11 Social Media Networks to Use for Personal Branding

Social media networks to use for personal branding

Here’s a look at 11 social channels to explore for personal branding and tips on using them effectively. 

1. Facebook

Facebook is a popular social networking platform where users post comments and share various content types, including photos and news. 

If you’re exploring Facebook for personal branding, keep the following tips in mind: 

• Post regularly: Keep your audience interested by sharing regular updates. Posting once daily is ideal, but at least three times a week may be more manageable. 
• Conduct Facebook Live Q&A sessions: Once in a while, host a Facebook Live Q&A. These livestream presentations can help build your personal brand, increase your follower count and boost engagement with customers and prospects.
• Invite people to like your Facebook page: Inviting people to like your Facebook page is an easy way to add followers.
• Run ads on Facebook: Take advantage of Facebook’s advertising offerings. With Facebook ads, you can target your demographic by gender, age, location and more. 
• Comment and engage on the platform: To build your following, it’s essential to engage with your Facebook community by liking and regularly commenting on quality content.

2. X

X (formerly Twitter) is a powerful personal branding tool for startup founders. Consider the following tips to build your personal brand on X: 

• Stay active: A good rule of thumb is to be active on X daily. One to five posts a day will dramatically increase your audience engagement.
• Follow others: One of the best ways to gain followers is to follow other X accounts. When starting on the network, it’s a good idea to follow at least two people in your industry a day.
• Participate in chats: Another way to increase your following is to participate in ongoing chats or pertinent threads.

3. LinkedIn

LinkedIn is an absolute must for any professional building their personal brand. Some tips include the following: 

• Create a profile: Create an individual profile to let others know who you are. Connect with influential people in your industry to network successfully on LinkedIn.  
• Create a company profile: You should also create a LinkedIn business profile for your company and add it to your personal profile.
• Join LinkedIn groups: Join relevant LinkedIn groups to connect with others in your industry and expand your network. 
• Post articles: You can also post original articles on LinkedIn to establish your credibility and expertise.
• Post consistently and often: LinkedIn advises new users to post quality content twice a week. As you gain traction, build up to three to five posts weekly. However, it’s always better to post fewer high-quality posts than frequent low-quality posts. 

4. Instagram

Instagram is a visual platform, so photos, videos and descriptive text captions are essential to your personal branding strategy. Some tips include the following: 

• Show your personal and business sides: Create an Instagram account that blends your personal and business life. Using Instagram for business expands your company’s reach and engagement, but you also want to include posts that showcase you personally. 
• Post frequently: Business owners should try to post on Instagram once or twice daily. 
• Use hashtags: Harness the power of hashtags to help others discover your content and become new followers. However, be careful not to overuse hashtags; you don’t want to be perceived as spam. Try to stay within five to 12 hashtags. 
• Interact on Instagram: Be sure to like and comment on others’ content to increase your following.

5. Snapchat

Founders of businesses catering to millennials and Gen Zers can use Snapchat as a powerful storytelling tool when building their personal brand. Some tips include the following:

• Create a Snapchat story: Post pictures, videos and captions to craft a narrative that lasts 24 hours on your Snapchat story. Posting content daily will keep your brand fresh in your followers’ minds. Update your Snapchat story about three times daily, every four or five hours.
• Try an account takeover: Increase your followers by having an influencer take over your account for the day or you can take over another account. Promote the takeover to their followers and yours. 
• Promote your Snapchat: Promote your Snapchat account on other marketing channels so your existing audience knows where to find you.

6. Quora

Executives can use Quora to demonstrate their industry expertise, build credibility and elevate their personal brand. Some tips include the following: 

• Post consistently: There is no set rule for how often you should post on Quora, but it’s vital to be consistently active. Try to answer questions, leave comments and upvote others’ answers at least three days a week.
• Focus on a niche: Focus on positioning yourself in one niche so people will know what to expect and want to follow you.
• Ask good questions: Gain exposure by asking insightful questions that resonate with people.

7. Crunchbase

Crunchbase is an excellent platform if your business is growing, particularly if you have a tech company and want to be visible to potential investors. Some tips include the following: 

• Establish a social media presence first: Before you can set up a Crunchbase account, you’ll need an account on Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook.
• Fill out your profile: Fill out your profile completely, including a detailed bio, events you’ve contributed to and press references. While Crunchbase is not a platform where users post, you can edit your profile anytime to keep it fresh. 

8. Medium

Medium is an online publishing platform where users read and write articles. The website allows anyone to create content and establish themselves as an industry expert without dealing with the details involved in setting up a blog. Some tips include the following: 

• Focus on a theme: Use Medium to publish content focused on a theme related to your brand or business. 
• Be consistent: Plan a consistent content schedule — whether once a week or once a month — to stay relevant and grow your audience.

9. Pinterest

Like Instagram, Pinterest is a visual platform ideal for influencers and product creators. You’ll use Pinterest to drive traffic to your site, store original pins and craft a credible and knowledgeable presence. Some tips include the following: 

• Set up a business account: Start growing your personal brand on Pinterest by setting up a business account, which is necessary to track data analytics.
• Confirm your website: Confirm your website so your Pinterest picture will appear on all pins from your site automatically. 
• Be consistent: Pin consistently to build your personal brand and increase website traffic. Pinning a handful of times daily or every other day will be more effective than mass pinning once a week.

10. YouTube 

YouTube can help you build brand trust with video — a vital element of creating a personal brand. Making a YouTube channel for your brand is an excellent way to increase brand awareness online and grow your audience. Some tips include the following: 

• Post videos based on your brand: First, define your personal brand and publish videos based on your interests and profession. For example, if you’re a marketing expert, consider sharing videos that focus on specific marketing niches, such as the benefits of email marketing.
• Be consistent: As with other social media channels, posting consistently on YouTube will provide the best results. If possible, post once a week. If this isn’t realistic, you can post every two weeks.

11. TikTok

TikTok generally caters to a younger audience, so if your personality and brand fit with the platform, consider it a tool for personal branding. Some tips include the following: 

• Focus on your unique brand: With TikTok, you don’t have to pay for targeting or go out of your way to reach your audience. TikTok’s algorithm places content in front of likely audiences, so it’s an excellent tool if you’re just getting started. 
• Be authentic: TikTok is a varied, unique platform, so being your authentic self will serve you well. No need to dance — unless you want to. 

How to brand yourself on social media

When building a brand for a product or company, you highlight its products or services, history and people while consistently reinforcing your brand’s values. Building a personal brand is similar but has some unique elements. Here’s how to build a positive and durable personal brand.

1. Determine your personal brand’s positioning.

Like product branding, personal branding requires distinct positioning. For example, are you a tech genius, a maverick disruptor, an experienced corporate executive, a relatable member of your local community, the heir to a family business or a creative pioneer? 

Your positioning will be determined by the following:

• Your industry or product: If you have a high-tech product, your positioning will most likely include “innovator,” “researcher,” or “disruptor.”
• Your company’s age: If your company has been around for more than 20 years, your positioning might include “growth accelerator” or “steward.” If you have a newer company, your positioning might use “innovator,” “entrepreneur” or “visionary.”
• Your role in the company: Were you the business mind behind your company or the creator of a technical innovation or new product? Perhaps you inherited a family business and have faithfully brought it into modern times. Your role is central to your personal brand.
• Your personality: If you could describe yourself in five words — four adjectives and a noun — what would they be? For example, “I am a creative, innovative, data-obsessed, driven marketer.” This exercise will help you pinpoint your personal brand’s positioning.

2. Identify your areas of strength and expertise.

Everyone has areas of strength and weakness. When forming a personal brand, focus only on your strengths. Below are some prompts and ideas to help you pinpoint your strengths. Are you any of the following?

• An expert on [fill in the blank]
• An up-to-the-minute expert on industry news and information
• A leader
• A visionary and pioneer
• Trustworthy
• Rigorous when it comes to quality and compliance
• Customer-centric
• An out-of-the-box thinker 
• Accredited in [fill in the blank]
• An award winner of [fill in the blank]
• A serial entrepreneur or company builder
• A sales superstar

3. Gather proof of your strengths and expertise.

If you’ve been in business a while, you may have an “I love me” file — a collection of public mentions and awards you’ve accumulated. This file contains proof of your strengths and expertise and will be a valuable tool for personal branding. 

For example, if you’re a subject matter expert, you’ll collect the following: 

• Press clippings that quote or cite you
• Conference programs that list you as a featured speaker
• Personal endorsements and recommendations on LinkedIn 

Ideally, your collection will be digital and include PDFs of articles and awards, links to published articles and speeches, scans of handwritten testimonials and thank you letters. 

You should also prepare a list of your qualifications, including the following: 

• Relevant education and degrees
• Industry organization memberships
• Certifications, such as business certifications or accounting and finance certifications
• Successful projects
• Leadership roles 
• Any other evidence of your unique strengths and expertise

If you don’t yet have an “I love me” file or are new to the business world, start collecting one as soon as possible. Conducting an online search using your name is a great place to start. 

4. Find your brand voice.

Your positioning will largely determine your brand voice — how you’ll communicate verbally or in written or video form. The tone of your brand voice should match your branding. For example, are you friendly and approachable, solid and trustworthy or experienced and corporate?

5. Create a personal website.

Create a website that shares your personal brand’s story, including your expertise and background. Here’s what to include: 

• A section with links and postings of items in your “I love me” file
• A professional photo of you
• Links to your company and products
• An About page that expounds on your personal accomplishments and qualities
• A blog with content related to your expertise (link to its posts via social media marketing and email marketing efforts)
• Your availability for consulting or speaking engagements (along with social proof of your experience, including testimonials from clients and event organizers)
• A “Connect with me” page that allows visitors to follow you on various social media platforms and contact you directly via email 

6. Get active on several social media platforms.

Select three social media platforms to focus on and use consistently. Your choices should align with your branding and audience. Here’s how to use social platforms effectively:

• Fill out your profile on each platform completely with information from your personal website. 
• Post valuable new content in your area of expertise regularly, including images, videos and written content. Occasionally link to your personal website’s blog and sprinkle in personal musings and interesting and funny stories. 
• Add to your social media followers by inviting those in your field or target market.
• Actively engage with your social media followers using polls, questions and one-on-one conversations.
• Share content across platforms for maximum reach.
• Use social media analytics to see where you’re excelling and where you need to improve.

Tips for building a personal brand on social media 

Consider the following tips for building a personal brand on social media regardless of channel:

• Automate your content: Building your personal brand through social media can be tedious and time-consuming, so use social media automation tools like Sprout, Buffer and Hootsuite to schedule posts. Still, while prewriting evergreen content and automating your social media posts can save time, creating topical posts is also essential.
• Reuse your content: You don’t have to write a new post from scratch every time. Try repurposing existing marketing content to modify it for different networks. Repurposing can save you time and effort when posting on multiple platforms.
• Keep all social media accounts current: Ensure your social media profiles are up-to-date and accurate. Delete any profiles you don’t use to funnel all followers to your newest profile and content. If you have any low-quality or otherwise questionable posts from years ago, delete them to help manage your online reputation.
• Post regularly: Social media requires consistent attention, so schedule posts using a social media calendar — and stick to it. It’s much better to post three to four times weekly instead of loading it all in one day.
• Import your contacts: Import your contacts when you set up a social account. You may be surprised to find that many are already on the platform, giving you a ready-made following. Send invitations on the platform and follow up with an email.
• Keep posts upbeat and interesting: Post a good mix of content to interest your target market. Since this is personal branding, include personal content involving travel, people, hobbies or organizations that inspire you. Avoid politics, religion and other sensitive topics as well as personal subjects like health or financial challenges.
• Join groups: Some networks have groups centered around specific topics. Join groups relevant to you and your business and participate by posting and commenting. Provide help to other members through information or introductions and ask for others’ feedback on ideas.
• Use a consistent brand voice: Like company branding, personal branding must be consistent. Consider how you want to be seen and what is unique about you and use that to guide how you post. It may take some trial and error, but eventually, you’ll get into a groove.

Why personal branding is important in business

Your personal brand can have far-reaching benefits for your business, including the following:

• Your personal brand gives your company more visibility: The more visibility you have as an owner, founder or executive, the more visible your company will be. Your company and its URL will be listed on every page of your personal website and in every social media profile and your content will include references to your company. You can also include links to your company’s website from your personal social media and other content, adding to your company’s SEO strategy. 
• Your personal brand lends credibility to your business: Your personal expertise will demonstrate your company’s expertise and your personal business experience will inform your company’s current operations. By establishing yourself as a thought leader in your industry, you also enhance your company’s industry profile and status.
• Your personal brand humanizes the company: Customers like to do business with people, not faceless corporations. Showing your individuality and sharing your family, hobbies, interests and experiences humanizes the company. 
• Your personal brand creates opportunities for the company: When you’re visible and respected in your industry, you can attract more strategic partnerships, customers and potential investors. You’ll be in a position to make valuable connections and learn critical information.