How to Build a Personal Brand That Feels Authentic and Strategic
By Ciara O’Neil
A problem that comes up time and time again for founders and professionals building a personal brand is the balance between being authentic and being strategic. You want to show up as yourself, but you also want to position yourself as an authority in your space, not just another generic profile online.
see so many personal brands get this balance completely wrong. some lean too heavily into the “authentic” side of things, over sharing every detail about their life even if it’s completely irrelevant to their brand, and others hide behind carousels and jargon, without sharing any hint of the person behind it all.
Your core identity is your biggest differentiator. It’s what makes your brand memorable and magnetic. When your content, messaging, and presence align with your values, passions, and strengths, everything starts to click.
But authenticity doesn’t mean sharing every detail of your life. It’s about knowing who you are, what you stand for, and how to express that through your content and communication… intentionally.
That’s how you create a personal brand that not only feels true to you but also drives opportunities, recognition, and long-term authority.
WHY YOUR IDENTITY IS YOUR COMPETITIVE EDGE
Whether you’re a founder, creative, or professional building visibility, you are your biggest differentiator. No one else has your exact mix of experiences, passions, skill sets, and perspective, and that’s the foundation of a personal brand that stands out.
Your core identity is what anchors your brand. It’s not about inventing a persona; it’s about uncovering the through-line that connects who you are with what you do.
Ask yourself:
What do I want to be known for?
What energises me?
What am I naturally drawn to, even outside of work?
What’s the impact I want to have?
These questions allow you to build the identity of your personal brand → your purpose, positioning, and values. Once you’re clear on this, everything else (content, messaging, design, partnerships) becomes easier and more aligned.
THE BALANCE BETWEEN AUTHENTICITY AND STRATEGY
One of the most common mistakes I see on LinkedIn is over-sharing personal or “relatable” content without clear strategic intent. While vulnerability can build trust, too much personal storytelling without alignment to your brand identity can dilute your authority.
The key is to use your personal experiences as lenses, not as your brand.
For example, in my own brand, my core topics are:
Personal branding
The psychology of branding and marketing
Reputation management
LinkedIn
But I often explore productivity, mindset, and wellness - not because they’re my main topics, but because they shape the person behind my work. These interests give me new lenses to explore my core ideas: how balance fuels creativity, how energy impacts consistency, and how identity shapes influence.
That’s the difference between posting about your life and using your life and interests to tell your brand story.
HOW TO IDENTIFY YOUR CORE IDENTITY (THE BRANDFULNESS WAY)
When I work with clients, we use a psychology-backed process to build clarity around who they are, what they stand for, and how they can express that online. Here’s a simplified version of that framework:
Purpose Mapping – Define what drives you. What kind of impact do you want your work to have?
Strengths and Skills Audit – Identify your unique capabilities and the value you bring.
Core Values Assessment – Uncover what matters most to you (this shapes your tone, decisions, and positioning).
Interest Intersection – Explore your passions and hobbies that can bring dimension to your brand narrative.
Identity Synthesis – Combine these insights into a single, clear brand statement, what you want to be known for and how you want to be perceived.
Your core identity becomes the foundation for your brand pillars (the key topics you create content around) and your brand story (how you express it).
TURNING IDENTITY INTO CONTENT
Once you have your brand identity defined, it’s time to bring it to life through content. The goal is to build cohesion, not restriction.
Think of your content as a conversation around your brand pillars, with your identity as the core foundations underpinning it. Here’s how to apply your personal brand strategically:
Define 3–5 Content Pillars: These are the recurring themes that reflect your expertise.
Choose Your Lenses: Use your interests, experiences, or personal philosophies as perspectives to explore your pillars.
Rotate Content Types: Mix thought leadership, educational content, storytelling, and authority-building posts.
Stay Consistent: You don’t have to post daily. Even one high-value post a week can build recognition if it’s aligned with your brand identity.
HOW BRANDFULNESS CAN HELP YOU BUILD AN AUTHENTIC AND STRATEGIC PERSONAL BRAND
At BRANDFULNESS, we help founders, experts, and professionals uncover their core brand identity and translate it into a strategy that compounds visibility, credibility, and recognition.
Our psychology-backed Legacy Brand Method™ guides you through:
Defining your core identity and what you want to be known for
Translating your expertise into clear thought leadership pillars
Creating content that feels authentic and aligned
Building an online presence that reflects your reputation and long-term vision
If you’re ready to build a brand that feels like you, and grows with you, we’d love to chat about how we can help. book a consultation here.
FINAL THOUGHTS: BUILD FROM THE INSIDE OUT
The most memorable personal brands aren’t manufactured, they’re designed from the inside out. Your core identity is the foundation of a strong personal brand. When you align your strategy with who you are, you create a brand that feels natural, credible, and unmistakably yours.
