If you’re not building your brand on social media, quick question: what are you doing?

Even if you only use social media once in a while, everything you share, like, or post adds to your public image. How you act online is now just as important as how you act in person, especially if you work in digital marketing.

A study called 'Using Social Media in the Recruitment Process' found that half of all employers will check job seekers' personal social media accounts. And 64% of people who hire have looked at someone's LinkedIn or similar profiles when considering them for jobs.

Building your personal brand on social media takes time and effort. But if you do it well, it can help you grow in your career, meet useful people, become known as an expert, show your true self, and leave a mark.

In this post, we'll show you 10 simple steps to build your presence on social media.

But first... 

What to consider before creating your socials

What's your primary goal?

Think carefully about what success looks like for you. Are you aiming to generate direct sales, build brand awareness, establish yourself as an industry expert, or create meaningful connections with your community?

Your answer will determine which platforms you use and the type of content you create.

Who are you trying to reach?

target persona

Get specific about your ideal audience. What are their interests, challenges, and behaviors? Which social platforms do they use?

Busy working parents might seek time-saving solutions, young urban professionals are focused on experiences and sustainability, while active retirees with disposable income have the time for travel and hobbies.

Understanding your target audience helps ensure you're not just creating content but creating the right content for the right people in the right places.

What unique value can you consistently offer?

Consider what makes your perspective or offering different from others in your space. What expertise, insights, or content can you regularly share that would be genuinely helpful or interesting to your audience?

This needs to be something you can sustain long-term. If you’re a marketing expert, share bite-sized interpretations of marketing trends backed by real case studies.

Example: "Here's how I helped a client boost engagement by 47% by analyzing their audience's peak activity times and content preferences. Details in thread 🧵" 

What resources do you realistically have?

Be honest about your available time, skills, and budget. How many hours per week can you dedicate to content creation and engagement?

Do you have the necessary skills in-house, or will you need external help? Your resource limitations will directly impact your ability to execute your strategy. 

How will you measure if it's working?

Define concrete metrics that align with your primary goal. If you're focusing on brand awareness, you might track reach and engagement.

If sales are your priority, you'll want to monitor click-throughs and conversions. Having clear metrics helps you know if your efforts are paying off and where to make adjustments.

10 key steps to help you build a presence on social media

Here's a quick guide to the 10 essential moves that will help you build a killer online presence. From picking your platforms to growing your audience, get ready to rock your social media game. 

1. Update your social media accounts

Update your social media accounts

There are over 5 billion social media users globally. The average person uses 6.7 different social platforms every month. These figures spotlight the widespread adoption of social platforms across age groups and locations. But not every account will help build your presence online.

A local bakery might find Instagram and Facebook most valuable because they’re great for showcasing beautiful photos of their pastries and connecting with local customers through visuals and events.

Meanwhile, a B2B software company might find LinkedIn and Twitter more effective because their target audience (business professionals) actively uses these platforms for industry news and professional networking.

So, perform a social media audit and decide which channels to focus on. Then, delete any old accounts you no longer use or that don’t serve your purpose.

For the networks you intend to use, ensure your information is accurate and complete. This will help grow traffic to the right places where you can best showcase yourself and your work.

Further reading: How you can reach Gen Z on social media 

2. Identify your area of expertise

Everyone's great at something. Maybe you know everything about creating amazing content or you can recall every detail of your favorite TV series.

Look at digital marketing, where certain names always pop up. These experts have built impressive LinkedIn profiles and are mentioned everywhere—take Rand Fishkin, who really knows his stuff about understanding audiences.

Or Neil Patel, who everyone turns to for search marketing advice. Then there's Steve Bartlett, who's done it all—written books, appeared on Dragon's Den, and hosts podcasts.

Why not try something new yourself? Which of your posts have your followers loved?  Could you create more content like that?

Or maybe take something that worked well before and give it a fresh spin to get people excited again. Whatever your expertise, if you have a digital product you can sell it on Whop

The more unique and engaging content you create on your topic of expertise, the more your followers will start seeing you as a thought leader in your field.

For instance, if you are a sustainability consultant who shares original research and practical solutions for corporate environmental challenges, your insights will position you as an industry authority.

3. Use social media AI tools

ai media tools

Building a personal brand is now simpler than ever thanks to AI tools. Using these tools, you can create an identity reflecting your values, expertise, and aspirations.

You can use AI tools for various tasks like:

  • Content creation: Writing tools like Perplexity and ChatGPT are great for research and content ideas. Feedly and Pocket use AI to suggest relevant articles and news that align with your brand, allowing you to share content your audience values.
  • Visuals: There are lots of amazing tools you can use to create visuals. Canva AI and Midjourney are popular favorites while Lumen5 and Adobe Spark use AI to create professional-looking images and videos.
  • Market research: Use AI to perform a competitive analysis and get insights into market trends and customer behavior. Ahrefs, Similarweb, and Brand24 are some of the tools you can use to do this. 
  • Email marketing: Personalization is key. It helps drive click-through in your email marketing. So, use AI to analyze subscriber data and optimize and test important elements like subject lines and CTAs.
  • Landing page optimization: WordPress, Wix and Godaddy, offer AI-driven optimization for website design, content, and layout which can help you with user engagement and SEO.  
  • SEO: Tools like Ahrefs and SEMrush help you identify trending keywords and phrases. Then, AI can be useful to analyze content for readability and keyword density. Quick hint: You can also use ChatGPT to discover untapped keywords and refine your SEO strategy.
  • Social media management: Platforms like Buffer, Sprout, and Hootsuite all leverage AI to schedule posts and automate tasks.

AI content creation: What is it, why it matters, and how it can make you rich

4. Regularly share content

In the past, social media success meant posting as much as possible. Now, too many posts can actually turn people off and make your audience tune out.

While you want to stay connected with your followers, you don't want to come across as trying too hard. Big companies have clear posting guidelines, like 3-5 posts weekly on Instagram, 1-2 daily on LinkedIn, and 3-5 daily on TikTok. But for small businesses and personal brands, it's not so simple.

The right posting frequency varies based on your field, who you're trying to reach, how many followers you have, and what you can handle. 

Pick a posting schedule you can stick to across your chosen platforms—one that doesn't stress you out or leave you feeling overwhelmed.

Posting about 3-4 times per week is an ideal target for individuals.

As Michael Noice from Entrepreneur Coach says, "Posting once a week on X or monthly on Instagram won't get you anywhere. It's better to pick two or three key social networks and be consistently active there instead of posting randomly across too many platforms."

It's perfectly normal to have days without posts. Figure out which metrics matter most to you, look at your post-performance data, and find what works best.

Need content ideas? Browse hashtags on social media, check what's trending on Whop communities, set up Google Alerts, or try AI tools like AnswerThePublic to see what people are interested in right now. 

5. Import your contacts

You may be amazed that so many of the people you already know are on the social media networks you’re using. In fact, there may be hundreds of people you haven’t even connected with yet. 

Don’t waste potential connections. Import your email contacts from Outlook or Gmail into your social networks to discover how many connections you’re missing. 

LinkedIn, Instagram, WhatsApp, Facebook, and X all allow you to import a certain number of contacts for free. You can also sync phone contacts to your TikTok account.

6. Be positive, engaging & authentic

Make your online presence genuine and stay true to who you are. While sharing other people's posts is good, you should also create your own content to show what you know about your field.

Think of your social media like an online resume - it shows both your work and who you are as a person. Feel free to share your successes and bits of your life outside work, like your travels or hobbies.

Remember, everything you post shapes how people see you online, so post thoughtfully. Create content that reflects your expertise and personality.  

For example, if you work as a digital nomad, show yourself working on a beach or give followers an insight into what it’s like to travel and work. Remember, social media is about individuals first. 

If you're concerned that you won't be able to voice your opinion, consider creating two sets of social media accounts. One can be for private use and another for the public.

This way you can keep your personal pages private for the closest friends and family, while you use your professional accounts to build new connections and for career opportunities. 

If you're considering talking about your employer online, read through your company's social media guidelines before doing so. 

How to become a digital creator and unlock your earning potential

7. Find & join social groups

find social groups whop discover

Facebook and LinkedIn offer established platforms for professional networking through groups. You can search for topics aligned with your interests and expertise to find relevant communities where you can share insights.

X (formerly Twitter) provides Communities where members discuss shared interests, with community leaders. 

Threads, launched by Meta in 2023, focuses on text-based engagement while supporting photos, videos, and cross-posting to Instagram. It offers a fresh platform to reach new audiences and share content.

While TikTok doesn't have traditional groups, it allows creators to share select content with specific followers. TikTok Live enables real-time interaction between creators and viewers, creating a community atmosphere.

Pinterest takes a different approach through Group Boards, where members collaborate around specific themes. The platform emphasizes inspiration and idea-sharing rather than traditional following.

Reddit is one of the internet's largest community platforms and hosts extensive discussions across countless topics through specialized forums called subreddits.

For more focused engagement, platforms like Whop offer structured community-building options. Through paid communities, creators can share exclusive content, host events, and manage memberships. Members can access private discussions, resources, and specialized features through subscription tiers. 

Consider joining smaller, topic-focused groups rather than large industry groups, as they often provide better opportunities for meaningful connections and discussions.

When you join these communities, participate actively in discussions - meaningful engagement is the foundation of social media interaction.

8. Keep your voice, image & tone consistent

You probably already know this: establishing and sticking to a defined persona matters.

Stay consistent with your ideas and how you present them so you’re viewed as memorable and authentic. 

Voice

Finding your right tone of voice may take some trial and error. After all, it’s more than just deciding whether you want to be funny or inspirational. You need to figure out what style works for you. 

Image

While you don’t necessarily need a graphic design degree to create amazing graphics, an understanding of design fundamentals is useful.

This includes everything from color, imagery, typography, and composition. By nailing these for your brand, you can create a brand style guide and maintain a consistent image across digital channels:  your website, blog, social media, and even email.  

For example, just think about Coca-Cola and how it uses its logo and red color consistently. This could be you, albeit on a smaller scale!

While your brand voice is what you say, tone is how you say it. This means that your messages must change depending on the audience and the platform. 

Consider the type of content and tone used on LinkedIn compared to TikTok. Both cater to a different audience and purpose, so the tone has to change to connect with the user base. 

Tone

Your tone needs to change according to what you’re communicating or responding to. Sharing a post about loving a new product? Your tone would be enthusiastic. Responding to a negative comment? Not so much. 

The key is to understand the audience, know your channels, and keep a sharp eye on tone when you create content.   

9. Study influencers

influencers

Connect and collaborate with influencers to get your brand known, keeping in mind it can take some time. First, you’ll need to focus on finding the right one and developing a relationship before they see you as an expert.

Influencer marketing is no longer about the celebrities or heavy hitters on Instagram and TikTok—smaller influencers are stealing the spotlight with their engaged followers. 

"The influencer era is gone and there are a lot of brands and small businesses, especially B2B businesses that have been acting like influencers," said Mark Pollard in a recent DMI webinar. 

According to Meltwater’s State of Social Media Report, micro-influencers inspire up to 60% more engagement than other influencers and boast an average engagement rate of 3.86% compared to mega-influencers at only 1.21%. 

If you're serious about influencer marketing, finding the right influencer is the first step. Tools like Meltwater, Brandwatch, BuzzSumo, and Heepsy can help you do that.  

Reach out to the influencer, preferably on their social channel. Be clear about what you're looking for, and end with a call to action, such as a meeting or call. 

Once you've secured a partnership or collaboration, put in place an influencer marketing brief to share the project's objectives, terms, and details. This helps ensure you're both on the same page and there are no surprises.

10. Earn a social media certification

To build a strong personal brand on social media, you need to understand the basics.

You can’t just post randomly and hope for the best. Take time to create content that fits each platform and connects with the people you want to reach. When you share things that your followers care about, your brand will grow naturally.

Here are some areas you need to develop knowledge and experience in to nail your social media game:

  • Social research
  • Social customer services
  • Social apps
  • Analytics
  • Social content
  • Social strategy
  • Social commerce 
  • Affiliate marketing

Additionally, it’s important to know the features of each platform. How do you best leverage Facebook, X, YouTube, Instagram, or TikTok? How do you optimize content for each platform to get the best engagement rate? These are questions you should be able to answer. 

With some practice, you’ll soon learn which channel works best for your goals as well as how to measure success.

Which social media platform is the best to market yourself?

Tricky question. Why?

Because, what constitutes the ‘best’ platform depends on your personal brand, goals, and industry. 

Some platforms will work better than others and it’s always best to limit your social channels so you’re not spreading yourself too thin, especially when it’s just you creating, posting, and managing each one.  

Let’s take a closer look at each platform. 

1. Instagram

instagram

Instagram is a visual platform that's perfect for sharing images and videos with Stories and using Reels for engaging short-lived content. It's also great for influencer marketing and hashtags help increase visibility and reach targeted audiences.

With over 2 billion monthly active users, Instagram's features like Shopping and carousel posts give you many ways to show off your personal brand and make money doing so.

The platform's easy-to-use analytics help track who's engaging with your content, while its connection to Facebook's advertising system makes it simple to run targeted ads. The feed rewards creators who post quality content regularly.

Best for: People and businesses with a visual focus like fashion, photography, travel, art, fitness, and lifestyle. Influencers.

2. X

twitter

X (formerly Twitter) is a real-time platform that is good for sharing insights and news, curating content, and engaging followers through polls and hashtags.

The platform thrives on quick, clear communication while offering the flexibility of threads for more detailed discussions.

Thanks to its fast-paced sharing nature, your posts can reach thousands of people within minutes through retweets and likes.

Since many business leaders, journalists, and industry experts use X to connect and share ideas, it's a powerful place to build your professional brand and find new opportunities. X’s search features also make it easy for potential clients or employers to find you through keywords and conversations in your field. 

Ideal for: Thought leadership, real-time engagement, technology, and media industries.

How to monetize X (Twitter)

3. YouTube

youtube

YouTube is used as a search engine, so SEO is key. Video content that performs well are tutorials, behind-the-scenes, unboxings, interviews, and educational videos.

YouTube is one of the world’s largest platforms with massive reach and staying power. With over 2.7 billion monthly users, it's the second most visited website after Google.

Unlike other social media platforms where posts quickly get buried in feeds, YouTube videos can keep getting views and engagement for years. The platform's smart algorithm learns what viewers like helping your content reach people who are specifically interested in what you offer. 

Since Google owns YouTube, your videos can show up in regular Google searches, too, making it easier for people to find you.

Ideal for: Content creators, educators, entertainers, and anyone using video content.

4. LinkedIn

linkedin

LinkedIn stands out as the best place to market yourself online because it's built for professionals. Unlike other social media sites, most people on LinkedIn are business leaders, experts in their field, and people who might want to hire you.

When you share helpful posts about your industry, they can reach many people beyond just your connections. LinkedIn lets your colleagues vouch for your skills and write recommendations about your work. This adds social proof that you're good at what you do.

Your LinkedIn profile works like an online resume that's connected to job boards and hiring tools. This makes it easier for opportunities to find you, even when you're not actively looking. 

“LinkedIn is not just about posting a CV or resume anymore. It is a valuable business networking tool. I don't think business networks have ever been more important in terms of how people get discovered and how they do business together,” said Luan Wise in a recent podcast. 

Best for: Professional networking, B2B industries, and career development

5. TikTok

TikTok is a must-have platform for Gen Z and Millennials, featuring engaging short-form video content (although it has expanded to include 60-minute videos to take on YouTube).

It's also good for highlighting and discovering trends and challenges that offer viral potential.

What sets TikTok apart is its powerful algorithm that can turn unknown creators into overnight sensations. The platform's "For You" page democratizes content discovery, meaning even accounts with few followers can reach millions of viewers if their content resonates.

This organic reach potential is unmatched by other social platforms, where growth often requires paid promotion or an existing following.

Ideal for: Creative professionals, entertainers, and for targeting younger audiences.

6. Facebook

facebook

Facebook is currently the largest social platform in terms of user base. It offers various content formats including text, images, video, live streams, and niche groups for community building.

Facebook is great for marketing yourself because it's where most people already spend their time. The platform makes it simple to track how well your posts are doing and who's looking at them.

Facebook Groups are one of the best things about the platform. You can join groups in your field and share helpful advice, which helps people see you as an expert.

Or you can start your own group to build a community around your work or interests. You can also create events like online workshops or local meetups and invite people to join.

Facebook's advertising tools are also user-friendly. You don't necessarily need huge budgets to get your posts in front of the right people. Plus, when people like or share your content, their friends see it, too - this helps you reach even more people naturally. 

Best for: Community building and reaching a broad, diverse audience

How to market yourself on Whop 

Discover whop

While marketing yourself on social media is all good, Whop is where the real action is. What sets Whop apart is its focus on high-value, premium content.

Unlike traditional social media where content gets lost in endless feeds, Whop communities foster deeper connections between creators and their members. You can offer tiered membership levels, exclusive content, and direct access to your expertise—all while building a sustainable income stream.

Success stories are a norm on the platform. Many creators are making bank from their Whop communities and courses.

Take Blake Anderson who turned looksmaxxing into $10M using ChatGPT.

Or 21-year-old Jasmine Green who makes 6 Figures With Amazon FBA and runs a successful Whop community.

Whether you're a seasoned expert or just starting to share your knowledge, Whop provides the tools and infrastructure to transform your expertise into a profitable digital business.

The platform's built-in promotion features also help you reach potential members actively seeking premium content in your niche.

Why not start by marketing yourself on Whop? It's where the real money's made.