Three Big Branding Lessons From A Small-Town Mayor

I live in Garner, North Carolina, a suburb about 15 minutes south of Raleigh. Along with Durham and Chapel Hill, we’re part of the Research Triangle—a sprawling metro filled with cities and towns of all sizes. One of them is Apex, a fast-growing city of 75,000 people located about 20 miles southwest of Raleigh.

Since Apex isn’t in my usual orbit, I only visit for specific reasons—to see friends or attend events. That’s how I ended up at the grand opening of a new skate park featuring a meet-and-greet with Carolina Hurricanes players. That’s also where I met the mayor. You couldn’t miss him. He worked the entire line, introducing himself to every single person while wearing a custom Hurricanes jersey emblazoned with “Mayor.”

If I hadn’t visited Apex that day, if he hadn’t been so gregarious, if he hadn’t been wearing that jersey—maybe I wouldn’t have looked him up on social media.

But I did.

Jacques Gilbert is a social media machine. He posts daily, often multiple times a day. Just last week, he shared:

• Pictures hosting a scout troop at city hall (where he passed a motion for free monthly ice cream for Apex residents)
• A video discussing a controversial new development
• A profile of a 100-year-old Apex veteran on Veterans Day
• A video of himself dancing with a crown at an apartment complex
• A visit to Al’s Burger Shack
• A tour of a new Indian restaurant
• A playful pitch to bring Trader Joe’s to Apex
• Conversations with residents about their feedback
• A photo of himself meeting a Navy veteran at a career fair

All in six days.

Every post was hyper-local. In one video where he’s talking with Apex residents, he says: “If you see me around town, just walk up and ask me any question. But make sure of one thing—make sure the question is about Apex.”

Apex Mayor Jacques Gilbert’s Facebook post about bringing a Trader Joe’s to town garnered 1.1K likes and over 300 comments. (Source: Jacques Gilbert, Mayor of Apex, NC, Facebook)

Gilbert is teaching us an important lesson about governing and how to use social media to build awareness and establish a personal brand.

But there are bigger lessons here that we see confirmed regularly in our research:

1. You can’t just do something—you must tell people you did it.

Most people don’t pay close attention to politics. Plenty happens behind the scenes, and much of it is wonky and uninteresting. So, if you want people to see you as the mayor who deeply connects with your community, you need to show them. This is no different than branding your morning show as “the sarcastic one” or your podcast as “the quirky science one.”

2. Don’t just say “local”—be local.

Yes, local still matters—maybe more than ever. But it has to be more than a tagline. Notice how Gilbert doesn’t just mention Apex; he constantly visits Apex businesses and meets with Apex residents. If you really want to win with local, the tagline must come with the grind.

3. Be strategic with social media.

It’s great that you’re on social media, but do you have a strategy? Are you creating videos that are cute, funny, or clever but don’t serve a purpose? Every video Gilbert posts moves his hyper-local brand forward. Consider what your mission is, and ensure every post builds the image you’re trying to create.