Beer and Branding for Graduate BioSciences (Oct 2016)

Beer &

Branding

Kimberley R. Barker, MLISLibrarian for Digital Life

Claude Moore Health Sciences Library

What is personal branding?The process by which you match

your public image to your inner values, for the purpose of establishing yourself

professionally and personally.

Consider the Party Metaphor.

Why does personal branding

matter?

For several reasons!

• You have a gift to give to the world

• There are people who need your gift

• You have bills to pay

In other words, it can lead to this:

But how do you achieve this?

• Infrastructure

• Identity

• Establish

• Maintain

Brand Infrastructure

• Your expertise

– Degrees

– Experience

• Your interests

– Not necessarily related to professional expertise

– Passion

Brand Infrastructure

• Authenticity

– Three cornerstone words

• Mission Statement

– No more than three sentences

• Board of Directors

– A mix of personal and professional/academic

Brand Identification

Brand Identification

• Consider the following:

– Your first thought

– How did it make you feel

– What do you want people to think of when they see your name or photo?

Once you know what your brand is…

• Establish– Online/social media

• ORCID

• ResearchGate

• Maintain– Posting schedule

– 80/20 rule

– Update info promptly

Complementary Considerations

• Reputation management

• Privacy

• Security

Reputation Management• Defining the “reputation economy”

• What is “Google Truth”?

• How does Google work?

• Defining online reputation management services

• Establishing a reputation management plan

• Understanding the real-life ramifications of reputation damage

• Reputation restoration

Privacy

• What you choose to share

– Consciously

• LinkedIn

• Facebook

• Tumblr

– Unconsciously

• Privacy settings

• Passcoded phone/computer

Security

How “safe” your data is

Varying levels of privacy AND

security

It’s ok if you don’t have it all figured out

For that reason…

• Make sure that your digital presence reflects who you are in this moment:

– Establish & maintain an authentic social media presence

– Revisit any public information (bios, social media platforms, mission statements) at least annually

– Make sure that your photos are current; update annually, or after a major change

Questions?

Kimberley R. Barker, MLIS

@KR_Barker

Grumpy_Cat@virginia.edu