Personal and professional brands are closely related. Your personal branding can directly influence public opinions of your company and establish you in your industry for future relationships.

Certain steps must be taken by CEOs to ensure their branding supports their careers. They must use assets that put them in the best light. A careful development process will guide them in the right direction.

How to Build a Strong Personal Brand

Identify Your Brand

Every brand should have a strong identity. This identity should be reflected in various branding elements, including your font, the colors you use, and your content tone. If you want to develop a socially conscious vibe, consider an earthy, grassroots approach. Alternatively, you can promote a sense of luxury with curly fonts and austere color schemes.

A personal brand identity is typically guided by the company you work with and your industry. However, it should also capture your personality. Consider these factors to determine your brand direction.

Create Brand Assets

Brand assets include your profile picture and content, your logo, typography, and slogan, to name a few. They should have consistent elements that showcase your brand voice. They should be integrated across your social media platforms following each platform’s guidelines.

Determine the Best Platforms

There are several social media platforms to choose from. Executives should conduct studies to determine which will most likely connect them with their followers. Decide which platforms offer the most resources for your industry and begin building a following.

Promote Your Brand

Brand promotion is a multi-step process. First, you should create content to publish on various platforms, including videos, posts, and articles that will add value to your readers. Different platforms have different requirements regarding the type of content you can publish, but you can multi-purpose content across platforms for optimal efficiency.

Cross-promotion is also very powerful. Most platforms are integrated so content can be shared universally. They can draw followers from one platform to another to increase your reach.

Engage with Followers

Leaders must focus on follower engagement. They should respond to comments and like and comment on followers’ posts. Doing so helps promote a connection that boosts loyalty in relationships.

Only some CEOs have the time to respond to each comment and keep track of follower profiles. Busy executives may consider hiring a team to remain active on social media on their behalf.

Social Media as a Reputation Management Tool

Social media is one of the strongest tools for reputation management, and it’s another reason why CEOs should pay attention to what followers are saying. Comments often reveal a CEO’s public perception, which they can use as feedback to improve their reputation.

Not all comments are positive, but CEOs are encouraged to respond regardless. Doing so lets followers know their voices are heard, addresses their concerns, and assures them something will be done.

Consistency is Key

Consistency is critical in several aspects of social media. First, it’s essential to maintain a consistent image. Your photos, fonts, and voice should convey a tone that aligns with your brand.

A consistent posting strategy is also essential. CEOs must work with their teams to devise a social media posting calendar- and stick to it. Posting can occur daily or weekly to maintain a reliable presence.

When Personal Gets Too Personal

CEOs should distinguish their professional and personal brands by sharing personal experiences. For example, they may publish family pictures and emotional moments. Ideally, these should offer insight into their connection with their community and industry.

On the other hand, executives should refrain from getting too personal. Avoid publishing pictures of yourself “letting loose” with friends. While it may be tempting to show followers that you have a wild side, it can do more reputational harm than good.

Maintain a Professional Image

CEOs must always put their best foot forward, and social media is no exception. They should double and triple-check their posts to ensure correct spelling and grammar. Pictures don’t need to be professional, but they should be clear and well-centered.

Want to learn more about how branding can benefit your image? Sign up for our newsletter today.