Spoiler alert: It’s a necessity.
Okay, well, maybe not a survival necessity in the ‘Maslow’s hierarchy of needs’ sense! But I could certainly argue it contributes to the foundation for esteem, professional autonomy, and self-actualization 😄
Let’s break down why.
What is Personal Branding? Let’s be aligned for a second
My version of personal branding is made of 3 components:
who I am (my core values, identity, and perspective)
what I offer (my specific skills and hard-earned expertise)
who I want to offer myself to (my ideal audience and collaborators)
Now these have to be so specific that when people attribute words or problems around your niche, you automatically take up real estate in their minds.
Having an active social profile and contributing to community chatter without consistent messaging is not personal branding.
To illustrate, if I list these exact attributes without naming the person, we all picture the same human, right?
Billionaire, lizard-like, maybe a Martian, social media mogul, hyper-focused
Of course, there’s the whole “billionaire” factor, but Mark Zuckerberg’s personal brand is so specific that using the meme-ified attribute “lizard-person” still points directly back to him.
That is the power of unmistakable positioning: when you are crystal clear on who you are and what you stand for, your identity becomes impossible to confuse.
Why putting ourselves out there feels cringe
Simple: It only feels cringe when you’re trying to be someone else instead of your authentic self.
And here’s the thing: your audience can tell whether you’re being authentic or not.
Authentic posts feel light, insightful, and relatable. They are written in a normal way, similar to when you’re talking with a friend over coffee. They resonate because there’s real conviction behind them.
Imitative posts, on the other hand, usually rely on AI to polish away every edge. As “insightful” or hyper-structured as the post might look, audiences tune out because it just doesn’t read natural.
I’ve experienced this personally, especially on LinkedIn.
My LinkedIn journey started in 2018. Since then, I’ve witnessed the platform grow from a genuine job-search platform to a pool of performative AI slop. And -thankfully, back to being a genuine community after algorithm changes and my own effort in curating my feed and my connections.
When you are finally ready to show up as you actually are, unfollow outdated accounts, and actively train the algorithm by engaging with real people, building a personal brand feels 100% lighter.
Why is Personal Branding important?
In the current digital landscape, personal branding is no longer a vanity project. Rather, it becomes a critical ‘infrastructure’ for discovery.
I’m going to focus specifically on LinkedIn here because it’s the platform I know inside-out, but the data reflects a broader shift across the entire web:
Personal profile reaches more than corporate profiles: According to recent social platform benchmarks, personal profiles receive roughly 65% of feed distribution on LinkedIn, while company pages receive around 5%. Personal posts consistently generate 5x to 8x higher engagement than corporate brand updates because people connect with practitioners.
Trust factor for buyers: The Edelman & LinkedIn B2B Thought Leadership Report revealed that 71% of decision-makers state authentic thought leadership is far more effective at proving capability than traditional corporate marketing collateral or sales decks. And more from that, 86% of buyers explicitly seek out content that challenges their assumptions rather than generic advice.
Lurkers are vetting: Decision-makers perform over 60% of their research anonymously before making contact. They review individual profiles, read past posts, and evaluate real-world competence long before booking a call.
These genuinely happened to me and my business when I ‘returned’ to LinkedIn
When I made the pivot to launch my own consulting business, I started curating my profile and treating LinkedIn as a genuine reflection of my background in B2B marketing. It took me 3 weeks-ish to let go of the cringe, but then almost immediately, inbound inquiries and sales calls started coming in.
Beyond client work, I’ve connected with incredible peers locally in Sweden and internationally. I genuinely would never have imagined meeting them if I hadn’t restarted on LinkedIn.
And fun fact: one of those connections was the person who encouraged me to register my business in the first place. Without a virtual coffee chat back in May 2026, I would not have the flourishing business I operate today.
Where do I start with Personal Branding?
If you are ready to start showing up authentically, anchor your positioning around these three core pillars:
1. Internally align with who you are
Start from within. Ground your brand in self-clarity, non-negotiable values, real-world experiences, and the lessons you earned through actual trial and error. Borrowing (or rather, imitating) someone else’s tone, posting schedule, or topic list is completely unsustainable because it’s exhausting to be someone else. Do what you can from your own resources with your own capacity. Some gurus said post 5x a week and you can’t? Then post however much you can!
2. Focus on a few offers and how you can solve problems
Start with 1-3 clear positioning anchors so people instantly grasp what problems you solve. It’s absolutely fine to be multi-talented or a generalist (I am a generalist too!). But “spray and pray” messaging only confuses people (and AI). The point is to establish an entry point so you get your foot in the door. Once you’re in, you can then expand yourself!
3. Who do you actually want to talk to?
Focus on their actual operational reality. Saying “I want to target professionals in tech” is not going to register anywhere; it’s way too broad. Vague demographics never work. But honestly, don’t beat yourself up if you don’t know who specifically you want to work with yet! It took me 2 mismatched clients for me to understand who I actually prefer to work with, and what I prefer to work with.
Can I use AI to help with my personal branding setup?
Absolutely, yes, you can.
Does using AI make you inauthentic? Well, it depends:
Inauthentic AI use means letting the tool dictate who you are, what you think, etc. That results in generic, soulless content.
Authentic AI use in personal branding means you feed the tool rich context about you: your career, your worldview, audience, non-negotiables, and many more. When done ‘right’, AI will help you by becoming your sounding board that accelerates your real voice.
For my own workflow, I maintain a foundational document called the Personal Brand: Single Source of Truth. It houses my background, my CV, my positioning anchors, my non-negotiable values, my tone of voice boundaries, and explicit editorial guardrails.
Whenever I use AI to ideate, brainstorm, or outline content, I feed it this document first.
However, crucial caveat 💡: This document will not magically make AI sound 100% like you! AI will always default to sounding like… AI. You must always be the final editor who reviews, refines, and manually approves anything before it goes live.
So, are you ready to put yourself out there?
Personal Branding is a journey. You will not get it right on the first try! If you do, congratulations! You’re doing amazing!
Realistically, this is a trial-and-error game. Give yourself some grace for trying and learning! Through experiencing mismatched clients, wrong messaging, or failing a project, you’ll get to be closer and closer to who you truly are.
Now! To help you get started on your own internal alignment, I am sharing the exact template I use for myself and my consulting clients.
It is completely free and ungated, so no email sign-up required. Think of it as my maternity leave gift to you! 😝
Take 20 to 30 minutes to work through the reflection questions in the template. Use it to clarify your internal alignment, update your LinkedIn profile, and feed your AI tools authentic context.
Good luck! When I’m back in January 2027, I’m happy to check you out.
With love 💙
Annisa
PS: This is my last real-time article. The articles published from November to January will be pre-scheduled articles. I will make time to respond to comments, but probably will not be as active for a while! Wish me luck with motherhood 🤘🏼
looking forward to reading this soon!!