What did I learn about Personal Branding in 2024?

I discovered the concept of personal branding in 2016. Since then, it has become a passion that later turned into a business, with hundreds of people consulted and company employees taught on how to leverage it to improve organizational results.

The year 2024 has taught me some important lessons – some new, others reminders. Here are 10 of them that I would like to share with you.

1. Personal branding is applicable to everyone.

The year 2024 marks a milestone for me in the field of personal branding.

This year, I created two full university courses on personal branding: one is a 48-hour (6 ECTS) course for bachelor’s students, and the other is a 32-hour (5 ECTS) course for students in the Master’s in Educational Leadership programme.

One of the key takeaways from this experience in 2024 is that personal branding is a subject that can be taught to both first-year students and executives. Here’s why:

?? The goals, target audiences, channels, content directions, and other aspects may differ, but the foundations remain the same.

?? Personal branding is not an exclusive tool for executives. Everyone can benefit from it if it is approached strategically, and this is supported by numerous research studies.

?? In an increasingly competitive job and business environment, personal branding provides a way to differentiate oneself. It is something that is not defined by a person’s years of experience or age.

2. Our work does not speak for itself, in other words, personal branding can predict employability.

This intuitive feeling has been confirmed by scientific research this year. What does it tell us?

?? Personal branding is a significant predictor of employability, surpassing traditional predictors like human capital (knowledge, skills, and abilities) and intrapreneurship behaviors (proactive, innovation-driven actions within an organization).

?? In an increasingly remote work environment, personal branding becomes crucial for making one's work visible and recognized.

?? Managers should recognize the importance of personal branding in their employees' employability and career success. They can also benefit from identifying employees who signal their professional value, and make informed decisions regarding promotions, salary increases, and other career development opportunities.

Building a strong personal brand is no longer optional – it’s essential for professional success.

3. Our personal brands have much more to do with our lives outside office hours than we might think.

While we often associate personal branding with professional achievements, job titles, and career or business goals, a personal brand is, first and foremost, a GUT FEELING about another person.

This gut feeling that others develop about us doesn’t always depend on what we do at work. Instead, we can shape these impressions through our hobbies or interests.For example, although I have been practicing cold water dipping for just over a year, it often serves as a conversation starter with people I don’t know well.

Similarly, the fact that I regularly train at the gym frequently becomes a point of connection with like-minded individuals. These “out of office” moments can reveal a great deal about us – our personal traits, priorities, and goals. And that, too, is a part of our personal brand.

4. To define your personal brand, sometimes you have to go back to your roots.

This year, I have been working on my personal brand’s visual identity – I needed a brandbook that includes a logo, branded colors, and other elements that typically go into it.

In my mind, for the logo, I didn’t just want my name in a cool font but also a logo icon or symbol. When I gave a brief to a graphic designer, the first attempts had nothing to do with me. The arch and arrow, a boat, glasses – none of these were part of my identity even though they looked fancy.

I realized that the symbol idea had to come from me. That’s when I went back to my roots, to the philosophy behind my personal and professional life. In my case, it was sports – something I practiced and loved deeply during my teenage years. And while my sports career didn’t last long, my philosophy did.

The full picture of it is yet to be revealed, but for now I encourage you to do this. When defining YOU (whether it’s a personal slogan, logo or simply keywords), include all eras of your life and find the common threads.

5. It’s not only the impressive achievements that build trust.

What also builds trust is the ability to share sensitive and vulnerable aspects of ourselves, which makes us CREDIBLE in the eyes of others.

Let’s break it down. While we often associate credibility with expertise, it is just one element of this concept. Research defines credibility as the extent to which a source (such as a person or endorser) is perceived as expert, trustworthy, and attractive, influencing the audience’s acceptance of their message (Ohanian, 1990). It’s important to note that “attractiveness” in this context includes not only physical appearance but also personality, likability, and similarity to the audience.

Now that we have the definition, here are three things why sharing not just the glamour but also the raw and real aspects of ourselves helps to strengthen our personal brands:

?? We tend to trust those who appear genuine. Sharing personal challenges or insecurities signals openness and honesty, which in turn fosters trust.

?? Vulnerability reminds others that you are human, which helps create emotional connections and reduces perceived barriers between you and your audience.

?? Being open about sensitive topics shows self-awareness and courage, and this confidence in embracing one’s imperfections is often perceived as a strength that enhances credibility.

After all, we are all human. Curious, sensitive and seeking to connect with others in meaningful ways.

6. Personal branding NEVER SLEEPS.

Even when you’re not actively posting, speaking, or networking, consumers, colleagues, and other audiences can still discover you through social media, live interactions, and professional communities – so your personal brand is forming in real time.

Even though it may sound a little intimidating to always be aware that everything we do sends signals, when your personal brand is anchored in genuine values, it will organically resonate and reach the right audience.

No matter the time or place ??

7. It’s easy to change how others perceive you or to add additional keywords to the way they see you.

The key is CONSISTENCY.

This realization became clear to me when I received a phone call from a friend asking me to deliver a talk on something I had only recently begun practicing as a hobby. My friend was rather surprised because every day I practiced that hobby, I would post a selfie or a photo to my stories on Facebook and Instagram. It served as a clear signal that something new was happening in my life, but lacked explanation.

This realization taught me one important lesson: if you want to change a perception, it’s not enough to mention it once – you must repeat it. At the same time, if you’re simply adding to the way you want others to see you, you must use storytelling to explain (which I failed to do).

People say consistency is key. Believe them.

8. AI is not everything.

It is great for content creation, but only when you really know how you want to position yourself. Over the past few years, AI has saved a lot of time for people who knew how they wanted to position themselves and had clear ideas about the content they wanted to share. In other words, AI was great for the implementation part of personal branding efforts.

I experimented with it myself – there were times when I would come up with a post, knowing exactly what I wanted to say, and would only ask ChatGPT to proofread it without changing the meaning or adding unnecessary words. It worked great—not necessarily in terms of social media metrics, but in terms of finding a connection with the audience (reflected in personal messages or in-person conversations).

There were other times when, for experimentation purposes, I would ask the app to come up with a message from just an idea – the content looked great, but was there much soul in it? I doubt that.

According to the latest research, while GenAI can enhance marketing content, disclosing its use on social media triggers negative follower reactions, partly due to diminished brand authenticity. The same applies to personal brand content.

9. No likes or comments? No problem.

I've learnt not to focus on social media metrics, as we cannot control the algorithms.

This year I’ve spent hours creating content backed by research, believing it would provide significant value to the audience and offer actionable advice. At times, these pieces of content would gather only a dozen reactions and barely a thousand views. That would be totally fine if I had a couple of hundred connections, but my connections and followers exceed 16k. Did I care? Yes, I did.

However, there were other times when I wrote just three sentences about a recent achievement—like a new position or a project launch—and the numbers would explode.

This led me to question: does the audience still value educational content, or is it all about short-form entertainment?

I then reconsidered the outcomes of the content that received less engagement or fewer views. It still generated positive personal feedback and brought in leads. Even if it wasn’t visible to a large audience, it worked.

This year has taught me that social media numbers aren’t everything. If they’re declining, it doesn’t necessarily mean people aren’t interested. We simply cannot control the algorithm.

10. You must find JOY in building your personal brand.

When you enjoy the process of building your personal brand, no low social media engagement, lack of recognition, or other setbacks will discourage you from working toward your larger personal branding goals.

Whether it’s the type of content you share, the platform you use, or—ideally—the value you create for your audience, discovering your JOY is the MAGIC I wish for everyone to find in 2025.

Sincerely,

Dominyka

[email protected]

wwww.personacognita.com

www.thepromise.lt

Feel free to contact me about personal branding consulting or employee advocacy (ambassadorship) programs for your business or organization.