3 Things the Kardashian apps taught me about personal branding

It’s been a whole 48 hours since I hit “download” on my app store purchase of the Khloe Kardashian Official App, and can I just say…what a magical 48 hours it’s been.

If you were sleeping under a rock Monday, here’s the deal: The ladies of the Kardashian-Jenner squad announced newly launched apps and websites offering an inside look at their lives and interests. It’s basically their personal SnapChat, Periscope, Instagram, Pinterest, and blog all tied in one chic little bow. In just one day Kylie, Kim, and Khloe’s apps shot to the top 50 most downloaded apps on iTunes. Say what you want about these ladies, but they sure as hell know how to influence the masses. I of course, being one of the masses.

After receiving a Instagram tag notification from my bestie and pop culture guru @melsafford on Khloe’s announcement (TEAM KHLOE!), I promptly texted her she was about two hours late. Signed, sealed, and a $2.99 subscription fee, I was already sold.

And here I am…blogging about it.

Listen, I get it, not everyone is drinking the Kardashian Kool-aide. But as a social media gal, I have to give snaps where snaps are due, and the reality is, these ladies are k i l l i n g  i t on social media, and more specifically, with personal branding.  I’m in awe of the community they’ve created and engagement they’ve built by basically being their bat shit crazy selves. Not only that, they’ve successful made their personal brand a product, with this app being at the very center. It’s brilliant, so I’m going to write about it.

And you know I love me some personal branding tips, so here’s what I think we can learn from this incredibly self-centered, but incredibly genius social media move by the Kardashian sisters.

1. Be real to a fault.

The sisters stated the reason they didn’t create one massive Kardashian sister app was because they wanted their apps to reflect the uniqueness and passions of each individual sister. They even said they worked completely separately on them as to not be influenced by one another’s design or concept. The result was an aggressively real look into the life of each sister.

When creating your personal brand its easy to get caught up with designing and editing that you run the risk of your brand becoming a more manufactured version of you, than a genuine reflection of you. I say, be real to a fault.  Don’t talk about things on social media you don’t give a shit about because you think you should. Don’t design a website that looks like everyone else’s because you want to be on trend and appeal to the masses. Your personal brand is just that, personal. Editing and designing should happen after you’ve done some serious reflecting on who you are, how you’re perceived, and what you’re passionate about.

2. If you’re not creating content, just go home now.

I know, I’m a content girl so of course I’m going to say content is KING. But here’s the thing: in order to compete as a subject matter expert or influencer in your field, you MUST create original content, and you MUST do it often.  The Kardashian sisters are not strangers to this law. They’ve been pushing out post after post on social media for years. But with this app, they’ve committed to posting original multimedia content, every single day. The sisters stated that they’ve spent the last year and a half building up a library of content to share with app subscribers.

It’s not enough to have a website or social media account with a name and headline. If you’re not creating and posting original content (be that pictures, blog posts, videos, curated lists, etc.) then people won’t find you. And even worse than that, they won’t care about you.

3. You want your audience to know you…know THEM first.

Something the app offers is live (periscope-esque) feeds throughout the day. The first time I tuned in I was literally watching a half-dressed Khloe and Kourtney giggling like high school girls while ironing their designer outfits in their hotel suite. It was completely silly and raw. It was also exactly what I wanted to see.

How did she know?

Simple. She knows her audience. Of course she knows her followers like beauty, fashion, and fitness.  But more importantly she knows a good portion of her followers are social media junkies constantly on their phones, craving to consume anything and everything in real-time. So that’s precisely how she engages with them, and by God it works.

Knowing your audience before they know you will give you a leg up when building your brand. For instance,  are the people consuming your content on social media or are they more in-person event goers? Do they like to read or watch videos? Who else in your field would they be likely to follow? So before you get too deep into your personal branding plan, take a play out of the Kardashian playbook and get to know your audience.

So what do you say? Have I made you a Kardashian believer yet? 

//All the Kardashian-Jenner apps are available to download on iTunes//