About a week ago, I was asked to present to a class of students at University of Wisconsin on the importance of personal branding using social media.
Personal branding is an incredibly important concept for soon-to-be-graduates to not only understand, but to implement for their own personal and career growth.
The Internet is already dominating our lives for many decisions – like purchasing decisions – but it also dominates our hiring decisions, too. The majority of employers (and even potential dates) prep themselves doing a little research on the candidate – i.e. doing a Google search. Googling someone is the fastest and easiest way to learn about them.
If you haven’t already – Google yourself. What shows up can be amazing or alarming. Depending on the person, you may find an impressive, stacked personal brand with a brag-worthy portfolio. But, you may also find a spotty history with a previous arrest or almost as equally as bad – no branding at all.
Today’s students around the globe are considered digital natives. They grew up with the Internet and are prolific users and content consumers. And, without a personal online presence it makes them appear disengaged in their future.
While presenting to the #LSC432 class of UWisconsin students, I could tell they were different. They had great professors and great classes that showed them the importance of personal branding and even the first steps on how to do it. They brought intelligent and thought-provoking questions to the table that any professional would have to think twice about. They, my friends, are incredibly prepared for their future.
The students of Don Stanley’s class were even live-tweeting while I was presenting. How cool! I’ve included some of my favorite live tweets from the class. You can also follow but what the students are currently talking about and learning by following #lsc432 on Twitter.
If you don’t take charge of your brand, someone else will! #lsc432 @sbedrick
— Connie Eibergen (@ConnieJoy) February 21, 2012
Use inbound mkting to draw in customers with good content instead of pushing unwanted business onto people via @sbedrick @HubSpot #lsc432
Social media could end your career or could be what kick starts your career.Choose which one you want and take control of your brand #lsc432
— John Ramage (@JohnRam55) February 21, 2012
subscribe to blogs in your industry. reblog. make comments. work on your own blog.blog blog blog @sbedrick @HubSpot #lsc432
— Jenny Chung (@JenniferHChung) February 21, 2012
subscribe to blogs in your industry. reblog. make comments. work on your own blog.blog blog blog @sbedrick @HubSpot #lsc432
— Jenny Chung (@JenniferHChung) February 21, 2012
If you don’t take charge of your brand, someone else will! #lsc432 @sbedrick
— Connie Eibergen (@ConnieJoy) February 21, 2012
Use inbound mkting to draw in customers with good content instead of pushing unwanted business onto people via @sbedrick @HubSpot #lsc432
subscribe to blogs in your industry. reblog. make comments. work on your own blog.blog blog blog @sbedrick @HubSpot #lsc432
— Jenny Chung (@JenniferHChung) February 21, 2012
Inbound Marketing: Be the content that is helpful, not the ads around the content #lsc432 — Erin Podolak (@ErinPodolak) February 21, 2012
spreadingsantorum.com is a perfect example of NOT taking control of your personal brand (and pretty funny) #lsc432 — Melanie Balinas (@mbalinas) February 21, 2012
Authority for your domain is determined by how many inbound links you have coming to your site #lsc432 — Tim Schley (@timmyschley) February 21, 2012
— Jenny Chung (@JenniferHChung) February 21, 2012
subscribe to blogs in your industry. reblog. make comments. work on your own blog.blog blog blog @sbedrick @HubSpot #lsc432
— Jenny Chung (@JenniferHChung) February 21, 2012
If you’re interested in taking a look at the slide deck I prepared for the presentation, I’ve embedded it below.
Using Inbound Marketing for Personal Branding