KAYLAN CARPENTER

TRMA 585 P1: Developing A Professional Online Identity Spring

2012

ONLINE IDENTITIES, PERSONAL BRANDING, SOCIAL MEDIA

LINKEDIN

• LinkedIn seems to be the perfect answer to social networking without

having to cross paths with your personal Facebook site.

• Easy to set up and use, more and more professionals are using it to attract

employment and search for jobs, and connecting to professional groups.

• Upload a resume, build your profile and ask for recommendations all from

one site.

• Study that shows LinkedIn is a hot social networking site : http://videos.webpronews.com/2011/07/new-study-proves-value-of-linkedin/

ONLINE PRIVACY

• Nothing that you place online is private, and even though you delete or erase thoughts or images they are never truly gone. Keep in mind when thinking about the future and employment

• A tip sheet for staying safe: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B_0Fn6B0sB1xNzRhYmIzYmQtNmExMi00ZjFjLTlkYjUtMjZlYzhmZDNjMzkw/edit?pli=1

• Remember you can be tracked or found online via, web posts, birthdates, pictures, and friends sites. Keep this in too consideration when

• Think before you put something online, and talk to your friends as well about what they post.

TWITTER #TRMA585

• A way to share your thoughts with the world• A way to link to other professionals, get there

opinions and share yours, a possible way to promote yourself and your business• A link to the AAMFT video of Twitter for therapists

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uD7OjyqJ3JQ&feature=youtu.be• Very enjoyable way to keep up professionally,

possibly leading to business ventures. • Hashtags (#......) a way to tweet or connect to an

idea of interest.

GOOGLE PLUS (G+)

• Google Plus is a newer social network, a bit of a cross between Twitter and Facebook• A new site that is not yet used as much as Facebook and Twitter, but still has relevant use.• A bonus for someone that wants to keep all information within Google (mail, social networking, websites. • Keep informed on security issues, and make sure you read the new security policy. • I personally did not make an account

PROFESSIONAL FACEBOOK PAGES

• A well known site that is easy to use and has the added benefits of being used by many, although could get confusing to keep personal and business separate.

• A link discussing Facebook pages for therapists http://blogs.psychcentral.com/private-practice/2011/08/facebook-pages-for-therapists/

• Should friends or personal clients be invited to join your Facebook site.?? Confusing ethically, could require a special section in the PDS.

LEARNING FROM MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS & ORGANIZATIONS

• Lets not re-invent the wheelIf you have questions, ask someone or research someone with more experienced

I really liked Dr. Keely Holmes, PsyD & Julie HanksBoth I felt had valuable tools for all therapists to consider.

• Be involved with your membership organizations (AAMFT, ACA, APA) Keep up with what's going on.

• Ignorance is no excuse.

BLOGS: BLOGGER, WORDPRESS, TUMBLR, POSTEROUS

• Blogging- A great way to share material with others online. Therapists can use blogs to post valuable information to perspective clients as well as give perspective clients an idea of personality and style before scheduling an appointment.

• I loved word press as it seemed easy to set up and use. I found many other clinicians also using that site.

• Blogger was also a useful site to learn about as it uses a lot of the Google products that we also learned about in this class

PORTFOLIOS & PROFILES

http://about.me/smoothchanges

MANAGING YOUR ONLINE IDENTITY

• HooteSuite, TweetDeck and Seesmic are popular social media communications dashboards used for online brand management.• Google alerts send you daily emails of things that you have tagged as having an interest in.• I found that managing your online identity to be a daunting task with all the different sites and updates to do. I absolutely fell in love with HootSuite. It seems easy to use

and keeps track of everything for you. I found that many other clinicians use it too.

WEBSITES & DOMAIN NAMES

• Ever thought it was hard to make a website….. Think again check out a way to do it in five easy steps

http://www.makeawebsiteguide.com/5/how-to- make-a-website/• Love the idea of starting a webpage both for my business and possibly for my hobby. Use this link

to check and see if the name you always wanted is available. http://namechk.com/ • I used to think that making a website was so difficult, no I am excited to get started.

HAVING AN IMPACT• Social media – such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, & websites can give individuals a voice to the world

• Many are using these sites to get important topics out to the general population that does not know they exist.

• Individuals are making a difference in the lives of millions, because of their want to make a difference.

• Are you ready to make change happen???

GOALS & STRATEGIES

• Figure out a plan, who you want to attract, and what you hope to gain out of having social media as part of your business

• Identify ways to standout

• If you don’t have a lot of time pick one for two social sites to be involved in full time instead of trying to keep up with all of them

• Track your progress, if you start with goals you will be able to see if you are meeting them, if your not reevaluate your plan.

• A way to post PowerPoint's, articles and other information to share with the world• Works very well for big events such as conferences or for educators at school, to give an entire group your presentation to follow along with• It is very easy to get drawn to slideshare and lose track of time. Be careful on your hours spent looks at others when you could be build your own

FINAL THOUGHTS• Coming to the end of my graduate career I am thankful for all of the information that we learned to help start a private practice and help to brand ourselves.

• Although it will be a bit before I launch my own business, all of the resources I have gathered will help me to formulate a smart business plan when the times comes.

• I really appreciated all of the info specific to the mental health

profession including confidentiality and ethics.