← Strategy Hour | Online Marketing for Business Growth
Strategy Hour | Online Marketing for Business Growth
965: How to Build a Magnetic Personal Brand on LinkedIn (a.k.a. The Briefcase App) with Jayde I. Powell
00:50:02
Think LinkedIn is boring? Think again. Jayde I. Powell joins us to share her no-BS, high-energy take on building a personal brand that pops, creating thumb-stopping content, and turning LinkedIn into your most powerful platform.
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- [00:02]
A
Welcome to the Strategy Hour Podcast brought to you by Boss Project. I'm your host Abigail Pumphrey and I'm dedicated to supporting online businesses. I don't believe in one right way to build a business. I'm here to help you build business your way. One that supports not only the life you have, but the life you want. I'm on a personal mission to help you become financially free. I'm taking all the lessons learned as I turned a layoff into a seven figure online business. I'm here to help you prioritize your life every step of the way. Whether you're creating your first digital product, growing an email list, or scaling an already profitable business. Settle in. It's time to talk strategy.
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A
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B
It's very easy to compare yourself to others. You see what people are doing. You're like, I want to do that. I want to be a part of that. How did they get to do that? And I literally have to like calm that voice in my head and like, hey, they're a different person. That wasn't for you. They're not talking to you. Stop paying attention to it.
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A
Forget everything you thought you knew about LinkedIn Today's guest is here to flip the script and blow your mind. Jade Ipal is a powerhouse creator and the brilliant mind behind standout campaigns for global brands like Netflix, LinkedIn, Timberland and Coca Cola. You might know her as the vibrant voice behind creator Ttalk or from her refreshingly real, fun and magnetic presence on LinkedIn, the app she affectionately renamed the Briefcase app. Today, Jade's giving us her absolute best insights on how to build a magnetic personal brand, attract dream opportunities, and transform your LinkedIn presence from boring to binge worthy. Whether you've slept on LinkedIn or you're ready to level up, get ready. Jade's energy, expertise and no BS approach to social media is going to leave you buzzing, inspired and ready to post. Let's dive in. Hey, Jade, welcome to the show.
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B
Hello. Thank you for having me.
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A
I'm so excited to have you in my space because when I discovered you, well, I don't know if I discovered you. I think you did come across my for your feed at some point on Instagram, of all places. Potentially.
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B
Yeah.
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A
But then I figured out you were also connected to teachable and like, there's some camaraderie there. But I was like, how have I never heard of Jade before? She's a badass. So I'm so excited to. For all of you who haven't yet met this incredible woman, I'm looking forward to you meeting Jade. So for those people that don't know you yet, tell me a little bit more about your background and how you started as a creator.
- [04:19]
B
Absolutely. So I'm Jade Powell. I am a social strategist and a content creator from Atlanta, Georgia. But I've been working in marketing and advertising for the past 12 years. So this has always been my job. I just think it's been interesting, kind of making the transition into content creator. I started off. Well, I wouldn't even say I started off because I still am. I'm a social strategist, social media professional, social media creative director. I do a lot of social media related things in marketing and advertising. But I think it was the transition to creator was interesting because I did not expect that I would be there. I was used to working on the brand side, hiring creators and influencers for the brands that I worked for and they were the ones that kind of inspired me to become one myself. So I had been working with brands across Instagram and Twitter and then one day I was like, you know, maybe I should start posting on LinkedIn more. And that kind of started my whole LinkedIn influencer creator journey and have since made over $80,000 posting on LinkedIn, which is so weird to say out loud.
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A
Oh, my gosh, look at you. And you wonder why I had her on the show. Guys, I want to give you backstage access to this knowledge. You've been known for calling LinkedIn, as I learned last week, the Briefcase app and your presence there personally, at least for me, when I started looking at what you were doing there, it made me rethink why I hadn't been investing my time there. So why LinkedIn? What drew you to this platform specifically?
- [05:51]
B
Yeah, honestly, it was kind of like a transition that came from seeing my community on Twitter that I was building navigate away from Twitter. A couple of years ago, I had built this, like, big community of marketing professionals. We called it Marketing Twitter. And I loved it so much. It was so much fun. And then the culture on Twitter started changing when Elon Musk acquired it or became CEO. So we were just kind of like, oh, well, this isn't really fun anymore. So we all kind of went our separate ways. And I remember I was talking to one of my brand partners. I was in the midst of launching an original series with them originally for Twitter, or Twitter was one of the platforms we were considering. Clubhouse was the other. Then one of them was like, hey, did you consider LinkedIn audio series? And I was like, is that a thing? Why would people do that? So I was just like, you know what, let's test it out. So I just started posting on LinkedIn a little bit more frequently. And then over time, I feel like this kind of new sense of community found me, which was really crazy to witness in real time. So it's just basically because Elon took over Twitter. So I guess shout out to Elon.
- [07:00]
A
What a wild thing to say. But true, he's the catalyst for many things these days. I personally started my LinkedIn way before I, you know, was even owning a business because it's existed for well over a decade. I'm not really sure when it started, but I've been surprised. I started consistently posting 3ish weeks ago, which is not very long. And you are so right. The community there is. I feel like I already know some specific people and like some quirky things about their personality and their personal lives and how they show up. And I don't get that same feeling on Instagram or even TikTok really, because, like, TikTok feels like you're looking into people's lives. And I feel like Instagram used to be kind of community driven and Now I don't even know what it is now. I mean, I still love it. It's still my ride or die, but it's not what it was 10 years ago. But there's something consistent about being able to connect with this group of people that I can already tell is really special. So I'm not surprised that you felt that there. But when do you think that changed because it's existed for so long? Do you think it was Twitter changing that kind of made that switch for people? Or do you think something else happened that it made it less about, like, resumes and job hunting and more of a platform that creators could actually exist on?
- [08:37]
B
Yeah, I mean, I always tell people, especially as a social media professional, like, a big part of my job is, like, understanding the landscape of social and why things move the way they do. I feel like social media will always be a reflection of what's happening in society. And I feel like a large part of the shift that we were seeing is really just like the culture. Post pandemic workplace culture started shifting and we started seeing Gen Z Millennials especially, kind of being a little bit more open and encouraging about talking about, like, their workplace and being less formal about it, and older generations, too. I think we were coming to a point where we're like, we've quite literally had to change what workplace looks like, and the way we talk about it and the way we show up in it is also going to change as well. So I feel like the kind of way that people are showing up on LinkedIn or have been in the past couple of years are is a reflection of that. It's just people being a little bit more lax and then being a little bit more open to talking about their work experiences. So while we'll still see what I call, like, the legacy users do, the I'm proud to announce and I'm looking for this opportunity, I think there are also other people that are just like, dude, let me tell you what my boss said to me in a meeting yesterday. Yeah. So I just feel like the culture has changed. Changed. Because culture in real life has changed.
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A
Yeah, I know. That's one of the things I miss the most about leaving corporate was feeling this connection to peers and colleagues that I interacted with on a daily basis. It was all of a sudden like, I don't have coworkers anymore. And I did sort of start to create those kinds of things eventually, but it was so sporadic. Like, it wasn't a consistency thing. But I feel like in some ways it fills that void for me, of, like, these people feel like they are existing on the same timeline as me and, like, going through the same challenges and facing the same hurdles and dealing with the same economy issues and, like, all of the above. I know for me, I have a tendency to want to, like, be a serious thought leader, which is so goofy. I'm not a very serious person. If you meet me in real life, I'm probably gonna talk to you about my beagles and, you know, the new recipe I made last week.
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B
Yeah.
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A
But for you, like, you are so warm and bubbly and funny. And I think people feel this pressure to, like, look a certain way or be a certain way. And I do think part of the reason you're so successful is, like, you're just being yourself, not necessarily being unprofessional. It's not the word I was going for.
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B
Well, yeah.
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A
Making it more casual.
- [11:19]
B
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And that has been a very intentional choice for me. I think throughout my experience in corporate, I really struggled because I didn't feel like I fit in. I was just like, you guys are trying to tell me that, like, I need to dress a certain way, look a certain way, speak a certain way, but that's not who I am. So I found it really conflicting to work in corporate. I remember I used to work at Delta Airlines on the social media team, and I would just be, like, sitting on this team. Especially as a black woman, I would often be, like, the only black person on a lot of the teams I worked on. So I'd be sitting in my teams, and I'm looking all around me, and I'm like, why do you guys talk to each other like this? We were in an internal meeting, and you were talking to me in a very normal tone, and then all of a sudden you've switched up now that an executive is in the room. And I just have always felt like those kind of corporate rules were never made for people like me in mind. So my intentional choice has always been to show up exactly in the way that I am in real life, and that is how I work. So even now, as a business owner, I want people who follow me on LinkedIn and see me on social to already have an understanding of who they're going to get if they do decide to work with me in any capacity. There is no switch up. What you get is what you get, and you either like it or you don't. And that's just kind of where I am now.
- [12:42]
A
You just gave me, like, a very interesting realization about myself, because if you were to meet me in person and I were talking to say, another brand, the first thing I would do is start telling them all the things they could improve. I would tell them about how they could change their user interface or like they need this feature or PS your competitor over here just launched this thing and are you paying attention? And it's making me wonder why I haven't done more content like that. Because I definitely do not hold back when I'm collaborating with certain businesses because I think it's important that they see the creator side of the landscape. It's interesting. I would just, if you're listening to this, I would reflect and say like, if you were in the room, what would you say instead of thinking about what do I say online or what do I say on LinkedIn? Like, I think if you think about what would you say if you were in the room, it totally changes what comes out on the other side. At least it did for me just now.
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B
Yeah, completely agree.
- [13:43]
A
Tell me some specifics. What is working on LinkedIn?
- [13:49]
B
Yeah, so for me it has kind of like varied over time, especially as my personal presence has grown. So I feel like there's almost like two sides of it. One, it's teaming up with brand partners, which is like the where the majority of my income comes from. And those brand partnerships have looked very different over time. So when I started it was mainly just brands paying me to post about their product or service or campaigns online. So I would describe it in the same way as like you see a beauty influencer posting on TikTok about their favorite foundation. I'm talking about my favorite software solutions as a marketing professional. And that is kind of like the same dynamic. But then I think as I started working with more brand partners, it got a little bit more, I guess, intertwined in nature in terms of like what the partnerships could look like. So for an example, I remember in 2024 I was invited to speak at Adweek Social Media Week, which is such a huge conference in the social media industry. And I remember I was like, okay, I'm so excited to speak, but no one is paying me to yap, so how am I going to get to New York, cover my hotel and all my expenses? And I remember I just reached out to Sprout Social, who was one of my long term brand partners. And I was like, hey, you guys aren't going to be there, so allow me to be your on site brand ambassador. So I literally just took over their Instagram for the three days and I was just on their instagram story, yapping and interviewing people with my tiny mic and getting in people's faces. And that's how I was able to cover my chip, and that was a part of my brand partnership. And then there's also times where I want support and kind of leading my own initiatives. One of the brands that I'm leading is Creator T Top, which is a brand that I launched to foster transparent conversations between creators and creator economy professionals. And I remember going to a conference earlier this year, and I was like, you know what? It's not always the case when I get to be around so many people that I know online, so how can I bring this community together in real life? So I hosted a dinner with, like, 20 VIPs, and all of them were, like, LinkedIn influencers and people that work inside the industry, which was both beneficial for me and Sprout, and we teamed up to do that, and we hosted a dinner together, and I made money off of that. So I feel like the opportunities to make money are pretty endless, but brand partnerships have been a big part of that.
- [16:07]
A
Yeah, I think you have to really think. I wouldn't say outside of the box, but just what do you want to do? What's your, like, wild hair that you're like, well, if I had financial backing to do this thing, I would just do it, and.
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B
Exactly.
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A
You'd be surprised who'll say yes to what. In a similar vein, I launched Creator Diary earlier this year, and I remember just I happened to be on a call with FreshBooks, like, head of Partnerships, and I was like, hey, so I have this idea about creating a place where people could anonymously submit, you know, their own creator stories, but also get advice, kind of like Dear Abby style. And they're like, I love it. And I was like, you want to pay for it? And they're like, yeah. Yes. And I was like, yes. I was so excited. And so I think you never know. I think so often we, like, hold back of, like, oh, I don't know if they would be interested in the thing. Not that everything I've proposed has worked out, but way more than I would have expected. And I imagine you feel the same.
- [17:14]
B
Yeah, I feel like brands are, like, always looking for ways beyond, like, what they're doing internally to expand their brand presence, reach audiences beyond their own, which I feel like it's a literal intention of working with influencers and creators. But I think it's like one of those things where there's so many opportunities, and I think I've really just gotten to into the habit of really looking at myself as a brand. What would I do? Even as a marketer for brands when I. When I would be working with them internally, I'm just doing the same thing, but it's for myself. And I think with my brand partners, I always want to make sure, of course, that there is alignment and, like, what we're both trying to accomplish. But I really try to take the proactive approach as much as possible because I do think there are a lot of creators that they wait for brands to kind of tell them, like, oh, we have this campaign, or we want to put you in this thing. I'm always like, I'm trying to do this. Who wants to support me? And then I put out my call. So I'm like, almost doing the reverse rfp, which I love.
- [18:19]
A
Yeah, I think more people should be doing that. I think that's fantastic. Are you doing any of that publicly? Like, are you. I've. I've heard of a few people being successful, of being like, you know, these are the brands I want to partner with this year and tag them in a post on LinkedIn. Has that ever been a tactic you've tried?
- [18:38]
B
I haven't done that, but I have done kind of like more strategic, organic brand placement. So I'll, like, intentionally tag brands that I do want to work with with the hopes of getting their visibility. One of the examples I can think of is Canva. They've always been one of my dream brand partners, and I haven't technically partnered with them, but I am on the radar. I know that, but I remember I posted a video about. And this is last year, I believe I posted a video about how I designed my nails in Canva. And I couldn't. When I tell you I could not wait to post it on LinkedIn because I created it for LinkedIn, I was like, no one has ever created this content before. No one has thought to design their nails in Canva. And then three, this is the. Not the content people typically expect on LinkedIn. If I'm going to post about Canva, they're probably like, this is how I use Canva as a marketer. And I'm like, no, I'm going to show you how I use it as a hot girl. I remember I posted it on LinkedIn and, like, literally a couple months later, they were in my DMs, and we're like, we want to send you something. So I was so thrilled about that.
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A
Amazing. Do you think that's part of it is creating content that is surprising? For the platform or do you feel like you're trying to blend in with some sort of culture norm?
- [19:52]
B
I think there is a little bit of a balance because I will say I think a lot of my LinkedIn content is definitely geared towards the fact that professionals do follow me, so they are expecting certain kinds of content. But I'm always trying to think outside of the box. What can be a bit attention grabbing? That's not to say that I. My version of attention grabbing is doing inflammatory things. I don't do that. I have seen other influencers do that. My origin of attention grabbing is always rooted in the creative. How can I make this visually appealing or kind of like grasping to someone? And I'll give an example of my partnership with hootsuite. They approached us with a campaign, the influencers in the campaign, for a social media help desk concept where we were supposed to give advice to people in the social media industry. And they gave us the brief and they were like, you know, we just want you to take a picture with you on this red telephone and we want you to put your nameplate and it says, like, jade Powell, social media help desk. But I was like, I want to take this a step further so that when people are scrolling on the feed, I can literally get them. Get them to stop their thumb, so thumb stopping content. And I remember I was like, I'm gonna turn this into a whole production. So I got a red fur coat, some red glasses, a red dress, some red heels, sat on top of a desk, and I was like, this is going to be the It Girl moment. So I think even in my. My role as a creative director, again, I'm like, what would I do for brands? How can I now do this for myself and make sure it's, like, really eye catching for people that are following me?
- [21:24]
A
To that end, I've talked to some experts on Instagram who have said similar things about thinking about it like a campaign. Do you think that with that lens, it means that you ultimately, like, produce less content because you're more thoughtful about it, or are you doing a mix of campaign stuff and, like, casual in the moment? I think I know the answer, but I would love for you to talk about it.
- [21:52]
B
It's a great question. I'd say both. So I'm definitely posting less. I know. I think most algorithms, like, want you to post, like, at least twice a day, two, three times a day. I post like once a day, but even not every day. I feel like the majority of my content is like 60% are things that are a little bit more off the cuff. Literally just woke up one morning and was like, I have a thought. Let me post about the timeline. And then 40% of the things are a little bit more overly produced, require a lot more production. So I feel like that's a ratio that has really. That has been balanced for me. But I think the most important thing is that I don't pressure myself to create content. I only create content when I feel inspired to do so. And sometimes that means. Means I'll have an idea. Literally, it will sit in my notes app for like a month, and then I don't create the content until like two months later. Not always, but sometimes that is the case. So I really try to focus on, like, I wouldn't even call it a routine, I would just call it a flow. That makes sense for me.
- [22:49]
A
Yeah, no, it totally makes sense. Do you feel like there's anything essential that you have to have in every LinkedIn post? Like, I know for Instagram, if someone was gonna say, like, well, you need a hook on you, like something visual, and then you need something in the first line and then you need some sort of call to action or whatever. Do you feel like it's similar on LinkedIn or are there other components that are necessary or is it different?
- [23:16]
B
I think really, and this honestly goes across the board in all content forms, I think what you just need is value. You need to be able to offer someone something that is of interest to them. And when I say value, I always, I don't necessarily always mean like sharing a resource, although I do think that can be a part of it. I think value can mean a lot of things. So for some people, that's like genuinely just being entertained. Like, people love social because they just like to laugh and that's okay. So the value I provide is being humorous. Or some people want to know about my processes and how I do things. So I'll say, here's a notion guide of how I do this and that's valuable to them. Or I'll share a personal story so that they have like a real life experience experience to equate to whether that be something they're kind of pondering on their own and that's a value. So I feel like value is the most important thing. And I found that focusing on that, like, when I'm creating content, of course I'm just creating the things that I want to create, but I'm also thinking about how relevant is this to my audience? How valuable is it to them? What can they get out of this. And I think about that even when choosing my brand partners too. It's not just about like, of course I love a check, but it's also about like, is this something that I think my audience would actually be interested in? And if it is, I'll usually lean on it.
- [24:34]
A
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- [25:15]
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A
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- [26:31]
A
I do think that's something that people who are content first Focused are better at than, you know, a lot of the small business owners I interact with, they often think about how can I get X, Y, Z result for myself out of this content, not how can I add value first. And I do think in some ways there's some jealousy on the small business owner front of like, oh, well, if all I had to do was create content, blah, blah, blah, then whatever. So I guess can you give them a pep talk about it, like, because I really don't think it has to be all that hard. But how can they kind of switch from thinking about what they need versus what their audience needs?
- [27:18]
B
So you as a business owner are in service of your consumer and you may not think about it that way, but that's what we're doing. And if we want people to engage us, buy our product, buy our service, we have to be thinking about them first. They are the priority. So anytime I'm creating content for my audience, I'm always thinking of their needs in advance. And I will equate it to very similarly to a relationship. I like reciprocity. So if I'm dating someone and they are talking to me and they're like, look, look at me. Look at what I can do, but they're not offering me any. Anything in return, why would I look at you? What are you giving to me that makes me want to look at you, engage you, love you, hold your hand, sleep with you, all of those things. So I would say, like, think audience first and just remember that it is a relationship. So if you are trying to sell a product or service or have consumers engage with you in a certain way, you have to think about what is most beneficial for them.
- [28:22]
A
Yeah, it's giving. I don't know why. The first thing I thought of was like, what would you put on your dating profile? But like, I mean, it's kind of that you're not just selling yourself, you're trying to make yourself appealing, which is different.
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B
Exactly 100%.
- [28:37]
A
I do think sometimes we get so focused on, this is what I've done or this is the results I've created that we don't think about. Why do they care? Yeah, Putting more emphasis there, I think is great. Anything you think is completely overrated or unnecessary that like, you see all too often on LinkedIn.
- [29:00]
B
I would say one thing I've noticed, and this is just kind of like my personal pov, I've noticed this thing where when people are posting content on LinkedIn, at the end of their posts, they'll be like, my name is Jade Powell and you can keep following me for more tips and tricks on I actually don't think that's necessary because I feel like it's a little bit like over promotional. I don't think it's a bad thing, but I feel like take the kind of like brand marketing hats off when you're on LinkedIn and remember that you're talking to people because social is social first. If we're in real life and you're having a conversation with someone and someone's like tell me a little bit more about you. You're not all of a sudden doing an ad so you want to think of it the same way. So be very conversational on LinkedIn or this. Honestly, it works for any social media channel. Be very conversational and just talk to your audience in the same way that you would talk to friends in real life. That's not to say that you can't use a tone that's a little bit more authoritative because you definitely can. But it doesn't have to be like. And I love when people use this example because I feel like it's the best one where people are like, here's what attending my daughter's wedding taught me about B2B sales. No one cares. Just talk about your daughter's wedding. In fact, post a picture of your daughter because most people would rather see that than you equating it to B2B sales. It. It's not necessary.
- [30:24]
A
But if you're proud of your daughter's wedding, like let's celebrate that as milestone. I know. I think that. I think sometimes people the stretch to like make it related is. Can get wild. Like really? I. I'm not so sure about that.
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B
That.
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A
Okay, I'm curious on hot takes around what kind of content performs best, like just text or a single graphic or a photo or carousels or short form video. Like is there a sweet spot that creators should be aiming for?
- [31:01]
B
Yes, I would say the answer I feel like always changes. Right now I honestly feel like it's a tie between text only posts and text with images or graphics. I feel like for a period of time, especially Q3 to Q4 of last year, LinkedIn was really pushing short form video. They still are. It's like one of their primary product focuses. So I feel like impressions were very high last year for video. But now I feel like we're kind of seeing almost like. I don't want to say it's like a return. It's just more. I feel like there's a video specific audience on LinkedIn across in terms of its users across the board that love engaging video content, like consuming video content. And then I feel like there's more like what I'll call like the traditionalists who are just like, give me the text, give me the image, give me the meme. And that's all I need. So I feel like we're almost like speaking to two different audiences. I would say for me right now, videos are performing a little bit lower than text only post or text with graphics. But what I have really been contemplating lately and have started to slowly test out is doing both at the same time. So if I have a video concept, because I tend to think video first because that's who I am as a social media professional. So if I have a video concept and I produce a video, I'll then take the script or what I've written for the video and then think about how I can distill that into some text based only formats. And I found that that works because it kind of feeds both audiences at the same time without me having to reinvent the will in terms of content.
- [32:32]
A
Do you post those things really close together or do you spread them out intentionally?
- [32:38]
B
I will spread them out. Yeah. Okay. Okay.
- [32:40]
A
I'm always curious because I'm like, I literally could do this format wise, totally different, but say the same thing and I'm never sure, do I do it tomorrow or do I wait two weeks?
- [32:53]
B
Yeah, I would say wait a couple of weeks. Just so it. Because there are going to be those like people that follow you that are like, did I see this already? I don't think anyone would ever be mad at it. I just think like just to give it some breathing room in between posts. But I this is something I've always really found to be helpful and it's what I recommend brands do strategically as well. On social, it's like reinventing the will kind of leads to burnout eventually. And honestly, sometimes content that kind of gets farther away from what your original intent was. So I feel like knowing what the platforms are in mind, tailor the content to meet each of those specific platforms. So for example, like I said, I'll start with a video. Maybe the text that I included on the screen of my video is now going to be the text only copy for a threads post. And then maybe when I take the script of my entire video, I'll break that down into like three topics, mini topics, and then I'll turn that into a carousel post on Instagram and then when I go post it on TikTok, maybe the 1 minute and 30 seconds video that I posted on LinkedIn is now a 30 second clip and then I can like repurpose different clips from that video. So always think about how you can like invent your content. Well, create your content out of your existing content.
- [34:06]
A
How are you keeping all of that organized? Do you have a system, a flow, a certain software you're using?
- [34:12]
B
Yes, I do all of that in Notion. Notion is my homegirl. So I have like a social media calendar that is very high level. My kind of ideation flows. Like I'll have a random idea, put it down in my notes app and then when I'm ready to turn it into full fledged content, it'll go into Notion. And there is, when I write my notes and thoughts and ideas on what it needs to look like, how I want to execute it, what my script is going to be. In a lot of my video content, I'll include like memes and clips, I'll like write brackets and I'd be like insert clip of Mimi Leakes, cussing out so and so here. And then that's just how I kind of like create like what the vision or roadmap for the content is a little like in the end.
- [34:55]
A
Okay, it's good to know. I feel like Notion is making this like very strong. Yeah, no, I wouldn't say resurgence, but like it was kind of basic and more and more and more people are using it for different things. And I don't know if you saw this not an ad, but do you see they launched Notion Mail like a few days ago. I can't wait to look at that. It looks, yeah, fantastic.
- [35:19]
B
Actually, I will say plot twist. I was the ad because I was in the influencer campaign.
- [35:25]
A
Stop. I didn't, I didn't see your specific one, but I did see, I did see several others and I was like, oh, oh. Because my thing was, oh, I'm not, I can't get rid of Google. And then it was like integrates with Google is the like the last thing that was in the, the ad. And I was like, oh, all right.
- [35:43]
B
Yes, that was the selling point for me too. Cause originally I was like, I'm not going to use this. And they were like, it integrates with Gmail. And I was like, okay, I'm listening now.
- [35:52]
A
Now you have my attention. And specifically I was excited about the like being able to divide out the kinds of emails you get. Because.
- [36:00]
B
Because yes, and label. I love anything that's AI powered, to be honest. So that was enough for me. The Gmail and the AI powered. But I do find it helpful in terms of just labeling emails because I used to do it manually and now with notion mail hashtag ad, it's better.
- [36:20]
A
Oh, that's funny. I want to talk about having conversations on LinkedIn. Do you feel like this all needs to like, go down in the comments? Are you driving conversations to the DMs? How are you interacting with this audience beyond just posting?
- [36:41]
B
So I feel like the IRL connection has been something that has been really crucial to my success in all sides of my business. One of the things that I got in the habit of, especially in my like, early Twitter influencing days, was like, like, I want to say there was a year where I had like 35 coffee chats with people that I met on Twitter and there was no reason beyond, I just want to know who you are since you're always tweeting me and I'm always tweeting you and we're always having these conversations. And I was just like, I really do believe the Internet is a great place to make friends and connections. So on LinkedIn for me, a lot of the connections I have made, I have been able to take them offline. So I'll like again set up the virtual coffee chat, which is technically still online. So I guess I'll say offline LinkedIn, but virtual coffee chats, of course, but also meeting people in person. A big part of my brand, especially my creator TTALK brand, which is again designed to support creators and creator economy professionals, has been rooted in like community events. So I actually did one of my first events with Teachable earlier this year. We had an Atlanta creator meetup in the middle of the snow, which if you live in a state that snows a lot, that might not sound like a big deal, but in Atlanta, no, we'll shut the city down. So.
- [37:57]
A
And that event was packed.
- [38:00]
B
It was, it was very packed. So I was really amazed at the turnout. And people just kept telling me, like, you don't know how grateful we are that you did this because they just been craving some type of in person connection with other creators, other marketers, other professionals. So it's really great to see that in real life. And then even when it's like not on a brand partner's dime, I'm always looking for ways to gather people. So I'm like, like constantly texting people that I know from LinkedIn, but like, hey, I'm in, I'm in New York, I'm in town, like, come eat dinner with me and Tiffany. And so and so and so and so. And I. I feel like the in person community building is important in that way.
- [38:37]
A
I think you're so right. And I think it's really easy to, you know, kind of get stuck in your ways and not prioritize that relationship building. But yeah, if I really think about my growth over the years, leveraging relationships, not necessarily intentionally, not like, oh, I need to shout out from so and so, because if they do that, then this will scratch my back, blah, blah, blah. But yeah, actually developing real friendships and real relationships has led to so many opportunities and yeah, even growth of kind of cross sharing of communities. So I think that's a really good reminder. Thanks for that.
- [39:18]
B
That, yeah, absolutely.
- [39:20]
A
What is your craziest, randomest thing that has come to be because of you posting on LinkedIn?
- [39:29]
B
Oh, wow. I think honestly, girl, bossing my way to LinkedIn's LinkedIn, which is. I think that is the craziest thing because I feel like it's so meta. I never thought that, well, let me not say that I was manifesting it. So I definitely knew it would happen eventually. I just didn't think would happen so soon. I remember when I first got the opportunity to create content for LinkedIn's page, I was like, y' all want me on LinkedIn's LinkedIn, that's crazy. So I was like, so thrilled about that. And now I'm working with her agency internally as a freelancer, which is also crazy. So I've gotten to play like kind of both parts. But I think, if anything, it's the world of being an influencer. Like I said, I've always considered myself marketer first. And it wasn't that I like sought out being an influencer or creator. It just kind of happened. And I think LinkedIn being the focus of that has been such a shocker for me. I literally have a tweet from five years ago where I said that LinkedIn was ghetto because I hated it. I was like, I hate it over there.
- [40:34]
A
Oh my gosh.
- [40:36]
B
So it's now and it still lives. So it's now. Now that it's my primary platform. I just think it's been amazing to see all the opportunities that have come out of it. And it's really pushed me outside of my comfort zone, like being able to say that I posted Adweek, Social Media Week and Reagan's Social Media Conference. I have a LinkedIn show and I have all these things kind of contributed to me being a yapper, which is someone who's always been Uncomfortable with public speaking again has pushed me outside of my comfort zone. So. So I just think it's been a weird journey of just all these random opportunities that come my way. Like, how did I. This is just not what I expected. I'll say that. It's just not what I expected.
- [41:15]
A
I think people so often are like, oh, I have this goal, and then they think of this very specific path of how they're going to get there.
- [41:23]
B
Yeah.
- [41:24]
A
Nine times out of 10, how you get there is not what you expected. And, like, somehow you just arrive at some point, you're like, what?
- [41:32]
B
Whoa, that one's wild. Yes.
- [41:36]
A
Anything that you feel like people need to be focused on from building a personal brand perspective, I would say think.
- [41:45]
B
About what you actually feel excited to talk about and not what you feel like people are expecting you to talk about. So that's where I feel like the balance is. Like I said earlier, I do think there's a part of concentration and influencing where you do have to kind of cater to the desires of and needs of your audience. But that doesn't mean I feel like you should just only create for them. In mind, there's a balance of creating things that you genuinely want to create about. For me, that felt very natural, and I honestly think that's why I never really. Well, I wouldn't say I didn't have success. It just always felt weird on, like, an Instagram or TikTok. So I was like, I'm not really, like a lifestyle creator. I'm not really a beauty creator or a travel creator. And while always of these things feel, you know, interesting to me, I'm not really trying to influence people in that way. So I feel like what really clicked for me about LinkedIn was the fact that, like, I do love my job. I love talking about work that is like a part of who I am, and it just made sense in that way. So it was exciting for me to talk to other marketing nerds. It was exciting for me to talk to other creator economy professionals, and the content felt very natural in that way. So I think while I create content for my audience so that they can have something that they find valuable, I'm still creating content that makes sense for me. That's not to say I would never do a beauty partnership, because, hello, manifesting fancy beauty.
- [43:14]
A
If you haven't seen Jade with purple blush on, you have not lived yet, because it's so good.
- [43:22]
B
Thank you. Thank you. So I'm definitely, you know, interested in those opportunities. That's just not the core of What I love to talk about. I want the girls to use whatever beauty product they want to. However, when it comes to just, like, being successful at work and having tools and solutions that actually make your job more efficient, I am very passionate about, like, convincing people to use certain things. So, yes, I get it. I get it. Yeah.
- [43:47]
A
How do you not get burned out or do you. And, like, how do you get out of the funk or out of that stuck zone? Because I. I think if you do this long enough, being in social media, it's like you mentioned earlier, you know, ideally, the algorithm wants you posting multiple times a day across all of these various platforms. How do you stay sane?
- [44:08]
B
Yeah, it takes a lot of discipline, to be honest. And when I say that, it's not even, like, discipline in the sense of, oh, I go several hours without being on my phone. Because that's not true. I'm always on my phone. I think, think for me, it has been kind of a journey of, like, prioritizing my mental health. When I was working corporate, and this is definitely in the early stages of being in my social media career, I had zero boundaries. So I think I did a lot of what, you know, what I felt was expected to me in my roles as a social media professional. But also just showing up, someone showing up online, it cost me a lot, like I said, had physical health issues. I was in the hospital for all different types of reasons. I had. There was a year where I had my period for an entire month, which is insane. So I was like, something quite literally has to change before I die. And it's unfortunate that it took me to get to that point before reflecting. I had to make some changes. But now, because I've gotten through that, I'm like, I never want to go back there. So my. My priority now is like, how do I take care of myself first before I'm doing all this extra stuff? So I'm always thinking about my mental health first. And I think in this space, it's very easy to compare yourself to others. You see what people are doing. You're like, I want to do that. I want to be a part of that. How did they get to do that? And I literally have to, like, calm that voice in my head and like, hey, they're a different person. That wasn't for you. They're not talking to you. You stop paying attention to it. It's hard to do that, especially when you're an entrepreneur and, like, you're hungry for opportunities and you're just like, okay, when is this coming and you're. You're thinking about scaling. But what I've had to tell myself is that my scaling doesn't have to look like anyone else's. So a big part of my business growth strategy is honestly scaling at a sustainable rate. I'm not necessarily trying to be a millionaire. I'm not trying to have 30,000 employees. I'm not looking to build a corporation. I'm just trying to do the work I enjoy. So if that means that I'm only making a certain amount of money a year where I only get fewer opportunities, I'm very much okay with that. So I think it's about focusing on, like, what the goal and vision is for your life. And for me, that's retiring at 40. I'm 32 now. Got eight more years to go and going back to Jamaica, where my family's from, and living on the land.
- [46:34]
A
I love this future for you, and I have no doubt that it will come true. If you haven't figured out by the end of this episode that Jade will get it done, then I've lost you somewhere. I'm so excited for you. I hope you let me come visit. I realize we're not that close yet, but I got eight years to figure it out, so I will be in your corner. Anyway, this was great. I hope people feel inspired and excited and interested in potentially looking at LinkedIn as a platform they can grow on. I know the majority of my audience hasn't even considered it at all. Or maybe they've just, like started to hear inklings of it and they're like, oh, maybe I should be paying attention. So thank you for today's episode. I think this was really fantastic. Where can listeners connect with you more deeply? Follow your journey, learn from you directly. Give me the links, girl.
- [47:32]
B
So follow me on the Briefcase app. Of course. Jade I. Powell is my name and I'm Jade I. Powell on all channels. Jada spelled with a Y, J, a Y, D, E. And I would also encourage to follow my newsletter. You can subscribe@creatort talk.com and that's where you can find me.
- [47:48]
A
Amazing. Thank you so much for being here, Jade. And if you guys feel inspired and you start posting on LinkedIn, I know Jade and I would both love, love to hear from you about it. So feel free to make your first post that you listen to this episode about LinkedIn on LinkedIn and tag both of us. I wouldn't be upset about it. I know Jade wouldn't either. Thank you guys so much for listening. Until next time, Hey, a few quick favors before you leave. I'd love if you'd share today's episode, send it to a friend who needs to hear it, and post on social. You can show us where you're listening from, your favorite takeaway, or why someone else should listen. Be sure to tag me at Abigail says and ossproject so we can share it. Okay. Second favor to get podcast updates and all the behind the scenes news from Boss Project, I'd love if you'd join my VIP list. Just head to bossproject.comsignup to make sure I have all your contact details. Really love this show. It would mean so much to me if you'd leave a rating and review. It not only helps more listeners find the show, but allows us to bring on quality sponsors so we can keep bringing you this valuable content for free. Thanks so much for listening. Until next time.