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Learn about me & my missionJune 12th, 2025 | Ditch the Hype. 5 Steps to a Solid Personal Brand (Online).
This text was fully written by a human.
Indeed, recently, I’ve been receiving an increasing number of questions and inquiries related to personal branding online. Indeed, your personal brand is working for you—or against you—whether you’re aware of it or not.
And yet, most professionals treat personal branding like an afterthought. Although I do not consider myself an expert in this department, let me share a few thoughts.
Naturally, recently, I’ve been receiving an increasing number of questions and inquiries related to personal branding online.
Indeed, your personal brand is working for you—or against you—whether you’re aware of it or not:
70% of employers screen your socials.
Notably, content from individuals gets 561% more engagement than company pages.
85% of jobs are filled via your network.
Overall, people remember personal brands 22 times more than company brands.
82% of buyers are more likely to trust a company when its CEO is active on social media.
According to a Science study by Rajkumar et al. (2022), which tracked 20 million LinkedIn members over five years, weak professional connections causally increase the odds of landing a new job — far more than close, strong ties do.
And yet, most professionals treat personal branding like an afterthought. Although I do not consider myself an expert in this department, let me share a few thoughts.
Meanwhile, firstly, before we start, one question:
Can anyone build a personal brand?
Likewise, the simple answer is: NO. Hell no. And let me explain why.
Still, there are only two types of energy in people. One of them is extremely easy to build a personal brand. The other one is extremely hard — or I should rather say: undoable.
After all, namely, there are only two types of people in the world: builders and consumers. Or, perhaps I should say: market makers and market takers. According to Granovetter (1973), the makers win partly because their loose networks carry new opportunities to them first.
And it is really easy to recognize them. How?
Well, when asked the question: “What would you like to achieve in your career?,” builders naturally focus on giving: they start talking about the problems they want to solve in the world and the solutions they want to build. Consumers, on the other hand, naturally start thinking and talking about taking: the positions they would like to occupy, their dream salaries, social status, accolades…
And this has little to do with the resume. You wouldn’t believe how many successful founders, artists, or researchers still turn out to be takers not makers.
I sometimes encounter people who ask me: “Can you help me build a personal brand?” I briefly talk to them.
In fact, if they’re builders who are simply poor at communicating their mission, I can help them.
If they turn out to be consumers, I can’t help them — trying to build a brand for such a person would be like pouring from an empty cup.
Now that consumers are gone…
In my opinion, the key to skillful personal branding is to make a few important decisions early on. Then, stick to them.
Of course, the rest is all about systematically dropping your ideas in one place, + diligence, + planning.
So, here is my take:
DECISION #0: What do I value myself for?
Before you even start building any image, either online or in real life, you have to ask yourself: What do I like and enjoy about myself?
Besides, what do I admire about my own personality? What makes me stand out? What makes me feel proud of myself?
At the same time, the thing is: if YOU do not value yourself, nobody will. You’ve got to become your genuine best friend and ally before anybody else ever follows you.
According to Neff (2003), this kind of self-compassion is a learnable skill with measurable benefits. The value comes from within, and the rest of the world will simply mirror what you think of yourself.
So, if you don’t believe you have something to give to this world, there is literally no amount of effort that might compensate for this insecurity. What you say and what you do simply won’t matter to anyone.
And paradoxically, charisma comes from silence, inner peace, and seclusion. It comes from becoming comfortable on your own, without other people around. The most charismatic people I have ever met are often those who spent the most time alone.
In short, traveling, meditating, doing yoga, reading.
So, if you feel insecure, perhaps it’s time to spend some time alone. And no, this won’t push your career backwards; you will take one step back to make two steps forward.
DECISION #1: Choose your vertical.
For instance, everyone says “pick a niche” to build your personal brand. But what if your niche is the mix itself?
By contrast, social media algorithms typically promote content that stays within one narrow field. BUT is pushing your content and getting as many impressions as possible what you really want if that content doesn’t represent you well?
According to a Science study by Bakshy, Messing & Adamic (2015), algorithmically ranked feeds measurably narrow the range of content people see, cutting exposure to content outside their usual sphere by roughly 15%.
Consequently, no, you don’t. If you stick to one topic, you’ll reach many people, but it’s not likely they will be the right people who see your potential and who can fast-track your career.
In 2025, when we have full-time world-class experts with strong personal brands in every possible domain, unique value comes from combining disciplines together (like a neuroscience background and job market research in my case).
Nevertheless, or, from being poly-environmental (like circling between academia, startups, and the corporate world).
In other words, or, from mixing styles (like journalism, scientific reporting, meme culture, rap, and poetry).
So, the question is: what kind of a package are you?
DECISION #2: Optimize for the Internet or for the real world.
As a result, some people win the algorithm. Others win the room.
The thing is: do you aim to become one of these big online gurus who are nowhere to be found in real life, or do you want to make real-world connections?
Similarly, to me, the Internet is just the gateway to reality. At some point, I realized that whenever I come back to San Francisco or Warsaw, most of my friends are already up to date with what’s up in my professional life, as they track my social media.
Typically, they also have questions and topics to discuss, as my text made them think and question their own plans and decisions.
Which is great as I can witness instant karma: the immediate real-world effect of my online actions.
So, here is the thing: you can create a ton of dry factual content, befriend social media algorithms, and drive eyeballs to your online profiles – but that’s not what prompts people to act and to get to know you.
They will get more interest seeing that you struggle with real dilemmas, make real mistakes, and learn real lessons in the real world.
DECISION #3: Is your online activity business, or is it just branding?
Personal brand does not equal content business. You can sell attention or you can build trust. Only one turns into your future career capital.
I personally know people who live off their socials and live well.
But this is a game to play, and has nothing to do with creativity.
If you want to make a business out of your content, you need to follow strict rules, i.e., keep a strict posting schedule, only write content about topics that will drive most attention (according to your SEO tools), use catchy hooks, mention certain phrases in your text…
There is no more room for you as a person anymore (unless, of course, you become a full-time TikToker or so).
Good news is: if you choose branding, i.e., for yourself and your creativity, you will make a business out of it, either way – the difference being, it will be a longer, more non-linear path.
But the AI revolution will help you with that, as trust and authenticity now have more market value than ever before.
DECISION #4: Where is your sweet spot on a scale between ultimate creativity and ultimate predictability?
Personal branding, especially online, is a constant battle on your mind between going off the beaten path with your thoughts and presenting your genuine new concepts, versus sticking to one central line of thought so that the algorithm learns what you are about and starts promoting you to the right audience.
I’d call creativity optimizing for the people, and repetitiveness optimizing for the algorithms.
To get new followers, you need to be pushed by algorithms. To get users engaged and keep retention high, you need to write for the people.
In my case, it’s 80% creativity and 20% repetitiveness, which might not secure me the largest following, but that’s the cost I decided to pay.
Decision #5: What is your style?
Lastly, what’s your style? Even recurring errors and personal weaknesses can become a strong brand if pitched smartly. So, don’t be afraid to go countercultural with your branding.
For instance, I chose to make all my books’ covers fairytale style, despite it being against all standards in self-help book publishing.
My personal style is a bit like “Squid Game:” happy pony land on the surface, but harsh, unfiltered truth-telling on the inside. Sweet on the outside, sour on the inside. I created it way before the “Squid Game” premiere — in case you are asking :)
Plus, there is always a source of light on the cover.
That’s the style that works for me, despite it not being very clear to potential buyers, who expect ugly covers with a book title written in the front in huge, blatant capital letters.
My friends and family used to laugh at first but started recognizing my style now.
Does it sell best? In the short term, probably not. But the style resonates with me, motivates me to pursue my projects my way, and I have a deep conviction it will pay off in the long term.
Last remarks.
1. Perspiration vs inspiration.
I cannot stress this enough: personal branding is 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration. Consequence and diligence outlast and outplay sheer talent.
Anyone can have one great idea for a clever post a year. That’s not an achievement. The clue is to produce yet another clever post with a good punch line every day.
2. Marketing is not sales.
If you think that likes on socials will directly lead to sales, think twice.
The human mind is naturally passive; no one will write to you and ask about your product just because they see you are a competent person, judging from your content.
Personal branding is making just half the distance — it will leverage your trust level, but it won’t do the sales job for you. You still need to actively knock at the door (including digital door), ask people about their needs, and propose your product as a solution.
3. Personal branding is a must.
Last but not least, we all do personal branding to some capacity — whether we want it or not. We have to.
As a matter of fact, as we enter the AI economy, having no personal brand in your working environment or your organization makes you just a collection of skills. And that makes you fungible.
On the positive note, you don’t need to build a household brand to survive and thrive in your professional career! I discussed that briefly in my recent PhD HardTalk podcast appearance (courtesy of Dr. Noma Mguni).
So, build your brand with intention, because in a world of noise, the clearest voice wins.
Best of luck on your personal branding journey!
Please cite as:
Bielczyk, N. (2025, June 12th). Ditch the Hype. 5 Steps to a Solid Personal Brand (Online). Retrieved from https://nataliabielczyk.com/5-steps-to-a-solid-personal-brand-online/
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