How to create a personal brand on LinkedIn including creating your profile, blogging, participating in groups, having a professional picture, completely filling out your profile, developing your summary.

1. Creating Your Personal Brand on LinkedIn
Dr. Debra Zahay-Blatz
Professor of Marketing and Chair of Marketing and Entrepreneurship

2. Agenda
• Background: Why LinkedIn?
• How to Improve Social Media Presence on
LinkedIn
• How this activity can benefit students

3. Background

4. I followed my questions to
Academia…
Information
Systems
Sales/Marketing
/Databases
IMC &
More Databases
????
Ph.D.

5. Co-Author: Leading Internet
Marketing Textbook

6. Author MBA Text on Digital
Marketing

7. Coming, Soon:
Zahay, Roberts

8. LinkedIn
• Professional social network
• 332 million users
• 107 million in the US
• 40 percent of users check it daily
• Leading job site 89% of all recruiters report
having hired someone through LinkedIn.
• Percent of Millennials (18-34) who use LinkedIn
13%
• http://expandedramblings.com/index.php/by-the-numbers-a-few-
important-linkedin-stats/

9. Who is on LinkedIn?
• Over Three million psychologists
• Two million professors
• One million writers
• 700,000 scientists
• 600,000 doctors
• http://www.linkedin.com

11. Connecting on LinkedIn by First
Developing a Social Presence

12. Fill in LinkedIn Profile to
Become “All-Star”
Profile
Picture
Brief
Description
Summary
Skills/EndorsementsRecommendations
Groups
Connections

13. What is a
Brand?

14. Brand =
Promise

15. Dr. ZB Professional Brand:
Creator and Disseminator of Content Relating
to Digital Marketing and Analytics for the
purpose of facilitating business innovation and
growth.
• Teaching
• Writing Scholarly Articles
• Blogging/white papers
• Writing Academic/Practitioner Books

16. Fill in LinkedIn Profile to
Become All-Star
Profile
Picture
Brief
Description
Summary
Skills/EndorsementsRecommendations
Groups
Connections
Nice Head Shot
Use Brand Keywords
1st Person,
Keywords
6-10
50
500
50

17. Top Beginner Tips for LinkedIn
1. Profile picture, head shot
2. Use description to describe your personal brand
3. Use keywords in your summary (1st person) so the
right people can find you
4. Completely fill out profile (All-Star)
5. Strive for 500+ Connections
6. Join groups and participate, post and comment
7. Fill out your skills, appropriate with your brand

19. Skills Reflect Branding
Strategy

20. Benefit to Students

21. Who are you? Personal Branding
Exercise
Same
• How am I the same as
my peers?
Different
• Personality
characteristics
• Life Experiences
• What makes you different
• What gets people ‘jazzed
up’ about youAssignment:
• Take a sheet of paper and make these two
columns
• Fill them in with at least three on each side
(you may talk to a neighbor to get ideas)
• Prepare to share with Class

22. Elements of Effective Linked In
Strategy
Marketing Principle
• Core competencies
• Point-of-Difference
(Brand)
• Network Power
Implementation on LinkedIn
• Keywords
• Skills and Endorsements
• 500 Plus Connections

23. LinkedIn Exercise
Different
• Personality
characteristics
• Life Experiences
• What makes you different
• What gets people ‘jazzed
up’ about you
• How am I the same as
my peers?
How do you want to be
found
• Keywords, not job titles
• Skills and experiences,
not positions
• “Think like a Fish”=Intent
Assignment:
• Write your Brief Description
• Share it with a neighbor to get feedback
• Prepare to share with Class

24. Search term “

25. Student Testimonials Speak to
Success
• “I was a student in your Social Media class last fall [2013]. ….. For my final project, I
updated my LinkedIn, applying recommendations I learned in class. As a result, an HR
recruiter contacted me via LinkedIn and I have been offered a position in the organization
doing what I consider to be my "dream" job. Not only am I doing my dream job but the
compensation granted me equity in the company. This is such a huge accomplishment for
me and it would not have been possible if it was not for you and your class. Thank you so
much and please continue to stress the power of social media. Thank you, Christine
Fioresi”
• Sarah Hughes took MKT 4610 and she also updated her LinkedIn profile per the class
material. Her improved profile was spotted by a manager higher in the company and she
was selected to interview for a management position. She got the management job.
• “I find my LinkedIn profile is the strongest profile out of all the created profiles on the web
….After I tweaked my profile, I noticed a huge difference in the activity of my account. ….
In fact, I have received a few job offers since I tweaked my account.” --Eric James
• “I know I contacted you late January thanking you for providing me the opportunity to start
my blog. However, I wanted to share even more exciting news! Because of my blog, I got a
job!” Lisa Bajkowski

26. Other Student Outcomes
• 30% of class became LinkedIn AllStars.
• Over 80% reported an improved presence on
search.
• Social Media Presence improves personal brand
by showing at top of search results.

27. Summary
• LinkedIn is THE professional network for all
professions.
• Defining your brand and filling out your profile
completely will make you an “All-Star”.
• You and your students can benefit.

28. Contact Information
• dblatz@stedwards.edu
• 512-448-8645
• @zahay

29. Thank you
St. Edward’s University
Thank you.
St. Edward’s University
Thank you.
St. Edward’s University
Thank you.
St. Edward’s University
Thank you.
St. Edward’s University