Produced By - Behind the Panda: Turning Personality Into a Recognisable Brand | #118: Aiman Tahir

Episode Date: September 15, 2025

Aiman Tahir is a LinkedIn Growth Strategist, podcast host and creative marketer, better known on LinkedIn as The Mindful Marketing Girly. She has built a fast-growing presence by blending emotional intelligence with AI tools, creating content that connects and leading campaigns that capture attention. From producing viral billboards in Pakistan to growing a personal brand that inspires thousands, her work is rooted in creativity, strategy and community.Listen to this episode to discover Aiman’s journey of pursuing her passion for marketing, podcasting and personal branding, learn tips and tricks on how to show up consistently online without burning out, and get inspired by her always positive, friendly and enthusiastic mindset, leaving you motivated to take your own next step.Connect with Aiman:https://www.linkedin.com/in/aiman-tahir/https://www.youtube.com/@TheMindfulMarketingShowTimestamps:00:00 – The moment Aiman knew she had to build her own platform00:59 – Welcome + why “Mindful Marketing Girly” works02:08 – How 17 podcast episodes got her called “Top 1%”03:15 – From Pakistan to Dubai: gold medal, agency life, and e-commerce04:54 – Going viral: billboards that stopped traffic06:16 – Finding her “sweet spot” in marketing and content07:31 – Running two podcasts without burning out09:10 – AI overwhelm vs. staying relevant10:48 – The danger of chasing trends on LinkedIn11:57 – Her go-to creators for AI inspiration12:47 – AI tools she actually uses (and ignores)13:55 – From introvert to visible creator: starting on LinkedIn15:19 – 3 likes and a breakthrough: building for purpose17:13 – Why introverts can win in video and podcasting18:58 – Rejections, pivots, and lessons in public21:12 – The panda mascot: why it works (and how she made it)22:47 – Picking purple: colour psychology and brand recall24:04 – Changing colours = losing recognition overnight25:03 – The USP that keeps her consistent28:12 – Burnout: cutting from 6 posts a day to a healthy cadence29:45 – How she keeps posting from her phone31:30 – Joining the FenPost challenge → joining the team33:00 – Favourite FenPost features for creators35:40 – The one feature she wishes existed36:52 – Life off-screen: nature walks and a reset routine38:02 – Dream guests and big ambitions39:09 – The creators she actually follows39:49 – Why she doesn’t binge podcasts (and what she does instead)40:23 – Idea capture: notebooks and Squid Game moments41:54 – Where to find her online42:26 – Advice to every 20-something creator44:38 – Wrap-up and final thoughts Connect with Tomas:X: https://x.com/TomasLoucky⁠⁠⁠Stan: https://stan.store/TommenLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomasloucky/⁠⁠Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisistommen/⁠⁠Unproduced:Newsletter: https://unproduced.substack.comYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@unproducednotesSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033Ddo8ibDlLYoaP7FFLIWMore:Links: https://linktr.ee/produced_by⁠⁠⁠Newsletter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://producednewsletter.substack.com/⁠The Podcast Club: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/25420030/Tools & gear that support the show:Metricool: https://f.mtr.cool/HRJBZKRiverside: https://riverside.sjv.io/vDnDodFavikon: https://www.favikon.com?fpr=tommenRa Optics: https://ra-optics.myshopify.com/discount/TOMMEN?rfsn=8803777.591d19JamX: https://jamx.ai/podcasters-offer?ref_id=e02d48af-ef66-4e76-b804-c2e8d282a8bfSome links are affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. If you find them useful, using these links helps keep the podcast running. Thank you!  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

So I started off in October and my first podcast also was in October. So I created a whole teaser video that I'm starting off with forecasting. And luckily I got a lot of my friends, a lot of people who I did not even know, they supported me. And then slowly, slowly I started, you know, growing my own channel because I want to give this message out that corporate world is not everything. Your job is not going to be staying forever. People forget you. You are replaceable no matter what your role is. So you need to start off something of your own that is going to be having recognition.

So, you know, now when I go to any job interviews and all of that and recruiters ask me, what do I want to be the next five years coming back to the same question. I say that whenever I'm on my deathbed or whenever I have retired, I want my children to know me as a mindful marketing girl. I want them to know that, you know, their mother had a podcasting channel because I cannot tell them I was an employee in a company, XYB company. They cannot go and check what I was doing. But they can go on to YouTube and they can see me after I die. So that's something that I really look up to. Before we dive into today's episode, please hit that subscribe button. Your support helps us grow and inspire more people on their journeys.

Thank you. Hello, Aymann. Thank you for joining us today and welcome to the show. Thank you. Thank you, Thomas. It's wonderful being here. So Aymann, for those who don't know you, can you please introduce yourself? Okay, so I am known as the mindful marketing girlie on LinkedIn. So I started off my podcast channel, six to seven months before.

And at that time, I did not know if it's going to work out or not. And it's been six to seven months when I've been able to get a lot of creators, influencers like Thomas himself onto my podcast. And I basically talk about marketing and personal branding. So I do podcast on that. But at the same time, also working on LinkedIn for my personal branding as well. So I've recently started to mentor and provide services. of personal branding to founders as well.

So my podcast is slowly becoming into a business as well. So that's about me right now. How many episodes have you produced with your podcast? They are 17, but they're going to be 20 because some are in the pipeline as well. Because I'm not sure if you notice, but there is like this saying or statistic that the majority or many of people who start podcasts, they give up after, I don't know how many, it's like six or eight or 11 episodes. So then I often see people putting like into their taglines

that they are top 1% podcasters or something like that. But then if you know the context, it's actually not that hard to be top 1% if you continue producing episodes. So just about to show some context that well done keep going because as I know what it's like, I always appreciate and admire anyone who keeps producing the podcast. So I hope you stick with that.

Thank you. Actually, a lot of people do write top 1% and they also mention their follower account and all of that. But I personally do not like that because you don't know what where life takes, you know. Like I might stop podcasting in the future. There's no guarantee that I'll continue with. So it all depends how you market yourself on LinkedIn as well. That is very true.

And Iman, can we discuss a bit more about your background? Because as we discussed just before the recording, you are originally from Pakistan but you now live in Dubai. So can you tell us more, such as, for example, what did you study? How did you get into marketing and how you started to become interested in this? So I've basically studied from Pakistan, Zabist. I've done my bachelor's and my master's also from Zabist and I've been a gold medalist over there. And then I have done a couple of jobs as well in the field of marketing.

I started off with a creative agency. then I shifted to an e-commerce platform where I did some billboard content which got very viral and from that I shifted to a completely new industry which is the AI industry so I'm working there as a marketing lead and I also do podcast for them as well for their channel for their business as well so that's about me and is actually marketing also something that you studied when you were younger yeah I date my bachelor's and master's both in marketing what is it that made you interested in this field A lot of things because I was always fond of writing. I was always fond of content and creative ideas.

So when I was in school, I always used to, you know, take part in anything which is related to creative ideas, whether it's speech, whether it's, you know, doing some type of drama and all of that. So that's why I chose the business side. And then slowly, slowly, I became interested more into marketing. And I was always interested, you know, in searching about brands, what type of, you know, creative practices. They do all of their case studies. So I always love talking, love thinking about that. So that's where I actually got the interest. And did you have like a specific position in mind that you would like to do or maybe that you still aim to achieve?

No, I would say that I'm still, you know, finding my way. I am working as a marketing lead somewhere, but I'm still trying to find my way. I want to actually discover what do I want to pursue in life? So I'd say that everyone who's actually part of the corporate world, they know the struggles that we all face as corporate employees. So I'm still finding my way. I won't say that I have achieved 100% of where I want to be right now. I like it because it's also, you may have some ideas or some goals, but along the way it always changes and you never know when you end up.

Yeah, like five years ago, I never knew that I would, you know, start podcasting. So, you know, whenever these companies or recruiters, they ask us in interviews, you know, what do you want to be from five years from now? I never have an answer. I don't know why people even ask. Because I don't remember into podcasting. So it's very weird. Like, you know, you don't know the next day, what are you going to be?

You don't know if you're going to even be alive. So I really, really hate this question when, you know, the cruders ask us what do you want to be. That is true. And sometimes I ask like a similar question on a podcast, not where you see yourself in five years. But I like to ask people like about their ambitions or goals or just what they are pursuing. But sometimes it makes me also feel like that I'm asking questions

and it makes them feel like interview. So I understand what you are saying. And with the podcasting, how did you, discover passion for this. Okay, so actually I started podcasting in my company where I'm working at, you know, right now. So they offered me to do a podcasting role, even though I was hired for marketing and social media and all of that. But they actually saw something in me because I was very much interested in speaking. So they said that, you know, why don't you start a podcast? And so I started an AI-based, you know, podcast for them. And that's where I learned that,

okay, this is my sweet spot because I actually enjoyed the days when I used to have a podcast. I was very, very excited. So a lot of my colleagues, which were also my very good friends, they advised me that why don't you start your own podcast? Because you're not going to stay at a company forever. You know, it's going to end one day. So why don't you start something of your own that's going to be more sustainable? And at that time, when I discovered, you know, LinkedIn,

because a lot of podcasts people are on LinkedIn especially. So I was like, there's so many. And they have, like Thomas himself, there are so many followers on engagement. So why would people watch me? You know, I'm from Pakistan and all of that. So why would people even watch me? But, you know, slowly and gradually start to increase. It is still increasing.

So, yeah. So it was their idea for you to start a podcast, right? Yeah. Yeah, in the company. And when I told you, what did you feel like? Were you excited or scared or a mix of both? Yeah, I was excited because I always wanted to, you know, be on camera, be the forefront of any brand.

So it was very exciting for me. But I won't say that that was that much exciting as compared to mindfulness. marketing because that is my own brainchild. So I'm very much excited because I'm doing both of the podcasts, you know, side by side. So I really, really enjoy mindful marketing because, you know, it's all about something that I have interested in like marketing. It's all about personal branding. So I enjoy that more as compared to, you know, doing it for someone else.

I was actually about to ask you if you still continue producing the previous one. So it means that you are working on both podcasts. Yeah, yeah, I'm working on board. And the one for the company is about AI. Yeah, it's already. But it's actually quite interesting topic as well, because as we know, you can see on LinkedIn, like pretty much daily, some breaking news and stuff like that.

So I can imagine it's both very valuable for you so that you learn stuff. But at the same time, I guess like preparing and doing the research for such a podcast, it takes some time too. Yeah, it takes some time because I don't have background in AI, but I have learned a lot because I'm also part of the industry. So I've learned a lot about wife coding. and all of that. So it is interesting. And is it actually like the topic that interests you

or is it just because of you have to like because of the company and the podcast? Honestly, AI is actually very much relevant. So I've learned a lot, you know, all of my podcasting skills have actually come from the company itself because, you know, I learned video editing, you know, how to speak online and all of that. All of my skills actually came from there. And plus, you know, I learned a lot about AI as well. So I very enjoy that as well. What are your main sources of information when it comes to AI?

Because it's quite challenging to keep up to date. So where do you go for information? I just scroll on social media. There's a lot of LinkedIn influencers. Every other person is actually talking about AI. A lot of my friends themselves are in the AI industry. So yeah, I do attend a little bit of webinars. Again, I do podcasting as well.

A lot from that as well. Then there's social media, there's LinkedIn, so many bunch of carostoles. I think there's a lot of, lot of AI overload as well online. So it's very hard to actually keep up with everything. Like just yesterday, GPT5 came. So there are million posts of GPT5 on LinkedIn. That's the only thing I'm seeing from yesterday. Yeah, so there are a lot of ways to actually gain.

You can watch YouTube videos. Like we are just learning, you know, in our company, how to use N-A-10, how to use bike coding. So we're learning that from YouTube. There's a lot of courses online. So, yeah, it's very easy to actually learn AI with social media and all. That is a good point and I was just about to mention you said release of chat GPT you know when it goes out that the whole day you will see breaking news breaking news and everyone sharing the latest information. But I think at the same time it's of course exciting topic, something that resonates is going to be relevant. So I think there are also many people who probably post about it just because it's like a trendy topic and I think.

let's be honest, helps you to grow faster. So it's really important to find the best sources. But as you said, there are some amazing creators. So I think it's the fastest and probably the best source of information if you just find someone you trust. Yeah, that's true. But I'll also like to add that I've seen a lot of people repurposing other people's content. And it's all about AI.

Even I, the first characters that I made were also about AI. But I slowly realized that this is not what I want to be. this is not in what I want to be recognized for. So you have to understand that, you know, just posting about something that's trending because AI is trending, that's not how it's supposed to be. You have to find out what you are good at, you know, and there's a lot of areas in AI that people have not explored yet. So there's a lot of things like geo is actually very trending right now and a lot of people

have not explored it. So you have to find out, you know, what's your niche, what's your sweet spot, not just actually repurpose content that other people are already making. I think so too, because if you post that. about it just because it's trendy it's going to confuse your audience and if we then post about something else like what are going to be remembered for it it's not going to really make sense so i think it's important like to sort out what's our positioning and what you're going to post about that's right do you want to mention like some people that you like to follow when it comes to

i on lincoln for inspiration okay so there's a very good friend of mine mohamad sami so he's in dubai So he posts a lot about AI and I personally have, you know, talk to him as well. And he's taught a lot about, you know, AI to me as well. For those people who are actually on tech, there's Ava K Pen also who's very popular. He also talks about AI as well. So I like him as well. And there are a lot of creators online, you know, who are actually speaking about AI. So I like everyone, you know, this Taylor, he makes basically AI videos and he shows spaghetti and food dancing.

So that's something that really interests me, something very unique because everyone is talking about white-porting, they're talking about code, cursor, AI, and all of that. But that's something that is very unique. So a lot of people are there that have interviewed as well that talk about AI. So it's very, very interesting. Yeah. And speaking of AI, what are some of the tools that you use? I'm using Notion.

So that's also one. Then I'm also using Replit to make different type of apps. So Replyt is very easy for those people like me who are actually non-tech and they're part of the marketing industry. So it's very easy for, you know, automating anything as well. Then we also have Canva which has AI features. All my podcasts are edited on Canva right now. I've not used any other tool other than that. So these are the basic tools that I'm actually using.

I'm also working at my company at an AISU agent. So we are also building, you know, agents as well. So that's something that we do. That sounds really cool. And what's your favorite all right? Everyone's favorite LLM is Chad GPD. So mine is chat. So I also like using Claude.

I think Claude is much better when it comes to. LinkedIn especially. So giving ideas on that. A clod is very good. But you know if you want to went and you want to scold someone then chat GPD is obviously the shit. Yeah. Yeah, it's my favorite too. And you mentioned it before like when you started with LinkedIn. So was it actually there isn't for you to start LinkedIn or did you already have it before just not using that? Okay. So I basically started off in October. So I was going through a rough patch back in October. at that time for all the personal reasons or anything. So I was actually very, very, I was not active on LinkedIn ever.

Even when I started my podcast for my company, I was not active on LinkedIn. I was reaching out to people. I was doing podcasts, but I was not actually marketing it on my own LinkedIn. I was never ever interested on LinkedIn. I actually are very much, I'm an introvert. So I do not like posting about my life or anything on social media. And, you know, LinkedIn is the only public platform that I have. I'm not publicly available on any other platform because I am an introvert, right?

So for me, if you asked me one year back, I would never imagine that I would be on a podcast. I never imagined I'm going to be on camera on LinkedIn. But at that time, I was going through a very rough time in my personal life as well. A lot of my friends knew it. And they advised me that I need to, you know, get my mind off and do something else, you know, where my mind goes. So I did start off with personal branding. I actually started off with a podcast. I do not think about that I'm going to be posting much on LinkedIn and, you know,

talking about personal branding as well. I started off on LinkedIn. And surprisingly, my colors were not purple. It was actually the light brown and light green color. Because it was a free template which was available on Canva. And I was like, I just want to post. So I started that. And a lot of people, I'm sure they don't know it because now I'm recognized for the color purple.

I'm trying to think if I remember, but I think I do not remember. I did not get any likes even. I remember the first carousel that I posted in these two colors. I got three likes. One was my own and two of them were my friends. so yeah so I'm sure no one knows about it so I decided off in October and my first podcast also was in October

so I created a whole teaser video and that you know that I'm starting off with forecasting and luckily I got a lot of my friends a lot of people who I did not even know they supported me and then slowly slowly I started you know growing my own channel because I want to give this message out that corporate world is not everything your job is not going to be staying forever

people forget you you are replaceable no matter what your role is. So you need to start off something of your own that is going to be having recognition. So, you know, now when I go to any job interviews and all of that and people ask me, reputors ask me, what do I want to be the next five years? Coming back to the same question.

I say that whenever I'm on my deathbed or whenever I have, you know, retired, I want my children to know me as a mindful marketing girl. They want, I want them to know that, you know, their mother had a podcasting channel because I cannot tell them I was an employee in a company, XYB, company. cannot go and check what I was doing, but they can go out to YouTube and they can see me,

you know, after I die. So that's something that I really look up to. I really like it. It's great reasoning and I can only agree with you. I was just a bit surprised. You said that you were introvert and didn't really have any social media. But at the same time before, you were someone who wanted to be creative, right, and, you know, not afraid to record yourself on the video.

So I'm a bit surprised, but at the same time. I think it's great because people are of course often scared to record themselves, put themselves out there. Not going to lie. I felt the same. But you started, you put yourself out there and you started podcasting and videos right away. Yeah. So a lot of people have this misconception that what are actually interwords. Interverts are not people who cannot publicly speak or they cannot be on camera.

Intowards are people who actually, if you talk to a lot of people, you start getting drained. And that is me. I get drained if I talk to a lot of people. I even wrote it on LinkedIn that, you know, I'm having social anxiety. So I'm not doing podcasting anymore. So it does happen. It does take over me one or two times. But yeah, we can speak.

We can have a public platform. We can speak on camera. So it's very much easy. Yeah, there's a good point. Have you got any advice for people who are afraid to start with the video or maybe even podcasting or put themselves out there on social media? So the first time is always going to be very scary. because I did start off in October, but I was told by many people to actually start, you know, my personal channel or, you know, start podcasting as well.

And I also thought, you know, that I should have something of my own. But I was broadcasting for, I guess, three months. So it took me three months to actually start my first podcast episode in October. So the first time is always going to be, you're always going to overthink. You're always going to be scared. But you have to at least take a step. Once you take that step and once you start, everything is going to be easy. I remember as well when I was starting out, I was thinking, how am I going to, I don't know, do intro?

Should I use music? How long is it going to be and this and that? But it's really not a big deal. Just do something, improve overtime, get it out there and don't overthink it. That's right. And then when you joined LinkedIn, did you have any kind of strategy in mind or some kind of plan? or did you go there, started posting and started improving over time? The first time I posted, one of my friend told me that, you know, you should, like, I was actually

thinking about, you know, I don't look good on camera or maybe, you know, I used to think a lot. I'm sure everyone thinks about that the first time that they're posting. Or even if I'm posting a carousel, I think that, you know, it's not perfect. Maybe people are not going to like it. But, you know, a friend said this to me, and it's actually very funny, that no one is noticing you because no one knows you. So no one's going to actually notice you, even if you make a mistake, even if you don't look good on camera, even if you are not making a good carousel, or even if there's a lot of spelling

mistakes in your carousel, no one is watching you because no one knows you. So that is very important to keep in mind. I know it's funny, but in the first time, no one knows you. So you can make as many mistakes as you want. And honestly, my carousel still have so many mistakes. I sometimes, you repeat a slide, I sometimes have mistakes. So that would be more than. I think it comes back to spotlight effect when we think that everyone is watching us. When we do mistake, everyone notices, they are waiting for us to do that mistake, but in reality, people really focus on themselves and they don't really care about you as much as you think. Yeah, as long as you're providing something of value, there's no problem in actually making

mistakes. So like, coming back to your question, I did not, honestly, I did not have any strategy. A lot of people talk about that you should have a strategy. Even I say it just because it looks good, but I did not have any, I had no strategy. And actually, I did not even know I'm going to be continuing podcasting. I did not know if I'm going to be getting people because in the start, I got a lot of rejections, including Thomas, guys,

he did not know what to come. So I had a lot of rejection. People did not want to come on our podcast because of course they don't know me. Then how can they actually come on a podcast? That's understandable. So I did not have any strategy, but I was like, you know,

I have to keep going. And along the way, I had changed my picture many times. I changed my colors until I did not like it. I started using the panda and all of that. So, you know, my strategy started building over time and it might change. Maybe I might change my colors in the future as well. So it's okay to actually learn along the way.

I agree. And I like it. And I feel the same, of course. When I started out, I had zero strategy as well. And I'm pretty sure it was much worse than yours. You just said it now, but I was about to ask you, why did you pick panda? I just found it cute. So I was actually looking after like different type of, you know, avatars that I could use.

Because I've noticed people, they do, you know, try to. to use some symbol or something which they can actually get recognized for. So I wanted to keep it something very simple. A lot of people use AI avatars. They're using all of these astronauts. I've seen a lot of people use astronauts as well. So I just wanted something to actually, that resonated with me. So I wanted something very cute, very light.

And so I tested some AI tools. I used Canva, AI magic as well. And I wanted to see if I could build it. So this, you know, this panda is not available online. I make it myself as well. So it's very easy. You can just use any AI tools. you can describe it to even chat gvd i want a panda like this i want an animal like this so and then i got

slowly recognized i started noticing that people started using including toml started using panda in the comment even though i did not have any intention to keep using it i noticed that people started liking it and so i still use it now i think it's really smart and i like it that's as you said something that i kind of remember for or that comes to my mind i think it's kind of like a quirky way how to i don't know how to connect, how to comment. So for me, it's very smart and interesting. But do you call like this panda or your symbol any name or is it just panda? No, he's just a panda.

Kung Fu Panda. You need to come up with a cool name. Yeah. And before, when you changed your brand in, what was the reason behind picking the purple or kind of pink? I guess it's more purple, right? Yeah, it's purple. So I actually changed my colors a lot And again, I was, you know, testing different type of colors

Like the first thing I did was actually changed my picture Because my picture was very outdated It was from back when I was in bachelors So the first thing I did was that I changed my picture And after I changed my picture I tested different type of colors, you know, behind my picture What actually suits me well So I tested blue, I tested pink as well

And then I tested purple And then something purple was something that actually stick with me And I started liking it it. So I used purple and then I use lime green with that as well because it's tired to stand. So yeah, I did test different colors but something that felt more like me because, you know, honestly social media can cause burnout. It can actually because you're posting all the time, you're seeing so many creators online. So you have to make sure that at least your profile is something that resonates with you and that you like. Otherwise, you're just going to get bored very quickly.

It's a very good point. And I also like what you said that if you pick the color and for some and you don't like it, don't be afraid to change it because ultimately it's your brand, your color, so that you should like. And you can change it now and maybe like in several years in the future, no one remembers or no one notices. So it's not a big deal. Yeah, so actually I did change my color in the middle because, you know, we were going through a campaign in my company.

So I changed my logo and I changed my color as well and my picture as well. So a lot of people, they forgot me. I was commenting, but I was not even. getting replies to the comments, like, it's dated, and then I realized that people are not recognizing me. So then I realized, oh, so it's the color purple. It's not my name. People will forget my name,

but they still remember the deeply and the color that I have. And my impressions also felt at that time. I just noticed that people do not recognize me. It's actually a good point when because you get used to it, you engage with someone like on the daily basis or regular. And you don't

really like you read the name. You see the picture and instantly that person comes to your mind. So when there is someone who changes picture or something or even just bigger, I'm like, wait, something is different here. But after some time, of course, you get used to it and it's not a big deal. Yeah. Are you struggling to stay consistent on LinkedIn? Pen post helps you create high quality posts in minutes so you can write faster, show up more, and stress way less. Built by creators for creators is the easiest way to grow. It's the easiest way to grow. your presents without burning out.

Try it free at fanpost.com. And a big question, I want, something that is maybe a bit annoying question, and I'm sure that many people ask you, but I just have to ask, is when people ask you, for example, in the DMs for LinkedIn advice, for any advice how to grow or tips, what is it that you answer or like one type of advice that should tell people? Just be yourself, because there's so much. many creators online. And you know, LinkedIn and any other social media is not the same. And I always say

this that our generation, especially the Gen Z, they are a cursed generation because that moment that we have grown, the job market has gone down somehow. There's so much content online. So it's so difficult for you to even get a job or to even get noticed online to have a business. It's so difficult, you know, inflation is going high around the world. So there's so many problems that we're going every other day. there's a war in some country or something. So just be yourself because it's very difficult to actually get noticed online. The only way that you can do that is identifying that what is your USB? Everyone, I think that God has made everyone different.

And everyone is, you know, born with something unique. There has to be something unique in yourself. It can be anything small or big. I said it can be your smile. It can be the way you dress, the way your hair looks and all of that. So there has to be something and just be yourself. Do not try to, you know, copy others. So, you know, when I started personal branding, I was actually the first one in my office who started, you know, posting on LinkedIn.

And immediately, people started seeing that in two, three months. They also started posting. A lot of my colleagues, they saw my Lincoln and they also started posting. But then they disappeared. Then nothing happened. They did not get the same reach or engagement. Like a lot of them even tried to keep avatars. Like I have panda.

So a lot of people started to make cats and all of that. how they got lost they somehow got lost because why? Because they were trying to be like me they thought that you know the same strategy that I'm using maybe they can also do it but everyone has a different strategy you might get noticed for something totally different

so don't copy anyone you can take inspiration from people you can learn from people but just be yourself I like it and I only agree I think also don't be discouraged if you haven't found it yet because it may take some time

you also might find something and it might not be the right one so don't be afraid to change it don't be afraid to explore and as you said don't necessarily copy other people i mean i guess don't people at all but see it as inspiration maybe it gives you some ideas or something and brainstorm and just test things because that's ultimately the only way how to find out we spoke about it before i'm on but what is it that helps you to prevent burnout or to keep showing up consistent Yeah, so I do stop posting in the middle. Like before in the first three months, I was very much motivated. I wanted to, you know, get noticed.

And so I was posting five times a day. That means Monday to Friday, sometimes Saturday. Like, but that won't count as a post. Usually two, three lines only. So I was posting sometimes five, sometimes six times a day. But then slowly what happened because I'm also working somewhere. Then everyone has their own life. There are a lot of things that you have to do.

So I, you know, my posting time or my posting days actually reduced. I started to post two times a day, sometimes three, sometimes I'm away for a whole week, and I'm just commenting and I'm engaging with people, but I'm not posting myself. So, yeah, I do, I would agree that I do have burnout. I won't say that, you know, I'm perfect or something like that. I have burnout every two, three months, I guess I'm having a burnout. Again, because I'm an intro word and I'm doing something outside my comfort zone. I'm talking to people, which is totally not, you know, my personality in real life. So I do get burnout very quickly.

but you know I actually ask this question in my podcast every time because I want to know how do you actually get rid of burnout so a lot of people gave me this advice that you know take one or two days off where you're not talking to people you're not using social media you're just you know on your bed so either that can be the weekend or something go out take out you know time away from your screen as well but I tell a lot of people and I said this before as well on another podcast that you should actually use LinkedIn on your phone do not use it on your laptop or do not use it on screen. I don't know if that helps, but it has helped me because then LinkedIn feels like a normal platform, like any other social media platform, you're scrolling, you like a post, you comment on it, it's easy. But the moment I start using it on a bigger screen, it feels more like, you know, I'm part of the corporate world and this is something that I have to do. It's my duty, it's my responsibility. So it's really helped me, you know, using LinkedIn on my phone. So usually when I'm commenting on your post or when I'm commenting on anyone's post, I'm usually eating. I'm, you know, having my lunch break at work. I'm resting or I'm having my prayer time or something like that. I'm not working. I'm

not using the laptop. So that's really helpful. And it's okay to take days off. You do not have to post five times a day. Consistency does not mean posting every day. If you're having a burnout, you know, your life and your mental health is more important than any other thing. So go out, whatever, do anything that actually makes you feel better. You don't have to be on LinkedIn 24-7. I think you said it really well and the idea of using LinkedIn primary on your phone. It's actually something I haven't thought of as much because I use kind of both. But to be honest with you, I find the desktop one or in your browser I find it so annoying because I don't know if it's my laptop, my browser, but it's so slow.

So I often get annoyed. But I think it's a good point like to spend less time on it just by focusing on your phone. So that's also something that I may try, actually. Yeah. Thank you. And another topic, I want, is of course our favorite tool, which is fan post. And I was about to ask you because for the audience, the reason how we kind of started working more closely together is thanks to the first challenge

that we did with fan post, anywhere one of the participants. And honestly, we think you are the best one, which is actually the reason why you joined our team. So why did you actually join our team? the challenge and maybe to encourage some other people what did it to give you and you know what was the experience like for you so there are a lot of tools that people are making because of AI again that you would see every other person is making a tool whether it's for LinkedIn or anything else everyone is making something and all of a sudden everyone is a CEO or their founder it sometimes gets very irritating everyone has a founder on their bio maybe i'll have it tomorrow

something like that. For fan posts, I actually read when you shared the website and all of that, I read the LinkedIn, I checked out the about section and you know, one thing that I really like is that you guys had the same problem that any other LinkedIn created had. So that I really like,

you know, because it's not something that, you know, you create it a tool because, you know, everyone is making it so you guys also made it. But I really like the idea that you know what are the pain points of people who are actually posting online because I go through the same thing every day. I run out of it. of ideas, then I have burnout as well.

We have less amount of time because not everyone is just posting on LinkedIn. Everyone has a life. Someone is working and you know, we don't have time. So basically I really like that idea and that's why I actually joined the challenge. And now I'm also far of the team. Thank you. I'm of course already happy

to hear that. And just to for the audience maybe who haven't used the tool or don't know the tool, what are maybe some of your favorite features or some things that you like about the tool? obviously anyone who actually follows me knows that I make a lot of mistakes in my carousos, in my captions, because I'm always just running late. I'm always, you know, running out of time because I'm working as well.

So that's a major issue that I say is that I make a lot of mistake and because I just want to do it fast. And so I'm very bad at formatting. Like my drawing and my formatting from childhood is the worst. So, fan post, really the caption part, you know, of fan post, I really love it, you know, because I just give it my carousal and I just give it. me the perfectly formatted caption. I can change the brand tone. I can change the way I write, but you know the formatting is something that really attracted me. Plus I really like the GIFs and the pin comments because I always add you know something funny by comments as

well. So that's something that really attracted. Plus the playground part, you know, creating images. That's actually very much very, very fun because I've used a lot of AI tools even for making my panda and all of that, but they're very complex or they might not make the same thing that you actually want but I really like that images part you know it makes something that is what I want what's in my mind it's very easy to actually make so a lot of my friends at work as well who have actually started using fan calls I told them I advised them you should use this part because it's very very easy to use thank you days much appreciated and I think you really well explained or gave a solution because of course many people maybe have excuse or actually don't have much time

but as you just said, and I can see it by myself that by using fan posts, it literally gives you, I don't know, topic ideas or even what you want to write about. And in a few seconds or minutes, you've got both the copy and also multiple options, what kind of visual material you want to use. So I would just encourage people to give it a try. Yeah, especially quite personal branding services. If you're providing LinkedIn services, like if I'm providing it. So the main problem that you face is that everyone has.

a different band tone. Everyone has a different niche. Like someone might be a founder, someone might be a creative manager, but you can use fan post because you know you have that option where you can add different profiles as well. So, and you can get a lot ideas because the first state, if you've ever provide personal branding services, the first stage is that you have to provide people with a list of topics that they want to talk about. So fan post has been, I have used it personally and it's been very helpful,

especially if I'm doing personal branding for someone else. Yeah, thank you. I'm glad to hear that because whether you are creator who is just starting out or you are, I don't know, high-ranking CEO or someone in the middle, I think the Funnipost is trying to help everyone. And what will be, Iman, like a feature or something that you would like to see in the future and we don't have yet? I did tell this to you, but we did have a comment section before as well. So I really think that, you know, Panfo should be having that because a lot of the comments,

even I get those comments, especially for the people who have actually started on LinkedIn, they create AI generated comments and it's so, so easy to detect them because of the words that they're using. It's very easy to detect them. So that is one thing. Also, there should be a section where, you know, we have different influences or creators that you can find. Because, you know, when I'm advising people for personal branding, the first thing is that who should we actually engage with? Because we all know LinkedIn, especially LinkedIn. You have to engage.

Otherwise, you're not going to get engagement on your own post as well, especially in the first two, three months. So you need to find out people in your niche who, we are actually engaging with. So I think that is one feature, a pain point that people have, that they always ask me that what type of creator should be engaged with according to our niche, you know, and what are the posting times as well. So if that is going to be a feature, I think that's going to be great. That is a great idea and we'll make sure to edit to our road plan. So yeah, that sounds good. And Iman, before we finish, a few lighter questions. What is it that you like to do in your free time or what are some of your hobbies? In my free,

I just like to explore new places. You know, I like to go out with my friends or with, you know, even alone. I love shopping as well. So that's where I do in my free time. Something that is away from the screen time. I'm not someone who in my free time will watch movies or something. So I just want to be with nature. I love the nature.

I just want to be outside. Does it mean like exploring where you live in Dubai or when you are back in Pakistan or even to travel into other countries? Yeah. Like I've not traveled much in other countries. But yeah, I anywhere, like if I'm in Pakistan, so I just, you know, like going out, maybe going to the park or something like that, because I just told you, I love the nature. So I just like, you know, maybe walking, taking a walk outside. So that kind of thing I like.

Have you got a dream country that you would like to visit? Yeah, I like to go to London. Because you're just, so, yeah, I'd like to go to them. Hope you want to get disappointed because of the weather. I know I heard about that. You said it before that you don't really read much or watch movies if I'm not mistaken, but are there like any books that you read that have been influential to you or not really only? Honestly, like from my childhood, I've always been a nerd.

Like I've been a gold medalist. I always wanted to be, you know, the top of the glass. I would not like it if someone gets even one more than me. So the only books I could say that I've read is only textbooks. I've not been, you know, a girl. Godies and all of them. Yeah, no worries. It's understandable.

When it comes then to your podcast, have you got a dream guest someone that you would want to speak with? I like Fatma Khan. So I'm sure you also know about her, the one. So I really like her. So I would really like to have her on my podcast as well.

I also like Mehdi Shafi. He's from Dubai. And he's a very famous founder as well of Martin Gensi. I love his vibe. I love his energy as well. So he once even reposted one of my carousers I made about him. so it's a dream come true already so I would love if I have him on my podcast as well

let's hope they will listen to this and reach out to you I guess it might be similar question but what are some people that you follow on LinkedIn because you like their content because they're inspiration or because you learn from them there's so many like now I think there's samish enough and there's about being this Thomas and we have a lot of people I think there's so many

that I cannot even remember all the names, but I follow a lot of marketing channels as well on LinkedIn marketing loops basically. So there's pretty little marketer. There's Brad Girl Marketing. Sophie Clare. So there's so many, you know, marketing platforms specifically that I'm following as well.

Yeah, I agree. Sometimes it feels like there are too many to follow. You just need to find the right ones that fit to. Yeah. What are some of your favorite podcasts that you listen to? Again, whether entertainment or inspiration, I really, I don't even remember the names. I watch yours sometimes as well.

But honestly, I do not, I don't know, watch much podcasts. I do not even watch many movies as well. When I'm alone, I just like to spend time outside. So I don't really remember any specific, you know, podcast name that I'm watching. Yeah, I know, I understand. And sometimes you feel like you are not creative anymore, that you run out of ideas. What is it that helps you? I don't know whether you are creating content or for the podcast.

How do you battle this? Is it like to take a break or look somewhere for inspiration? What do you do? So I think their ideas, they just come with the flow. So if you're going to be forcing ideas, they would never come to you. Because I'm also posting about the top 10 things that are happening in marketing in 2035, for example. So there's a lot of times that you might run out of ideas, but just let them naturally come to you. So first I used to just send any idea that used to come to me on my own number on WhatsApp.

But then I started losing those, you know, there's a lot of things that you're sending itself on WhatsApp. So I started losing those ideas and ultimately I forget. Like I have a forgetting habit. I forget everything. So that was something that I started. So then I started to keep a notebook with myself, a small notebook. I keep it everywhere with me in my bag.

And you know, whenever I get any idea, anything that I see online and I think, okay, I can make a carousel on this. Like one day I was watching the last season of Squid Game and suddenly I thought that, you know, I can make a personal branding carousel on it. So I started making it, you know, something on that. So I just keep a small notebook with me. And it's a very old traditional way, but I like doing it. And it's really helped me, you know, not to get a creative plot.

It's actually a good idea because I try to do something similar. I think I can relate to what you said, that I tend to forget things quite easily. But I write it into Notes app on my phone. But the thing is that I feel like my Notes app is super slow. So actually, I think using real Notepad with the pen might be a better idea. then iman we discussed it already but can you summarize where people can find you follow you and promote any of your services or promote your podcast okay so i'm the only public platform that i have because youtube and lincoln so you can follow my channel the mindful marketing girly the mindful marketing

podcast and then you can follow me on lincoln so these are the only two platforms that i have i might come to instagram maybe in the future but these are the two platforms that i have i will at any links to the show notes. I like when it's simple. And then the last question, is there anything that I should have asked you and did not or any final piece of advice or anything you would like to share before we finish? I think you did a very good job. You're an inspiration. So you asked me everything that you could ask me. But I just wanted to advise people because being in the age of 24, 25, 26, a lot of us are very hard on ourselves. Even I am and everyone. Like I've seen it in my friend's circle, the depression rate has actually increased.

People are having anxiety. I've seen people have panic attacks. I myself have been, you know, panicking over a lot of things, you know. And I vanish from social media all of a sudden because there's a lot of pressure on this generation. Again, I talked about, you know, that the job market is not good and all of that. And we have a lot of expectations. You know, people expect us to be perfect at this age. And you know, when you come onto LinkedIn, people are saying that they're making one million.

They're becoming a founder. they did this, that's so easily to be hard on yourself and get depressed but do not be depressed you know find your way, do it slowly do not actually rush yourself you know, everyone has your own journey and you will reach to the end

so don't be sad about it I think it's a great message especially as you said with LinkedIn or other social media you see what people are posting and I think let's be honest people usually posts only about the wins not really about the losses or negative sides.

And you don't always know if it's actually the truth what they are posting about. And even if it's true, you don't know their background. So while it might sound cliche, don't compare yourself to others. Yes, you can see it as inspiration or to learn something from them, but don't compare because you don't know the whole story.

So I think you shared a great message. Thank you. So I'm on. Then I want to say a huge thank you because both really enjoyed our discussion. Once again, I appreciate that I had a pleasure to be guest on your show as well. And you are just amazing member of our team in fanpost. And not only fan post, even someone that I'm really happy that I met over LinkedIn.

So thank you so much. If you ever visit London, make sure to let me know because I will be more than happy to catch up with you. Keep doing the great work with your podcast. And once again, thank you for joining me. really enjoyed it. Thank you. Thank you for having me. It was wonderful. Thanks for listening to Prejudge by with Tomlin. Check the show notes for all the links and don't forget to subscribe, like and share your feedback. Speak soon.