A Personal Branding Guide for Parents of College-Bound Teens

Welcome to our Personal Branding Guide for parents of college-bound teens. As you help your child with test prep and essays, don’t miss a vital part of their success: building a strong personal brand. This Personal Branding Guide gives steps to help your teen create a story showing their best self.

The college admissions process today is tricky. With so many students applying, officers spend just minutes on each file. A good personal brand helps your teen stand out and show who they are to these teams.

Personal branding isn’t about making up a fake image. It’s about showing real strengths and passions in a way that tells a strong story. Think of it as helping your child put their best self forward.

In this Personal Branding Guide, you’ll learn how to help your teen find unique traits, build a good online image, and show their wins in the best light.

Understanding the Role of Personal Branding for High School Students

Teen branding is not like company branding. A personal brand shows who your teen is, what they care about, and what makes them stand out. This part of our personal branding guide focuses on authenticity, not just bragging.

What is teen personal branding? It’s how you influence how others see your student by highlighting their best traits, wins, and goals. This helps admissions teams see what your teen brings beyond their grades and test scores.

An effective student brand will:

• Highlight their unique traits and values
• Display their best wins
• Share their interests and passions
• Reveal how they’ll help campus life
• Make them stand out from other students with similar qualifications

For instance, instead of just being “a good student who plays soccer,” your child could be “an eco-science fan who uses data to help local nature while leading their soccer team as captain.”

Why Personal Branding Matters in College Admissions

The college application process is harsh. Unlike previous generations, good grades and test scores are an expectation, not a differentiating factor. Schools want students who will contribute to campus life; a strong personal brand helps show this.

Why does branding matter so much? Studies show that 65% of college staff look at a student’s online presence during reviews. This online image adds to what they learn from the formal application.

Personal branding provides these key perks:

• Standing Out: It helps your teen rise above other students with the same grades
• A Clear Story: It ensures all parts of their application tell the same story
• Memorable: It makes your student easier to recall during talks
• Being Real: It shows genuine interest, not just resume padding
• Future Skills: It builds skills for later job hunts

Picture this: Two students have the same 4.0 GPA and test scores. One shows random interests with no clear focus. The other tells a strong story about how their work ties to their passion for public health. The second student’s clear brand makes a better mark.

Getting Started with Your Teen’s Personal Brand

The branding journey requires some deep thinking. The groundwork laid by our personal branding guide sets the stage for future brand work.

Help your teen reflect upon themselves by asking about the following:

1. Best Skills: What subjects or talents come naturally?
2. True Passions: What tasks give them energy rather than drain it?
3. Core Values: What guides their choices and actions?
4. Long-term Goals: What impact do they want to make in school and life?
5. Key Life Events: What experiences have shaped how they see the world?

Next, look for patterns. You might see that their varied tasks show steady themes—maybe problem-solving, creating, or helping others.

You will then want to help your teen write a short brand statement that sums up your teen in 1-2 sentences. This should answer: “What makes my teen unique, and what value do they bring to a campus?”

For example: “Emma mixes deep thinking with creative problem-solving to tackle eco issues through both science work and filmmaking, showing how art and science can work together.”

This statement isn’t for direct use in forms but guides all brand work. It helps ensure that every essay, task list, and interview supports this main story.

Digital Presence Optimization Strategies

In today’s online world, your teen’s web presence is a key part of their brand. This section of our personal branding guide focuses on making a strong digital footprint.

Start with a complete digital review—a deep look at what appears when someone searches your teen’s name. This check should include:

• Social media pages (Instagram, Facebook, X, TikTok, etc.)
• Profile pics and bios
• Old posts and comments
• Photos tagged by others
• Content in Google search results

During this check, you’ll want to identify risks and missed opportunities. Remove or fix harmful content while considering where you can add helpful content. An effective digital review takes about 5-7 days, so set aside ample time.

Next, make a plan for active online image control, such as:

• Using good usernames: Have your teen use steady, proper usernames across sites—ideally using their real name.
• Writing strong bios: Help write short bios that show key interests and wins without bragging.
• Sharing high-quality content: Encourage your teen to post things that show their interests, accomplishments, and values. This could be media that shares recent projects, competitive wins, or service work.

Keep in mind that all parts must match—the online image should fit the overall brand you found earlier.

Building a Standout LinkedIn Profile

LinkedIn is an excellent way for high school students to highlight their achievements. Many parents think LinkedIn is just for working adults. However, a strong LinkedIn page can boost your teen’s online image. Here’s how to make a strong page:

• Good headline: Draft a more powerful headline than “High School Student.” Try “Future Biomedical Engineer | Science Contest State Finalist | Coding Club Leader”
• Professional photo: Use a clean headshot, not a casual social media pic. Formal clothes aren’t needed, but the image should look mature.
• About section: Write a short but intense summary that shows your teen’s key wins, interests, and goals.
• Experience section: Add more than just jobs. List club leader roles, major service work, and big projects. For each one, focus on wins, not just tasks.
• Education section: Show school honors, key classes, and big projects that show skills.

The site becomes even more useful when your teen starts linking with the right people, such as teachers, program heads, and grads from target schools.

Creating a Personal Brand Website

A personal brand website shows the most complete version of your teen’s identity and wins. Unlike social media, which has strict formats, a website provides 100% creative freedom. This digital hub lets your student show their story through many parts, such as:

• About: A good intro to your teen’s traits, values, and goals
• Achievements: School honors, awards, and praise
• Projects: Full details of significant work with accompanying media
• Activities: Clubs, leadership roles, and community work
• Skills: Tech, school, and personal strengths with authentic proof

When thinking about making a website, note that it gives these perks:

1. Lots of space: Unlike forms with strict word limits, websites let you fully show your teen’s achievements
2. Multi-media use: You can add photos, videos, and links
3. Central control: One hub linking to all other online pages
4. Stands out: A unique web address you can include with applications

Once done, the website helps in the whole process. Your teen can mention it in talks and add the address in applications.

Managing Your Teen’s Digital Footprint

Your teen’s digital footprint shapes their brand in today’s connected world. This key part of our personal branding guide explores risk control and opportunity development.

First, here are the key elements that make up a digital footprint:

• Social media posts and replies
• Comments on blogs, forums, and news
• Photos and videos (even those posted by friends)
• App usage and online gaming
• Email writing style

You’ll want to start with a complete audit of current content. About 70% of employers check job seekers’ online presence, and colleges do the same. It’s vital to review each site with these questions in mind:

• Does this content show my teen’s values and goals?
• Could this content look bad if seen alone?
• Does this content add to their story?

After finding risky content, take action:

• Delete harmful posts or photos
• Remove tags from poor content posted by others
• Change privacy settings wisely
• Ask for the removal of harmful content where you can

Past risk control, focus on active image development. Urge your teen to share thoughtful comments on relevant articles, add value to talks in their areas of interest, and show proof of good deeds and achievements.

Supporting Authentic Brand Development

Personal branding must show genuine traits, not fake ones. This section of our guide covers how parents can help real brand growth.

The best brands build upon:

• Long-term interests and passions
• Steady values supported via actions
• Real talents and skills
• Unique views shaped by life events

As a parent, you must find balance. You must give structure and tips without taking over your teen’s authentic voice. Here are a few tips on how to navigate this challenging task:

• Ask good questions: Instead of picking out which moments to highlight, ask things like “Which experiences meant the most to you?” or “What makes you lose track of time?”
• Listen more than speak: When talking about branding, be an active listener. When your teen gets excited about something, that topic matters to them.
• Provide insight: Help your teen recognize their strengths. They will likely overlook natural skills because they seem normal and easy.
• Share helpful feedback: Review applications from an admissions viewpoint and suggest ways to improve while maintaining your teen’s authentic voice.

Keep in mind that admissions teams can smell inauthenticity from a mile away. Essays written chiefly by parents, involvement in activities just for resumes, and inflated achievements typically hurt, not help.

Next Steps: Putting the Personal Branding Guide into Action

Now that you know why personal branding matters for college, it’s time to take action.

Start by having an open talk with your teen about branding. Share these points:

• Personal branding isn’t about making a fake image but showing real strengths
• A strong brand creates chances for meaningful connections
• The process builds valuable skills regardless of the outcome

Next, plan a family talk to do a first brand check. Together, make short lists about:

• 5-7 words that best tell your teen’s nature and style
• 3-4 areas of true interest or passion
• Top achievements and events that show key traits
• Early college and career interests (even though these will likely change)

Based on this check, find the most fitting next steps from these choices:

1. Digital Cleanup: Fix any instances of negative online content
2. Website Planning: For students with big wins to show, start gathering artifacts
3. Content Plan Growth: Outline proper sites and content types to build over time

Remember, personal branding is a steady process, not a one-time task. Make a simple calendar with regular checks to review progress and shift plans as needed. By taking an intentional approach, you give your teen quick college perks and valuable skills for future work success. The time and focus you put in now will continue to provide value through their college career and beyond.