A couple of ideas don’t make something a brand, and the same goes for your personal brand.

When you exert effort into the development of your personal brand, you establish credibility and enhance your online reputation. This translates to using different types of content, not constantly boosting the same few posts over and over without much variety in form or idea.

Sharing impactful content on social media platforms helps your brand successfully communicate with your audience, tell your story and convey your values. It’s crucial to cut through the clutter with meaningful material. 

Audiences are looking for content that ultimately adds value to their lives, you need to approach your content this way due to a few key benefits:

• You encourage them to turn to you for more information.
• You build their trust by consistently creating valuable content.
• You encourage more people to find your brand with content.

With planning, cohesive and consistent content, you’re able to better establish and share your personal brand. 

Why is content essential to building your personal brand?

Whether you’re aware of it or not, content is crucial when it comes to building and promoting your personal brand.

Curating and sharing quality content for your brand on social media platforms can educate, entertain and persuade your audience, which is essential in building a personal brand. You’re gearing up to become more widely known as a trusted individual with your audience’s best interests in mind when you develop your personal brand.

People find brands that look after their customers’ interests more reliable than companies that constantly push advertisements, which is where quality content comes into play. Audiences who consume educational, branded content are more likely to purchase from that brand, which also works to increase a customer’s affinity for the brand and get them to trust your company even more.

Content communicates who you are, what you do and your values while increasing trust in your brand by helping your customers solve problems, which builds a loyal, connected community that relies on your advice, and eventually includes engaging you for your products and services.

Since content can come in many different forms, you may have already encountered someone else’s brand without realising it was marketing–just that it might have helped you with something. You’re better remembered for the positive impact you’ve made on your audience–which is why it’s essential to mind the ideas and types of content you create.

3 types of content to use in building your personal brand

A personal brand needs a considerable variety of content to consistently engage audiences, but it can be difficult to think of, select and create memorable material. We’ve shortlisted a few types that you can incorporate into your marketing to build up your personal brand.

1. Personal stories in short-form videos

Even if you haven’t taken pains to seek them out, you’ve probably encountered a short-form video on your preferred social media platform. These kinds of videos enable creators to produce content faster while allowing audiences to consume more information in a shorter time frame. The flip side of this is you have quite a bit of competition to deal with, so it’s time to get creative:

• Be authentic about the information you’re sharing and what you stand for as a brand, so audiences can get to know the human behind the values and product.
• Show off your sense of humour and tap into relevant viral trends, because audiences are just as keen to engage with a funny video as you are in your downtime.
• Make sure your content is accessible to your audience so they have enough time to read any text overlays, apply captions and text to solid backgrounds, as well as avoid any animations or editing choices like flashing images.
• Feature the product or service without pushing it into your audience’s face entirely so they can see it in action and understand how it helps them.
• Keep the video short so your audience can focus on what you’re sharing, not how long the clip is–eleven to fifteen seconds is approximately the ideal length on most platforms.

These tips are only some of the things you can apply to make your short-form videos cut through, but ultimately the message you’re sharing is as important as how you create them. 

Sharing personal experiences can inspire, move and motivate others, which can help you connect and form a deeper bond with your audience. Storytelling is a powerful tool that we’ve harnessed for content because it achieves what your personal brand aims to achieve: impact.

2. Informative posts as infographics

What do data points, abstract ideas and sweeping stories have in common?

They could all benefit from being shared as an infographic (or two).

Infographics often take complex concepts and present them as charts, images, graphs and grouped texts to help audiences better understand the information. 

Not everyone has enough time to scroll through a carousel or watch a short-form video, so infographics fill that gap; visualising the elements of your personal brand helps make big ideas digestible and memorable to your audience. 

Incorporating infographics as content for your brand helps boost your authority and credibility in your industry; it shows a mastery of your field to be able to break down complex ideas into simple terms and present them in a way that more people follow. Using infographics can quickly explain something and provide an image that audiences can reference when they need it.

3. Social proof through customer reviews

People like to hear from someone who’s gone through the same experience before they buy something–more often than not by asking family and friends, but increasingly by reading strangers’ customer reviews on social media or in the product listing of the item.

That’s part of what social proof is: individuals behave or make choices depending on what others do. Social proof can be in various forms, like client testimonials, reviews, endorsements, likes and follow numbers on social media platforms. 

Reviews, in particular, are a big deal: according to Trustpilot, 92% of consumers read online reviews and will read as many as ten reviews before making a purchase. Factor in how, in the same report, they found that consumers will visit a website after seeing a positive review, these stand to affect how much of your audience ultimately trusts and relies on you enough to buy.

Using client reviews in building your brand is a way to showcase successful projects, highlight your abilities, and influence your audience. These reviews provide evidence of your expertise and can attract potential clients. When you’re building your personal brand you need others speaking up and supporting your message, so we’ve listed how to leverage customer reviews.

Building a personal brand is challenging and will impact the success or failure of your brand. Using different types of content, such as videos, infographics, and reviews can help your brand. Knowing the right mix of content types for your brand connects you with your audience, establishes your credibility, and showcases your expertise. 

We understand sorting out the mix can be a lot to do all at once, but we’re not about to leave you in a lurch; reach out to us now to inquire about how and what types of content you can use to build your personal brand.