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Teaching Resources | Interactive Employability Worksheets | LifeSkills

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LifeSkills is a free, curriculum-linked programme helping to improve the skills and employability of young people. Find teaching resources and worksheets here

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HOW TO BUILD YOUR PERSONAL BRAND ONLINE

Building your online brand
Below are the different areas you need to focus on:
First things first, take a subjective view of your current online brand.

1. Get Googling

Use Google and other major search engines to search for your name. What you see is what the rest of the world sees. If you don't like it, don't despair, it can be changed. Continue reading to find out how.

2. Are you getting it right on social?

Chances are you are already an active member on a number of social media networks. So grab a pad and pen, list all of your social accounts, and compare each of your profiles side by side.

The key to a strong personal online brand is consistency. Depending on the context, we recommend that each of your social media profiles is consistent - e.g. the same profile image, tagline, about me section and tone of voice. Get started Now it's time to take action to strengthen your personal brand online. The first step, tidying up your social media profiles is no mean feat. But it doesn't have to take over your life, just apply the following principles for each account:

3. Say cheese

We've all seen it, that cringe-worthy photo from a friends birthday party that she's now using as her LinkedIn profile picture. Do not fall into this trap.

Your profile picture is one of the most impactful aspects of your social media presence, for two main reasons:

It humanises you: People are unlikely to want to connect with an anonymous LinkedIn profile or a faceless Facebook profile

You'll get recognised: If you come across your connections in real life they are more likely to recognise you if you have a current profile picture

It's therefore incredibly important that you get this right. So here are a few things to think about before your grab your smartphone and get snapping: Take a head, neck and shoulders shot of you (and only you) looking smart, natural and most importantly, smiling!

Refrain from using your company logo as part of your profile picture. As a general rule, people are more likely to connect with people rather than organisations.

Use the same profile image across all your social media platforms - this will help you build a strong brand online, as well as ensuring you are easily recognised.

4. Own your name

Protect yourself from 'cyber-squatters' on social media platforms by using a consistent user name across all sites.

You can check the availability of usernames visiting namechk.com. You should also take a few moments to secure your personalised URL on LinkedIn. This will both boost your search engine ranking results, and make it easier for people to track you down on LinkedIn.

5. Protect your privacy

Become au fait with the privacy settings of each of your social channels before it's too late. Take control and only allow your audience to see what you want them to see.

6. What do you want the world to know about you?

Ok, so this bit requires some thought. What sets you apart from everyone else? Why should people take the time to visit your social media profile? The bio you use for your social media profiles should sum up your personal brand in a concise and compelling way.

7. Stop being so shy

Online conversations are happening everywhere, all the time, so don't be shy, get involved. Whether it be commenting on a blog post, or responding to a discussion in a LinkedIn group, this is a great opportunity to showcase your expertise. Comment as often as you can, as this will ensure you stay in the forefront of your network's minds. With a little bit of practice, you'll be so good that your network won't be able to ignore you. But remember, to avoid any blunders, think before you post.

Finally, if you really want to go the extra mile, consider starting your own blog. With a little time and a lot of commitment and focus you can build the go-to online resource for your area of expertise, which will further differentiate you from your competition.

8. Make it easy for people to find you online

Use About.me to make it even easier for people to find you. This online branding tool will allow you to create a personal homepage, add a bio, your CV, a profile picture and links to all of your social media profiles. Once you're done, you will have created your very own SEO-friendly online hub which will allow anyone to interact with you in whatever way they wish.

9. Monitor your personal brand online

There are a number of tools you can use to monitor your personal brand online including:

Klout: This platform helps you measure how influential you are in your area of expertise. It will give you a score of between 0-100 which is partly determined by who your followers are and how you interact with them online. However, it is important to stress that although your Klout score is important, it is not the be all and end all when it comes to monitoring your personal brand online, the tools mentioned below can also be valuable.

Google Alerts: By signing up to Google Alerts, each time you are mentioned online, you will receive an automatic alert sent directly to your inbox. You can then ensure you are the first to write a comment response, retweet or send a personal message in response, thus strengthening your personal brand even further.

Hootsuite: This tool lets you track conversations that mention you across Facebook, Google+ and Twitter.

I hope these 9 steps will help you on your way to creating and monitoring a strong personal brand online, which complements the offline reputation you have spent years crafting. If you have any tips to help others build a robust personal online brand, feel free to share your insights in the comments box below.

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your online reputation is now just as important as your offline one

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so you need to put your best self out there

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HOW TO BUILD YOUR PERSONAL BRAND ONLINE Below are the different areas you need to focus on: First things first, take a subjective view of your current online brand. Use Google and other major search engines to search for your name. What you see is what the rest of the world sees.

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What does your online personal brand say about you?

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What does your online personal brand say about you?

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Forbes Welcome page -- Forbes is a global media company, focusing on business, investing, technology, entrepreneurship, leadership, and lifestyle.

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Your online personal reputation is important. More than 60% of people Google you before deciding to meet and to me that seems like a low number. Google is the new background check. What is found on the search engine is your online public image so you need to ensure you're happy with it.You can take control of your personal brand but to do this you need to know how to construct a story, have knowledge of the high-performing websites and how to link content together. Here are five steps you can follow to improve your personal brand online: 1. Assess: Google yourself and answer these questions: - Are the results relevant and up to date? - Does it say who you are? Does it communicate a consistent image? - Are there important things (achievements) missing? - Do the pictures/ video support your image? If you don't like the results, then getting rid of the results you don't like takes time, by creating content that Google prefers over the other articles (see step 3). Tip: Never use an image of someone or something else (your children, pets, famous people, objects, etc) to represent who you are. 2. Position: You need to define who you are - your profession and your passion. Write down three to five words that describe you the best. Think of your past achievements, the way you work in a team, and your role. What do you want to be known for and what do you want to come to people's minds when they think of you? Tip: Make sure you use the words you choose as 'key words' in any content you create and publish online. This increases your chance of being found online based upon what you want to be known for. 3. Content creation Create your story. It should include your background and why you do the things you do. It should be short and relevant, but written with extra punch to engage readers. Here you can read my story. Create pictures and video relevant to your personal brand. Remember images should reinforce written content. For example, if you are passionate about sustainability, don't take pictures in your office, but in a park. If you are a public speaker, use pictures from events you've spoken at. Tip: You can create your own video relatively easy thanks to built-in HD video cameras on your phone. Apps like videoBIO help you to create, edit and promote your video. 4. Streamline any existing content Upload relevant presentations or publications. Presentations should always be short (10 slides max), your name should be in the title of your documents and enrich them with one- liners and infographics. Slideshare is a good platform to upload presentations. From Slideshare you can link to other social media. Use visuals that are explanatory of the message. Don't use too much text. Tip: It helps if you put a picture of yourself and your name on the first page of the document. 5. Publish the content on top online sites Google uses a variety of ways to rank (or rate) content in a search, this is why you will see one search result higher than another. Quality is one way and link relevancy is another, so make sure your content is good, compelling and linked to, and from, other sites. Top sites for posting and linking to are: LinkedIn, Google+, Twitter, Wordpress, Vimeo and Flickr. Tips: Linkedin ranks higher than all other social media profiles, while Wordpress ranks higher than Blogger. And althought Youtube is more popular, Vimeo ranks higher.

My job sees me travel the world to seek out people with a vision and brands with a purpose for our global project " Around the World in 80 Brands".
Before we meet and write about these people and brands, we rely on Google to understand who they are and what they stand for. We are in a reputation-based economy, it is more important who you are than what you sell. People do business with people, not with companies so make sure your personal brand sells you as well as your product.
Anouk Pappers is a brand anthropologist and co-founder of CoolBrands NextWorld Storytelling

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5 tips for improving your personal brand online

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Your online personal reputation is important. More than 60% of people Google you before deciding to meet and to me that seems like a low number. Google is the new background check.

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Three social media mistakes to avoid when job searching

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Three social media mistakes to avoid when job searching

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Three social media mistakes to avoid while jobhunting

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Do you consider how you look to potential employers who search for you online? AAT career coach Aimee Bateman goes through three things not to do on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook if you're looking for work.

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How to use social media in your job search

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How to use social media in your job search

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when your facebook profile affects your job interview

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when your facebook profile affects your job interview

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Bad job interview - when your Facebook photos betray you at a job interview.

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http://worksite.actu.org.au - In this video, Ralph is going for a job interview. It's all going well, until his employer catches a glimpse of his social media profile. Find out how you can avoid this trap for new employees and get your first job at http://worksite.actu.org.au.