How Are You Going to Brand Yourself?

I've been pretty narrow minded with social media. A year ago I was only on Twitter and Facebook. However, I never realized until recently how important it is to brand yourself using various types of social media formats. It makes sense if you want good SEO for yourself that you would join as many sites as you can to get your name out there. Thanks to this class and my past two internships, I can be found on almost every major social media site. 

Now that I can be found, I want to make it my goal to be not just active but professionally active! My LinkedIn is beginning to become my best friend. I'm really going to take the time to reach out to my past professors and fellow students to grow my networking. I hope by finding and connecting with professionals in the fields I want to work in will also help get my name out more. 

I'm really looking forward to keeping up with a blog after this class. It's been on my to-do list for the past year, and I think it will really help get a leg up on the job market. I think this would be a good way to show personality, passion, and creativity into the field I want to be in. Looking forward to getting started!

 

-Rachel Bonello

Branding ones self via social media (not in contrast to any public outward expression) is imperitive in the attempt to gain attention, positive awareness, and other opportunities for future employers and those in general who are willing to listen. The importance of keeping it positive and appropriate on social media channels is just as so in comparison to anyone in the public spotlight on TV and in movies.  Those who step over this boundary and gain unwanted negative attention or use inappropriate communication find the negative spotlight to overshadow anything positive that person could say.  In comparison with "word-of-mouth" person-to-person communication the downfall of negative WOM highly overshadows positive WOM in people's mind.

I've had a LinkedIn account for 2 years now but never actually used it. I'm thankful that this class is forcing myself to update my profile and send connect with more people. For me I feel my LinkedIn should be with professional acquaintences and some friends. During career fairs and after interviews I am going to ask the recruiter if they would be alright with me networking with them through LinkedIn. I had done this after two interviews I had done recently and found that they are very willing to keep connected. I'm sure that staying connected with recruiters will be useful in keeping an eye out for future job positions and opportunities.

I have had a LinkedIn account for a while now but never actually used it for networking. After learning about just how much companies pay attention to social media sites I now am more driven to make my LinkedIn more detailed to differentiate myself more. Also, I plan on adding more companies that I am interested in to make myself more well known to them. Additionally, I had no idea that twitter could be used for more than just personal use. I plan to create a new one soon to follow companies and learn more about them as well. 

I have been going LinkedIn crazy ever since I started this class and finally updated my profile. What I have been doing is expanding my network. So far I have used my email contact list to select and search for people. I have always kept business cards so I search business people who have handed me theirs and send messages saying how we met and my interest in adding them to my contacts. In addition I personalized my LinkedIn with the name Andre Holgate. I made a posting of my LinkedIn profile on my Facebook page requesting professional contacts and then shared it so more people can see it. I have also been linking or posting my profile with/on google-plus twitter etc.

I never knew blogging actually worked or meant anything. After listening in class I am more interested in starting to blog to promote myself and further my career. I have always enjoyed networking, but I am going to try blogging and sharing my passions on social networks to see what comes of it.

The fact that social media can open up opportunities that many don't realize is somthing that I won't forget about this course. I hope that what I learn in this course truely helps me to gain the upper hand.

It is crazy how the social media epidemic can really help or hurt you when trying to get a job.  Building your online personal brand is really a crucial component in the application process because employers are constantly scoping you out.  I've found social media sites to really be beneficial in showing who you truly are.  I used to work for Camp Bow Wow, and my job as their camp scout was to run their social media sites - and let me tell you, they go on facebook more than any other site when looking for new employees and getting feedback from their customers.  I think building your name through various networks on the internet is a great way to stand out in a crowd of candidates. I've learned through the readings in this course that you can really be whoever you want to be and your online profile is going to help you sell yourself.  If you don't take the time to make yourself stand out professionally, whose going to be interested in making you a part of their team?  Social networking is huge and it will make or break you in the professional world.

I never knew how valuable Twitter could be. Ever since I had twitter, I always thought it was a place where I can voice my opinion. Just recently, I had a recruiter from Saks Fifth Avenue follow me and I did ask him about job openings. I think each social media websites are very valuable. I think it is the way you present yourself on the internet. I seen a lot of fashion and beauty gurus get famous off of youtube, instagram, and blogs. Each and one of them were unique. They presented themselves in a timely manner.

To build my personal brand online, I will continue to network with people I meet, not just on LinkedIn, but also Facebook. It is a great resource to keep in touch with people. I started a blog a couple years back, but haven't blog in years. I wish to continue to blog about my passion for fashion and take pictures of my outfits and post it online.

Branding oneself in the marketplace with social media tools has a pay it forward strategy in becoming more connected in the job market and opportunities. However, if your ‘brand resume’ lacks true content and experience, this will be extremely clear once you get to the interview stage of any job and you will tank. 

My perspective comes from being in the workforce for many years, hiring employees and observing the shifting trends first hand.  As an individual first starting out, internships offer great practical experience as reference, paid or unpaid, but don’t overlook life experiences both professional and personal can also translate into differentiating yourself above the competition.   

Prior to this course I had a Facebook and Linked In account.  The first assignment in opening additional social networks to expand my online presence and brand was only difficult in terms of opening up more avenues to connect.  I am feeling  a little overwhelmed keeping track of all the sites.  It makes me feel like Drew Barrymore’s character complaining about the complexities of dating He’s Just Not that Into You.

That said, I will be using this course not only refine my online brand but to benchmark what is currently in the marketplace as my brand.

 

 

 

First step in building your brand is to define what you want your brand to be.  I took a page out of Erik Qualman’s latest book the Digital Leader, 5 Simple Keys to Success and Influence.   http://www.socialnomics.net/speakingevents/?gclid=COPXoev0ybICFQdnOgodmVYAEg

Erik spoke at our Crain’s Detroit Business/Advertising Age Idea conference this year in Detroit. http://www.crainsdetroit.com/section/idea-detroit-conference-2012.  In his presentation he said “social media is less about technology and more about social engagement and relationships”.

After his speech I caught up with him at his book signing and we talked about establishing one’s self as a “digital leader”. He outlined what he calls “five powerful truths you can use to establish your leadership stamp”:

Simple:  success is the result of simplification and focus        

True: be true to your passion

Act: nothing happens without action- take the first step

Map: goals and visions are needed to get you where you want to be

People: success doesn’t happen alone

I will continue to build my professional brand by becoming more active on LinkedIn.  I plan on returning the favor to all of those who wrote recommendations on my LinkedIn page.  Since I just started Tweeting I am still getting comfortable with that. Whatever social media outlet I use I want to be sure I am building good relationships, which is a positive reflection on my brand.

 

It's becoming tougher and tougher to brand one's self in a unique way in the midst of so much competition. It has come to a point where you absolutely need advanced knowledge of the social media space to really excel and break away from the pack. Branding yourself is no longer something that just come's naturally. You have to practically force people to see who you are and why you're better than the next person in line. But, NMDL is giving me the tools to do just that.

To build my online brand, I plan on being two things: transparent, and fun. I know that may sound childish or unprofessional, however, it's all about making yourself memorable. With my Twitter and different blogging platforms, I will continue to provide a look into my personal life while also sharing many insights and resources from the professional world. Of course I'll continue to post pictures, silly statuses, and witty comments. The creative advertising world has no room for someone that is boring. I also want to begin to utilize SEO more effectively. When people search my name, or different skills that I have and can share, I want to be on top of the Google page. One final strategy I want to use in branding myself is to keep connected throughout all my profiles. I want to ensure that someone on my Twitter can easily find and use my Tumblr, Flickr, Klout, etc. This will allow for a wider audience, more interaction, and a greater variety of posts and topics.

The notion of branding yourself is something that is really gaining popularity, especiially when it comes to social media.  I would not say I am someone who is super advanced with trends/technology/social media, but I think this course can offer something of extreme value.  Learning to brand yourself is a necessity for getting a job in the current market.  If this class can teach someone with as little knowledge as I have how to brand themself, then that is fantastic.

One step I will most likely take in trying to brand myself is using something I love (like cooking) to build an online personaility for myself.  If I am able to blog about somethign truly interesting to me, then it should be no problem keeping up on it. I would say the social networking site I am most comfortable with is Facebook, just because I am most familiar with it.  I am excited to explore some new options and optimize my brand image!

I plan on branding myself as a graphic designer online. That's what I'm in school for, so I want to be known for the same. I'm already on a few social networking sites including facebook and twitter. I also have an instagram and a foursquare now. I plan on using my current social media site to build more connections. Don't get me wrong, Linkedin is great. However, I want to have as many connections as possible on different sites. Establishing connections across the internet allows me to have a greater reach, lands me in front of more opportunities and increases my popularity. I plan on designing and and posting my designs on my blog. I'm going to optimize the crap out of it, and use my facebook and twitter to promote it. 

Prior to this course, I had a Facebook and a Twitter, but didn't really think about using them to further my career options. Beginning the blog was scary at first, but fun. I will attempt to continue updating it as I have time each weeks, but with swimming and school, I'm not sure how that will go.

Using Facebook for posting and sharing is something that I have started doing much more frequently and will continue to do. I didn't realize the traffic you can get by posting and sharing even things that you just find interesting.

I had planned on attending law school prior to my internship last summer and after working with more PR related stuff, I decided to try it out. I am now getting my Master's in PR and loved this course. I didn't know if I would, but now I am very energized to get even deeper into the field with my classes in the fall. I enjoyed learning how to use Twitter, FB, FourSquare, blogs, etc effectively and how to reach people effectively. The Presentation Zen tips for presentations will also stick with me the rest of my career and life. They were super helpful and I feel really made my presentation stronger.

To continue to brand myself online I'm going to continue to blog and build up my Linkedin profile. I will also start talking more on my social media networks about what really interest me and what kind of career/job I want to have. I think this course has helped a lot with figuring out how to re-brand myself and actually build a presence online. 

I actually feel like this course has helped immensley in re-branding myself. I've cleaned out my twitter of all the drunk party tweets and started reading and following articles and leaders in the field I want to excel in. Simply putting the hashtag in my bio has gotten me numerous followers even though I really have nothing to do with the actual profession and through following back I've gained a pretty respectable TimeLine and yet looking back to what my twitter used to be, it seems worlds apart. 

I will definitely continue blogging. I really enjoyed the feedback and the interest from completely random strangers. I will also get more involved with LinkedIn, and I will try to optimize my online PR portfolio for  Search Engines so that it will be easier for future employer to find me. I have an online portfolio, but I never took the time to do anything with it, except for basic web design. As for LinkedIn I will try to get in contact with my connections and try to get new connection that might lead me to future jobs. 

My mom runs a language school in Singapore. Last year she asked me for help on setting up a website for her new school. I had no idea how to make a blog but I gave it a go. She also asked me to do some advertising on the Internet, how her school can be ranked first when Korean schools Singapore was searched. This all happened early last year and I had no clue what I was doing. After taking this course, I get the idea of where to look at and how to advertise for small businesses. On a personal note, the guy who advertised his name on the top five advertising executives was pure genius. Maybe I won't be able to do that since it's already an old trick, but using SEM search to your advantage is certainly something I should be looking at in the near future. 

I really enjoyed this class, and plan on taking what I learned from it to my other classes and into my future career. Although, I don't keep up with my blog as much as I would like (it's very time consuiming lol), I did enjoy it when it was a homework post. Hopefully when I find more time and more things to talk about I will get back into the swing of it and build it even more. LinkedIn has definitely opened doors for me. I have networked with many people through friends, coworkers, and family. I've found myself paying more attention to that site than I do my Facebook or Twitter pages. I am definitely going to build out my contacts and network even more. I've really enjoyed being introduced to the more digital aspect of advertising and it has definitely caught my interest. I really enjoyed this class and I look forward to taking my lessons from here and utilizing them in my other advertising classes and in my future career. 

Something that I will do the most to brand myself online is build out my network using LinkedIn. I think that by networking and landing myself some good recommedations and contacts, I will be better off when I am applying to jobs in the professional world.

While applying for jobs, I will be sure to make all of my social media sites reflect who I am as a person and what I am looking for in terms of a career. I have learned a lot in this class about the importance of branding and to what effect that can have on the impression that is given off to an employer or to the world in general.

I will use LinkedIn to stay connected and network with the connections I have made so far. I have also been working at an advertising agency as a digital stratgist so when I was working on projects that had to deal with facebook, twitter, or other platforms like wordpress I was able to understand better how to utilze the platform to its fullest. Also I'll apply to job and programs next summer that will require knowledge of how to interact in the digital world so this class has given me a headstart and I'll be able to promote more of my work more effectively now with my better understanding of the social world. 

Through this course, I've definitely learned the value of sites like LinkedIn. I think my first step toward branding myself will be to really establish my presence in that network. I realize that a good linkedin alone will not suffice, and so i've also considered creating a more professional twitter account for myself. I want to utilize twitter to follow my favorite companies and potential job interests, keeping up to date on all of their current news and culture while displaying my enthusiasm and insight toward these companies. I truely prefer my twitter idea rather than a blog, because I can summarize my views, ideas, and passions in to brief twitter updates that the companies can see on their feeds- rather than expecting them to stop by my blog and read for a bit. I may utilize both of these techniques, as I believe that I can use a blog to further highlight my skill and really establish my accomodations.

This class was the most insightful class I have taken at MSU thus far. Networking on LinkedIn is something that I did not know the potential benefits it could have until this course. I will contunie using that social network. I've learned that social networks is more poweful than what I imagined them to be. Social networks I believe will be the biggest factor is bringing my dream job to me ! 

This class has opened up my mind on what digital marketing can do. I've learned that blogging can be a way of life, if you're good at it and have thought about making a few more since this class. I've started using LinkedIn more, I'm adding more contacts, particpating in discussions within a group I joined, which has gotten me a job possibility. Digital marketing tools and how to effectively use them is what I will take away from this class and will most likely use these skills in my career in the future.

Well first off I will highly agree on your first paragraph about the difficulties of landing a great job.  What I will take from this course on new media is at least a small advantage from some of the competition I will face in the working environment.  I will expand my contacts, especially through LinkedIn, as well as other social media websites like Facebook and Twitter.  I will brand myself in a way that will make me stand out from the crowd and draw in employers.  I have learned from this course that it is all about staying a step ahead of the crowd and trying not to blend in.

After taking this course I am more aware and knowledgeable about the motives behind companies' Facebook, Twitter, and other social media pages. I understand the importance of updating regularly and what kind of content is the most valuable when posting. I learned more about brand loyalty and applied my existing knowledge to brand analysis. I plan to continue to excell by utilizing my LinkedIn page and growing my contacts on there. I feel slightly more prepared for the future in my career. 

 

I have learned so much from this class and I plan to take a lot away from it. My social media plan so far is to take the route in which outlet I have most knowledge and experience in. To build my personal brand online I wish to expand my LinkedIn contacts and network with more people in my career field. I also want to use other social media outlets to network and gain contacts also in my career field. This will hopefully lead me to more experience with in my career field overall leading me to a position of interest in the advertising world.

I have gained a lot of experience through this class when it comes to social media. I will take the time to be more involved with my linked in page and help to build my brand on a professional level on that website. I don't really have the time to blog although I enjoy it. I just encourage everyone to stay in contact with all their employers through LinkedIn and ask for them to do recommendations for you so that you have evidence to back up your profile about your work ethic. I have made connections with employees from my internship as well as fellow interns via LinkedIn I will continue to use this website to help market my brand.

From this course I have gained knowledge about a plethora of social media platforms and the best ways to use them. To stand out as a job candidate, I will build out my LinkedIn network and begin following companies on Facebook and Twitter to show my interest, as well as stay current with the companies work. In addition, I will continue blogging. I have already seemed some very interested followers visiting my blog - I think this shows that all of the social media work is working out. I will then use my blog content to show a future employer. My blog both is representative of my personality and career interests. I think it will be a great tool to get a leg up on competitors. 

I have definitely gained some insight from this course. I had created a LinkedIn account before, but to be honest it wasn't the greatest. In fact it was only about halfway complete. Now I have some solid information as well as contacts on there, which I plan to use to help me excel in my future. I'm also going to keep blogging. I feel as though if I keep updating it and improving my SEO skills with it, it could really help me to stand apart from other job candidates.

This course has been awesome! I gained a ton of insight about different types of social media, especially blogging, LinkedIn and google +. I had a Facebook and Twitter page before this class, but none of the others.  I have learned how to create a personal brand for myself. I think by liking more pages for companies that I see myself being a part of could help expand myself. I have been searching for internships all summer and just landed one with 99.5 WYCD and 104.3 WOMC to do public relations and promotions. I think I can update my profiles and gain great references from their company. I think tweeting for them and updating their pages to relate to a younger audience. I think this class was very informative and gave me insight on how to brand myself for the rest of my career!

I'm junior in MSU so i still have chance to show or prove my self to the real world that i will be working into the year after i would use google and thier SEO system to search for appropreate jobs for me. i would still have my Linkedin website updated to get emplyers attention also i will keep in touch with my friends who are older, who already got a job in same interest. for my brand i would like to advertise it by using social network and get other peoples opinion use such site as twitter to follow me. back in Korea i have several mentols who i can look up and ask about hou to build my career. this will help me advertise my brand worth and settle me into the new society.

Because I'm graduating in August, my biggest focus online will be networking via LinkedIn and Twitter. When looking at a potential carreer, I think it's very important to research the company and the people involved in it. I have already joined groups via LinkedIn and posted discussions/comments to help interact with people. Also, becuase I'm moving to Colorado, I have been in touch with the MSU Rockey Mountain Alumni Group via Twitter. 

Because I don't have too much time, I may discontinue the blog. It was a really great part of the class, but I may pick it up when more time comes my way.

If a job opportunity happens to pop up that involves social media, I will jump on it. Thank you for all of the great lessons in this class. I found the section on Google AdWords and SEO were most helpful. Throughout the years, I've become familiar with basic social media platforms, but learning about advertising and targeting an audience was beneficial. 

I never was one for the blogging and constant upkeep of my social media and blog but this class tought me a lot about what to do to stand out. I always use to be the one who would market by face to face conversations with people honing in on my people skills. I was not very good at the internet aspect of marketing myself. I have been talking about my passion with many people and you can see I talk about hockey and sports constantly by following my twitter (patschmidt4) or looking at my blog even though it is not developed but it will be. I recently met a man who literally has worked my dream job as a advertising and sales agent for FSD working with the Tigers and the Red Wings getting his contact information I showed him my passion and expressed my skills and we remain in contact. meeting people like this using my people skills showing them later my internet skills will land me a perfect career and not some job.

To build my personal brand online, I am going to continue to network and build out your LinkedIn contacts. I added all the employees from my internship (SMZ). This has linked me to other professionals that SMZ works with. Seeing what other connections I can make, I will contact employers through there.

I might try building a website that contains my resume, works, and profile that is outside of LinkedIn. I don't want my profile to get lost in the sea of thousands of other profiles. If I send possible employers my webpage, they can easily see who I am as an empoloyee. I can add this page to my LinkedIn, Facebook, etc. This will make me unique, while still using the same networks that are well-known.

 

The biggest thing for me is networking. The more people you know, the more people that you COULD know. It's not about who you already know. It's all about where those ties could lead to. LinkedIn is a great way to do this, and in the future, I'm going to try to keep my LinkedIn profile as updated as possible. First impressions are important, and LinkedIn is a way to get a good first impression, much better than personal social media like Twitter or Facebook. Blogging could be a good way for me to expand my network as well. Good writing attracts people, and those people could be important stepping stones to big things. Since writing is a skill of mine, I'm going to use it as a springboard to get into the professional world, and blogging has taught me how to get my thoughts down in succinct fashion.

With me being a graduating senior this upcoming fall its so important for me to be out here and have a good look for myself! My online brand is something I want to be proud of and have me stick out from the rest. I've already done things I didnt think I would do such as starting a blog and even having a linedIn page which I've come to realize thats a major soure of networking and building yourself with other people becuase its more professional than other sites such as twitter or facebook. I just feel like the most important thing to get ahead is networking! You never know who is who or who your talking to so thats why its always good to be prepared and to be ready with whatevers thrown at you. Social media can be a good and bad thing for an individual just because the content that surrounds your name. People dont want to see you all over the interent represented in a bad way. People want to see postivie and insightful things, thats why online branding is important and some jobs do look to see what content surrounds your name on the net. I will continute to blog and buil out on linkeIn just becuase I see the netowrking possibilities.

This has been a great class! I learned a lot, and it definitely lived up to my expectations. I expect you’ll receive a steady stream of people enrolling in the semesters to come. I know there are many folks like me who are eager to learn more about digital and social media.

The best thing about the course was that it led me to start a blog. I had thought about a blog for a while, but the class provided the impetus to actually do it. My web journal has turned out to be a great creative outlet, and it has allowed others to get a better sense of my personality and interests. Also, the blog has provided another portfolio piece. I definitely plan to continue writing it after the class ends.

I do hope New Media Drivers License will give me a “leg up” on the competition. I now have a much better understanding of how the different social and digital platforms fit together. I also had the opportunity to formulate a social media brand strategy, and that's another portfolio piece I can show to perspective employers.

Thank you, Ross and Derek, for passing along your knowledge! I appreciate your efforts this semester, and I’m sure my classmates feel the same. 

 

I would definitely say that I am going to build myself up through social media, specifically through LinkedIn. Going through this class was an extremely valuable experience, and although we were introduced to building a blog, I do not think that I will keep up with it, mainly because my blog is about sports and my major is Advertising. I find that of all the platforms that we were introduced to in this class, LinkedIn is the most valuable for job opportunities, obviously because it is a social media website designed specifically for jobs. I find that networking with other people, companies, and groups and furthermore, joining THEIR groups, will be the most helpful in broadening my connections to people in the "real world". Today's job opportunites are driven by connections, and I feel that LinkedIn will be the most helpful. I will continue to use both my Facebook and Twitter on a daily basis, but for reasons other than job searching.  

Throughtout this class I have learned so many new things dealing with social media that I never even knew existed. I have learned how to build my name on google and I feel I can make my resume look that much better. I learned how to use social oulets like Linkedin to build mt networking that much better and meet more people with ease. This class has opened my eyes to a whole new field that I can continue to get better in and better myself to land a job I am happy with. I don't think I am going to continue to blog because that is just one thing I am not good at but I will continue to use Twiiter, Linkedin, FourSquare, and FAcebook to better promote myself and use it in a more bussiness savvy manor.

This course taught me a lot about how to use social media to enhance my personal brand. I'm graduating in December, and the job search so far hasn't has the results I would have liked. However, with everything I've learned from this class, I feel like I learned a few new ways to distinguish myself in the competitive job market. LinkedIn and Twitter are two specific places that I hadn't used before to assist with my job search. Throughout this class, I've managed to build up my LinkedIn profile and gain new connections in the public relations industry and network with professionals through Twitter as well. Both are helpful in enhancing your personal brand. I've started searching within LinkedIn and Twitter for individuals that work for a company I'd like to work for, and making a connection through LinkedIn rather than just sending a resume with the masses of other recent college grads. Overall, I learned a lot of things about social media throughout the course, and they will continue to be helpful as I pursue a career in the communications industry.

I've never been into social media before, in the past I have just taken a back seat when it comes to interacting with others through social media outlets. I hope after this class I can begin to open up and make my voice heard. I'll take what I have learned and incorporate it more into my everyday life. I've taken a liking to linkedin thoughout the course of the class and I think I will start to really build that out and personalize it. As for blogging, I'm not sure if I'll continue with it as I never really got into it, perhaps one day. I do however want to expand my contacts across all of my social media outlets. 

Great comments from everyone here.

I think it's important to keep in mind that the tools we use will keep on changing – chances are, we won't be talking too much about Facebook or LinkedIn twenty years from now – but the underlying concepts behind them (and how to work in new media) will likely stay the same.

Writing well and "being a real person" online (as opposed to some corporate-speak voice) will always serve you in the future.

That said - you'd be foolish to leave this course without adding Ross/Derek/anyone else you made a good connection with on LinkedIn! :-)

This course has been extremely insightful by helping me gain more knowledge in the new world of social media.  I had a Facebook and Twitter page before this class but I had never been introduced to Linkedin or blogging.  I now have a better understanding of how to create a personal brand for myself.  I can update my profiles and gain important contacts through them.  I have an internship in Lansing and I can add that to my Linkedin profile which will also help me find and create business relationships.  I have also started to talk to my boss about updating the Twitter page for our work and creating new business ideas to help the company bring in more business.  This class was great and I am excited to see where it will help me out in the future!

This course has really helped me build up my skills to be able to brand myself better, in fact I've already been able to update my resume to mkae it more impressive. I plan to continue blogging and hopefully gaining a network through doing that. The blog I created for this class is dedicated entirely to the beautiful game of soccer, which is a real passion of mine, so I plan to continue with that blog. I think employers can see my passion for writing and soccer through my blog which makes it a great tool for me to stand out. I haven't quite done much with LinkedIn this semester because it still confuses me, but I plan to build my network with LinkedIn a little more too. Obviously I will continue to network on Facebook and Twitter and will start to become more active on both. Throughout this class I've learned that it's extremely important to brand myself so I don't look like every other applicant applying for a job. I want to stick out, and to do so I need to work for it. I'm really happy I chose to take this class because literally everything I learned is useful to make myself a better marketer.

This course has really opened my eyes to the vast number of ways an individual can use the Internet to promote their personal brand. I have learned how important it is to be mindful of your visibility online and to take simple steps to make yourself more searchable. I have really enjoyed using LinkedIn to network and build connections with new people who share my career interests. I would like to continue blogging and improving my ability to write with SEO in mind. I will also use career-focused interests and informative personal interests as descriptions in any social network “about me” sections in order to express my personality while also promoting my professional interests and skills.

 

This class has taught me to embrace the new direction that the Internet has taken us. Everyone is online these days, whether it be your favorite company or your friends and colleagues. After completing this course, I plan on utilizing what I have learned in my quest to find the perfect job. Since I am a marketing major, I now think I might pursue a career in internet-based marketing. There are so many jobs out there in this particular field and it is still so new. There is so much potential to become something great and all it takes is some time and effort. I plan on expanding my personal brand online through the use of social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn because many employers look online before an actual interview. I am excited to add this course to my resume and begin the job hunt!

One lesson I've taken away from this course in regards to personal branding is the importance of consistency. As a result of our lessons in social networking, I'm conscious of keeping a consistent voice in my posts as well as posting content with optimized titles that are also consistent with what I want to be found for. My blog now comes up in Google Searches for my name. I know that will be useful should any prospective employer search for me. I can use my blog as a tool to sell myself and my knowledge. This course has also helped me to think outside the box when it comes to developing internet strategy for clients. Google provides a variety of unique tools that can be used for marketing tactics, so why not use them! I've also recently begun to work with my company's design team to create new pages for client's websites. The design techniques resources we looked at have proved to be extremely useful. 

This course provided some wonderful insight and I am truly glad that I had the chance to take this class. I currently work for Gap Inc.and because of this class I was able to contribute some insightful information to my managers about help selling Gap more and making customers more aware about the brand. I am going to continue to network and stay on top of LinkedIn, I did fall off with that but this class help me to get back focused and start back builiding out my contacts on LinkedIn so that I can find a good paying job with good benefits prior to graduation. All of the lessons I learned in this course I plan to take with me into conducting my own business one day. I really feel like alot of this information was informative as well as even made me learn more about sites that I knew about such as Facebook and Twitter and new sites such as Foursquare which I had never heard of prior to this class sources that I could use to help get my business out on the map when I do decide to start one that will help stand out among the competition.

This class has been one of the most helpful classes I have ever taken. I have learned so much about the new marketing world and how social media has become one of the most popular and efficient ways to increase brand awareness. Seeing that I am going into the media side of the ad industry, digital advertising is something new and exciting. I plan on specializing in it thanks to this course. Branding myself is something that I look forward to doing. I have already started by creating accounts with Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. I am going to update these sites regularly with new information and try to build relationships through them with potential companies and individuals that I hope to work for someday. I also plan on starting a new blog when I go back up to school. I don't mind my original one, but I would like to write about a topic that I find more interesting. I hope that by getting more involved with the internet I can stand out against my competition.