This is the fourth and final installment of our Personal Branding series: How to Establish a Personal Brand.

A personal brand can lead to new opportunities and connections that can change your life, but like most worthwhile things, it’s not easy. The key to winning over a crowded online audience of skeptics is a brand that is unique, authentic, and trustworthy…and getting your brand heads and shoulders above the fray starts with one thing: Being Yourself.

Ask 100 different people about what goes into a personal brand and you’ll get a hundred different answers. Getting great visibility for our clients is what we do. Here are some considerations to getting seen, heard, and connected:

Who you are and what makes you different. Take your time crafting your story, because your story IS your brand. Articulating how you’re different from the competition is the opening line to that story. Communicate your special skills, aspirations, and what makes you unique. And consider getting input from friends, coworkers, and family — they see you in a way you may not be able to see yourself.

Your target audience. No broad strokes here: Define your niche. Niche marketing targets your expertise, gives you the space to stand out, and engages your target audience with value-adding content that appeals specifically to THEM.

Optimized platform and profile. Do a little homework and identify the platforms that your target audience uses most. (We can help with that!) Keep your message consistent across those platforms — it creates trust. Regularly update your profile with your experience, skills, endorsements, testimonials, links to social, etc. And never underestimate the power of a great headshot.

Compelling content. Your content should be genuinely helpful and insightful. You want to be known as a trusted authority in your space. Present yourself with video, commit to a regular content schedule, and think about how your audience likes to consume its content: Do they want blogs, video, podcasts, webinars? That’s where you should focus.

Build your community. If nobody engages with you, it’s that old falling-tree-in-the-forest scenario — even if you have a significant media following. Build a community by creating a place where people interact. Engage in different ways: Commenting genuinely on posts of other influencers in your niche, joining groups on Facebook and LinkedIn, creating clear CTAs, and connecting your connections. Strong networks make strong brands.

Having trouble with those CTAs, draw-you-in content, or a spot-on profile—we’re ready to help!