Personal Brand Building for High School Students

By: Betty Rodriguez-Hakes

Personal Brand Building

• Potential Employers / Universities will search (and find) you online! o Have you searched for you lately?o Control what is said about you – not from your acquaintances o We (adults) all have access, it’s not just your friends

• SM profiles tell people about WHO you are and if they want to associate with you

• Extension of your resume / business card

Why market yourself using social media?

KPI• Key Performance Indicator (KPI) = Success Metric

o KPI is used in marketing/business world to help define what we measureo Example:

• Advertise New Video Game “Buy Online” = KPI is a sale $$• Advertise “Sign up for my Blog” = KPI is a blog subscriber’s email

addresso What does that success mean for you?

• 1,000 Twitter followers?• Job?• University seeking you out?• Revenue (via selling ads)?

• Another look at KPI is what I call the KPI Principles…o KISSo Privacyo Integrity

KISS• Keep It Simply Simple

o Write for the LCDo Keep design and colors simpleo Use medium text that is easy to read – people are blind

• Avoid scripto Be concise – people don’t want to read long articles

• Automate what you cano Hootsuite to post Blog RSS feeds to FB

• Sign up for FREE versiono Auto post from FB to Twitter or visa versa

• Depending on your personal strategy

Follow the “P” PrinciplesDON’T POST IT If you don’t want to tell your:1. Priest / Pastor 2. Parents3. Police4. Pedophile

Don’t use:Profanity

IntegrityDefinition: firm

adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values

Setting up your Social Media Profiles

Main SM Tools• YouTube

o Profile your best worko REMOVE the crazy kid stuff

• Instagram• Pintrest• Niche specific

mediums

depending on your niche

• Facebooko Personal Profile

• Decide, for friends or for networking?

• Both, Create Lists – Choose which list gets what message

o Fan Page• Only get once you have

popularity

• LinkedINo Professional Profile, highlight

what you’ve done, awards

• Twittero Micro blogging o Everyone can seeo Use keywords and #hashtags

Social Media … DO’s• Use Same picture

across all Social Media• Keep Personal Facebook

Picture Different (Make sure it’s set to private)o View as… public to check

• Be positive in your messaging / posting

• Cultivate relationships within your nicheo Sportso Cooking Clubso Indie Music / Film

Blog LinkedIN Twitter

Social Media … DON’TNot a good idea…• Take a picture of

yourself in front of a mirror

• Don’t choose crazy photo as your profile

• Don’t think about what your friends will think, Think about what potential employers will think

Looking for a job working with kids??

Say WHAT?Social Media … DON’T

It’s WHAT you SAY & HOW you SAY it!!

Are you a BLOGGER?

Blogging• What is your content strategy?

o Specific Nicheo Newso Sportso Comedico Fiction – Story tellingo Hard news

• How to create great contento Use your favorite news sources for ideas

• Sign up for RSS Feeds to your favorite blogs/news sourceso Curating Content (use sparingly)

• Summarize other people’s articles and link to their article

• Write out your Plano It doesn’t have to be a long document, just something to keep you focused

- KPI

Building a Fan BaseI have no followers!

Ask your friends & family to:o Follow you Twittero Subscribe to your blogo Promote your blog via their FB & Twittero Make blog page titles SEO friendly

o Provide great content

Give people a reason to follow you & Read your Blog!

Blogging Best Practices

• Use Categories: Great for SEO (search engine optimization)• Use Blog Page Titles around the category or keyword• Above the Scroll: Keep header w/picture landscape – don’t make

people scroll down.• About me: Tell a story & keep it concise • Remove “meta” & “Blogroll” from the Blog themes• Use Search feature within your blog theme• Use a theme that allows your pictures to be seen• Remove Archives – you don’t have enough right now• Add Social Media Widgets: Twitter Feed• Link to your other social media sites (YouTube/The CSPN/etc)• Pictures with EVERY post: helps your reader connect to the

story• Use Spell Check• Use Video to complement your blog when appropriate• Use bullets in your articles when you can: example, Lucas’ recent blog

post

Measure• You enhance what you measure

o Know which sites are driving traffic to your websiteo What keywords are being used to find your siteo How many subscribers/readers do you have?

• Once you know your baseline, you can measure and improve

High School StudentChecklist

Search your name Remove old content from when you were a kid and is embarrassing

Write a Simple Plan What are your goals? Blogging Content Strategy Social Media Profiles I’m keeping active

Find a professional picture that you will implement across all mediums

Update your blogs with best practices Find / create GREAT content HAVE FUN!