To quote a meme: Has everyone turned into a personal brand? Or have some people been left behind?
The local dentist is explaining root canals in one Reel. In another video , a lawyer is breaking down defamation laws via animated sketches. Somewhere, a gynaecologist is answering questions about PCOS between GRWMs. And real-estate dealers are doing little dances in the luxury homes they’re selling. Even software engineers are detailing their 5-to-9 after their 9-to-5. You call it TMI. The kids call it personal branding.
It used to be that turning into a brand was something only public figures did. But at a time when the job market is giving Doomsday vibes, AI is coming for us all, and “forever jobs” have disappeared, professionals in every field are jittery. So, they’re packaging their expertise, opinions, personality and morning coffee for social media.
Cringe, right? But if we’re all going to become walking billboards for ourselves, we might as well figure out how to be good ones. Here are some tips.
#1 Be an OG
Appearing on a podcast used to be cool. Then the bros hijacked the medium. Pointing downwards and chirping “Like, share and subscribe!” is practically a meme. So, how do mid-career professionals make content that doesn’t give people the ick? Steer clear of online trends, says marketer Kavya Chaturvedi, whose handle @KavyaChaturvedi28, has 32K followers. “That means you didn’t have a thought of your own. Viewers can see that it’s not your voice. That gap between who you are and who you’re presenting yourself as — that gap is cringe,” she says.
{{/usCountry}}Appearing on a podcast used to be cool. Then the bros hijacked the medium. Pointing downwards and chirping “Like, share and subscribe!” is practically a meme. So, how do mid-career professionals make content that doesn’t give people the ick? Steer clear of online trends, says marketer Kavya Chaturvedi, whose handle @KavyaChaturvedi28, has 32K followers. “That means you didn’t have a thought of your own. Viewers can see that it’s not your voice. That gap between who you are and who you’re presenting yourself as — that gap is cringe,” she says.
{{/usCountry}}Her feed helps break down marketing jargon into simple, catchy videos: Content Editing For Dum-Dums; Why Women Do Better In Marketing Than Men. One trend that needs to die, she says, is founders posting about My Journey. “The whole ‘I left my corporate job to start my own business’ spiel is overdone. Nobody cares.”
Real-estate content creator Madhav Prakash, who runs @OwnItWithMadhav, says his field is currently saturated with people showing off just another nice house. He didn’t want to bore his 17.5K followers with more of the same stuff. So, instead of just walking viewers through empty flats, Madhav gets residents to do it. His script opens with, “Do you live in this society?” and lets the regular folks conduct the tour. It keeps the mood real – a senior resident might show off the activities planned by the society, and offer a more real glimpse of everyday life there. “No one really knows about these things. So, people connect and relate to it,” he says.
#2 Find your corner
Niche is always good, says Divya Ramesh, co-founder of Rough Paper Creative, a brand-strategy studio. She cites the example of communications consultant Karthik Srinivasan (@BeastOfTraal), whose entire online persona involves offering a quick hot take on a new ad. “It doesn’t feel like he’s trying to be opinionated or erudite. He shares genuine insights, rather than creating content to feed the machine.”
But don’t go so niche that there’s no coming back. “The agency-maxxing trend, in which bloggers talk about taking charge of your life, is all over Substack right now,” she says. “It’s the only thing some people post about, even though there’s only so much to be said on the topic.”
Prakash has an easier rule for industry professionals: Don’t be afraid to have an opinion. “People often worry about saying something controversial. But if you believe plots are a better investment than high-rises, say it.” This gives audiences something to react to. “Someone who believes in it will comment, and someone who doesn’t will also comment. That’s where virality comes from.”
#3 Include work and play
Sarah Sham, 39, principal designer at the interiors firm Essajees Atelier, began building her personal brand in 2020, at a time when few had heard of the term. Her handle @SarahMSham has 134K followers and she posts side-by-side comparisons of stain-free countertops, step-by-step transformations of the luxury homes her firm is designing, where to place the AC stands in a small home and other good-living hacks. But generously spooned into the feed are posts about her gym routine, the books she’s reading, the shows she’s watching, her husband and her kids. A big reason her content is so compelling, she says, is because “I enjoy sharing about my life. And I felt like in the interior design world, everything was always shrouded in mystery. I wanted to spread information in an organic way.”
This doesn’t always work. Nobody wants to see a dentist’s abs, says Chaturvedi. “I want to see your teeth. Tell me about good flossing habits, and whether the Perfora whitening thing, which is advertising everywhere, a scam or not.”
#4 Keep it professional
On her handle, @Sakshi_2000.Earth, Bombay High Court advocate Saakshi Baadkar breaks down courtroom jargon and legal terms for her 73.1K followers. “Recently, the Supreme Court raised concerns over lawyers and interns filming themselves in court. They would walk around in their gowns, flaring them for the camera and shoot slow-motion videos as they strutted down the corridors.” Nobody wants to see lawyers preen and pose on court premises if it doesn’t help viewers understand legal processes.
Some interns now make A Day In My Life vlogs in offices or chambers, and unwittingly end up revealing court documents on camera. “The Supreme Court came down heavily on such cases.”
Mental-health professionals, especially, should be careful. Because vulnerable viewers are watching, says Ameesha Awana, 28, a psychologist and therapist from Noida, who runs a private practice. On @Alright_Ameesha, she posts about everything from overthinking to using food as a coping mechanism, and why relationships feel harder in 2026. “I would never make a Reel about a disorder while dancing. Or share my clients’ stories, even anonymously, because that still betrays their confidentiality.”
She also avoids making snap diagnoses in her videos. “A lot of people create content that plays on viewers’ insecurities.” So, videos about 10 Signs You Have ADHD, or 5 Atypical Signs Of Anxiety in Women cause audiences to self-diagnose rather than seeking proper help.
#5 Find your voice
“Brands, founders and consumers want to see people who speak to the camera in a raw way,” says Chaturvedi. Glib scripts, smooth patter and Badum-tsss punchlines feel fake. Sham says she sees “a lot of founders who are serious people, but their agency has told them to say this line or that hook.” It falls flat. “You can tell that it doesn’t fit their personality. Ideally, either get someone else to do it for you, or don’t do it at all.”
Dr Birva Shah, a plastic and aesthetic surgeon, films videos for her handle @TheDivaInScrubs, posting about nose-shape trends and debunking cosmetic-surgery myths for her 12.3K followers. When she started out in 2024, “I thought I had to get ready, put on makeup, make sure my clothes were a certain way,” she recalls. “If I had a pimple, I would wait days for it to settle down to make a video, because I felt my skin had to be perfect.” That got in the way of her goal: Educating her audience about her field. Now, she often films on the go – doctors are busy, after all. “It could be me sitting in the car with no makeup and messy hair, or me in scrubs. I just pick up the phone and say what’s on my mind.”
#6 Give back
No point being a subject matter expert in a niche field, if your content isn’t helping people understand it. Baadkar started making educational content about law in 2022, “because not many people were doing it.” Her posts are aimed at everyday folk who hope to never be caught in a legal case, law students and junior advocates. In one Reel, she explains how to file an FIR and what to do if the police refuse to register your complaint. Another breaks down common legal terms.
Chaturvedi’s Reels help small businesses build their social media calendars and their packaging. “I immediately give resources like links, consultations, vendor lists or product links.” This gives viewers a clear next step after watching. In turn, that can translate into new clients, collaborations and business opportunities. That’s one way to keep people coming back for more.
From HT Brunch, October 10, 2026
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