What Experts Ask Most About Personal Branding
Getting your head around personal branding usually comes with a few barriers. It's new territory. Experts generally don't love the idea of big exposure. And nobody wants to look like they're showing off.
So in this blog I'm answering the queries I hear most often – from the technical experts, consultants, and founders I work with every day.
"We already have a Company LinkedIn page — we're fine."
Not a question, but this is the biggest assumption I hear. And my answer is always the same.
You can keep building your company page — but the real value (quality leads, reputation, market share gain) will only come when the key people in your business are out there as the voice of what you do.
A logo or corporate speak doesn't build trust and resonance. A real person with expertise and lived experience does.
What makes a Personal Brand better than a Company Profile on LinkedIn?
A few basics that make Personal Brand so much more powerful for business and brand growth. With a Personal Brand you can:
• communicate your work in a way that's personable and human – not corporate.
• build a highly targeted community, which a company page simply can't.
• connect and genuinely build trust with people. On LinkedIn, people are just more interested in what people are saying than companies.
• You can actively reach the people who could be your next client – at scale.
Company pages are as a brand footprint but your people are want people want to know about.
I'm worried it'll look like I'm showing off — or that I'll sound like everyone else.
This is the one I hear most, and I completely get it. There are plenty of people on LinkedIn who do nothing but talk about themselves (the humble braggers and insta-influencers are hard to miss).
But personal branding isn't about you — it's about sharing your expertise and stories to help your future customer.
When you approach your Personal Brand with a clear objective and a real understanding of your audience, you're sharing value and creating connection. There's a big difference between a self-promoter and a trusted voice.
I'm highly qualified in a specialist field. Do I have to talk in simple terms?
No, you don't have to dumb yourself down. What you do need to do is share what's valuable to your audience in a way they can engage with. There are plenty of experts on LinkedIn who write in a way that's intelligent, thoughtful, and genuinely useful — without being highly technical.
I've learned working with technical and advisory industries that what resonates often surprises you. The topics that feel 'too niche' to you are often exactly what your audience has been looking for. And no-one can resist a good story.
Do I need a strategy, or can I just start posting?
You can just start — but without a strategy, most people stall within a few months. Or worse, they build an audience that has nothing to do with their actual business goals and just give up.
Your personal brand strategy can sit alongside your company brand strategy (and the two should reinforce each other). It doesn't need to be complicated. It just needs to be intentional. Without one, you're creating content for the sake of it — and that's a waste of your time.
Also, it needs to be noted, posting content is part of a Personal Branding strategy only.
What if the person whose Personal Brand we've invested in leaves our business?
This is a legitimate worry, and it's come up more than once with clients I've worked with. Here's what I recommend.
First, have an agreement in place from the start — any leads and prospects developed through their personal brand are shared with the business. That's standard practice and it protects your investment.
Second, reframe how you think about it. That person has spent time promoting your company — in the same way a Google Ads campaign would, just far more effective. When they move on, the next person in that role picks up a warm pipeline. It’s straightforward and easy to activate.
Think of them as your advertising channel. Really, it's not that different from a salesperson who leaves with a client database — except the brand equity stays with you.
I'm too busy. I don't have time to manage this.
It is a time investment but Personal Branding alongside an active Social Selling programme has proven to be one of the most impactful revenue growth engines there is.
Most of the people I work with don't manage it alone. Some want a programme they can run themselves with the right structure in place. Others have me run it for them. Either way, it’s about doing what is realistic and aligned with your business growth vision.
I have nothing to talk about.
I hear this all the time. Years of hard-fought experience has a funny way of feeling ordinary when it's yours. You don't realise the wealth of knowledge sitting in your head because it's just become second nature.
I'd dispute that one every time :D
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Personal branding doesn't have to be loud or ‘markety’. For the right people, it's simply about making sure the expertise you've already earned gets seen by the people who need it most.
Could Personal Branding on LInkedIn be worthy cause of action to grow your business?
Let’s have a chat: angeline@brandandcharacter
