5 ways to build your personal brand on social media

Organically creating a strong network that helps you build and expand your personal brand can be tricky but is an absolute must for a sustainable business.

Do people often message or tag you when they come across something that (strongly) reminded them of you? Congratulations, you have your own personal brand! If you not there yet, you probably need to go through your social media posting habits and fill the gaps you come across. Maybe your communication is not as distinct as is appreciable or maybe you are simply not reaching the right audiences.

We list down 5 tips below to help you build and grow your personal brand on social media.

1. Be regular, consistent

There should be consistency in your posts and the topics you talk about. If you want people to remember you, think your content is credible, you will have to give them a reason to believe so. The tone and language of your posts should reflect that you genuinely care about the topics in question and that you have some knowledge about the same.

2. Be mindful of numbers

What gets you most traction? Are there certain posts where you get instant reactions? Are you speaking about the trends? Can you pinpoint the kind of content your audiences find the most interesting? Are those things in sync with your personality and acceptable to your personal ethics? Watch these numbers — they will help you amplify your reach.

Also Read: Infographic – The art and science of personal branding

3. Make audiences feel heard

Two-way communication is key to building a brand. You cannot just speak all the time without making your audiences feel heard. Let them express. Make them feel you care about their opinions. Do remember to take it with a pinch of salt for unnecessary trolling is a real phenomenon. Engage them, learn from them and use it to enhance your understanding of the subject.

4. Be platform-wise

Instagram is a visual medium but people often get good traction with long captions and written words on stories. Twitter is meant for short and crisp, often trending communication but long threads are just as easily accepted. Facebook is a mix of everything but reach is often restricted by privacy settings. You need to mindful of which platform gets you what kind of traction on what kind of content and if it's in sync with what you seek.

Also Read: #SMLive 2019: How to build Brand ‘You’ online

5. Duplicate with care

Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are connected in ways that it is extremely easy to share the same content across platforms, often with a single tap. Even if the accounts aren't linked, you can also take a screenshot or upload the same thing everywhere. However, it is important that you optimise the content according to the platform you are dealing with. This goes for visuals, captions, story stickers as well as hashtags.