The document summarizes a presentation on personal branding for new librarians given at the 2011 ACRL National Conference. The presentation addressed what personal branding is, its benefits and concerns, and how to develop a personal brand through various platforms and tools. It provided tips on finding one's style and comfort zone with social media and websites, focusing on passions rather than just one's job, and listening to and monitoring online conversations. Attendees were encouraged to leverage social networks and maintain a genuine yet professional online presence.
Personal Branding for New Librarians: Standing out and Stepping up
1. Personal Branding
for New Librarians:
Standing out and Stepping up
Association of College & Research Libraries
National Conference 2011
Kiyomi Deards
Erin Dorney
Bohyun Kim
2. Our Session: Who & What
1.What is personal branding?
2.Benefits, concerns & questions
o Bohyun Kim
1.Different platform, different purpose
o Kiyomi Deards
1.Putting it into practice
o Erin Dorney
4. Which of these
apply to you?
-Select ALL that apply-
a)I am NOT sure if personal branding is
for me.
b)I am concerned about certain aspects
of personal branding.
c)I am interested in building my
personal brand.
d)I am unsure how to develop my
personal brand.
e)I am uncertain how to manage my
personal brand effectively.
16. Do what works for you!
Your Style:
Or A Little Bit of Both?
Introverts are refreshed
and energized by solitude.
Extroverts are energized and
stimulated by socializing.
25. Thank you for joining us!
Kiyomi D. Deards, University of Nebraska-Lincoln / kdeards2@unl.edu
http://www.libraryadventures.com (Blog) /@kiyomid (Twitter)
Erin Dorney, Millersville University /erin.dorney@millersville.edu
http:www.libraryscenester.wordpress.com (Blog) / @libscenester (Twitter)
Bohyun Kim, Florida International University /bohyun.kim@fiu.edu
http://bohyunkim.net/blog (Blog) / @bohyunkim (Twitter)
Alison Miller, ipl2 Reference Services, Drexel University /milleru65@gmail.com
@millerlibrarian (Twitter)
Image Attributions:
• CC BY 2.0 by Rochelle, et. al.
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• CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 by Leo Reynolds
• CC BY 2.0 by Jorge-11
• CC by 2.0 by misslishess
• CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 by LiminalMike
• CC BY 2.0 by 10ch
• CC BY-NC 2.0 by Pete Reed
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• CC BY 2.0 by Claudio Gennari
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• CC By 2.0 by koalazymonkey
• Courtesy of ACRL's Residency Interest Group
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26. The CMO’s Guide To: The Social Media Landscape
http://www.cmo.com/sites/default/files/CMO-SOCIAL-LANDSCAPE-R5.jpg
7 Examples of Kickass Personal Branding
http://socialmouths.com/blog/2010/05/17/7-examples-of-kick-ass-personal-branding/
Handout on Personal Branding by ACRL New Members Discussion Group at ALA 2011 Midwinter
http://connect.ala.org/files/66007/acrl_nmdg_alamw11_handout_pdf_68737.pdf
The WHY of Your Brand by Steven Bell
http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/communityacademiclibraries/888893-
265/the_why_of_your_brand.html.csp
For an extended bibliography, download our session handout from the ACRL Virtual Conference website
or email us for a PDF version.
Suggested Readings:
Editor's Notes
Introduction - Alison's slide
Communicating with one's peers, colleagues, and others outside of ones own workplace for professional growth.
POLL - Bohyun
Benefits, questions & concerns - Bohyun's slide
You will be googled by your peers and future employers
What would Google tell them about you?
Benefits, questions & concerns - Bohyun's slide
Conferences are no longer need the only place you can go to network. You can do so online no matter where you are
Connect professionally with a large number of librarians who have similar interests, thoughts, and work as yours
Benefits, questions & concerns - Bohyun's slide
CONCERNS:
Isn't social media a frivolous pursuit?
Would my privacy be affected?
I don't know. Personal branding sounds so off-putting
Doesn't personal branding take a lot of time? I am already busy with work and other professional commitments (e.g. publications, committee work, etc)
I don't spend a lot of time online. Can I still have my personal brand online?
Benefits, questions & concerns - Bohyun's slide
Where do I start?
How do I find time?
I am interested, but I am not sure what should blog or tweet about
How do I continue to retain and grow my online presence?
POLL
Many people feel that they have to choose between using social media and maintaining a website.
Social networks are not created equally which platform you use will depend on what your purpose is, and your personality.
Different platform, different purpose - Kiyomi's slide
Facebook – Extremely Social - Good for keeping track of people over time.
LinkedIn – Professional – As social or hands-off as you want it to be, a good way to have a positive web presence with a minimum of effort.
Twitter – Fast paced – Participate or Lurk at your leisure. Learn from your peers, catch the latest news, make new friends.
ACRL committees always need more people willing to work.
Working on a website for your professional association is a great way to meet a variety of people and get involved.
Issues:
Control
How much info do you want to share?
Creating content, thinking of topics.
Post frequency, how often will you be able to update?
Time, creating and maintaining a website can be a huge time
commitment.
Different platform, different purpose – Kiyomi's slide
Introverts may find solitude more refreshing, while extroverts may prefer big group outings.
Introverts like visiting with interesting people, just like extroverts enjoy solitude, it’s not that either group hates what the other likes, it’s that they relax in different ways.
Not everyone is a pure introvert or extrovert, you may be either depending on the circumstances and situation.
Communicating with people online allows you to be as introverted or as extroverted as you are comfortable with at any time.
So how do you go about putting personal branding into practice?
POLL
Visit and comment on other blogs, retweet content, and connect with others to avoid shameless self-promotion.
Blog, Tumblr, Facebook or Twitter accounts are easy to set up. You can be on your way in less than 10 minutes.
Use consistent voice, image and persona across different platforms so that people can find you and you can grow your brand.
Be genuine and professional at all times
Ask yourself how you want to be perceived by others. Reflect and come up with 3-5 words which represent you.
Do not focus on the negative.
Remember that online comments last forever.
Listen & monitor the conversation - what are people saying about you?
Create Google Alerts for your name/brand: http://www.google.com/alerts
Google yourself and update/remove old information.
Topsy Social Analytics: http://analytics.topsy.com/
RSS feeds of advanced Twitter search: Visit http://search.twitter.com/advanced, create searches for your name and other keywords, click on the RSS icon to create and send a feed for each search to your Google Reader.
Icerocket Blog Search: http://www.icerocket.com/
Socialmention: http://www.socialmention.com/
Be wary of focusing your entire personal brand around your current job
How will you maintain your brand once your job changes?
If you focus your brand on your professional interests and passions instead of your job title or workplace, you will be able to take it with you from institution to institution.
Find your personal comfort zone on frequency of updating
Posting too often may cause your supervisor or future employer to wonder when you find the time to do your work.
If you are posting links every few minutes, others may wonder if you ever read what you repost.
Find a balance that works for you.