How to Brand Yourself On Social Media in 2022
It is important to align your branding strategies to suit each platform
Your personal brand, communicated through your online persona, is a powerful tool. It communicates your values, your initiatives, and your personal business' personality, visual identity, and messaging all at once. And your social media channels have the added benefit of giving you easy ways to connect with your audience in a tangible, human way.
In today's article, we'll cover the best ways to create a personal brand on social media— without having to use expensive marketing strategies or losing your authenticity in the process.
Let's jump in!
Why personal branding on social media is important
Social media is quickly becoming one of the most essential tools marketers, entrepreneurs, and business owners can use to build their following. And if your personal social media channels don't already define who you are and what you represent, you're leaving a significant brand awareness opportunity on the table!
Branding yourself on social media helps you attract and engage with the types of clients, customers, business partners, new job opportunities, and network connections that add value to your business and industry. On social media, you can find the perfect customer to grow your business, the partner you've always needed, or the new opportunity that will propel your company into the next season— but only if you're attracting the right social media users.
Your personal brand on social media determines the connections you'll attract
While it may be tempting to fill your social media accounts with your own content and images that reflect your personal life, if you want to start using these same social media profiles for self-branding, the kind of content you post should change.
A strong online brand can help you establish authority and recognition within your industry. And it can certainly be the defining factor in whether you get that call, referral, opportunity, or sale! When you start accurately branding yourself on social media, by posting relevant and valuable content, you can begin attracting the kind of connections that will add value to your ventures.
A social media kit makes personal branding on social media a breeze!
You may be thinking: Personal branding and consistently creating all my own content seems overwhelming. There's no way I can keep up with it all!
And if so, you're not alone! Creating a personal branding strategythat uses your own brand voice and includes eye-catching visuals— then promoting that content across all your social media channels— can feel overwhelming! But that's where ZeBrand's high-quality social media kits come in.
Social media kits are a collection of pre-made branded graphics you can use on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other social media channels. These graphics may include your profile picture, inspirational quotes, your personal brand logo, your favorite fonts and colors, and other visual elements that showcase your own personality. And by using these pre-made elements, you can save a ton of time while displaying a cohesive personal brand across your social media networks.
At ZeBrand, our easy-to-use online brand builderallows you to create a whole collection of custom-branded graphics that can be used across several social media platforms- saving you time while creating a personal brand that's professional, unique, and totally cohesive. ZeBrand has created downloadable assets that include specially designed fonts, website templates, and tailored-to-youcolor palettes to help you reach your social media and branding goals.
Social media kits have helped entrepreneurs, business owners, and thought leaders look exceptionally professional on social media for years— which makes your branded online life easier!
How do you start developing your personal branding strategy on social media?
Now that you know what personal branding on social media is— and how a social media kit can help simplify the branding process— let's look at three ways to create a strong personal brand that stands out online.
1. Start with carefully chosen social networks
Personal branding is all about sending clear, concise messages about who you are and what you're about. But if your target audience isn't on the platform you've been using, they won't hear or see all your amazing content! That's why it's crucial to strategically choose the right social media networks from the start.
Instagram is the social media channel that typically comes to mind when you think about personal branding or social media marketing. This platform gave birth to the original influencers— a group of content creators who are experts at personal branding!
On this platform, users tend to be younger. Posts that include beautiful visuals or videos tend to perform well on this platform, along with branded stories. While a monthly Instagram photo won't quite be enough to generate real engagement on the platform, consistently adding your visual and short video content, while incorporating strategic hashtags, can establish your personal brand on the app.
Facebook is the most active social media platform at this time, with nearly 3,000,000 active users every month. But because it's so big, getting popular on this form of social media takes more time and effort. As with other social media platforms, posting sporadically won't be enough to establish your personal branding, but you can grow your audience with consistent, high-quality content.
Creating a Facebook page or group is a quick, free way to start building a following around your personal brand. In fact, many businesses and personal brands have established large followings by creating a themed private group where users can engage and interact in a dedicated online space.
LinkedIn is the best platform for showcasing your professional skills, joining industry groups, and making new connections for your business. Unlike on Facebook and Instagram, on LinkedIn, your personal brand is more focused on what you do professionally. For coaches, consultants, entrepreneurs, B2B service-providers, sales people, and even creators, LinkedIn is a great place to focus your personal branding strategy.
The top-performing content on LinkedIn tends to be articles, videos, and long-form posts without images. The platform is less visual than other social media networks, relying more on content quality to drive engagement.
Twitter is another great social network to use to establish your brand, especially if you're a thought leader or expert. Because Twitter focuses on insightful, short-form content, personal brands that have industry-leading knowledge tend to do well there.
The most successful personal brands on Twitter don't rely on a simple once-weekly Twitter post. They post consistently throughout the day, connect with other platform users, and follow a number of related accounts.
So what's the best social media option for you?
In short, it's the platform that best matches your personal values, goals, and strengths. If you enjoy making the kind of content that performs well on Instagram, that's a great platform to start with. If you're a professional looking to establish your professional branding, try LinkedIn! And many brands use a mix of platforms to create their online presence. You can always try a few options and see which clicks the best.
2. Narrow your target audience
The next step in branding yourself on social media is to define the audience you hope to connect with on your chosen platform.
Think about the kind of person you hope to reach with your brand. Are they young or mature? Professional or entrepreneurial? Creative or analytical? It's helpful to use a branding tool, like ZeBrand's Brand DNA Builderto record these details.
With your target audience in mind, think of your personal branding like your own form of marketing. Just as you'd focus your marketing strategies on your target market, your personal branding content should be focused on the type of person you want to reach most. Stay on topic with every post— prioritizing content that aligns with your brand. If you have old posts or photos on your social media profiles, consider clearing them off so your branding is fully consistent.
Additionally, it's always a good idea to focus on doing one thing really well at first. If that's videos, focus on videos! You can even start a YouTube channel to maximize your content reach. Once you've mastered one form of content, start experimenting with others. You can add photography, quotes, interviews, articles, and more to your social media accounts overtime, growing your reach and your expertise in the process.
3. Begin building your personal brand online
The best social media branding strategies are simple: They're clear, consistent, authentic, and well-presented. There's no magic formula that allows you to create the perfect online presence, but when you deliver your own unique insights and expertise in a relatable, easy-to-consume way, followers respond!
One of the best ways to brand yourself on social media is to find groups that align with the personal branding you're hoping to establish. Join groups focused on the same topics you're interested in or have specific expertise in, whether that's photography or finance tips, fashion advice, or business experience.
Once you're in the group, start posting valuable content related to the topics. As you engage with other followers on the platform, they'll start to see you as an authority in the field. And overtime, your personal brand will grow.
Another way to stand out in the digital world is to study influencers connecting with the audience you hope to reach. What kind of posts and content are they making? What do their followers seem to respond to the most? While your own branding on social media will be unique to you, seeing how the top influencers in your field connect with their followers is a great way to get inspired.
Branding Pro Tip: What differentiates you from others is your own brand story. Think of your background and the pivotal moments that led you here today. By sharing your own brand story in your personal brand's voice, you'll start attracting the kind of audience that relates to your brand— exactly the kind of audience who will benefit most from the expertise you have to offer. To learn more about this, we recommend reading Tribesby Seth Godin.
Looking for more resources for personal branding on social?
Check out these helpful articles that break down exactly how to brand yourself on each platform specifically:
- Your Ultimate Guide to Using Instagram for Personal Branding via Muse
- 5 No-Brainer Tips for Branding Yourself on Facebook via Post Planner
- 7 ways to build your personal brand using Pinterest via Nellaino
- How To: Build Your Personal Brand on YouTube via Mashable
- How to Build Your Personal Brand Through TikTok via Better Marketing
- How To Brand Yourself On Twitter via Digital GYD
The more you market your brand, the more your followers will grow
The last step in building your own brand on social media is also the longest— growing your reach. Once you've taken the steps above to establish your personal brand's visual identity, messaging, and audience, it's time to grow!
The social media growth process requires a marketing strategy similar to the ones businesses use to sell more services. Here are a few useful tips, pulled straight from the traditional marketing world, that can help you grow your following:
- Use strategic hashtags to expand your reach. Hashtags help social media users find organic content that matches their interests. By adding strategic hashtags to your content, you ensure your ideal audience sees what you post— even if they don't follow you yet!
- Look for partnerships and collaborations. While you were doing your influencer research, did you find another person who has a style and following similar to your own? See if they want to collaborate! For example, you can make a video together, co-write an article, or do an interview that you post on both of your profiles. Because your audiences are similar, there's a strong likelihood that many of their followers will want to see more of what you post too. In the end, both you and your partner or collaborator will benefit from the cross-promotions.
- Run contests. A lot of social media personalities will run contests to expand their reach— like offering a special gift or free product to their 100,000th follower. Not only does this encourage more people to follow your profile, it keeps your current followers excited and engaged.
With ZeBrand, branding yourself on social media is simple
Our brand-building tools and expert Brand Coachescan help you define your overall personality, narrow down your audience, make eye-catching visuals, and grow your social networks. To get started or talk to a coach, Contact Us.
