Build Your Personal Brand with Confidence Using These Four Steps

Your online presence is often your first impression in today’s digital world. That’s why your personal brand isn’t a vanity project. It’s a strategic asset. Whether you’re a student-athlete navigating NIL opportunities, a marketing major prepping for your first internship, or a rising leader trying to build credibility, how you show up online matters.

At Heritage, we believe clarity is a multiplier. That’s why we created the Heritage Personal Brand Builder Guide—a simple, intentional framework designed to help you uncover your brand, define your audience, and show up with confidence. No fluff. No jargon. Just the right questions and a smart way to turn your answers into action using ChatGPT.

Step 1

Answer the following questions about yourself.

Tip – Find 3-5 trusted people (family, friends, coaches, mentor) and share these questions along with your answers with them. Ask them for feedback. What did you get right? What might you be overlooking? How would they answer these questions about you?

DEFINE WHO YOU ARE
Start with what makes you different, real, and memorable.

• What do people come to you for—even when you’re not trying?
• What values guide the way you show up in life, work, or relationships?
• What’s part of your story that shaped you, even if it feels small or ordinary?

DEFINE WHO CARES
Your audience isn’t everyone—it’s the people who see themselves in your story.

• Who would relate to your story, background, or personality?
• What parts of your life or mindset would actually help someone else?
• What type of person would find value, encouragement, or connection from seeing you show up consistently?

DEFINE HOW YOU SHOW UP
Your brand is built by what you do consistently, not occasionally.

• How often can you realistically show up without burning out?
• What are a few things you regularly talk about, post about, or spend time doing, even when no one’s watching?
• What tone or energy do you want your content to carry?

Step 2

BUILD A SMARTER PROMPT
Once you’ve completed your questions, it’s time to leverage the power of AI to help you organize your thoughts and create a cohesive strategy for defining your personal brand.

Here’s a simple prompt structure for you to consider.

CONTEXT
I’m building my personal brand and want help defining my voice, understanding my audience, and generating content ideas that reflect who I am.

SPECIFIC INFORMATION
[Insert the questions and answers to the questions from DEFINE WHO I AM]
[Insert the questions and answers to the questions from DEFINE WHO CARES]
[Insert the questions and answers to the questions from DEFINE HOW YOU SHOW UP]

INTENT (GOAL)
Help me create a content strategy that aligns with my brand and speaks to my audience.

RESPONSE FORMAT
Please provide the following:

1. A summary of my voice and tone
2. 6–8 content buckets
3. A description of my audience and their interests
4. A few sample post ideas

Step 3

REVIEW THE RESPONSE
If you build the prompt well, GPT will give you exactly what you asked for. As with everything AI, we recommend that you trust, but verify! That means you need to read what it provided, challenge where appropriate, and rework elements that feel off or not entirely accurate.

Step 4

LEVEL IT UP
If your results need refinement, here are a few tips to help you do so.

• Tell GPT exactly what you like and don’t like, and ask it to revise based on your feedback.
  • Tip – we love using the voice feature on the app for this, so that our spoken word is translated into a prompt
• Ask GPT to ask you clarifying questions to ensure understanding
  • Tip – we love to instruct GPT to ask us questions one at a time and await our answer before moving to the next question.
• Once you and GPT are aligned and clear in your chat, ask GPT to rewrite your prompt for you.
  • Tip – sample prompt: Please rewrite my personal branding prompt as an expert prompt engineer with 25+ years of experience.

Final Thoughts

This isn’t about becoming an influencer.
It’s about owning your voice. When someone Googles you, scrolls your feed, or considers you for a role, we want them to see the clearest, strongest version of who you are.

AI is not your brand. It’s just a tool.
Tools like ChatGPT are powerful when used well, but they’re only as good as the thought behind them. A well-built personal brand starts with clarity, honesty, and self-awareness. AI helps you refine what’s already true—not invent something that isn’t.

The goal isn’t to sound polished.
The goal is to sound like you—with clarity, confidence, and consistency.