I am going to be starting my fifth year teaching social media at UofL, and launching my new Advanced SM strategy class as well this term. Personal branding, amongst other applicable topics, is going to be a consistent theme for both classes, but we are going to be making this a key component and emphasis for #FrebergSM (my advanced class). In fact, one of our course books is going to be Mark Schaefer’s KNOWN book (and I am thrilled Mark will be doing a guest talk for my class this spring!).
Google Alerts are great, but we need to think about what are some other tools we need to incorporate into our daily routines. I am a big believer of having a toolkit filled with different options to choose from. There are always some that are better than others. Some are quite expensive, while others are free. It all depends on what you are willing to invest in. With that being said, there are some tools I have been using that have been fantastic, and some I will be sharing this semester.
What are some tools I encourage my students to use for personal branding? Here are some I will be recommending not just for my students, but fellow professionals and educators.
Talkwalker. I have been impressed not only with the content marketing efforts from Talkwalker, but also their platform. This has been the most recent tool I have been using, and it’s been very good and a new component I am adding to analyzing my personal brand. The tool I have been using is Talkwalker’s Alert feature.
I have had a chance to set up search queries and settings for my name, and I have been impressed with the results. You are able to search for your name across Twitter, blogs, and the news and tailor this according to the frequency you want the reports to come back to you. Another very cool thing is you are able to export the alerts and import from Google Alerts as well. It’s a one stop shop! If you have not had a chance to check it out, you should!
Mention. This is a great service as well to be able to monitor your own brand, but also competitors and key words. I have been able to use the free version (used to be free and then a price structure was set up). I do like the fact you are able to see the actual tweets and click on them to go directly to the platform. In addition, Mention has not only coverage on what you are able to analyze what you are able to get from your own brand, but competitors as well.
Whether it is other brands, companies, or fellow professionals, you are able to get a lot of information here. I also see the vast amount of opportunities they have with creating Influencer campaigns (will be coming soon!) and Influencer Detection (this is a new feature for them!). Lots of ways to really personalize the reports and data here (love the Insights feature – great way to personalize the data!) Individual accounts are about $29/month and they have other options as well.
Klear. I have been a big fan of Klear for years, and have been able to use the tool for my social media class with the Louisville Bats last year. It’s great to see who all are influencers and mentions along with content management across different platforms. Great presentation of the results and access to the data. The price ranges here as well for this particular platform, but it is very affordable. It only focuses on analyzing online presence on IG, FB, and Twitter, but it is still very good.
Summary
Personal branding should be one of the main areas to cover for classes and embrace as a social media professional. Creating content, engaging in conversations, building networks, and establishing thought leadership activities can only go so far.
We, as professionals, are managing one of the most important clients we will able to work with: ourselves.
Like clients and campaigns, we have to embrace using data to analyze and figure out what we need to do to improve our standing in the profession. I would recommend definitely integrating Talkwalker, Mention, and Klear not only for the personal branding strategies for students and colleagues, but also for yourself.
What other tools are you all using?
Hope you all are having a great day!
Best Wishes,
