164. How to Build a Personal Brand People Give a Sh*t about w/ Oren John

The 10 Minute Personal Brand Kickstart (FREE): https://the505podcast.courses/personalbrandkickstart Win $100k from Artlist here: https://artlist.io/lp/100kfund/?utm_source=al_social&utm_medium=ugc&utm_term=100K&utm_content=100K&utm_campaign=100K What’s up, Rock Nation! Today we sit down with Oren John, the internet’s creative director. In this episode, Oren breaks down why most branded content flops and how to fix it. He unpacks the secret to building a world around your brand, the one framework every creator needs before scaling, and why playing it safe online is the fastest way to stay invisible. We dive into value vs. entertainment content, how to stand out in a feed full of noise, and the metrics Oren actually tracks when building a personal brand. He also shares his take on content “moats,” why he welcomes flops, and how to position yourself for both influence and income. If you're tired of copying trends and want to build something original that actually resonates, this episode is your blueprint. Check out Oren here here: https://www.instagram.com/orenmeetsworld/ https://www.youtube.com/ ⁨@orenmeetsworld⁩  SUSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER: https://the505podcast.ac-page.com/rock-report The Creator Pricing Guide - The No BS Guide to Pricing Your Creative Services Coupon Code: ROCKNATION10 gets you $10 off at checkout for the boulders https://courses.the505podcast.com/pricing-guide Join our Discord! https://discord.gg/xgEAzkqAvs More Free Products: Our 5 Positioning Tips to Land Bigger Clients (FREE): https://the505podcast.courses/5positioningtips 6 Questions to ask on Every Sales Call (FREE): https://the505podcast.courses/6questionsfordiscoverycall COP THE BFIGGY "ESSENTIALS" SFX PACK HERE: https://courses.the505podcast.com/BFIGGYSFXPACK KG Presets Vol. 1 https://www.kostasgarcia.com/store-1/p/kglightroompresets Kostas’ Amazon Storefront: https://amzn.to/3GhId25 15% OFF Prism Lens FX with code: KOSTAS15 https://bit.ly/42sNdej Timestamps: 0:00 - Intro 1:10 - Brand Storytelling in 2025 2:31 - TV series content 4:01 - Creative vs Content Quality 5:39 - brands crushing in 2025 7:08 - World Building 11:17 - Tarte Cosmetic brand trips 12:54 - $100k Artlist Giveaway 13:46 - Value vs Entertainment creators 16:17 - Embracing the flop 17:53 - Formats that win on social 19:25 - Do carousels still work? 21:01 - Why video wins 23:15 - Merging value and entertainment 24:07 - How to go from value to entertainment content 25:18 - Building in public 26:37 - What brands miss the mark on 28:11 - Cannes Festival 29:13 - LinkedIn 30:29 - Creating content while working a 9-5 32:03 - Oren’s first brand deal 32:48 - You just gotta be hotter 34:04 - Fitness talk 35:36 - Dialing in positioning 39:45 - How to crush facebook ads 41:17 - Creative Volume 42:34 - The photoshoot playbook 45:34 - The Laker’s content playbook 46:59 - Why Oren uses Notion 48:46 - Don’t copy the biggest brands if you want to win 50:02 - How to build real community 51:50 - How to crush live events 52:55 - Your environment matters 56:21 - Cost to content 57:29 - Hiring 58:43 - Oren’s YouTube strategy 1:02:36 - People still underestimate the creator economy 1:05:01 - The TikTok Shop playbook 1:05:42 - A.I. ads 1:07:50 - Cultivating an audience that wants to buy 1:10:35 - Breaking down the 505 brand 1:20:10 - A.I. software that Oren uses 1:21:49 - Quality vs. Quantity 1:22:30 - How Luxury brands can win on social 1:23:22 - Oren’s clothing brand 1:26:31 - What Oren’s learned from making his own products 1:29:28 - How men vs. women shop 1:31:36 - Men’s bags 1:34:12 - The next 6-12 months 1:35:06 - Advice to your 18 year old self If you liked this episode please send it to a friend and take a screenshot for your story! And as always, we'd love to hear from you guys on what you'd like to hear us talk about or potential guests we should have on. DM US ON IG: (Our DM's are always open!) Bfiggy: https://www.instagram.com/bfiggy/ Kostas: https://www.instagram.com/kostasg95/ TikTok: Bfiggy: https://www.tiktok.com/bfiggy/ Kostas: https://www.tiktok.com/kostasgarcia/