10 Personal Branding Tools To Help You Build A Dynamite Online Presence

So you’ve decided to break the barriers, and launch your own personal brand. Well, congratulations! Nothing is more exhilarating than doing what you love and get rewarded for it.

Now what?

I don’t have to really spell it out for you that launching a one-person show takes a lot of really hard work, guts, dedication, and not to mention perseverance. You’ll have to get your hands ‘dirty’, and practically do everything yourself.

To ease the process, here are ten top tools that I’d recommend for your personal branding arsenal.

1. Web Wise

Image Source: Pexels/Picjumbo.com

First off, for your personal brand whether you are consulting or providing professional service, having a website gives you a certain edge:

1. You cater to both online and offline clientele.
2. People can easily locate and contact you for your service.
3. You come across as a professional who is serious about your expertise.

Website.com is a good option, and you can personalize it with registered domain at Freenom.com.

Tip: Stick to low cost options, then when you grow you can move on to dedicated hosting.

2. Brand Identity

Image Source: Unsplash/Brad Neathery

The next thing is to get a logo design for your personal brand. You may just have your name written in a modern font like Madalyn Sklar and William Arruda have done, or something fancy like Rebekah Radice has created for herself. For this, you can get a creative consulting logo from ZillionDesigns.com.

Tip: Go for simplicity with a clean and readable font so your name is prominent.

3. Social Media

Image Source: Pexels/Tracy Le Blanc

OK, admitted this is not a tool. But you’ll need to register yourself on the appropriate social media platforms because that’s where the majority of your activities will be, if you want to stay connected and interact with your professional network, tools and platforms. Choose your social assets that match with your personal brand profile. Facebook is great if you want to connect with a relatively young crowd of Millennials while for the senior executives LinkedIn is a wise choice. Instagram is ideal for sharing personalized visuals and videos with Millenials; if you want to reach out to influencers, then Twitter is the place to be.

Tip: Only register to the ones relevant to your personal brand.

4. Brand Graphics

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One of the most important things in online as well as offline personal branding is the use of clear and crisp graphics. You want to come across as someone who’s professional and cares about details, including marketing materials, business cards, or personal brand identity. I find Canva.com a life saver where graphics is concerned, and the best part is, it’s free and you do it yourself.

Tip: Design with a theme in mind using similar fonts and colors to create branding consistency.

5. Beautiful Images

Image Source: Unsplash/Thought Catalog

Similar to graphics, beautiful images can make a huge difference in social media posting, website design, or your branding material. There are many options out there but I usually go with Unsplash.com – unlimited beautiful, large size images, well categorized, and searchable by keywords. Moreover, they’re stock photos quality, at no cost!

Tip: Go for photos with people with expression resonating your brand message.

6. Video Vice

Image Source: Unsplash/William Bayreuther

Let’s face it, no one can resist clicking on a video. For your personal brand, the next best thing to face-to-face conversation is to “speak” via your recorded videos. Whether it’s for social media, YouTube or “Live” updates, you’ll need a handy video tool. Adobe Spark is a simple and user friendly option where you can upload your recorded videos or images, and convert them into shareable video format. With some beautiful fonts, theme, voiceover and voila you’ve got yourself a professional video to show off.

Tip: Use a combo of graphics and recorded video to break the monotony.

7. Social Schedule

Image Source: Pexels/Plush Design Studio

One of the most challenging activity in marketing your personal brand is to handle social media. While you want to be responsive to every query or comment, you don’t want to spend your whole day on social media, do you? That’s when scheduling tools likeHootSuite and Cloud Campaign can save you hours. Sign up, connect your social profiles and schedule all your posts under one window. Save you from distractions as well!

Tip: Schedule posts like articles, quote images, company updates; interact with live comments.

8. Acing Appointments

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So finally, you’ve got your first client, and you don’t want to mess it up by forgetting the day, date or time of meeting. A word of advice – don’t bother with paper based diaries, you’ll forget them, lose them, or they’ll just get sloshed with coffee at the wrong time. Go digital. There are so many options out there but why pay when you can get it for free? For me the best deal is Google Calendar, or you could sign up with Appointly.

Tip: Share your calendar to remind others of designated time of meeting too.

9. GotoMeeting

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Got a presentation with a client sitting across the globe? Want to conduct a webinar? Or simply an overseas meeting call without costs attached? GotoMeeting is the tool which is going to save the day. Simply sign up, and you’ll be given a conference call code to join the meeting; use the same code to invite callers to join too, by using your phone or through computer browser.

Tip: Schedule webinars – a great way to boost your brand and show off your expertise.

10. Productive With Asana

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If your business is project base, then you might want to have a tool which allows you to collaborate, schedule, prioritize and monitor progress. Asana is the hero tool you’ll love to use with both clients and internal team members. It will help in presenting your personal brand as being transparent, effective, and worth the value.

Tip: Track your own progress to cut down on time wasting activities.

While there are tons of asana alternatives out there, you’ll have to figure out what works for you and your personal brand. One of the most important things that I’ve noticed is that look for customization. It offers the flexibility that you’ll need when you grow your personal brand in the future. Over to you. Have you tried any of these tools? Which one is your favorite?