My favorite Instagram creators are the ones that are unapologetically themselves. 

Their posts don’t catch my eye because of some polarizing opinion or controversial topic. They grab my attention (and keep it) because the individual is showing up as their full self – who they are, as they are.

And ohmygoodness as a consumer, wow I freaking love that!!

Honestly, think about it. When you come across a piece of content that’s “trending” versus a post that is core to who the individual is, what they stand for, and what lights them up…which one are you going to remember? The one that pulled you in.

It’s like we take the mask off when we allow ourselves to show up in a way that feels true to us. All of a sudden we feel more aligned and connected in how we’re showing up with our community. Showing our authentic selves is how we establish more meaningful relationships, it’s how some of us meet our dream clients and biz besties! Just think about some of the biggest TikTok stars like Elyse Meyers, Alix Earle, Dadchats – their content does so well because they’re unapologetically themselves. You can feel the difference between someone’s content where they’re playing it safe by trying to fit in versus courageously sharing their whole selves.

It’s why we have biz crushes and fangirl over other personal brands online. We feel like we know them. And even though we obviously don’t actually know them IRL there’s a connection there. And that is how you build brand loyalty as a personal brand.

So now that we understand why authenticity is so darn important, how the heck do you start creating authentic content for your personal brand?!

It Starts with a Pop of Personality:

Elyse Meyers took over the internet in 2021 with her story of a “Taco date gone wrong”. Stories are a great way to pull people in and establish connections, but Elyse wasn’t just telling a story. She was adding in her personality. If you’ve ever watched Elyse’s videos you know that she tells stories in a unique way. She has a unique cadence and storytelling format (the amount of patience she and/or her team has to add all those emojis on-screen is beyond me, but gosh darn it, IT WORKS).

Elyse’s quirky personality keeps the viewer engaged. You want to know what Elyse is going to say next because she’s witty, an incredible storyteller, and downright relatable.

A quick note: You do not have to have an outgoing personality in order to connect with your people.

The whole point of showing up authentically in your content is to be yourself. If you’re an introvert, show your introverted side! For example, I’m a huge introvert – I love taking baths, reading books, and setting aside time to reset after a lot of socializing. I show those activities on our Instagram stories often and will occasionally talk about how important it is to prioritize time for yourself (which as an introvert, is all the more important!)

If you’re unsure where to start, here are some questions to ask yourself to get the wheels turning:

• How would your best friend describe you?
• When you feel like you can be yourself around someone, how do you show up? What makes you feel like you can show up authentically at that moment?
• What are those things that are core to who you are? What irks you, drives you, keeps you up at night, or makes you blush?

Your answers will give you a jumping-off point. And then you can…

Infuse Your Personality Into Your Brand Voice & Content Aesthetic

Your personality plays a big role in your content strategy and approach. For example, if you’re an introvert you may prefer writing out your thoughts versus speaking them out loud. Do what feels good to you!

You can also infuse your personality into the colors you use, your typefaces, and the overall vibe you bring to your content. If you have a loud and outgoing personality, you may gravitate towards using bright colors, sharing hot takes, and witty in-your-face one-liners that make your audience feel like they’re interacting with you in person.

Take a look at how you interact in your everyday life and begin to build a parallel in your personal brand (after all personal brands are just that – personal to who we are!)

Some tips here:

• Write the way you talk IRL. Look at the way that you talk with your best friends and those closest to you. Do you find yourself communicating with memes all the time? Try incorporating some memes into your content strategy (and make them applicable to your industry/offer)! Carry this over into your client communication as well.
• Look at the colors and aesthetics that you tend to gravitate towards in your every day. How can you implement them into your content (ie: wearing your fave colors for your personal branding photos)?
• Search Pinterest for font ideas! For instance, searching “Granola Girl Font Ideas” will turn up a variety of fonts that match that aesthetic (and there’s a good amount of free options to choose from!)

Think About What Makes You, You:

One of our favorite questions to ask our personal branding clients is, “What are your brand identifiers?”

Your brand identifiers are your latest obsessions, the items you can’t live without, or parts of your everyday routines. For example, anytime I see an Olipop I immediately think of Jess Massey, Founder of Hustle Sanely, because she frequently shares her love for Olipop on her Instagram stories.

Your brand identifiers are a brilliant way to remind people in your community that you exist. They’re a strategic way of staying top of mind for those in your audience AND to establish a connection point with them (ex: receiving dm’s like, “Omg I LOVE Olipop!!”). The second benefit here is that it gives those in your audience an opportunity to tag you without giving it a second thought. Do you know how many people have tagged Jess Massey because they were “influenced to try Olipop”?! 

*guilty as charged*

If you’re not sure where to start with brand identifiers, ask yourself:

• What is something in your life that you do repeatedly and effortlessly?
• What are those things that people see/do and immediately think of you?
• What can’t you live without? What’s your latest obsession?

To Sum It Up:

“A 2020 meta-analysis of more than thirty thousand participants found that authenticity, or the degree to which one feels true to oneself, is associated with greater well-being”. I believe that applies to the way we show up online, too.

There may be some things you’ll want to keep to yourself, and that’s okay! That is also a form of staying authentic to yourself.

In a world that is full of trends and comparison, one of the most freeing things you can do is show up as yourself unapologetically. It may feel scary at first (that’s normal and totally valid!), but the more you do it the easier it gets and the more confident you will become. 

One of the most beautiful outcomes from showing up authentically in our personal brands is the connections that are made during the process. When we share what’s on our heart and pull back the layers of what makes us who we are…we allow ourselves to connect with people on a level we wouldn’t be able to otherwise.

And that’s a really beautiful thing.

If you’d like to learn even more about how to show up online more authentically & strategically as a personal brand, join the waitlist for our course The Content Kickstarter. In 4 weeks we’ll walk you through how to create a content strategy that truly reflects your personal brand and connects with your community.

PS, if you want to nerd out on what’s working well for your content, here’s a link to learn more about our free Content Analysis template. 

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