Have you heard of the term ‘personal branding’ and maybe felt a bit lost or perplexed? Are you a bit confused about personal branding and not too sure where to start? Don’t worry, this article includes some excellent examples of personal branding to take inspiration from.

When we first started out in Summer 2020, we reflected a lot on personal branding as a concept and how our personal brands would develop as business owners. Throughout our research, reflections and conversations about this, we realised that personal branding should be a priority for any professional. This is true whether you own your own business or you’re part of one. You have a personal brand whether you choose to acknowledge or nurture it, so why not celebrate it and use it to your advantage? We explored a lot of personal branding examples over our first 6 months and we learned a lot.

So, how do you define your personal brand?

Before moving on to our personal branding examples, let’s take a moment to understand what we mean by ‘personal brand’ and why it’s important. A while ago, we wrote an article on How do you define your personal brand? and we highlighted the importance of personal branding as follows:

“Creating a strong and approachable company brand is essential for every business. However, building a credible personal brand is also really important for the success of your business. You are at the heart of the company, and people choose to work with you because of who you are as an individual too. That’s why it’s so important to define and work on your individual/personal brand. Customers want authenticity and something honest and memorable. This is best delivered by a person.”

So, why do you need a credible personal brand and networking plan?

What’s the difference between being good at your job (and shouting about it) and having a successful personal brand? Individuals that have a strong personal brand often feel more confident and comfortable in the workplace. If you’re clear about what you want (and what you represent) then others will be able to more easily identify opportunities that suit you and your ambitions too. In addition to this, by having a credible personal networking plan you can create opportunities for yourself and your company. To find out more about why personal branding is so important (and valuable) then check out our recent article: 5 reasons why personal branding is as important as company branding.

We encourage you to learn from how other people are nurturing and showcasing their personal brand. It’s everywhere you go, you just might not realise it yet!

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Saltoria’s 4 favourite personal branding examples to take inspiration from

Emily Coxhead – Illustrator & Founder of The Happy Newspaper

Emily Coxhead is the creator of The Happy Newspaper. The Happy Newspaper celebrates all that’s good in the world. It’s a platform to share positive news and wonderful people. Emily Coxhead created The Happy Newspaper in 2015 after she noticed the impact the mainstream news and social media was having on her own mental health. The Happy Newspaper now has a 60,000 strong readership each quarter.

Emily is so authentically herself through her social media channels and has an amazing 172k followers on her personal Instagram page alone. She talks honestly about her own issues with mental health, renovating her home and how art helps her connect with others. She also openly talks about the highs and lows of building a business. Emily’s personal channels are as popular as her products channels. There is no doubt that by sharing her story (her likes, dislikes and tips) that she helps elevate her brand and its products. Check Emily out, her authenticity, brightness and playfulness will definitely bring a smile to your face during the current climate. 

Sonya Barlow – Linkedin Changemaker 2021 & Top Voice 2022 | Founder at LMFNetwork | Author and Public Speaker

Sonya Barlow founded the Like Minded Females network in 2018 to bring together people who were interested in career, confidence and community. Since its launch, the network has organically grown in global presence and transitioned into a not for profit social enterprise. If that wasn’t enough, Sonya is also an award-winning entrepreneur, 2x TEDxSpeaker, diversity coach and published author. We started following Sonia when we first launched and have attended a few LMFNetwork virtual events. We even had the opportunity to be mentored by one of their amazing mentors recently.

Sonia is phenomenal on LinkedIn and is absolutely ‘one to watch’. You may have even seen her in the recent LinkedIn TV ad! Sonia is so committed to supporting her community. She does this by speaking out when others aren’t and by empowering others to move forward in their career. We encourage you to follow Sonia on LinkedIn and check out LMFNetwork. You won’t regret it! 

Steven Bartlett – Founder of ThirdWeb & FlightStory | Dragon on Dragons’ Den 

Steven Bartlett is a businessman, entrepreneur and television personality. Many of you will know him from recently joining the Dragons’ Den. We have followed Steven for a few years now and really enjoy his honest anecdotes about his journey, his commitment to self-compassion (and encouraging you to have self-compassion too). We also love how he genuinely encourages you to think past your failures. Steven founded Social Chain (a world-leading social media company) at 21 years old and built it into a global business.

Along the way, Steve has amassed a large following online (Almost 2 Million people across Instagram, Facebook, Snap chat, Linkedin and his podcast). This is due to his informative and inspirational videos covering topics from entrepreneurship, business, social media and marketing. This has led to a number of profiles in the world’s leading publications where he has been dubbed “The most influential individual in Social Media Marketing”. If you’re a business owner and/or you’re in marketing, we suggest you follow Steven! 

Chiara Ferragni – Founder and MD of  The Blonde Salad and MD of Chiara Ferragni Collection.

Some people know her as The Blonde Salad, others, as one of the most powerful public figures of today’s fashion world. Chiara Ferragni launched her fashion blog (The Blonde Salad) back in 2009. Thanks to her perseverance and exceptional personal brand, she managed to build a multi-million euro empire. In only 6 years, her fashion blog became so widely popular that it was used in a Harvard Business School case study.

Today, Chiara Ferragni owns two incredibly successful businesses (The Blond Salad and Chiara Ferragni Collection). But, what’s the secret behind her success? The clever management of her presence on social media, her active interaction with her followers has turned her into a proper brand builder. Chiara Ferragni uses her Instagram profile to share fashion tips, lifestyle advice and tons of pictures and videos of her daily life. Her charisma and genuine charm, along with her strategic instincts and a healthy dose of good timing, helped to cement her iconic status.

Get help you with your personal branding & networking plan

We love talking about personal branding and we love helping individuals too! Do you need support in enhancing or developing your personal brand? We can help you in so many ways. For example, we can simply share some useful tips or create a full personal networking strategy including influencer marketing. Want to discover more? Then book your free 20-minute consultation here.