How to Build a Personal Brand

by Lindsey Winsemius - Posted 9 years ago

Using personal branding to build trust.


We've talked about building a website that is trustworthy, and building trust in your brand. But the final step in truly earning the trust of your audience is to build trust in YOU. 

We don’t buy a car from the dealership, we buy from the salesperson. We don’t just enjoy a meal from the restaurant, we enjoy a meal served to us by a friendly waiter. 

In B2B companies, the sales representative is crucial in closing the sale. Gaining the trust of your audience in you personally, or in a figure that represents your company, is crucial to gaining customers. That is why celebrities are popular in promoting big brands – they inspire trust in the audience. 

Some companies have executives that build up a personal brand and become like celebrities. Think Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, the late Steve Jobs of Apple, Bill Gates, and so on.

How can you build your personal brand?

8 Ways to Build a Personal Brand:

1. Create a personal tagline. 

Just like a company needs to have a tagline or slogan, you should have a quick explanation of your own personal bio. And use that bio in all your content, social media profiles, and when you are introducing yourself to others. You can also encourage your colleagues to introduce you using this pitch.

2.  Embrace your personality.

Don’t try and be someone you are not. Embrace your personality and let it shine through in your blogs, social posts, and interactions with your customers. This will keep your personal message consistent and show your audience how genuine you are. Fake it til you make it only works in Hollywood. And maybe for politicians.

3. Make room for face time.

Nothing builds personal trust more than face-to-face interactions. This means attending events in your industry, finding speaking opportunities, hosting hangouts online, or even posting videos you have created. It is much easier to trust someone you have met than someone you've just connected with online.

4. Be trustworthy. 

This should seem obvious. But part of being a salesman is talking up your business. It is a fine line between being excited about your business and over-promising about what you can deliver. Don’t get caught up in the excitement of a new prospect and promise something your company can’t deliver. If you are promoting your business through personal channels, be open and transparent. 

5. Connect with others. 

Find other noteworthy people in your industry and connect with them. If they know who you are, they are more likely to mention your name or interact with your online content. This will expose an even greater audience to your personal brand, and your company’s brand at the same time. And don’t forget to do the same to others who connect with you.  Promotion is always a two-way street. 

6.  Use social media.

This is a no-brainer. You might choose to keep some social media accounts for purely personal use, but you should at least have one profile that you connect with your audience. LinkedIn is a great place to build your personal brand. You can post short blogs talking about your industry or your work environment. Connect with your audience and share yourself. At least a little.

7. Create content.

Content that includes your bio and image will build trust in your name and increase your reach. Ebooks, blogs, articles, videos, and even just short social media posts are all ways to build your personality and recognition of your name.

8. Monitor your personal brand. 

Just like every business should be monitoring comments and mentions online, you should monitor your personal brand. Type your own name into Google and track mentions on the web with Google Alerts. Track your mentions on Twitter using Tweetcekc or Hootsuite. 


Whether you like it or not, you have a personal brand – it’s called your reputation. Why not take the time to build a great one?



Victoria Tegg 5 years ago
Excellent video very helpful. I just bought an Asus machine (my first) and was puzzled by the same thing. Just one thing though, update the video with a caption that explains that its 'v' and not 'b' cause its not clear and also put in that regardless of the icon being on the button the key still works. Also btw adding that the virtual camera app is for the camera to work with multiple apps would educate your viewers further.?