How to build your personal brand on British social media.

What is your personal brand?

Your personal brand is the way you present yourself to other people. It could be a client, co-worker, investor or recruiter. Either way, self-branding can shape their perceptions of you and show them exactly what you stand for.

It’s slightly different to your reputation, which covers the external beliefs and opinions people have about you. Instead, personal branding is all about selling yourself and actively promoting your skills and values to others.

Part of it comes down to your actions and behaviour. By thinking carefully about what you say and do, it’s possible to get the right message across – and ensure your unique talents and personality traits aren’t overlooked.

Yet social media posts, YouTube videos, blogs, business cards and networking events are just some of the other ways you can spread the word.

Need some inspiration? You don’t have to look hard for business leaders and celebrities with strong personal brands. Take entrepreneur and influencer Grace Beverley, whose motivational videos and talks show her willingness to tackle common business challenges. Or ex-footballers like Ian Wright, whose punditry, authentic Instagram presence and media appearances mean they’re not just remembered for their past goalscoring achievements.

Who needs to build a personal brand?

Anyone could benefit from a strong personal brand, whether it’s an office employee keen to make a good first impression, or a sports coach building a team.

However, personal brands may prove particularly useful for certain roles and professions:

• Small business owners. Projecting the right image could set you apart from the crowd and convince investors to support you.
• Freelancers and consultants. For example, when bidding for contracts and winning the trust of prospective clients.
• Public speakers. Effective self-branding might help to sell your vision to others.
• Influencers. Building a consistent picture of yourself, across different channels, may help you to attract loyal followers.
• Business professionals. Flagging your skills and work ethic might place you on the radar of senior leaders, putting you on the path towards promotion.

How to build your personal brand on social media.

Social media can help you to communicate your personal branding across different formats. It may be old favourites Facebook and X, professional networks such as LinkedIn, or video content specialists like TikTok and Instagram.

Here are just a few ways you could tell the story of your personal brand via social channels.

Think about how you want people to see you.

Decide on the values, skills and messages you’d like to put across. You may wish to highlight positive personality traits or even specific terms that you hope to be associated with. “Reliable”, “expert” or “specialist” could all be good choices. Or there could be more business-slang terms such as “marketing ninja” or “content rockstar” – but you should bear in mind that buzzwords can divide audiences, so you should choose wisely.

Whatever you choose, try to be consistent across different social platforms. And ensure you’re staying true to yourself. After all, honesty can go a long way in gaining people’s trust.

Audit your existing personal brand.

It’s worth auditing any existing personal content you have online too. You may be surprised at just how much is out there after reviewing your social posts, blogs, email communications and business websites.

You can then start tidying things up and make your online profiles more uniform. This could mean adding the same professional photos across different channels. Or removing outdated content. Ultimately, it’s about creating consistent, coherent personal branding.

Construct a personal narrative.

Successfully branding yourself isn’t just about the things you say. It’s also about your delivery. Crafting a specific tone of voice or set of guidelines should ensure you’re speaking to your followers in the correct manner.

Would your audience welcome chattier language, for example, or a more formal tone? Are they likely to prefer written content, snappy videos or colourful images?

It’s worth thinking about each element of your profile and how it fits in with your brand – from your headshot and beyond.

Show off your new personal brand and network.

Everything in order? It’s now time to make your personal branding public. So, think about the best ways to build followers across your socials. It might be as simple as sharing interesting news stories, joining groups, or setting up polls on hot topics.

At the other end of the scale, you could attract followers with in-depth podcasts, long-form articles, or engaging pictures from your working life.

Outside of social media, networking events and partnerships with local businesses may also help you reach different audiences.

Regularly review and update your personal brand.

Whatever you decide, building a personal brand needn’t be a one-off. As your experience grows and your career blossoms, your branding can evolve too. You might also find that certain channels work better than others and opt to focus more attention on them.