I will be teaching a very exciting, new course at Stanford Continuing Studies this Fall: “The Brand Called You: Personal Branding and Reputation Management.” The origins of the course lay in the many, many requests I get these days from high-profile individuals for “reputation management” as well as from marketers, business owners, and job-seekers who want to project a positive brand image on the Internet, or even “thought leadership” in a topic. A course like this could really make you stand out to employers all over the country, and you could end up working for a blog like Oregon Web Solutions Marketing Blog.
Tragically, many people do not worry about their personal brand until it’s too late: until a malicious attacker attempts to damage their online reputation. This could be similar to a business who uses invoicing incorrectly, it could also cause a bad reputation thus affecting a person’s business, however, for those who find themselves in this kind of predicament a simple invoice template could help them keep track of their clients and other types of important information that could save their reputation.
If you are a business owner, marketer, or a job-seeker, this two-day crash course at Stanford will be a solid introduction to personal branding and reputation management. Course dates will be November 8 and 9 at Stanford. To sign up, visit Stanford Continuing Studies, and make sure to be on their mailing list for the Fall catalog. If you don’t live in the San Francisco Bay Area and/or can’t make it to Palo Alto for the class, there is unfortunately no online equivalent; but feel free to reach out to me for any consulting needs. If you’d prefer to simply hire a reputation management company to help you, there are plenty available who specialise in different industries for example reputation management for doctors.
Syllabus for Personal Branding and Reputation Management
In today’s Internet age, it’s no secret that everyone Googles everything, including potential spouses, hires, friends, nannies, and any other personal contacts. The worst thing that could possibly happen is if you start a business and due to inefficient reputation management, your startup is shunned. It’s important to take advantage of the resources made available to you, like this online reputation management software for small businesses, or the following workshop. In this intensive two-day workshop, we will explore personal branding on the Internet as well as reputation management, the former being positive things to do to create a personal brand and the latter being strategies to deal with negative attacks on your brand. Our goal for the workshop is to create a personal branding plan.
Course Syllabus / Outline
Day One: 10-4 pm Stanford University
Personal Branding. What is personal branding? What is reputation management? Defining your personal brand – from a person looking for a job or building a career, to a small business owner, to the CEO or other highly visible representative of a non-profit or corporation.
Google Thyself. Understanding how Google and search engines work. A “crash course” in SEO (Search Engine Optimization). Creating a list of sites to launch to dominate the “ten blue links” that define your online search results.
Your Website or Blog. Creating a foundational website or blog for personal branding. Using WordPress or Blogger, and choosing a domain. Creating anchor pages, as well as learning how to blog around your keywords and personal brand goals.
Social Media and Personal Branding. Setting up and using Twitter, YouTube and Google+ effectively. Using LinkedIn as a central point for personal branding online: building a strong profile, growing connections, and researching and reaching out to connections for personal brand purposes.
Day Two: 10-4 pm Stanford University
Amazon and Personal Branding. How to review books online and repurpose that content. Self-publishing books via Creatspace or KDP, and setting up an author page as well as listmanias on Amazon.
Link-Building and Social Mentions. Using “off page” SEO tactics to boost your chosen sites to the top of Google and Bing. Identifying link targets and soliciting links, and social mentions.
Press releases and Personal Brand Management. Creating your first press release.
Reputation Management. Monitoring your personal brand online using Google Alerts and canned search technology. Crowding out the possibility for negative attacks, and even using “dark” tactics against attacking websites or bloggers.
Creating a Personal Branding Plan. Creating a personal branding plan, and building the foundation. Constructing a monthly and weekly rhythm to enhance your brand.
Course Grading Options
No grade requested. Just show up for class.
Credit. Take and successfully pass a short online exam on personal branding concepts learned in class, no later than one week after class date. Participate in class discussion.
Letter Grade. Take and successfully pass a short online exam on personal branding concepts learned in class, no later than one week after class date. Participate in class discussion. Submit a one page OUTLINE of your personal branding plan, no later than one week after class date.
Course Readings
Students are strongly encouraged to read “The Brand Called You” by Tom Peters, available online at http://www.fastcompany.com/28905/brand-called-you. Additional readings and resources will be made available at class.
