Personal brand vs. business brand: leveraging leadership for business impact

You may be wondering, why does this matter?

Even though we live in a digital world, people still connect with people. The authenticity, values, and personal stories of people is what deeply resonate with us, more so than some corporate messaging.

In New Zealand, we see the LinkedIn platform amplify this. LinkedIn enables our leaders to engage directly with people, build communities, and sway global conversations.

As a CEO or leader, what are you doing to leverage your personal brand? Is this part of your strategy? And what time have you committed to this platform for 2026?

Remember, a strong personal brand can humanise your company, boost your credibility, and help attract top talent and partnerships. You can see that it is actually becoming crucial that you build your own personal brand, to help support your business goals. So, what’s your plan?

 

The CEO’s role as an ambassador

Brad Giles in his book “Made to Thrive” underscores the importance of the CEO’s role as an ambassador. This strategic position involves more than just leading the company; it’s about being the face of the company and engaging with the community and industry at large. Giles outlines several key activities for CEOs:

• Building a public profile through forums, blogging, or speaking.
• Being present at significant customer interactions and launches.
• Communicating core values and the company’s purpose directly to employees.

These actions are integral to not only enhancing the leader’s personal brand but also driving the business brand forward by association. This dual branding strategy aligns the personal with the corporate, creating a powerful narrative that can attract new business opportunities and foster loyalty.

 

Building your public profile

Like anything, building your public profile takes time and commitment.

With 875 million LinkedIn users, only about 3 million post content weekly. If you can include a weekly post as part of your scheduled activities as CEO and ambassador, you’re already doing better than the other 99.66%!

Have a look at leaders you admire. What type of content do they share? How often are they posting?

Dr Louise Schofield, founder of PREKURE recently shared that her personal KPI is one LinkedIn post per week. She admits sometimes it is a share or off-the-cuff post inspired by something that has happened. However, often the post stems from her dedicated weekly time.

By scheduling this important activity into her diary, she has prioritised building her public profile, her personal brand, and in-turn PREKURE’s business brand.

The result? Dr Schofield is using personal stories and achievements to humanise her brand and really adds a touch of ‘human’ to what can otherwise be corporate.

 

Building your personal and business brand

As a leader, your LinkedIn profile captures you and simultaneously promotes your business brand. Keep in mind, it’s not just about what you post, but how you post it.

Just like you have business brand guidelines, create some personal guidelines too. This will help you achieve consistency in tone and style of your posts.

Look at your frequency. Remember, quality over quantity any day!

Plus, it’s good to keep in mind that your LinkedIn posts are an extension of your public appearances. This is you showing up in the digital world. Each post should reflect the professionalism and core values you advocate in person.

My favourite quote about social, “Post and ghost”. Do NOT do this! If someone takes the time to read your post and comments, then engage back. Respond to comments, participate in discussions, and use this feedback to shape your future content.

This interactive approach not only boosts your visibility but also strengthens your relationships with followers, enhancing both your personal and business reputation. It also shows that it’s you working the social page, and not some intern who posts once a week for you then goes quiet.

 

Leveraging content to showcase expertise

Admittedly this is where I get stuck. I do get tired of seeing “grateful to be at…” or “appreciate the…”.

However, I do love reading a good post. Finding that voice that is ‘just you’ and sharing content that is relevant and resonates really does help showcase the authentic you.

Remember, posting once a week will have you in the top 0.33% of contributors! Surely this is going to help position you as a go-to resource in your field.

Also, keep in mind that your personal branding is a powerful recruiting tool. Imagine seeing great, engaging content on a regular basis and then seeing that you could work for this brilliant leader – surely that’s a draw card? Leading by example, showcasing the culture of your company and celebrating achievements can help attract top talent who are aligned with your vision and values.

 

Scheduling and measuring

I know many a busy CEO who will say, sorry I don’t have time. Remember, this is part of your strategy and enables you to build a public profile. Just as we schedule time for other strategic priorities, it is time to start allocating some weekly time to achieve this too.

If you’re starting out, you may want to work with someone who can help you with getting your tone and style set. Yes, some body else can write your content, but then it isn’t the true you.

Or, you can work with someone from the team at Two Tides, like me, and we can coach you in this space, growing your confidence and ability.

When it comes to measuring, you can use tools like LinkedIn Analytics to gain data on how your content performs, if your audience is growing, and who your audience is. You can also measure if you have an increase in enquiry to your LinkedIn inbox, or whether people start chatting to you in-person about your content.

 

Building a public profile

CEO’s and leaders play a key role in their business as an ambassador. This leadership is internal PLUS extends into the public domain.

In your role as leader, building a strong personal brand is no longer just a recommendation it’s a necessity.

As you set your communication rhythms for 2026 and load your non-negotiable meetings into your diary, look at scheduling your ‘public profile’ time into your calendar too.

Take a wider view on this time investment. It’s not just about your image as a leader; it’s about creating enduring value for the entire business.

Need help? Let’s chat!

 

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