Adding Personality to Social Media Content

❓Feeling stuck in “professional mode” on LinkedIn? You’re not alone. When I first started creating content, I worried that showing more of my personality might confuse clients or reduce my credibility. I kept it polished, formal—safe. But here’s what I’ve learned: The creators thriving on LinkedIn aren’t just experts. 🌟 They’re human. 🌟 They’re relatable. 🌟 They’re authentic. So how do you strike the right balance between professionalism and personality? Here’s the framework I share with my clients: 💥 60/20/20 Content Ratio: 60% Professional Advice: Share your expertise to solve problems. 20% Personality Posts: Stories from your career that let your voice shine. 20% Passion Posts: Causes, hobbies, or values that make you you. 💥 Define Your Personal Brand in 3 Words: Ask colleagues or friends to describe you in 3-5 adjectives. Use these words to guide your tone. 💥 Speak Your Content: Record yourself explaining an idea and transcribe it. It keeps your tone natural and relatable. The result? 🔥A personal brand that’s credible, authentic, and deeply engaging. If you’ve been holding back, it’s time to give this a try. What’s one thing you’d like to share that feels more you?

One of the greatest opportunities I see for the next generation of client-facing professionals: Being the ones who can read and exercise the norms, whether with colleagues or clients, and still infuse their own personality into the work. Those who can master this will be the ones who build stronger relationships and ultimately win more business. Sure, the pendulum has swung hard toward AI efficiency. And proficiency in it will likely be an essential skill. But over-relying on it? That comes with a hidden cost: it can dull the skills of empathy, discernment, and human connection. I suspect it might become tempting to believe that the safest path to employment and promotion is to keep your head down in automation:  Follow the prompt exactly, never straying from the template, and assume that originality is too risky. But customers can feel when you’ve disappeared behind automation… and it seems that they don’t love it. According to Salesforce, 52% of customers say they’re willing to pay more for a great customer experience, and they define that experience as one that feels more personal and less automated. That means the professionals who keep showing up with genuine connection won’t just feel different (in a good way!), they’ll be the ones winning more trust and more business. This humanness will be the differentiator. Some easy ways to practice this is to start by noticing the social norms, and then thoughtfully adding personality to them. Like: ☑️ Pay attention to how experienced colleagues communicate with clients. What tone do they use in emails, how do they open conversations, how do they handle pushback? How can you use that as a framework and then infuse your personality into it? ☑️ Notice how client meetings start. Do they jump right into business, or spend a few minutes building rapport? What do you know about the client that you can chat about beyond asking about the weather :)  ☑️ When you send a recap or follow-up, include a warm line or a small personal detail you remembered, instead of relying solely on a template. Because if more than half of your customers are willing to pay more for an experience that feels human, it’s a skill worth exercising to make sure they get it! #YouthSkills

I’ve bought and not completed more online courses than I’d like to admit publicly. And no, it’s not because I suck at finishing things. (Mostly.) It’s because the instructors were dry as a piece of burnt toast. Unless you're some sort of magical unicorn, dry educational content—no matter how valuable—won’t keep anyone interested in you or what you’re teaching. (At least not for very long.) Whether creating a course, writing a newsletter, hosting a podcast, speaking on stage or posting on LinkedIn, your expert insights need some personality—any personality—to capture and keep attention. So, how do you show personality? Well, there are lots of ways. You could share your sense of humor. Or give a strong opinion. Or challenge common assumptions. Or dish out unexpected advice. My personal favorite: you could share some personal stories. And by that, I don’t mean revealing your whole life story. Just talk about something that happened to you that has a valuable (and relevant) takeaway worth sharing. Better yet: Tell a funny personal story. Here, I’ll help you get started: What's the most awkward mistake you've made while trying to impress someone in your field? What’s a quirky habit you have that everyone finds strange but actually makes you great at your job? What’s a time you learned an unexpected lesson after something went totally wrong? What’s the funniest or most unexpected feedback you've ever received from a client or colleague? If you need help mining for these stories, I’m loaded with more questions. But you know what would be really fun? Seeing some examples in action in the comments :)

When you start building an audience, most people will tell you: “pick a niche - if you don’t you won't be able to convert anything to business…" They could not be more wrong. Why? Because YOU are the niche. Your personal brand should be a mix of your unique: - experience - knowledge - your view of the world - voice - career - knowledge - skills - thoughts - interests - observations - failures - wins - lessons - opinions - obsessions - the way you write - the way you sound ✅ A personal brand is a mix of all those things. ❌ People are not one topic. ❌ You’re not one topic. ❌ And your client is not either. ✅ We are all so much more than that. When this clicked for me, my audience growth exploded. → This is what you should do: 1. Decide what you want to be known for: This should be a mix of your interests, knowledge, experience, your business offering, and your skills. I recommend including content on mindset and lifestyle as well. The unique mix is the essence of a personal brand. And that's how you attract conversations, followers, subscribers and customers. 2. Write like you speak Everyone should be able to understand your posts. - Some will learn from them - Some will relate to them - Some will agree - Some will disagree - And some will engage with your posts We are all just people, we are the same. Don't try to sound smart. Simple is always better. You need REACH to build audience and convert traffic to revenue. 3. Write about your topics with your unique voice Share personal stories (not private) Share knowledge Share other people’s stories Share your values Share expertise Share content that makes you relatable Share so much value that it becomes impossible to ignore you. This is the approach that I've used and has enabed me to sell to customers in 25+ countries. 4. To create great content you need to understand your target audience Show that you understand them through your content: - Who they are - What they care about - What they want in life - Their pains and struggles - What motivates them, - Their desired outcomes, - Their challenges - The lifestyle they want etc etc. Social media content is all about emotions. We need to make them feel something when they consume our content. 5. You need to have a clear LinkedIn profile No clarity = no conversion Remove fluff and aim for clarity: - Who you are - What you do - Who you help Treat your banner like your personal billboard. 6. Make sure you know how to play the game before you start posting Learn: - Formats - Links - Text disposition - Commenting - How to improve traffic, engagement and conversion 7. Consistency Most people quit. Build a system to help you stay consistent when you want to quit. Because everyone wants to quit after a while. Learn what consistency looks like on this platform and why it matters. Why prioritise this? Because without distribution your business is invisible. Get started today. Send me a DM if you need help.

Last week, I was coaching 30 business owners and 90% were scared of the same thing: Putting their face in their LinkedIn content. I get it. I really do. Last year, I had my first crack at video content on TikTok/Instagram. I have a lazy eyelid that I've been self-conscious about my entire life.  The kind of thing that makes you avoid photos or stand at certain angles. And unsurprisingly, someone commented on it.  And you know what? It wasn't the end of the world. Putting the personal in personal brand isn't optional anymore. It's required. Especially if you're a millennial or boomer who grew up believing business should be formal and buttoned-up. Your audience doesn't want to buy from a logo.  They want to buy from a human they trust. Here's how to start adding personal elements without feeling exposed: 1/ Use your authority in hooks • Tell people why they should listen to YOUR message vs. someone else's. Referencing your successes or people with status in your hooks. • Example: https://lnkd.in/gsWbmr8x 2/ Use personal stories in your hooks • Leading with your experience. This is more subtle than using authority. • Example: https://lnkd.in/ggHGQG_H 3/ Put pictures of you on carousel covers • Even just a simple headshot makes content feel more personal.  • Example: https://lnkd.in/gVSgpVU6  4/ Use caricatures with consistent branding • If photos feel too vulnerable, a good caricature keeps it personal but less intimidating. I use this all the time. It does need to look like you though! • Example: https://lnkd.in/g8W35YZr 5/ Share behind-the-scenes moments • Your messy desk. What the work actually looks like. This doesn't mean selfies, it means sharing the actual work. • Example: https://lnkd.in/gRnQdXH9 This doesn't mean you need to share EVERYTHING in your life. Just pick one way that people can get to know you a bit better. Your quirks aren't flaws to hide. They're features that make you memorable. Start small.  Pick one thing from this list. And if you want to get better at LinkedIn in general, here's my free 37-min video playbook: https://lnkd.in/ga7QpS8v ♻️ Share this with someone who needs to hear it today. ➕ Follow me for more like this.

𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗮 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗮𝗴𝗼, 𝗜 𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗮 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗱𝗜𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵. Yes, even as someone who lives and breathes digital marketing, I brought in a coach. Because here’s the truth: the best professionals always have coaches. Athletes do. Founders do. Creators should too. One thing she told me that stuck? “Your content is rich in value... but I don’t see you in it.” She was right. I was great at sharing insights, frameworks, and strategies—but I was barely visible in the posts themselves. So I made a shift. I started adding more of me into the mix—personal reflections, slice-of-life moments, things that don’t always come with a CTA. And yes, those posts tend to get the most engagement. But here’s the plot twist: They’re the hardest ones to write. Not because I have nothing to say, but because I care about keeping it real, not repetitive… honest, but not overly showy. I want the content to be useful and human - not just “look at me” fluff. So if you ever find it hard to hit “post” on the more personal stuff, you’re not alone. 👉 What helps you open up without oversharing? 👉 And how do you keep your content feeling like you, without losing the value? #PersonalBranding #LinkedInStrategy #ContentThatConnects #ShowUpReal #MarketingMindset #CreateWithIntention

Avoid pretending online. Trying to be someone you're not is the fastest way to burn out. - You start to lose your unique voice. - You struggle to connect with the right people. - And honestly, it’s just exhausting. After 5 years of writing consistently online, here’s what I’ve realised: The best content feels aligned with you. Here are 6 lessons that have helped me create content in a way that feels sustainable and real: 1. Be who you are - Pretending to be someone you’re not will exhaust you. - True connection comes from being genuine. 2. Not everyone will like you - That’s okay. It’s impossible to please everyone. - Focus on the people who truly get you. 3. Engagement > numbers - A big follower count means nothing without interaction. - Prioritise meaningful interactions over vanity metrics. 4. Your story matters - You’ve got experiences that make you different. - Share them - they’re what people connect with. 5. Learn to pivot - Some posts will flop. That’s part of the process. - Stay open, learn, and keep going. 6. Enjoy the process - Content creation doesn’t have to feel heavy. - Experiment, have fun, and focus on adding value. You don’t need to change who you are to succeed. Lean into who you are - it’s your advantage. Also, LinkedIn could do with a lot more personality 😅

Let me hold your hand when I say this: B2B content doesn’t have to sound like it was written by a legal department. You can skip the corporate language. You can have personality and keep it professional. Here are 5 ways to do it: 1. Talk like a human Speak like you would to a work friend over coffee. That’s how you make the most technical topics feel more understandable. I’d recommend checking out Gill Andrews’s BS test here: https://lnkd.in/d7cBKEEe even though she’s talking about website copy, it’s a great exercise for social media copy as well! 2. Have an opinion Playing it safe is forgettable. Say what you actually think and back it up with examples or data so people know you mean it. 3. Tell the mini-story Instead of “We improved CTR,” share the challenge, what you tried, and what happened. People remember stories, not stats. 4. Make it look good Good-looking visuals with brand colors, custom graphics, GIFs, and short videos make your content pop in the feed and help people recognize it’s yours. Writing this, I realize I need to work on this for my own LinkedIn profile, but one step at a time. 5. Put people in the spotlight Show your team, your customers, or industry peers! Human faces make your brand feel real and build trust faster. I know this isn’t possible for all brands (we rarely do it at Semrush), so see this as a bonus point 😊 Let’s add more! What’s one small tweak you’ve made to add personality to your brand’s content?