How Nikki Ramirez Built a Real Personal Brand on LinkedIn

The Real Playbook for Standing Out on LinkedIn (From someone who actually did it)

You can scroll LinkedIn for days and see a lot of the same advice:
“Be authentic.” “Post often.” “Engage with others.”

But very few people actually pull it off well.

Nicole Ramirez — a.k.a. Nikki — is one of them.

Her viral “motherhood is just marketing” post lit up LinkedIn, sparked global debate, and landed her on the pages of Newsweek and Today.com.

Now, as co-founder of BrandME, she helps executives turn personal presence into business growth, driving millions of organic impressions for their companies.

In the past year, she’s gone from 2K to over 30K engaged followers, earning a spot on Favikon’s list of top creators.

And she did it by showing up — as herself — over and over again.

I started working with Nikki back in September to get her on the Podcast Power Circuit™, to share her expertise and spread the word about her consultancy, BrandME.

Btw, Nikki hosts her own podcast, Talk Digital to Me, but she’d never actually been on the guest side of things.

Not So Fun Fact: Nikki and I have something in common, as we were both laid off from our roles at Forbes last year. I have never really talked about it publicly but she has inspired me to be out in the open about it, so there ya go.

The result: She’s killing it, check out her appearance on Content Logistics with Baylee Gunnell that just dropped.

Side note: This was the hook that landed her on the show “Many leaders still treat personal branding as optional. Nicole Ramirez calls that marketing malpractice.” Baylee even mentions the line in the beginning.

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/content-logistics/id1572862960?i=1000735065448

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7iEmhqPNBvevo5OrcIjUJ9?si=2c466e68de26464d

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQXOWCXntUU

Website: https://motionagency.io/episode/using-content-pillars-to-build-your-personal-brand/

She breaks down how to use content pillars to build a personal brand that works — this doesn’t just help for LinkedIn, but anywhere your voice lives.

Five takeaways worth stealing

✔️ Audit your presence
Your brand exists whether you manage it or not. Make sure someone can instantly tell what you do and why you do it the second they land on your profile.

✔️ Pick 3–4 content pillars
Stick to themes that align with what you love and what you solve. Consistency beats chaos.

✔️ Engagement > posting volume
Two intentional posts a week and real comments will outperform daily filler content every time.

✔️ Embrace flops
Every low-performing post is data. Track it, learn from it, adjust.

✔️ Be human
Your team, your family, your dog — those moments build emotional connection, which is what matters most.

If you’re serious about growing your personal brand heading into 2026, this episode is basically a free masterclass on consistency and clarity.