Lebo Lion: Why you know her brand but will never know her real name

Content creator and personal branding expert Lebo Lion has spent 10 years building an online following without her audience ever knowing her full name – and she has no plans to change that. Speaking to The Citizen at the Dove Masterclass, held at Langhams Lifestyle Estate in Johannesburg, the marketing pro opened up about the thinking behind her brand, her early struggles as a creator, and why she deliberately keeps her surname out of the public eye. Why she doesn’t share her surname Asked directly why she doesn’t use her government name online, she said it comes down to protecting the brand she has spent a decade building.

“Because I believe in building personal brands,” she said, explaining that when she started out, she used herself as a case study to prove she understood the craft. “Nobody knew who I was 10 years ago… I want to challenge myself to build a personal brand, to show people that I am a marketer who really knows how to do marketing.” Turning “a nobody into somebody” is the essence of personal branding for her, and Lebo Lion the brand is deliberately distinct from her private self. “That’s why I don’t share my government name online, because Lebo Lion is a brand.

It is not my personality, my full personality or my life. It is the contribution that I’m making to society that changes the environments that I’m in.” She added that this separation is also what allows her to navigate criticism and brand relationships without taking them personally, since she views her work through a long-term, legacy-driven lens rather than day-to-day approval. “Brand says you have a vision for what you’ve built, and you know that in the future they will get it.

That’s why I don’t have my normal name online. It breaks the relationship I have with my audience. I’m Lebo Lion to them, and that’s what I’ll continue to be.” From perfectionism to consistency She also reflected on how her approach to content creation has evolved since she started out.

Describing herself as having “an A-type personality”, she admitted she once believed everything had to look flawless before she could show up online. “I learned that consistency and frequency are more important than aesthetics, depending on what you’re showing online,” she said, adding that visibility matters more than polish because audiences value relationships over curated feeds. @lebolion_sa Green Goddess #lebolionsa #gre…