Brands scrape and claw to keep from drowning beneath the mass of competition in the market. The line between personal and corporate branding blurs as customers crave that human touch now more than ever before.
Customers, clients, and stakeholders are no longer satisfied with faceless logos or generic mission statements. They want to know who is behind the business, what they stand for, and whether they can be trusted.
This is where personal branding becomes a strategic advantage. Not just for individuals, but for the companies they represent.
Organizations making a real splash recognize the immense value of helping their executives, subject matter experts, and key public-facing employees build strong personal brands. Doing so doesn’t just benefit the individual, it drives measurable impact on brand perception, business growth, and sustainable business success.
Not convinced? Let’s look at a few key reasons why you need to seriously consider lifting up your teams’ personal brands.
Table of Contents
1. People Trust People, Not Logos
Consumers are increasingly skeptical of brands. According to the Edelman Trust Barometer, trust in corporate entities and their leaders continues to decline, while trust in individuals, especially experts and peers, remains relatively high. This trust gap presents an opportunity for companies to humanize their brand by promoting the authentic voices of their team members.
Pushing Boundaries: Elon Musk and Tesla
While Tesla’s product innovations are undoubtedly groundbreaking, a significant part of its brand value is driven by Elon Musk’s personal brand. His active social media presence, controversial as it may be, has created a cult of personality that brings massive attention and loyalty to Tesla. People follow Musk first. They follow Tesla and SpaceX as an extension of Musk and his antics.
When leaders step into the spotlight, it creates a powerful psychological effect. The company becomes more relatable, trustworthy, and real. People are far more likely to engage with content, products, or services presented to them by a real person they follow, admire, or feel connected to.
2. A Personal Brand Amplifies Corporate Thought Leadership
Corporate thought leadership is one of the most effective strategies for gaining trust and credibility, particularly in B2B industries. However, overly technical corporate blogs, anonymous whitepapers, and scripted videos no longer cut it. Audiences crave insight from people with authority, not disembodied organizations.
Visionary Direction: Satya Nadella and Microsoft
Since taking over as CEO, Satya Nadella has reshaped Microsoft’s image, not through ads or PR stunts, but by embodying and vocalizing a vision of innovation, empathy, and a growth mindset. His personal voice has helped position Microsoft as a modern, people-focused technology leader. Nadella’s books, interviews, and social media presence all contribute to Microsoft’s brand narrative.
When a leader shares their perspective on industry trends, company culture, or innovation, it not only enhances their personal credibility, it positions the company as a leader in the space. Their personal success becomes part of the corporate success story.
3. It Drives Organic Reach and Employee Advocacy
Corporate social media pages tend to have limited organic reach. Maybe 15 years ago or so it was a different story. You could sprinkle your brand’s social media channels with posts and links and the traffic flowed freely to your website. Today, algorithms prioritize content from individuals over brands. Compared to brand pages, content shared by executives and employees often sees dramatically higher engagement. That’s because people are more inclined to comment, share, and respond to posts made by other individuals than to faceless companies.
Relatable Success: Sara Blakely and Spanx
Sara Blakely’s Instagram presence has been a key driver of Spanx’s relatability and popularity. She shares behind-the-scenes stories, failures, victories, and personal moments that create emotional connections with her audience. These stories not only grow her personal brand but also deepen brand affinity for Spanx.
The value of leveraging team members’ personal brands to build your brand doesn’t stop with the CEO. Helping visible employees across different levels build personal brands creates a network of micro-influencers within your organization.
These employees effectively become brand ambassadors whose authentic content extends the company’s reach far beyond what paid advertising could achieve. The content they publish is far more relatable to your audience than anything your brand can publish.
Suggested Content: From Blending in to Leading the Way by Mastering LinkedIn for Personal Branding
4. It Attracts Talent and Builds Culture
Top talent wants to work with inspiring people. When your leadership team is visible, respected, and authentic, it sends a strong signal about your company’s culture and values. Personal branding becomes a magnet for talent and a tool for retention.
Attracting Talent Through Caring: Whitney Wolfe Herd and Bumble
As the founder and CEO of Bumble, Wolfe Herd has been vocal about gender equality, entrepreneurship, and building a values-driven workplace. Her visibility has made Bumble an attractive employer and positioned the company as one that genuinely cares about its mission and team.
When employees see their leaders using their voices and living the values of the company, it fosters internal alignment and pride. Word gets out, which attracts new talent to the company, allowing the brand to grow and thrive. Personal branding helps build a company culture that is transparent, forward-looking, and human-centered.
Resource: The Business of Branding You: Invest in Your Personal Brand, Grow Your Career, and Gain Influence
How to Help Your Team Build Strong Personal Brands
The value of personal branding for your team is clear, but how can your company begin empowering its most visible team members to build influential personal brands?
Here are four actionable strategies.
1. Provide Training and Resources
Not everyone knows how to build a brand or create content that resonates. Offer workshops on personal branding, social media strategy, storytelling, and thought leadership. Provide access to coaches, copywriters, or media training if needed.
Ready to Get Started: Set Up Your Personal Brand Audit to Start Your Journey
2. Encourage Authenticity Over Perfection
The most effective personal brands aren’t perfectly polished. The most effective personal brands are authentic. Encourage team members to share real stories, learnings, and perspectives. Mistakes and vulnerability can be more powerful than overly curated PR speak.
3. Leverage Internal Platforms First
Start by highlighting employee stories on your company blog or social media. Interview your leaders about their career journey, values, and vision. Repurpose these stories into video clips, LinkedIn posts, or podcast episodes. Give them a platform and amplify their voice.
4. Make It Part of Performance Strategy
Tie personal brand development to broader company goals. For example, if your CMO is building a following as a marketing thought leader, measure their impact in terms of inbound leads, brand awareness, or recruiting reach. Align personal growth with company growth.
Nurture Your Team’s Brands to Grow Your Brand
Helping your most visible team members develop strong personal brands isn’t just a feel-good initiative, it’s a business growth strategy.
When done right, it builds trust, amplifies your message, humanizes your brand, and helps you stand out in a noisy market.
Companies that embrace this shift will have a clear advantage over those that still try to speak from behind the logo.
Anthony is CEO and Founder of Gaenzle Marketing. He is a two-time published author and digital marketing influencer. He has helped brands both large and small grow and thrive across multiple industries through strategic marketing campaigns and leveraging a powerful network of influencers.
