Personal Branding: Definition, Examples & Strategies

What is personal branding? In general, it is an individual's effort to build a digital identity as well as a positive image and perception in front of the general public.

Some appropriate and professional personal branding examples can enhance someone's online presence to support various self-promotion efforts.

This personal branding strategy is highly beneficial for individuals planning to build networks to maximize their career potential.

If you are also interested in personal branding, find out “what is personal branding”, its benefits, how to do it, and several good personal branding examples in the article below.

What is Personal Branding?

For you who are curious about what is personal branding, then here’s what you should know. Personal branding is a strategy to build positive perceptions of yourself in the eyes of others.

You can construct a professional identity in the digital space by implementing interesting and authentic examples of personal branding.

It can influence how the general public perceives you based on what you share.

In essence, there are many approaches to personal branding. It can range from simple things like how you dress, your behavior, or your speaking manner, to the activities or achievements you share on social media.

In summary, anything that consistently reflects who you are and is acknowledged by many people constitutes personal branding.

Recently, personal branding has become increasingly important as the majority of recruiters start researching potential candidates through their social media.

According to HCA Magazine Canada, 28% of recruiters seek information about the personal branding of job applicants.

Therefore, you need to demonstrate your credibility positively and professionally through good and proper personal branding examples.

Personal Branding Element

According to an expert in global management and leadership, Gill Corkindale, in an article in the Harvard Business Review journal, there are four crucial elements that should be present in every personal branding strategy.

The four elements of personal branding are as follows:

• Authentic: You should prioritize some of the personal branding examples that are unique and different from the majority. You need to showcase yourself as genuinely as possible and not duplicate the branding of others.
• Consistent: Personal branding encompasses all aspects that are inherent to you consistently over time. 
• Captivating: In order to capture the attention of the general public, your personal branding must be engaging and have a strong influence.
• Widely Known: The more people feel connected by recognizing your personal branding, the greater the chances of success in various aspects of life, both professionally and personally.  

Personal Branding Examples

Now that you know what is personal branding, let’s learn about some of its examples. 

1. Najwa Shihab

Najwa Shihab has successfully built her branding as a journalist committed to the principles of ethics and journalistic integrity. 

Through the news programs and interviews she hosts, she consistently demonstrates the qualities of trustworthy and objective reporting.

2. Oprah Winfrey

Oprah Winfrey has managed to establish a strong and positive example of personal branding. As a media figure, presenter, producer, and philanthropist, Oprah has successfully crafted an extraordinary image in the entertainment industry and the broader community.

Firstly, Oprah is known for her ability to inspire and bring about positive change in the lives of others. This image is built through her iconic talk show, "The Oprah Winfrey Show," which focuses on in-depth conversations about various social, health, and well-being issues.

Personal Branding Benefits

After understanding “what is personal branding”, you may be curious about why this branding strategy is so important for each individual.

In general, the main goal of personal branding is to make the general public have a positive perception and impression of you.

However, in the digital age we live in, the functions of personal branding have become even more extensive.

Some examples of personal branding can even become a profitable investment in the future. Discover the various benefits of personal branding below.

1. Enhances Personal Attractiveness

With strong personal branding, you can showcase your unique attractiveness and become more memorable. 

If you have good and professional personal branding in the workplace, this can be a powerful factor in getting promotions or advancing in your career. 

2. Distinguishes Individuals

Every individual has unique characteristics that make them different from others. 

Unfortunately, not everyone can highlight these unique traits because they pay insufficient attention to personal branding. 

Just like products that need a Unique Selling Proposition (USP), you also need to display things that make you unique and different from others.

3. Opens Up Many New Opportunities

With personal branding, you can even open up many new opportunities that may not have been imagined before. 

If someone successfully builds positive branding and their profile is widely known, new doors will open in various fields. 

For example, opportunities to collaborate with leading companies, receive offers for interesting projects or even become a speaker at prestigious events.

4. Expands Connections

Your reputation can be built through personal branding. If someone has a strong presence both online and offline, they will find it easier to attract the attention of people with similar interests and visions. 

This has the potential to open up opportunities for business relationships, professional collaborations, or even finding mentors who can guide career development.

5. Ensures Self-Quality

Many individuals are experts in a particular field but may go unnoticed or even be underestimated due to limited personal branding. 

In the business and career context, this branding can help you ensure your professional quality and demonstrate how competent you are in a specific field. 

However, building personal branding takes time for the message and intentions to be well-received by others. Therefore, it's advisable to start building your branding now to reach the right target. So, how do you go about it?

How to Build Personal Branding

It's important to remember that personal branding is an aspect that cannot be built overnight. You need to do it transparently and consistently to build a satisfying positive perception.

Basically, the process of building personal branding is not much different from product branding strategies for marketing efforts. Here are the steps you can take to build personal branding.

1. Identify Branding Goals

Before learning how to build personal branding, you need to determine the goals of this branding effort first. 

Do you want to increase visibility in a specific industry, gain new business opportunities, or create influence in a particular community? 

Defining these goals will guide your steps in building personal branding with a clear focus. For example, if your main goal is to expand your professional network, you can focus on building a strong social media profile like LinkedIn. 

If you are more inclined to build engagement rates in the digital world, you may need to develop a consistent presence on relevant social media platforms.

2. Develop a Strategy Based on Research

If you know what is personal branding, then you must also know that you need to determine how to convey your branding to remain unique and different from others who are trying to build similar branding. 

You can research individuals with similar niches or interests to enrich insights into industry trends, communication styles, and visual elements that may attract the audience's attention. Additionally, identify weaknesses or mistakes that can be avoided to strengthen your strategy.

3. Be Yourself

One good personal branding example is being able to display your identity as it is, honestly. If the audience can sense your authenticity through branding, you have created a strong foundation for building genuine connections. 

Being yourself means not just showing the positive side but also accepting and sharing imperfect aspects, such as when you experience failure as an individual who continues to grow and learn.

4. Define Target Audience

The branding of a traveler may not be very impactful for a makeup enthusiast audience. Therefore, to make your branding more targeted and meaningful, you need to determine the target audience first.

5. Develop Skills According to Branding

To maximize your way on how to build personal branding, you need to develop skills that align with that branding. 

For example, if you want to build branding as a speaker, you can train public speaking skills to consistently convey your branding.

6. Start Building Networking

You can also start to build your personal branding by regularly attending events and meetings in the professional domain. 

Activities such as conferences, seminars, and industry meetings can be opportunities to make connections and expand your network. By combining strategy and maintaining integrity and honesty in every interaction, you can build strong personal branding through networking activities.

7. Build a Website to Support Branding

In addition to social media, branding efforts for personal use can also be done through a website. 

With a website, you can more easily control the narrative and image you want to convey to the audience. 

Additionally, the website can serve as a space to showcase portfolios, experiences, and works that support your personal branding more professionally.

Backlink dan Professional PR/Branding Services — 200+ Authoritative Media 

PR/Branding services can help you build, maintain, and enhance the image of a brand or individual in front of the public. 

This branding service is particularly useful if you are a significant figure in the political realm seeking to increase visibility and authority through mentions on website pages, news portals, or other authoritative media.

To ensure that the product branding process through media buying provides significant benefits, you must be careful in choosing the media involved.

Utilize professional PR services through Media Buying by cmlabs. We ensure you receive:

• Brand mentions through the production of quality content.
• Relevant backlinks from leading sites in your niche.
• Strict domain checks to ensure the involved domains meet security and authority standards.
• Adjustment of content implementation procedures based on Google Spam Policies to avoid practices that could harm your site's ranking and reputation.

It is your time to collaborate with cmlabs. Let's synergize together and contact our Marketing Team now!