Selling You: Expert Takeaways on Personal Branding

We’ve broken down the top topics of conversation, key quotes, and best mic-drop moments from BAMKO’s webinar Selling You: The Benefits of Building Your Personal Brand. Whether you missed the event, or just want to relive the magic, these highlights will help you keep track of all the personal branding knowledge from the webinar.  

TL;DR

Personal branding is an ongoing journey of self-discovery, expression, and connection. By embracing authenticity, leveraging social media, and consistently sharing your unique value and personality, you can build a powerful brand that opens doors to new opportunities and lasting relationships.

Key Points of Personal Branding:

• Defining Your Narrative: It’s about what people say about you when you’re not in the room. You can use your story to inspire and motivate others, creating a subculture experience of working with you.
• Competitive Advantage: A strong personal brand helps you stand out, attracting opportunities and clients who resonate with your values and allowing you to build a relationship with them. A personal brand creates the opportunity to share your perspective, connect with your audience, and even replace your resume.
• Building a Community: Authenticity is key to standing out on social media. If you share what inspires you when you feel that inspiration, your personality will shine through. From there, go to and connect with the people you want to serve, and you can build a real community of people who want to work with you. 
• Get Started: Perfect is the enemy of good. Getting started and putting yourself out there is the hardest part of building your brand– and the most important. Start wherever you feel most comfortable, and expand from there as you gain confidence. Embrace your humanity and don’t let self doubt hold you back.

 

How Our Experts Define Personal Branding

 

Personal branding means different things to different people. Our personal branding experts boiled it down to influencing how others perceive you and the strategies to shape that narrative and attract the right opportunities and connections.

• Lauren Esser: “For me, I want to be perceived as always being helpful. I position myself as the first phone call my clients can make when they need something done– no matter what it is.” 
• Jenna Quaranta: “I leverage my journey to motivate and inspire others. My brand is a reflection of the deliberate choice that I have made to serve other people. I am using my journey to bring positivity and change other people’s lives. That to me is branding – leveraging what I have gone through to help other people.”
• Savannah Dmytriw: “Personal branding allows you to define the subculture experience of what it is like to work with YOU. We all work under brands at different companies, which are marketed left and right. A personal brand defines the experience of working with me specifically. It expresses what I’m all about, what my perspective is. 

Your Secret Weapon

 

Wondering if a personal brand really makes a difference? Our panelists say a hundred million percent, yes. It can be a game-changer, translating into business opportunities, industry notoriety, and better relationships with clients.

• Samantha Fullerton: I’ve actually had success just recently, when someone reached out who has followed me on LinkedIn. I got an email and they said, ‘ok, we’re planning a new program. You’re our girl. Here’s what we wanna do. When can we meet?’ – I’ve never had a conversation with this person before, but they referred to me just based on what I’ve done on LinkedIn for years.” 
• Savannah Dmytriw: Having a personal brand takes our customers from an ocean of potential partners to more like a lake. It differentiates you from everyone else, so you’re really able to hone in on your niche, share your values, and your unique perspectives. 
• Jenna Quaranta: “I’ve taken a stance to be completely open with my story. By openly sharing my story and being authentic about what makes me tick, I quickly connected with likeminded people, built a community, and built credibility and trust with my target audience.”  
• Lauren Esser: “For me, I love this industry so much. And I want to spread that excitement and joy, whether it’s through positivity or promotional products. That is how I mainly use my platform, and it allows me to stay in front of my customers and people in this industry and really deepen those relationships.” 

A personal brand can significantly expand your reach and open doors to new opportunities. This increased visibility can attract potential clients who have been following your journey and appreciate your expertise, leading to organic referrals and exciting collaborations. 

• Joelly Goodson: “Identify the platforms where your ideal clients reside and focus your efforts there, tailoring your message to address their specific needs and challenges. By showcasing your unique personality and offering solutions that no one else can provide, you can establish a memorable personal brand that resonates with your target audience and drives meaningful engagement.”

Building Your Brand on a Budget

 

Today, platforms like Instagram or LinkedIn make it easy to share your perspective, stay in front of your customers and deepen those relationships. And so many of these tools are free. Building a personal brand is a much more cost effective way to market yourself than traditional forms which can be expensive and also come off as transactional to your audience. While it requires time and effort, platforms like Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook and beyond allow you to reach a massive audience without a significant financial investment. 

• Samantha Fullerton: Today, not only can your social media and personal brand serve as your marketing strategy, it can also replace your resume. My LinkedIn profile, my Instagram profile, that is me. That is my reputation, that is my brand. And I won’t need to write another resume as long as I live. With a strong personal brand, enhancing your social media presence is how you will get your next big opportunity.” 

By actively engaging on social media platforms, you can create a compelling online narrative that speaks volumes about your professional capabilities and personal brand. This digital presence becomes the first point of contact for potential employers or clients, making a lasting impression before any formal introductions.

Be Yourself, Everyone Else is Taken

 

The challenge with social media? Over-saturation. Because it is free, millions of people use it. So how do you differentiate yourself? Our branding experts all agree that the key to standing out on social media is being yourself.

• Joelly Goodson:  “Branding is all about honing into what makes you unique. Social media is a great tool to let your personal brand shine through – not the mugs you’re selling, or T-shirts or whatever– it is building connections with the people you want to serve. And by that, they’re going to want to do business with you, whatever it is you’re offering.” 
• Joelly Goodson: “Building a personal brand on social media requires consistent effort and patience. As David Ogilvy, the father of advertising, famously said, ‘You’re not marketing to a standing army. You’re marketing to a marching parade.’ Your audience is constantly changing and evolving, so it’s crucial to maintain a consistent presence and keep your message in front of them. Don’t expect instant results from a single post. Instead, focus on creating valuable content that resonates with your target audience and sharing it regularly. Over time, your dedication and consistency will build trust, establish your brand, and ultimately lead to success.” 

Branding Origin Stories: From Humble Beginnings to Brand Bosses

 

Getting started with personal branding can begin with a simple goal, such as staying connected with suppliers and being a valuable resource for clients. But through nurture and consistency, it can become much more. 

• Lauren Esser: “When I started my brand it was during the pandemic– there was so much change going on in the industry, so I wanted to stay in touch with suppliers and on top of new products. That quickly evolved into me posting things that spoke to me or that were my style. Through that, I started finding my clients and really engaging and bonding with them. I can talk about things going on in their calendar, events they attend, and really become an extension of their team.”

Additionally, by exploring industry trends and utilizing platforms like social media as a marketing funnel, you can learn about and create new opportunities for business development.

• Savannah Dmytriw:  “I wanted to learn more about the industry as a whole. Since then, I’ve had a whole shift in my perspective. And using my brand as an experience to check what’s going on outside of the industry has helped me branch out to a larger social media audience, creating more of an opportunity for me to connect with my clients.” 

For some, finding their niche was purely organic. 

• Jenna Quaranta: “So I accidentally wrote my own sales method, and through that I realized, wait a minute. I’m a certified personal trainer mobility coach. A mental health ambassador. I have a sales academy. Law enforcement experience. I have to share this. I have to like, give this to other people. Long story short, I just realized my niche was serving sales reps. It’s organic. And it literally fills my bucket every single day.” 

Whether you find your niche naturally or craft it intentionally, getting started on your personal brand requires a clear goal. But no matter what your goals are, simply getting started and making time for consistency are the most important steps to building your own brand. 

 

Content Calendar Confessions: How Our Experts Stay Consistent

 

Making time for personal branding and content creation requires intention and strategy. Scheduling dedicated time in your calendar, using moments like evenings or commutes for content consumption and idea generation, and paying attention to things that make you tick are great ways to get going and get inspired. Instead of mindlessly scrolling, actively engage with platforms like LinkedIn, seeking inspiration and making notes on relevant topics. 

Let your experiences and emotions fuel your content creation. When something sparks your passion or resonates with your expertise, share it authentically with your audience. Prioritize content that inspires, educates, or entertains, ensuring relevance and value for your followers.

• Jenna Quaranta: So for me, it’s when something affects me. It could be personal. It could be sales. It could be somebody you’re training that’s saying, hey, JQ, I’m really struggling with prospecting here. And then I think, I’ve got to help other people. I can solve that problem. I have something to say, and it kind of fuels me.  I’m not a planner. If you see me post anything, something has ruffled me or bothered me to the point where I’m gonna share it.
• Savannah Dmytriw: “The trickiest part is just getting started. I recommend starting  wherever you’re most comfortable, doing that and building up your cadence, building up your speed and your general comfortability in front of a camera. But just get started. The enemy of good is perfect, and humans are fallible. Don’t be afraid to let your humanity shine through.” 
• Samantha Fullerton: “I tell this to people who are terrified to get started– the only way through is to practice. So face those fears and just continue to post. If you hate it, bury it with more content. Just keep posting.” 

The key to building a successful personal brand is to simply get started and be yourself. Don’t let fear or self-doubt hold you back. Embrace imperfection and share your authentic voice with the world. Start where you feel most comfortable, whether it’s sharing valuable insights, snippets of your life, or even documenting your learning journey. 

 

Ready, Set, Brand!

 

Start your personal branding journey today. Be authentic, embrace your imperfections, and let your personality shine. Share your knowledge, connect with others, and watch your brand soar!

Learn more by connecting with our experts Samantha Fullerton (@selfpromosam), Jenna Quaranta (@jennaquaranta), Savannah Dmytriw (@merchgirly), Joelly Goodson (@branding_badass), Lauren Esser (lauren_esser_branding), and Natalie O’Leary (natalieopromo) on LinkedIn or Instagram. 

Watch the full webinar recording here.