How to Build A Personal Brand on Instagram
You’ve heard the term “personal brand” more times than you can count. You’ve consumed hours of content about what a personal brand is and how to create one. Hell, maybe you’ve even talked about it without fully understanding what it means! You’re not the only one. Not by a long shot.
As an Instagram coach and strategist, I’ve had so many clients come to me, wanting to learn how to build a personal brand on Instagram but having no idea where to start. If you’re anything like them, you’re in luck. I’ve just put the finishing touches on a killer free resource (yes, free) for business owners and female founders who want to show up authentically online and attract people they actually want to work with.
It’s called the Personal Brand Foundation Guide & Workbook, and this blog is going to give you just a taste of what’s inside! Keep reading if you want to learn how to build a personal brand on Instagram.
First Things First: What Is a Personal Brand?
A personal brand is what sets you apart from everybody else. It’s your interests, values, personality, and point of view. You could just say, “Ariel, that’s just being a person.” To which I would say, “Yes! Exactly!”
A personal brand is you being you.
Except that you just so happen to be a business owner, so you being a person turns into you having a personal brand.
As business owners, a personal brand is how we show up to the world. Having a personal brand means talking about the things that make us who we are, and weaving them into our business. Gone are the days when personal and business needed to be separate. Now, adding these personal elements into our businesses and marketing can be the thing that helps us connect with dream clients and build something we’re really proud of.
More on that in the next section!
Why Having a Personal Brand Matters for Business Owners
Differentiation from Competitors
As small business owners, our clients aren’t just investing in our services. They’re investing in us. Because let’s be real, here. We’re not the only people who do what we do. I know there are dozens of other social media coaches who offer similar services at a similar price point. But my clients have chosen to work with me because they like me. They catch my vibe. They agree with my core values. Ultimately, being me has been my biggest marketing hack.
And I’m not making this up, either. I’ve had clients tell me they specifically chose to work with me because they like my personality. If I had never built a personal brand, never shared my interests and values and sense of humor in my posts, stories, or newsletters… they would have had nothing to connect with. I would have faded into the background as another random instagram girlie, and they would have worked with someone else.
Owning who you are and being confident about it is magnetic. It attracts the right people to you. And those are the ones who pay you what your worth and are actually fun to work with.
Clarity in Business
On top of all of that, having a personal brand makes your job as a business owner 10x easier. When you know who you are and what you stand for, it’s easier to promote yourself and create content. You can pull from your real life and share your real opinions because you're not trying to fit into some box of what a business owner “should” sound like.
After a certain point, you become known for your bold opinions and unique point of view. But that can only happen if you’ve embraced what makes you unique (aka, building a personal brand).
Opportunities
Having a distinct, recognizable personal brand can open doors beyond securing clients, too. Things like podcast features, speaking engagements, and even brand deals find their way to you because you, as a brand, are recognizable. Sometimes, these things don’t even have anything to do with the services you offer! They simply have to do with people knowing who you are.
How To Build a Personal Brand
1) Figure Out Who You Are Online
The first step of building a personal brand is figuring out who you are—not just your title. What do you value? What are the things people would know about you if they met you in person, not just online? What quirks do you have that set you apart? This is the foundation everything else builds upon.
2) Figure Out Who You’re Talking To
I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it a million times: You are not for everyone, and that is okay. If you want to build a strong personal brand, you need to know exactly who you’re talking to. And I don’t just mean “couples planning a wedding” or “women who want to get in shape.”
Get specific. Try, “Queer couples planning a micro wedding in mountaintop destinations” or “Moms over 45 who want to workout but have very little time.” Remember, your clients are people, too. You need to know who they are and what they want in order to market to them!
3) Determine Your Content Pillars
Once you know who you are and how you want to represent yourself, you can choose your content pillars. These are a few core topics or themes you consistently come back to in your content. When you have these pillars, you already have a game plan every time you want to post on Instagram. Content pillars give you structure without making things feel rigid or scripted.
4) Find Your Brand Voice
Hot take, but I think the term “brand voice” has been wildly overcomplicated. Your brand voice is the way you talk, full stop. It’s the phrases you use, the things you say or would never say. This is what makes your content sound like you, instead of sounding like every single other person in your industry.
5) Talk About Your Offers
This is the final piece of the puzzle. Remember, your personal brand is about business. And if you want your business to actually make you money, you’ve gotta talk about your services. This is often the hardest part for us. We don’t want to repeat ourselves too often. We don’t want to be annoying.
But here’s a (gentle) newsflash, babe. Nobody is paying that much attention. Everyone is wrapped up in their own world, and it requires some serious persistence to break through that haze of indifference. But you can break through. And you do it by knowing who you are, who you’re talking to, sounding distinct, and actually sharing what you do.
So, You’ve Built a Personal Brand. Now what?
Once you’ve followed the steps above, you have the basis of a personal brand. Congrats! Now you actually have to use it.
Lucky for us, Instagram is the best place to establish yourself as a business owner and attract your ideal clients. At the same time, though, Instagram can be tricky. It’s easy to get swept up in trends and chase virality. But here at The Confident Collab, we’re all about steady, consistent growth. And to grow consistently, you need to stay true to who you are—which means always returning to your personal brand.
Your personal brand should come through in everything you do online. It should be in your captions, how you talk in your stories, the personal elements you choose to share, and the tone you take in comments and DMs. Even the colors you use in your posts should feel like an extension of your brand!
Most of all, your personal brand should be consistent. Consistency is what makes you recognizable and what makes people remember you over the dozens of other accounts they're scrolling past.
It should also be the same between your entire marketing ecosystem, from your website and emails to your sales pages and threads! When everything feels consistent, it signals to potential clients that you are trustworthy. And when people have been following you for a while and think you’re trustworthy, they inquire.
Learn More About How to Build a Personal Brand on Instagram
When you’ve created a personal brand that feels true to who you are, including it in your profile and posts is often subconscious. You’re just being yourself. Sure, you might not include every detail of your personal life (which is a good thing! Called boundaries!!) but you’re still being you.
That’s the beauty of a personal brand. It allows you to show up as yourself, instead of trying to fit into someone else’s perception of you, or your own preconceived notions of “professional.”
This, right here, is the core of what I teach. I’m beyond tired of watching incredible women nerf their business potential by trying to be something they’re not. My entire goal is to teach you how to embrace what makes you unique and build a personal brand that feels genuine, so you can show up authentically and attract your ideal clients.
This blog is just a sneak peek into the process of building a personal brand. My freebie, The Personal Brand Foundation Guide & Workbook, gives you practical advice and step-by-step instructions on how to build a personal brand that feels like you, without the sleazy selling tactics.
And if you didn’t catch this from the “Freebie” part… It's 100% free. Like, completely, totally free. No fees. No strings. Just solid advice to help you start building a personal brand so you can show up online and start attracting your dream clients.
Download the Guide now to get started!
