6 Best Examples of Personal Branding

What is Personal Branding?

Personal branding is where an individual actively works to influence public perception of themselves through the use of social media, public channels and speaking opportunities. This public-facing work makes and creates the perception of themselves as an absolute authority in their chosen industry and building a public profile.

Why is a Personal Brand Important?

A personal brand isn’t only good for building sales relationships, it’s also used to build careers, elevate a company’s expertise in a certain niche or gain press coverage. It’s a professional personality essentially, and it can be a great way to connect with other people and build business connections.

1. Ben Francis, Gymshark Founder

Ben Francis is probably one of the biggest founder success stories out there. From his bedroom in 2012 with a side job as a pizza delivery driver to the international success he is today, the story of growing his gym clothing wear brand, Gymshark, is one continually shared and known by many.

While you may not have ever bought gym clothing or have a vested interest in the gym and leisure industry, you’ll probably know who Ben Francis is.

But why is his personal brand so good?

For one reason, he’s truly authentic. He shares not only the positives of his journey to success but also the struggles. From his brief hiatus as Gymshark CEO to his return in 2020, he shares everything with his followers and always in the same tone of voice.

He has grown his brand on social media from the very beginning, using each of these platforms to their full effect. His Instagram is much more personal, showing photos of him doing everyday, relatable activities intermingled with business updates. His LinkedIn is a professional, business inspiration and shows his authority as a businessman. As an example of a personal brand, his is one of inspiration and realistic success.

2. Arianna Huffington, Huffington Post and Thrive

What started as a commentary outlet back in 2005, the Huffington Post has now led Arianna Huffington to build a huge media empire and become a truly influential woman.

Not only is she at the helm of huge brands, but she has a well-thought-out personal brand by marketing well-being to office-based professionals.

On her LinkedIn, she shares well-being and health information, looking to provide information to readers from her blog platform, Thrive Global, as well as her own experiences.

More than just an association with the Huffington Post, Arianna Huffington has built a personal brand by leveraging her existing career prowess as a media mogul, connecting it with a true passion of hers. Personal brands don’t just need to be about business gains, but they can also provide an opportunity to connect your professional personality with a true personal passion of yours.

3. Patrick Campbell, Profitwell

For those in SaaS (Subscription as a Service) businesses, you will have inevitably heard of Patrick Campbell, even if you’ve never used Profitwell. With a long history in the SaaS niche, Patrick has truly seen it all when it comes to SaaS.

His personal brand is probably seen most through the Profitwell company emails. Mixed in with brand-specific emails and wider company information, Profitwell’s emails are written in a very informal nature, as if they were sent from Campbell’s Outlook email.

Profitwell’s emails are so effective in fact, that it feels like you are connecting with Patrick Campbell directly, experiencing his detailed writing, covering market information and more. His personal brand shines through, a relatable and friendly face who is willing to chat about subscription markets and more.

4. Martha Stewart

You hear Martha Stewart, and you may think ‘prisoner’ or ‘lifestyle guide’, but above it all, Martha Stewart is a prime example of, as declared by the New York Magazine, “the definitive American woman of our time.”

In fact, Martha Stewart has probably got one of the strongest personal brands going as it’s applicable cross-sector. Appearing in adverts for both Crayola and T-Mobile, she can put her name to anything and see success off the back of it. Despite being charged with securities fraud in 2003/4, she’s still trusted and loved by Americans.

Martha Stewart is an excellent example of creating and instilling trust so you can apply your personal brand across a variety of areas. If you want to move from your career in technology to one in product marketing but don’t have a strong enough personal brand, you’d struggle to gain authority. Build a personal brand with trust and expertise and the brand becomes transferrable.

5. James Watt, BrewDog

James Watt is a winning example of a personal brand that throws all caution to the wind. Some call it transparent, others would argue it can be seen as argumentative, but whichever way you look at it, James Watt is one of these.

He’s brutally honest in his posts on LinkedIn, and through the work he does with his company, BrewDog, which regularly makes jibes at political figures or relevant news items, there’s always something going on.

While having a very ‘out-there’ personal brand can sometimes work if backed up in real life, it can also be shrouded by controversy. A Channel 4 documentary found that James Watt wasn’t all that he made out to be, and numerous accusations of workplace bullying, sexual harassment and more have been made against him. As a man with such a commanding presence and outspoken tone, he dominates coverage in the press and on social media, regardless of whether it is positive or negative.

6. Max Foster, CNN

A CNN reporter situated in London, Max Foster is the CNN connection to the Royals. Before 2020, people who didn’t watch CNN may not have heard of him, but the reason Max Foster is on this list is because of his willingness to adapt to new platforms.

Named by AdWeek as one of their Creative 100s, Max Foster grew his following on TikTok rapidly by making news items accessible to a new generation. This has leveraged people’s understanding of him as a person and also given him a new platform to play with.

Traditional personal brand platforms can be great, but the risk of exploring new platforms can sometimes pay off even more. Viral platforms like TikTok, designed for viral video consumption are perfect for news presenters, and as an early adopter of using this exciting platform, Max Foster has connected his personal brand with millions of new people, making news accessible for a digitally native generation. It’s allowed him to grow his awareness in more ways than just one and has meant that users will trust him and his reporting style.