STANDING OUT IN THE CLOUD By Ben Cotton @bencotton

socialwebthing.com

#DSATALK

WHAT I’LL DISCUSS TODAY

THE CHALLENGE

“Students graduating this year went to secondary school in Celtic Tiger Ireland, but have spent their college years in a land of recession, bailouts, emigration and low employment.” Irish Times, 2013

GUESS WHAT?

IT BEGINS WITH A GOOGLE SEARCH

WHERE DO PEOPLE GO FOR INFO?

Source: Edelman Trust Barometer, 2013

“The creation of an asset that pertains to a particular person or individual; this includes but is not limited to the body, clothing, appearance and knowledge contained within, leading to an indelible impression that is uniquely distinguishable.”

Tom Peters, Personal Brand author, 1997

ISN’T THIS PERSONAL BRANDING?

• Personal brand is pre-Google• 1997 vs. 2013• Doesn’t include digital• Doesn’t mention experience• Doesn’t consider how people

now find and share information

RETHINKING PERSONAL BRAND

THIS CALLS FOR A NEW APPROACH

PERSONAL SEO

VIEW

NETWORKWORK

INTRODUCING…

• Global audience• Showcase skills and experience• Highlight creative talent• Develop your reputation• Easily updated and looks professional• Demonstrate understanding of SEO• Network with industry colleagues

Rank highly and be found easily

WHY SHOULD YOU CARE?

“Inevitably employers are using Google as a personal reputation engine and scrutinising these types of sites to review an individual’s career history and work ahead of hiring an individual.”

Stephen Waddington, European digital and social media director for Ketchum and President-Elect of the CIPR

I. WHY PERSONAL SEO MATTERS

“The first thing that I do when recruiting someone is check them out online. It’s a matter of few minutes to go back and read hundreds of their previous tweets and find out far more about the real them than any CV, reference or interview could ever reveal.”

II. WHY PERSONAL SEO MATTERS

Stuart Bruce, International online PR, digital corporate communications, digital public affairs, social media trainer and consultant

“The project has opened doors and allowed me to make connections with people I never expected to meet. Individuals who I describe as PR and social media royalty, brand leaders of huge multinational organisations, key industry leaders – all lending me their support.”

III. WHY PERSONAL SEO MATTERS

Graeme Anthony, GM & Co-Architect at Manc Frank and the guy whose CVIV went a bit viral

WHEN DID YOU LAST GOOGLE YOURSELF?

• Have own domain• Publish work on e-portfolio• Blog• Comment online• Guest post• Has a strong network• Is well networked with industry figures• Uses social media well• Have monitoring in place• Use privacy settings

PERSONAL SEO CHECKLIST

• Play it safe vs. take a risk• Dull vs. creative• Private vs. extremely public• Limited reach vs. global• Lots of control vs. no control

• Personal privacy• Client confidentiality• What happens if things go wrong?

You’ll have to weight these up for yourself

A FEW THINGS TO CONSIDER

THE RISE OF THE DIGITAL GENERALIST

DO TWO PIECES OF A4 DO YOU JUSTICE?

Q&A TIME

THANK YOU

CONTACT DETAILS

contact@ben-cotton.com@bencottonsocialwebthing.comlinkedin.com/bencottonslideshare.net/bencotton