Below are Dr. Nick's notes & links to helpful resources to help you manage you social media presence.
      Because so much depends on your social media presence, (job offers, scholarships, promotions, etc.,) students should invest time and effort in developing and maintaining a positive online "brand." There are no shortcuts or quick fixes to having a successful online presence, but these tools can help. Think of this as part of your current "job" - along with your education - to prepare you for your next chapter in life.

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Take Stock

Find out where you are on social media:

• Google Yourself - in a private or incognito window.
• Learn What Google Knows about You... brace yourselves.
• Apple & Siri know a lot, too - but you will have to dig to find out!
• Make a list of all your social media profile locations to use in Steps 2 and 3.
  

Set a goal of where you want to go:

• Write a solid and strong professional bio to be used as a foundation for all your social media profiles.

Clean Out

Clean up ALL your social media sites by removing or avoiding "red flags" such as language or images that:

• Contain Profanity
• Are Sexually Explicit or Suggestive
• Indicate use of Alcohol or Drugs
• Discriminate against any group of people
• Are derogatory towards Employer, Professor, Company, or Institution
• You wouldn't want your Mom to see

Get a Reputation Report in the  Free Version of BRANDYOURSELF

Build Up

Take charge of your online image by shaping your personal brand.  Give attention to these key steps:

• Use your well-written strong bio (see Step 1) to re-write every social media profile, e.g. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn.  (Google+ is important to your findability!)
  
• Everytime you have a favorable mention on the college website, local news, sports blog, etc. SHARE IT EVERYWHERE.
  
• Same for Academic Achievements, Job Promotion, Community Invovlement - SHARE IT EVERYWHERE.
  
• Use HootSuite to manage your social media accounts and post to all at once.