7 Steps to Building Your Personal Brand on Social Media
Branding yourself on social media lets you showcase your expertise and skills, presenting you as an expert and valuable resource.
This article is for you if you want to build your personal brand on social media the right way.
How to Brand Yourself on Social Media
To brand yourself on social media, identify your unique strengths and values. Choose social media platforms that align with your target audience, then maintain a consistent profile with unified usernames, profile pictures, and bios.
Craft valuable content that showcases your expertise, then engage actively with your audience. Lastly, adapt and evaluate your strategy.
1. Define Your Brand Identity
Defining your brand identity means figuring out who you are, what you stand for, and how you want others to see you. It's like showing your true self to the world through social media in a way that people will remember and connect with.
Another is identifying who you’re trying to reach with your content on social media.
According to Chron, by knowing your target audience, you can tailor your messaging to be more relevant and appealing to them, which can improve the effectiveness of your branding on social media and lead to an increased audience.
For example, Ali Abdaal stated on his YouTube channel who he is, his purpose, and his expertise. He defines his brand identity.
2. Choose Your Social Media Platforms
Selecting your social media platforms refers to choosing the right social media platform where you’ll showcase your brand and engage with your audience.
This decision should be based on factors such as the preferences of your target audiences, the type of content you plan to share, and the features offered by different platforms.
Each social media platform has its own strengths and user demographics. Therefore, matching your choice with your brand’s goals and the people you want to reach is important.
For instance, Takashi Murakami uses Instagram to post his artwork.
Instagram is advantageous for visual arts because it provides a visually focused platform where artists can effectively showcase their work and leverage features such as hashtags to increase discoverability and engagement.
3. Create a Consistent Profile
Create and maintain a unified and recognizable online presence across all your social media platforms.
This involves using the same or similar usernames, profile pictures, and bio information across various social media platforms.
The goal is to make it easy for people to identify you and your brand, no matter where they encounter you online, whether on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.
Consistency in your profile elements helps build trust and familiarity with your audience. Additionally, creating a consistent profile can solidify your brand identity.
According to Market Splash, brands with a consistent profile are 3.5 times more likely to enjoy high brand visibility than those with an inconsistent profile.
For example, Dan Koe uses the same profile picture, username, and bio information on all social media platforms, which shows consistency in his profile.
4. Plan Your Content
Planning your content involves deciding what you want to share on your social media platforms thoughtfully and strategically.
It’s about creating a roadmap for the posts you want to publish to engage your audience and align with your brand’s goals.
By planning your content, you avoid the last-minute rush, maintain a consistent brand voice, and ensure that your social media presence aligns with your brand's identity and goals.
You can plan the type of content you’ll create for your brand. It can be educational posts, industry news, personal insights, etc.
But keep in mind that you need to prioritize high-quality content, both in terms of visuals and written content.
Also, create consistent posting schedules to keep your audience engaged and establish a reliable presence.
For example, Meredith Marsh created a YouTube planner that stores all the ideas and essentials she needs for her video content on her YouTube channel.
5. Choose Your Visual Cohesion
This refers to selecting a consistent and harmonious style for the visual elements across your brand’s online presence.
This includes colors, typography, imagery, and design elements that create a unified and recognizable look.
You should establish a strong visual identity that reinforces your brand’s personality and makes it easily identifiable to your audience.
Visual cohesion enhances your brand recall, professionalism, and the overall aesthetic appeal of your content.
For instance, Dan Koe consistently uses black-and-white graphics and colors for his content and posts on his social media platforms.
6. Engage Actively
By actively participating and interacting with your audience on social media platforms, you create a two-way communication channel and build stronger connections with your followers.
It involves responding to comments, messages, and mentions and initiating conversations, discussions, and other forms of engagement.
Engaging actively improves your relationship with your audience and shows that you value their opinions. This can lead to higher trust, brand loyalty, and a more positive brand perception overall.
For example, Ann Handley has been doing a great job interacting with and commenting on her followers individually.
7. Adapt and Evaluate
Adaptability and progress evaluation can help you adjust your strategy for greater audience engagement and impact.
This process of adaptability and evaluation guarantees that your branding efforts remain applicable and successful in a dynamic online landscape.
For example, if you notice that certain types of content consistently receive high engagement, you might consider creating more of that content.
On the other hand, if you find that a particular approach isn't giving you the desired results, you can adjust your strategy or experiment with new tactics.
Wrapping Up: Personal Branding on Social Media
Branding yourself on social media is essential for establishing a strong online presence and showcasing your unique identity and expertise.
Here's a step-by-step guide to help you brand yourself successfully on social media:
Define your brand identity
Choose your platforms
Create a consistent profile
Plan your content
Choose your visual cohesion
Engage actively
Adapt and evaluate
Creating your personal brand on social media is akin to a journey that requires patience and consistency.
By staying committed and maintaining regular activity, you'll gradually establish a strong and easily recognizable online presence.
