Personal branding is the conscious and intentional effort to create and influence public perception of an individual by positioning them as an authority in their industry, elevating their credibility, and creating a consistent perception or impression of an individual based on their experience, expertise, competencies, actions, and/or achievements within a community, industry, or the marketplace at large. It is the process of defining and promoting what you stand for as an individual, and it involves developing a well-defined and consistent look, message, and presence online and offline. Personal branding is not just about marketing but about being your marketer, and it is about standing for yourself and your business to command respect and confidence from your peers and customers.

A personal brand is the unique combination of skills and experiences that make you who you are, and it’s what makes you unique and sets you apart from everyone else. It is how you want people to see you, and it is much more intentional than reputation, which is about credibility. Personal branding is important because it helps you differentiate your value and what you bring to the table, build trust with your audience, connect with customers, become more visible in your industry, shape your reputation, leave a lasting impression during online and in-person networking, and sell more to target prospects.

To create a personal brand, you need to figure out what drives you, align your values to your organization’s goals, and determine what people think and feel when they interact with you. You can adjust your brand with a few careful steps, such as crafting a consistent style that reuses design elements to build a recognizable brand, choosing a limited number of platforms, and creating boundaries around your brand to ensure everyone knows what you stand for and how you present yourself.