Saturday, July 12, 2025

D2C Brand Playbook - Part 5 - Building your product in public; but why build your founder brand along?

 

Why D2C founders can’t afford to ignore their personal brand?
Here’s a simple playbook I worked with, you’ll wish you saw earlier 👇

📍 Rewind to recent Indo-Pak battle. Updates flood your feed.
100+ videos to choose from. Who did you trust?
A Palki?
Or NDTV or IndiaToday?

A Human Face builds trust.
Trust gets priority over 5000+ messages you get everyday.
Trust comes from an emotional connection built over time.

That’s why we follow founders over corporate brands.
- Tesla = ~10% of Elon Musk followers on X
- Mahindra group ~ 13% of Anand Mahindra followers on X

As a D2C founder, that’s your superpower.
You’re up against faceless giants.
And without physical touchpoints, your founder brand is the trust bridge.

So, how can you build your own founder brand?

👉 1. Craft your Personal brand

What’s your Founder story?
-Origin - your why behind company, personal setback/insight, personal mission
-What makes u different

For what expertise, should people look up to you?
-Unique things/experiences you are building
-Future gazing on industry trends

Whats like authentic you?
-Personality, values, communication style
-Vulnerability; how much real can you be?

👉 2. Build your content strategy

What things would you say, consistently!
In what proportions?
Eg.
-Industry expertise (Tech showcase, Viewpoint..) - 20%,
-Company Journey (eg updates, BTS..) - 30%,
-Personal Philosophy( life, Failures, Values..) - 30%,
-Community engagement (customers, social causes..) - 20%.

👉 3. Build your Channel strategy

Where will you say what?
-Linkedin (Talent branding, thought leadership..)
-Twitter (Updates, commentary on trends..)
-Instagram (Personal lifestyle, interests..)

4. Measure KPIs & Optimize
-Awareness (reach, impressions)
-Engagement (eng. rate, saves, shares)
-Equity & Business Impact (earned media, talent/investors you attract)

💡 Remember -
Founder brand is your D2C superpower.
Against faceless large behemoths

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I share actionable insights on hashtagbrand, hashtagmarketing & growth for hashtagD2C businesses. Follow, if you’re a marketer/ founder building yours. hashtagRunningMarketer

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