21 Tactics to Build a Killer Personal Brand

Looking to build a killer personal brand that helps grow your business?

Building my own personal brand has been a crucial part of growing KPS Digital Marketing.

In this post I share the 6 most effective strategies you can use to grow your personal brand (from my own experience).

1. VIDEO

Without doubt, right now, video is the best tactic you can use to build your personal brand. There’s no better way for people to ‘get what you’re about’ than for them to see and hear you.

Tactic #1 | Create native Facebook & Twitter videos of you sharing tips, strong opinions, industry news etc.

Native videos are videos which you have directly uploaded to a social media platform (rather than just sharing a link to a YouTube video).

In the example below, I share some strong opinions on a subject which not many people speak about in detail. Think about your own industry. What is a taboo subject you could shed some light on?

Tactic #2 |Share behind the scenes storytelling videos

Storytelling is the state of marketing/ personal brand building in 2017. Just look at the way platforms are evolving into Snapchat. First Instagram Stories, then Whatsapp Status, now Facebook Stories.

There’s no better story-telling, personal-brand-building machine than Ginicanbreathe. She has a story to tell and my god does she tell it well. Follow her on Snapchat.

Tactic #3 | Share videos of you speaking at events on YouTube.

Chris Ducker is THE Personal Branding guy. Seriously, this guy is incredible (he also invited me on his podcast recently which makes him even more incredible).

When I was writing this post I knew I had to include this video somewhere. Chris has not only nailed this video of him speaking, he also tells his story incredibly well.

Tactic #4 | Collaborate and create videos with influential organisations/ people

Influencer Marketing is something I’ve spoken about a lot recently and it’s incredibly powerful.

One example is our relationship with Thanet Council. We’ve built up an awesome relationship over the last few months and part of that was down to this video & workshop we delivered at the end of 2016. Since then, we’ve signed a load more work with them which we’re super excited about.

Who are the influential organisations/ people that have a big influence over your target market? Think about how you can build a relationship with them.

More useful video resources;

10 Video Marketing Tips from 10 Video Marketing Pros

How To Grow Your YouTube Channel with a Killer YouTube Channel Trailer

The Ultimate Livestream Setup for £100

2. FACEBOOK ADS

Facebook Ads are the most cost effective, undervalued tactic to gain personal-brand-building results fast. Right now, native Facebook video + Facebook Ads are a killer combination.

Tactic #5 | Native Facebook Video + Facebook Ads

Use Facebook Ads to boost your native Facebook video performance by targeting specific people’s interests based on the topic you are talking about in the video. In the example below, we targeted business owners who had an interest in Influencer Marketing and paid less than £0.01 per video view.

Also, don’t forget to add captions to your Facebook videos.

Tactic #6 | Content which encourage engagement + Facebook Ads

Have you heard about the Facebook growth strategy that Facebook doesn’t want you to know? It hacks into Facebook’s new feature which allows you to invite people who have engaged with your content to like your page/ public profile.

Creating content which encourages engagement on Facebook is an awesome way to build your personal brand and grow your profile on Facebook.

Social Chain produced 9 of the most engaged branded live videos ever for their clients. This example isn’t laser focused on a ‘personal brand’, but you can take these concepts and apply them to your personal brand 100%.

3. SPEAK AT EVENTS

Getting in a room and captivating the attention of an audience for 30 minutes + is a hugely powerful way to build your personal brand. For this tactic to work, you need to develop your speaking skills amongst other things.

Tactic #7 | Learn from the best

Watch a ton of expert keynote speakers on YouTube and learn from them. James Veitch’s Ted X talk below isn’t your standard keynote, but you’ll learn a lot from how entertaining he is.

Tactic #8 | Speak to your local Chamber of Commerce

There’s usually a ton of opportunities to speak at small events for your local Chamber of Commerce, this is how I started out speaking. Google ‘[enter where you live] chamber of commerce’ and go to some of the events they are running. When you’re there speak to the organiser and ask if there are opportunities to speak.

Tactic #9 | Go to events and build relationships with the organisers

My buddy’s Andrew and Pete did exactly this and they’ve landed themselves a workshop at Social Media Marketing World 2017. This will be a huge game changer for them in building their personal brand (trust me).

What are the top events in your industry? Do some research on Google and book some events!

Tactic #10 | Identify events you want to speak at and contact them

This is an awesome tip that Chris Kubby and Carlos Gil shared in Carlos Gil’s #RealTalk video series. It’s well worth watching the whole video for more tips on landing speaking gigs.

3. WRITE FOR BIG PUBLICATIONS

For me personally, getting accepted as a contributor for Social Media Examiner was a personal brand game changer. Whatever niche you’re in,  writing for a relevant, credible publication with a lot of exposure will fast-track your personal brand growth 100%.

Tactic #11 | Get good at writing

It sounds obvious, but it’s so, so important. To write for a big publication, you need to  get good at writing. To get good at writing, you need to consistently write, read a lot, get honest feedback, improve and repeat.

Tactic #12 | Find relevant guest blogs to write for

There’s various tactics you can use for this, Brian Dean shares a bunch of great tactics in this post.

Before considering a guest blog, scope out the engagement and shares on each post. Only consider a guest blog with an engaged audience (comments) which gets a lot of exposure (shares).

Tactic #13 | Become an active member of the publication’s community

Regularly add meaningful comments, sign up to the publication’s email list, follow them on social media, engage on social media, share their content on social media and tag them, join their webinars etc.

Tactic #14 | Build relationships with editors and contributors

You need to put some effort in to build these relationships, but it’s so worth it. Go to events editors go to and build a relationship with them face to face, engage with them on social media and do whatever it is they want you to do (engage with their content and share their articles etc.).

Don’t make these mistakes.

As an added bonus, Janet Murray interviewed an editor from the Guardian to grill them and find out some tips around what you need to do when pitching editors (see below).

Tactic #15 | Listen to what Josh Steimle & Aaron Orendorff have to say

These guys write for Forbes, Mashable, fast Company, Inc, Techcrunch & more and I have learnt SO much from them. Seriously, follow these guys, check out Josh’s website and Aaron’s website (you won’t regret it).

4. GO TO INDUSTRY EVENTS

Going to live events is a great way  to rub shoulders with people who have already built killer personal brands. Don’t underestimate the ‘personal brand building power’ of meeting speakers and other people in your industry face to face.

Tactic #16 | Research and book onto 1 event per week

1 event per week, that’s crazy!? Trust me, this isn’t as difficult as you think, and it is so worth it. You don’t have to go to a big event every week, it could be a networking breakfast, or a small evening event.

Remember, Google is your friend. Ask Google what events are going on where you live. Also, go on your local Chamber of Commerce website, there will be lots of local events there.

Tactic #17 | Never sell at an event, build relationships

If anyone has any kind of inkling that you are being ‘over salesy’, it will damage your personal brand.

Tactic #18 | Create ‘Event Content’

When at an event, you need to make the most of being there. One of the best ways to do this is to create content at the event. Video yourself interviewing other event attendees, video speakers, write a blog afterwards, record a Podcast interview with people from the event, take photos etc.

I’ve done this for various events including Gary Vaynerchuk’s #ASKGARYVEE Book Launch, Get Social Kent, Snaphappen & more!

Tactic #19 | Make the most of the event

Following on from the previous point, you’ve got to read Aaron Orrendorf’s article below, it is EPIC.

How to Network a Conference Like a Jedi: 55 Tips

5. BUILD RELEVANT INFLUENCER RELATIONSHIPS

If you’re looking to propel your personal brand to millions of people, there’s no better way than to build genuine relationships with relevant Influencers.

Have you heard of Benjamin Kickz? He’s a 17 year old who’s made millions selling sneakers off the back of being in one of DJ Khaled’s Snapchat Stories.

Tactic #20 | Get noticed by Influencers on Twitter

Twitter is an amazingly powerful tool you can use to get noticed and build relationships with influencers. I shared 5 of my favourite tips in this article I wrote for Content Marketing Institute;

5 Ways to Get Noticed by Influencers on Twitter

Tactic #21 | Go to live events

I’ve mentioned live events already, but they are also a great way to build relationships with Influencers. One of my favourite events from last year was Snaphappen. I built some great relationships and it 100% boosted my personal brand.

As mentioned before, go to at least 1 event per week!

BONUS TACTIC: TAKE ACTION!

Please don’t just read this and do nothing. Tell me what you have done to TAKE ACTION in the comments below.