Have you ever heard the phrase “You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression”? It’s as true in the digital age as ever. The opportunities that knock on your door are influenced by how people perceive you—and with so much information online, it’s easy for those perceptions to take on a life of their own. That’s why controlling your personal brand in the online sphere is so important.

One of the biggest keys to personal brand management is video: videos provide a powerful platform to present the vision you want others to have of you. They take your message directly to your audience instead of hoping people form the right opinions on their own. By creating online videos, you give your reputation a distinct personality and make it easy to share.

Not sure where to start? Here are three of the most effective ways you can use video to help you build your personal brand.

3 Ways Video Enhances Your Personal Brand

1. Use Video to Humanize Your Personal Brand

If a picture’s worth a thousand words, think about how many words a video could be worth. On paper, your qualifications might not be much different from your peers—you have a degree, maybe an internship, and some years of work under your belt. In a video, though, you can bring life and personality to your brand.

Show your viewers who you are and what you care about. If you want to be known as a big name in the fitness industry, upload a 30-second video of one of your workouts. If you want to be a politician, upload a 30-second video of you discussing an issue that matters to you. Bring all the passion you can to let anyone watching know how important the subject is to you.

And one final note on this tip: don’t be afraid of showing some of your flaws on camera. That’s part of being human. Research shows that people trust individual influencers more than brands, so take this opportunity to be real and genuine with your audience.

2. Adapt Your Content for Social Media

If you aren’t actively building your brand on social media already, you should start now. It’s the easiest way to get your content in front of people. Although most major social platforms—including Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, YouTube, and LinkedIn—have built-in options for uploading and sharing videos, each has a different audience and purpose. Figure out which platform your viewers use most often, and focus your efforts in that direction.

Don’t forget to adapt your content for the platform you’re using. Aspects like video length should differ depending on where you’re uploading it. Just make sure to keep your core messaging consistent across the platforms you use—you won’t be an effective motivational speaker on one platform if you’re a classless complainer on another.

One extra word of caution on this point: building your brand out on multiple social platforms means you’ll need to take proper security measures to lock down your accounts. Follow trusted social media guidelines to protect your accounts, your content, and your brand.

[RELATED: How To Act Natural On Camera When Making Videos]

3. Play Around with Different Formats and Tones

In investing circles, diversifying is a good way to reduce risk. The same principle is true with video. By putting out a couple of different styles of video ranging from professional to casual, you’ll avoid limiting your personal brand.

It’s possible that your audience will prefer certain video styles to others, and you can absolutely invest more in those videos as you solidify your brand. Just don’t let prior success close you off to trying new things. Online video is still a relatively new medium, and there’s a lot of room for experimentation and growth.

There’s a pro-tip for this suggestion, too: don’t take the experimentation to the extreme—all videos should still adhere to your brand’s core voice. If you’re a young professional in marketing, you probably won’t need a collection of music videos on your portfolio page, for instance; instead, upload a couple SEO explanation videos alongside a more relaxed video bio to showcase your knowledge and versatility.

Remember, your brand matters and people are paying attention. Use these tips to improve your personal brand, and share these ideas with anyone seeking to improve their image.