---
name: personal-brand-strategy
description: "Creates personal branding strategies with positioning, platform selection, content pillars, and visibility plan."
allowed-tools: Read Write Glob
metadata:
  author: matthewhitcham
  version: "1.0"
---

# Personal Brand Strategy

## When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when you need to:
- Create a personal branding strategy with clear positioning and messaging
- Select platforms and content pillars for building visibility
- Design a visibility plan with speaking, media, and content tactics
- Differentiate yourself in a crowded market through intentional brand building

**DO NOT** use this skill for corporate branding, logo design, or social media content calendars. This is for strategic personal brand positioning — the foundation that drives all tactical decisions.

---

## Core Principle

A PERSONAL BRAND IS NOT WHAT YOU SAY ABOUT YOURSELF — IT IS WHAT PEOPLE SAY WHEN YOU LEAVE THE ROOM, AND STRATEGY MEANS DECIDING EXACTLY WHAT YOU WANT THAT TO BE.

---

## Phase 1: Brief

### Required Inputs

| Input | What to Ask | Default |
|-------|------------|---------|
| **Who you are** | "What do you do and who do you serve?" | No default — must be provided |
| **Current presence** | "Where are you visible today? (platforms, audience size, reputation)" | Minimal online presence |
| **Brand goal** | "What do you want to be known for in 12 months?" | No default — must be provided |
| **Competitors** | "Who else is known for this in your space?" | No default — must be provided |
| **Unique angle** | "What experience, perspective, or approach makes you different?" | No default — must be provided |
| **Time budget** | "How many hours per week can you invest in brand building?" | 5 hours/week |

**GATE: Confirm the brief before proceeding.**

---

## Phase 2: Positioning

### Brand Positioning Statement

```
## Positioning Formula

[Your name] helps [specific audience] achieve [specific outcome]
through [your unique method/approach],
unlike [competitors] who [what they do differently].

Example:
"Sarah Chen helps solopreneurs build $10K/month businesses
through AI-powered systems and automation,
unlike most business coaches who teach hustle-harder strategies."
```

### Content Pillars (3-4 maximum)

```
| Pillar | What You Talk About | Why It Matters to Your Audience |
|--------|-------------------|-------------------------------|
| [Pillar 1] | [Topic area] | [Connection to their goals] |
| [Pillar 2] | [Topic area] | [Connection to their goals] |
| [Pillar 3] | [Topic area] | [Connection to their goals] |
```

### Platform Selection

```
## Platform Priority

**Primary (80% of effort):** [One platform where your audience is most active]
**Secondary (15% of effort):** [One platform for credibility or discovery]
**Archive (5% of effort):** [One platform for long-form content — blog, YouTube, podcast]

## Why These Platforms
- Primary: [Why this is where your audience hangs out]
- Secondary: [Why this supports your primary platform]
- Archive: [Why long-form content builds authority over time]
```

**GATE: Present the positioning, pillars, and platform strategy for approval.**

---

## Phase 3: Build

### Visibility Plan

```
## 90-Day Visibility Plan

### Month 1: Foundation
- Optimize all profiles (bio, headshot, links)
- Publish 3x/week on primary platform
- Engage with 10 accounts in your niche daily
- Write one long-form piece for your archive platform

### Month 2: Expansion
- Continue publishing 3x/week
- Pitch 2 podcast guest spots
- Comment on 3 high-profile posts daily
- Collaborate with one peer (co-created content or live)

### Month 3: Authority
- Continue publishing 3x/week
- Submit one speaking proposal
- Publish one original research piece or framework
- Pitch one media outlet or industry publication
```

### Content Framework

```
## Weekly Content Mix

**Monday:** Teaching post — share a framework, process, or how-to
**Wednesday:** Story post — personal experience, lesson learned, behind-the-scenes
**Friday:** Opinion post — take a stance on an industry topic

**Monthly:** One long-form piece (article, video, or podcast episode) that anchors your expertise
```

### Brand Assets Needed

```
## Essential Brand Assets
- [ ] Professional headshot (consistent across all platforms)
- [ ] Bio in 3 lengths: one-line, paragraph, full page
- [ ] Brand colors and fonts (even minimal consistency helps)
- [ ] Email signature with title, links, and headshot
- [ ] One-page speaker sheet or media kit (if pursuing visibility)
- [ ] Link-in-bio page with key destinations
```

---

## Phase 4: Polish

### 1. Brand Audit Checklist

```
## Cross-Platform Consistency
- [ ] Same headshot on all platforms
- [ ] Bio tells the same story (adapted for each platform's format)
- [ ] Content pillars are consistent (not random topics)
- [ ] Tone and voice feel like the same person everywhere
- [ ] Links point to the right destinations
- [ ] Contact information is current
```

### 2. Metrics to Track

```
## Monthly Brand Health Check
- Follower/subscriber growth on primary platform
- Engagement rate (comments and shares, not just likes)
- Inbound inquiries (DMs, emails, referrals mentioning your content)
- Speaking or media opportunities received
- Google search results for your name (are you showing up?)
- Brand mentions or tags by others
```

### 3. Annual Brand Review

Every 12 months, reassess:
- Is your positioning still accurate and differentiated?
- Have your content pillars evolved with your expertise?
- Is your primary platform still the right one?
- What worked best and should be doubled down on?
- What should be dropped?

---

## Example 1: Marketing Consultant Personal Brand

```
Positioning: "Helps B2B SaaS companies generate leads through content marketing that actually converts"
Pillars: Content strategy, SEO for SaaS, Conversion copywriting
Primary: LinkedIn (where B2B buyers live)
Secondary: Twitter/X (for industry conversations)
Archive: Blog (SEO long game)
```

## Example 2: Business Coach Personal Brand

```
Positioning: "Helps first-time solopreneurs earn their first $5K month without burning out"
Pillars: Offer creation, Simple systems, Mindset shifts
Primary: Instagram (visual storytelling for early-stage entrepreneurs)
Secondary: YouTube (searchable how-to content)
Archive: Email newsletter (deepest relationship building)
```

---

## Anti-Patterns

- **Trying to be known for everything** — a brand that stands for everything stands for nothing. Pick 3 pillars maximum.
- **Copying competitors** — studying them is smart, mimicking them guarantees you are always second. Find your unique angle.
- **All platforms, no depth** — posting everywhere but engaging nowhere means you are invisible everywhere. Go deep on one.
- **Inconsistent presence** — posting daily for 2 weeks then disappearing for a month kills momentum. Consistency beats intensity.
- **Avoiding opinions** — vanilla content is forgettable. Take stances. Not everyone needs to agree with you.
- **Focusing on vanity metrics** — 10,000 followers who do not buy is less valuable than 500 who do.

---

## Recovery

- **User does not know their unique angle:** Ask "What do you believe about your industry that most people disagree with?" That contrarian view IS the angle.
- **User is on too many platforms:** Identify the one platform that generates the most business results. Cut everything else for 90 days.
- **No audience yet:** Focus on engaging with established voices in the niche. Comment thoughtfully, share their content with added insight, and build relationships before broadcasting.
- **User has imposter syndrome:** Start by sharing what they have already done, not claiming expertise they feel unqualified for. "Here is what I learned" is always authentic.
