Whether you're building a personal, professional or corporate brand, social media has come to play a major role. My presentation will walk attendees through the how’s and why’s of using many of the major social media outlets. Presented at The GeekFest by Stephanie Boyette Nelson Social Media Maven at SBN Marketing http://www.sbnmktg.com stephanie@sbnmktg.com @StephanieNelson @SBNMktg Stephanie Boyette Nelson is a Charlotte area marketing professional with more than 15 years of experience in marketing, including print advertising, newsletters, events, email newsletters, paid search and SEO. Stephanie is the owner of SBN Marketing, a boutique social media marketing firm focused on using hyperlocal search results to help small businesses get found online.

1. Social Media for
Branding
Personal, Professional or Corporate - The Basics Are the Same
sbnmktg.com ~ stephanie@sbnmktg.com ~ 704.218.9043

2. Why Online Branding Is Important
For individuals:
❖ 70% of hiring managers say they’ve rejected a
candidate based on information they’ve found
online. – Washington Post, 1/28/10
❖ 37% of employers use Facebook to prescreen
applicants. – Huffington Post, 4/12/12
❖ 91% of recruiters use social networks to
evaluate job applicants. – 2011 Reppler Survey
❖ Employers admit they’re looking for resume
exaggerations & whether applicant would be a
good fit for their culture.
sbnmktg.com ~ stephanie@sbnmktg.com ~ 704.218.9043

3. Why Online Branding Is Important
For businesses:
❖ Online/Social Media is the new “word of
mouth” marketing...just with much wider
reach.
❖ Studies show that over 80% of Internet
users do research via a search engine
before they buy a product or service.
❖ Majority of people research local
businesses online before doing business
with them in person.
sbnmktg.com ~ stephanie@sbnmktg.com ~ 704.218.9043

4. Why Social Media Is Important
❖ Posts/updates are indexable
points for the search engines.
❖ Keyword-rich posts will help you
get found AND show off your
interests & expertise.
❖ The more items you have
indexed, the more likely you are
to show up in search engine
results.
sbnmktg.com ~ stephanie@sbnmktg.com ~ 704.218.9043

5. Strategies/Methods - General
❖ Individuals Should Open & Maintain
Profiles on the Major Social Outlets
❖ Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn,
Google+, Pinterest, Blog.
❖ Businesses Should Also Claim Major
Online Profiles & Directories.
❖ Google Places/Google+ Local,Yahoo
& Bing Local, Merchant Circle,
Insider Pages, Superpages,Yelp, etc.
❖ Fill out info completely with keyword-
rich content to make them appealing to
the search engines.
sbnmktg.com ~ stephanie@sbnmktg.com ~ 704.218.9043

6. Strategies/Methods - Overview
❖ Analyze which social media outlets contain your audience.
❖ Business - Where are your potential clients?
❖ Individuals - Where are your potential employers?
❖ Compose keyword-rich posts that engage your audience AND read well to
the search engines.
sbnmktg.com ~ stephanie@sbnmktg.com ~ 704.218.9043

7. Strategies/Methods - Facebook
❖ Best for individuals & B2C
businesses.
❖ Businesses should be sure to set up
a company page, not a personal
profile with your business
information.
❖ Individuals should never trust
security settings.
❖ Posts and information can be
indexed.
sbnmktg.com ~ stephanie@sbnmktg.com ~ 704.218.9043

8. Strategies/Methods - LinkedIn
❖ Best for individuals & B2B businesses, but works for all.
❖ LinkedIn is considered a search engine in its own right,
and the keywords in your profile will allow you to be
found by searchers (like headhunters, recruiters, etc.).
❖ Personal profiles can be indexed for company name and
specialties, as well.
❖ Businesses should set up a company LinkedIn page, as
well as optimized personal profiles for another SERP
point of indexing.
sbnmktg.com ~ stephanie@sbnmktg.com ~ 704.218.9043

9. Strategies/Methods - YouTube
❖ Take advantage of a YouTube channel - it’s the
2nd largest search engine, only behind Google.
❖ Another entry point into SERPs.
❖ Google puts emphasis on their own properties
& YouTube is Google’s video outlet.
❖ Ideas
❖ Businesses: facility tours, staff member bios, how tos, etc.
❖ Individuals: presentations, video resumes, talk about your
expertise/passion.
sbnmktg.com ~ stephanie@sbnmktg.com ~ 704.218.9043

10. Strategies/Methods - Pinterest
❖ Another entry point into SERPs.
❖ Great way to show off interests, personal &
professional!
❖ Ideas
❖ Businesses: Show industry expertise with your own
videos & blog posts, repinning industry info, etc.
❖ Individuals: Show personality with personal-type pins
(ie style, humor, etc.) while still showing professional
expertise with professional-type boards & pins.
sbnmktg.com ~ stephanie@sbnmktg.com ~ 704.218.9043

11. Strategies/Methods - E-mail
❖ Easy place to show professionalism.
❖ Grammar, spelling & punctuation matter!
❖ Do NOT use text-speak.
❖ Address matters. Employers & clients pay attention.
❖ Would you hire sexykitty@xyz.com or
stephanie@sbnmktg.com?
❖ Would you work with sbnmarketing@yahoo.com or
stephanie@sbnmktg.com?
❖ E-mail signature is a GREAT place to include links to
social media outlets. Show you’ve got nothing to hide!
sbnmktg.com ~ stephanie@sbnmktg.com ~ 704.218.9043

12. Important Pieces of the Puzzle
❖ Make sure information is the same across channels.
❖ Address, Phone Number, Web Address, E-mail Address, Offers, etc.
❖ Make sure all pieces send the same message.
❖ Businesses: Print, online, e-mail, direct mail, etc.
❖ Individuals: Social media, resume, e-mail signature,
etc.
sbnmktg.com ~ stephanie@sbnmktg.com ~ 704.218.9043

13. What to Expect for Your Brand
❖ OWN IT! Big brands don’t let others define them; neither should you.
❖ Know what’s out there about you/your brand. Don’t let your reputation
proceed you without you even knowing what it is!
❖ Stop thinking search results will appear overnight.
❖ Search engine algos change a lot. Do your best &
don’t stop trying to learn.
❖ Keep an eye on new outlets - which are worth
your time? Analyze your audience & where/how
you want to be found.
❖ Social media can turn into a time suck. Figure out how
much you can handle, and handle those things well.
sbnmktg.com ~ stephanie@sbnmktg.com ~ 704.218.9043

14. So...
❖ Questions?
❖ Comments?
sbnmktg.com ~ stephanie@sbnmktg.com ~ 704.218.9043