Click Tease: Weekly Digest of Branding, Marketing & Content that Converts

001: The One About RYZE Coffee, Alex Cooper, & Instagram’s Edits App

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When was the last time you saw a mushroom mascot make a better ad than your favorite brand? In this episode, we break down what marketing really is in 2025 — and why “being yourself” isn’t enough unless you’re strategic about how you show up.

If your content feels bland, the algorithm agrees. You’ll learn why storytelling is dominating the feed, how to create a character-driven brand that gets remembered, and the reason new Instagram features (like Edits) might be your biggest growth hack.

Timestamps:

08:15 – Why “Marketing is Media” and your funnel is boring
12:30 – RYZE Coffee ad breakdown: storytelling over features
20:45 – Unfiltered & unhinged: How Alex Cooper hacked attention
27:00 – Personal brand ≠ your whole personality
33:00 – Use 3 search terms in every video (thanks, Wave)
38:15 – Instagram Edits app: what it is + how to use it early

References & Resources:

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001: The One About RYZE Coffee, Alex Cooper, & Instagram’s Edits App


Joanna Newton: [00:00:00] Michelle and I just wanted to have a fun chat, talk about what's going on in marketing today, and try out a little new style of a podcast episode.

So if you're watching, you'll see I'm sitting on a couch, I've got some tea, and Michelle and I are gonna be spilling the tea about all things marketing, content creation, personal branding today. Michelle, what are you drinking in your tea cup today?

Michelle Pualani: So today I actually have two drinks. I don't know about you, but I start the day with like multiple beverages. I actually was leaving the house with Jeremy the other day to go to the beach and he was like, do you have three beverages? And I was like, well, one of them is a smoothie, so technically it kind of counts as a meal replacement. I love having juice. I love having tea. I love having, what I drink is bone broth, like collagen, so that's what I've definitely been drinking a lot of in the morning. And then I've got, actually it's my sister's tea, so her brand is anti-anxiety and this is eso, and it's a [00:01:00] mint green tea like tulsi combination and it's really delicious.

That's what I'm drinking. What are you drinking? 

Joanna Newton: that sounds really good. Today I have a very simple, just basic green tea that I got at Costco, like the massive, like 300 teabag box of green tea. 

Michelle Pualani: exactly what you're talking 

Joanna Newton: Um, and it's actually really good. Like it's very mild. Like it's a nice, like mild like, and for me it's afternoon. I know it's morning for you. It's a nice kinda like mild afternoon beverage.

But my favorite thing is this mug. Um, this is my. Mug. It was actually the last I boycotting Target, um, because of their inability to, you know, keep their diversity equity inclusion policies under the Trump administration. So this was my last target purchase I ever made before I stopped, or sorry, boycotting Target.

And it reminds me of Sabrina Carpenter because of, of the Kisses. It's not actually a branded Sabrina Carpenter mug, but I call it my Sabrina Carpenter mug. And you can't see it, but there's like a, a [00:02:00] kiss at the bottom of the mug.

Michelle Pualani: Oh, cute. Very cute. Yeah, it's got kisses all over 

Joanna Newton: Mm-hmm.

Michelle Pualani: Sabrina Carpenter. So we are changing the format of the podcast and we're gonna talk today a little bit about why and what we're doing and kind of the state of marketing and personal branding as a whole. So that's what this conversation is about.

And then on a weekly basis, you can expect to hear from us. Updates in marketing, real live, what's happening? Topical conversations on how content creation is shifting, algorithm changes the change of personal branding and what we're seeing. We're still gonna talk about people and examples, especially females in business entrepreneurship and the digital space who are representing what we think are either cutting edge successful. or like modeling great behavior when it comes to personal branding. And so that's ultimately what we're gonna do with the podcast moving forward. And we're both really [00:03:00] excited about this shift and, and this change. And I think it's really important because I was just doing a workshop recently and. In the preparation for that I was, was getting ready for the slides and prepping what I was gonna say and everything. Marketing is not what it used to be like. It is not the same thing as 10 years ago, five years ago, even two years ago, like because of the social media shifts that we're seeing change, because of the way that businesses and brands are being developed now, it's just not the same. There are marketing foundation and principles, principles of sales psychology and buyer psychology and consumers. And when we look at that, those will continue to be same or similar as we move forward. But really the state of marketing has changed and grown, and I think the thing that's most surprising to me is how. Off the rails and unhinged. It [00:04:00] kind of can be. I know we talked about Duolingo before, but I just brought this up, but Joanna, have.

you seen the Simple, another Simple favor?

Joanna Newton: I have.

Michelle Pualani: se, it's the sequel right to the sequel to A Simple Favor with Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively, which we just 

Joanna Newton: So 

Michelle Pualani: about 

Joanna Newton: we 100% did. Yeah. And I am actually a little known secret about me is a simple favors like literally my favorite movie, like the original. I've watched that movie like a million times. Like so much made my 

Michelle Pualani: I gotta, why? Why is it 

Joanna Newton: so, 

Michelle Pualani: your favorite movie? 

Joanna Newton: so I think, I think there's something about the queer undertones. That I really like the relationship between Anna Kendrick's character and Blake Lively's character like.

Full disclosure, I wanted them to run off together into the sunset and live happily ever after as a couple when watching the first movie. Um, but I don't know, there's just something about it. It's like campy, [00:05:00] it's fun, it's sexy, it's all of the things. And I was so excited for a simple favor too. I actually also got rid of my Amazon account for the same reasons that I'm boycotting Target.

But, um, I was so happy because my Amazon account like renewal. Was like two weeks after that movie came out. So I got to watch it before getting rid of Amazon Prime forever. Or maybe not forever. Maybe if they changed their business practices, I will be going back to Amazon, but right now I'm gone. But I got to watch that beforehand and I was like so sad for that movie that all of the drama was going on with Blake because I was like, nobody's gonna watch this movie.

And it wasn't as good as the first. I will admit that. But I did enjoy it.

Michelle Pualani: I thought it.

was completely. Like, okay. I think the shooting of it was beautiful, the location, gorgeous. This like the way that it was produced, whoever did it, so [00:06:00] I'm not, obviously, I don't really know directors, producers, I'm not really great with details on that front, but I thought it was so well done from like a, as a movie, like produced direction, location filming, I thought that casting was fantastic. was just over the top though. Like it 

Joanna Newton: Yeah.

Michelle Pualani: like, almost if you think of like Pink Panther or like some of our like old school movies, which is kind of like ridiculous over the top things that you would feel like would never happen. In real life. Like that's what I feel like it was kind of reminiscent of, but It just kind of, for me, I thought it was hilarious. I, I like the character development. I actually like Blake Lively's main character, not the offshoots. Those totally bonkers. Like I, I could not get on board with how

Joanna Newton: It got a little weird, like the like, 

Michelle Pualani: super freaking [00:07:00] weird. 

Joanna Newton: the incest rape. The incest rape was weird. 

Michelle Pualani: Yes.

Joanna Newton: Yes.

Michelle Pualani: was kind of all over the place. Did it connect? Yes, but it was all over the place, so I enjoyed watching it because I thought it was unhinged. I was laughing. It was totally ridiculous, and I knew it would like never happen in real life. So. It wasn't judged. You know, I feel like people watch movies a lot of times where they even, I think this is true from like a marketing, personal brand, content creation side. People look at it and they're like, oh, this isn't, you know, correct, or This isn't right, or this isn't perfect, or, or the whole Sabrina Carpenter thing recently, like you are setting women back 50 years and I'm like, really? Is she? Is she really? So I think people tend to overreact and have like a certain level of expectation with business marketing [00:08:00] storyline that is not. Appropriate for where we are today, but I thought it was a really good representation of where we are today. And when you look at marketing and when you look at where we're seeing content creation go is one media, it's not marketing anymore.

Like we are not in the state of advertising commercials, businesses and brands creating thing that's like, Hey, this is our brand. These are the features that we offer and buy our product. It's. I saw this really great, um, on social media of Rise Coffee. Have you heard of it? It's like r it's like RYZE.

It's like a mushroom based coffee company and they have a mascot or like a, a logo mascot and it's an animated mushroom. And so this storyline had no words. It was just music and like plot. It was this mushroom moving through this [00:09:00] experience and then making this woman this coffee and like it allowed the woman to like live this life, like with her kid and she had energy and all these things happened and I went to the comments and this was a sponsored ad, so it was paid media to get out in the world. Everything in the comments was like, oh my gosh, that was so adorable. I'm so touched. Way to go rise. This is so great. I love your coffee. Like I, I, I wanna buy this and. But it wasn't like, Hey, this is our coffee and this is what it does for you. It told a story, there was a narrative, there was something happening, you know, and I think that's the way that we're heading in terms of marketing as a whole and how we have to represent ourselves is 

Joanna Newton: Yeah.

Michelle Pualani: are okay with a little bit unhinged and off the rails, and then we have to tell stories and have some type of plot to represent our brand and our marketing. 

Joanna Newton: Yeah. And I love that idea of that shift of like, it's not marketing anymore, it's media. Like that's a [00:10:00] very different way. To think about it like, because with marketing you're thinking funnels, you're thinking CTAs, you're thinking, how do you get people from step to step. But I think people are over it.

Like they're smarter than that. And they want connection. They want story, they want entertainment. They want something that that's going to add value to their lives, whether they make a purchase or not. Um, I dunno if you're following the. The political campaign of, uh, the New York City like mayor that's happening right now.

Michelle Pualani: I heard about it recently, just a very tiny bit. 

Joanna Newton: Yeah, so one of the candidates, um, Zo and Mom, Zo and Momani, he is just running like a really interesting campaign. Um, he is like. Super liberal, probably leaning towards leftist and is really coming out with some strong campaigns. But if you follow his TikTok, they do not feel like normal, [00:11:00] like a normal political person campaign.

TikTok, these videos are like highly produced, like there's someone involved that's like. In the film creative industry, they're highly produced. They're lots of storytelling, lots of personal connection. One of the cool things that they're doing, and I don't know much about like how the mayoral mayoral race in New York City goes, but I guess there's like multiple candidates, like not just like two running, and you can do ranked voting.

So you can say, I want this candidate and this is my number two choice. Well, him and another candidate, um, Andrew. Not Andrew Cuomo, someone else I don't know, who have come together to say, vote me number one and vote him number two, and vice versa. Because they don't want, I think I could be getting this all wrong.

Whatever the other candidate is they're saying would be really, really bad. So they're saying like one of us is better than him. And that's such an interesting concept. [00:12:00] 'cause they're not just saying, vote for me at all costs. So they're saying like, we just need not that guy. And they're working together to.

E either get their spot in politics, but also they're saying like, we just want a better New York. And so it's a really interesting way to run a campaign and it's like really fresh and really different and he's really like getting people excited about politics in New York City.

Michelle Pualani: Yeah, I'm seeing, so we are in the beverage industry with, to be honest, and so I'm seeing a lot of stuff like in cocktail creation in restaurants and bars and accounts that I'm just kind of looking for, for inspiration. What are people doing? What are people talking about? How are they navigating the digital space right now?

Like how are they driving traffic and getting attention? And it is all like. It's not like, Hey, this is our coffee. The coffee we make is so amazing and you should totally drink our coffee for all of these reasons. It's like funny stories with the barista. It's [00:13:00] really beautiful, aesthetically shot things that translate to consumption, right?

'cause we eat with our eyes or we drink with our eyes first. And. then telling behind the scenes and stories of the founder and how they got started or the challenges that they're doing. I saw a founder of like a T base location, and he was talking about. How customers were writing like one star reviews and he was saying like, this doesn't affect our business.

Like we have so much business because we have, you know, great media, great attention. They have thousands, tens of thousands of followers. I can't remember how many, but they have tons of followers online. They get lots of traffic. People love what they do, so the one star reviews aren't affecting them, but it affects other small businesses who maybe don't have the same media presence and attention and, and driving the traffic. And these people, and these customers were leaving one star reviews for stupid reasons, like they don't have wifi [00:14:00] or waited in line, or like, their prices are too high. I'm like, that's not like you don't judge based off of that if, if they have their prices listed everywhere. You get to decide whether you eat there or not.

Just just because their prices are too high for you and you don't wanna spend that money go somewhere else. Like, that's not a, that's not a reason to judge someone off the, of a rating value, but that's what he was talking about is in at, in his content and the amount of views, tens of thousands of views and reach and likes and shares and comments and everything around that. what is marketing right now. Like that's what is telling the story. That's what attracts people to your brand, those candid conversations. And so I think that overall we're just seeing this huge shift and I feel like I'm kind of trying to catch up. Like especially with TBH, I feel like I was trying to do like pretty recipes and not. Kind of stay within a certain vibe and aesthetic. And I'm seeing a lot of posts and content about like [00:15:00] the aesthetic is dead, like your vibe feed is dead. And I still think that it's important to maintain a certain level of brand, especially depending on what you do. I do think that we're in a, we're in a state of like pushing the envelope and the more you can push the envelope or be funny, or be engaging or be quirky, that's what people are paying attention to right now.

Joanna Newton: Yeah, I just filmed, so something I've never done before is film a get ready with me. Like, I've never, 

Michelle Pualani: Mm-hmm. 

Joanna Newton: today I was like, let me just film one and see what happens. So it's partially edited. I need to finish editing and get it out in the world. But like, I have some, like, like there's a funny moment in it where I realized I picked the wrong foundation and like I'm much tanner than I'm usually am from being out in the sun.

It's summer and I realize like half my face is like white and like I, I'm like, I'm just gonna leave this in. You know what I mean? And like leave that sort of thing in [00:16:00] there and it may or may not work. We'll see. That's to be determined, but just thinking of how do I just actually, like, I am kind of unhinged and I, I am all over the place and then like I hide that in my content 

Michelle Pualani: Yes.

Joanna Newton: like,

Michelle Pualani: I,

Joanna Newton: why,

Michelle Pualani: this is, it's, I, I, because, because you and I come from an era in which that wasn't okay. So I think this is such an important conversation to have, especially with women in business who are in the millennial ish range and not quite Gen Z. When you were exposed to social media at a much younger age, you had access to a high quality video camera on your phone.

You were filming consistently, your friends are filming like, it was integrated into your lifestyle. I don't know about you, but that was not integrated into my lifestyle. Like I wasn't even really on social media until my twenties, my mid twenties, you know? And the [00:17:00] idea of filming yourself to get ready or the idea of filming like. Behind the scenes was really only for certain types of content or certain types of businesses. It wasn't for the everyday person. And with the advent of influencers and the way that people are now showing up online, that's normalized. And for, for myself, it's been a huge mindset shift. I was taught. As a girl, as a woman growing up in this culture that I needed to look a certain way, act a certain way, be a certain way in order to be accepted. I was, if I was speaking passionately about something, it was too intense. I was too much, I needed to pull it back. I, it was more important that I was beautiful, like I have been told this for my entire life is, well, it's a good thing. You are pretty or. At least you're beautiful. So if I'm going through a challenge or [00:18:00] a struggle, it's like referring to looks.

When you look at our media in the nineties, I see a lot of content around this these days, which I love that it's having that conversation is like, well, no wonder we have body issues and no wonder we have, uh, a dysmorphia of how we look and feel is because when we were growing up at these super pivotal ages, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, all. Who's the other one? Jessica 

Joanna Newton: Jessica Simpson.

Michelle Pualani: Jessica Simpson. All. Yeah. All of those girls were prime and center and they were fat shamed. They were performing in skimpy outfits, made fun of for that. They were either too thin or too big. I. Or belly wasn't right, or, or whatever it was, and they were scrutinized and we grew up in that era.

So it was more important, I think, to us to present a certain way in [00:19:00] order to be accepted, liked, and. And so now we're in this era of, I see like young girls wearing like baggy clothes, big hoodies. It's just like less makeup. Some still definitely totally tons of makeup, but, but it's just, I feel like as a culture, we've shifted in the way that we approach the world and the way that we approach being and as women.

And so I think that's definitely been a huge thing for me is. Being okay with showing up, not completely put together. Being okay with showing up, candid, speaking more authentically, and sharing in an organic way that isn't as staged, where that wasn't the case when we were growing up, you know? 

Joanna Newton: Yeah, definitely. And, and not having to be. So prim, proper, perfect. Whatever, whatever that was for you. I think [00:20:00] everyone probably has something different like me growing up in like a highly religious environment like being. Sexual, like sh wearing like a spaghetti strap shirt with some of my belly showing would not have been something 16-year-old Joanna would've done.

It would've been considered completely inappropriate in the world that I was living in. And so we have these preconceived notions of how we're supposed to show up and then that translates online. And then we aren't ourselves, we're not provocative, we are not interesting. We're vanilla. Um, I just watched.

Uh, call her Alex, that Alex Cooper documentary that's on Hulu, Disney Plus right now. And it was really interesting. I'll say I actually have mixed feelings about Alex Cooper as a business person and a podcaster. But some of the really good things that, that I took from that was that she really created a caricature herself and [00:21:00] put that online and.

Showcase something different, right? She talked about sex in a, a way a, a man would, right? And that's not something we really had on the internet, is a woman talking that openly about sex. And it skyrocketed that podcast to what it is today, right? It skyrocketed her to being like the most recognizable, biggest female podcaster, where she's even bigger than some of like the original male podcasters.

And she did that. Not by playing it safe. She did that by taking a huge risk and putting everything out there.

Michelle Pualani: Yeah. Yes. And that's what I think today in age calls for. And I think it's tough because you don't, like, you don't have to talk about sex in order to create a brand for yourself, right? Like I think that's one thing that's really difficult. Because I talk to a lot of women or business owners or people who aren't organic content creators, like I think there is a big distinction, right?

There are content creators. [00:22:00] They're influencers, they're experts and authorities who are creating content online. there.

are these different channels of people showing up in the digital space, and I think that's an important distinction. Probably one we should have a podcast episode about of like what those channels are so that people don't get pulled into other ones.

So I think there are business owners who think they have to be content creators and create content in a certain way, and that's just not true. So I think there are channels. And that people fall into the trap of saying like, oh, well, I have to talk about sex, or I have to be unhinged, or I have to be ridiculous, and I have to, and then it pushes them so far to not be themselves that it's inauthentic, it doesn't work, and then it's, it's a negative, negative thing that kind of comes out of that. And so I think it's important to tap into who you are and like you said, almost create a caricature. It's like, I, I was told this and I think there's different thoughts because I have worked with, uh, coaches who deal [00:23:00] with like, voice and, uh, authenticity and kind of unmasking the way that you have. Protected yourself in the past. Like I said, my family and the way that I grew up, it was if I expressed passion or interest or talked about things that I really cared about, it was seen as too much or too intense or pull that back. And so I learned to put a damper on the way that I communicated, and I think that, like you said, lends to more bland, vanilla and not as impactful. Yeah, but I think that allowing who you are and identifying who that is and allowing that to come out in what it is that you're talking about and how you're talking about it, I think that's like the takeaway. And for some people that's super chill and super deadpan and they can get tons of views and they can get traction.

They can build a brand on the fact that they are not all over the place. And then the people [00:24:00] who are a little all over the place, you're like, well, I. I don't wanna just be like them because they're all over the place. You, you don't have to, you can just find what it is that works for you. and I think that's part of the personal development and personal growth side of business and online content creation and having a digital presence is really tapping into like, well, who am I and how do I wanna show up? And then testing and trialing and experimenting, and probably putting yourself in uncomfortable situations so that you can start to allow that voice to come through and allow yourself to build, like we said, kind of this caricature who is a great representation of who you are at your core, but also kind of a little bit more like it's not gonna be a full representation and the full spectrum of who you are as a person, because you're just seeing that. Segments, and that's okay. I think that people, when they go like, oh, well, authentic, it's like, well, I don't wanna share every aspect of my life. And I'm like, you don't have to. It's just showing up in a way that reflects you as an individual and doing that in a unique, interesting [00:25:00] way.

Joanna Newton: Yeah, and I think there's something too, 'cause I've been thinking a lot about this, like what makes some people blow up online and others not? And I think that part of the thing that has to happen is when someone sees your content, they have to get who you are immediately. So if you are showing up online.

And you're this multifaceted person. I'm not saying you can't talk about all of the topics you wanna talk about, but when you kind of make a specific character for yourself, and I've been thinking about like, Ooh, that is for me lately. But when you make this character and you show up as that person, people can get who you are immediately and connect right away.

If one day you're like. Super sexual. Like one day you are like really, really prim and proper, and then one day you're another person. People don't know who you are and then can't connect with you. But if you're like, this is my [00:26:00] persona, it's rooted in who I am. Do you know what I mean? It's not a fake person, but I'm taking the bits of myself that make sense for my brand, putting it out in the world and then doing that consistently will.

Get people. And I think who you pick to be has to be, and I know this is gonna sound really like I'm telling you not to be authentic, but that's not it. It kind of has to fit an archetype of a person people can relate to. So if someone's being like, I'm the bigger older sister, I get who that is, or I am, you know.

A big business owner making tons of money every day. People get who that is. Like, and, and Alex Cooper as an example. She was, she honestly, it was like a very sexual like, pick me college girl, right? Like she fit. She fit a mold that made people go, okay, I know who that is, so either I'm gonna listen because I wanna hear what that person says, or I'm just gonna move on because I'm not connected to that.

[00:27:00] But I think you have to do that if you're just like in the middle of some sort of like. Mild version of all of the things people are just gonna swipe. But if people go, okay, here's an angry mom, homemaker. Got it. I know who she is. I think you have to pick an archetype for you to fit under.

Michelle Pualani: Yeah. And that doesn't mean to say it's gonna pigeonhole you forever, because you can always, that's one thing I wanted to let the ladies know in this business group that I was speaking to is like, you can evolve, like your brand can evolve and that's a good thing, and that's okay. So give yourself permission that things can change, but you do have to pick, right?

You've got to have a decision made about how you show up. And the archetype is a great way to describe it. In order to be relatable, people want to relate to you because if you are a business owner, an expert authority who's essentially trying to drive cons, consumption of whatever it is that you do, right?

Whether [00:28:00] that's a physical product, whether that's a digital product, whether that's an offer, a service, or anything else, you want people to purchase, and so. When you have an archetype, when you create that relatability, you are essentially calling out to your viewer, your audience member, your perspective buyer, and saying, I understand you.

I get to you, I relate to you. And when that person relates back to you and says like, oh my gosh, you get it, you know, you understand. I appreciate this because it's funny and it makes me feel something. I appreciate this because it made me feel a certain way. Like you, you get how inspired I am by this, or motivated or touched or saddened or whatever that emotion is that you're able to em emote. By doing these things and creating the content and establishing the media and getting it out into the world, that ultimately creates interest. It creates buyers, it creates audience members, it creates followers. And it's like that, that domino effect ultimately why [00:29:00] people are invested in you and why people show up. And I think it's important to also recognize that the reason that we are pointing this out in terms of like the media and the mild. Or rather the mild, bland kind of vanilla approach and why it doesn't work anymore is because there is so much content and because there's so much noise and because of the algorithm and attention based usage of each of the platforms.

That's why you have to easily create that archetype. That's why you have to use some type of quote unquote hook or grab to be able to capture people's attention. Because it's not just the case that there's a handful of creators in the digital space, and people are gonna watch them no matter what. And you could set up in a poor lighting environment, or you could start with like, Hey, how's it going?

Da da da da da. And like, then get into [00:30:00] it. That used to be the case when there was less noise and there was less content to sift through. But people's attention has changed because things have improved and gotten better, and the ability to hold people's attention has gotten better and the quality of video has gotten better and the quality of lighting has gotten better, and all of these things have shifted.

And so we need to now meet that level of. in the market and be able to stand out. And that's why we're saying these things about authenticity, about leaning who you are into who you are, about creating that caricature and about creating content for your business, for your brand, for your personal. Influence and sphere in the digital space that is going to stand out in the noise, which is important if you are looking to get attention. If you are looking to gain followers, if you are wanting to people to buy your stuff or engage with your stuff, in some ways, you've gotta be able to capture them first. 

Joanna Newton: Yeah, and if you're listening to this [00:31:00] episode and you know someone who's like, oh, the algorithm, the algorithm hates my content, I can never get. The algorithm to push my contact. Please share this with them because I mean, right now I'm also preaching to myself here in giving the algorithm what it wants.

But TikTok, Instagram, I. Pinterest, YouTube, any platform you are on, they want people to see your content. They want people to watch your content because they make money the longer people stay, but you have to make it super clear to Instagram, TikTok, whoever it is. Who needs to see your content. So if one post is for one type of person and another post is for another type of person, and you show up as a different type of human being on another post and and hear me how I'm not talking about topics.

I'm talking about like who you are and who you're for not changing in every video [00:32:00] because then TikTok doesn't know who to show it to. Like they need, they need to know who to show it to, which means you have to know who you want it to be shown to and who you wanna be. So I thinking about that, like that archetype, you want that to be some, someone your ideal client is going to connect with immediately, right?

Someone they're gonna connect with, either because they're saying, I wanna be that person. Right. Like, oh wow, that person is so impressive. Like, I wanna be them, therefore I wanna follow, follow them. Or like, I really relate to that person like in some way. And, and you have to give. You have to let them know who it is.

I saw I'm, I'm sure we've had Wave on this podcast before. She's the queen of trend alerts on TikTok. You know, she's talks specifically about TikTok a lot, but was talking about ranking for search terms and TikTok and saying like, [00:33:00] you should pick three and every video that you post should have those three keywords.

In the caption, in the hashtag, in the text on screen. And for us we think, oh, that's so boring. I don't wanna do the same thing over and over again. But once TikTok gets, send this to people interested in this topic and it's consistent and it's coming, you'll be rewarded. But it's so hard. I think for us, we post three times and it doesn't work.

And think we need to change strategies. And I, I, this is like. I'm preaching to you and me all at the same time. 

Michelle Pualani: guilty of that. 

Joanna Newton: Yeah.

Michelle Pualani: When I was first starting to do content, I just thought that I had to come up with creative, unique ideas on my own. But the more that you actually learn from successful content creators and digital presence people, the [00:34:00] more it is that they've actually done their research. Like truthfully, everyone that I learned from YouTube. Pinterest, LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, of the platforms is that there is research. There's research to be done about how the algorithm works, and the algorithm isn't actually that confusing. Once you start using the platforms, you just start to realize that. the people who are creating this software and developing the algorithm in the first place, they prioritize certain things that can be break broken down tactically and tangibly.

Right. If you are on Instagram, for example, and you follow, I think it's Alex Ri, is that you say his name, the

Joanna Newton: I think so.

Michelle Pualani: TikTok, he talks about like, these are the things that you should be focusing on. These are things you should be prioritizing. It's super simple. It's just like capturing people's attention in the first little bit, not posting, [00:35:00] things with watermarks. Being able to use hashtags that are relevant to your industry and niche. There are tactical and tangible approaches to this process. It's not just like a throwing darts at the wall and seeing what sticks kind of thing. It's doing educated research, backed content development, creation, and having a strategy.

When you approach it, YouTube is the same thing. People are like, oh, well, if I just create interesting, great content on YouTube, then people will find me. No, it's all about the title. It's all about the thumbnail. It's all about the description and the language that you're using. We have to remember that the digital space is used by humans, but ultimately governed by computers. Programs like zeros and ones, it's, it's kind of like simple math, you know? And I think we get our emotions wrapped up into it. And then we think about like, oh, well this didn't perform well because I didn't look great, [00:36:00] or this didn't perform well because I wasn't feeling great that day. Or, I didn't say it this way, or I didn't do this thing and or. don't like me or people don't like what I'm wearing or all of these things. And really when you show up with content that provides the viewer something that they're interested in watching because it relates to them whether, again, they're seeking entertainment and they want fun or engaging or kind of, I think there are things that are like, oh my God, what just happened?

You know, like shock value that people pay attention to, which. I don't even wanna go down that rabbit hole. We're more in the expert authority piece. But when you provide something of value, and that's not just teaching and education, but it's more creating like a light bulb moment for people, or a peaking interest or a curiosity piece, or being able to engage people in a way that they.

Continue watching that is the algorithm, because like you mentioned, Joanna is all that. These software programs, all of these [00:37:00] platforms, all they want is for people to be on their platforms more and using them more. So if you can create content that actually has people staying on the platform. That content will perform.

And ideally, obviously then you have some fine tuning about messaging and about speaking to your ideal client and speaking to their desires and their challenges and what they're going through, and then moving from the, the buyer journey. But, but ultimately, if you're just looking at like a tension, you're creating media in the digital space that is based on research that captures someone's attention, holds their attention, and delivers them something that they would keep coming back for. 

Joanna Newton: Yeah, and another thing that I always find makes a huge difference. With your content and making sure it's getting seen is to re really utilize the features of the platform itself. One of the reasons I don't recommend people try to grow on every platform as the same time is 'cause every platform has its own nuances, right?

TikTok and Instagram and [00:38:00] Pinterest and LinkedIn, they're all very different platforms and have different ways that you create content. And if you're trying to grow everywhere, it's harder to grow in a single place. And one of the ways you can kind of really use the platform to your advantage is to make sure you're using all of the different features and post types and make sure you're jumping on new features quickly.

Because again, when you think about Instagram as an example, Instagram is competing. With, with all of these other social platforms, and they want people to stay. So when they make a new feature, they want other people to use that feature, which means they will more likely push the content that you use with that feature.

So one example of this is when, um, when reels first came out, you were really, really. Pushed if you used reels, now it's kind of evened out. But in the early days, they would push your reel out to everybody because they wanted everybody using reels because they [00:39:00] wanted people on Instagram instead of TikTok.

Right? So say you're. Goal is to grow on Instagram. It's your job. It becomes your job to start using new features immediately. When there's a new Instagram feature. Use it. Try it, test it. Right now there's a new editing app for Instagram called Edits. Um, if you wanna grow on Instagram, go download it from the app store.

I just started playing with it. I'll kind of keep you up to date with how it's going, but my theory is if I edit videos. Using reels, sorry. If I edit videos using edits, those videos will get pushed and I'm already kind of seeing that because I'm getting, um, notifications when other people use edits. So I think if I use edits, Instagram will push that video.

And one of the benefits of like this new format that we're doing on, um. For the podcast is that we're gonna bring you those updates so when we know there's a new [00:40:00] feature, we know there's something going on when there's a new trend, we're gonna share that on this podcast. So make sure you subscribe, you stay in touch and listen every week because we wanna get those tips right to you.

And so today's tip is if you wanna go on Instagram, download the edits app and start playing with it and start posting videos with that and see if that helps. More people see your content.

Michelle Pualani: Love it. Yeah, I think things are evolving and changing all the time, and I've found that I have watched people, if they hop on the bandwagon really early on and quickly and they just. Do it like trial reels, for example, people who are getting on board with trial reels and pushing as much as they possibly can, even reposting old content that they've done well and then that gets out in front of new followers, they're, they're performing.

And so I think one of the things that I want to take away today is that. We often from that perfectionist mindset and that [00:41:00] preparatory strategic mindset are like, I've gotta do this right. I've gotta do it correct. I've gotta say the right thing. But we are in an era of saturation, and your quality, quant quality, your quality is gonna be created by quantity. And so you have to be able to put quantity of things out into the world. Trial experiment. See what works. I love this thing as like Mr. Beast, he put out like 350 videos before one of them went viral. And I think we so often think like, oh, I'm gonna put out a handful of videos, or I'm gonna try this. Hey, it's not freaking working, and so I am gonna pivot or do something different or.

Just give up altogether and then it's inconsistent. And I am so, so guilty of that is being inconsistent because I'll put time and energy into something and then I'll be like, okay, that's not working. I'm gonna get distracted by this other thing. When I look at YouTube and I'm like, man, if I'd actually just stuck with creating YouTube videos when I started this entire process, like how different my business would be as a whole, and [00:42:00] so. Give yourself more credit to just create consistency in what you're doing and know that you will get better over time. Like you will 1000% be able to improve your lighting, your video, your editing process. But you have to start now and you have to start somewhere and try to create as much as possible as can be sustained. That will drive you forward. So thank you so much for tuning into the podcast today. We are super excited about this new format. If you have anything that you want us to cover or questions, you can send us a dm. Social is in the links below and we will cover it on the podcast. So we'll see you in the next one.