1: Personal branding for researchers
In this chapter
Personal branding: why you should do it
Personal branding is not just for celebrities or those in the corporate sector. As a researcher, adopting the techniques and practices developed in business schools to create your own personal brand can be a powerful tool for marketing yourself.
Many researchers are uncomfortable with the idea of promoting themselves or their work. The general opinion seems to be “let your work do the talking”. However, no one will know about your work unless you tell them about it. As an early career researcher, it is absolutely essential to promote yourself.
After your PhD you may take time and effort to write a book, but how will it be doing a couple of years after publication? There are steps you can take to avoid it becoming one of those books left in some lonely corner of the library.
Academic reputation is important
Recognition by your peers is likely to be taken into account in the Research Excellence Framework as well as university appointments and promotions. Universities are increasingly looking at the contribution of academics in terms of their public profile and the impact of their research beyond academia.
Traditional methods of marketing your work include attending conferences and publishing in journals and books. These are still very important, but personal branding increasingly takes place on the internet. Here are some useful online tools for personal branding.
Developing an online profile page
Today it is essential for all early career researchers to have an online profile. It is common for employers to Google applicants’ names before they even create a shortlist.
Most universities will provide you with a profile page where you can list your contact details, research interests and publications. This can be very useful in ensuring that your work will appear high in Google results because university domains are favoured by Google ranking algorithms.
Make the most of online repositories like Warwick Research Archive Portal (WRAP)1 which will promote your work beyond your time at the institution.
When it comes to maintaining lists of your publications on such sites, it is wise to keep these in an easily exportable format.
You might want to invest in a personalised domain name (preferably yourname.com) and hosted website as a place to build your profile online. Take a look at my own website (http://www.dilipmutum.com). You might change universities or move into the corporate or public sectors during the course of your career; having a personal website will ensure that you have an online profile which is not tied down to a single organisation.
Promote your book online
Even if you are not keen on building a site to promote yourself personally, consider creating a website to support your book or to share your research with a wider audience.
The promotional pages provided by publishers and organisations may not promote your work in a way that is tailored optimally to your audience. You know your own work best – and creating a promotional page can show your work to its best advantage.
Working papers
Credit often goes to the person who publishes first so it’s a good idea to put a working paper online. This way of registering your contribution to the field is often used in the social sciences. Because they are easy to access, it is not surprising that some online working papers are cited more than journal articles.
Blogs
Blogs are also becoming more and more popular among researchers. These websites are interactive and dynamic compared to traditional static sites, which merely publish information online. Running a blog makes it possible to share your thoughts and research with a much wider audience, as well as receive comments and feedback.
Social networks
Social networking sites are not just places to keep in touch with old friends or play games. Usually the first result you see when you Google a person’s name are either their Facebook or LinkedIn page.
LinkedIn is often considered the more professional of the two, but Facebook can also be used in a professional manner, for personal branding. A younger generation of researchers are increasingly using Facebook to develop contacts and have academic exchanges.
The problem with Facebook is that there is a risk that unguarded personal conversations (and sometimes inappropriate photographs posted by friends) might bring your professionalism and integrity into question: the key is to manage your Facebook presence with a degree of caution and to use all its features to help you present your best image.
Another social networking site which is becoming popular with researchers is academia.edu. This social network is targeted specifically at academics but so far lacks the popularity and flexibility offered by the other networks.
Google yourself
Developing and managing an online presence should be an important part of your personal branding strategy. If you want to see what others will find out about you then you should Google your own name from time to time.
You can also try searching for keywords relevant to your research on important sites like Google and academic databases. Can you improve the ranking of your own work to these searches by putting those keywords into the titles of your work?
Don’t be afraid of the internet
Some people, perhaps especially researchers, are uncomfortable with the idea of posting work or other information online. They might be afraid someone will steal their work or ideas, for example. But this is an increasingly outdated concept in this digital age. There is an ever-growing movement towards open access and the democratisation of knowledge. Promoting yourself on the internet is now essential for your long-term career success.
Related researcher articles on the Wolfson Research Exchange site
http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/library/researchexchange/topics/gd0036/
http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/library/researchexchange/topics/gd0037/
http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/library/researchexchange/topics/gd0007/
http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/library/researchexchange/topics/gd0040/
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