How to build a personal brand

Sometimes trying to appeal to everyone, appeals to no-one. So think - who will your story resonate with the most? Other young families, remote workers, industry peers? Concentrate your efforts on the right audience.

Determine what makes you unique and narrow down your areas of expertise to start building a personal brand others can relate to.

Keep your focus within your key audience and local communities. While your potential audience might be smaller, it’ll be much more relevant and open to what you have to say.

Don’t spread yourself too thin. Building a presence on a social media platform takes time, so be selective.

Start with the one more suited to your needs. A golden rule is to follow your audience. This is another reason why you need to know who they are. Where are they spending time on? Which platform will be the best to reach them?

This will help you focus your efforts and get the best results. When you’re feeling more confident with your profile, you can start expanding your social media presence to other platforms.

First impressions count. An incomplete or impersonal profile harms your authenticity and discourages trust.

Choose a profile picture that shows your face clearly and starts establishing a personal connection. Fill in your bio with key information about you, your interests and what you can offer people. Add relevant keywords that will make your profile more discoverable.

Your handle should include your name. If you choose to mention UW as part of your handle and/or on your profile, make it clear that you are a Partner representing the brand. Don’t impersonate UW, or create a profile that doesn’t feel like it belongs to a real person. People make stronger connections to accounts they perceive as honest, transparent and authentic.

If you’re focusing on selling all the time you’ll struggle to keep people interested. Good content is personal, engaging and generates conversation. Find the right mix for your page: posts that entertain, educate, make people laugh and inspire.

Create your own posts. You want to become a source of content that adds value to your community. By that, we mean real photography and video, not graphics with illustrations and text. Avoid copying and pasting content you find online, whether from Google, UW’s website/assets or other Partners too.

If you’re talking about UW or the Partner opportunity, establish a personal connection. Share real stories, case studies and experiences.

Taking the time to build community is equally as important as uploading original and engaging content.

Social media isn’t a place to broadcast and sell, it’s where you’ll make connections. It’s really important to dedicate time to nurture and grow your community for this reason.

You won’t build community if you’re the only one doing the talking. It’s called social media for a reason. So remember to reply to comments, send new connections a personal note, answer their questions and engage with your follower’s posts.