In the days before social media, a professional’s sphere of influence was limited to the individuals they personally knew and interacted with. Now, anyone can develop a finely tuned personal brand and become a respected industry influencer, often with a large following of people they’ve never met.

Of course, this doesn’t happen overnight; establishing credibility and growing an audience takes time and consistent effort. But if you have a unique voice and valuable contributions to make, you can join the growing ranks of thought leaders in your field.

Fourteen Forbes Coaches Council members offer their best personal branding tips for anyone striving to be influential.

1. Become A Credible Resource 

To become a credible resource, be sure to publish articles and participate in speaking engagements. To further your exposure, partner with organizations that align with your company values. Your articles could be published on your own blog or you could write guest blog posts for those organizations. For speaking engagements, reach out to them to promote your shared mission. – Rosie Guagliardo, InnerBrilliance Coaching

2. Build Relationships With Existing Influencers 

I made a list of the top 100 marketing influencers in the world with the goal of becoming one of them. I used a social media listening tool, brand24.com, to track conversations and understand who was influential. I didn’t think about what influencers could do for me; I thought about what I could do for them. I promoted their books, shared their content and commented on their blogs. – Ian Cleary, RazorSocial

3. Understand The Value You’re Providing To Others 

With all the social media platforms available, it is easy to promote your brand. However, before you do that, make sure you have an understanding of your perceived value. Make sure you are adding value to others if you want to be influential. Self-promotion without value creation negatively impacts your influence. – Donald Hatter, Donald Hatter Inc.

4. Practice What You Preach 

The cardinal rule of personal branding is to be consistent, appealing and to do exactly what you ask others to do. If you are building an excellent personal brand, your entire objective is to amplify and accelerate the values your brand stands for, which are also the lessons you are expert at teaching your audience. Your intellectual property is your calling card. – Courtney Feider, Courtney Feider, LLC

5. Google Yourself To See What People Can Already Learn About You 

It’s so important to know what clients and potential clients find when they look you up online. Google your own name and company, and assess what comes up. From there, you can make a plan for what you need to do to increase your visibility, and where you need to spend your time and energy. Being intentional about this is a great way to get the interest and attention of your target audience. – Jill Hauwiller, Leadership Refinery