Seen and Heard with Prue Aja

Building Trust and Visibility with Rochelle Moffitt

August 02, 2024 • Prue Aja • Episode 12

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Unlock the secrets to building a compelling personal brand as we chat with Rochelle Moffitt, an expert who transitioned from advertising to personal branding. Rochelle shares her invaluable journey from influencer marketing to helping CEOs and founders stand out. Learn how her experiences, including working alongside her sister, have shaped her insights into the power of storytelling and human connection in business.

We dive into the heart of authenticity in the digital age—why it’s crucial to share your own story on social media and how an 'About' page can build trust. Whether you’re transitioning from a corporate role or considering consulting, we break down the benefits of focusing on a personal brand versus a business name. Discover actionable strategies for social media optimization, content creation, and visibility management, all while staying true to your authentic self.

Maximize your presence on LinkedIn with practical tips for sharing engaging content, using images and videos effectively, and making the most of PDFs for swipe carousels. We underscore the importance of self-confidence and self-promotion, and introduce ways to work with me through personal branding coaching, photography, and transformative retreats. Tune in to be inspired and empowered to own your power and shine in every aspect of your life.

Connect with Rochelle Moffitt and Tickled Pink Linkedin | Instagram | Website

Connect directly via Instagram or Linkedin

To work directly with me, bookings are available at https://www.prueaja.com

Speaker 1:

It's actually a really beautiful place to help you with your career and help connect with other people.

Speaker 2:

People are so intentional around where they're spending their money and they want to connect to the story.

Speaker 1:

I think it just has to be part of a founder's story and a business story. The CEOs need to be there, being seen.

Speaker 2:

What are your thoughts on them? Having a business name over working on building their personal brand? Welcome to the Seen and Heard podcast, created for you if you're a consultant, coach or creative and want to enhance your connection to your higher self, evolve your mindset and embody your personal brand, creating freedom, fulfillment and success. Whether you're leveling up or navigating a new chapter, this podcast helps you own your power and show up confidently to be seen and heard. I'm your host, pruaja, personal brand coach, photographer and motivational speaker. Photographer and motivational speaker. Hey, michelle, thank you so much for joining me today. We met last year at a Reinvent Yourself business retreat in Fiji and since then, have been collaborating and working with some amazing people as long as helping each other, and I wanted to get you on the show to share some of your incredible wisdom. Thank you very much for having me, and hello to everyone listening and I'm curious, first to start off, like what got you on the path of really helping people with their personal brands?

Speaker 1:

Oh gosh, back in the day. I've always had a career in advertising and marketing. I actually think I'm a natural well, I am a natural salesperson. So anything to get a sale and make it easier, taking people on the customer journey or even the journey to getting to be a customer, has really interested me. So when social media came about, I was all over it. I loved everything about it.

Speaker 1:

I was lucky to fall into influencer marketing before it was even called influencer marketing when my sister was on Shortland Street and I said to her very early on that she needs to be known as Kimberly Crosman and not as Sophie Mackay, because so many actors and actresses are known by their role, especially when they're in primetime TV five days a week for years.

Speaker 1:

So we really wanted to work and make sure that we gave her her own brand and from there it kind of evolved from running an influence marketing agency to working with some of the biggest social media companies and helping many, many, many brands and influencers really navigate the social media space. So how it got into the personal branding part was I was already working with a lot of influencers and talent and I really loved that when I went to social media and I was actually helping with the strategies for the brands. I got a little bit how do I say? I had a lot of exposure to the CEOs and the founders and so I wanted to move and shift to help them use social media to share their founder story, which I just thoroughly like, really really loved. I really loved helping them and having a shift away from a branded part to actually more of the personal part. So that is how I ended up in personal branding and I just freaking love it. So it's just, it's just wonderful.

Speaker 2:

I love following your journey on LinkedIn and every time I open it there, you are doing something fun and exciting working with someone incredible. Now you mentioned that you work a lot with CEOs and founders, and these are people that you know previously would be behind the scenes of the actual business and the business would have a name and a brand and there wouldn't really be a face to it. But things are beginning to change there. What are your thoughts on that and the importance of having a personal brand these days?

Speaker 1:

Look, if you look right back into the day, the companies that do extremely well are people that have people out there to connect with you. Connect with people. People love people. If you look at Oprah, martha Stewart, richard Branson, elon Musk, it doesn't really matter what they do. You know about them, you know their values and you want to follow them. Well, some of them you do, some of them you don't. I actually really love the Martha Stewart Snoop Dogg collaboration at the moment with the lighter Is it Bic Lighters? It's pretty cool. So I think that with anyone, people connect with people.

Speaker 1:

You see big brands that are faceless, like, say, the likes of Nike, who actually use influencers or ambassadors to be the face of their brand. So it's nothing as so much as new. I think it just has to be part of a founder's story and a business story. The CEOs need to be there being seen. There's all these amazing stats about even talent recruitment and why people want to come and work with you. If you're actually on social media and basically that's yeah, you have to start telling your story. If no one else is going to tell it for you, so you may as well be in charge of it and I've also heard that the about page of brands is the second most visited page after their home page.

Speaker 2:

So people want to know. I was actually looking at buying some skincare yesterday that I know is made in Byron Bay and I was like who makes this? Like? I want to know that I trust them and what's their story to developing this skin product. So I know that they're not just getting something mass made in China bought in and it's just a money-making thing, Like these days. People are so intentional around where they're spending their money and they want to connect to the story and why that person does what they do, because that passion comes through in the product and it does.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and it's also how you relate to someone. I mean, you get on, you get on part with their mission. You feel part of their community. You want to back them or, just as easily, you don't want to back them, you don't want to be part of the community and their business and brand is not for you completely fine. But I think as a, as a person and as a brand, you have to. You have to stand for something. You have to actually put your best foot forward, but genuinely put your best foot forward. If something doesn't feel right for you, don't do it just because that's what you think should be done, because you will be um very quickly pointed out and it will be a hard slog.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and people can see straight through it Like it's authenticity and integrity. That is what people connect to, and if you're not being true to yourself and your values, people can smell it a mile away, just like chat GPT. If you can see someone's just purely written something on there, it loses its soul and energy from behind it. Fair enough, it's great for editing stuff as well and does have its place in the world, and I'm so grateful for it. If someone was about to leave you know their corporate role or something and start a consulting business, what are your thoughts on them having a business name over working on building their personal brand? Do you have any advice around that?

Speaker 1:

I think it's really about looking at the bigger picture. So, is this a business that you want to have, um, just as a freelancer? Is it a business that you're wanting to grow into an agency or a bigger business? Is this a business you want to sell one day? And if you do want to sell it, are you happy for your name to go with it? Or do you sell other parts of the IP? So I think you have to have a really good understanding about where you want that business to go.

Speaker 1:

I personally have created Tickle Pink. I want to grow this into a personal branding agency and look at selling it in the next seven years. So I want my name to stay with me and also I'm building out my personal brand. So whether I do just Tickle Pink or whether I have other things that I invest in or whatnot in or whatnot, my personal brand is staying with me. So for me, I am keeping my name and my business. I mean, they're all pretty much one in the same right Circle. Pink's values very much are my values and that I've chosen to keep them separately. But I have got I've seen incredible businesses that are people's names. So I don't think there's a wrong and a right answer. I think it's what feels best for you.

Speaker 2:

And that's great, that you've got that clear vision in knowing that it is a business that you're building to sell in seven years from now. I absolutely love that. I wish I started other businesses of mine in the fast of that plan and that bigger goal picture, because it is important to it's more of an asset then than you. So there's two ways of doing it.

Speaker 1:

There's you as having your thought leadership and then your IP under your personal brand, like writing a book, having a podcast, having workshops and coaching that you offer, or having the agency model that you can grow and scale, because there is only so much you can scale of your personal brand as well yeah, and with saying that I will write a book that is on my list of stuff to do and that will be under my personal brand, because it'll be very much from me the podcast I'm, which we're going to create I'm just just thinking about that Most probably it will be under Tickle Pink and it will go then under the Tickle Pink business assets and it's a way of marketing hosted by myself and then other people within our team so I can help showcase them as well. So it's just knowing, yeah, I suppose, where you want to go, and then what parts fall under what.

Speaker 2:

And I know that you work with people to help grow their personal brand. In what ways do you do that?

Speaker 1:

We've got a couple of different ways, so social media being one of the biggest things. It's pretty much a billboard in people's hands, so you need to be on social media and you need to make sure your online presence is slick. We help from optimizing profiles which optimizing is such a yuck word, but anyway we help making profiles look awesome and then we create content for some people. We help with visibility management, so that's making sure that they are on the right podcasts and the right magazines, at the right networking events, giving them opportunities to speak on stages, pitching them for everything left, right and center. And then we also do talent management, which is helping them negotiate their brand deals or corporate deals, and that, basically, our company vision is to turn your personal brand into profitable branding so that you get paid for some of the things that you do.

Speaker 2:

Amazing. Now you said in there making sure that your profile is slick. So how do you you know you're not slick every day and how do you know what to put on there and you know, get started. Really, I know you show up pretty much every day online, which is amazing and you do always look slick.

Speaker 1:

I did put a post on my dressing gown earlier in the year, did you?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, well, that's the thing, how do you stay slick and authentically? You, if you're, you know, if you're not a person, that is like slick, you know, like yeah.

Speaker 1:

I think it's knowing your audience. So who are you trying to connect with? What content are you giving them that is of value? Um, also, what's your personality? What's your? Who are you? So I'm very much where my heart on my sleeve. You get what you, um, you get what you see.

Speaker 1:

I had a meeting with a client, um, and I was actually getting my hair done, so I had these foils in my hair and I said, really sorry, but this is just how I'm fitting in everything, and so we did this beautiful zoom meeting. It was with Steve, so we're having a crack up. He's like I've never had someone turn up like that. He, he's a, he's a friend of ours, so I felt very comfortable turning up in that space. There's other clients I wouldn't perhaps haven't turned into yet, so I wouldn't turn up for a first meeting like that. But it's just. It's just being real and being being you. So you pretty much see that I love pink. It's all throughout my profile.

Speaker 1:

I love having fun, I like being silly, I like connecting people, I like highlighting people and showcasing them. So that's the shit you'll see from me, and people love connecting with people. Some people might be like oh hate, her positivity Go away, other people will be like, yeah, I'm here for it. So I think it is, as soon as you find your voice around, what you want to do. So I am really passionate about helping people believe in themselves and I will keep on pushing that. I want to be people's champions and cheerleaders and really help them, like, create their dreams that they have a reality. So I'm on a mission and I'm just going to turn it up, no matter what, because someone listening might just need something that I've got to say today.

Speaker 2:

A hundred percent. Yes, that little extra boost of confidence and inspiration as well. Now, if someone has never posted on LinkedIn and they're just freaking out in their boots and going, oh my gosh, all my peers, all my network, everyone is going to see this what would you suggest for them to start with posting, like if there's just one post or one thing that they could share to get started, what would it be?

Speaker 1:

Great question. I had this last night at a workshop. So many of the women that attended this workshop were just they were afraid of shame, that they were going to post stuff. They thought it could look egotistical. They didn't want, they were worried about what other people would think. And then they got in. What the hell do I post? Why am I posting it like? Why am I doing this?

Speaker 1:

So I think the biggest thing is to understand that even LinkedIn is a social network. You you get to be social on it. It's changed from back in the day when it first started, which was very much like I've won this award or this is what we've been doing. It's actually a really beautiful place to help you with your career and help connect with other people, getting inspiration, learning tips and tricks, sharing something.

Speaker 1:

So I would say is there something that's happened in your week? Just jot down some ideas, something that you've learned, something that you'd really like to share with someone, and just start like that, If you think about it, that you're giving some valuable insight to someone, just like you would when you were chatting to someone at a bar or like we're chatting now I'm giving some great feedback or great, great insight. Just share a little bit of something like that If you've listened to a podcast and you love what they've said, take that snippet and share that out If you've loved it. I'm sure that there's two people, 10 people, 200 people that will love it as well.

Speaker 2:

Definitely, and I must admit that's where I get a lot of my inspiration from. I am constantly listening to personal development and business development books and I listen to audio books and stopping and writing down notes on my walks and then I share that as a post and then relate it back to a story of going, how I've learned that lesson in my life or how that might help someone else. So it can just be a tiny little thing, and also remembering to keep it short because, yes, there's really long posts in there and it's like, all right, I'm ready for my good night story yeah.

Speaker 1:

So most people, if you if we're talking about linkedin specifically here actually, um, look at linkedin on their phone so you'll see that if, or just watch your own behavior. I'm pretty sure, or I know, that, with the attention span being of like all of three seconds with people these days, as soon as I see a paragraph, I keep scrolling. I don't have time for that nonsense. So break it up. If you can pop in, whether it's a sentence or a couple of sentences, just break it up. Make them want to keep scrolling. Hit me with paragraph, I'm out.

Speaker 1:

So, yeah, just think about how people will see the content that you are putting out there. Also, a picture is really lovely to put with it, um, doesn't? You don't have to? Video seems to be doing very well on linkedin um and they've changed some settings so some people on their linkedin um app can actually see video down the bottom and there's a video feed coming. So I think just just give it a go. Others might be great with video. They much feel much more comfortable just chatting to camera. Um, if not, the copy copy post is probably still my favorite yeah, I feel like.

Speaker 2:

Definitely, posts with a photo or an image makes a huge difference and it'd be interesting to see, like photos of you that you post of yourself, compared to photos where it's just copy. Have you got, have you seen, any difference between those?

Speaker 1:

um, the photo ones seem to be working a lot better, but it also kind of comes down to content. Um as well, and what you have posted. Polls are working really well for some of my clients, so it's a bit of a range. Um, the swipe carousels are great. If you're going to create one of those, you actually create as a pdf and then when it pulls up it becomes a swipe, so people try to put images in. That doesn't work. It needs to be uploaded as a pdf and the pdf is the part that swipes that's a good one.

Speaker 2:

I had no idea about that. So what's saying photos into like a document?

Speaker 1:

well, you could save your photos. It was I was thinking of more of like the copy post. You know whether they write something on the little picture and then you swipe to see the next one. Okay, to be fair, you could do that with um photos as well. That Great idea.

Speaker 2:

Amazing. I'm going to test that out today actually from there Perfect. And you know, if someone was like I don't even know if I need a personal brand, like who doesn't need a personal brand.

Speaker 1:

Also another great question, pro. Everybody has a personal brand. So whether you like it or not, or whether you think you do or not, you do, you have a personal brand. So whether you like it or not, or whether you think you do or not, you do, you have a personal brand. Personal branding isn't just for business. Look at Tinder. You know it is everywhere, it's in everyday life. So, whether you're Tindering or Bumbling or I don't know what else other apps out there LinkedIn, facebook, you name it you are a facebook, you name it, you are a personal brand. So you have a personal brand and it's just up to you whether you strategically manage it or not. If you do, it is a chance to open a whole heap of doors and grow your network. If you don't, how the hell is anyone going to know about you?

Speaker 2:

exactly. Definitely and there is a quote that is something like I don't know if it's actually personal brand, but I'm just going to go with it is that your personal brand is what people say about you when you're not in the room, so it's how you leave that long-lasting impression of when they think about you. So when I think about you, I think of your blonde hair and your pink and your vibrant energy that I constantly see showing up online. So you are leaving an imprint in people's minds with how you are showing up, so getting really clear on who you are and how you want to show up as well, and your energy, because that's how people connect and that's how you get opportunities as well seriously is it's opportunities, whether it's personally, professionally, um, you know, we went to that the conference or the retreat, where we met each other.

Speaker 1:

We met lots of other beautiful women as well, but you and I connected. So we now have a friendship from that, um, because probably because we've got similar energy and we play in a similar space, which is really lovely. But if you don't put yourself out there, you just I suppose you'll never know what is out there. And if you don't back yourself, why would anyone else back you?

Speaker 2:

What's something someone could say to themselves when they've got that fear coming up and going oh I don't know if I should just press post or not. And it's, you know, it's the ego and the fear getting in the way and it literally can put people in that free zone. What's something they could remind themselves?

Speaker 1:

If you don't do it, someone else is going to do it, um, and they'll get other people's eyeballs. But I totally understand. I have. I I've I've only been consistently showing up for the last 365 days and that's on LinkedIn, um, in that I have had half a million views of my content. The first couple of months I didn't have a huge amount of views, but even the views whilst it's, it's great and I know that the content that I'm making is working the biggest thing is the connection of the people that I have been able to meet, the opportunities that I have had.

Speaker 1:

I maybe wouldn't have been on your podcast if I hadn't have been showing up. I wouldn't have been asked to speak last night if I hadn't have been showing up. So if you go to worry about what you're going to post, just post it. What's the very worst that's going to happen? Like, unless you're a complete dick, and then you shouldn't be posting anyway. You should just like return yourself to sender because we don't have time for dicks. Then I don't see why anyone wouldn't want to hear what you wanted to say yeah, so just give it a go. You never know what might happen and then tag me in it and be like Rochelle made me Holy shit.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, if you're listening to this, I would love to see you do a post about how this podcast has inspired you, or one thing that you've learned from it, and we would love to share that post as well. Now you've had, did you say, nearly a million views on your posts across the board board, and it's bought you all these opportunities.

Speaker 1:

Half a million, so 506,000,. I think I was at last night when I did it put it up in the presentation. Yeah, Incredible.

Speaker 2:

What other opportunities has that bought your business Like? I've seen that you've now moved into a new office space, you're building a team and you're expanding to Los Angeles, moved into a new office space, you're building a team and you're expanding to Los Angeles.

Speaker 1:

Yes, so, um, do you know what it is? I actually said this at an event the other week. I'm in the business of personal branding, but I'm actually in the business of personal backing. So as soon as I started backing myself because I I very easily back my clients and other people but as soon as I really genuinely started backing myself and knowing exactly where I wanted to go, I actually wrote down the answer and then I worked backwards from that. So the answer is I want to sell my business for $13 million in seven years. This is before I turned 50. How the hell am I going to do that?

Speaker 1:

I have been working with a coach and she has been stepping me through how to 10X my business, basically, but it's really 10Xing your mindset, so dreaming big, knowing exactly where I wanted to go. So I knew for me that I needed to get out of working at home. Actually, the biggest thing for that is more that I bounce off people's energy. So I was finding it really not as motivating as I should have being at home. So a big step was moving in to an office. I had in my goals that I would do that by February. I didn't quite hit that. I did it in June and it has just made my business go from strength to strength but also having a really clear vision of where I want it to be going.

Speaker 1:

So the confidence that I gained in myself, the confidence I gained by using my voice and realizing that a lot of the things that I'm going through, someone else there is going through too, so I pop up stuff on my LinkedIn. When I was running lots I'd have running news Like when you're running, you kind of think of all these ideas and I'm like, oh shit, okay, these are the things I've thought about today and people would come back and be like, oh God, I've thought about that. I even wrote a post about how I need to create a Spotify playlist on imposter syndrome and so I was thinking about that this morning when I was running, like I need to actually do that. So if you're ever feeling like you've got a bit of imposter syndrome, you just like hit this playlist and like crank out to it. So I think I think it's a confidence piece. Just just have the confidence to fricking rock. It Was that the question. I just went on a full tangent.

Speaker 2:

No, but that's what I feel like since turning 40, it was like right, well, pretty much halfway through my life, Am I still going to play some more and allow imposter syndrome to get in the way of reaching my goals and creating the life that I want to create? So it was a wake up call and, and you're right, if you don't do it, someone else will so step up and play.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and you've got to be in. My most very favorite quote in the whole entire world is opportunity dances with those already on the dance floor. Oh, I love that. Opportunity dances with those already on the dance floor. So you've got to be on the dance floor, people.

Speaker 2:

Get your dancing shoes on and get out there. Well, thank you so much for today, and you can connect with Rochelle or myself on LinkedIn and Instagram. I'll pop our names and links in the show notes and I really appreciate your time and wisdom and energy you brought today.

Speaker 1:

Really appreciate your time and wisdom and energy you brought today. Oh, that's so wonderful. Thank you, Prue. And if I can leave our lovely listeners with one last thing, it is please back yourself.

Speaker 2:

I'll get Rochelle to back you. Yeah, if this episode has inspired and motivated you and you know it could help someone in your network, please share it on your favorite social media platform. To explore other ways, you can work with me as a personal branding coach or photographer. Visit Pruajacom or join one of my personal brand transformation retreats, where you reinvent yourself and walk away feeling excited and energized, with clarity on who you are and photos to show the world. Thank you for tuning in and remember to own your power and shine your light. I'm your host, pruaja.