself to as many new people as possible.
• Appear likeable and approachable. Be positive not
brash, friendly not overtly flattering. Speak about yourself
and your work without bragging. Listen to what other
people have to say.
 Do's
• Follow up on prospective contacts without
hounding them. Make a call, fix up an
appointment and proceed.
• Call your contacts at regular intervals. It can be
once a week, once a month or once in three
months. But a friendly follow-up is a must to
keep your network alive.
• Dress for the occasion.
• Be aware of the person's feeling when talking to
them.
• Find ways to promote other individuals, and they
will reciprocate.
 Don'ts
• Don't presume or make imaginary distinctions
while meeting people. No one should be
dismissed as too unimportant or useless or
vague before you actually meet them. Draw your
conclusions after you have spoken to them.
• Don't ramble or go off-track when describing
your work objectives. After a short prologue
about yourself and your job, go straight to the
point. Stop and explain anything that needs to
be elaborated on or if you find your interlocutor
looking confused.
 Don'ts
• Interrupt a conversation and force your
way in.
• Listen to what people have to say. Try and
counter questions, doubts or skepticism
with sound, logical explanations. Don't try
to fool around with facts, but do stress on
your strengths.
 Don'ts
• Be positive, clear and attentive. In the
case of a particularly unpleasant
encounter, remember this may be the last
time you are meeting that person. On the
other hand, it could be the beginning of a
rich long-term association!
• Forget your business card at home.
• Have poor posture and no confidence.
Case Study 1: The story of 2
Engineers.
I have 2 friends, both engineers and
graduates from the top university in
Singapore. After graduating from the
University, Mr Ng got a good project
management job at a large international
company; Mr Ho decided to work for a
local investment company as the financial
sector interests him more.
After 8 years

Mr Ng and Mr Ho took courses to further their

financial education together.
Mr Ng for his personal interest.
Mr Ho as part of his job requirement.
Mr Ng started his blog and got into investment
on his own on the side.
After making some money, Mr Ng actually wrote
a book and published it.
Mr Ho worked for the company but did not really
apply his knowledge for his personal
investments.
2 Years later

Mr Ng published his book and it was sold at

several bookstores. Even the library carried it.
Mr Ng got an offer from Mr Ho’s company and
even without any financial experience from his
previous job, Mr Ng became the boss of Mr Ng’s
manager.
Mr Ho still kept his knowledge to himself and
never discussed his work and vast knowledge
and experience, hiding his talent.
Mr Ng is now a few levels up the bureaucracy as
the vice president of Mr Ho’s department as he
showed his knowledge, networked and was very
visible with his book.
2 people having the same qualification, relatively
the same knowledge, but the end result is much
different when you network to show your talents.
Getting know really does open doors and create
great opportunities. Do not hide your talent and
skills.
Brand perception makes 90
percent of the brand.
Try out social media
There is nothing to be afraid of

Twitter: robin_low

Blog: http://blog.unleashyourbranding.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/socialhub
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/robinlow88