Personal Branding Predictions for 2025

These are 5 personal branding trends for 2025 you can take advantage of as personal brands continue to change the way we consume, communicate and create.

1. You are the media

Personal brands have made business personal. If you see the consumption of media like a share of the wallet, big traditional media brands are losing their share to personal brands and independent media.

As I shared in my earlier blog, You are the Media. How Personal Brands are Changing Everything, a 2024 Gallup poll out of the US showed that Americans continue to display record-low trust in mass media. Just 31% of participants expressed a “great deal” or “fair amount” of confidence in the media to report the news “fully accurately and fairly”. This was 32% in 2023. Trust in newspapers, television and radio first fell to 32% in 2016. For three consecutive years now, more adults have no trust at all in the media  - at 36%, than those who trust it a “great deal” or “fair amount”. Additionally, another 33% have “not very much confidence”.

The downward trend has been on the decline for decades, and I predict it will continue to fall fast. Gallup first started asking this question in the 1970s. Results ranged from 68%-72%. In the 90s and early 2000s, this dropped to between 51%-55%.

So, where is the audience going? To personal brands. While they may not be the “household names” that dominate mainstream media, personal brands are penetrating households in a prolific way.

Influence by Sara McCorquodale shows how influencers’ personal brands are changing the future of the world.

While most who are one don’t like the term ‘influencers’, she says:

“Broadly, they believe their value lies in their ability to build communities through consistent, relatable, authoritative and regular content.”

Because of their ability to turn the attention of their personal brand into communities online, they are the new media:

"The word influencer is symbolic of a new kind of media mogul – one who is independent, industrious and has capitalised on their online popularity to launch further creative projects and successful startups.”

2. YouTube is the new TV

Last year, YouTube accounted for 10.4% of all TV viewing - it was the first streaming platform to break the 10% barrier. I predict this percentage will continue to climb in 2025.

Some research has shown that for over 50% of people, YouTube is the first app viewers open on their TVs. I know I’m one of them. YouTube is the new TV. And it’s never been easier for the average person to earn their way to a starring role on the platform through their personal brand. I predict more people will consume their news, education and entertainment via YouTube through relatable personal brands they trust.

As Gary Vee promotes, the mantra “document, don’t create” should continue to inspire creators. Vlogs and other content will be less perfectly polished and more like messy reality TV. Think new age home videos people can relate to, instead of watching the Kardashians' exceedingly unrelatable lives.

3. The rise of the expertise influencer

Many personal brands have made a name for themselves using their personality. Other mega personal brands have built a platform that creates community. Take one of the world’s top podcasters - Joe Rogan. He doesn’t pretend to be an expert in anything per se - but he platforms other experts.

It’s generally understood that 90% of people are lurkers across social media. I predict more lurkers will make moves to be leaders online. For example, LinkedIn will become less about sharing the latest network event you attended and more about sharing the latest article penned by your personal brand or your latest video. As I tell my personal brand coaching clients, we all have expertise to offer in some way. More and more professionals will see the value in providing value to others and sharing the unique point of view of their personal brand over their latest humble brag.

4. Growth of the creator economy

Follow the money. The creator economy is estimated to be worth approximately $250 billion, and Goldman Sachs predicts this could almost double to $480 billion by 2027. Marketing teams are investing more of their budgets into influencers. With more demand, more and more personal brands will want a piece of the pie, supplying their unique personal brand talents to the marketplace. The profitability of building a personal brand - people making money from being themselves is an incentive for more people to create a public personal brand. Savvy investors will start to invest their time in building their personal brand long-term.

The Almanack of Naval Ravikant quotes Ravikant as saying:

“Code and media are permissionless leverage. They’re the leverage behind the newly rich. You can create software and media that works for you while you sleep… If you can’t code, write books and blogs, record videos and podcasts.”

5. The growth of long-form content

As TikTok soared, so did short-form content. But now, videos recorded on TikTok can be up to 10 minutes long - a huge leap from the 3-minute maximum. Again, follow the money. Time on posts is one of the most valuable metrics for the media. They make money when you stay on the platform. It increases their engagement and profits. YouTube in 2024 also made the shift from 60-second YouTube Shorts to allowing Shorts up to 3 minutes long.

Using traditionally short-form platforms like Instagram and TikTok, many personal brands experienced a meteoric rise. Long-form content gives traditional short-form personal brand creators a way to extend their income opportunities, in some cases, to potentially more profitable platforms. As brands reward time, they have a chance to deepen their connection with their communities and their pockets. I predict this will move new media creators to some of the OGs of personal branding - YouTube and podcasts.

With these personal brand trend predictions in mind, what moves are you making to make the most of these opportunities in 2025?