Key Elements of Personal Branding

The brand of the company you work for is not your personal brand. If all you talk about is the company you work for, you’re simply a mouthpiece for it, and it can stifle your individual voice. Here are three ways to develop your own personal brand while still championing your company: 1. Showcase Your Expertise: Share industry insights, trends, and thought leadership content. Demonstrate your skills and knowledge beyond the scope of your company. When people associate you with valuable expertise, they remember you. 2. Highlight Personal Achievements (these can include learnings): Share your professional milestones, successes or where you fumbled and how you recovered and grew from it. Whether it’s a project you led, a problem you solved a skill you honed, or how you fumbled, learned and recovered, your achievements and learnings contribute to your personal brand. 3. Engage Authentically: Interact with your network in a genuine way. Comment on posts, join discussions, and share personal stories that resonate with you. Authentic engagement builds trust and sets you apart. Often times, I see people talk about the company they work for constantly and they amass a following because people love the company — but they don’t know how to separate their own voice. Remember, you can have a strong personal brand and also complement and enhances your company’s brand, but the company’s brand voice is not your own. Let your unique voice be heard.

Everyone talks about building a personal brand. But nobody talks enough about what kind of personal brand you’re actually building. Are you building a brand that only works as long as you’re in one specific industry, or one that people respect and follow because of who you are as a person? Because here's the reality: It's easy to build a brand around your job title. It's harder—but far more valuable—to build one around your character. Let me be real for a second. The biggest compliment I ever get is when someone comes up to me and says, “I’ve been following you for years, and you’re exactly the same in person as you are in your videos.” They’re not complimenting my photos. They’re not gushing about how polished my videos look. They’re telling me something much deeper: I trust you. I believe you. I feel like I already know you. That means more to me than anything else in this game. Because when people feel that connection, you’re no longer just a content creator or strategist or consultant—you’re a human being they trust. That’s the kind of brand that gives you freedom. Freedom to pivot. Freedom to evolve. Freedom to show up differently, and still be welcomed and respected. So here’s the question I want you to ask yourself: If you stopped doing what you do today—if you completely changed industries or took a new direction—would your audience still care? Would they still follow? Or did they only care about the narrow version of you that showed up for a certain niche? Here’s how you build a personal brand that’s human first: 1. Be consistent, but don’t be a character. People can smell fake from a mile away. You don't need a ‘brand voice’—you need your voice. 2. Tell the truth. Not just the polished highlights. Talk about the doubts, the hard lessons, the in-between moments. That’s where connection lives. 3. Build trust before you need it. Every video, every post, every message—ask yourself, “Is this the real me showing up?” 4. Don’t hide your face. Don’t hide your voice. Put yourself on camera. Let people feel your energy. Words alone aren’t enough anymore. 5. Operate with integrity online and offline. Because when someone finally meets you, they should never have to recalibrate their expectations. This is why I don’t chase trends, I don’t try to be someone I’m not, and I definitely don’t apologize for having opinions. Because your personal brand is your reputation at scale. And the most valuable kind of reputation is the one that holds up in real life. The goal is not to be followed. The goal is to be trusted. And when you build that kind of brand, you can go anywhere—and your audience will come with you.

𝗦𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱? 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗖𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿. One of the biggest mistakes I see people make with personal branding? 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗶𝘁. They get stuck wondering: ❌ Should my brand be tied to my career? ❌ Do I need a signature look or tagline? ❌ Am I even “expert” enough to have a brand? Sound familiar? If so, take a deep breath. Your personal brand isn’t about crafting a perfect image—it’s about 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆. Here’s how to get there: ✅ 𝗜𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗯-𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗵𝘀. Not just “marketing,” but email funnels. Not just “fashion,” but consignment styling. The more specific, the better. ✅ 𝗠𝗮𝗽 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲𝘀. Your personal brand isn’t just what you do—it’s why you do it. (For me, that’s creating a brand that allows more time with family.) ✅ 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀. Instead of comparing, study those who inspire you. What about their brand resonates with you? That’s a clue. ✅ 𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲. Who’s always asking you for advice? What problem do they have? Your brand is built in the helping. ✅ Master your 3 V’s: 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲: The expertise you bring. 𝗩𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗹𝗲: The platform or medium you use. 𝗩𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲: Your personality and how you show up. ✨ Use my 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲 3 𝘝 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘵 to map this out for yourself! https://lnkd.in/gfFgfZzY Building a personal brand isn’t about being the loudest voice in the room. It’s about standing confidently in what makes you unique. So—what do you want to be known for? Drop it below. 👇

75% of hiring managers use LinkedIn to research candidates, and 92% of them say that a strong personal brand influences their hiring decisions (source: https://lnkd.in/dM5TG7W9). A Springer Science+Business Media-published study found that those with strong personal brands receive 40% more career-related inquiries (source: https://lnkd.in/d3dVx-RY). The personal brand is the new-age resume, and it's so ubiquitous that you're doing it whether you know it or not. What you post, like, and engage with speaks volumes about how you see yourself and how you intend others to perceive you. Nowhere was this more elegantly described than by the recent Forté Foundation expo that invited Lindsay Joyner and Sheria Richardson from Truist to lead an energetic Personal Branding session. 👑 Here's what I learned. Your brand is an overlap of how you see yourself and how you show up to the world. You present yourself in ways that reflect your identity and values, and with each iteration, they get reinforced. Lindsay and Sheria recommended the "4 C's" framework to guide your brand. 🌟 Clarity. You are your own CMO. Know your values, what you stand for. We always ask founders "what's your secret sauce;" so too should you know what's unique to you. Know who you're serving, what impact you're making in the world. And create the space for your brand to grow with you. 🌟 Content. Bring value to your audience with authentic content that reinforces your values and goals. Find unique ways to connect with others. Build that project you always wished existed. And know that this is so much bigger than social media; your content is that recent podcast episode you send to a friend, a sudden revelation you share to your roommate late at night, how you position yourself in relation to our exciting and complex world. 🌟 Connection. Connect with intentionality, authenticity, and warmth. I might add "competency," too. :) 🌟 Consistency. I always advise startups (especially when actively raising) to send a regular newsletter every month to stay top-of-mind while being held accountable for progress. The same goes for a personal brand. Instead of personal newsletters, maybe you're reaching out to your network every few weeks, around the holidays or when birthdays and meaningful dates arise, when you come across something that reminds you of them. It takes time to build trust, but it's a beautiful thing. 💞 Lastly, make the space to be self-aware, to evaluate your brand and recalibrate as needed; it'll only inspire you more. Lindsay shared that her mission is to "find ways in which people can be great." By sharing her tips on personal branding with Forte, she's enabling the next generation of young women to be great too. 💪 I found this statement -- and the whole session -- incredibly meaningful. So I invite you to ask: what are ways in which you can be great, and how will you share this greatness with the world? #ForteFoundation #Tech #PersonalBranding #FemaleLeaders

I didn’t know I needed a personal brand. I thought doing good work was enough—that if I just kept my head down and delivered, people would notice and say nice things. But I learned the hard way that it’s not enough to assume others know what to say about you. Personal branding isn’t self-promotion—it’s clarity. It’s about defining what makes you unique and making sure your work and values speak for themselves. Trust starts with honesty, and that means being transparent about your experiences, sharing both wins and challenges. People connect with real stories, not just polished résumés. Credibility follows trust—and it’s built over time. Supporting your insights with data, industry knowledge, and personal experiences reinforces your authority. But the real key? Consistency. Whether through thought leadership, speaking engagements, or content creation, showing up regularly signals commitment. Three key takeaways for building a strong personal brand: ✅ Be intentional – Don’t assume people know your strengths. Define and communicate what makes you unique. ✅ Share your journey – Authenticity builds trust. Your challenges are just as important as your successes. ✅ Show up consistently – Whether through writing, speaking, or networking, regular engagement strengthens credibility. When your words align with your actions, people don’t just believe in your expertise—they come to rely on your perspective. That’s how you build real influence. What’s something you’ve learned about building your personal brand? Drop your thoughts below! 👇 #PersonalBranding #Authenticity #Leadership