Marketing Happy Hour - The Brand Brief Audit: What Every Marketer Should Rethink | Kahlea Wade, Agency Founder + Creator

Episode Date: September 18, 2025

What does it take to thrive in today’s creator economy? Kahlea Wade, CEO and Founder of Alora Society, an award-winning influencer talent agency, joins me to break down what’s working (and not working) in influencer marketing in 2025. With experience leading campaigns for brands like Meta, Nike, Amazon Prime, and Skims, Kahlea shares how brands can write better briefs, why LinkedIn is becoming a powerful platform for creators, and the mindset shifts every entrepreneur needs to build confidence and resilience. Whether you’re a brand marketer, a creator, or a solopreneur, this conversation will help you better understand how to create partnerships that actually work.Key Takeaways:// The biggest mistakes brands still make when working with creators in 2025—and how to avoid them.// What every strong brand brief should include (and what to leave out).// How to use LinkedIn to build authority and expand your network as a creator or professional.// Why confidence and persistence matter when facing rejection—and how to keep showing up.// Tips for building a personal brand that positions you for opportunities in and outside of social media.// What makes a brand activation or live event worth the investment for both creators and brands.Connect with Kahlea: Instagram | Alora on Instagram____Say hi! DM me on Instagram and let us know what content you want to hear on the show - I can't wait to hear from you! Please also consider rating the show and leaving a review, as that helps us tremendously as we move forward in this Marketing Happy Hour journey and create more content for all of you. ⁠Join our FREE Open Jobs group on LinkedIn: ⁠Join now⁠Get the latest from MHH, straight to your inbox: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join our email list!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Now what we're seeing in influencer marketing is it's no longer just to like, oh, it's nice to work with creators. It's a nice to have thing in our marketing situation. Like, it is a core revenue driver for most of the brands. And brands aren't just like experimenting anymore. What we're seeing overall is that most brands are integrating creators into like full funnel campaigns. Welcome to Marketing Happy Hour. I'm Cassie, consultant, podcaster, and your host. Every Thursday, you'll hear episodes packed with insights from brand leaders on an array of topics from crafting effective marketing strategies and hitting career goals to building leadership skills and launching your own business inspired by those unfiltered happy hour combos with peers this show is all

about practical empowering chats to support your professional journey so grab your favorite drink and let's get to the episode i'm so excited to be joined by my friend and an incredible influencer marketing expert, personal branding expert, content creator, CEO and founder of Allora Society. Kelia Wade is with me again today, two-time marketing happy hour. Guess has been a minute, but welcome back. Thank you. It's so good to be back.

This is, you know, I love doing a good podcast, but I have to say, when you get to do them with your friends, too, those are the best ones. It's going to be so fun. Yeah. I cannot agree more. This has been a long time coming to just like catch up. and you have such a tap on the space, both from the brand side, but also the creator side. So I always just love hearing your updated insights and things in this space. And that's exactly

what we're going to talk about today. Just the state of influencer marketing, what's happening, what are you seeing? Um, and all the things. So I'm excited. Me too. I know. Thanks for having me again. I can't wait to dive in a little, a little update of, yeah, where we're currently at in this space. Oh, absolutely. Well, I have to ask you first, what's been in your glass lately or your or, you know, any time of the day. What are you sitting on? Listen, I'm like a multiple drink at a time person. So I usually have a water, some form of energy.

Lately it's been a banana matcha. I found this banana milk. That's really, it's like a banana cinnamon milk that's like super clean, like three ingredients. I think it's like koala milk or something like that, that one with a matcha. Oh my gosh, divine. That and then usually like a poppy or like something carbonated and, you know, my gut health doesn't love that but you know i do it anyway hey i that stuff is so good um but i have not tried it with macha so i'm gonna have to i'm gonna have to try that that's yeah give it a shot

next up i'm gonna make like a blueberry syrup like i love a good fruit with the matcha that's it it does it for me every time yeah absolutely um okay so calia for anyone who doesn't know you um if you don't know calia please follow caley on social media she has great content but Tell us a little bit about your journey. It's been kind of a long time coming to where you are today. I've been so grateful to see kind of the whole evolution of this, probably since like, gosh, 2017-ish since I've known you almost 10 years, which is absolutely insane. But tell us a bit about your journey and how did you get to where you are today? Yeah. So I've been in this space since 2015 and it was when I was in college. I was a 17-year-old freshman. I knew I didn't want to work

corporate and I knew that entrepreneurship was an option. And I was like, okay, I really want to do that, but I don't know what that could look like. And so I had the idea of just starting a blog at that time because social media was not as big as it is today. And so blogs were all the rage. And I was like, you know what? I'm going to document my life as a college student. I'm going to do fashion and beauty and like what I'm wearing. And then I'm super nerdy. So it was also like how to get straight A's college as you're taking five classes a semester. So I had fun with it. And I just started to build a personal brand. And I had like a few hundred followers on Instagram, like friends and family and stuff like that. And so I started posting on there too to like get people to go back to the

blog. And it started to really pick up traction. And through being in the blogger space, I got connected with other, you know, bloggers, creators that were doing the same thing. And they started talking about brand partnerships, which was really intriguing to me because I was like, oh, I can get paid to make different content and talk about things while I'm in college and also working a part time job like that's that's feasible for me like I can do that and when I started to reach out to them to try and get you know help in that capacity they were like listen you have no following you're super young like just stay in college like get a good job like none of them were willing to help me and some were nice about it and others were very not nice about it and I was like you know what

I'm just going to figure it out myself like if people aren't willing to you know offer help even if I'm offering to pay them like that's fine I'll figure it out that's not going to get me down So I went on this journey of figuring out how to do brand partnerships through trial and error. So I started pitching myself. I was negotiating. I was looking at contracts as if I even knew what they were saying. And through the process, I started to get different, you know, small but paid collaborations. And I was so hooked on that.

And so then I was like, okay, well, how can I take this to another level? Could I do events with them? Could I consult for them? Could I, you know, have these different, you know, classes where I talk about social media with it. Like I started brainstorming all these different ways that I could not only start. to monetize my content, but also monetize my skills. That then turned into other people asking, how are you doing these things? And me saying, I would love to share that and be the

person that I wish that I had back when I first started. So then I got into creator education. I did that for many years. I had digital products. I had courses. I was doing consulting, all the things. And that eventually evolved into three years ago. I had reconnected with one of the brand partners that I had worked with for a really long time. Her name was Mia. And she had hired me for multiple campaigns. We did New York Fashion Week together. I ended up hiring her as my CMO for my personal brand. We built such a great relationship together that I ended up pitching her the idea of starting an influencer agency as co-founders. And so three years ago, actually next month in September of 2025, it'll be three years. But we started a Laura Society.

And so we're a boutique, influencer talent agency for creators in fashion, beauty, lifestyle, home, parenting. We kind of cover a wide range. But she's one of my best friends. We get to do it together. And it's so fun. And I'm just, I'm doing my dream job and running Alora and speaking around the globe, which is really crazy about influencer marketing. And I'm still a content creator to this day. And I do a lot of entrepreneurship and lifestyle content.

So it's a, that was a very still long-winded response, but trying to summarize a 10-year journey. as quickly as I can, but it's been a really fun one. I'm very grateful to have had the longevity in this space that I've had. Um, glory to God for that. But it's been, um, it's been really, really fun. I'm just so grateful to do what I love every day. Yeah, absolutely. Like I said, it's been so fun to watch.

And it's so funny, I have to plug Mia as well. Absolutely love Mia. She's incredible. Um, it's so funny to see it still to this day, like the fact that your worlds have collided. Like I've, as I mentioned, I've known you for almost 10 years. years. And then I've known Mia for like, I don't even know, like 15 years. So it's just so crazy to see you guys come together and you both are so good at what you do individually, but also together. And so it's just been such an honor to watch that. But shout out to Mia. We love,

we love Mia. We love you. Mia fan club. Yes, absolutely. So let's kind of get into the whole influencer marketing space, what that's looking like today. From where you sit, from what you're seeing currently, from the people you're talking to, working with, et cetera, how would you describe the state of influencer marketing as it sits here in 2025? I know that's a very loaded question, but I'm just very curious to what you would have to say to that. Yeah, I'll try and summarize this one too, because it is a long-winded one. And especially having seen the evolution over the last 10 years, when I started in 2015, it is insane to see where it's at now.

I have this stat memorized because I'm constantly telling people this to, like, paint the picture of how much it's grown. But in 2014, the influencer marketing industry was an evaluation about like $1.4 billion. So I started a year after this. Now in 2024, so last year, it was at $24 billion, which is insane. This year, the projection is that by the end of this year, it's going to be $32 billion, which is insane because that's a growth rate of $35. percent in one year, which is absolutely nuts. Like the industry is maturing and super fast. And so now what we're seeing in influencer marketing is it's no longer just to like, oh, it's nice to work with creators. It's a nice to have thing in our marketing situation. Like it is a core revenue

driver for most of the brands. And brands aren't just like experimenting anymore. It's not just like, oh, maybe we'll like see. You know, you sure have some brands that are like just now kind of figuring out what their strategy is or maybe getting even deeper involved with creator marketing. and leveraging influencers, but what we're seeing overall is that most brands are integrating creators into like full funnel campaigns from awareness to conversion. And the conversations just really shifted overall from like, oh, should we work with creators to how do we work with them better? How do we work with them longer? How do we work with them smarter? And the emphasis now too is there are still places and times for one-off partnerships, but it's really

evolved into something that's built on relationships, brand ambassadors, brand advocates, people that are, you know, working with brands like on six-month, year-long partnerships and, you know, still the conversation of like, how do we measure this with ROI and how do we create authenticity at scale? Like, yes, those things are still part of the conversation. But overall, the emphasis is how do we do this and how do we do this well? Because it's no longer an option of whether or not we do it at all. Absolutely. I think that's exactly right. And just seeing it evolve from a segment of like social media marketing to now it's being its own thing and it has its own budget and like making sure we're prioritizing it properly. It's amazing to see that,

but that also comes with its own challenges. It's like, how are we using the budget and what's the best way to approach these different campaigns? So I think one of the things, you know, with that we're always talking about what are some mistakes that brands are making? Are they approaching it in the right way? Are there things we should be doing more of? So again, I'm just kind of curious, like as we sit today, what are some mistakes that brands are still making? when it comes to working with creators in 2025 and just maybe some ways to remedy them as well. Yeah, absolutely. So I want to start with an example of a brand that works really well with creators and it's actually Sweet Lawrence, my favorite cookies in all the world. But Sweet Lawrence,

they activate a lot of LinkedIn influencers, which is really fun. But they also activate just like UGC creators in general. And what I really appreciate about what they do so well is they offer creatives, creative freedom. They truly trust that creators know their audience best. They know what content works. And I would say a huge mistake to kick this off that a lot of brands still make in this day and age is they are expecting creators to like have this entire script, follow the script, make it be this, you know, super tied up like ad that sounds like an infomercial that they normally like wouldn't say anything along those lines. And it just like doesn't work. Like it just doesn't work and influencer marketing. And so brand should be really choosing creators because of their connection

to their audience and trusting that that creator knows their audience best and not be overriding creators with like everything being so like brand safe. Like I understand like regulations and like, you know, in skincare and sometimes in like toys with younger kids, things like that. Like I understand that. But that's different than monitoring every single word that comes out or saying you have to follow this script. And so I've just really appreciated how like Sweet Lawrence is like, hey, we trust you, we believe in you, do your thing. We're going to put some money behind it. We're going to pay you to do your thing and like just run with it.

So I would say a mistake is, again, not trusting that the creator knows their audience really well. I would say another one is really treating creators like media buys instead of actually creative partners, not just creators, but creator of partners, because I see brands oftentimes see creators just as ad space rather than like strategic collaborators with them. them. So creators get hired for reach, but then they're not actually given a seat at the table to help shape the vision of that campaign or the execution of that campaign, leveraging their own creative freedom. And so then you see all these campaigns that, again, they're missing out on that authenticity, which I know is a big buzzword, but just like that genuine human connection,

which is why influencer marketing blew up the way that it did is because you had that genuine connection and people felt like, oh my gosh, I can trust them. I can believe what they're saying. they're not like a celebrity or someone like so high up that I feel like I don't have that relation to them. So creators, you know, you're missing out on this like creative freedom, this authentic high performing also campaign when you're just treating them as like, hey, we're just going to give you money and like, that's it, you know, and not involving them into that process.

So I also, for any creators that are listening, it's really great when you can push back and say like, hey, I know that this is like your idea or this is your thought. But like I have another idea that I want to run by you and just give you another option. because I know this would really connect with my audience. And here's why I really believe it will do that, right? If you have data or like a past campaign that performed or past content that performed really performed really well, like give that to them, share that with them and to help really prove your point.

And I would say one last one, and this is, I can spend way too much time on this one. But to be honest, like a huge mistake brands make is their low balling creators still. And now we're in this space where brands are relying solely on affiliate payouts, which has been really concerning. So many brands are still, like, approaching creators with these, like, exposure offers. So it's, like, really small flat fees, like $50 for a real two-story sets at TikTok, a YouTube and your firstborn child. Or they're offering, like, affiliate only deals.

And so affiliate programs can be really great add-on revenue streams or opportunities to, like, work with a creator, but they shouldn't ever be replacing fair compensation because the industry is really evolved. Like, creators are educated. They're running legitimate business. businesses now with, you know, being an influencer, being a creator, and they're building careers out of this. And so they deserve to be paid accordingly for experience and time and the value that they bring and not just said like, hey, well, we'll pay you just based on what you

convert. Like, it's just not a good strategy for influencer marketing. I'm not going to knock the brand. They're like, that's the only thing that works. Like, okay, if that works, like, you know, that's fine. But for my vantage point, like, it, the creators hate it. They hate it because it's like, well, now you're wanting me to create all this content and spend all this time and then I'm only getting a commission. Like can't we do something like a flat feet on top of also having an affiliate so we can see both brand awareness and your driving conversions. But we're getting too many emails about just like CPC, CPM models. And I'm like, oh my gosh. And creators, they don't want it. They don't want it. Yeah. I guess it's a good way to start out if you're a creator, more on the creator side

versus the brand side, right? But yeah, it's really difficult to sell that, especially when you're doing all the work and hoping that you get some sort of return off of that of the creator. So one thing, too, you know, that can kind of fall into a mistake category is having a terrible brand brief, right? So like you are building this campaign. You're preparing to send it over to an influencer and there's no details on like, what are you trying to achieve? What are you, you know, what are the specs for the content? How many pieces of content, et cetera. So let's talk a bit about briefs, right? So if you could kind of design your picture perfect brief in a nutshell, what would be in it? What would not be in it? What are some of those details that you recommend

that brands have included in there? Yeah. So I'll share kind of ins and outs. I would say in is make it be a PDF. I don't know why we've gotten so many like links or like, you know, like floating around. I'm like, okay, can you just make this a PDF? Because especially as when creators are doing this as a business and how we're managing it as an agency too is we're doing everything and click up. And so we have like every single campaign has its own section. So like being able to put it somewhere and not just like have a link floating around. Like please make it be a PDF.

That's going to be one of the first things. Also having in there like you were saying like what are the deliverables reiterating like yes those should be in the contract. Yes, you should have talked about those in emails. But like what are the deliverables? what are the specs for those that, like, you're requiring, especially if it's UGC, like, what are the specs that you're looking for? Again, this should already have been like discussed and agreed upon in the contract process

and negotiations, but making sure that that's just like reiterated in the brief, like super short, sweetened to the point, but put it in there. I would also say a clear campaign objective that's tied to the business outcome. Again, this is something that we really like to discuss over email first, but like a question that we're always asking brands is what is success for this campaign look like to you to make sure we're all on the same page because sometimes brands will reach out to one of our brand awareness creators wanting a conversion campaign but that's not their bread and butter right or reach out to a conversion creator wanting a brand awareness kind of outcome and

again you're you're asking for two different things and so in that brief having just like again short sweet to the point but like are is your goal sales is it email signups is it market awareness like is it just visibility like in the new space right What is the actual goal of this campaign, which again should be communicated up front, but reiterated because the creators, like, they're pulling the brief up. You know, they're not pulling the contract backup or their email thread back up. Usually that's not what happens. They're pulling the brief up when they're going to make content.

So again, having like those short pieces in there. I would also say deep, like, audience target. So not just demographics, but I really love to see psychographics. So what does the brand's audience actually care about and what motivates them to buy because even if you're working on a brand awareness campaign, it's obviously like you want sales. Like the bonus that we're always telling our creators is if you can drive sales for that brand, even if you're being hired for brand awareness, like that is the biggest bonus and selling point of why they can keep working with you, why they want to. Like it's the perfect

cherry on top. So if you can communicate to the talent, to the creator, like, hey, this is what our audience, what we've noticed. Like it really motivates them if it's like these kinds of things. It's different for every single brand. But if you can have some psychographics in there, then that's been really valuable and something I, I don't see brands do a lot of. I've gotten two briefs this year where I've seen that. And I was like, can everybody do this? Like, it just made it so much easier when the creator was making content. Also, content that's worked well for them in the past. So, um, ideally this is like embedded in there, like actual like the real or a story set or a YouTube video. Like whatever the content is that this creator is making, you should have

examples of content you've appreciated. Like what has been approved? What didn't need a million revisions, you know, to get it to the final posting stages. So even a not only that too, but like a short, hey, please avoid this list saves everybody. A example that I'll give on this is a toy brand once didn't communicate that children under five couldn't be in the sponsored content the creator was making. And so when they got back the influencers video, their four-year-old child was in that content and it had to be completely reshot because this wasn't communicated from the start. The brief overall is about overcommunication to the talent, right? Still short, sweet to the point, but it's over communication to the talent because the goal is for no one to have to

deal with revisions. You don't want to deal with that as a brand. The creator doesn't want to deal with that when they're making the content. Nobody wants to have to do revision. So what needs to be communicated to them that you know is like, okay, legal's not going to sign off on this. My manager's not going to sign off on this. My assistant, they're not going to sign off on these things. And we need to have this in there for the content to be approved, that should all be communicated in the brief. And so some of these things like I'm not mentioning might be what you need to have in there for a brand, like whether it's like brand safe guidelines or regulations or things like that for your industry, whatever it is that has to be in there for the content to get

approved the first time around is what you need to have in the brief. And I would say in terms of like being out, you keep hearing me say like short suite to the point. Like please do not send over like anything past five pages is like a no. I love a two to three page brief. So do the creators. That's what they love. Like, even the shorter, the better. Like, if it's one to two pages, bet.

Because really, again, this should be short. So to the point of, like, what's absolutely necessary. Everything else should have been, like, communicated or it's like in the contract or something. But, like, it should just be very clear. It doesn't need to be this long whole thing. Like, I got a brand brief recently that was 20 pages long. Like, oh, my gosh. What do you want me to do with this?

Like, and then the creator's like, oh, my gosh, because then they're going through. pages. It's just too much. It's too much. It's unnecessary. And also, I'll say this, the right creators, the right creators do not need a novel to make great content. Right. The right creators don't need a novel to make great content. And then I would say like the last two things that are just like out is like overly prescripted like scripts that are like a word for word that strip away the creator's voice. Like you have to say this. Like it's one thing to be like, hey, make sure you mention this is an ad because of FTC guidelines. Make sure that you mention like, the specific product's name.

Make sure you mention like, hey, like this doesn't, you know, this doesn't cover what your doctor says or whatever. Like those things have to be, you know, but like it should not be word for word what the creator is saying. Or you having like a laundry list of hashtags and tags that need to be in there. Like it should be like, what is your brand's hashtag? What is your brand's tag? Put an ad for FTC guidelines and like that should be it.

Yep. We need authenticity in our campaigns. That is so incredibly important. um i such great advice like i literally i recommend anyone listening in this space like go back listen to that section write it down and build a new brief or like look at your brief and assess it yeah like for sure and i think audit them often like is what we have and we're using is it working like are there common questions that come up from creators are there gaps are their holes and what we're providing and so you can always be going back and assessing what you're what you're giving

Yeah, something I love to. This is like just a bonus, but I got a brand brief one time that was it was like two pages long. At the very end, they actually had a web page that you could click for like common like questions, like an FAQ's page that was like hidden on their website. So you clicked it. It took you to the website and then you could like go through, you know, different like questions and answers that they had previously. Instead of putting it in this long brief, it's kind of like, hey, this wasn't necessary for the creator to make the content. But if you're curious about this, this question has come up often, go here. to learn more, you know? So I thought that that was like a really unique way. But yeah, I have come in

to do so much consulting on briefs alone for different brands because for some reason, this seems to be like just such a massive sticking point with creators. And they make it way too long. And it doesn't need to be so long. Yes. I completely agree. Can not agree more. Okay. So pivoting slightly here, Kaila, I want to talk about LinkedIn, one of my favorite subject ever. I know you've definitely been experimenting more on the platform. And I love how much we've seen more brand campaigns pop up on the platform as well. So even from just leading an agency as well, I'm curious to hear your thoughts on this. But after so many years of focusing heavily on Instagram and other platforms as well, what shifts in strategy or mindset have been the most valuable in making that

transition and what have you learned on LinkedIn so far? Yeah. So I am a obsessed with LinkedIn. And every time I say that in the creator influencer realm, people are like, what do you mean LinkedIn? Like that is so boring. It's only for suits. And I'm like, no, guys. Like if you're a creator influencer, you need to be on there. And also, that's where all the brands are. So be connecting with the brands on there. What do you mean? So I honestly, though, like overall in terms of content strategy, I really stopped trying to like, I guess Instagramify LinkedIn, because it's not the same. platform. And what I did on LinkedIn and have been continuing to do is I've really leaned into

like storytelling, industry insights, different news, like the behind the scenes of running the business. And just content that makes more sense for the professional audience that's on there because a lot of my connections on there or like followers, just call them connections. I never know what to call them, the community, the LinkedIn community. It's all like, it's my brand contacts. It's like how I'm staying in touch with them up to date, like for Alora, for me as a creator, like knowing what's going on in the industry and in the space. And so knowing that that's the audience, I'm creating content more so for that audience than Instagram,

which is more for influencers and creators that are over there in that community. And I also really embrace the fact that LinkedIn rewards thought leadership over aesthetics. And so I'm focused less on like aesthetic visuals, aesthetic videos, photos, things like that, but more on just sparking conversation and getting people to, like talk about something or sharing an idea or like a thought process. And I've been playing around with video, but to be honest, the video reach has been really down on LinkedIn right now. So I haven't been like worrying about that a ton. I've just been really sticking to like carousel post,

text post, single image post, things like that. And if I have a video that I happen to usually make like for Instagram, then I'll repurpose it, maybe change the, the caption a little bit differently for the audience that I have on LinkedIn. But that's been working really well as just honestly seeing them as like two separate platforms that I can repurpose when it makes sense, but I do need to make some tweaks. And honestly, I just, I look at them as creating content for two very separate platforms and I schedule them very differently. Like the way I just process what I'm going to create on each is completely different. And that really changed things for me because I think we get so caught up in like, oh my gosh, we've all this content

to create. Like let's just like make it easy and repurpose everything. And I think that there's times and places for that, but it doesn't always work as well as you think it's going to. And then, yeah, you're working smarter, not harder, but then you're also not really reaching the target audience and creating content that's, like, resonating with each individual audience that you have on those platforms, especially if they're different. Yeah, that makes a ton of sense. And even from like a non-influencer space, approaching branding in that way is super important. And so I want to kind of pivot again to another format here, if you will.

brand activations experiential all of that is really huge right now and we're seeing a lot of really fun different unique campaigns activating talent and creators in that way so what in your opinion do you feel makes a brand activation of that sort or a live event worth the investment not only for the brand but also the creator to be a part of that too and any tips in terms of like selecting creators and talent to be a part of that I'm curious your thoughts on all of that. This could be a whole separate episode because I love me a good event and like building connection in person. Nothing, nothing competes with that. I mean, it's so amazing that we have businesses and jobs and the opportunity to connect with people around the world online,

but nothing ever beats sitting down with someone in real life or meeting the brand in real life or meeting a creator in real life. I would say that there's two things, honestly, that cross both brand and creator's side of what makes activation super valuable for both. both sides, it's credibility and visibility. It's, oh my gosh, as a brand, we got all these cool creators in a room. They're talking about it. They're creating content. Look at this like beautiful experience that we were able to pull off. And then for creators, it's to their audience. Look who I was able to go to this event with. Look at how cool it is. Like I got street cred with you now. Like, oh yeah, I was at so and so. For example, I was in New York last week and one of our creators

got invited to a beauty brand event for bare minerals. And it was their 30. anniversary and i was like okay like i'm not i'm not a makeup girlie on my instagram you know but i was like let me go i'll go as your plus one and i just it was so funny being there and posting stories and people are like oh my gosh you were at this event that's so crazy wow how did you get and i was like this is so wild like in the game of social media that it it truly is sometimes a game to be like i'm in the room i'm here i'm with these other people rah rah rah and you got to find you know authenticity and, you know, being genuine through that and like not let it get to your head on either side. But I think like just very black and white. It's credibility and visibility.

It's like, are you being seen by these people? Are they seeing you? And are you building that credibility in the space like as as a brand, as an influencer, as a creator? But I think too, like the investment is that you're getting these people in the same room. You're actually getting them to create content. And creators are a lot more inclined to create content around events and activations and experiences, especially when they're like, they're exclusive. You couldn't do something like that before, like you take them on a yacht or you're taking them on a trip or, you know, I know that at like Finty's Beauty Launch, like, you know, Beyonce's mom showing up, like, you know, things like that where you're like, oh my gosh, like what's happening, you know? And those kinds of

things, people want to talk about them, right? Because it's cool. It's like fun and not everyone gets to be part of it. It's FOMO, you know, like very psychologically. It's just it's FOMO, you know? And so it's, I think that they're, they're very valuable with the right people at the right time. And I think for brands that are looking at creators to invite, it's like, sure, I get that you want to invite all the flashy creators and who's hot and who's trending. Like, I get that. And if you get them there, awesome. But please also invite like actual like customers, invite actual people that are like buying the products. And I think that Waterboy is a great example of someone that's done this really, really well, is they had a whole brand trip literally just for

customers, like actual common, like people that don't consider themselves influencers or creators. And I think that there's still a huge gap and a really great opportunity here for more brands to do that at like some of these, you know, events. And I think that because influencer marketing, I don't like the word saturated. I don't think it's saturated because I think that there's still a lot of opportunity, a lot of space for for people. And there's creators that are joining this industry every single day. So I'm not going to say saturated. I will say that that it's busier. You know, there's a lot more people in this space and there ever has been before. And there's also a new narrative that's realized with influencers and creators is can they be trusted? Are they actually buying these

products? Do they actually use it? And so I think when you can get some more of like, yeah, get the influencers and creators in there, especially like a lot of them are actually using these products, which is awesome. But let there be like a range where it's not just like million plus. Let it be like there's nano influencers. There's micro influencers. There's some macro influencers. And then like get some customers in the room. Like surprise them. Like take them on the trip, right? Get them on the yacht. Like, and that, those are the kinds of videos, too. I will just say, like, they do go viral because then the customers like, oh my gosh, like this is crazy. I got to be in this room, you know, like, those are the unique opportunities that I think

brands aren't taking enough advantage of. And they get so focused on like what's flashy, you know, and creators can be guilty of this too. Like, what's flashy? What's excited? I've got to do everything. And it's like, okay, let's just like take a step back. If this is actually about being genuine, being authentic, like, where, where's the line? Where's the line there? Yeah, absolutely. I could not agree more. And I think we'll start to see that wall come down, right? Like, as you mentioned, it was very unapproachable for a very long time to see a brand trip happen. And it's like, I would never be a part of this. Like as a consumer, I'd never be able to step into the shoes of that person and experience this. And so I love that brands are kind of breaking that wall down and allowing us to kind of be a part of that story too. And to your point, like that stuff goes viral. It's fun to see like a regular person. get invited to this trip and hear their viewpoint too because they're going to talk about it differently as well. So, yeah, super fascinating to see that, excited to see that develop more too. We could talk about influencer marketing all day, but I have to ask you more on like your

personal brand, you as a professional, you speak, you do all these amazing engagements and things, that takes confidence. It takes like this reassurance in yourself, what you're sharing, who you're talking to. And I feel like whatever tips you're about to share here in a minute is going to be relevant not only to creators, people who are looking to put themselves out there on more of a public front, but also just as professionals. Like someone who's looking to step up and to lead a meeting or present something to a client or whatever it is. So I would just love to know anything, like tips on building confidence to step up, to share what you're presenting, to share what you're passionate about to talk about that and lean into that. What would you say to that? Again,

I know it's a loaded question, but very curious. Yeah. I love it. It's a really great one. And I will preface this by saying that I, sitting here now, I'm currently 27. I started at 17. It's been 10 years in this space. When I started, I and honestly, up until this year, to be so for real, I really struggled with confidence. Being young, being a female, being Latina. Like, I really really struggled to like figure out what is my place what is my voice who do i want to be known as who am i like asking these questions i went through you know core life crisis at 25 and i was like burn it all down i hate it all like who what is even happening what am i doing here like and since then i have really been on this own personal journey of figuring out like yeah who who am i and

what do i want to be known as and what kind of also legacy do i want to build as an individual as a business owner legacy is so important to me. And so it's been a long journey and I for a long time was really positioning myself as like the girl next door. Like you knock on my door, I'll give you a cup of sugar. I will still do that. But I also wanted to be someone where I was like very respected as an expert and I was hired for consulting and, you know, respected for that. And I was doing the speaking and I was doing these things that I felt like these other experts were doing. And I was like, I feel like I can do that. But I don't feel like I have the same respect because everyone just sees me as like their best friend and like the girl next door. And like that was really hard.

And I had a really big wake up call when I missed out on like several opportunities because people didn't feel like it was the right fit in terms of like the confidence level. It was actually really wild. But they were like, I just don't feel like you would be ready for this opportunity because it you're kind of operating a little bit younger and like how you're approaching things. And I was like, hmm. And so like between that and like other conversations I was happening and just even internal auditing, right, like how I was being perceived in the market. I did a lot of market research with my own audience. I did market research with like friends and family too. And so it was interesting seeing how I was perceived versus how I wanted to be perceived. So I went

on this like personal rebrand. Okay. And so I just want to say that like it's taken a minute for me to be confident. And I was sitting on this call yesterday meeting a brand new person. And we're talking. We like immediately hit it off. And we're chatting about like, you know, what we've been really proud of that we've done. done this year. So I'm sharing some of the projects that I've worked on. And she was like, girl, imposter syndrome is afraid of you. And I started laughing so hard. But it felt like this very like defining moment where I was like, oh my gosh, like, no, I don't struggle with imposter syndrome the way that like I used to. Like I have my moments from like, can I do this?

And then I'm like, yeah, like I can do this. Like I got this. You know? Like, but it was like, oh my gosh, like my, the perception is changed. And based on feedback I've gotten from like the events that I've spoken at, different interviews, like different things. And people are like, yeah, this is like a completely different Kalia. And so I say all of that to say. I'm not trying to toot my own horn in any means. I'm saying that to give context that if you're sitting here right now and you don't feel like you're confident and you're really struggling to like figure out what that looks like for you, that it might take some time, but it's very, very possible to get to that point and to be like, no, I am confident. And like, I can do this and I'm going to own it. And I'm

going to own the fact that like I'm good at what I do. I know what I know. and like, yeah, absolutely I should be on state. Absolutely, I should be leading that meeting. Absolutely, I should get that promotion, right? And it does take time. And it takes, like, continuous work, too. It's not something you, like, arrive at and then, like, you're good, you know? Like, it takes continuous pouring in.

So all that being said, a few things that have really, really helped me in this process. Number one, I have to say this because it's my faith. I mean, to be honest, like me believing that it's not just about, like, who I am, but whose I am in Christ and that has been the number one like that is the foundation of my confidence is truly my values, my beliefs, like my love for the Lord and knowing that I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be in this very moment and doing what I'm supposed to be doing based on his will and I'm chilling with that. Like that's the opinion I care about the most. And I think for a lot of times my confidence was really shattered and like cracked because

I was so concerned about like how other people think what they're saying. And you might be thinking, well, Kaylee, didn't you just say that you were worried about how everyone else is perceiving you? And I hear that. I hear that. But it wasn't coming from a place of, oh, my gosh, that's going to be the defining moment. It was more so a market research of saying, like, wait, how am I positioning myself? Like, how am I coming across? Because from an unbiased perspective, not I'm going to change everything just because what these other people are saying. It's more so information, right? That made me curious to kind of go on this personal rebrand journey. But yeah, my faith is the foundation of my confidence. And then on top of that in terms of like very practical day-to-day things. I practice a lot of rejection.

I don't know if anyone ever saw like the TikTok videos that went viral people being like, they're like doing yoga in like the middle of like a busy time square or like time square or like they're doing all these things to like purposely get rejected. I do that every single day in different capacities. A lot of it now in my actual work is pitching myself for things, pitching myself for speaking, pitching myself for consulting, pitching myself for interviews, pitching myself for like anything, like just advocating for myself in any capacity. I look at that as getting in rejection reps because when I'm putting myself out there and there's the opportunity that I might get a no, it's really terrifying because

nobody wants to get rejected. Everybody wants that opportunity, especially if you're like, I feel like I'm a really great fit. But the more that you normalize the possibility of getting rejected and the more that you are rejected because I get more knows than I do get yeses. Like that's just the name of the game. Like you build that like confidence to be like, okay, well, I can do this and I can put myself out there. And even if I get a no, like, I'm going to be okay. Like the world's not going to end. It's not going to be like, oh my gosh, my career is over.

I can't do this ever again. You really build persistence, which is really valuable. You build confidence through that. And then also you learn that sometimes no is just a not yet. And then that builds confidence too to keep trying because then when you also putting yourself out there to get rejected and you don't get rejected and you're like, oh, it's like a nice little bonus, you know? But I do these rejection reps all the time.

And it's really helped me. Um, I've also curated a, um, like a space that's a document of like my, my proof of work, like my, my social proof, right, that I've gathered. So this, it could be a Google doc. For me, it's in click up. It's a click up doc. Could be a notion. Um, it has wins. It has testimonials. It has media features, podcast interviews, stages that I've spoken on, um, examples of like my best work, things that I'm proud of. And that way when an opportunity like arises where I can like present myself for something, first of all, it's a great thing to pull from. But, second, whenever I'm like feeling down or I like, I get rejected.

I'm like, dang, like, can I do that? I really wanted that or like, I'm just like questioning where I'm at. That helps me to refer back to as like proof. Like, okay, no, I'm on the right track. Like I've done this before. I can do hard things. Like, I've overcome this. Like, this is what it took for me to get to that point.

And so it like re-energizes my confidence in that capacity as well. And then I also like, I do a lot of gratitude journaling, like focusing on like what I'm very thankful for looking back to. too. Like we get so focused on looking ahead of like what's next. What can we achieve next? And we don't spend a lot of time looking back at how far we've come and what we've overcome to get to this point. And so when I take an audit of everything that I've been through to like even get to this point in business or get to this point in like my personality and my character and like, you know, all of those things, then I'm like, okay, you know what? I have a lot to

be confident in, you know? But I think that confidence also isn't just a feeling. I don't always feel confident. Sometimes it's just a choice of operating and saying, like, no, I can do this and I have proof, even if I'm not feeling it right now and walking in confidence. It's not necessarily just like a faking it until you make it. But it truly is a choice in how you're showing up of, okay, I'm going to present myself as being very confident. And eventually, like, my body will catch up with my mind, you know?

And sometimes you have to like put yourself up there. Like, I remember the first time I spoke and I was like, I don't know if I can do this. And everyone was like, you should do this. You're going to be great. And I was like, I don't know if I can. But I stepped up on the stage. and I stumbled a little bit, but then I got through it and I, then I just kept getting the reps in. So it's like getting the reps in of like not only rejection reps, but also getting reps in

of doing what you actually love. And like that's going to build your confidence too. Yeah. Oh my gosh. The rejection reps thing is so interesting to me. I love that idea though. But it's, yeah, it's so helpful. Like allow yourself to go for the big things. And if you get rejected, then it happens and then learn why and maybe what can you do in the future. And also I think the other thing that I tell people all the time too, just to piggyback off what you said is you're most of the time that lack of confidence comes after you've been given the opportunity. It's like, okay, they said yes, but now it's time to go do it. And you're like, wait a minute. Like, am I supposed to be doing this? What's happening? What am I going to do? Am I going to say something silly? And it's like,

you were asked to be in that position for a reason. So like that alone, like just remembering that. And we are our biggest, worst critics. Like, and so there's just, yeah, I absolutely love what you but I think just also remembering that too like you were asked to step on up on the stage for a reason you were asked to give a presentation for a reason and to lead a meeting or whatever and so use that alone as like no I am worthy and I am I do have the skill set to step into whatever this is yeah and even like feeling anxious or nervous about something that's actually a great sign if you reframe that to thinking you know what I'm nervous about this because it's a sign that I care I want to do such a good job that I'm thinking about what I'm going to say and how it's going to go

because I want to do right by the people that hired me. I want to do right by what I believe I can do, right? Like I want to not prove anyone else wrong. I want to prove myself right that like I can do this and I care. And so that means I'm a little bit nervous. Like I recently on speaking, I was about to get on stage and I was like my heart, I felt like my heart dropped to my stomach. And I was like, oh my gosh, can I do this? And I was like, okay, you know what? Kail? like you really care about making sure that this information that the audience is getting is actionable, it's timely, and that they're walking away feeling like empowered but also encouraged.

And so you're thinking through a lot and like it's okay, but like you're going to be good. You got this. Like there is a lot of self-talk that you have to like go through. But I think when I've noticed myself getting more nervous about things, then I'm just like, Kelia, you care. That's a really great thing. And it's going to be totally okay.

and it is every time. Yes. It absolutely is. It absolutely is. Thank you for that. Appreciate it. And thank you for all of this. We'll, of course, have you on the show again down the road just to check in and you what's up in your world. But in the meantime, we've already teased some of your accounts, but let us know where can we follow along with you, learn more about all the things, and also have everything linked below as well. Yes. Well, thank you again for having me. This was so fun. I love a good gap session with you. But yeah, come hang out with me on Instagram or LinkedIn. Both are Kalia Wade on LinkedIn and Kaylee and Nicole on Instagram and then Alora Society on Instagram as well. But send me a DM. If you listen to this,

I would love to connect with you and chat more. If you have any like follow questions about anything that, you know, we talked about here, like I'm a voice, I'm a voice note girlie. So send me a voice note. I'll respond with the voice note. But we'd love to connect. Yes, absolutely. Kalia, thank you again so much. Definitely get in touch with her, follow along with her. And just appreciate all the work that you're doing in your space and everything. It's been amazing to see. It was same with you, friend. Thank you so much for having me.

Absolutely. Thank you. Thank you so much for tuning in to this week's episode. If you enjoyed this conversation, I would love your feedback. And if you're ready to take things to the next level, sign up for my weekly newsletter in the show notes. You'll get weekly career and marketing insights straight to your inbox. And if you have an idea for a future marketing happy hour episode,

shoot me an email hello at marketing happy hr.com thank you again and i'll see you next thursday