In this modern age of rapid technology and online communication, building a personal brand is important regardless of whether one is an entrepreneur, professional, or influencer. Where social media develops and promotes your brand, the question now goes to how you strategically create a brand that resonates and emerges in such a crowded online space.

This article takes one through vital things in making a personal brand on social media, and real-life examples of people who have conquered this art are given.

Table of Contents

S. No.	Building a Strong Personal Brand on Social Media
	Define Your Brand
	Select the Proper Platforms
	Consistency is King
	Create an Interesting Bio
	Posting Valuable Content
	Engage Your Audience
	Leverage User-Generated Content
	Network and Collaborate
	Use Analytics to Refine Your Strategy
	Be Genuine and Transparent
	Conclusion

1. Define Your Brand

Before building a personal brand, one must be clear about what the brand is to stand for. Ask yourself the following questions:

• What are your passions?
• What are your strengths?
• What are your core values?
• Who is your audience?

Your brand should be about you as an individual and a professional. And the more authentic your brand is to yourself, the easier you’ll find a way to express it.

Example: Priyanka Chopra Jonas

Priyanka Chopra has subtly created her brand, showing how international she is, mingling her career between Bollywood and Hollywood, and advocating for humanitarian causes. On Instagram, she talks about glamour and global success, combining professional moments with personal ones to show her fans her professional achievements while giving glimpses of her private life. Her brand resonates with strong features such as resilience, confidence, and being a global citizen, all of which are strong aspects to which her diverse audience can relate all over the world.

Source: Zee Zest

2. Select the Proper Platforms

Not all social media platforms are created equally; one size does not fit all. Depending on your goals, some will serve you better than others: 

• Instagram: Best for visual brands, influencers, and lifestyle-oriented content.
• LinkedIn: The go-to home for professionals, thought leaders, and B2B marketing.
• Twitter: Ideal for quick, engaging content and conversations in real-time.
• TikTok: Excellent for bite-sized creative videos aimed at younger audiences.
• YouTube: Best for longer-format video content, such as tutorials, vlogs, and education-based videos.

Example: Dr. Mike on both YouTube and Instagram

Dr. Mike Varshavski is a family physician who has a huge following on Instagram and YouTube because of health-related content. His Instagram has pictures and short health tips; on YouTube, he does in-depth medical discussions and reacts to the medical scenes on T.V. shows. He chose the right platforms and could easily extend his reach and connect with different audience segments.

Source: Youtube

3. Consistency is King

One of the most important aspects of building a personal brand is consistency, which calls for you to consistently communicate your message, values, and content. This goes into the frequency of posting and the visual style, tone, and type of content you post. A consistent presence keeps you at the top of your mind for your audience.

Example: Marie Forleo

Entrepreneur and author Marie Forleo has built one of the most recognisable personal brands through effective messaging and content on consistent platforms. Whether via YouTube, Instagram, or her podcast, Marie communicates very frequently that “everything is figureoutable, ” a coined phrase used as a vehicle to catalyse personal and professional growth. Similarly, her visual style is consistent with light, bright imagery, and her content always reflects the overarching brand theme of empowerment and entrepreneurship.

Source: Marie Forleo

4. Create an Interesting Bio

Your social media bio is the first thing people see when landing on your profile. A well-penned bio is what carries the baton of communicating who you are, what you do, and why they should follow you. This should be clear and concise and weave in your unique value proposition.

Great bio tips just for you:

• Use keywords associated with either your industry or niche.
• Include a call to action, such as, “Sign up for my newsletter” or “Watch my latest video.”
• Add a personal touch, such as an emoji or a catchphrase that reflects your personality.

Example: Kunal Shah

The same is true with Kunal Shah, founder of Cred, a famous name in the Indian startup circle. His Twitter bio gives him away as an entrepreneur: “Building Cred. Curious about human behavior, philosophy, and wealth creation.” This straightforward but powerful bio simply signals his areas of interest and expertise, inviting users into his stream of thought. Indeed, his tweets often spiral around human psychology, business insights, and personal growth tips, reinforcing his brand as a thinker and leader.

Source: The Financial Express

5. Posting Valuable Content

Content is the backbone of your personal brand. For a strong brand, content should at least reflect your expertise and add value to your audience. The content you post should be:

• Educational: Teach your audience things that they don’t know.
• Entertaining: Keep your audience engaged.
• Inspirational: Motivate and inspire your followers.
• Combine all of these content types together to widen your reach and to keep your followers intrigued.

Example: Deepika Padukone

Bollywood’s leading actress, Deepika Padukone, linked social media to creating and sharing valuable content. She regularly posted updates regarding mental health awareness on her Instagram and linked her foundation, Live Love Laugh. Since the informative content regarding mental health got updated on average with her career updates, this is the inspiration for engagement among the audience. Deepika merged her professional persona with personal advocacy to create a strong personal brand of empathy, resilience, and self-care.

Source: Media Brief

6. Engage Your Audience

The thing with a personal brand is that it goes both ways. For people to follow you anywhere, you must engage your followers. Respond to comments, ask questions, and lead discussions. Not only will this help build some semblance of a community, but it will also help create a sense of you being warm and approachable.

Example: Sonu Sood

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the personal brand of Sonu Sood was flipped upside down, rather increasingly via his Twitter engagement. In response to hundreds of needy people, be they migrant workers or helping people out with medical aid, Sood resorted to social media to extend a helping hand and connect directly with the people. The kind engagement made him the darling across India, and his brand evolved from a Bollywood star to a humanitarian.

Source: BBC

7. Leverage User-Generated Content

UGC is one of the most effective ways to establish trust and credibility for your brand. When your followers share your content or post about you, it serves as social proof of the strength of your brand.

You can incentivize UGC by:

• Running social media contests or challenges.
• Ask your followers to share experiences with your product or service.
• Highlight and re-share posts where you’re tagged.

Example: Lululemon

While Lululemon is primarily a brand, they have successfully leveraged U.G.C. to create an excellent community of their products. This brand posts pictures and videos encouraging customers to post their yoga or fitness experiences while wearing Lululemon clothes. By doing this, they have amassed some follow-through composed of people who don’t just love the gym but find themselves part of something significant. Lululemon has built confidence by reposting customer photos and videos since their followers feel they are part of the brand’s success.

Source: The Brand Hopper

8. Network and Collaborate

Working together and collaborating are the most important aspects of building a personal brand. Collaboration with other influencers, professionals, or brands exposes you to newer audiences and builds credibility. Each collaboration must be aligned with your brand’s values and target audience.

Example: Ranveer Singh and Collaborations

Ranveer Singh is among the most energetic and dynamic actors in Bollywood. He often collaborates on Instagram with brands, other actors, and influencers. His collaborations with Adidas and Jack & Jones were so much fun so colorful. Let alone with his wife, Deepika Padukone, the frequent collaborations happening all the time drive his fanbase crazy. He built a personal brand from fun, fashionable, and real collaborations.

Source: Newsx 

9. Use Analytics to Refine Your Strategy

The analytics on social media get deep into everything, showing what kind of content works, who your audience is, and how they engage with posts. This arms you with all the insight to further refine your strategy in better ways for the needs of your audience.

Look at patterns in things like:

• Which of the following posts create the most engagement-the videos, photos, or stories?
• When your audience is most active?
• The demographic makeup of your followers, including age, gender, and location.
• You understand what works by scaling up on successful content and strategies.

Example: Bhuvan Bam (BB Ki Vines)

Bhuvan Bam is one of India’s top YouTubers, and his growing success comes with keeping a close eye on analytics. He keeps track of audience engagement, the number of views, and responses for feedback in order to adjust in his upcoming videos. From the timing of posting to the kind of content he makes, Bhuvan takes help from analytics to keep upgrading himself and be ahead of the curve in this fast-evolving digital world for entertainment.

Source: YouTube

10. Be Genuine and Transparent

Finally, probably most importantly, it helps to create trust in people and gets them to follow you. Being transparent about your journey, the ups and the downs alike, makes you relatable- more human. Authenticity builds credibility and loyalty in the long run.

Example: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson

Authenticity is one of the most essential parts of his social media game, and Dwayne Johnson has completely mastered this. The video uploads of daily workouts, behind-the-scenes moments of his movie shoots, and some heartfelt posts about his family living and breathing, The Rock all the time stay authentic. His honesty and transparency have earned millions of followers who love him for his down-to-earth personality.

Source: Muscle and Fitness

Conclusion

It does take so much time, consistency, and being real and purposeful to build a solid personal brand on social media. Defining your brand, selecting the right platforms, posting valued content, and engaging your audience will build a commanding presence online. Remember to stay true to yourself and continuously refine your strategy based on what resonates with your followers. It takes a little patience and an equal, if not greater, amount of determination to make a remarkable and impacting personal brand.