Building a personal brand means putting yourself out there. It also sometimes requires a thick skin, particularly online. 

As much as personal branding is about eye-catching graphics and building a connection with your community, there are some facets that aren’t spoken about often enough. 

It is those raw facets that make your personal brand what it is. 

Over and above the visual aspects, here is what you should focus on when building and growing your personal brand. 

Emphasize What Matters to You 

While you want to increase your exposure and drive more traffic to your site and content, don’t write and engage for those reasons alone. For your personal brand to be effective, you need to touch on topics you are passionate and curious about. It is this authenticity that keeps people coming back for more. 

Don’t Be Afraid to Be Honest 

People who spend a lot of time online know how to spot smoke and mirrors. Being honest is one of the best ways to gain the trust of your audience. It is ok to voice your opinion, provided you are not hurting people’s feelings in the process. When done respectfully, it is perfectly fine to step on a few toes in order to get your point across – it will certainly make you stand out more. Don’t disagree just to disagree either though. It is always obvious when someone is trying to stir up unnecessary verbal battles online. 

Be Patient 

While you will have some easy wins, building a solid personal brand takes time and requires patience. Sometimes this means biting your tongue when you really don’t want to or staying out of a conversation because you don’t really have anything valuable to add. You won’t always be front and center. As long as you keep at it and persevere, you can build a strong personal brand.