“To be in business today, our most important job is to be head marketer for the brand called You. It’s that simple and that hard. And that inescapable.” – Tom Peters.

Professionals in the digital age stand when they strengthen their personal brands.

Your brand shows people the principles and expertise you bring to your industry.

It opens doors to new opportunities for networking and career advancement. It requires introspection, effort, and courage.

Are you ready for the challenge of creating your personal brand? Keep reading!

What is personal branding? 

Personal branding is the process of building a distinct, public persona for yourself. You have to understand and define yourself to develop a consistent image and message that reflect you as a brand.

The way Apple has made a brand image for their iPhones, making your brand means consciously constructing how the world sees you. You are the product. You have to demonstrate your valuable qualities to communities where you thrive. 

Your personal brand matters 

Crafting your personal brand aligns with your personality, strengths, goals, and behavior. It allows you to place yourself in the world, giving you a sense of purpose and direction. In a professional context, a solid personal brand pushes you to the front of the line and brings you more confidence in your abilities. With a strong personal identity, you create a meaningful, lasting impression on everyone you meet.

Keep going to learn four more reasons why you should start branding yourself today!

1️⃣Take control of your story

When you create a personal brand, you carefully craft and present your own narrative. You are in charge of how others perceive you, so your story is told in a way that’s true to who you are.

Furthermore, by owning your story, you build a strong connection with your audience. When people see that your personal brand genuinely aligns with your values and beliefs, they’re more likely to trust you. This is how you build a loyal following.

2️⃣Show expertise

Suppose you’re a marketing expert. As you create your brand, you’ll share information about your experience, as well as examples of your work, success stories, and any of your awards to demonstrate your expertise in action. 

By presenting yourself in this way, you show potential clients, employers, or partners that you are a knowledgeable and trustworthy expert.

3️⃣Create connections

“Relationships are the currency of business,” said William Arruda. 

Your personal brand earns that currency. Your brand makes it easier for others to understand what you do and why they need you. By consistently sharing valuable and engaging content that mirrors your brand, your following of like-minded individuals will stay interested in what you offer. 

4️⃣Attract more opportunities 

When you differentiate yourself from others, people notice you. It increases your visibility and credibility in your field and, in turn, brings you more business opportunities, job offers, speaking engagements, or partnerships.

Learn from the best: 5 Personal Brand examples 

Creating a personal brand is more than just updating your résumé and TikTok bio. Take inspiration from professionals who have mastered personal branding. 

Ann Handley – Marketing

Anyone in the marketing space knows Ann Handley – digital marketing pioneer, chief content officer at MarketingProfs, and best-selling author of Everybody Writes. Her personal brand is all over her media footprint. “Empowering Ridiculously Good Marketing” greets you upon visiting her personal website. Her impressive LinkedIn profile invites you to take a look at her “Total Annarchy Newsletter.” 

In her own words, Ann Handley says she didn’t set out to build her own brand but tried to help marketers be better at their jobs, and her efforts to teach others have paid off. Her brand shows how being authentic and sharing your knowledge can go a long way in building your brand. 

Kevin Indig – SEO

As one of the best SEO experts in the world, Kevin Indig has a solid foundation for his personal brand: a professional website highlighting his work, a great Twitter and LinkedIn profile, a podcast called TechBound, and his weekly newsletter, Growth Memo, which has over 8000 subscribers. 

Kevin actively engages with his peers in the SEO community. From checking Twitter for article ideas to creating new opportunities for collaboration, Kevin uses his social media sites really well. See the following post, for instance, where he jokes with a friend about using a disagreement as an excuse to do a podcast together.

 Kevin Indig

 The success of Kevin’s brand shows how much community engagement matters for cultivating a good brand image. 

Claude Silver – HR

Claude Silver, the chief people officer – or the chief heart officer as she calls herself – at VaynerMedia, is an HR leader with an exceptional brand. Claudia has a vibrant website that reflects her personality, a newsletter, a podcast, and even merchandise. 

Claudia shares her thoughts about culture, leadership, and values that are important to her. What makes Claudia’s brand relatable is that she doesn’t shy away from talking about her personal life on professional platforms. It adds a warm touch and instantly connects with people.

Will Frattini – Sales

Will Frattini is one of those people who has built a brand by sharing his practical knowledge. The sales leader from ZoomInfo, Will, doesn’t actually have a personal website, a podcast, or the usual must-have brand elements. Instead, his brand grew from consistently spreading practical, actionable tips to teach sales execs how to sell better. 

Will also takes part in influential industry podcasts and webinars. His brand shows what steady, high-quality, and actionable content for your community can do. 

Daphne Costa Lopes – Customer Success

The head of customer success at Hubspot, Daphne Costa Lopes, is a true expert in personal branding. Her website’s sleek, professional look clearly communicates the value she offers. 

Her podcast, This is Growth!, is one of the top 15% most-shared on Spotify. 

Daphne is a big fan of the phrase “invest in yourself.” She suggests professionals have a purpose, strong vision, guiding values, and a strategic plan to succeed. 

Customer Success Thought Leadership named Daphne one of the top 25 influencers in Customer Success for reflecting the success of her content, engagement, and lectures.  

How to build your personal brand

It’s time to create your own personal brand. Let’s look at some personal brand-building steps. 

Define who you are

If you start building your brand without knowing the real you, you create visibility without clarity. So start unearthing the real you. 

How do you introduce yourself? Job function? Title? Company? That’s not branding – that’s conforming to the usual standards. Ask yourself how you want to be known. Define your values, passion, interests, goals, skills, credentials, and areas of expertise.  

⚫️What’s unique about you?

⚫️What are your top values? 

⚫️What’s something you do better than anyone else – your superpowers? 

⚫️What are your true passions?

Answer these honestly. If you don’t have an answer to a question, take time to find one. Your responses will lead you to a brand statement that reflects your authentic personality. Find the keywords for which you want to be known. Link them to your brand identity. 

Spot your target audience

Your target audience is the community you’ll deliver value to. It typically includes influencers in your field, your colleagues in your organization, your peers in the industry, decision-makers like recruiters, your mentor, your friends, and your family.

Find out what your target audience thinks about you and what kind of value-add they would like from you. The best way to do this is to get their feedback and take action on what you learn. 

Claim your social media space

Now that you know who you are and who you are reaching out to, it’s time to present the virtual you to the world. How? With your LinkedIn profile. It’s the essential digital branding tool for delivering your first impression and forming a foundation for building relationships. Take your LinkedIn profile from OK to OMG with these simple steps:

⚫️Add a professional headshot. 

⚫️Write an exciting headline. 

⚫️Craft a compelling summary of your story. 

⚫️Edit your URL to read your name.

⚫️Link to websites related to you and articles you wrote or were featured in.

⚫️Get recommendations and endorsements from your peers. 

⚫️Make extra efforts to infuse your profile with your personality. 

Create or update your profiles on other social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, depending on your inclination. 

Create your brand website

Build your website using a website builder.

Your website helps solidify your brand. It should have a homepage that shows who you are and what you do. Highlight your portfolio, services, and testimonials of people you’ve worked with. Link to your blog, newsletter, podcasts, or whatever medium you use to share insights.

Invest time in perfecting the visual elements of your website. This includes your professional logo, fonts, colors, professional headshots, and video. The visuals should reflect your personality. 

Deliver your brand daily

With the foundation for your personal brand all set, it’s time to deliver your brand daily with high-quality content creation. It can be one-liners. A 2,000-word article. A 40-minute podcast. 

Consider the following content buckets: your passion, values, superpowers, education, accomplishments, success stories, practical tips, recognition, or testimonials. Pick one of them and weave your story around it. Share it with your audience, but always add value. Even if it’s a repost, include your opinion on it. 

Engage your audience to earn their trust. Ask them what they think about your views. Have exciting conversations. This opens opportunities to network with new people. 

Uncover the real you

Personal branding can seem daunting at first.

Defining yourself, creating content, reaching people, and gaining visibility take time and effort. But once you start building your brand, you stand to reap immense benefits – from career advancements to new partnerships.

Invest in your personal brand today to bolster your career for years.

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