While a personal brand is not solely about your online presence, its popularity rose with the ranks of social media trends among millennials and Gen z’s, working as brand influencers and paid content creators. Before the digital revolution, most people understood branding as something done by creative agencies for big (or small) companies in retail, fashion, IT, automobile etc. All of which was driven to make an impression on consumers and boost its sales. Now, the difference is social media’s need to push everyone towards some sort of self branding. An article in the Harvard Business Review suggests its as a result of “The rise of crowdculture”. Regardless of the sentiments surrounding personal brands in this day and age, Here is what experts say about growing your brand.

Even with the internet and numerous guides teaching how to build a personal brand, starting out is rather difficult for many people today. Besides the “skill” issue, many social media users are unsure of why they need a personal brand in the first place.

Other reasons that have come up are; having no story to tell or a great one at that, no big claim to generate some buzz, and well, thinking there’s simply nothing more to offer. Having such valid reasons for not sharing online, and wanting your security and anonymity away from the notorious cancel culture and digital footprints that plagues many people online.

Experts however think with the right approach to personal branding, you can create consistent value, grow a community of like-minded people all over the world, build a career and make money. Hopefully from all the insecurities that exist online.

10 Tips for Building your Personal Brand

  • Know the why
  • Find your inspiration 
  • Personal brands based on skills, interests & expertise 
  • Experiment with different content types 
  • Communicate to the right audience
  • Improve on brand positioning
  • Have a goal and choose your growth metrics
  • Humanise your brand
  • Use compelling stories 
  • Ignore the vanity metrics

In the end, if the goal is to get ahead doing just about anything (besides a social media career), your best chances of going far is to maintain a level of ownership of your brand identity and online presence.