Every day, editors publish content about personal branding and identity all over the web. These articles vary from purely self-promotional to truly helpful advice. Today we are taking a look at a range of articles on personal branding in order to understand the best practices to develop your personal identity online. Top image features branding expert and entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk. 

First: 6 Things That Could Be Hurting Your Personal Brand

This article from Forbes offers up 6 tips to build “the right online presence.” Covering all the essentials, it’s a good read for beginners and experts alike. Pay particular attention to Self-Branding Mistake #4, which essentially outlines the reasons to have a Premium about.me page.

“your site should have a great photo of you and samples of your work, along with a personal mission statement or bio that highlights your experience so far and the kind of work you hope to do.”

Sound familiar? The is plenty of other valuable info in the article, which you can find here.

Second: Five Personal Branding Tips for Solopreneurs

This article is written with a focus on ‘solopreneurs,’ people running a business by themselves. The text contains some jargon, it’ll be most useful for someone with familiarity in a business setting.

In the case of a ‘solopreneur’, personal brand and company brand overlap – which can lead to confusion. It’s essential to approach this divide carefully. Your personal brand is more expansive (and perhaps longer-lasting) than your current business. When you move onto a new project or see your business acquired, your personal brand will travel to your next adventure with you. Your company’s brand will not.

Your personal brand and your company’s brand are distinct, but should build on one another. Gary Vaynerchuk (top image), recently profiled by the New York Times, is a perfect example of this synergistic approach.

Third: The “Personal Brand” Myth

This Medium.com post is my favorite of today’s three articles. Written by Jeremiah Gardner, this article addresses the fact that many people are uncomfortable thinking of themselves as Brands akin to Coca-Cola or Tide.

Gardener writes that for individuals struggling to define their personal brand,

“The point is to become authentic in who you are and intentional about how you tell your story.”

There are differences between you an Coca-Cola, but a corporation and a person can both benefit from telling their story telling with intention. As in individual, you have the opportunity to be more raw, authentic and personal than a multi-national corporation ever could be. Find out more about Jeremiah on his page, and read the original post here.