We’ve said it before, we’ll say it again. If you’re a CEO or business leader, you need to have a personal brand. And now’s the perfect time to take a look at your own and start developing a personal branding strategy for 2020. To get you started, here are five personal branding examples all CEOs can learn from.
Alexis Ohanian
Alexis Ohanian is the founder of Reddit and Initialized. He has a strong personal brand that showcases both his unique personality and sense of humor, as well as his entrepreneurial ventures and business acumen.
He does a great job of marrying the two by speaking up about issues that matter to him, like paid family leave and supporting up-and-coming entrepreneurs. He also has fun with his social media presence by actively engaging with his followers and posting photos of his daughter’s favorite doll, Qai Qai.
Jessica Alba
You may know her as Sue Storm in Fantastic Four, but she’s also a celebrated entrepreneur and founder of The Honest Company. When she struggled to find clean options for the everyday products she needed for her first baby, she decided to create her own company to fill the void.
… And she’s not afraid to tell that story. This is one of the things that makes Jessica Alba’s personal brand so strong. She writes about her entrepreneurship story on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter, and also collaborates with other creatives and entrepreneurs on podcasts and other speaking opportunities. She’s even leveraged the power of influencer marketing by partnering with beauty gurus to help her launch her clean beauty line, Honest Beauty.
Sara Blakely
Sara Blakely is the founder of women’s shapewear line Spanx. She’s also a wildly successful self-made billionaire who has pledged to donate half of her wealth to charity. She believes in the power of female entrepreneurship, and makes it a strong part of her personal brand.
In addition to teaching classes on entrepreneurship and regularly hitting the speaking circuit, Sara is also very active on her social media platforms. She uses that space to celebrate other entrepreneurs, provide guidance to her fans, and applaud the work her Spanx team does.
Hamdi Ulukaya
Hamdi Ulukaya, founder of Greek yogurt brand Chobani, is another great example of putting your money where your mouth is. He made headlines earlier this year for paying off lunch debt owed by students at a Rhode Island school, and often talks about the important role business can play in communities.
One thing that most CEOs can implement right now is Ulukaya’s passion for his team. He often uses his LinkedIn platform to showcase the great work the Chobani team does, proving that he’s an active leader in his business.
Kylie Jenner
Love her or hate her, there are a few things we can all learn from the world’s youngest billionaire. First: she knows her audience. Her company, Kylie Cosmetics, got its start on social platforms like Snapchat and Instagram. Jenner reportedly spent very little on paid advertising, and instead used her arm to swatch lipstick colors for her mostly 18-24 year old viewers.
She’s also perfected the art of being her own biggest spokesperson. She’s often seen wearing her product in her personal Instagram photos, and has even recruited her famous sisters for collaborations and product shoots. No, we may not all have been born into a famous family, but we can DIY our product shoots until the money starts flowing in.
Feeling inspired?
Not so fast! Make sure to check out our personal branding checklist if you’re ready to take some action for your own personal brand.
And of course, don’t forget to sign up for Marple if you haven’t yet.
Our app allows you to take a look at what others see when they search for your name on Google, putting you in the driver’s seat of your own personal brand. We’d hate for you to build out a successful LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter profile only to find out that your search results had been steering potential customers in the wrong direction.
It’s free to get started, so just click here to sign up!