• Table of Contents

  • Building a Personal Brand That Doesn’t Feel Cringe
  • Let’s Be Honest: Most Personal Branding Advice is Garbage
  • Why Most Personal Brands Feel Cringe (And How to Avoid It)
  • The Executive Framework for Building a Personal Brand That Doesn’t Suck
  • 1. Define Your Strategic Positioning
  • 2. Choose Your Content Pillars
  • 3. Build a Content Engine (Not a Content Hobby)
  • 4. Show, Don’t Tell
  • 5. Engage Like a Human (Not a Bot)
  • Case Study: The CMO Who Went from Ghost to Go-To
  • Truth Bomb:
  • What to Post (And What to Avoid Like the Plague)
  • Post This:
  • Not This:
  • How to Scale Without Selling Your Soul

Building a Personal Brand That Doesn’t Feel Cringe

Building a personal brand doesn’t have to feel like a LinkedIn cringe-fest. Here’s how to build a strategic, authentic executive presence that actually moves the needle—and doesn’t make your team roll their eyes.

Let’s Be Honest: Most Personal Branding Advice is Garbage

If I see one more post about “being your authentic self” with a stock photo of someone standing on a mountain, I might throw my MacBook into the nearest artisanal coffee shop window. The internet is flooded with personal branding advice that’s either painfully generic or so self-congratulatory it makes you want to delete your LinkedIn account and go live in the woods.

But here’s the thing: personal branding isn’t optional anymore. Whether you’re a CMO, founder, or VP, your digital presence is your reputation. And if you’re not shaping it, someone else is. The good news? You can build a personal brand that’s strategic, sharp, and—dare I say—cool. No inspirational quotes required.

Why Most Personal Brands Feel Cringe (And How to Avoid It)

Let’s break down why so many personal brands make us cringe harder than a corporate TikTok dance:

• Over-sharing without strategy: Your breakfast smoothie doesn’t need a post. Neither does your “hustle” at 4:45 AM.
• Trying too hard to be relatable: You’re a CMO, not a lifestyle influencer. Stop pretending you’re just like everyone else.
• Buzzword soup: If your bio includes “visionary,” “disruptor,” and “synergy,” you’ve already lost.

Here’s the fix: treat your personal brand like a product launch. Strategic positioning, clear messaging, and consistent delivery. You’re not just building a brand—you’re building trust, authority, and influence.

The Executive Framework for Building a Personal Brand That Doesn’t Suck

Let’s get tactical. Here’s a framework I’ve used with CMOs, founders, and execs who want to build a personal brand that actually works:

1. Define Your Strategic Positioning

Before you post a single thing, answer this: what do you want to be known for? Not in a vague “marketing leader” way. Get specific. Are you the go-to for B2B demand gen? The anti-agency agency founder? The CMO who actually understands product?

Use this positioning to guide every piece of content you create. If it doesn’t reinforce your core message, it doesn’t get posted.

2. Choose Your Content Pillars

Pick 3–5 themes that align with your positioning. These are your content pillars. For example:

• Marketing strategy (real strategy, not “how to go viral” fluff)
• Leadership and team building
• Hot takes on industry trends
• Behind-the-scenes of your role or company
• Lessons from failure (without the humblebrag)

Rotate through these pillars to keep your content fresh but focused.

3. Build a Content Engine (Not a Content Hobby)

Posting once a month when inspiration strikes? That’s not a strategy. Build a repeatable system:

• Block 2 hours a week to write or record content
• Use a ghostwriter or content strategist if needed (yes, execs do this all the time)
• Repurpose long-form content into short posts, tweets, and videos

Consistency beats brilliance. Every time.

4. Show, Don’t Tell

Don’t say you’re a great leader—share a story about how you handled a team crisis. Don’t say you’re strategic—break down a campaign that actually worked. The best personal brands are built on proof, not puffery.

5. Engage Like a Human (Not a Bot)

Comment on other people’s posts. Share insights, not emojis. Respond to DMs. The algorithm rewards engagement, but more importantly, so does your reputation.

Case Study: The CMO Who Went from Ghost to Go-To

One of our clients, a B2B SaaS CMO, had zero online presence. No posts, no profile photo, nothing. We built a strategy around her POV on “marketing as a revenue engine,” created weekly content tied to her real work, and started engaging with other execs in her space.

Six months later:

• She was invited to speak at two major conferences
• Her team started using her posts to recruit top talent
• She got three job offers—without applying

That’s the power of a personal brand done right.

Truth Bomb:

Your personal brand is either building trust or eroding it. There is no neutral.

What to Post (And What to Avoid Like the Plague)

Post This:

• Breakdowns of real campaigns or decisions
• Lessons from failure (without the “I’m so humbled” nonsense)
• Contrarian takes that challenge industry norms
• Behind-the-scenes of your leadership style
• Smart commentary on news or trends

Not This:

• “Just wanted to share…” (No one asked)
• Inspirational quotes with no context
• Photos of your laptop and coffee
• “Humbled to announce…” (We get it, you got promoted)

How to Scale Without Selling Your Soul

You don’t need to become a full-time content creator. You need a system that works