Today I had the opportunity to be the inaugural keynote speaker for Full Sail University‘s Student Branding Society. Full Sail course director, Robert Croll and Ryan Mickley, who had the vision to create this group, have done a great job with creating an inspirational group for those seeking ideas on expanding their network and personal brand.
I was honored for this opportunity to complete the “Laura Gainor Utilizing Social Media” story by bringing together the timeline of events of how I was hired at Comet Branding + PR.
I walked through my presentation, showcasing the various events that occurred in such a short time to bring me to Comet Branding, and left the group with tips on how they can start creating their personal brand through social media. This is a topic I’m very passionate about and hope I can make an impact on those job seekers to help them find their dream job.
If you have additional questions and ideas on personal branding, please feel free to leave them in the comments field or contact me directly.
I attended your presentation through the Student Branding Society at Full Sail University. You provided insightful strategies for self branding. It was a great kick off to this new group of students from an array of disciplines and interests. Thank you for being our first keynote speaker.
Megan, thank you for the nice comment. I enjoyed speaking to the Student Branding Society group. Everyone had great questions. I wish you the best.
Great post Laura.
I’m actually presenting the topic of online Personal Branding to a group in Toronto mid-September. I will reference some of your shared experiences here. I completely agree with your approach on personal branding to find jobs. So many university graduates are struggling to ‘find’ jobs… when I tell them “You don’t find jobs in todays world, jobs find you” 🙂
This is an area people are slowing beginning to understand and recognize the real value.
Cheers.
Dan
Hi!! I loved your presentation!
At my University we just had 2 weeks of masterclasses concerning this topic. I’m currently writing an essay on this topic.
I just had one question. What would you define as a disadvantage of using social media for personal branding. Of course there is the risk of oversharing, or sharing the wrong information, but do you have anything else?
Thanks so much!
Eline Brandt
The Netherlands
Hi Eline. Thank you for your comment. I hope your classes have been going well. Social media can also have risks for personal branding. It depends on your approach and the information you publish. You need to be aware of your audience and risks of posting certain information. You need to be careful to not burn any bridges with relationships, both personal and professional.
In my case with the presentation to get hired at Comet Branding, I put myself out there for one company in hopes of getting hired. There was a successful outcome, but there are also those risks of it not working out. The great thing about social media is that everyone sees your approach in targeting a particular company, so if it doesn’t work out with the one you were planning to work at, other companies may be impressed with your approach.
I see more advantages with social media giving you a voice for personal branding. Best of luck and thanks again for checking out my blog.
~Laura
Laura,
The fact that your presentation has the ability to reach students in different countries is proof of social media’s power and persuasion. This would have never happened without Web 2.0.
To Eline’s question, I strongly believe that there are no disadvantages to using social media to establish and/or promote your personal brand. There may be challenges, such as negative comments, incriminating pictures, or recorded statements that can go viral more easily than ever before. But social media could be used to promote your personal brand just as much as it could be used to ruin your personal brand. That’s why it is essential to be the captain of the social media campaigns being used to form your brand. The conversation is happening with or without you, so if you are not available to defend your personal brand, who will? Furthermore, I am glad that social media is forcing us to be a radically transparent society. Finally we are being held accountable for our actions and required to think before we act. Maybe this revolution will help develop a more responsible and honorable world. -I wish you the best in your studies.
Laura- the virtual Full Sail campus is still a buzz about your presentation!