You've got a job that wants you to use social media professionally, but so far, you've only been using it to share snarky comments with your family and friends. How do you blend your personal and professional brand on social media? It's a common problem, and one that the World Champion of Air Guitar had to face, as his public profile and professional career took off concurrently. Callahan Creek's Senior Social Media Community Manager takes you through his personal journey in building a brand -- from musician to game show contestant to film critic to social media professional to air guitar champion. If he can make all of these disparate personalities work, you can too!

1. How To Meld Your
Personal & Professional
Online Brand
Eric Melin
Senior Social Media
Community Manager
@SceneStealrEric

2. Or: How I Learned
to Stop Worrying
& Embrace Air
How To Meld Your
Personal & Professional
Online Brand

3. You may not know it,
but you already have
a personal brand.

4. You may not know
it, but you already
have a personal
brand.

5. And it may get you
fired before you
even start your
job.

6. 93% of hiring managers will
review your social media
profile before a job offer.
1 out of 3 companies rejected candidates based
upon something found in their social media
profiles.
- Staff.com, Jobvite 2014 surveys

7. 92% of companies use social
media for recruitment.
79% of recruiters report they have found
candidates through LinkedIn.
26% find candidates through Facebook.
14% through Twitter. - Jobvite survey, 2014

8. Why Develop a
Personal Brand?
• Build credibility with your
target audience
• Showcase your specialty
• Differentiate yourself from
competition
• Refine and develop your
focus
• Forces you to be
consistent, develop routine
Images: personalbrandingblog.com, executiveresumebranding.com

9. A strong professional network
gives you a leg up.
“Increasingly, job hunters are tapping into
their social networks and connecting with
peers who are currently employed in their
chosen field to find out about job
opportunities that haven’t been posted
publicly.” - Fast Company, 2014

10. Tell your own story. Don’t let
the web do it for you.
The web and social networks are
gathering and sharing info about you
already – it’s time for you to own that
info and shape it so it’s beneficial to
you.

11. You can’t start
soon enough.

12. “Your personal brand is essentially your
professional reputation. It’s what other
people say about you when you’re not in
the room.”
– Rosetta Thurman, Stanford Social Innovation Review

13. Your brand isn’t your resume – it should
reflect facets of your personality, not just
job-oriented stuff.
Image: branditecture.com

14. Be genuine.
More than self-
promotion, it’s a
representation of
who you really are.
If you are genuine,
you can connect
with others with
similar interests.

15. Real people are
well-rounded.
They have hobbies
as well as
professional goals.

16. Intelligent,
media-savvy,
and that you understand business
communication best practices.
Having a personal brand
also shows that you are:

17. That’s personal and professional
development.
Your personal brand can morph and
change over time.

18. 10 years ago I didn’t know what a personal or
professional brand was ...

19. Or at least I didn’t THINK I knew what one was.
I knew enough about branding to get on game shows?!

20. ...and fooled publicists into thinking I was
important enough to interview A-list movie stars!

21. I parlayed that media savvy into public speaking.
Once I started my real career ...

22. But your personal brand can take you to some strange
places.
Melding the personalities can be challenging ...

23. ... really strange places.
Melding the personalities can be challenging ...

24. It can also give you authority, legitimacy, and
confidence where you least expect it.

25. No one wants to interact with a
company stooge.
Don’t separate business/personal.

26. Content/news organizations can pull off a
“broadcast only” attitude because there’s an
audience that wants their content in real-time.

27. But real people need to create/curate
content and engage as themselves.

28. Where to start, you narcissist?
Image: huffingtonpost.com

29. yourself.

30. Try to get your name as a unique
URL.

31. If you don’t have a unique name,
create one.

32. If you don’t have a unique name,
create one.

33. Do research - look at successful
people in your field.
What social media platforms are they on?
How does their strategy differ on each platform?
Different platforms work better for different
industries/verticals.
Image: blog.socialcontentmarketing.com

34. Don’t spread yourself too thin.
Be strategic and consistent.
Image: emilyridge.ie

35. If you’re going to have
a homepage, keep it
current.

36. Time for some self-examination.
Define yourself.
Image: huffingtonpost.com

37. Image: thefirstfewseconds.com

38. Define yourself.
What are your values?
Examples: Family, friends, hard work,
positivity, community, passion,
generosity, curiosity, fun, faith,
leadership, making a difference.
How can you express those values?

39. Define yourself.
What are your strengths/goals?
Think about things you are naturally good at.
How can you help others?
How can you tie those into personal and
professional goals?

40. Image: thefirstfewseconds.com
+
goals!
Interests

41. Define yourself.
What are your interests?
How can your interests reinforce your
personality?
Do facets of your interests dovetail with your
values and strengths?

42. Not sure?
Ask friends to name the first things that
come to mind when they think about
who you are.

43. Build a hub for your brand.

46. Make sure your bio tells people
exactly what kind of content they
can expect from you.

47. Don’t try to be all things to all people.
Carve out your niche.
Differentiate yourself.
Exhibit unique opinions.

48. Don’t try to be all things to all people.
Carve out your niche.
Differentiate yourself.
Exhibit unique opinions.

49. But don’t be a jerk or a contrarian just to be
different.
Be able to back your opinions up.

50. Because you’re probably not the only person
saying something “different.”

51. You don’t absolutely HAVE TO get a
professional headshot, but it wouldn’t be a
bad idea.
Image: theantisocialmedia.com

52. Let your profile pic reflect your personality,
but don’t be an idiot.
Make sure its fairly recent and you’re
recognizable.
Put your best foot forward.
Images: andrewmacarthy.com

53. Post with purpose.
Everything you share, post, or respond to is
building your brand.
When you are authentic and honest, it will start to
come naturally.
Stay cognizant of your values, interests and
strengths.

55. Post with purpose.
It doesn’t always have to be original content, but
even retweets and reposts should fit your brand.

57. Create and curate content within
your interests.
If you find a piece of content valuable, its likely
others will too.
Become an authority in your niche.
Share content and add more value to it.

59. Ask questions.
Help others.
Reciprocation is the best kind of conversation.

60. Get excited about things.
Exhibit passion.
Be a true community
member.
Support others.
Don’t just self-promote.

61. Get excited about things.
Exhibit passion.
Be a true community
member.
Support others.
Don’t just self-promote.

62. What Not to Post About
• Drugs, sex, alcohol, guns -
unless its part of your brand
• Bad grammar, poor spelling
• Complaining - especially about
your job
• Don’t post when you’re
supposed to be working (or
not working) - unless its part of
your brand
• Negativity about client, boss,
co-worker
• Company secrets
• No oversharing!
• Stay away from politics -
unless its part of your brand or
job. Either way, be aware of
the bigger picture.

63. Unless its Part of Your Brand
I use Untappd, but I don’t
share what I drink to a
wider audience.
In small doses, something like this helps build my brand. It’s a yearly local
event when Chocolate Ale is rolled out, and it illustrates that my movie
criticism can be lighthearted.

64. Connect your online world to
your real-life world.
Relationships are more important than resumes.
Network and participate in person.
Don’t let this be you ->

66. Live your values.
Live your brand.
Reach your goals.
If you examine your brand and find it isn’t living up
to your values, take a moment and re-calibrate.
If a job change or goal change occurs, refine and
revise your brand.

67. Bring your best self.
Share it with the world.
Bring your heart, soul and head,
Your passions and your promise.
Great things will happen!
Meghan M. Biro, Forbes

68. Or: How I Learned
to Stop Worrying
& Embrace Air
Thank you!
@SceneStealrEric
How To Meld Your
Personal & Professional
Online Brand