How Influencers Can Help You Become an Industry Leading Brand with Bree Connor

I came into this episode a bit sceptical about influencers, and I walked out completely rethinking how I see them.

This week I'm sitting down with Bree Connor, founder of Now Socials Co, model turned PR and influencer marketing powerhouse, to talk about how brands actually earn their place as industry leaders.

Bree sold her car to go on a modelling trip she couldn't really afford, and within 24 hours of getting home she had three clients and the beginning of an agency. We also get into the parts of her story that never make the highlight reel, including what it was like wearing a wig through high school and how that experience quietly shaped the way she shows up now.

→ Why your social media is your business resume, whether you like it or not
→ The real reason influencers matter (hint: it's not about who buys from them)
→ How to pick the right influencer so it doesn't blow up in your face
→ What it actually costs to run a PR event that gets results
→ How one event pulled in $21,000 in a single day for one of my own clients
→ Why personal brand, UGC and influencer marketing all feed into each other
→ Handling public criticism as your business grows
→ Building a business and a family without losing yourself in either

CHAPTERS
0:00 Cold Open
1:04 Welcome & Meet Bree Connor
4:45 She Sold Her Car for a Trip That Changed Her Life
10:00 The Wig, the Bullying and Building Self-Worth
14:00 Handling Online Negativity as You Grow
18:00 Leaving Her Job to Go All In
26:00 Redefining Success, Marriage and the Family Question
42:00 How Brands Actually Become Industry Leaders
45:00 Choosing Influencers Who Actually Move the Needle
55:00 Planning a PR Event That Actually Converts
1:09:00 Bree's Advice and Where to Find Her

If you found value in this episode, drop a comment and let me know what stood out to you most, I read every single one.

CONNECT WITH BREE CONNOR
→ Website: nowsocialsco.com
→ Instagram: @breeanneconnor
→ Instagram: Now Socials Co

FOLLOW DELUSIONAL
→ Instagram: @sammykennedyofficial

Chapter timestamps are estimated from the raw transcript's minute markers, worth checking against the locked edit before publishing.

Connect with me:
→ https://www.instagram.com/sammykennedyofficial
→ https://www.facebook.com/sammykennedycoach/

If you have any questions about the episode, have a burning question you would like me to answer on the show, or want to join our movement of ambitious beauty leaders, connect with me and the rest of our incredible community on Instagram:
→ https://www.instagram.com/sammykennedycoach/
→ https://www.instagram.com/sammykennedyofficial 

Transcript

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SPEAKER_02 0:00

What is one thing that you've been called delusional for? Everyone else thought was crazy, but in the end, you made it work. I did a pageant in Sydney, met the owner of Maxim, and then got invited on a Maxim trip. So I actually sold my car to go on that trip. You can always get another car, but you can't always go on another trip that's gonna skyrocket your career. I definitely had quite a difficult childhood. I started high school with essentially no hair. I wore a wig through high school and I did receive quite a lot of bullying. A lot of my career now is based on what I look like. I had to build self-worth around what was on the inside, not what's on the outside. There's so many sceptical people out there, especially in today's world. I think it's not about having people that are going to buy from your brand. It's about them lending you their audience. That's a major green flag for me.

SPEAKER_00 0:48

Most hardworking, talented girls I've ever met. We wouldn't be here without every single one of you guys.

SPEAKER_02 0:54

What's one piece of advice, something that's really helped you in your journey? I keep coming back to is no one is you and that is your power. And I think I've had such a different life that you use that as your superpower, not as your damn fall. Messaged my friend the other day because it is something that's on my mind, and I said, what if I do both and I'm not successful?

SPEAKER_01 1:17

Hello and welcome back to another episode on the Delusional Podcast. Today I am joined by an incredible founder who is making moves in the world of social media, PR, modeling, and influencer world. She is not only someone who has featured on the front cover of various magazines. You might have seen her in Vogue, you might have seen her in Maxim, but she's also using all her modeling experience as well as her influencer experience and her social media wealth of knowledge to help businesses become industry leaders through marketing. And the reason why I wanted to bring Brie into this conversation is because she has such a unique lens when it comes to all things marketing. There are so many different people out there who have different stories, different contexts, different sets of skills. And I believe Brie is an incredible founder who really understands how to help you transform into not only a brand online, but a true industry leader. Welcome to the show, Brie. How are you feeling? Thank you for having me.

SPEAKER_02 2:22

Good. I was really excited about doing this.

SPEAKER_01 2:24

Where have you just come from?

SPEAKER_02 2:26

I was in Italy for 10 days. And he's still jet lagged? I am so jet lagged. What were you doing in Italy? I was actually just spending some time with my husband. We both work 24-7, so it was nice to take some time, just me and him, and spend some quality time together.

SPEAKER_01 2:42

As a founder, we always talk about slowing down, relaxing, filling the cup back up. Were you actually able to do that, or were you feeling a little bit like, oh, I still need to get work done?

SPEAKER_02 2:53

Yeah, I was definitely antsy. I find when I go on trips, I like to utilize them in some way to build content, or I'll bring one of my clients' product with me and shoot that, or I'll um go on a complete brand trip. And this time I was like, I'm not gonna do it, although I did bring some client product and shoot that, and my husband actually did such a good job, by the way. And um, I did find I was getting a little bit antsy in the beginning because I was like, I'm not gonna do any photos and stuff, I'm just gonna relax apart from the client stuff. And um yeah, I found myself super antsy, like I'm not maximizing the content opportunities, but it's so hard when that's what you're used to. So yeah, it was a bit of both. I worked a little bit, relaxed a little bit. It was nice.

SPEAKER_01 3:40

So, for anyone who doesn't know you, how would you describe yourself? Oh, that's a great question.

SPEAKER_02 3:49

Um, like I'm super resilient, obsessed with social media, caring, kind. I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 3:56

Do you know what's so funny? I asked that question to people who are business owners, and a lot of the time we wrap so much of our identity up in the business, in the work we do, in our accolades and achievements, that when you take away the business, it's like, who am I? Like what 100%.

SPEAKER_02 4:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:10

If there was no modeling, if there was no influencer agency, if there was no social media, like what do you actually enjoy doing in your spare time? Taking photos.

SPEAKER_02 4:21

Literally, that I love taking photos. I'm here for it. For my work now.

SPEAKER_01 4:29

Well, we can tell you're obsessed. The question I like to ask every guest on the show is what is one thing that you've been called delusional for? Everyone else thought was crazy, but in the end, you made it work.

SPEAKER_02 4:41

I've done a lot of delusional things in my life. Um, I think probably the biggest thing that I did that was crazy was I got invited on a Maxim trip. Um, I did a pageant in Sydney, met the owner of Maxim, and then got invited on a Maxim trip. Obviously, there was a cost that was involved in that. And this is at a time where I wasn't 100% financially stable. So I actually sold my car to go on that trip. And um, that's the trip that kind of opened a lot of doors for me, especially when it comes to my business, as they were one of my first three clients. So everything happens for a reason, and I think anyone who knew I was doing that thought I was absolutely crazy, but I just knew I had to do it, and you can always get another car, but you can't always go on another trip that's gonna skyrocket your career. So it's pretty cool to hear that obviously that trip literally changed your life. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:42

For the people who have no idea what came from it, can you please explain the direct sequence of events that happened after that?

SPEAKER_02 5:50

Yeah, so I was in a full-time job that I wasn't 100% happy in at the time, and I really felt like I was letting myself down by not taking every opportunity that was thrown at me when it came came to my modeling in my influencer world. Um, I got invited to go to Greece to shoot for Maxim. And then I was also doing swimsuit USA in Mexico, and so obviously saw my car, went on the trip, and I was speaking with um the girl that was running the tour, and I knew I was all like I was so obsessed with social media because everyone would always say, like, social media is so toxic, rah, rah rah-rah. And I never understood that because I was like, what do you mean? Like, there's so much opportunity in social media if you do it the right way. It doesn't need to be toxic. You can control what you absorb, you know? So I knew I was obsessed with that. I knew I wanted to go down that path. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. And I was chatting to this girl on the boat that we're shooting on, and she said that, you know, they were looking for someone to help with social media. And I was like, oh, I've been thinking about getting into social media, and it kind of just a penny dropped for me, and I was like, that's what I want to do. Like, I want to do business as social media, especially. I just felt this rush of passion, like all this stuff that I could do for them. Do you know what I mean? And um I went on, I did the trip, went on the pageant, went to do the pageant, and then came home. And my friend who has a very successful promotions business and also does social media management, I told her and I was like, this is what I want to do. And she was like, Well, I'm at max capacity. I actually have this client that you can you can have. Um, I'll do an introduction. And I was like, okay, so that night I had my first client. The following day, I was at an appointment and I told the lady who was doing my appointment, and she was like, Oh, you can run mine. And I was like, Okay. And then the following day, I actually got the message from the girl that I spoke to on the boat, and she was like, Are you still interested? And I was like, Yeah. So within a space of 24 hours, I had three clients, and I just absorbed my whole world in it and learned everything I could possibly learn. And here we are today.

SPEAKER_01 8:14

Isn't it wild that the second you decide to take action or just go for it? Suddenly things start to fall into place.

SPEAKER_02 8:24

100%.

SPEAKER_01 8:25

It's like you might have had that anxiety or like the fear of what if this doesn't work out or am I cut out for this? But the universe literally showed you that like this is where you're meant to go. Here, I'm gonna give you a helping hand. When you had those three clients, what what first initially came over you? Was it excitement? Was it fear? How were you feeling?

SPEAKER_02 8:47

I wasn't fearful at all. I was extremely excited. I actually built my business while I was still in my full-time job. So I was on my lunch break in my car, creating content, working till like 1 a.m. every night, creating content, um, which looks a very different to the content I create now, mind you. But yeah, I was obsessed and I was juggling both worlds. And yeah, I was just so excited. I just knew that I wanted this to be something big and I wanted it to be successful, and I had to be completely obsessed to be able to learn everything I needed to learn for it to be successful.

SPEAKER_01 9:23

It's interesting looking at where you are now because you've built this whole career around being seen. But I know it wasn't always that way. When you were younger, you mentioned to me that you went through high school bullying, people weren't always the kindest to you. And I think that that's something that does come with a lot of people who get into these speaking roles or influences or modeling. It's like your whole life you were made to feel like this, and then you try to find the pathway of finding yourself. What was it like in those early days when you were trying to find out who you are in this world?

SPEAKER_02 9:59

Yeah, so I definitely had quite a difficult childhood. I started high school with essentially no hair, and then I um wore a wig through high school, and I did receive quite a lot of bullying, especially in the first high school I went to. I had to move schools because of it. And I remember I'm a Virgo, so I'm very hard on myself and I judge myself a lot. And through that time, it wasn't necessarily what other people were saying to me. It was more what I would say to myself because of the things that they were saying. And I found, yeah, school and growing up was extremely hard. And it was just I just knew that I was meant for so much more than allowing other people to dictate how I felt about myself and allowing myself to judge myself based on what I look like, which is crazy because a lot of my career now is based on what I look like. But um, yeah, it was it was very hard and I had to build a resilience and I had to build a self-worth around what was on the inside, not what's on the outside. And I think that's why a lot of people are surprised when they get to know me because they're like, wow, you're just a big dog. Like you're, you know, and I'm like, yeah, I actually am, because I've had to put so much work into being a good person outside of putting work into my parents. So yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:34

That's awful that you had to go through that. I'm sorry that that was your experience. Like, I feel like the world is so mean to you, especially when you're young. It's either they're bullying you about how you look, whether you try, whether you don't try. It doesn't matter what you do. If it's not you, it's your parents, your siblings, like kids are just so mean. But I think one thing that you can see has worked out in your favor is you were taught from an early age to kind of back yourself in a way that's 100% don't necessarily get exposure to. And I think sometimes when I look at the people who got bullied really badly in high school or put down, they end up becoming the most resilient, successful people because they learn to find peace within themselves. Now, you obviously work in PR. The one thing that I find is when I look in comments sections or anything, I just look and go, people are stupid. 100%. And if you haven't had some kind of exposure to people just talking absolute crap and just realizing that at the end of the day, it's just a projection or it's just an opinion, you don't have to take that on. That's not yours to carry. Like PR really exposes you to that horrible side of humans. It can expose you in an impactful way. Do you believe that now that you've gone through that, you know how to handle the negativity on social media?

SPEAKER_02 12:57

100%. I think at the end of the day, I am my own biggest critic. So I'm not trying to impress anyone. Obviously, I always want to do the best I can and be successful, but at the end of the day, it's because of what I think of myself. So I always want to make sure that I'm impressing my own self with the things that I'm doing. So if someone else isn't happy with, you know, if someone's commenting something nasty on something of mine, I sometimes think it's funny, to be honest. Um, and other times I've I just delete it. I'm just like, you're wasting my time.

SPEAKER_01 13:33

So I think that's something that we don't get prepared for as business owners, because you know, we might be talking about it in high school because that's something that was our experience. But then you look at business owners getting nasty comments, putting themselves out there, doing something that might be a bit controversial. How do you reassure your clients to be able to go through those things? Because sometimes it's just unavoidable. And I don't think that there's a rule book for realizing that, hey, this is actually happening to a lot of people.

SPEAKER_02 14:01

Yeah, I think that the bigger you get, the more comments you're you're going to get that maybe aren't so nice. And I think it's just something that you need to expect will happen as you grow, especially if you are an industry leader, because you know, a lot of people do become jealous of your growth. Um, unfortunately, that's just the world and that's just, you know, humans. But I think as long as you're not taking it to heart and you're acknowledging all the good that is out there, and there are a lot of positive comments as well. And just know if someone's taking the time of day to write something nasty to you, then they're not someone who's worth judging you because I don't think you should take anyone's opinion to heart if you don't value the life that they live. And if you're not inspired by them, then why does it matter what they say?

SPEAKER_01 14:51

Yeah, absolutely. There's this quote, it's like, don't listen to the opinion of someone you wouldn't go to advice to. Yeah. And I just sit there and go, you know what? You can be a keyboard warrior. Most of the time they're on anonymous accounts too, or like those people that leave fake reviews. And I'm like, seriously, like, what is wrong with you? We got some weird reviews. I remember when we first opened our business, and it was just like, why leave a review at all? Or I was reading these book reviews the other day, and people were like, great book, three and a half stars. So confusing. Like, is it great? What does great mean to you? Circling back to your social media career, you were working your way up the ladder in your retail job, and you went from Christmas casual to second in charge to manager and then state manager. You obviously were good at what you did. You're having this level of success where people believe in you, they're backing you, and you're leading a team. How did you start to navigate the mindset of going from, I'm gonna leave this job, I'm gonna stop being an employee and start doing everything myself? Because that's not an easy decision.

SPEAKER_02 16:02

Look, it was actually extremely hard. And especially when that was a nine-year career for me that I had a sense of belonging in, which I guess I didn't have a lot during my childhood. Um it was really scary. I knew I needed to do it, and I actually forced myself to do it. So I booked so many monster jobs after the date that I said I was gonna resign because I knew that if I had these booked in, there's no way I can't resign because I can't do both. So I like forced myself to do it, but it was extremely hard. I was probably the most emotional about leaving my team because I really genuinely cared about my team, and I think that's kind of what makes a good leader. You have to genuinely care about your team. Um how many people were you managing at the time? So I had seven stores, and I think it was like 150 to 200 staff. A lot of people. I would manage more so the leadership team and then help them manage their team. Um, but yeah, it was it was very difficult. Like obviously it was stable. Um, but I just knew that I had to follow my dreams. I just felt like there was more out there and I was not doing things that I was passionate about and wanting to do because of the um structure that came with working full-time for another company that doesn't give you much flexibility.

SPEAKER_01 17:34

Yeah, that's a hard one. Because if you're not feeling like you can progress any further too, because you have actually made it to the top at that stage, where else is there left to go? Like you're just going to keep staying there, and you're a very driven, ambitious person. I think that's the natural progression of someone who is, I guess, carrying those entrepreneurial traits. They might start somewhere and they're like, let me fix this, let me fix that. And they kind of find that way to keep moving, and then everyone else kind of either falls behind or they've got to keep going with you, and you're like, I could just do this for myself. When did you end up cutting tires and leaving? Like, how did you navigate that?

SPEAKER_02 18:13

It was 2023, yes, that I did that. So I started my business in 2022, yes. Um, and yeah, I just put in my resignation. I was bawling my eyes out the whole time. Um every time I told my team member I was bawling my eyes out, I was just so emotional about it. But I knew I did have my doubts. Obviously, you go back and forward is such a scary jump. Um, but I just knew that it was something I had to do. So yeah, and obviously that first month of working for yourself as well, it was so weird because I'd be working from a kitchen table, as you do when you start a business, and I'd be sitting there creating a reel for a client, and in my head, I'd be like, do some work. Like, why are you not working? Where essentially I am working, I just don't hate it.

SPEAKER_01 19:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 19:02

So it's like I would associate working with being unhappy, whereas I was happy and working, and it just felt so odd to me.

SPEAKER_01 19:11

Isn't that so interesting? Like sometimes we're I guess create these beliefs where work has to be hard, work has to feel like you've gone through this painful thing just to get paid or be worthy of getting paid. When you left that job, did you get instant confirmation that that was the right decision? Or did you sit there and wonder, have I done the right thing?

SPEAKER_02 19:36

There was never a time where I thought, have I done the right thing? But there's never been a time where running a business hasn't been hard. I think I probably didn't realize how hard it was going to be, um, which I don't think any business owner really realizes before they start. There's just so much stuff that you just don't know. Um, but you learn and you persevere. And one thing about me is that I am extremely resilient. So there is no option to fail in my mind. Like if I want to do something, I can't fail. Like I will work so hard to make sure that I do not fail. So I just knew that when there were times of doubt or times of feeling unsure that it was the right thing because I can't let myself fail.

SPEAKER_01 20:29

When you said hard earlier, what parts of business were you not prepared for that felt hard?

SPEAKER_02 20:37

Uh I think when you run a business, you have to face a lot of things about yourself that maybe you weren't aware of. So working for someone else, if you have that security, it can be difficult at times. My job was extremely stressful, whereas working for myself, it's on me and my mindset. And you know, if I feel sad, I still have to work. I've been through extremely hard things since running a business, and you still have to show up, you still have to work 100%. You know, it's it's on you to make sure that things go smoothly and do well. And I think I am my own biggest critic. So I'm constantly, you know, doubting myself. I think everyone gets a bit of imposter syndrome running a business, and I had that like crazy, and I still get it sometimes. I try to like counteract it now because I'm like, that is just stress you do not need. And it is extremely stressful having imposter syndrome. But um, yeah, I think it's mainly your mindset like having to really fight with yourself to convince yourself that you are good enough, you are worth this, you do deserve to be successful. And if I wasn't so resilient, I probably there would have been times where I would have tapped out. But It's just I don't really give myself that option.

SPEAKER_01 22:04

I think most people who succeed in business, they are able to weather the hard seasons. They just keep getting back up. They find a way to pivot if the whole world feels like it's falling apart. And, you know, we talk about not wanting to fail. I think you only truly fail if you give up. 100%. I agree. You're gonna fail every day. Something's gonna go wrong. And you take that lesson and you learn and you go, okay, how do we improve for the next time? It's the people who they sit there and they could be something great, but they're just like, you know what, it's too much effort. I don't want to try anymore. Or this isn't for me, or why does it always work for Brie, but it doesn't work out for me? And one of the really interesting things that I've found, this is an example for me with the gym. I might look at someone and be like, I love how fit they are, I love what they're doing, they look amazing, they obviously feel amazing, they eat well, and I'm here like critiquing myself. But then there's someone else who's looking at me and going, I wish I was her. And it's just like comparison is the thief of joy. Have you experienced that with either modeling, business wins, or other things happening in your life?

SPEAKER_02 23:15

I think when I was younger, I was I would compare myself a lot. As I've grown up, I've tried to not allow myself to do that. And I think doing pageants has actually helped me with that, believe it or not, because obviously you're getting judged against other people. And the only way to not let that impact you is to focus on yourself. So I would always focus on myself and what I could do better the next time, and how can I be better than my past self? And I think you have to be somewhat self-absorbed when it comes to business. It's it's healthy to know what your competitors are doing and whether, you know, they're out there doing cool things because at the end of the day, they are your competitors. But I think to constantly compare yourself, I've seen this a lot in the business world, it can be extremely detrimental to your success. And it also takes you off course to what's meant for you. And I think something that makes businesses so successful is the people that stick with their point of difference. And at the end of the day, there can be, you know, four of the same industry businesses, but each one of them have their own skill and their own thing that they do really well. And it's just up to, you know, them to be able to display that. But if they're constantly comparing themselves to someone else, then they're gonna lose that point of difference. And my favorite saying in the world is no one is you, and that is your power. And I guess there's been a lot of in my business, there's been a lot of um, you know, copying and things like that, but it's also another saying that I like is um, you know, they can copy the recipe, but it will never taste the same. So it's like at the end of the day, you should always stick with what makes you different and what makes you unique and you know, drive that rather than comparing yourself to other people.

SPEAKER_01 25:10

That's really valuable advice. I mean, every single business owner that I speak to goes through different seasons. Like when you're on top of the world, you kind of just tune everything out. You're less judgmental, you're just happy with what you've got, you're doing all the things, or you get to the top and you're like, why is this not what I thought it was gonna be? One or the other. But then the other side is like when you start to feel like you're falling behind, it's in those moments that it's the hardest to not slip back into that negative mindset. How do you realign? How do you keep on the right path all the time? Are there daily things? Do you have a routine? Is it your support network?

SPEAKER_02 25:46

I have a very bad routine. Routine is not a word for me because it consists of working. Um I think for me, uh, what keeps me going, to be honest, is my team. So, you know, knowing that I'm responsible for their livelihood and I'm responsible for their careers and they're just so incredible. I I value my team so much, and I just want to be able to give them the careers that they deserve, which means that, you know, we've got to keep going. We've got to keep being successful, I've got to keep developing this business and making sure it's, you know, got that point of difference, which I feel my business does, and keep bringing myself back to knowing, you know, that I've got this and we persevere.

SPEAKER_01 26:33

When you say success, what does success look like and mean for you? Well, that's hard to answer because it keeps changing. Well, what is it right now, in this moment, from Brie Connor?

SPEAKER_02 26:47

So I do hit my goals. I'll make goals and I always hit my goals. Tell us about the vision board and then I want to hear it. And then I move the goals, you know, further. Like last year it was to have my own office space. Um, this year it was to launch my influencer agency, you know, to make sure um I've got full-time team members, to um, you know, have a certain amount of teams, certain amount of clients, a certain amount of revenue. Um, yeah, I think, and once I hit that, I extend it and make it bigger and better. I did actually start this year though, because I achieved so many large goals last year. And I went to do my vision board this year, and I was like, what do I even want this year? Because I literally just moved into my office at the end of last year, did the fit out and everything, and um I was like, oh, like I just need some time, you know, I just need some time to think. But um, you know, I got all the photos, I cut them out, put it together, and you know, there was like 250 photos or something crazy. And I was like, okay, I still have goals. So yeah, I would love to um, you know, do a lot of team trips where we work with clients and take them overseas and do UGC and work with different influences overseas as well. Um, you know, I would love to acquire different types of clients. Like, I absolutely love hotels. Um I've seen you've been doing a few things with Pan Pacific lately. Yeah, like I absolutely love hotels in um on my honeymoon. We worked with Lake Como, the Hilton in Lake Como. Um, we've worked with Hotel Martinez in in Cairns. That was separate with my influencer stuff. But um yeah, I've definitely got a passion in that. So I would love to incorporate that into the business. There's, yeah, there's some big goals. And also I am very happy with where we are right now. But I think you always want to be growing. So 100%.

SPEAKER_01 28:49

I think that's the high achiever mindset. It's like, have you ever heard of hedonic adaptation? I haven't. So basically, it's the principle that when you're here and you set to achieve something up here, that becomes your new baseline. And so then all of a sudden, this doesn't feel as exciting or fulfilling or rewarding. And so then the next thing is going bigger. And I think that's the psychology behind a high achiever. You're always looking for the next best thing.

SPEAKER_02 29:16

100%.

SPEAKER_01 29:17

A lot of your goals are around work. I know you recently got married. Like, have you had a bit of a battle with the thought of do I do family? Do I do business? Because that's something that I've been thinking of. And I'm like, what would life look like having a business that works with having a family, not not being present in one and then completely destroying your health and the other or whatever it may be? I think about this every day. Tell me more. I need someone to talk to this about because a lot of the people in my life or clients have kids. And they had kids later as well. It's not like they were kind of thinking about it in their 20s. Obviously, we have a bit of an age gap. And it's interesting to see, okay, what's your opinion versus mine at this stage?

SPEAKER_02 30:03

Yeah, so it's definitely something I think about all the time. And when I do, I think we're just so built to think that you can't do both because you know we're millennials. Wait, are you a millennial? I'm Gen Z. I'm 24. Well, I'm a millennial. As my team like to remind me. Anyway, I think I was brought up not by my family at all, but my family wanna want me to fulfil all every dream that I've ever had. Um but I think it's so normal to think that you can't do both as a woman. And I think when I do get in that mindset, the thing that inspires me the most are my clients. Because I have so many incredibly successful clients that have families and they have businesses that are even more successful than mine. And yeah, it just shows me that you can do both. You can, you know, run your business and be a good mum. And I think, you know, my kids will grow up in in the office creating content, creating like mom, look at this new room. Like they will have like, you know, TikTok, got the TikTok sounds that will be like their lullabies. Yeah, like I think at the end of the day, I've got the opportunity to build a life that can work with both. And I have such a incredibly talented team that, you know, I I'm lucky in that sense. And I actually um messaged my friend the other day, because it is something that's on my mind, and I said, What if I do both and I'm not successful? And she said to me, Brie, you've it was so funny. She's known me the longest as well. And she goes, Brie, you've actually never failed at anything you've ever tried in your life. It's kind of annoying, actually. Ha ha. And I was like, I actually needed to hear that. Thank you, you know. So I think if you want both, you can make it work. Um, it won't be easy 100%. And, you know, I could be delusional thinking so because I I don't have kids. So I don't know what it's like. I don't know how hard it is. But I also know that my business is my baby as well. So it's like, you know, it just it has it has to work.

SPEAKER_01 32:26

I think it'll bring a different level of fulfillment as well, because I've always looked at it as something where it's like, oh, that's that's a big commitment. That's a massive commitment. Like, oh I know, I don't know if I'm ready for that. Like, I made a really bad decision getting into the uni degree I did, and it cancelled and all that debt. Like, do I want to have a child that that's a lot more permanent? But then I look at what I got to experience with my family, and I was in the business, I learned so much, and and it really developed a great work ethic. It also taught me so much about being able to value things in life. And I think maybe that's I was watching this podcast the other day, and they were talking about, you know, people in their 20s who work so hard to be successful and have a career. That's the age where you're meant to have a family. And they were saying that void that is missing that they're trying to fill and they keep trying to do it through achievement, it's actually having purpose and someone to share that with and creating their own family and being, you've obviously led this incredible team, and it's like, how do you start that next chapter? Do you think that this is something that would happen in the next few years, or is it something that you're like, oh, I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 33:38

Well, I think what's hard about being a woman is that we have a biology clock. Yeah. So it's definitely something I've been thinking about. I also don't think there'll ever be a time where I'm not I'll I'll be sending emails in that birthing suite. Do you know what I mean? Like on my wedding day, I all my bridesmaids were getting their hair and makeup done, and I had nothing to do. And I was like, you know what, I'm just gonna whip out my laptop and do some work. Because it brings me back to me. So when everything's so like crazy in the air, working actually brings me back to who I am. So I think I just need to keep reminding myself of that because yeah, I think it's definitely something I will consider very soon. Um, and it's also something that does scare me. And it's also opened my mind a lot to how incredible women are because we hold a human in our bodies, we give birth, and then we raise a child, which I've never had to think about until recently. I've really like delved into that, and I think it's just gonna open a different part of myself that I didn't know I was capable of. Like a different part of myself that yeah, I don't know. I think we're amazing. Women are amazing. The things we're capable of is incredible. We're in 2026, so we do both 100%.

SPEAKER_01 35:05

There's a really great podcast with Hayley Westerby and Alexis Fernandez from Do You Fucking Mind. And it's on Haley's podcast, which is Top of Mine, and they spoke exactly about that. And Alexis was explaining that as long as you keep things for yourself, either it's your work, either it's a hobby, your fitness, being able to find something that makes you you, that is what will keep you going. Whereas when you give everything to everyone else and you don't keep anything for yourself, whether it's business, whether it's starting a family, you will start to lose things. And coming back to modeling, coming back to the bullying, coming back to all of these different things. It's crazy how those things will really teach you what you do and you don't want. They're horrible experiences, but they kind of give you that clarity on like, how do I want to show up? What kind of things do I value? What life do I want to lead? And now that you've done all these things, I think you are going to be such an incredible inspiration for not only your team, family, other people listening to this podcast, because you're proof that you're really passionate about what you do. And I know so many people who are normal, who are not delusional like us, they would listen and be like, you're on your laptop on your wedding day, can't you be present? And I think the ones who get it, get it. Because when you are obsessed and you love what you do, that's like drinking water. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 36:34

Or drinking. It's like that makes me happy. Yeah. You know, so it's like, why not add to such a happy day with something else that makes me happy? Why do we have to cap it?

SPEAKER_01 36:44

You're like with you, oh my gosh, I just got another 5k client. Okay, now you can put the ring on.

SPEAKER_02 36:53

Oh, you know, and I am so lucky to have such a supportive husband as well, which he believes in all my goals. And does he have a business as well? He does, yeah. So he's superintendent in the mines, and then he has a mobile mechanic business in Perth. So he is just as delusional as me.

SPEAKER_01 37:09

And um you need to have someone like that, otherwise they're like, Oh, you're not spending much time with me, you're not doing this, or do we have to go to this event?

SPEAKER_02 37:17

Yeah, no, he's great. He's really good. Although we both are tight.

SPEAKER_01 37:21

Yeah. I think it's hard because it's like to make something work, you have to be obsessed with it. I do truly believe that. And everyone talks about building businesses in balance, but like right now, how are you meant to do things in balance when AI is literally changing at such a fast rate? You know, there's just so many things that we have to do with our time. Coming back to like your life and what you're currently prioritizing, I know you have a hectic life, but if you had to give me like three things that are just critical for your best performance, best version of you, what does that look like for you?

SPEAKER_02 37:57

Um, I see a naturopath. Yeah. So I have seen a naturopath for about two and a half years, and um I speak to him monthly. I've actually gotten a few of my clients onto this naturopath. And um before I saw him, I was getting sick all the time. My immune system was so low, um, my cortisol levels were through the roof, which they still look pretty bad. But anyway. And I was able to go on a elimination diet and also supplement to get all of that in balance. Um, so that's really helped me with bringing my best self to my business. Um non-negotiable is I have to go overseas every year. I don't care where it is as long as I'm on a flight. I don't care if it's for work or if it's for personal, it's generally always for work. But that's what fills my cup up and that reminds me of why I love what I'm doing. And personal, but make it work. Yeah, personal. There's gotta be some benefit out of it. Um, be tax deductible, obviously. And then, like, I would say the gym, but I've just been so slack. So I can't even say that. At the end of the day, like, I do love my personal content. Like, I know that that is a job and I know that it is work, but it's so different to what I do in my business that it really does top my cup up when my business is stressing me out. So I sometimes I don't put a lot of um time into that and I do let it drop, but when I do put time into it, it does definitely fills my cup up.

SPEAKER_01 39:29

It's good to hear that you've got those things. Like Naturopath is a really good one for health. I think a lot of us as business owners will neglect our health until the warning signs show up and then you keep pushing through, and then it's just like how often do you stop to do something just for you? Just like something to like make you happy that isn't work. Not photos, not photos. Or maybe that is your thing. I see you and Ali, you go to Pan Pacific, you book girls like that's you know I I love doing that.

SPEAKER_02 39:56

Like I it actually makes me so happy. Um, you know, Ali and I just went on this trip together recently, and the whole entire time we were laughing. Like there was not a moment where we weren't laughing, and you know, I got back, it was a work trip, and I got back and I was just like, that was so good. Like that was better than a trip where you go and lay and sunbake and you know, do all the things that you're meant to do to relax. Like that filled my cup up. Um but yeah, things for me. I read a lot.

SPEAKER_01 40:25

I read a lot. Um fiction or non-fiction? I read a lot. Uh do you know what the difference is?

SPEAKER_02 40:32

Personal development or like not personal development or something. Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, they're books where I can like, you know, leave reality for a bit.

SPEAKER_01 40:41

So non-fiction. Non-fiction, yes, that's it. That's it. Is like personal development and then fiction made up stuff. Fiction.

SPEAKER_02 40:49

Yes, yes. So I do actually have non-fiction books. So I've got um the Emma Greed book. Oh yeah, it's so good. Um I've started that and I do really like her. I like listening to her stuff, but I do like reading the fiction, fiction stuff. Which ones?

SPEAKER_01 41:07

What should I go read? Because I never switch off. I need something next on the next one. Mine are pretty raunchy. I have been speaking to so many female business owners, and that's their like outlets. Yeah, I love it. I love it. What is going on? They're like, where's the sex scene?

SPEAKER_02 41:24

So I really like uh this author, Anna Huang, I think is how you pronounce it. Um, she's got like the King of Wrath, King of Sin. Look, they're really good. You should try them.

SPEAKER_01 41:35

Give it a go. Let's start a little book review on the podcast. All jokes aside with the books. I would love to dive into your zone of genius, which is helping brands become an industry leader and also uh pulling on your knowledge of what you understand with the influencer world. How do brands actually step into becoming an industry leader? Because we all have a level of imposter syndrome. And unless you win an award, like there's no real hey, tick, you've got a gold star and you're an industry leader. What is your approach to being able to build that status and authority in an industry?

SPEAKER_02 42:19

I think there's a lot of different elements when it comes to being an industry leader, and some people are able to do it really well, and other people struggle with it. And, you know, I think that's where we come in, obviously. Um I think, you know, there's there's a lot of different avenues. So it's making sure that you're consistent showing up online. That's really important. Your social media is your business resume at the end of the day. People are not going on Google and looking at your website, they're going on your social media to know if they should book in with you. Um, it's working with the right influencers if you're going to work with influencers. So a big thing for me is you don't actually look at follower count, you look at how that person shows up online. So if you're someone who has a business which is, you know, quite conservative and you like to do things without getting into drama, then you're not gonna book an influencer that's constantly getting cancelled and rants on their story. And you know what I mean? It's just not the right fit. So I think it's really important to pick influencers that are going to represent your brand well and elevate your brand because at the end of the day, they're lending you their reputation. And it's so important to have the right people representing you. Um, another thing that I think is super beneficial for businesses to build their status would be events. Uh influencer events, like you have the newspaper showing up, you have influencers promoting your brand, and you're able to showcase either your space or you know, what your brand represents. Really well, and they're just so beneficial for businesses. Every business that we've done a PR event for has just skyrocketed after. And I just think it's not something that's very common at the moment. Like there, there are events in Perth, but not as many as over East. And I just think it's something that is super beneficial for a business.

SPEAKER_01 44:19

I agree with what you're saying about there being more events over East in Perth when I was doing a lot of the beauty business coaching. The pool of influencers here who are quality, who have good values, integrity, and people actually engage with their content is actually very low. I I get what you're saying.

SPEAKER_02 44:41

I think there's a lot of influencers here that are in the early stages of developing their influencer careers, which is super exciting. Whereas maybe, you know, a year or two ago, it depends where you look.

SPEAKER_01 45:02

Yeah. Well, I guess I look at things and I'm like, I would rather work with a personal brand than I would an influencer because they stand for something, they have a clear point of difference. Whereas when I look at an influencer, it's usually the it girl vibe. It's the look at the holidays I'm on. And that's just my perception because that was a lot of the influences I was around when I was going to these events and doing all of that, which felt inauthentic for me. However, there are some great niche influences. And I guess for the business owner who is considering a bringing an influencer in, they're going to have a level of skepticism like, is that $10,000 worth it? Is putting this event on for people who are going to make my brand look like the it thing, but then not buy from it, is that going to work? How do you navigate and explain how your value works? Because there's so many skeptical people out there, especially in today's world.

SPEAKER_02 45:56

100%. So I think it's not about having people that are going to buy from your brand. It's about them lending you their audience. Yeah. So, and that's why it's so important to pick influencers who have a loyal audience that actually trust what they're doing and not influencers that sell a different product on their profile every single day. I think you can tell which influencers are genuine about the products that they're promoting as well, because they haven't been to five different skincare places in the last week. They are consistent with where they go to and they're loyal to the people they work with. And I think that's a major green flag for me. And it is vital to pick the right person because the wrong person can actually be detrimental. And I think when brands struggle with that, but they do want to grow their business through influencers, that's when they should engage with an agency.

SPEAKER_01 46:50

So if I wanted to engage with an agency, for example, you, and I wanted to bring influencers on board, what would be your approach to making sure you're finding one that actually aligns with the brand? I would ask you what your goals are.

SPEAKER_02 47:05

Yep. I would ask you if you were a stranger, how do you see your brand and how do you want to be perceived? And then I'd go through the influencers that I've worked well with before. And I would go through to make sure that what they're representing aligns with what your brand is as well, and they're not representing any of your competitors. That's a big thing. Um always helps. Yeah. And then I would present them to you and see what you think of them as well, and then we'd engage.

SPEAKER_01 47:37

And when you look at influencers, most people think that free product or free services is going to kind of is that true or not? Should they have a budget set aside for these?

SPEAKER_02 47:48

You could do either. It depends who the influencer is, how much influence they have, and whether they're doing gifted or paid collaborations at the time. I've seen paid collaborations do absolute wonders for clients. And I've also seen gifted. So I I also think it depends how established the brand is. If you are a brand new brand and you don't have a strong reputation in your industry, it's going to be harder to get a gifted influencer that has 300,000 followers and a strong reputation in the influencer world to come and do a gifted collaboration with you because it doesn't align. So it just depends what your expectations are and um whether you're willing to build with that or whether you want to go straight into, you know, the higher influences.

SPEAKER_01 48:42

Coming back to what I was saying before about the talent pool in Perth, I think there's exactly what you're saying, smaller amounts. But when you look in Sydney, when you look in Melbourne, we don't have as many people with that size of an audience because I guess that's kind of where the OG influences all originated from. When I was looking at events, I know you host a lot of these PR events. I've been to a few of them, they're amazing. They really do get the traction. You've got a few high-profile people that come in, they share it, and then everyone's starting to go to that page. It does make a difference. I am curious, like how Perth isn't really capitalizing on this as much because when I went to Sydney, I'll say influencers in Perth do not work the same. Not at the level of Sydney, because you can just go there and they've all got 500,000 followers, or they're all founders and they're just in one room. And I feel like here you're kind of pulling on a few main influences that have the bigger profiles, but then relying solely on a lot more micro. How do you find the right people to come to these events? Are you just getting influencers? Are you inviting people who are friends and family? Are you inviting micro influencers? Like, how do you package all of that together?

SPEAKER_02 49:56

So we have a certain amount of influences that we need to hit. And then we also um offer the client to invite their friends and family as well. And in regards to influencers, we do invite micro-influencers as well. And then we invite obviously the bigger ones. I think at the end of the day, the more people that attend these events, the better. We also invite business owners because, yes, a business owner might not have as many followers, but they do have a very loyal following. I find business owners, their recommendations are taken very well by their audience because they trust that this person knows what they're talking about because they run a business. So yeah, there's a different calibre. It depends what the client is, what their expectations are, and what we've spoken about in the meeting prior to the PR event.

SPEAKER_01 50:46

Okay. I feel like I'm playing devil devil's advocate because there's so many times where I've sat there on the fence and I'm like, do I like influencers? Do I not? And I'm there are some great ones, and I think that's the same in every industry. So I'm not trying to sound negative. I'm just like genuinely curious. I'm like, for the person who's listening, like, mm-hmm, I'm not sure, I'm a bit skeptical.

SPEAKER_02 51:08

I think I think that's a very normal way to feel as well. And it's something that I have been met with with a lot of business owners as well, because they've been had a horrible experience with the influencer in the past. Where I think if it's done right, it can be extremely beneficial for the business. If a business owner has a bad experience with an influencer, it's generally an influencer that isn't taking the influencer experience as a career. They're not taking it seriously. And you can see people that are like that online, and they're not the people that we engage with. Um at the end of the day, being an influencer is a career now. Like it people are building their whole life around that. And, you know, it may seem like it's all, you know, sparkles online, but it is hard work, especially the people that do it correctly. And I think that's where it's really important to identify which ones are the ones that are taking their career seriously as an influencer and which ones are not, and being very mindful with which ones you engage with.

SPEAKER_01 52:18

I guess one way to look at it is most older people who don't really believe in the new world of like podcasting and social media and being a YouTuber, they're like, that's not a real career. They understand that an advertiser or a marketer is a real career. And this is the modern day marketing, right? It is, yeah. It is. I'm curious with you. I've I'm obviously gonna guess you're biased towards influencers, but do you see UGC or personal brands being equally as important, or are influencers still the best thing to go for with brands you're working with?

SPEAKER_02 52:53

100%. I think they're all important. And I think a personal brand is probably the best thing you can possibly do if you want to run a business. Because if I'm being completely honest, my business wouldn't even be here if I didn't have a personal brand first. At the end of the day, this all started because I was an influencer and I did put the work in to learn everything social media and build that career for myself and then step into the business world. So yeah, I think you know, personal brands are so important. So important. Yes, you can have a successful business without it, but having one is definitely going to help you grow quicker. Yeah. I think UGC is extremely important if you don't have a social media agency or a content creator doing content for you because it allows you to, you know, have different faces on your page and create different content without you actually having to do the work. And then influencers, well, you know how I stand there.

SPEAKER_01 53:54

I can see where you're coming from. They all do feed into each other because an influencer can create UGC. An everyday person can create UGC. I personally had a bit more of a like, oh, do I trust influencers because I was not relating to their life? Whereas like now I follow more personal brands because I relate to them. But an influencer might change from being an influencer to a personal brand. A personal brand might blow up and eventually become an influencer. Like they do all feed into each other and they're just different variations of the same thing, essentially.

SPEAKER_02 54:27

And every influencer is different, like you said. So there's no per at the end of the day, they're just people, you know, that have built a career from building a following and, you know, promoting things online and you know, showcasing their life and things like that. And it's just about picking someone who is gonna represent your brand the way that you would like it represented.

SPEAKER_01 54:48

So if I was gonna do an event for the podcast rebrand launch, which I totally didn't do because I was like, I don't have the capacity right now, I could do an end-of-year party. 100%. How would you approach it? What would you do to make it go gangbusters?

SPEAKER_02 55:06

I think for you and the brand that you currently have, I would steer down the path of personal brands and um business owners. You can tell that you value accounts that have a purpose when it comes to, you know, what they believe in. So whether that's running a business or whether that's, you know, mental health or whether it's whatever it is that they're promoting, I can tell that you like to be positioned in that space. So I would definitely make sure that the people attending align with your branding and also your, you know, new brand is about business owners. So you definitely want those people there. I think it would be important to get a few influencers there just because at the end of the day, using an influencer, you are they are lending you their audience. And it's not about that influencer being interviewed by you, it's about their audience seeing your podcast. So, and watching it. So at the end of the day, I think people do have such a misconception when it comes to influences and thinking, well, this person's never going to buy from me. But it's not about that, it's about them showcasing your brand to their audience and then essentially getting customers, clients, you know, viewers from them lending you their audience.

SPEAKER_01 56:32

Are there any influencers in mind that you think would be a good fit? For example, in Perth? For you, yeah. Break honor?

SPEAKER_02 56:43

I'm like, what about me? Um yeah, 100%. Like, there's a lot of massive influencers in Perth that also have businesses as well.

SPEAKER_01 56:54

Yeah. Um, so going for an influencer who also has a business or who is probably into some kind of level of like building their personal brand. 100%.

SPEAKER_02 57:03

And I think, you know, some influencers in Perth, they're better known for being an influencer than their business because their business is quite fresh, or they're better known for their business than being an influencer. But we actually have quite a large pool of people that do both.

SPEAKER_01 57:18

Yeah. They're my favorite people to follow too. Like I love watching people breaking down the behind the scenes of their business, being able to share what are the highs and lows, what's working, things that they're up to. Because I relate to it, I connect. And I guess that's the natural thing. Like, if I was, well, back in the day, I was the same as you in a sense that I loved getting dress up. Like, oh, I would I was telling Nick, I would spend three hours doing my makeup for a festival because I was just enjoying life. Now I'm like, oh, that's so inefficient. Use of my time. I need to get this done in like 15 minutes. But back then I did value that. And so I was around people, I loved it. And I would book photo shoots once a month. And so I'd be doing modelling, I'd do bridal modelling, and it was filling up my cup, and my values changed, and my time priorities definitely changed too. And then I think that's where, like, yeah, exactly what you're saying. It's the right influences, and that's where my mindset block, like, you've helped me realize that actually it's just not probably working with the right ones in the past that's put a sour taste in my mouth and going, oh, there's actually some really cool people out here. We can make this work.

SPEAKER_02 58:22

100%.

SPEAKER_01 58:23

If I was doing an event, what would be the best value of the event to really leverage the people there, the influences? Because I know that's your zone of genius. You come in, you've got the camera, it's not just someone random, it is you personally. How do you make sure that it's not a cool event and then it just gets forgotten about? Yep.

SPEAKER_02 58:43

So we always invite the media. Perth now. Yep. Um, and I think that's, you know, awesome because that's now reaching a different, a different realm. We also make sure that you have an edited reel to go on your page, which we tag all the influencers, business owners, whoever attended into that reel and it constantly gets reshared. Um, we make sure that your branding is everywhere because every photo, every um story will have your branding on it, and all of these people are going to be promoting your brand online. And essentially it would be inviting the right people. So, you know, 20 to 30 influencers and then including anyone else that's on your guest list to make sure that yeah, you're getting what you want out of the event.

SPEAKER_01 59:32

On average, when you're working with these different brands, because I've been to a few of them now, what is the budget that you would kind of expect to spend on an event when you look at venue, food costs? Like how much is, whoa, that's way too much versus you're probably not spending enough for it to be a great event.

SPEAKER_02 59:49

It depends where you want to go. Um, and it depends what your expectations are. So I always ask my clients what their budget is, and I always ask them if there's any wiggle room on that and what I expect them to spend. Um, you know, we do have a good relationship with, you know, caterers and things like that. So we're able to get industry prices for that most of the time. Um, but if it is like a venue and not at the um client's location, then it could range between, you know, 5 to 15k, depending on what their budget is and where it is and what type of food they want, if they want goodie bags, if they want um alcohol, or if they don't want alcohol, if they want um it to go for three hours or two hours. Like there's so many different elements. Um, but we're pretty much able to cater to most budgets.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:46

And what are the most essential things that you would be like, you have to have that on the night because I've done a few events and then I've always prioritized getting a UGC content creator or like a Reels content creator, sorry, who's just doing iPhone heaps of BTS and stuff. Photography, videography, like are these things that are just non-negotiable?

SPEAKER_02 1:01:08

Yeah, so I wouldn't even consider having an event without having, you know, at the end of the day, did it happen if it wasn't posted?

SPEAKER_01 1:01:15

Because I've seen some of these events and I'm not even joking, they will go all out, spend all this money, and they get a photographer but no video. Yeah, or they get just someone who's getting iPhone but no photo or video. And thankfully, I have Nick who comes and does all of that for free instead of charging 5k. Otherwise, I would have a very, very limited budget.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:39

So with our events, we obviously provide the videography, photography, um, iPhone content, um styling, catering, drinks. Like my clothes or like the venue?

SPEAKER_01 1:01:51

Um the venue.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:52

I mean, I would have clothes in your um the setup, the pack down, everything. So I think it depends if you want to set up this event yourself or go through someone, but essentially a content creator is a must for an event.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:07

So I'm looking at hosting this event, I've got all these people here, I've got all the content. How am I making sure that I leverage this so it actually can be used to its maximum potential? Because I've watched a few different PR people talk about this, and it blows my mind how they can actually pull one event and make it go viral and keep being the talk of the town for like six months.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:30

Yeah, so I think having a bit of a content plan. So at my event, we had um a plan where one of the team members went around and asked everyone what they were wearing. That's one reel. We got um, I think I actually asked everyone, like you know, the Vogue 21 questions. We did that trend as well, where we did that. We did another video for my personal brand, which I actually haven't put together or posted yet, um, where I introduced the event and then walked around and showed what was going on. We also had the recap reel, which is um everything that was happening, you know, we get the right faces in the videos, things like that. Um, and then you have all the photography where you post that stuff too. If any of the influencers want the images, you always share them with the influencers as well because then they'll post too. You make sure that you have a highlight on your page, which is the event too, because that means that anyone can go back and see what was happening there. You reshare all of the influencers' posts as well and their stories. And um, yeah, hopefully you get an article in the newspaper as well.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:36

How important is it to get that content to your guests? Like, how fast do you need to do it? Because you know how some people like, oh yeah, I've done this whole event and I don't have the energy and time. Like, does it need to be done within like 12 hours, 24 hours?

SPEAKER_02 1:03:51

Not necessarily. I think at the end of the day, a lot of people that are coming to this event are very well equipped in the content area and they like their own photos anyway. Um, what I find is I do have certain influencers that will ask me for the photos of them. Yeah. And then we send them through, but unless they're asked for, we don't actually send them straight away. Um, because everyone's already posted. So people post that night.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:18

See, me when I go to an event, I'm the not obviously in that category, but I'm like, oh yeah, I got a couple photos, but there wasn't good lighting or something like that, and I was just talking away. And then I'm like waiting for the photographer to send me the photo. If I get that photo within 24 hours, I'll post it in a carousel or reel. If I get it a week later, it's too late. That's good to know, actually, because then we can I but I find that's just because I'm if I'm busy or I'm talking, which is my downfall, I talk more than I get photos. Um, maybe that's actually a good thing. But it's just like if I don't get that content fast, then it's forgotten about.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:58

Yeah, that's really good to know.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:59

You're impatient. Like everyone's in this, you know, TikTok brain era where they just wanted it yesterday. But the events I've gone to, whenever they have photographers, especially large-scale events like awards nights and stuff, that photographer will take photos, they're up until midnight editing, and then boom, they're there for the next day. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:19

I think um that's the difference with like an awards night and a PR event, which is, you know, you've got content creators there. Yep, yep, 100%. And also that's great feedback because we can also send everyone their photos.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:34

It'd be interesting to trial and test to see how many link clicks you get. Yeah. And how many posts. That's a new KPI for you. Yeah, it is. Add that to the list. I actually love hearing all of this because if I was a business owner, especially service base or product, I always recommend to my clients you need to look at doing an event. So we had a skin brand that I helped organize an event. We did the memberships, we did the funnel, we did the sales page tickets, everything. And then we had these curated information guides. There were only three offers so people didn't get overwhelmed. And then we had all the different product sales essentially. And she ended up pulling in like $21,000 in one day, which is insane. And when you look at the effort it takes to organize an event, when you give yourself enough of a runway and a timeline and you plan all the intentional things, they can actually bring in so much business for you.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:33

I think it was like my second event ever. And, you know, we were literally standing there looking at the follows that were coming in on this client's account and looking at the booking she was getting while the event was happening. And we were just both like, wow, this is incredible. So it can be extremely beneficial. And it doesn't need to be crazy expensive. It just depends what your expectations are.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:52

Gonna have to get clear on my expectations and come back to you. It's actually something that's been sitting in the back of my mind, like Brooke, my business mentor, she's like, yeah, you got to do an event. And I was like, Oh, I don't have the energy right now. But as more time's going on, I'm like, I have an idea for doing like a like a dinner where it's like just 10 people and it's usually podcast guests or people who are high caliber and that's more exclusive. And doing them once maybe every couple of months, but then doing like a bigger podcast event because at the end of the day, people they're listening to you, they're seeing the guests, and they're like, what if I want to meet you in real life? And you can't create those opportunities in the same way online or through a podcast that you can in person.

SPEAKER_02 1:07:34

100%. And then also people that might not know about your podcast will see they might really value this person that's coming to your event and watch all of their content and not have a clue about your podcast, and then see them posting the event, tagging your podcast on their story, and then they'll go and look at your podcast, and that's a new listener. 100%. So I think, yeah, they're they're super beneficial for anyone that wants to do them. And I really like the idea of the dinner as well, because that creates a bit of exclusivity around your brand as well, and it shows that you're able to spend this one-on-one time and make these connections with these VIPs, and it kind of elevates your brand in showing that you do have a bit of exclusiveness and you are um selective with who you surround yourself with.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:25

That's what I learned about industry leaders. Like when I was doing beauty industry leaders, it was a reflection on you of who you allow into your world, and it's exactly what you're saying with the influencers. Like if you bring someone on who does not have professional branding, who doesn't have a great reputation, or can't hold themselves well in a conversation, even though it's their own thing going on, it's still that brand association with you. And the more you elevate your brand, the more you're able to come back to increasing your industry influence.

SPEAKER_02 1:08:58

100%. I agree.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:00

I love everything that you've spoken about. I know that you are someone who really invests in the personal development side of things, whether it's your mindset, whether it's learning new skills, or whether it's just going through hard things so you become a stronger person. What's one piece of advice or a quote or a podcast or something that's really helped you in your journey?

SPEAKER_02 1:09:23

I actually did mention it before, but it the quote that I keep coming back to is no one is you, and that is your power. And I think I've had such a different life that you use that as your superpower, not as your downfall. So I think it's easy to fall into a victim mentality in life and think, why is this happening to me? And why is life so hard? And why am I going through yet another thing that I have to be strong for when I just want to be happy? And it's like use that to grow, use that to be strong, use that to, you know, benefit whatever you're doing. And you can choose where your energy goes and how you let things affect you. So it's like you can make something worse than what it is, or you can make it better with what you learn from it. So I think using your journey to be different and not compare yourself to other people is so important when it comes to anything in life.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:21

Amen. I'm like, I need to take that advice more often. Thank you. Oh, Bri, I have absolutely adored having you on the podcast. I came into this episode a bit skeptical about influencers, but now that you've walked me through what is their value, how they can come in, and also like understanding UGC personal brands, and knowing that you have built your influencer world with intention and integrity, and you are damn passionate. Like you're the kind of influencer that I will invite to my dinners. Oh, thank you. You'll be here. But yeah, I'm really grateful for everything. Like you actually made me go, I'm stuck in this mindset that I'm not like a huge fan of them. And I'm like, oh, okay, it's about finding the right people. Just like hiring a team or picking a partner, you just gotta find the good ones. You gotta go through a few bad ones first, though, to get to the good ones, unfortunately. If someone wants to work with you, get you to help them host an incredible event, or just follow along with your journey, where is the best place to do that?

SPEAKER_02 1:11:27

Either send us an inquiry on our website, which is www.nowsocialsco.com, or follow us and message us on Instagram, which is now socials underscore co.

SPEAKER_01 1:11:38

Okay, awesome. Thank you so much for coming onto the podcast. Thank you for having me. It's been a blast. You're amazing. Thanks for listening, and I will catch you in next week's episode. Bye.