Personal Brand Checklist: Detailed Audit of Your Online Presence

Whether you like it or not, you have a personal brand. The only question is whether you take control of it.

As an entrepreneur, it’s especially important to manage your brand assets.

Why? 

The main reason is that you're not your company. Your reputation online extends beyond you as a leader at the company X or consultant for the company Y.

No one knows what awaits you in the future, but a strong personal brand is an asset you're going to leverage for the years to come. And then, —

If your audience trusts your personal brand, they’re more likely to trust your company as well. 

When you set out to develop your personal brand, your first step should be conducting a personal brand audit. 

An audit is an evaluation of your brand’s position in the current market. 

Why it’s important: 

• you may find some information you’d want to remove or change
• it helps you see an overall image you project
• you learn how your online presence shapes your brand. That way, you can evaluate if that’s the brand you want people to see.

There are many ways to approach it. Here’s how we usually do it for our clients in the personal branding agency Tilt the Scales.

Before we dive in 

For your personal brand audit, I suggest taking LOTS of screenshots and collecting them in one document. That way, you’ll have a full snapshot of your personal brand at your fingertips. 

You can use a screen capture tool, such as GoFullPage Chrome extension, and take screenshots of every page you find. 

To gather them all in one place, I use Miro boards, but it can also be something as simple as PowerPoint or Google Slides.

The 7-step brand audit process

#1. Interviews and media appearances

Start by looking through all media appearances, especially interviews. 

There are two key reasons why you need to revise them. 

First, to make sure that things you’ve said before, photos you’ve taken, videos you’ve recorded are in line with the image you want to project today. (Just think of that infamous picture of Justin Trudeau at a party.)

Second, your media appearances could be a great source for social media and blog content. 

Where to look: podcasts, online radio shows, Youtube, webinars, more traditional media like magazines and TV.

What to look for: harsh opinions on sensitive topics, twisted words taken out of context, photos, and videos.

#2. Social media 

Getting on social media is a must when building a personal brand. People want to see “the real you” in your natural habitat, not only in a professional context. 

If your work in any way relates to marketing, a strong social media presence is your business card. It’s a way for you to showcase your content strategy and skills.

If it's something outside of marketing, social media are still your tool to shine and differentiate. Especially, when other people in the industry don't take care of them.

• Facebook 

No matter how much we try to fight it, Facebook’s still our first intuitive choice when looking for someone online. 

So if you’re on Facebook, start from there. 

How deep to go in your research depends on how much and how often you post. Usually, 3 to 4 scrolls should be enough. 

• LinkedIn

LinkedIn is important for a couple of reasons. 

First, it shows up in the first 3 results of a simple Google search, so the chance someone clicks to check it out is high. 

Second, it’s a platform designed for building your network. Make sure your profile’s up to date and contains relevant keywords to make it easier for people to find you. 

• Instagram

Take a screenshot of the main page and provide a link to the profile. No need to screenshot every post – it’s more important to see the general layout, look, and feel of the account. 

If the account is private, that also sends a certain message. Take a screenshot of the handle and the profile photo.

• Twitter 

When going through Twitter, first take screenshots of your own profile, then check Tweets & Replies, Media, and Likes. We all plan and curate what we post on our accounts, but the “real you” is in those other sections. 

Where to look: Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter.

What to look for: previous posts, comments, reactions, opinions you’ve expressed, how well you implement your content strategy, style consistency, quality of shared media, and graphic design.

#3. Profiles on freelance and other professional platforms 

Many entrepreneurs started out as freelancers. 

If you’re one of them, your Upwork, Fiverr, and whatever other freelance accounts should be in top shape. 

Even if you no longer use your profile to look for clients, your account can tell a lot about you. Your freelance profile shows the experience that shaped you as a professional you are today, as well as your work ethic.

Where to look: Upwork, Fiverr, Freelancer, FlexJobs, or any other freelance platforms where you have a profile.

What to look for: good/bad reviews, comments, testimonials.

#4.Youtube 

Whether or not you have an active Youtube channel, you need a Youtube check. 

Type in your name and see what you find. 

If you post videos on a regular basis, check the recurring topics. Is that what your target audience expects to see? 

Where to look: on your and other people’s channels.

What to look for: videos from years ago that you might’ve posted/participated in and forgotten about, check what videos/playlists are public and private, the topics that you cover in any video where you appear.

#5. Student institutions profiles

Were you an active student or still are one? 

Does alma mater in any way highlight the achievements of their students online? 

Did you give an interview, contribute with volunteer work, or submit a publication? 

Then you might’ve ended up somewhere on one of their pages.

Try typing your name along with the name of the place where you studied and see what pops up.

Where to look: college’s/university’s website pages.

What to look for: pages with featured students, publications, project descriptions, “our volunteers” section if you’ve ever participated in volunteer projects.

#6. Personal website

If you have a website, take screenshots of all pages. 

This is especially useful to compare before/after if you’re ever planning a remake. 

Your website is your own channel that you can influence directly. Take charge of it and keep it tidy. Make sure your brand, style, and tone of voice are consistent across different pages. 

Where to look: all pages of your website, links, sign up forms.

What to look for: broken links, voice, and style consistency – especially if you blog, consistency of your brand identity.

#7. Google search

Have you ever googled yourself? 

You should. You can find very surprising things. 

If you’ve ever volunteered or worked as a panelist, jury member, mentor, or speaker, chances are, your name is on some website that you’re not even aware of. 

Where to look: first 5 pages of Google search.

What to look for: images – check your ‘competitors’ with the same name and whether you’re the one showing publically; any other page you can find – anything else that comes up on the first 5 pages of Google search that’s of value. 

End result 

Depending on how expansive your online presence is, your end result should look something like this:

I’m a big fan of Miro. I mean it when I say it—in August I was a speaker at Miro DC User Group event and walked the audience through my process in Miro. There will be another article coming on that topic soon.

Why Miro? When you place different elements on board, it’s easy to zoom in and navigate from one part of the audit to another. 

Whichever platform you choose for putting this puzzle together, try to do it in a way that makes it easy to grasp your brand’s essence right away. 

Bonus tip 

Keeping up with your brand appearances can be overwhelming. 

That’s why I started using Google Alerts, a service that helps you monitor the web for content. 

This is how it works:

1. Type in a keyword.

2. Adjust the frequency and source settings.

3. Google fetches all the content containing that keyword and sends it your way in an email. Even your Google Maps reviews and comments on various portals.

When you set up your name as the keyword, it makes it much easier to monitor your online presence. 

Bottom line

And there you have it – your personal brand audit is now ready!

Completing this checklist is the first and most important step in assessing your brand’s success. 

It’s important to remember, though, that it’s up to you to define “success”. 

There’s no one way to position yourself online – it all depends on your goals and how you want to connect with your audience.

“Your brand is what they say about you when you’re not in the room”. 

What do you want them to say?

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If you need some assistance with your personal brand audit or other personal branding services — write me a message here on LinkedIn or drop a line at design@natakostenko.com.