SPJ Holds Personal Branding Event
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
By Zach Jevne
On Dec. 5, the Iowa chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) held an event at the Des Moines Social Club that focused on personal branding for journalists, marketers and public relation professionals.
The crowd of roughly 30 people, mostly students and people in career transistions, listened as four speakers talked about branding yourself in the industry. The speakers included Drew McLellan, Claire Celsi, Nathan Wright and David Bulla.
McLellan is the owner of McLellan Marketing Group and writes a blog called "The Marketing Minute." He recently updated his blog about his presentation and provided helpful tips to create a personal brand.
McLellan was very informative and helpful. He says that you must figure out your personal brand, but it must be organic, not fake. Your brand has to be something that's already inside of you. And you must figure out why it matters. Have people you can count on for honesty answer this question about you: "What three words describe me?"
Nathan Wright is the founder of Lava Row, which is a social media strategy and consulting firm in Des Moines. He stressed the importance of having a "robust" presence online. He reiterated some of McLellan's points, such as creating a LinkedIn profile and a Google profile. He said the advantages go to people who use those tools.
Claire Celsi is a public relations professional and operates the Public Relations Princess Web site. She made the point that it is impossible to distinguish between your personal and professional brand and should be discouraged in general. The professional and personal brand should be one in the same and authentic.
David Bulla was the final speaker and is a professor of journalism at Iowa State. He used Mitch Albom as an example of a journalist using multiple platforms to become incredibly successful. He mentioned that journalists need to have two skill sets today: 1) the analog skill - writing, photography, editing, etc. and 2) the digital skill - making use of the current media tools available and combining both.
The last hour of the event all four speakers took questions and discussed topics as a group panel. Some other highlights of the event: A personal brand is not what you do, but how and why you do it. Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are just tools and you must continue to meet people and build relationships. Be fresh and opinionated and be yourself. In essence, have a take. When you have reached the point where half the people love you and half hate you, that's the sign of a strong personal brand.
Participation and understanding media are important on blogs and Twitter. In regards to your Twitter volume, make sure there is frequent, quality content. Transparency is key to marketing your brand. Dan Schawbel is a personal branding expert with information on his Web site.
Figuring out your message and who you are is the key to beginning to brand yourself. You also need to find a way to stand out. Social media is a great way to help, but it is just tools to help "plant the seeds" of your brand.
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On Dec. 5, the Iowa chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) held an event at the Des Moines Social Club that focused on personal branding for journalists, marketers and public relation professionals.
The crowd of roughly 30 people, mostly students and people in career transistions, listened as four speakers talked about branding yourself in the industry. The speakers included Drew McLellan, Claire Celsi, Nathan Wright and David Bulla.
McLellan is the owner of McLellan Marketing Group and writes a blog called "The Marketing Minute." He recently updated his blog about his presentation and provided helpful tips to create a personal brand.
McLellan was very informative and helpful. He says that you must figure out your personal brand, but it must be organic, not fake. Your brand has to be something that's already inside of you. And you must figure out why it matters. Have people you can count on for honesty answer this question about you: "What three words describe me?"
Nathan Wright is the founder of Lava Row, which is a social media strategy and consulting firm in Des Moines. He stressed the importance of having a "robust" presence online. He reiterated some of McLellan's points, such as creating a LinkedIn profile and a Google profile. He said the advantages go to people who use those tools.
Claire Celsi is a public relations professional and operates the Public Relations Princess Web site. She made the point that it is impossible to distinguish between your personal and professional brand and should be discouraged in general. The professional and personal brand should be one in the same and authentic.
David Bulla was the final speaker and is a professor of journalism at Iowa State. He used Mitch Albom as an example of a journalist using multiple platforms to become incredibly successful. He mentioned that journalists need to have two skill sets today: 1) the analog skill - writing, photography, editing, etc. and 2) the digital skill - making use of the current media tools available and combining both.
The last hour of the event all four speakers took questions and discussed topics as a group panel. Some other highlights of the event: A personal brand is not what you do, but how and why you do it. Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are just tools and you must continue to meet people and build relationships. Be fresh and opinionated and be yourself. In essence, have a take. When you have reached the point where half the people love you and half hate you, that's the sign of a strong personal brand.
Participation and understanding media are important on blogs and Twitter. In regards to your Twitter volume, make sure there is frequent, quality content. Transparency is key to marketing your brand. Dan Schawbel is a personal branding expert with information on his Web site.
Figuring out your message and who you are is the key to beginning to brand yourself. You also need to find a way to stand out. Social media is a great way to help, but it is just tools to help "plant the seeds" of your brand.
