How to Build your Personal Brand on Instagram

Do you have a personal brand? This term may seem intimidating to some, but it doesn’t have to be. The truth is,  you already have one… you just may not know it. 

If you’re not intentionally focusing on designing your personal brand, you may be unknowingly designing a bad one.  #yikes.  

When you Google yourself, what pops up? These results are the first impression people will have of you. Is it a good one? Is it consistent with the information you’re sharing across your social media platforms?  

While it seems overwhelming,  the biggest thing to understand is:

Your personal brand is what people think about when they think about YOU. 

And while personal brands used to be something only celebrities and athletes had to worry about…these days, any expert or entrepreneur who wants to build a legitimate business needs to be consciously thinking about this. 

Why you should use Instagram to build your personal brand

According to research, 81% of people use Instagram to help research people, products and services before they make a buying decision…

 And 2 in 3 people say Instagram helps foster interactions and trust with brands.

Whether or not you agree, Instagram is the new business card, and your profile is where more and more people are going to check you out. 

 Even though Instagram started as a visual platform to share lifestyle, food photos, and videos… Instagram is now a place where you can grow a brand, a community, sell products, and communicate directly with your potential customers or clients.. 

Here’s the thing…when most experts and entrepreneurs start to try and grow their brand on Instagram, they typically do one of these things (or worse both)

1. They hide behind their business content and post nothing about themselves 
2. They spam their audience with constant sales pitches and promos 24/7.

Then they sit and wait for engagement and their page to grow… but it never does. 

There’s a reason…  

People want to follow PEOPLE.

People want to know who the Doctor, CEO or Founder is. They want to know why you’re doing what you’re doing, and why you care. 

Most importantly, if you want them to trust you or your business to be their guide, they need to know that you made it through the valley and now you can help them get to  the mountain top, too. 

If you’re like most people we work with, you’re probably thinking “ I don’t want to share every detail of my life on social media”…

Don’t worry! You don’t have to. 

We created a super easy formula to follow in our Social Butterfly Instagram Strategy Course that teaches you how to keep your page more personal while still positioning yourself as an expert in your industry.  

But that’s just one part of it. Here are a few more things to keep in mind…

6 Steps to Build your Personal Brand on Instagram

1. Define your purpose

Have you clearly defined your brand’s purpose? What’s the WHY behind what you’re doing? Your why should be the core of your Instagram content creation and messaging.

2. Be true to yourself

It’s easy to look at what other people are doing and try to copy, but if you want to be truly successful, and attract your ideal tribe, you need to show up and be YOU.

Copying others or trying to “fit in” is a death sentence on social media.

As Seth Godin says  “The key to success is to find a way to stand out – to be the purple cow in a field of monochrome Holsteins.” 

3. Pick a memorable username

Choose an Instagram username that will have longevity. Remember, YOU are your personal brand, and your business is just ONE thing that you do; so, don’t pigeonhole yourself by using your business name in your handle.

If your name is available, it’s advantageous to use it as your username (@handle) for two reasons. One, it’s most likely how people will search for your account. Two, it frees up the name field in your bio for your brands keywords, which will help increase your profiles discoverability.

Also,  make sure your Instagram username doesn’t contain any numbers or punctuations. It’s harder for people to memorize and easier for them to mess up if they try to search for you.

You want people to tell their friends your username quickly, and a simple handle that doesn’t contain numbers or symbols will help them remember it.

4. Get clear on your target audience

Now that you’ve defined what your personal brand is about, it’s time to identify who out of the billion people on Instagram you want to attract to your page.

Trying to get someone’s attention on Instagram when you don’t know who you’re talking to, is like trying to scream to a friend across a packed football stadium…they aren’t going to hear you.

If you want to build your personal brand page with your ideal people, the first step is getting clear on WHO they actually are.

5. Create your personal brand message

Your Instagram branding strategy starts with your “personal brand’s message”. It’s what you stand for, and what people are going to know you for.

Think about this: What’s one word you want people to use when they think about you / your product or service?

Write it down.

Examples of key messages:

• Fun
• Easy
• Fast
• Useful
• Quality over quantity
• No stress
• Feel beautiful
• Powerful
• Relaxing
• Motivational
• Expert
• Healthy balance

You get the idea.

In every single post you make, always remember to infuse your brand’s message.

• Show that it’s easy.
• Show that it’s relaxing.
• Show that it’s useful.
• Show that it’s unique.
• Show that it drives results.
• Show that you’re all about achieving a healthy balance.

Your personality + brand’s message = a match made in heaven.

6. Share your WHY

The first thing you need to do if you want to build a legitimate brand on Instagram, is get comfortable putting yourself out there, showing your face, and sharing your story.

If you hide your personality, and instead brand yourself as your business,  you’re missing a HUGE opportunity to build brand equity for your business. Remember, people want to follow people, and personal brand pages grow much faster than business pages on Instagram. 

You’re also pigeonholing yourself, especially if you decide to change careers or businesses down the road; which we all know entrepreneurs LOVE to do. 

People want to engage with and do business with people like them.

They want to feel connected and understood… they want to RELATE. By showing your relatability, you humanize yourself and your brand and make your followers more interested in what you have to say.

Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there. Share the stories of struggle and adversity you’ve faced, and how you overcame them. Share with them your purpose or the  “why” behind what you do. 

It’s not too late to build your personal brand on Instagram 

Instagram is full of strong personal brands and identities that people love to follow. Those successful thought leaders, influencers and personal brand pages are extremely thoughtful about what they post for their audience. 

You may think that because other people are already doing it well on Instagram, there’s no room for you…

Well, stop that self-doubt right this minute! 

Reminder- Instagram is not too saturated already…..

There are 1.3 billion people using Instagram and less than 2 million brands/ marketers! 

There is still SO MUCH ROOM. In fact, social media is just getting started. 

The players currently on the field are only ahead because they started earlier…. And the longer you take to get off the bench, the longer it will take to play catch up. 

To build a solid personal brand on Instagram, you need to stand out from the start.

You can do that with the help of our personal brand blueprint formula and other valuable resources found in Module 1 of our Social Butterfly Instagram Strategy Course, where we teach you how to define your personal brand, establish yourself as a credible expert, and get clear on your ideal audience so you can use your profile and content to attract them. 

Social media is here to stay… and it is only going to get bigger from here.  

So, gear up for a killer 2023 by investing in building your personal brand on Instagram today.