In this episode, Marcus Edwardes speaks with Ashley Pereira, a branding and marketing consultant who specializes in recruiting. She helps brands and individuals establish their identity, figure out their market, and develop big-picture strategies to help them reach their goals.

Ashley is also the founder of Free Skin Co, which sells a range of organic vegan and U.S.-made skincare products. The company donates 5% of all purchases to bettering the mental health of those affected by child abuse, trauma, and PTSD.

Listen in as Ashley discusses the building blocks and first steps that aspiring recruiters should keep in mind when starting their branding and content marketing journey.

She emphasizes the importance of publishing value-driven content aimed at a specific audience, and reveals the keys to creating meaningful and engaging posts on LinkedIn.

Finally, Ashley speaks on overcoming the fear of putting yourself out there on social media, and offers practical baby steps to starting your personal branding journey today.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• [02:25] Why recruiters need to build their personal brand for success
• [07:34] Overcoming fear of getting started in publishing content
• [09:17] The importance of developing your communication skills
• [10:49] Defining your “why” and target audience
• [15:22] Establishing a value-driven brand on social media
• [17:29] Building your network
• [22:52] Creating a meaningful and engaging post
• [25:14] Two approaches to content creation and scheduling
• [27:15] Optimizing your profile
• [28:34] Maximizing the very first line of your LinkedIn message
• [30:27] The elements of a viral post
• [32:33] What counts as “engagement”
• [34:35] Starting today
• [37:11] Avoiding the comparison trap on your content creation journey

Key quotes:

• “One of the greatest skills that recruiters need is communication.”
• “The more you can pinpoint and be focused on the individual you’re trying to help, the easier it will be to create the content you need.”
• “Branding is all about allowing the audience to go through an emotional decision-making process through resonating with the content.”
• “Engagement doesn’t always mean likes or reach or impressions or comments. My end goal whenever I post anything is to have a real conversation, whether it’s with one person in the comments, in my DMs, on a Zoom call, or over the phone.”