How to build a personal brand that can help your career

There’s an old saying, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression,” and that still holds true today. When so much business (including job hunting) is done online, it’s important to establish a personal brand that demonstrates who you are as a professional, both virtually and “IRL.” Like it or not, research has shown that most people develop a first impression of someone within seven seconds, so you need to make every second count. 

In this article, we’ll show you how to build a personal brand online that leaves a positive impression and helps propel your career forward.

What is a strong personal brand?

We hear the question, “What’s your brand?” thrown around a lot these days. So it’s important to define what it means. You may think it’s simply your professional reputation and, while they do intersect, there's more to it than that. A reputation consists of your past work and the opinions people hold of you. 

Your personal brand encompasses not only your reputation (which is important), but the benefits that would come from working with you. It’s a fuller picture of what makes you, you. A personal brand allows you to develop your name or business by putting forth a specific message about your personality, talents, and core values. 

This doesn’t mean coming up with a fictitious or exaggerated persona. Your personal brand should be a true reflection of you and what you bring to the table. This will help create a sense of trust and consistency, add more layers to your professional and personal story, and establish what makes you unique.

Why is it important to build a strong personal brand?

Whether you work for a company or have your own business, it’s competitive out there, so knowing how to build a strong personal brand is important to help establish your reputation. It helps you gain a foothold in your industry and make you seem more “relatable,” as people will understand what values and skills you bring to the table. It also helps you build credibility in your field, and establish yourself as a knowledgeable and trustworthy leader. This, in turn, sets you up as someone other people want to work with, leading to more professional growth. It’s a win-win!

Remember, you’re a person, not a “faceless corporate entity.” Your personal brand will help connect personal qualities to your professional brand, making it easier to establish professional relationships and relate to your audience on a more profound level. 

What is the secret to personal branding?

When it comes to helping your career, personal branding has nothing to do with gaining followers or being a social media influencer. Ironically, it doesn’t have a lot to do with you. Much more of it has to do with the other person. It’s about offering value and motivation. People care more about what you can do for them, and how your brand makes them feel. So, the true secret of personal branding is to figure out who you are, what makes you special, and how you can help other people. 

What is the “ABCD” of personal branding?

While the five “Cs” are important (along with the five As, five Ps, or the rest of the alphabet), laying the groundwork for a strong personal brand means you need to have a strong sense of self, identify how you want others to see you, and convey your value. 

So when navigating how to build your personal brand, keep in mind this "ABCD" formula:

• A is for appearance and authenticity, choosing to put your true self front and center in the best possible light.

• B is for behavior and how you comport yourself.

• C is for communication and credibility. 

• D is for your digital presence, such as social media or blogs.

Skipping ahead in the ABCs, remember that “P” is for patience. Don’t jump into the personal branding area until you’ve done your homework. Consistency is important, and you won’t develop that all-important trust if you keep changing your message.

What are the 7 steps to building your personal brand?

Let’s get down to the nitty-gritty. Now that you know why it’s important to your career, you need to know how to build a personal brand for yourself. 

Here are the seven steps you can take to make it happen:

1. Figure out what makes you special and/or unique

What do you want to be known for? Your personal brand should reflect your values, your personality, and what you’re passionate about. Most of all, you want to establish an identity above and beyond the company you work for. How can you do this? 

Start by identifying the following:

• What makes you unique?

• What are your values? 

• What do you stand for? 

• What issues are important to you?

• What are your particular professional strengths? 

• How does this help your work?

Don’t just think, “I know this already.” Write it down in an actual list and refer back to it regularly. Once you’ve defined who you are and what you want your message to be, you can begin to build your personal brand.

2. Have an idea of what success means to you

What is your personal “mission statement?” A mission statement can help you identify your goals, what matters most for you, and how you define success. This will keep your personal brand focused, relevant, and productive.

For example, to craft your mission statement, make a list and answer the following prompts:

• I am truly happy when…

• My greatest strengths are…

• My professional goals are…

• The most important things in life to me are…

• How I would like people to describe me is…

• How I would like to be remembered is…

Once you’ve finished your list, you can hone it down to your mission statement. Use this template as a guide, making modifications and additions as necessary:

3. Define your target audience

You can’t appeal to everyone, so figure out how you can reach the people who are important to your career. Basically, you want to define who is interested in your personal brand. 

One way to do this is by creating a “marketing persona.” While this concept is usually used to market products, this strategy can also be applied to you. A persona is an amalgamation of your ideal audience, which will help you focus your personal brand on who it’s intended for. 

To figure out your persona, answer the following:

• Who can benefit from my skills and knowledge?

• What do they do for a living? 

• Where are they in their careers?

• What are their professional goals and aspirations?

• What issues or challenges do they face that I can help with?

• What social media do they use or respond to?

• How often do they enjoy being interacted with?

Once you’ve defined your target audience (or persona), you’ll be able to build your personal brand with a greater understanding of what your audience wants and needs from you that only you can provide.

For example, if you are a marketing manager trying to retain current customers and attract new ones, you might choose to tell your story through your social media, LinkedIn, or online portfolio, where you have a bigger platform to demonstrate your unique talents and accomplishments.

4. Establish a consistent message across all platforms

This includes all of your social media accounts, website, and in-person interactions with your network. Having a consistent message will help you build trust with your target audience by establishing you as someone who is trustworthy, knowledgeable, and reliable. 

How can you accomplish this?

• Develop a set of rules regarding your brand, including pictures, messaging, and tone, and use them consistently across all of your platforms.

• Tailor your message for each platform while maintaining a consistent personal brand “voice.”

• Use consistent colors, graphics, fonts, and design style over all platforms.

• Regularly interact with your audience to support a meaningful exchange of information.

To help with maintaining consistency across your platforms, consider planning out your content six months or even a year in advance.  Use a content calendar to plan out where and when you’ll post, and what your message will be.

5. Create a professional website or portfolio

Consider your website as your “home base” for your personal branding strategy, ideally using your own name in its web address.

Why is this important?

• It places all of your professional information in one location.

• You can showcase your knowledge in many forms with blog posts, project examples, and client testimony.

• It enhances your credibility as a professional.

• It allows you to control your professional story.

• It increases your potential reach beyond social media.

Think of your professional website as an online business card that highlights your unique value proposition (UVP) and provides your audience with a curated view of your professional accomplishments, goals, and skills.

Make sure your website has pages that provide your contact information, links to social media, blogs, etc. Doing so will help establish you as someone with whom others want to do business. Just make sure to keep your personal accounts separate from your professional account—a potential client or employer probably doesn’t need to see pictures from your last trip to Ft. Lauderdale.

6. Network, network, network!

Developing professional relationships can help you become known in your field and grow your personal brand, helping others to understand your unique brand and value. This will also help propel your career forward, as 85 percent of all jobs are found via networking.

You can do this by attending networking events of all sizes, both virtually and in person. You may feel uncomfortable about “marketing” yourself, but don’t be. People expect it at networking events, as long as you’re not aggressive about it. You can ask for an informational meeting or even a quick coffee. If you’re hesitant about making face-to-face connections, it’s also okay to reach out afterward through email or LinkedIn.

7. Be authentic

There are so many people out there who are just trying to “sell” something. Instead, try to provide value to your audience without implying, “So what can you do for me?” 

Don’t feel like you have to be perfect 100 percent of the time. The truth is that no one is perfect, and your personal brand should reflect that. The key to learning how to create an authentic personal brand is to acknowledge that you’re a human being with strengths, weaknesses, priorities, aspirations, and values just like everyone else.

The trick is to communicate all of those points consistently in your brand message, which will help you establish meaningful, productive connections and strengthen your credibility in your field. As writer Oscar Wilde once said, "Be yourself, because everyone else is taken." Being authentic ensures that you create a brand (and a career) that aligns with who you really are.

Need a little help planning your next career move? Check out career.io’s Career Pathways tool, which will assist you with creating a career path, bridging skill gaps, and exploring current job demands.

Key takeaways

1. A personal brand allows you to develop your name or business by putting forth a specific message about your personality, talents, and core values.

2. When learning how to build a strong personal brand, remember that much of it has to do with other people—establishing who you want to help and what you can do for them.

3. It's important to identify what makes you unique and create a consistent, trustworthy message across all platforms and connections.