LET'S MAKE WAVES with Rana AlBasri Mouawad
Your dose of Personal Brand, Marketing & Content Strategy to build a reputation that grows your business and career.
Each episode dives into a business aspect with step-by-step actionable tips, tactics and resources that are designed to help and guide you to find your professional voice, attract interested audience and gain confidence for better business opportunities.
LET'S MAKE WAVES with Rana AlBasri Mouawad
Intersection Chats with Reme Mancera - My Interview
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I was invited to speak with Reme Mancera, host of Intersection Chats, about the intersection between Personal Brand Story & Communications Strategy.
In this chat, I shared how personal brand story is the “DNA” and foundation (the why/what) while communication strategy is the how/where, and that alignment between the two creates clarity, credibility, and connection - while misalignment leads to unclear messaging, invisibility, or attracting the wrong clients.
In this chat, you'll also hear my take on “curated authenticity”, positioning, messaging, external platforms (media, speaking, podcasts), consistency across channels, evolving your story as you grow, and the risks of losing voice through over-reliance on AI.
Hope you enjoy this conversation.
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Welcome and Introductions
SPEAKER_00Welcome to Intersection Chats. I am here today with Rana. So excited for having this conversation. My name is Reme Mancera. I am a personal brand story strategist. And welcome, Rana. Thank you for accepting this invitation. So excited to have this conversation today.
SPEAKER_01Thank you so much, Reme. I'm really excited to do this with you. And uh honestly, it's been long waiting. We've been planning to do stuff together, but I'm really happy that we're we finally aligned our schedules and I'm here with you today.
Rana’s Work in Branding
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Please, before we start into the conversation, tell us a bit about what you do and what is your work about?
SPEAKER_01Well, I'm a communication strategist. I have international experience in working with organizations or with uh individuals, with professionals. Uh, specifically, I enjoy working with them on building a personal brand, building their reputation in such a way that it positively impacts their business or their career. So I help them basically to become better communicators of their value. And um, I have a consultancy, and uh, this is basically the work that I do every day.
SPEAKER_00Amazing. And this is such an interesting opportunity because uh both of us we work around personal brand strategy. You have a lot of expertise around the topics. You have uh a really great podcast around personal brand strategy and all the the um size and and fields that are connected to that. So really um looking forward to this chat.
SPEAKER_01Me too. Me too. There's a lot of intersection there, so we'll definitely dig in.
Story Meets Strategy
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so okay, let's start by you're telling us your experience on how when you work with clients, there is a connection between communication strategy and personal brand story specifically.
SPEAKER_01Yes, there is a huge connection between personal brand story and between the communication strategy. And in its essence, actually, the story is basically the foundation. It's the DNA of who you are uh as a person, and that's your your personal brand, your reputation is built on that story. So the the connection between um communication strategy and the personal brand story is basically like two faces to the same coin. You know, they are uh the the story is the filter where all the messages go through, and communication is basically the platform that kind of elevates that message to and broadcasts it. So to kind of simplify what does what does this intersection looks like, your story is basically your why, your what. The communication strategy becomes the how, the where. So if we if we have the alignment between your story, your personal band story, and your communication strategy, this is where the magic happens. This is where you're able to articulate your messages correctly, you're able to connect with the right people, whether they are your clients, your customers, or whether they are peers within the industry or other people within the industry. You're able to basically be in a position where opportunities come to you, the right opportunities come to you. When there is misalignment, this is where the chaos happens. And from my experience, my work with entrepreneurs, with business owners, is that when there's that misalignment, this is where they see a lot of the, as I mentioned it, as chaos. So basically, they they start struggling. They are unable to articulate the message, they're unable to showcase the brilliance that they have, the experience, the um the way of thinking, their values, their their mission, even articulating what they are all about as a business owner. And at the same time, the this misalignment, this chaos happens where then you start connecting either with the wrong type of customer or you're not being heard, you're not being seen, you're you're basically invisible. So this is where um the connection between communication strategy and personal brand story happens. It's it's they're one, they're one and the same, if you want.
Foundations Before Tactics
SPEAKER_00I love that approach. And this is something that I feel like is so important when, and I know that you have talked about this in your podcast and and your content. Is like when you don't have the foundations, you might be doing tactics to try to get visible, but then you are not actually working on the strategy first and having an intention and your specific goals to have okay, what do I want to achieve with that? How I am going to communicate, what is the goal of this communication, and then how I use my my personal brand story, my personal brand foundations in my strategy to put that into the communication that I do. So everything is like makes sense, is aligned, and then you can highlight that those things that make you different, though those things that will help you to make to showcase your authority, your trust, and your credibility. And and something that I want to because with the with the um work of personal brand story, and that is like the authenticity. You are you are showing who you are and why this work is important to you. But
Curated Authenticity Explained
SPEAKER_00I know that you use this term of create created authenticity. I would love for you to share a bit about that concept.
SPEAKER_01Yes. Um, okay, so let's just let's just put it this way. When you again, this the story is you. This is what you know. Uh my personal brand is basically if we take the the words out, my reputation is built on who I am. That's my story. Who I am, what do I do, what do I stand for, what are my values, and what are what are what are certain things that are authentically me that puts me apart from the competition out there? So that's where the story is. Communication plays, uh, this is where the story plays a role in the communication strategy. So having a solid story, and I want to make this clear before the authenticity part. Having a solid story, having a really you really know which parts of everything that you are that you need you need people to know to know about, without having a good communication strategy, basically the result is that you're invisible. You're great, but nobody knows you. You know, you're the best kept secret, okay? Having a great strategy, you have someone maybe on board, or you, yourself, and you you just know what you want to do in terms of strategically communicating your points, but you don't have a solid story, you're like all over the place, your thoughts are all over the place. The result of that is basically hollow. This is where it's inauthentic. So that's where authenticity plays a role.
Three Ways Story Shows Up
SPEAKER_01So if you want to look at it, how does the your your story impact your communication? I believe it impacts it in different ways. The first one is in your positioning, it's basically your reputation, and this is where the story um or what you are, who you are, this is where the story helps you in controlling the narrative. So when we say I have a reputation for XYZ, it's because of parts of my story, parts of who I am, makes me have that kind of positioning. And controlling the narrative, just to be clear, it's not manipulation, but it's exactly highlighting parts of who you are in your story that will get you to the goal that you want to get to as a business owner, as a professional, whatever it is. So the first thing that the story plays in communication for that authenticity is your positioning. This is your reputation. The second part that it plays a role in is in the content, it's in the communication. And so it's in the messaging. When your story, when you have clarity on who you are, what you stand for, and all of that, your messaging automatically becomes clear because you are able to connect the gap in the middle and the end consumer, but whether it is your audience, your clients, your um, your peers within the industry, if you're building uh, you know, thought leadership, they will they will be able to see that connection of what you stand for and what kind of impact that you are trying to make, or a dent that you're trying to make, or what will make you unique in in the place that you are working in and that in that space in the market. And the third way that your story plays in communication is for anything that is external communication. So we're talking here about media relations, um, we're talking about putting yourself in a position where you are a key speaker, keynote speaker, for example, you are in an interview in a podcast. So your story helps you to become memorable. So it helps you in in your positioning, it helps you in your uh messaging, and it helps you in connection. So by having this trifecta, this is where when we say authenticity, this is where you're being authentic. Uh it's not it's not the same kind of authenticity that is being put out there, which is equivalent to social media influencers. You're not, you're either a business owner or you are a professional working in an organization and your goal is to you know reach a certain C-level position, or you are a person who are at a C-suite and you're building your thought leadership because that's how you want to not only uh push the messaging of the company that you work in, but also attract the right clients, become a player in the in the industry that you're in. So authenticity is very much different on a professional level. And curated authenticity is when you pick and choose from your story the things that will help you to connect in the right way with the audience, with that particular audience for a particular message or a particular goal. Now, remember, you the way you articulate or you communicate your message on LinkedIn while you're connecting is very different than when you are um creating content. It's very different when you are a keynote speaker. It's very different. The story is the core, the story doesn't change, but the way you articulate that message, depending, so context is really important. And that's where when I say curated authenticity, it's like you pick and choose from that box where you're getting that message to the right audience in the format that is correct for them to accept and take that message and then take an action after it. And that action could be whatever the goal of that message is, to build trust, to build connection, to um uh to take an action on a particular thing like working with you, or to take an action of your hiring. So people see the culture and the you know the background of the company and applying to work with you, that would be the end goal.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah. I I like really like that uh angle because it's like explaining how you can be authentic and you don't need to overshare. You can be authentic and you don't need to pretend to be someone else or make up things, it's just about who you are, but it's about choosing specifically what you want to share and having like the strategic point of view of deciding why you are sharing certain things and how that is connected to the work that you want to do, or how it's connected to that goal that you have. And this is like so aligned with the way that I work, you know, around stories because it's like the 10 story connectors, they are basically connecting, like, okay, what is your audience, what is the your proposal, and then having that in mind, let's explore your journey and identify which of these meaningful moments you want to share, and how each of them is connected to something that it will show who you are, it will show why this work that you do is important for you, how your approach is different to other people that are offering something similar. So I feel that this is something so important to have in mind, like again, back to the strategy point. Like, yeah, who is the people that you want to talk to, reach out. So having that in mind, and then choosing what you are sharing in a way or sharing in a way that makes sense for that connection that you want to build. And context, context, exactly. This is like
Connection Context Contrast
SPEAKER_00one of yeah, one of the three factors that I highlight that you you uh use your personal brand story for is like connection, context, and contrast. Context because show what is different, and connection could is showing that you are someone relatable, and of course, context because then it's understanding okay, what has been the journey of this person and how I trust them for that journey or for that positioning.
SPEAKER_01You know, I really love that you said connection, context, and uh contrast and contrast because it's it translates exactly to what I've what I've just said. The contrast is your positioning, yeah. So you're not just any consultant who works on uh helping entrepreneurs do a personal brand. You are, for example, the consultant who works with entrepreneurs who want to build a personal brand that you know uh impacts their lead generation. So the more, you know, like dialed in that you are, this is the contrast. It keeps you apart, it's your positioning, and you're not lost in the crowd. The uh uh context is the one that you're basically in your messaging. Because then again, if you want to say this, if you want to say one story, let's say you went, you, you know, but let's make it more lifestyle. You went on holiday and you're coming back and you want to share what happened on the holiday. The way you share what happened with a group of friends over dinner, the same story. The story stays the same, but the way you share it and what you pick from what happened in that story with friends over dinner is very different from what you would share parts of that story. It's still the same story with, let's say, your grandparents or your boss, you know? And it's very different if you're trying to explain something to a to your nephew or your niece who are, you know, I don't know, 11. So this is the this is the um the context. Context is really important. And where where do you share it? Is it an online discussion? Is it on social media? Is it in front of video? Is it in person? That's all part of the context. And the connection is there in the end, we communicate to connect with people. We want to build a network of of um uh you know, a really strong network around us, that's part of the communication. We want to uh have a you know a reputation where people see us as uh you know an option to work with. Um uh this is a kind of communication, whether it's going to be through content creation or publicity or you know, um anything of that sort. You want to be taken as a thought leadership, you want to publish a book, you want to uh, you know, be a keynote speaker, it's another level of communication. So your strategy is a mix of all of those tools, and it's not just content on social media, just to be clear. Yes, yeah, that's not just that.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I feel that that sometimes because there is kind of a misunderstanding around what is communication and how um again, the same with uh what is a personal brand. Sometimes people think that it's an Instagram account, that's or it's a logo, or it's like, yeah, there is so much uh there, and I love how both of us we go really deeply to the foundations that's so so important, and then from there you can adjust. And as you said, depending on the context, depending on the platform, you are adjusting the that story to the to that space. But when you have clarity on what is what is the message that you want to convey and and what are your key factors in what you offer, then it's like okay, no matter if there is a new social media channel that now is a new platform there, you just you will adjust and will know how to how to present your your message there, but the foundations will be the same, so you don't need to be the same.
SPEAKER_01Yeah,
Consistency Builds Reputation
SPEAKER_01and and we can't forget consistency because in the end your reputation is built on consistency, and consistency in that form means that the person that they're gonna see in real life is the person that they see online, is the person that they see, for example, in a social gathering. Um, again, contextualizing, of course, uh, but it is the same person. So this is when when we talked about the alignment between your communication and your brand story, this is where authenticity happens. Because if you're trying to emulate someone else without putting your um, you know, like your personality into it. And this happens a lot on social media where they say, oh, if you, you know, because because a lot of people kind of unfortunately we're at a at a place where you know, number of followers is equal to a reputation, but but it isn't because um if you have if you emulate to try to get certain number of followers or a certain number of whatever status that you want on social media without having a core at it, without having really uh, you know, the solid base over there, it's a hollow, it's a hollow creation you're making, you know, and you you will be put in a position at one point, sooner or later, where for you to kind of um commercialize this relationship with the followers. If you wanna, if you're a business owner, you wanna you wanna get uh clients, or if if you are a professional, you want to grow, so you want to be introduced to executives and other companies so that they you can go up the hiring ladder, um you you won't have that kind of connection because the connection did not occur on a um on a core that is really solid.
Avoiding Commodity Trap
SPEAKER_01So in the sense for entrepreneurs, for example, this is where their services become a commodity. So they become just another consultant or they they become just another graphic designer. And when you're just another ex, you the only way to survive as a business owner is basically to commoditize your your services. So this is where you get unaligned customers, this is where you have conversations where it is just rotating around pricing, this is where you might not even attract any kind of uh the clients that you're or the projects that you want to um uh to take, or to create a network around you that is the network that you will need. And they, you know, it's like a reciprocary relationship where they need you and you need them for everyone in that community to grow. So it's really important to to really understand that those foundations are not are not uh something that is not pragmatic, it is very pragmatic and it is very realistic because you know, uh I'll give you an example which is really which is really funny, but you'll understand what I mean. Um, the first time I got a personal trainer, he told me I need three months. That's what he said. The first month, the changes, you will be the only person who's gonna see it. The second month, your close circle will be able to see the changes. By month three, everybody will be see will be seeing it, which means everything that is sustainable and that is ready to grow needs time, you know? And I know that I know there's a lot of talk out there about, you know, you need to do this and you need to do that, except for your reputation. It needs time and it needs trust. And without that trust, and of course the communication and having a solid base or the DNA has to be solid, then it's it's just uh it's just hollow. It's absolutely yeah.
Strategy First Not Templates
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I feel uh this uh having that solid core is like uh fundamental, even it make in it makes things easier because when you have that clarity, it's easier for you. To plan strategy and to decide on your business or on your project. Because it's like when you have not clarity, you are trying things, and okay, this person is uh suggesting that I do this. This other guru is telling me that I should do this, and then it's all the shoots, and you are just jumping from one thing to another, but you don't have that clarity of okay, this is my path. I know that I want to try this. As you said, you give that thing some time, and then the consistency that doesn't mean that because sometimes feels at least for me, feels like uh when people um hear consistency, they think, Oh, I need to share, I need to be publishing every day in my social media, or I need to be, I don't know, what doing like an email per day or whatever it's like doesn't mean like what type of consistency, it means that you are consistently being in front of that audience or that or in the in the path that you want to build in that roadmap that you create with your strategy, and in Spanish we have a saying of um starting the house, building the roof, so okay, which is like you are doing things in the in the notes. The other way around, yeah.
SPEAKER_01I like that. I like that. I'll use that one time. You start the house, you don't build the roof.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I like that because it's like how you are let's say planning a content uh social media content uh planning, but you don't have the foundations of okay, what is your strategy in communication? What is the the messaging that you want to share? What is the goal that you have with these specific um actions? So sometimes we go to the yeah, I have this planner that yeah, you can have it in plate or whatever. That's not uh that can be something that is useful, but first think about okay, what is actually what I want to to to share, what is the goal of my communication? As you say, it can be different things because you can have different goals. So having that, how if you don't have a communication strategy or a strategy in general, how will you check if you get results or not?
SPEAKER_01Exactly, exactly.
SPEAKER_00You are just trying,
Turning the Lens Around
SPEAKER_00yeah.
SPEAKER_01And this is honestly, if we if we turn it the other way around, like so we spoke how the the your story, so your you, your your brand, you, the the personal brand, your reputation. So your personal brand story affects the communication. If we just turn it around and say, what does a what does communication strategy, the strategy of communication, affects your personal brand story in a positive way or or whatever? And a caveat before I I kind of say what they are. When we say communication strategy, it's everything that you need to communicate. So it's not just content marketing, it's like a toolbox of things. So it's between um um anything that is in person or online,
Choosing Your Platforms
SPEAKER_01um, uh content strategy, email marketing, uh, you know, media and publicity and PR and media relations and all of that, uh, speaking opportunities. There's a whole list of things that you have within your communication strategy. So, what a communication strategy really helps in your story, it's that it helps to it helps you when you have a solid communication strategy, it helps you to dictate the platform that you're going to use and how you um how do you how can I say how do you adapt your story to that platform? So that's what a communication strategy helps your brand story. So that this is this is really important because the platform that you're gonna use, it could be any platform. So it could be, as I said, you could be speaking on a stage, that's a platform. You could be connecting with uh with people and trying to build a network on LinkedIn. It could be um uh anything to do with media relations and publicity, your email uh newsletter and what do you do to create that kind of community. If you have a paid community, how do you do it? So any platform that where you need to communicate, the communication strategy helps helps the person know which platforms are the right platforms for them, for their goal, for their North Star, and how to adapt that story to that platform. So that's the first thing that communication strategy plays a really important role.
Finding Story Gaps
SPEAKER_01The second thing that it would definitely help is that it will reveal the holes in your story. And let me just say that. So we have we there, we are who we are, we have our experiences, our our thoughts, our values, everything. And of course, what do we offer that is that is uniquely to us. When we share our story, some parts of our story will land and some parts of our story wouldn't. And that's not because our story is you know wrong, but there's a hole in that part that didn't land that will need some kind of refining. So the more consistent you are in utilizing the different tools in your communication strategy, the more refined your story will get with time. Because you will be able, every time you communicate, you will be able to have that feedback where you know which part of your story could be a previous experience, it could be a personal learning, um, a struggle that happened, and it could be something that lands so well, and you know this is something strong. I know that I can use this when I am trying to achieve a certain you know outcome. But then part of your story, it's not landing, and you just need to know what do what do I need to do, not change the story, but what do I need to do to best articulate that part so that I can help it to land better for the outcome that I want in return. So communication will help you to do that, and the consistency will help you to do that, and this is a very important role. This is a very important
Voice That Sticks
SPEAKER_01thing. Why? And I I want to be mindful of saying this. This kind of articulation will help you find your voice. And when you find your voice, voice in writing or a voice in verbal, when you find your voice, this will this is what again, the third thing that a communication strategy does, this will make you memorable. Because then things that you would say people would know to refer it back to you. Oh, I I I believe Rana said that, or I believe Reme said that. Um the way you say things, people will will remember it. And we know that storytelling or having a different way of articulating a particular message will help people to kind of remember certain things much faster than a list would do, or you know, um uh a quick reel would do, or a quick post would do, you know. So these are three things that your communication strategy will help your your brand story. And again, we go back to when I said in the beginning, it's the same coin, it's two faced to the same coin. Your story and your the way you communicate it within a strategy or within the toolbox that you have is it's one of it's one and the same.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
Omnichannel Consistency
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and I really uh like this uh idea of how when you communicate your story, you see the holes, and then you use the feedback or you see the interactions that or the not interactions in the sense, for example, I remember when um like practicing how I introduced myself, I was doing a lot of online networking. So every time that I introduce myself, I can't see the faces that they are not understanding, they get attached, they are interested or not. And I was like every time refining my messaging there when I because of that feedback, even if they don't see it say anything, I was like noticing if they were like, What means with us? or they were like really leaning to oh, I want to hear more, I can see how she gets excited, and then they are curious about it. So, and I really um appreciate you explaining this idea of communication is more than what maybe people might think at the beginning, because it's like this idea, and I feel like nowadays it's even more important. How communication is like only channel, you are yourself, and how if I interact with you in a platform, I want to be a consistent experience if I go to your email newsletter, if I go to your YouTube channel. Doesn't mean, of course, there will be nuances and adjusting the platform, but overall there will be a similar experience because I am interacting with you or getting your communication, and I feel like that is really important, especially when you are trying to convey a certain value, let's say innovation, creativity, approachability, how the interaction with you is showing those values is so important if you want to be looking something someone approachable, and then your emails are really called, and it feels like it's a it's a different person, you know, human there. It's like okay, how this is connecting with this other approachable side in my social media that I am uh seeing of that person. So I feel like that's something that sometimes we don't take into consideration. And I feel like it's also important how the being the coherence between the different channels as well, in terms of the communication that you are trying, and also what are their values and how you are applying those into the things that you do, into how you share your messaging. I feel that there is a also something to think about. Um yeah, go ahead.
Evolving Story And Brand
SPEAKER_01Yeah, no, I was going to say, and there are a couple of like a couple of things that would happen that could happen that results in this disconnect also. Um, one of the things is like, I don't want to say crisis communication or reputation management, but um when when you're doing, let's say you're doing everything by the book and your communication is consistent and it's across the board consistency in terms of the really proper reflection of who you are, your personal brand, into everything that you communicate. But there's still a disconnect in terms of the connection between you and the audience. This is where we need to kind of stop and and reflect. And this is honestly, I've especially the last few clients that I had, even the most recent ones, a lot of entrepreneurs feel that kind of disconnection. And that is because, and we have to be really mindful of this. Your story is you, and you as a person, you evolve. So you evolve as a business owner, you evolve as a professional, you grow, you you you evolve in terms of not just skills, but just also in terms of mindset, in terms of learnings, life lessons, um, work lessons, all of that. So you evolve, and so does the your story should evolve with you. And that disconnect, that first type of disconnect happens when your story hasn't been evolving with you. So this is where you have, for example, business owners who are brilliant and great and they were doing really well, and they started with a particular niche, but few years later into their business, either their niche expanded, or they have added other things or changed or pivoted, but their story and their communication did not pivot with them. So this is where the disconnect happens. So sometimes you are consistent, but you're consistent with an outdated message. And it doesn't mean that you take what you're not gonna take who you are and just dump it and start over. But this is where your communication uh strategy will help you to find out that wait a minute, there is a disconnect in my there's reputation management. We need to manage our reputation. This disconnect could also happen because of market dynamics, so the market changes, and this is where I'm we're
AI And Reputation Risks
SPEAKER_01gonna talk about it. We have to, this is where uh AI plays a role. So here we are, and there's market dynamic that changed, and there is the the you know the presence of AI. And this is where consistency, if it's not um put under the microscope in the sense that you're you don't lose your voice to the market changes, okay, and you're not consistent by losing your voice because of the market changes, again, you will have a reputation management issue. So when you gave the example of this is me as a person, but for example, in the emails, it's like a different human, it's it's a robot or something. This is when the reputation management might happen, where we are leaning so much towards AI without having the tendency to make sure that we don't lose our voice in the process. So, I mean, we we all as business owners, we have to use technologies to grow. Grow in whatever way your goals are of growth, whether you are uh creating a SaaS business or whether you are a lifestyle business. You know, there is ever everybody has a kind of uh processes, internal processes to make things easier. And AI will play that role, and it's an amazing role. So nothing against AI. We're talking specifically about AI and your and your reputation that creates that disconnect because the messaging within what's happening, you are hiring AI to be your voice. And we have to be really careful, and it's not just the type of um questions that we need to put into AI or the type of um prompts that we need to give so that we can get everything I. We have to make sure that um we don't lose our our thoughts and our you know personal growth because we are renting our mind to AI. And we have to be really, really careful because in the end, there will be a gap. Because AI cannot contextualize things, AI cannot be you within your pure voice. It can use it, it can take from everything, it will reach a 90%. But in the end, the person who's going to see you in person versus what do they see online will be there will be a gap somewhere there.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah, absolutely. I feel like um we we need to be really careful in the sense of okay, how you are just throwing things to AI and getting what the it gets and then using it, or are you making sure that there is like, yeah, you might be using AI, and this is a tool, as you say, it's a tool that we are going to incorporate in a way or another in our businesses, but how you use that tool that will be key. Same with other kinds of tools, and it feels like it's like something that is magic and it's going to um make everything for you, but you need to be pay attention on how you are making the instruction, how you are making sure to review the the results, how so all of that again going back to the foundations, you need to be sure about what is the strategy that you have in place and how A, I can be a tool for helping you in that process, in one part of the process or whatever, but then it's like okay, are you checking and making sure that everything is uh is um aligned with your aligned with your voice? Is it sharing what you want? So, yeah, uh I I really and I I think that this is important, like when you are sharing something, is your reputation, is your voice, so make sure that's there and it's aligned with you, and you will sign that that message is not just sharing like blindly, and then what you mentioned about the pivoting. I I know for for myself and for my for clients of mine how when you are doing that pivoting, and sometimes you are in a situation where maybe your website is not aligned what you are sharing now or what you are offering now, and you feel kind of shame to share your own website because it doesn't feel like yourself anymore.
SPEAKER_01We all went through that.
SPEAKER_00So, this is like if your business is still going on, you will evolve, and your business will evolve, and you will need to refresh how you introduce yourself, how how is your about me page looks like, and how you use your personal brand story, and how when you evolve, maybe what you are doing in the past will become part of that, and you will use that, but you need to to refresh and make sure that yeah, this is what I want to share now, and this is why I am sharing now, and yeah, it's something it's an evolution, it's not something that you do once and it's done. Same with communication strategies, absolutely, it will change and and your goals will change. So it makes sense for you to review that and makes sense that the platform that you are using are the ones that make sense for you in this stage of your business or your project. So it's a work in progress, and I feel like with uh having clarity in the foundations, it's easier for you to move to the next stage because you have clarity of what are the assets, and then you can refine things, but you are not starting from scratch, you are starting from a place that you know what you feel comfortable sharing, how you what is your communication style, which platforms are more natural to you, all of that will play a uh a huge um place in in considering the new uh pivoting that you are going to do in your communication.
SPEAKER_01Absolutely, absolutely, and especially what you are able to be consistently
Tactics And Real KPIs
SPEAKER_01on. So if we become tactical, like if let's just talk tactics, you have a lot of people, a lot of people who are very successful at what they do, and if their presence online is written form on LinkedIn, no pictures, no videos, not but written form on LinkedIn. So I'm not saying that, you know, uh those tips that say the hook and the, you know, these add. But if we if we really start going through some of the success stories out there, they are very successful in what they do, their businesses are doing really great, and they are they are using a form that is comfortable to them, and it might be not what is common and what's out there, but what will make them successful is not that they're riding the wave of algorithms, but it's because what's in the message, it's because what's in the material that they are sharing, what's in the communication that they are sharing. There are people who went on stages, like um uh you know, TEDx or something like that, that might have very, very small following, but they their impact is big, and the impact on the people that is relevant to them is big. So, yes, it is sometimes very uh tempting to say, oh my god, I I need to do this, I saw this latest uh tip that says I need to do that or I need to show up in this particular way. And my tip to them is that if that tip is a reflection really of something that you are in in real life, you it is it is something that is very much mirroring who you are, by all means do it. But you will find results when there is consistency and then there is a particular clear KPIs of what exactly you are uh monitoring. So the the monitoring should not be only on, and people call it vanity metrics, but it's not just the followers or anything. But when you're a business owner, your your monitoring maybe could be something like how many people actually went from that uh post and checked my website? How many website visits did I get? How many people clicked on the um uh more information and filled up the form? How many people sent DMs? How many connections that I Requested on LinkedIn and I actually got an immediate yes. What is the email rate opening? You know, like sometimes that what you need to monitor is very different from what is really out there because that that thinks that your monitor is actually what's going to give you the result in the end as a business owner, you want to make money. You want to, you know, you want your business to be afloat. So um, so that's really important to really, really hone in on that. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00100%. Like uh being really intentional, and again, you are doing something that's part of the strategy or of planning strategy. You are planning what you are going to do, and then you are planning how you are going to uh see if that is getting results or not. It doesn't need to be this complex uh dashboard of millions of numbers, can be just one metric, but having clarity in which is the right metric to check sometimes is so important because it's like, yeah, you can have a lot of followers, but that those are qualified followers. It's like when people try to go viral. Yeah, you can be viral, but this if it's not the people that might be interested in what you offer and you want to use that as a business owner, doesn't make sense. So, why are you putting your efforts there? It's maybe even the opposite is doing uh damage to your brand and to your representation. So sometimes we need to be really careful with that because there are like uh advice that is one goal that maybe is not useful for you at all, and maybe your your business model doesn't have anything to do to someone else that is working around volume of people in their email list, and maybe you are a premium service one-on-one base. So for you, maybe you need to do something totally opposite and will not be the same advice. So having in mind what is the business that you have, what is the model, and what is the lifestyle that you want, because maybe for that goal you will need a team of 10-20 people, and that's not your goal or your business model that you want to go there. So having clarity on the again, the foundations, I feel that's so important to then analyze okay, this advice makes sense for me, or is that is it an advice that is not good for my type of business that I want to build here?
Business Seasons And Focus
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and which which season of work, uh season of um of business you're in, you know, if you're a solopreneur, uh focus, you know what I mean? Focus your efforts. Uh try to kind of dominate on one particular platform, maximum two. Um, and platform, not just social media. I mean, one particular platform when it comes in your communication strategy, uh, one or maximum two because you're alone. If you are a 10 um a 10-person agency, that's a little bit different. Your communication will include or should include, um, you know, this is something that I recommend. It should include employee advocacy. They are also, you know, brand advocates, and they should be also out there. And their personal brand amplifies the business brand and amplifies you as a founder, um, uh, a founder of the of the company or the agency. If you're a hundred uh employee, it's a totally different. You probably have a department of you know, a communication and mark on department, and your the the dynamics would be different because the product or the services that you're selling would be different. So every season is is different, and therefore, just like focus on where exactly you are in your season, what is reasonable and doable, okay, and what is um the the best, the best thing that is out there that can get you the maximum outcome. There's no perfect outcome, but the maximum outcome. And yeah, and then go for it.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Um we will not have time to go in that uh conversation, but employee personal brand, I feel that that's something that you touch, and it's uh really something that is sometimes uh overlooked, and I feel like that could be so powerful in terms of not just the external communication, but the belonging feeling of uh your employees and and all of that. So, yeah, maybe that's a conversation for another chat to cover all of that.
SPEAKER_01It's a big one, that's true, it's a big one.
Three Cs Wrap Up
SPEAKER_00Yeah, okay. So before we wrap up, I don't know if uh there is any thought or or message that you want to share, something that we haven't covered and you feel like it's important for us to highlight.
SPEAKER_01Um, oh my god, we've covered so much. Um, all I want to say is just actually to hammer something, uh, and that is your your story is you, and it should it should be something that is dynamic, not static, just like you are dynamic and you're not static, and your communication is the you know, your who you are and your communication is two sides to the same coin. So um this is something that I hope could be a mindset shift, uh, because I know there's like the uh uh a lot of uh shiny uh object syndrome out there of people trying to drag you into different directions. And then what I would what I would always say is go back to the basics, because when you go back to the basics and you you really do your homework and you really do your steps, this is actually could create a huge impact more than you can think. So um, this is what I wanted to like re-rehover this message, honestly.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, 100%. Okay, so to summary this conversation, I always invite uh my guests to use a couple of words uh that can convey that connection between, in this case, personal brand story and communication strategy. What will be your way of uh summarizing that?
SPEAKER_01Um, you know, I'll I'll go back to the three C's for me, which is credibility, connection, and clarity. So um I would start with clarity. When you have clarity of who you are, what do you bring to the tables, what is uniquely you, this will create and will start building um uh a foundation that will be uh strong enough for the credibility part. Because when you are able to articulate your message uh clearly and consistently across the different platforms that you are in, you start building uh trust and trust builds credibility. And the trust and the credibility will land you the connection. So the connection, whether you are in the room or not, people will mention you. Um, the connection of opportunities finding you because you're you're the right person for for that particular opportunity, whether you are a you know, uh working professional or you are a business owner, or the connection is connecting within a community of peers or uh industry leaders, or connecting with your audience, the audience that will um your work will positively impact them and their connection with you would positively impact your business. So I would go back to these three C's for sure.
SPEAKER_00Nice. Thank you for that. And for me, I would say uh foundational pillars. I feel like both of them, like that combination of using in a strategic way in your communication, your personal brand story, and how they feed each other. I feel like both of that are yeah, something for your foundations of your business or or your career if you are using uh as uh in your in your promotion. Absolutely.
Where To Find Resources
SPEAKER_00Okay, so thank you so much for this conversation. I feel like we might have a second part for COVID and more things. Um, so thank you so much. And I know that you have several resources that that might be helpful for people if they are interested in learning more about what you do. So, how people can learn more about uh your work and and how you help people.
SPEAKER_01Well, uh they can find me on LinkedIn on Ranamawad, and of course, there's my website, ranamawad.com, where they will find free resources. I have um a lot of things that they can download, or there's the podcast um as well as other ways to work with me. But uh they'll definitely find me on LinkedIn. Thank you. Perfect.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, the links are in the description so people will uh have easy access. So thank you so much. Um thank you anyone who has uh been live or watched the replay. Um, until the next time, see you soon. Thank you, bye. Bye.
