Growing up as a digital native means living through each distinct age of the internet: waiting for Jenna Marbles to upload a new YouTube episode, keeping up with Snapchat streaks, posting grainy Instagram stories, to now doom-scrolling on TikTok. What we didn’t know at the time was that every era taught us something about identity, community, and visibility online.
In the early days of Instagram, “personal branding” meant curating your grid like an editorial or ad; effortless perfection that required immense behind-the-scenes effort. An endless loop, an impossible facade to maintain.
Recently, something has shifted. We’re living through a cultural redefinition of what it means to be seen, and that’s showing up in our fashion, beauty, lifestyle, and perhaps most overwhelmingly online (all spaces largely driven by women).
Why Perfection Lost Power
The changes we’re seeing online reflect a much larger systemic shift. Over the last decade, women have gained more autonomy and cultural influence than at any other time in modern history. Women now control the vast majority of household spending power in North Americaand make up the majority of full-time creators in the creator economy (an industry projected to grow significantly over the next five years).
This powerful new industry is fuelled by community and followers investing in personal brands. Creators find, build, and nurture community through sharing the good, the bad, and the messy, and audiences are drawn to the authenticity. When a founder finds the sweet spot between relatability, authenticity and brand messaging, magic happens.
Online, community is everything. It’s built brick by brick, earned through trust and relatability, and is how every great creator has found success. It’s a community that shows up in the comments, tunes into the podcast episode, buys the product drop, and votes on Dancing With The Stars. It’s community that supports the new business venture and is giving female founders the platform to create.
From Performing to Embodying
For generations, women have been conditioned to perform perfection; the housewife, the “cool girl”, the bombshell, all only fragments of their complexity. This pressure to perform was amplified by social media, making the curated Instagram aesthetic its own form of social currency.
The Mental Health Research Canada (MHRC) & University of Ottawa found 85% of Canadian youth say social media increases anxiety, while 74% say it worsens body image concerns. In a world where any image can be AI-generated in seconds, idealized and hyperrealistic images of women are flooding the internet.
In response, young women are engaging in more active and mindful consumption. Today, 86% of consumers say authenticity is important when deciding which brands they support, and users are actively seeks creators who show their “real selves”.
The pivot to authenticity is showing up across all industries. Today a business posting about their products and services vs one with a founder-first strategy are seeing wildly different results. TikTok reports that “get ready with me” videos are their top performing content bucket, out performing polished content tenfold; audiences want the story, not the picture-perfect set.
The New Luxury: Authentic Identity Expression
Today in the fashion industry, luxury is defined by self-awareness, confidence and authenticity. Of course, seasonal trends exist, but personal style today is wildly varied. Walk through Toronto, and you’ll see vintage 1940s silhouettes, 70s suede, 90s minimalism, and modern tailoring all within minutes. Style has become an extension of self, not a performance for approval.
The same is true for the content we’re creating; different styles, voices, ideas, visions and expressions are all making an impact and seeing massive growth. There’s room for creators in any niche to show up authentically and create community. Now more than ever, it’s important to let that freak flag fly in the world of personal branding.
Photo provided by Duet Public Relations
Why This Moment Belongs to Women
This shift is happening now because women finally have the agency to lead it. It was only 61 years ago that Canadian women gained the right to open a bank account without a man co-signing; that’s one or two generations ago.
Women actively building careers, identities, and personal brands is still new and deeply powerful. Women finally have freedom, and with freedom comes authenticity; the humour, honesty, creativity, and real-time storytelling seen online reflect th
Posting before something is perfect, pivoting when an idea fails, and learning in public are now seen as strengths. Failure isn’t a threat; it’s evidence of evolution, and I see this with the female founders I work with. As they grow, evolve, pivot and adjus,t their audience comes with them and gets to learn along the way.
Where We Go From Here
You don’t need to have everything figured out before you begin. In fact, bring us along for the ride as you figure it out. It’s about the journey, not the destination.
This shift is about community, both online and offline. It is about connecting with people through honesty, presence, and individuality, and it’s about allowing yourself to be known and allowing others to feel known through you.
This can feel daunting, and having the right support to bring your natural personality and perspective out in your content can make all the difference. This is the work I do with my clients. The future of personal branding is human, and there is room for all of us inside it.
Email me at [email protected] or find me at @t_buckles to chat all things personal branding!
