Networking's Role in Building Your Personal Brand

How do others perceive you? How would you like them to?

If your answers to these questions don’t align, you may need to dedicate time to personal branding.

“[Personal brand] is the amalgamation of the associations, beliefs, feelings, attitudes, and expectations that people collectively hold about you,” write Harvard Business School Senior Lecturer Jill Avery and her co-author, HBS Executive Fellow Rachel Greenwald, in the Harvard Business Review.

Here’s a primer on personal branding and how to build your brand through networking.

What Is Personal Branding?

Personal branding is the intentional, strategic practice of defining and expressing your value. Its goal is to ensure the public narrative about you is accurate, coherent, compelling, and differentiated.

Unless you engage in personal branding, others’ perceptions of you may not align with those attributes.

By defining and communicating your personal brand, you can:

• Attract projects, promotions, and job opportunities that correspond with your skills
• Spread knowledge of your unique differentiators so you’re sought out for them
• Connect with people with common personal and professional interests
• Increase confidence in your financial and leadership abilities
• Clarify your goals and values
• Decrease imposter syndrome and gain a better sense of your authentic self

“Every time we apply for a job or vie for a promotion or try to land a new client or try to land a new date, we have to market ourselves,” says Avery, who teaches the online course Personal Branding—part of the Credential of Leadership, Impact, and Management in Business (CLIMB)—on an episode of The Parlor Room podcast. “How do we apply the theories of branding to understand how to best express and communicate our own personal value proposition about the difference that we'd like to make in the world?”

Listen to the full podcast episode or watch it on YouTube:

After reflecting on your current brand and defining your new one, communicate it to others. Critical to doing that is networking.

Drawing from Avery and Greenwald’s research, here are four types of connections to focus on when building your personal brand.

Related: How Leaders Develop and Use Their Network

4 Types of Connections for Building Your Personal Brand

1. Gatekeepers

Gatekeepers are people whose buy-in is vital to reaching your goals. For example, if you aim to land a promotion, your manager is a gatekeeper because they decide when and whether to promote you.

Gatekeepers can be outwardly helpful (like a manager aiding your professional growth) or seen as barriers (for instance, an admissions counselor you need to impress to get into a university).

Either way, you must convey your personal brand to those individuals—through your behavior at work or your college application materials—so they understand why you’re worthy and capable of achieving your goals.

2. Influencers

When it comes to networking, influencers are people with authority who can source platforms for sharing your brand.

They can come in the form of personal or media connections—for instance, a social media influencer. One example is a co-worker who knows many people within your organization. Perhaps they invite you to lunch with colleagues from other teams or ask you to present on a topic you’re experienced in to increase your visibility.

Influencers help expand your network to groups you may have never accessed otherwise so you can share your personal brand with them. They also have sway—their recommendations hold weight with their networks. With their endorsement, you can gain additional support.

3. Promoters

Promoters are those who actively support pursuing your goals. They range from formal mentors who dedicate time and energy to coaching you to friends and acquaintances who share contacts, make introductions, and talk you up to others.

Your promoters are some of your greatest assets because they understand your personal brand and convey it to others.

4. Communities

In networking, communities are groups that share your mission or interests or seek the value you provide. They can be in person or online but should have a defining factor that differentiates them from other groups.

For instance, your alma mater may have an alumni network in which the defining factor is that everyone graduated from the same institution. Other examples include groups centered around industries, interests, or the intersection of identities (for instance, Women Who Code).

Joining communities is an effective way to increase your visibility by connecting with people who support your goals and benefit from what you offer.

4 Ways to Build Your Network

1. Join an Online Learning Community

While in-person communities offer local connections, consider joining an online learning community to expand your network globally.

The HBS Online Community is one example—its defining factor is that it comprises business professionals interested in lifelong learning. Within it are subgroups, called Chapters, based on geographic location (for instance, Boston or Tokyo) or subject matter (for instance, Strategy or Entrepreneurship and Innovation).

Related: How to Build Your Network Through the HBS Online Community Platform

In addition to meeting others in your area or field of interest, you can team up for the greater good. Each year, HBS Online partners with a nonprofit that challenges the Community to solve a lofty business problem. This year, Oxfam’s Global Innovation Lab for Equality (aGILE) tasked the Community with creating actionable growth plans to help reach its goals.

By working and connecting with professionals from around the world, you can broaden your network to include diverse perspectives and connections that last a lifetime.

Related: 6 Networking Tips for Online Learners

2. Attend Events

Building your network requires putting yourself out there. One way to do so is by attending events. Whether virtual or in-person, they’re an effective way to meet people who also want to connect with you.

Ideas for events to attend include:

• Industry-themed events
• Talks by speakers you find interesting
• Conferences for those in your role or industry
• In-person meetups hosted by your local HBS Online Chapter
• Alumni events
• Networking events in your area

Other opportunities may be less formal. For instance, a friend or colleague inviting you to connect with co-workers or industry contacts. Start by curating a list of upcoming events that align with who you want to meet.

3. Maintain an Online Presence

A critical part of networking in a tech-forward world is curating and maintaining an online presence. Not only is it another channel for communicating your personal brand, but it enables people to find, follow, and contact you.

Ideas for maintaining an online presence include:

• Having an updated LinkedIn profile
• Creating a personal website with your contact information
• Curating public social media accounts
• Sending out a newsletter

Consider the following: If someone meets you at a networking event and later look you up online, what will they see? Does it align with your personal brand? Do they have a way to contact or stay in touch with you?

Curating and maintaining your online presence will help you meet these needs and create lasting connections.

4. Stay in Touch

After meeting someone you want to stay connected with, put in the effort to do so. Beyond keeping you top of mind, it can strengthen your bond.

Ways to maintain a relationship include:

• Asking how they’re doing via email, text message, or phone
• Meeting for coffee or meals
• Sending holiday cards
• Attending their events and inviting them to yours
• Sending articles or opportunities you think they’d be a good fit for
• Asking them questions about shared industries or interests

Although simple, these actions indicate that the relationship is important to you. They also help you build a network that’s both broad and meaningful.

Turning Connections into Advocates

It’s not enough to make and maintain connections—you must also communicate your personal brand in a way that turns them into advocates.

Think of personal stories and experiences that align with the brand you’re creating so you can share them with connections.

By defining and communicating your personal brand, you can create a wide network of supporters as you pursue your goals.

Do you want to develop your personal brand? Explore our yearlong Credential of Leadership, Impact, and Management in Business (CLIMB) program, comprising seven courses for leading in the modern business world. Download the CLIMB brochure to learn about its curriculum, admissions requirements, and benefits.