What is personal branding and how do you create it?

Summary/Overview

To stand out in any sector or environment, a personal brand is essential. Whether you’re a freelancer looking to attract new clients, a content creator aiming to grow your following, or a fashion designer seeking to boost your brand popularity, personal branding can help you communicate key strengths, values and expertise.

But what exactly is personal branding and how do you create it? These are just some of the questions we’ll answer in this guide from Adobe Express. Continue reading to explore a range of personal brand examples and get inspiration for building your own.

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What is a personal brand and do I need one?

According to former president and CEO of Amazon, Jeff Bezos: “Your personal brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room.” It’s the impression you make on people that lasts and influences how you are viewed by others.

Your personal brand is the public perception people have of you, whether online or offline. It’s shaped by how you represent yourself, and is influenced by factors such as your values, skills, behaviour, and unique personality.

Personal branding covers the deliberate processes you follow to create the perception associated with your personal brand. It’s influenced by the things you say, show and do. Personal branding can be useful for anyone seeking to grow their business, attract audiences, or advance their career.

Examples include:

• Entrepreneurs
• Content creators
• Business leaders
• Politicians
• Freelancers
• Influencers

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What does your online presence say about you?

In the current digital age, having an online presence is key. It plays a vital role in your personal branding, as it’s the most convenient way for people to find out about you. Everyone, from employers to colleagues, customers and peers, may conduct searches online to find out more about who you are.

Here are a few ways your online presence can help with your personal brand:

• Build trust. A clear, consistent, reliable and authentic online presence can help to build trust with audiences and shine a favourable light on your personal brand.
• Stand out from the competition. You can leverage the power of online to stand out from your competition. Showcase what’s unique about your style, offering, services and personality to stay memorable to the right audiences.
• Gain authority. A strong digital presence can work wonders for your personal brand. From attracting new audiences to building and maintaining relationships with existing viewers, it can help you make yourself an authority online.
• Accomplish personal goals. Your online presence can help you achieve personal or professional goals – whether it’s landing a new job, attracting clients or growing your audience.

How to make a personal brand for yourself that lasts.

If you’re keen to develop a personal brand for yourself, it’s important to make your approach authentic, strategic and unique. Everyone has their own personal brand, but only those who highlight their value and authenticity will stand out.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to making a personal brand that is distinctive and lasts:

Define your purpose.

The first step to developing your own personal brand is to identify your purpose, values and goals. You can do this by asking yourself questions like:

• What do I care about?
• What are my values?
• What makes me unique?
• What impression do I want to make?
• How do I add value to others?

Outline a strategy.

Once you’ve identified your purpose, your next step should be creating a strong strategy for your personal brand. It’s often useful to conduct a bit of industry and competitor research on people with similar branding methods you admire. Think about factors such as:

• Target audience
• Channel
• Content
• Messaging
• Goals

Build a narrative.

Your story is a key part of your personal brand. No matter how competitive the market is, no one will have the same story as you – and you can use that to your advantage. The aim is to create a compelling narrative that provides an insight into who you are, what you’ve done, where you’ve been and where you’re going.

Your narrative should:

• Highlight your journey and growth
• Show how you’ve taken action
• Explain what’s inspired you
• Connect with your audience emotionally

Embody your brand.

Next, you’ll want to ensure you embody your brand in all you do. Visuals can play a key role in this by helping to make your personal brand recognisable and keeping it consistent. This can include assets such as:

• Logos
• Posters
• Flyers
• Brochures

Promote your personal brand.

Now that you have a purpose, story and assets that reflect your personal brand, you can promote it on social media.

Platforms like Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and TikTok can be used to boost the visibility of your personal brand and attract new audiences, as well as nurture your relationship with existing users.

Posting on these sites can help you share your value and provide you with the opportunity to engage with the four instrumental groups in socialising your brand:

• Gatekeepers.  Individuals whose approval or support is crucial to achieving your goals.
• Influencers.  Content creators with a high following who can help boost your personal brand’s visibility and unlock new opportunities.
• Promoters. Those who publicly advocate for your personal brand.
• Communities.  Groups that support and share in your interests and mission, or benefit from the value you provide.

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Tips for building your personal brand on every channel.

Adobe Express can help you develop a range of assets you can use to build and promote your personal brand across different channels. From YouTube videos to quote cards, Facebook ads and more traditional forms of promotion like headshots and business cards, our creative tools can help you create assets that will appeal to your target market.

Here are some ideas to help you get started:

• TikTok and YouTube videos. Offer audiences an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at what goes into the work you do. Showcase your unique style and what makes your personal brand different from the rest.
• Merchandise. Create a buzz with brand merchandise such as t-shirts, hoodies and mugs that feature assets like your brand logo and colour scheme. Not only can these help to promote your personal brand, but they can also foster a sense of community and loyalty among your audience.
• Business cards. An old-school, yet effective way of building your personal brand – you can’t go wrong with a batch of high-quality business cards. Hand these out to potential customers and clients so they have a tangible reminder of your services.
• Posters. A great way to promote your brand in the outside world, posters are a method for catching attention and marketing your brand in new places.
• Flyers. Much like posters, flyers are a cost-effective way to spread the word about your personal brand. They’re easy to distribute and can be used to introduce your brand or promote your different goods and services.

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Useful things to know.

What is a personal brand example?

Here’s a personal brand example: the fashion designer Caroline Hinch. Caroline specialises in crochet fashion with a modern edge. Drawing inspiration from current trends, she reimagines this traditional craft to create stylish, contemporary pieces. Through her brand, she seeks to revive and modernise the art of crochet, bringing it into the spotlight as a relevant and sustainable fashion choice for today’s generation.

What are the key principles of a personal brand?

The key principles of a personal brand can include authenticity, expertise, consistency, trust, visibility, value, and relationships. Focusing on these seven principles can help you develop a personal brand that stands out from the competition and succeeds in its market.

How can I define my personal brand?

You can define your personal brand by first identifying your purpose. What do you want to achieve? Answering this will influence all the decisions you make about your brand. You can then move on to identifying your values and key messages, determining how you’ll uniquely communicate these.

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