Why Personal Brands Will Dominate in the Future | by James Christopher | Mar, 2023

In the past, personal brands have been eclipsed by big corporate brands, but things are changing.

For a long time, personal brands have been a side note in the marketing world. However, things are changing as consumers become more savvy and less trusting. Today, people want to connect with other people over faceless corporations.

Personal brands give consumers a human connection that helps create trust. Consumers have shorter attention spans and more choices than ever before. So the best way to build trust is through authentic communication methods like social media platforms and blogs instead of branding tactics like commercials or billboards (which get skipped over anyway).

“People do not buy goods and services. They buy relations, stories and magic.” -Seth Godin

Having a personal brand creates trust because it feels more human; it’s not artificial like some abstract logo or slogan created by a corporate marketing team or an agency hoping to gain attention and drive sales without any real connection with their audience.

You may have heard that people are sick of being sold to. But what does this mean?

At its core, it means that people don’t want to be treated like a number or dollar figure. They want to be treated with respect, and they want their individuality to matter.

We live in a world where people want to hear the truth and they want brands that are honest. We want to know what you stand for, what your values are and how those values align with our own. We want to feel like we’re part of something bigger than ourselves — a movement or cause that inspires us not just with its purpose but also with its design.

We’ve all heard the saying “Nobody likes being sold anything.” and it rings true nobody likes being manipulated into a purchase they don’t really need or want — and yet we see this happen every day in ad after ad on TV, radio and online.

People are just tired of being lied to by brands that pretend they care about something when all they’re really after is your money.

Because people are so used to connecting with real people, personal brands help create trust.

Building trust with consumers is key for business, because it allows companies to build relationships and form partnerships. Personal brands can be more relatable than corporate brands and feel more trustworthy as well.

Personal brands also give consumers a human connection that helps create trust. When we see a brand name or logo on a product or website, we don’t necessarily think of the person behind it; but when we see someone’s name and face in our newsfeeds, Instagram feeds and Twitter feeds, there’s an instant connection between us as humans who share similar interests and values — and that makes us feel more connected to them as well.

Personal brands happen to be good content creators. It’s not by accident. They know their target audience, and they have a knack for creating content that resonates with their audience. Many personal brands have an active presence on social media channels like YouTube, TikTok and Instagram. They also utilize other platforms such as Twitter to build their personal brand.

With the rise of video content marketing and the level of eyeballs that watch these personalities, it’s no wonder that many personal brands are creating magnetic videos for their followers or subscribers to watch on YouTube — and even sharing their own videos on other platforms through embed code or links in tweets and social media posts.

Here are some of the top creators whose personal brand carries a lot of reach and influence:

Casey Neistat is a YouTuber and one of the early creators. His topics range from the vagaries of modern life to extraordinary challenges. He is also known for his quirky and humorous videos. The content he creates is highly shareable, and he has a loyal following of over 12.5 million subscribers. His videos are great examples of how you can use social media to build your personal brand.

Marques Brownlee is another YouTube personality who talks about gadgets and technology. Big brands seek him out to review their products, so he has a lot of influence in the market. Today, he has a loyal following of over 16.4 million subscribers, and his videos get hundreds of thousands of views. He’s also one of the most influential people on YouTube, which means he has a lot of influence over those who watch his content.

Mark B. Rober is an American engineer and educator whose YouTube videos have made him a popular science expert and DIY guru among many of his fans. He has a loyal following of over 23 million subscribers, and his videos get hundreds of thousands of views. He’s also one of the most influential people on YouTube, which means he has a lot of influence over those who watch his content.

In addition to creating content for others to consume online, many of these individuals go one step further by extending their brand by writing books about life advice or leadership skills — and then promoting those books online. By doing so they are able to reach an even wider audience than by simply blogging about topics related directly back at work experience alone would allow.

One of the best ways to build trust is through authentic communication. Unfortunately, it’s a practice that corporate brands aren’t always great at. They’re often seen as impersonal and over-produced, with all the human elements stripped away.

But you can’t fake authenticity: it’s all about being genuine and real with your audience. Authentic communication isn’t just about being friendly; it’s about having an open dialogue with your community so they know you’re listening and responding to their needs (even if those needs are complaints).

Authentic communication builds trust because it allows people to connect with each other in a way that feels natural — and once trust has been established, businesses will have an easier time building confidence in their brand or product.

When it comes to building brand trust, there is no substitute for honesty. It’s the foundation of any successful business relationship and one that will only grow as we become more reliant on digital platforms to connect with each other.

Trust is the foundation of any relationship.

Whether it’s personal or business, trust plays a crucial role in how we view and interact with one another. It also plays a key role in how we make decisions. When we are unsure of something, our natural instinct is to seek advice from someone we can trust — someone who has experience and knowledge about what they’re talking about.

It’s what allows us to be vulnerable with one another, have meaningful conversations and work together toward a common goal. Trust is built on a foundation of consistent behaviors — you can’t just say you’re trustworthy; you have to act that way too.

Trust can be built through storytelling — authenticity and transparency are key components of this approach. But in order to build tremendous brand loyalty, you must first earn your customers’ trust by being honest about what you stand for as an organization. This requires leaders who are willing to put their personal brands first; that is, leaders who want their employees (and customers) to know who they really are outside of the workplace so that effective connections can be made within it.

While transparency should always be at the heart of your communications strategy, remember: trust is a two-way street.

No longer is marketing technology accessible and affordable to large agencies and professional studios. Today, its readily available for independent creators. This means that you don’t need to be a large agency or studio to have access to the same marketing technology as your competitors. All you need is a solid brand strategy and the ability to execute it effectively. One way for personal brands to scale their brands is by customizing the software and tools to match their workflow.

For example, if you’re a video creator, maybe your brand needs to be more visual than written. You can use tools that allow you to create animated videos and graphics instead of just text posts. If you create inspirational quotes or memes for your audience, then perhaps its time to try out some meme generator tools like Canva or Visme.

From social media management to digital marketing, these marketing technologies can reduce the time spent on operational matters and spend more time on being creative.

Today, there is a vast field of other technologies to help you grow your audience and deliver your content more quickly. Apps, social media platforms and video creation tools can all help you expand the reach of your personal brand by delivering compelling content fast.

As consumers are bored of being sold to by faceless corporations, personal brands will dominate corporate brands online.

Consumers want to connect with other people, not a company’s logo. Personal brands give consumers a human connection that helps create trust.

Consumers have shorter attention spans and more choices than ever before. The best way to build trust is through authentic communication — and that means interacting directly with your audience on social media or in real life when possible (e.g., meet-ups).

I’m passionate about helping people build great and innovative products, and an deep interest in cognitive science. I’ve taken on the communication challenges for startups, entrepreneurs, B2B software companies and organizations working with university researchers. Check out signetscience.com to learn more about me and my team of advisors.

Oh yeah, follow me on Twitter too! @signsetscience.com