Transcripts
1. Intro: Have you ever wondered
why some people become trusted influencers while
others struggle to get noticed? The difference isn't
just better content, it's better branding. In this course, you
learn how to create a personal brand that people recognize, trust, and remember. We'll cover everything from
finding your niche and optimizing your profile to creating authority
building content, growing your influence, and
building a loyal community. These strategies will
help you stand out and build an audience that
genuinely trusts you. If you're ready to
become more than just another content
creator, let's get started.
2. Understanding Personal Branding: Understanding personal
branding. Simply put, your personal brand is
how people remember you. Like when someone takes your
name, what do they think of? It's your reputation, expertise, and impression you
leave on others. Now, let's understand
the difference between a personal brand and
a business brand. A business brand focuses
on its products, products or services, whereas a personal brand focuses on
person behind the content. And people connect with people. So as you can see in real
life, as well, coaches, freelancers and dancers and all the people who are
creating personalized content. Who are putting themselves
front and center are able to grow much faster because people
connect with people. Think about the
creators you follow. You probably like their
personality as much as you like their content
and sometimes even more. DAC is the power of
personal branding. Why Trust is your biggest asset. Many creators spend all of their energy in trying
to get attention, more likes more
followers, more reach. But attention alone
doesn't build a successful personal
brand. Trust does. You can have thousands
of followers, but if no one trusts
your recommendation, all your account has is
attention and nothing else. So how do you build credibility? Start by being consistent, post regularly, and then
start giving honest advice. Teach what you actually know. Don't pretend to be an
expert on everything. Your goal isn't just to get noticed and get more
and more likes. Your goal should be to become a trustworthy figure in
whatever niche you pick.
3. Finding Your Niche: Finding your niche. Let's talk about one of the biggest mistake
new creators make. That is making
content for everyone. Now, at first, it sounds
like a good idea, right? You're casting a wide net. So that's good, right?
Turns out it's not. When your content is too broad, People don't know if they
should follow you or not. Also, Instagram gets confused on who should it show
your content to? Because sometimes you're
making videos about cars. Sometimes you're making
videos about photography. Sometimes you're making
videos about fitness, sometimes fashion,
sometimes travel. So everything gets mixed up, and suddenly you're not
getting enough views. Now, instead of
creating broad content, create more specific content. For example, let's say you're
a fitness content creator. Fitness in itself
is a huge niche. For example, there are
people doing pilates. They will only watch
content related to pilates. There are people doing yoga. There are people
doing calisthenics. There are people doing
hypertrophy muscle training. So instead of labeling
yourself as a fitness creator, try to fit within one
of the sub niches. Right. So that will
be much more helpful. Another example,
instead of photography, for example, you're
trying to teach photography through
your Instagram account. Instead of photography, you can focus on iPhone photography. You can focus on
wildlife photography, portrait photography, pick a specific type
of photography. And all of a sudden, I
know this for a fact, but your account
will grow faster. Over time, people begin associating you with
a particular topic, and that's exactly
what you want. Now, what should your niche be? That is a very good question. So let's try to find
out an answer to that. A simple way to find your niche is by looking at four things. First would be your skills. Second, would be
your experience. Third is your passion, and fourth is market demand. Let's start with skills. What are you good at? Maybe you're good at graphic
design, photography, cooking, marketing,
fitness. Just make a list. Next is experience. Sometimes your biggest strength
isn't a certification. It's your personal experience. Maybe you've built a
successful business, lost weight, learned a new
language, mastered a software. People love learning
from real experience. Then comes passion. Creating content
consistently is much easier when you genuinely
enjoy the topic. If you don't enjoy it, you'll eventually burn out. Finally, think about
market demand. Ask yourself, A people
searching for this topic? For example, you
could be an expert at a very niche topic, but if no one is
interested in it, then it's not worth it. The best niches usually sit where these four
things overlap, something you're good
at, something you enjoy, something you've
experienced, and something people
actually want to learn. Also one more point regarding
choosing your niche. Pick a niche that you
can talk about for years on end or at
least six months. For example, if I
talk about myself, I can do photography. I have a fitness background. I have a tech
background as well. But the thing is,
I can't talk about every single thing for
years or months on end. I can't talk about fitness. I think I'll be able to create like eight to ten
fitness videos, and then I'll burn
out completely. I can create videos about
tech for years to come. Ultimately, it's what you
like talking about the most, which has a decent
enough market demand.
4. Building Your Brand Identity: Creating your brand voice. Your brand voice is simply the way you communicate
with your audience. Like, imagine your
favorite creators. You can probably identify them just by hearing their voice
or their tone of voice. Like some creators are
very professional. So creators are more
casual and informal. I'm not saying either
is right or wrong, but there is a specific
way people talk. As you create more content, you too will develop your
own communication style. Do not try to copy others here. For example, another creator
might be too professional because that's how they have conducted
themselves in real life. That's why they are so professional in
front of the camera. Other creators are more casual, more informal because
that's how they have conducted
themselves in real life. Ultimately your
online persona is you cranked up a little
bit high. That's it. You should never try
to be someone you're not because on camera, it shows use words and phrases that come
naturally to you. Your personality is
what makes your content different from everyone
else. Visual branding. Your visual identity is what makes you instantly
recognizable. Visual identity can mean the background that you're
using in your videos, the color grading
that you're doing, for example, whether you like bright and popping
colors like this video, or you like a dark and
cinematic kind of a video. Stay consistent with whatever choices you
make ultimately. Editing sound design. What type of sounds do
you use in your videos? The type of font, for example, pick one to two
good readable fonts and be consistent with it
throughout your videos. Now they are fun. Then
there are real covers, your thumbnails, and transition effects and
every single thing. Most people like
to keep it simple. You can experiment
in the beginning, but once you find your
footing, stay consistent.
5. Optimizing Your Instagram Profile: Writing a bio that converts. Your Instagram profile is often the first
impression people have of you and your Instagram bio is one of the most important
parts of that profile. When someone visits
your profile, they should immediately
understand three things. Who you are, what you do, and why they should follow you. That's called clear positioning. I mean, we talked
about it before. For example, like writing, I make fitness videos or I'm
a fitness content creator, rather than being generic, write who is your target
audience and who you help. For example, I help
people learn yoga. That is a good enough bio or I help beginner lifters build muscle. That
is another one. I help people lose weight. That can be another. People need to
understand what you do and who is your
target audience just by going through your bio. Next thing would be to
include a call to action. People won't do anything on your profile unless
you ask them to. What do you want them to do? For example, download
my free guide, book a consultation, watch my latest tutorial,
shop my products. A good bio answers questions
and encourages action. Choosing the right
profile picture. The thing is your
profile pictures appears literally everywhere when
people are searching for you, whenever you upload a story
on right next to your post, your messages, it's everywhere. People should be able to recognize your profile
picture instantly. So for personal brands, your face is usually the
best profile picture. Make sure your face
is properly visible, even if the profile
picture appears tiny. So that means a proper
head shot like this and make sure the background is clean and your face
is properly visible. You can also use AI
to create headshots. Avoid group photos
and avoid, like, terrible busy backgrounds
or terrible lighting, photos taken in low light. You can also hire a
photographer to take, like, a good headshot
for your Instagram. And the most important thing, do not change your
profile picture repeatedly again and again. I've seen people who change their profile pictures
every month or so. It ruins the brand credibility. Every time you see their story and every time they upload
a new profile picture, you won't recognize
their account anymore. So create long term recognition because that will help you
grow more and connect more. User name and display name SEO. Your username should be simple, easy to spell, easy to remember. Do not add any
unnecessary numbers or characters or
symbols in your name. Your display name is different. Display name is where
a CO comes in place. For example, instead of writing just your name, for example, I will be sharing some examples
on the screen right now where people have written their name alongside
what they do. So it becomes easier
to search for them. For example, some
people have written fitness creator,
fitness trainer, some people have
written photographer or adventurer or whatever
people may search for. Highlights that build trust. Highlights are
like the portfolio of your Instagram account. They highlight
literally highlight your biggest achievements,
your best posts, any time you've been featured on the news like media coverage
and things like that, I can also feature about us
or about me, in this case. What do you do and
things like that. Some useful highlight
categories can include about me, testimonials,
FAQs, portfolio. And depending on your niche, you could also include services, products, behind the scenes, tutorials, media features, keep your highlight covers clean and consistent with your brand.
6. Creating Content That Builds Authority: Educational content. If you want people to trust
you, teach them something. Educational content is one of the fastest ways to build
authority on Instagram. When you consistently
solve problems, people begin to see
you as an expert. Now, you don't need
to know everything. You just need to know more than the person you are helping. You can share tips, tutorials, mistakes to avoid, step by step guides, answer questions your
audience asks regularly. Remember, the more
value you provide, the more authority you
build, storytelling content. Share your journey, talk about
the mistakes you've made, talk about the experiences
that you've had, share your failures, lessons, and every small wins and losses. Stories make your
content more relatable. They share your personality, and they help your audience to see the person
behind the content. Opinion content. Another great way to build authority is by
sharing your opinion. Now, this does not mean to just be needlessly controversial
just to get more views. It means explaining what
you believe in and why. Opinion content
starts conversations, and it encourages comments. Over time, your audience
begins following you not just for the facts
and the knowledge, but for your unique
perspective on things. Behind the scenes content. People love seeing what
happens behind the scenes. It makes your content
feel more authentic. Show your process, show how
you create your content, share your workspace,
talk about your routine, or explain how you
solve problems. Behind the scenes
content reminds people that there is a real person behind the
account that they follow. It makes your brand feel more human and it builds more trust. You don't have to share
your entire life. Just share a little
bit more that the audience wouldn't normally
see authority content. This is the content that
proves your expertise. See, in the first
point of this video, we talked about
educational content. Educational content
and authority content are slightly different. Educational content,
you will make educational content based on information that is
already out there. Based on facts that
are already out there. Authority content is where you share your personal experience and personal insights based
on what you found out. For example, let's say, fitness, for example,
for example, you've been doing time under tension workouts
for the last two, three months, and you're sharing the results
you got from that. That is authority content. You're sharing your
own case study on how you trained with this particular type of workout
for the past two months, three months, six months, whatever it could have been. And what was the result? You can talk about the
results you've achieved or you've helped someone
else achieve the result. You can also share the lessons that you've learned
through the experience. Remember, authority isn't built by saying you're an expert. It's built by consistently demonstrating your knowledge and helping other people succeed.
7. Grow Your Influence: Networking with creators. Growing your influence is not just about creating
more and more content, it's also about
biding relationships. Connect with creators
in your niche. Leave thoughtful
comments everywhere. Not everywhere, like leaving 100 comments a day.
No need to do that. Leave a few, maybe four
to five comments within your niche on videos that you genuinely like
and genuinely enjoy. Or share other creators
video on your profile, I mean, on your stories, if you agree with them. Don't think of other
creators as competitors. Think of them as
potential collaborators, speaking opportunities. As your personal brand grows, people may start inviting you to speak like this
could be a podcast, a webinar, or a socializing
event or something. There are plenty of
opportunities there. See every time you speak, you're introducing yourself
to a brand new audience. Also, people naturally see
speakers as trusted experts. Take podcast, for example. It could be two
Randos doing podcast. About something, anything,
astrophysics or whatever. But it's in human nature that we will perceive them
that they're an expert. So do more podcast. If you are invited to
them, that is great. And this will happen
down the line. No instantly when you
create a new account, but slowly and
steadily, for example, let's say, after six months, you have 6,000, 7,000
8,000 followers. So you might be approached by a new podcaster that's
a great opportunity, or you can speak at a webinar
on so many other places. Don't miss out on
that opportunity, and don't wait until you are a complete
expert or whatever. Don't beat yourself
up. These are opportunities you don't
get again and again, and you should take
full use of it. Brand collaborations. One of the biggest
benefits of building a personal brand are
brand collaborations. I mean, I know someone who
has two YouTube accounts. The same thing applies on
Instagram as well shown WY. He has two YouTube channels. First is a faceless
YouTube channel where he has never
shown his face. That channel is at
100,000 subscribers. Second channel is where he regularly interacts
with the audience, and he shows his face, his personality,
his personal life. There he has 40,000
followers, subscribers. He has 40,000 subscribers. On the channel where he
has 100,000 followers, he has never received
a brandy, not yet. He has only received
gambling apps and some terrible applications and low quality applications,
but that's it. No great brand has
approached him yet. But on the smaller channel, he has done multiple brand es
with decently large brands. That's the power of
personal branding. Also know one thing, brands are not just looking at
your engagement. Okay, how many number of likes does he has or how
many followers he has. That's not the only
thing a brand looks at. Brand also looks at audience trust and your
quality of your content. Like, are you creating good
enough content or not? And does the audience
trust you or not? Also, one very important thing before accepting to
work with a brand, please ask yourself this, would I recommend this brand to a close friend or my family? If the answer is no, I would highly suggest you
to not work with brands. You should only
partner with brands that align with your views and vision and it should be
helpful for your audience. For example, if I'm
a tech creator, and if I end up partnering
with a skincare company, that is completely irrelevant. Like, first thing, what
do I know about skincare? Second, my channel
is a tech channel, so it's absolutely useless or a fitness content creator ends up partnering with
McDonald's or something. I mean, it's just an example, but a fitness content creator
should not promote junk. So ultimately, they
should align with your personal brand
expanding beyond Instagram. Instagram is a great platform, but it should not be
the only platform where people can find you. You know, it's important to have presence on
multiple websites. For example, if you are
a creator on Instagram, you should definitely
have a YouTube account. Whatever reels you create here will go as it is
on YouTube shots. Sometimes what happens is, you won't get great
views on Instagram, but the same piece of content works very well
on YouTube shots. And the Visa Versa also happens. Something that doesn't work on YouTube shots is doing millions
of views on Instagram. People also leverage Facebook, even though people say Facebook is old People's platform now, but I've seen plenty
of creators do very well on YouTube and
on Facebook, as well. So don't undermine any platform, have multiple platforms
in your arsenal, have multiple
places where people can find you and
connect with you.
8. Mistakes That Hurt Your Brand: Buying followers and
fake engagement. It might make your
account look bigger, but it's not going to make
your brand look stronger. Fake followers will never
become your customers, and they will never consume your content or leave
genuine feedback. And ultimately, Instagram will also figure out that you've purchased followers, so your reach will plummet. Bands and potential
clients can often recognize fake engagement
from miles away, and it will hurt your
credibility like crazy. Small number of real followers, that is far more
useful than having hundreds of thousands of fake followers, damaging
audience trust. You know, earlier,
I talked about brand deals and
things like that. You only work with
brands that align with your vision and your
target audience. This is what happens
when you don't do it. For example, I've talked about so many creators doing really, really stupid and
scammy applications. These people lose the
trust of audience. See, trust can be
damaged by promoting products you don't believe
in giving misleading advice, copying other creators,
making false claims, breaking promises, being
dishonest with your audience. Every decision you make
affects your reputation. Before promoting something,
ask yourself this, will this help my audience? If the answer is no, you should refrain from
doing such brandies.
9. Outro: Make sure to go on my
profile and check out the other tons of courses
that I've done on Instagram. Since Instagram is
such a huge topic, I have divided in chunks of
different multiple courses. Please make sure
to check it out, and that brings us to
the end of the course. I hope now you have a clear roadmap for building a personal
brand on Instagram. Keep learning, keep
experimenting, and don't be afraid to let your personality shine
through your content. Your personal brand won't
be built overnight, but every post is a
chance to strengthen it. Thanks a lot for taking this course. I'll see
you in the next one.
Shubham Jain, Everything about Etsy & Social Media
