Somewhere along the way, personal branding became confused with self-promotion.
More posts. More noise. More “look at me.”
But in the rooms I work in - with partners, directors, BDMs, executives - that approach makes people uncomfortable. And rightly so.
Personal branding isn’t about performing.
It’s about being understood.
If people can’t quickly grasp:
What you stand for
Who you help
What you care about
Why your work matters
They can’t trust you.
And trust is what actually drives commercial outcomes.
Low engagement isn’t usually a content problem
When someone tells me, “LinkedIn doesn’t work for me,” it’s rarely because the platform is broken.
It’s because their positioning is blurry.
If your audience has to work hard to figure out:
What you actually do
Whether you’re relevant to them
Or why they should care
They won’t.
Not because they’re unkind.
Because they’re busy.
Strong personal brands reduce that mental load. They make it easy for people to place you.
This isn’t about a highlight reel
A polished CV on LinkedIn isn’t a personal brand.
Nor is a stream of achievement posts.
I see incredibly capable professionals undersell themselves every day - not because they lack experience, but because they haven’t translated that experience into perspective.
Your personal brand lives in:
The way you explain complex ideas simply
The stories you choose to tell
The problems you consistently speak about
The lens through which you see your industry
That’s what makes someone think:
“I get them.”
“I like how they think.”
“I’d trust them with this.”
Authority isn’t declared. It’s demonstrated.
You don’t need to say you’re a leader.
You need to show people how you think.
When your content:
Has a point
Takes a position
Connects to a commercial reality
And is consistent over time
Authority follows.
The professionals who stand out on LinkedIn aren’t necessarily the loudest.
The real shift
Stop asking: “How do I look impressive?”
Start asking: “What do I want to be known for - and am I showing up accordingly?”
Your personal brand is the gap between how you see yourself and how the market sees you. Our job (and yes, this is what we do every day at Lucy Bingle – LinkedIn Experts) is to close that gap.
Because when personal brands and corporate brands align, you don’t just get visibility.
You get:
Stronger client relationships
Better referrals
More inbound opportunities
Greater internal influence
And most importantly - you build a reputation that works for you long after the meeting ends.
Final thought
Personal branding is about being interesting and understood.
When people know you, like you and trust you, opportunities don’t feel forced.
They feel natural.
And that’s when LinkedIn stops being a platform… and starts becoming an asset.
Book a LinkedIn discovery meeting with Lucy Bingle today - https://calendly.com/lucybingle/30min
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