Alexander Storozhuk is the founder of PRNEWS.IO, an Ad-tech & PR platform for SMBs around the world.
Imagine two professionals with identical expertise and career trajectories. One actively publishes articles in the media, shares valuable insights on social media and joins conversations, establishing a recognizable name while making significant connections. The other fades into the background, their presence limited to office meetings and email chains.
Who do you think secures more opportunities?
Having spent more than 20 years in the PR industry, I’ve witnessed how a well-crafted personal brand fosters authority and opens doors. It’s what leads people to associate your name with expertise and value. If you are a freelancer, a strong brand can attract clients, prompting them to seek you out rather than the other way around. If you are an entrepreneur, it can establish trust with investors and potential partners. If you work in a company, it can position you for leadership.
Consider Neil Patel, who built a reputation that made him a go-to expert by regularly publishing blogs, creating videos and speaking at events. Now, businesses follow his strategies to enhance their online presence and scale.
This is the power of personal branding, and in this article, we will explore how you can leverage it to your advantage.
The Shift To Personal Branding-Driven Success
Climbing the corporate ladder isn’t the only way to succeed anymore. Those who build strong personal brands improve their visibility and position themselves for good opportunities.
A personal brand acts as a digital reputation. A polished LinkedIn profile, thoughtful blog posts, thought leadership pieces and active industry discussions make us more than just a name on paper. Employers, clients and investors no longer just look at our resumes. They Google us. What they find should reinforce our expertise and credibility. Eighty-two percent of Americans believe companies are more influential if their founder or executives have a strong personal brand, according to the Brand Builders study “Trends in Personal Branding,” which surveyed 1,005 U.S. adults ages 18 to 65 in February 2021.
Building Blocks Of An Effective Personal Brand
Building a standout brand starts with these fundamental principles:
1. Clear Positioning
This helps people immediately associate your name with a specific value or expertise, and that’s what makes you memorable. Take Simon Sinek: He carved out his space around leadership and the “Start With Why” philosophy, which made his name stick. Ask yourself: What unique expertise do you bring to the table? What do you want to be known for? Define your core values and strengths, and choose a niche that aligns with them.
2. Authentic Storytelling
People connect with stories, not resumes. Share your journey, struggles, insights and experiences regularly through authentic storytelling to establish authority in your niche so your audience knows exactly what you stand for and why they should turn to you. Brené Brown, for example, built her brand around vulnerability and courage, making her research relatable to millions.
3. Consistency Across Platforms
LinkedIn, your website, social media, expert pieces and public speeches should communicate the same message. If you are known for finance insights on LinkedIn but post unrelated content elsewhere, it confuses your audience.
4. Engagement And Thought Leadership
It’s not enough to post content; you need to interact, comment and build relationships. When someone comments on your posts, reply with your thoughts. This shows you genuinely care about people’s opinions on what you share and you’re not just posting for the sake of posting or chasing likes. Likewise, engage with others in your field. Follow their profiles, invest in what they’re saying, leave thoughtful comments and share their content with your network. These small interactions build real relationships, and that’s what makes your presence stick.
Tactics To Elevate Personal Branding Online
To elevate and strengthen your online presence, I recommend:
1. Content Marketing And PR
Publish thought leadership pieces on a variety of well-known media outlets. This helps establish your authority, boost visibility, attract website traffic and improve engagement.
2. Distribution Tools
Consistency in guest posting and advertorial tools builds your visibility over time while allowing you to control the narrative. In addition, use social media platforms and email newsletters to circulate your published content.
3. Social Media Thought Leadership
Instead of posting randomly, join important conversations and share your insights. This helps you further establish yourself as a trusted expert in your field.
4. Guest Features And Public Speaking
Being featured on podcasts and webinars or speaking at events expands your reach beyond your own audience. Start by pitching relevant podcasts or event organizers with a concise bio and topic ideas tailored to their audience. If you’re still building your online presence and don’t yet have a portfolio of interviews or thought leadership pieces, lean on your owned and shared media (i.e., blog posts on your website, LinkedIn posts and articles, Medium articles or any content that showcases your expertise). Use these to build your pitching deck. Once you start gaining visibility through these appearances, be sure to share them online.
This not only builds credibility but can also lead to organic invitations over time. I’ve experienced this myself. After sharing a podcast appearance on LinkedIn, I received a new invitation from another host who saw the post and felt I had valuable insights to contribute.
5. SEO-Optimized Personal Website
Develop a personal website that has a strong biography or “about me” section, a blog featuring your thought leadership content and clear positioning. This ensures that when people Google you, they find a credible, professional presence.
The Takeaway
Your personal brand is already forming with every post, article and interaction. The question is whether you’re shaping it deliberately or letting it take form on its own.
Start small: Define what you want to be known for, share insights consistently and make yourself visible in the right channels. A strong online presence isn’t built overnight, but those who invest in it consistently stand out, attract opportunities and gain lasting credibility. The first step? Show up—and do it with purpose.
Forbes Business Council is the foremost growth and networking organization for business owners and leaders. Do I qualify?
Read the full article here
