5 Strong Personal Branding Examples for Students [2024]

Personal branding isn’t a luxury anymore, it has become a necessity. If you’re a college student, you must’ve seen numerous personal branding examples in the student community. Imagine having one for yourself too. It would be a game-changer, right?

Whether you’re aiming for that dream internship, eyeing a scholarship, or looking to build meaningful connections, a well-built personal brand can open doors you never thought possible.

To give you some context, I started building my personal brand on X in my last year of college. And today, I’m working as a full-time freelancer, getting clients purely from my personal brand.

In this article, I’ll dive into the essence of personal branding, explore its benefits, and provide real-life examples of students who’ve nailed it. If you’re ready to be the next personal branding example for students, read on:

What is a Personal Brand?

Your activity on social media is called your digital footprint. But when that digital footprint tells the world about yourself, your experiences, and your expertise, it becomes a personal brand.

A personal brand is the amalgamation of your values, passions, skills, and experiences, crafted to resonate with your audience. But it’s more than just a polished LinkedIn profile or Instagram profile. A personal brand is the essence of who you are and how you want to position yourself.

Confused? Here’s the shorter version of what is a personal brand: A personal brand is a means of establishing a distinguished authority and self-promotion. As a student in 2024, your personal brand is your ticket to standing out among a million resumes and profiles. It helps you forge meaningful connections and attract opportunities that seemed far-fetched at first.

5 Benefits of Having a Personal Brand as a Student

Although a personal brand unlocks several benefits, here are the top five benefits tailored to a student profile:

1. Enhanced Career Opportunities: Your personal brand is a digital portfolio, showcasing your expertise and unique value proposition. It attracts the attention of recruiters, mentors, and potential collaborators who resonate with your story and skills. Imagine getting inbound leads that can shape your career. Cool, right?
2. Increased Credibility and Trust: By consistently sharing insights and experiences related to your field, you build credibility among your audience. This credibility builds trust, leading to meaningful connections and opportunities for growth.
3. Networking Advantages: A well-established personal brand makes networking easier and more effective. How? You get more responses! Whether through active engagement on social media, participation in industry events, or involvement in relevant online communities, your brand helps you connect with like-minded professionals and expand your network.
4. Greater Visibility: Being visible in this super-competitive world is hard. But a strong personal brand can help you with that. It positions you as a trusted authority in your niche, ensuring that your voice is heard and your contributions are acknowledged.
5. Personal Growth and Confidence: Building your personal brand is not just an external factor; it’s also a journey of personal growth. As you build your brand, you build your values, passions, and expertise. This, in turn, helps you gain clarity about your professional identity and boosts your confidence.

5 Personal Branding Examples for Students

I can come up with hundreds of personal branding examples, but that’s not feasible. However, I have created a list of the five best examples that I admire.

You may or may not have heard of these personal brands, but they’ve achieved things with their brand that most only dream of! Here we go –

1. Vedika Bhaia – Personal Branding Strategist and Agency Owner

Vedika isn’t a college student anymore. However, she started her personal branding journey on LinkedIn soon after she graduated. As a graduate, she was clueless, but today, Vedika is a seasoned LinkedIn Organic Growth Strategist and Content Marketing expert.

With a proven track record of helping personal brands build a cash-flowing audience, she stands out in the digital marketing sphere. With over 242K followers on LinkedIn and 200K followers on Instagram, Vedika’s services include Ghostwriting, Lead Generation, Social Media Management, Content Strategy, and Content Marketing.

She runs a personal branding agency and gets most of the clients on autopilot because of her brand. Her only strategy was to analyze people better than her, iterate their strategies, and double down on what works. Simple yet classic!

2. Jake Haynes – Founder of Go-to-Market BOT

Jake Haynes is the founder of Go-to-Market BOT, a company dedicated to de-risking B2B product launches and driving compounding revenue growth. With a background as an ex-VP of Sales, Jake brings over a decade of experience in helping startups achieve significant revenue increases.

Yes, Jake has only 2500 followers on LinkedIn. So why am I including him on the list? The reason is – I want to bust the myth that a personal brand means having thousands of followers.

No, Jake has 2500 followers on LinkedIn. I have only 5000 followers on LinkedIn. Yet, most of our revenue comes from this platform only. In short, a personal brand is about how you position yourself and not how many followers you have. Anyway –

Jake’s mission is clear: to reshape the industry’s perception of outsourced sales partners by offering a unique scalable sales model that de-risks MVP launches for product and sales leaders. If you look at his profile and content, you’ll feel the reflection of his mission. And that is exactly how I want you to build your personal brand.

3. Suprava Sabat: Co-Founder at AcquisitionX

Suprava Sabat, the Co-Founder of AcquisitionX, is renowned for her expertise in B2B lead generation and customer acquisition. With a strong background in copywriting, social media marketing, and now B2B lead generation, Suprava brings over 3+ years of experience to the table.

But the majority of her clientele, fame, and money came in the last 10 months when she started building her personal brand on Instagram (currently 150K followers). After graduation, she was working at a startup with $400 as her base salary. Today, her lead generation agency makes over $30000 every month.

She advocates a lot for building a brand on LinkedIn to establish yourself as an industry expert for long-term success. Suprava is one of the best LinkedIn personal branding examples in India.

4. Alice Thorpe: Freelance Graphic Designer with a Unique Voice

Alice Thorpe stands out as a freelance graphic designer with a memorable and personable brand. On her YouTube channel, she introduces herself with the tagline, “stumbling through life one pixel at a time.”

Alice creates a wealth of content for designers on both YouTube and her website. Her style is a mix of casual, funny, and expert, making her videos and articles both entertaining and informative. She has a knack for explaining complex design concepts in a way that’s easy to understand and fun to learn.

What makes Alice truly unique (and helped build her unique brand) is her consistent and genuine communication style. Her graphic designing career wasn’t always like this. She struggled to get clients and made pennies during the initial years.

But one platform, one skill, and her personal brand changed things forever—a perfect personal branding example for students.

5. Gary Vaynerchuk: Liquor Store to eCommerce Empire

Gary Vaynerchuk is a prime example of a personal brand that turned a modest business into a thriving empire. Any talk about personal branding is incomplete without talking about Gary.

Gary’s content on YouTube, Instagram, and LinkedIn reflects his grounded and straightforward personality. He focuses on practical advice, encouraging his audience to work hard and stay authentic. His commitment to sharing realistic insights and actionable tips sets him apart as a trusted voice in the entrepreneurial community.

As the co-founder of VaynerMedia, Gary has cemented his influence in the media and marketing industry. His personal brand is built on consistency, reliability, and proven success. Followers and clients alike appreciate his clear, no-frills communication style and his dedication to helping others achieve their goals.

Gary’s straightforward advice for building a personal brand – “Starting posting on social media, daily. You’ll figure out everything else along the way.”

How to Build Your Personal Brand as a Student?

Now that I have talked about some great personal branding examples and how building a brand transformed their lives, it’s time I give you a roadmap. Here’s a simple guide to get you started:

1. Find Your Focus (A USP)

First of all, choose a specific area you love and are good at. This could be anything from graphic design to computer science. Make sure it’s something you enjoy and where you can help others. Becoming an expert in this area will make you unique and give people a reason to follow you.

2. Share Your Story

No matter which profession you choose, you’ll have millions of competitors. The only thing that can set you apart is your story. Think about your journey so far—what you’ve learned, the challenges you’ve faced, and what you’ve achieved. Share these experiences with your audience. Your story shows your growth and determination. People like to know the person behind the brand. There is a reason why we call it a PERSONAL brand.

3. Make Useful Content

Create and share content that shows your skills and helps others. This could be blog posts, videos, or social media updates. Keep your content relevant to your focus area and offer tips or solutions. Most importantly, be consistent about content creation. A few days of inactivity and your audience will replace you with some other creator.

The biggest part of building a personal brand is creating useful content, consistently. As Gary Vee says – “Post content daily.”

4. Network with Others

Let me put it this way – You can never build a personal brand alone. You need to network and make friends with peers in your industry. Join groups, attend events, participate in discussions, engage, and send warm messages.

Networking helps you learn new things, gain insights, and find opportunities. Focus on building helpful and meaningful relationships. The more people you know, the more chances you have to grow.

5. Show Your Work

Use LinkedIn, X, a personal website, or any form of online portfolio to display your projects, work, and experiences. Include details about what you did and what you achieved. Highlighting your work proves your skills and shows your dedication.

Craft your content strategy in a way that suitable prospects land on your portfolio easily. People want to see what you can do. Don’t spam though!

6. Get Feedback and Improve

Keep reiterating steps 2-5 and improve upon them. Ask for feedback from mentors, peers, and professionals. Use their advice to improve your personal brand. Because at times, you think you’re going in the right direction, but you’re not.

And the only to figure it out as early as possible is to get feedback. Being open to feedback helps you stay relevant and effective in your field. It shows that you are willing to learn and grow.

7. Be True to Yourself

Make sure your brand reflects who you are. Authenticity builds trust. Don’t exaggerate your skills or experiences. I have seen a lot of brands built on fake stories and wins. Didn’t take much time to fall.

Being genuine in your interactions and content will connect you better with your audience. Talk freely about your wins as well as losses. Stay true to you. People appreciate honesty.

Conclusion

Building a personal brand as a student is crucial for opening up future opportunities. If you’ve read through the five personal branding examples mentioned above, you know that:

You need to focus on your strengths, share your unique journey, and consistently provide valuable content. Your personal brand is your story, your voice, and your promise to the world. Treat it like that.

Be authentic, engage with others, and show your work. Whether you’re aiming for a dream job, looking for collaborations, or sharing your passions, a strong personal brand will help you stand out.