Fact: The more people that know, like, and trust you, the easier it is to do business.
Another Fact: The best way to get people to like and trust you is through your own personal reputation.
These facts shouldn’t come as a surprise to you. It’s no secret that human trust in brands has been eroded over the last 10-20 years and more and people value personal connection with the people behind a business much more than a faceless logo.
Ultimately, when we do business, we do business with other people. Humans buy, humans sell, humans exchange ideas, and humans deliver.
Are you more likely to do business with a faceless brand you don’t like and don’t trust or a human you believe with 100% conviction will deliver the result you’re after?
The same applies to hiring and investing. You work with humans. Humans run the businesses investors pour money into. Don’t you think they’d be more inclined to invest in or work for a brand run by someone they know, like, and trust?
Ultimately, people will only buy from and work with people they wholeheartedly believe will get great results and serve them with integrity.
But don’t take our word for it…
We never get tired of telling people about the power of personal branding at Kurogo. We have seen the results first hand with the 200+ business leaders we have worked with.
But we wouldn’t expect you to take our word for it. Here are some stats - from both external research and our own research - that not only prove the power of personal branding but provide a benchmark for how people are approaching it today.
External research
Personal branding does more than just build your LinkedIn following - it's a key driver of business growth.
From boosting lead conversions to enhancing your company's reputation and aiding in talent acquisition, the impact is broad and significant. Here’s how solid personal branding translates into tangible business benefits:
1. People are willing to pay up to 13.57x more for those they consider to be elite experts, compared to the average person. (Hinge Marketing)
Hinge Marketing ran a study that categorised industry professionals into 5 categories. They found people would be willing to pay nearly 14x more to work with those in the 5th category - classes as ‘Elite Experts’ - than your average industry professional.
2. Executives worldwide attribute up to 43% of company market value to their CEO's reputation. (Weber-Shandwick)
Weber-Shandwick interviewed over 1,700 executives from 19 markets around the world and found that on average, they attributed 43% of company market value to their CEO's reputation.
This was higher in some areas like Malaysia (59%) and Brazil (55%). The US came in at 38% and the UK at 25%.
3. Brand messages get 561% more reach when shared through employee's personal accounts than through the company brand account.
When the same message is shared through employee’s social accounts they get more reach than through the company account. If you want to grow brand awareness, encourage your team to build their personal brands and share content.
(We generate millions of views for Kurogo every year doing this.)
4. Brand messages are re-shared 24x more frequently when posted by an employee versus the brand's social media channels.
Again, content shared through employee’s channels perform better. Quite simply, people are more inclined to engage with other people than brands on social media.
5. Content shared by employees receives 8x more engagement than content shared by brand channels.
It’s not just reach! If you want to engage your audience better you should consider sharing content through your personal brand channels as well as your company brand.
Most businesses are missing a trick here.
6. Leads obtained through employees’ social media convert 7x more frequently than other leads. (Dreambox)
Imagine what your business would look like if you converted 7x more leads than you have done previously… If you want to boost your conversion rate, focus on creating a powerful personal brand.
7. 77% of consumers are more likely to buy when the CEO of the business uses social media.
When you’re visible on social media as a CEO you build trust with your audience. The modern consumer (B2B and B2C) wants to buy from value-driven businesses run by real humans. Simply being visible on social is enough to help this.
8. Employees have 10x more followers than their company’s social media accounts. (Markivis)
People prefer to follow people. So if you’re looking to grow your brand or share important messages, you’ll have a much larger audience if you share those messages through employee social accounts.
9. B2B customers are 2x more likely to choose a brand that conveys personal over business value. (Protocol 80)
Even in the B2B world, customers want value-driven businesses and personal connections. If you’re competing with another a business, you’re more likely to be the go-to if you’re actively building your personal brand.
10. 65% of buyers say thought leadership significantly changed their perception of a company for the better.
If you want to create a positive image of your organisation and bias prospect’s decision making towards you, becoming your industry’s leading authority is a non-negotiable.
Our own research
We’ve also collected a huge amount of data ourselves at Kurogo on the power of personal branding and how founders are currently approaching thought leadership.
1000+ people participated in our personal brand survey and we want to share our results with you.
Now you understand the importance and power of personal branding, you might find it even more surprising that our research shows:
- Only 52% of people say their social media profiles are optimised to accurately reflect their level of expertise.
This stat screams missed opportunities to us.
More and more often, social media often acts as the first point of contact in professional relationships, we really can’t afford to underestimate its impact. Even if you don’t meet someone through LinkedIn, the likelihood is, they are googling you after that first conversation. And first impressions matter, right?
To get this right, start with a solid profile that really speaks to your strengths. You can dive into our guide on how to optimise up your LinkedIn profile here.
But remember, tweaking your profile is just the beginning. The real game-changer is consistently putting out content that highlights your expertise and keeps you at the forefront of your industry.
- 59% of people don’t have a strategy behind the content they post.
Building a personal brand with no strategy is the same as setting out to build a house with the materials but not architectural drawing.
You might build something, but its unlikely to be what you set out to do.
After building over 200 personal brands for entrepreneurs, founders, and C-suite leaders, we've know that you can’t have a successful personal brand without first building a solid foundation through strategy.
We’ve developed a proven model for becoming the most trusted and sought-after thought leader in your industry and building a profitable personal brand, the PAC System.
To become a recognised thought leader, you must do 3 things:
Position: Nail down what you stand for.
Amplify: Crank the volume up on your message.
Convert: Turn that buzz into opportunities.
All of the most successful personal brands we’ve built, studied and worked with share one thing. They do these 3 things well.
Dive deeper into each stage and truly elevate your personal brand this year. Check out our Ultimate Thought Leaders Guide 2024.
- Driving ROI from their personal brand is important to 85% of people, but only 24% are doing it.
This disconnect suggests that while many understand the potential benefits of a strong personal brand, few have cracked the code on how to monetise and measure the real impact of their efforts.
If you’re anything like our clients, you actually want to drive opportunities from your personal brand.
It’s not an ego-stroke, but a strategic move in your business/career - and who wants to spent time and energy on something that brings no tangible value?
Whether it’s gaining new clients, securing speaking engagements, or advancing in a career, the impact of a personal brand stretches far beyond online interactions.
Need support converting your personal brand into tangible opportunities? Lets chat.
- 80% of people feel overlooked despite having a lot of value to offer
This statistic is proof that simply having valuable insights isn't enough if no one recognises your worth.
The reality is that no one is going to magically see you as a credible source of information just because you have interesting views to share.
This might sound harsh but… No one cares about you.
They care about solving THEIR problems and improving THEIR lives.
Humans are inherently selfish.
If you want to make your audience care and get them to pay attention, you have to position yourself as the solution to their problems. Over time, they will begin to pay more attention to you, like you, and even trust you but only as long as you continue to help them.
Show them how valuable you are by providing them with value.
- 93% of people haven’t had more than 5 media/press features in the last 12 months.
Look, realistically, not everyone is going to be able to land media coverage, because, quite frankly, not everyone is interesting or good enough. The PR game isn’t as accessible as social media where everyone can share content. To land notable features, you have to be notable.
The upside of this is that when you do land a feature in a notable publication or podcast, you’re instantly perceived as being ‘worth featuring’ by the audience.
So if you are trying to land features and failing, what are you doing wrong? The old way of landing features in the media is very much dead (collect a load of publicist emails and tell them how amazing you are before asking for a feature).
People are inundated with these kinds of messages every day.
Today, this is all about value based relationships.
If you are approaching a publication or podcast for the first time, you need to think ‘What’s in it for them?’
Remember, these people are LOOKING for content, so they want to hear from you. You just have to go about it the right way.
For more insights on landing features and speaking gigs download the: Ultimate Thought Leadership Guide 2024.
- 78% of people say the results they are seeing when they google their name aren’t what they want them to be.
This isn’t just frustrating; it’s a real roadblock to your professional growth. In today’s digital world, what Google says about you can hugely influence how potential clients, partners, and talent see you.
If the search results bring up outdated info, irrelevant details, negative content—or worse, you're nowhere to be found—it can really skew their perception of you and like we said earlier - first impressions matter.
So take control of your presence, don’t let it control you.
- 82% of people struggle to generate opportunities from their personal brand
Opportunity conversion is quite literally the business end of your personal brand.
With the right positioning and strong amplification, you’ll build an engaged audience that knows, likes, and trusts you, but there is an art and science to converting that attention into tangible opportunities.
This could be customers, clients, investment, talent, or speaking opportunities. Whatever it is you’re shooting for.
Trouble is, most people have no means of converting their audience. There is no funnel or user journey accompanying the content they are posting to follow up with customers and actually convince someone to buy, book, invest, or apply.
Ready to start converting opportunities through your personal brand? Follow a step by step plan to help develop the conversion part of your personal brand strategy and funnel here.
- 63% of people don’t have a plan to grow their personal brand over the next 12 months
Just having a personal brand isn't enough; it needs to evolve and adapt as you progress in your career and as market dynamics change.
Creating a plan to grow your personal brand involves setting specific goals, identifying the audiences you need to engage, and determining the best channels and methods to showcase your expertise.
Whether it’s updating your content strategy, expanding your network, or enhancing your visibility through new platforms, a proactive approach can transform your personal brand into a dynamic asset that opens doors to new opportunities.
Your ability to build an audience and control the narrative around you is your greatest opportunity - don’t waste it.
You’ve seen the stats, you know it works. Now what?
Personal branding isn't just buzz; it's a powerful tool that can help you control your narrative and shape how the world sees you.
But we have to be honest…building a successful and optimised personal brand that truly converts, is not easy.
If you’re anything like our clients, you’re an expert in your field. One of the best. But you just don’t seem to have the reputation you deserve.
You are also incredibly busy and your time is incredibly valuable. So you don’t have the time to waste on trial and error.
You want to be the go-to authority in your industry and become an opportunity magnet.
Working with Kurogo
At Kurogo, we take the guesswork out of personal branding.
We help our clients by using our tried and tested strategy and tactics that we have developed working with over 200+ business leaders and:
- Giving them clarity on their brand and positioning them as industry leaders.
- Blowing up their social profiles and landing them high-profile media features.
- Helping them convert their new-found reputation into meaningful opportunities and ROI
The services we offer span from done-for-you personal brand building, to consultancy, and company-wide training.
And achieving results like these in the process:
🚀 Jack generated 2.5M views and 6 figures in revenue in 90 days with us
🚀 Joe and Olly generated millions of views and saw a record month
🚀 Guy added 5 figures of pipeline value in a matter of months
🚀 Olie added £50K of inbound revenue to his pipeline
🚀 Sue generated over 8.3 million views in 4 months
🚀 Jemma increased her views by 51,347%
🚀 James became an Amazon Best Seller
🚀 Tom generated 5M views in 3 months
Your reputation is your biggest asset.
If you want to see how we could help you harness it, let’s grab 20 minutes to discuss how we can support you.
.png)