We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Azalee Maslow a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Azalee thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Do you take vacations? How do you keep things going – any advice for entrepreneurs who feel like they can’t step away from their business for a short vacation?

Azalee, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m the Founder and Owner of PrettyAF. I started PrettyAF as a podcast while I was still working at a 9-5 and had no idea what I would do with it. I got my Master’s in Journalism and Media Studies with the original plan of being an Entertainment Reporter. I ended up working at a music tech company building out their customer support and marketing departments. That’s when I discovered the power of personal brands by seeing what they could do for musicians. But I missed interviewing people and have always had a passion for supporting other women. So, I started The PrettyAF Podcast where I would interview female Entrepreneurs that were PrettyAF inside and out. While at that job, one of our investors saw how I was building the company’s online presence and asked if I could do the same for another company he invested in as a Freelancer. That’s how my digital marketing agency was born. I eventually put the agency under PrettyAF as The PrettyAF Agency and now only work with building personal brands. I also added speaking, courses, and coaching that will teach you or your team how to do what we do. After I left that company, I worked at a company that did corporate training where I managed the digital marketing for the company, its CEO, and some of its trainers. I further saw the power of personal brands there but this time with speakers and authors. COVID hit and forced me to finally take the plunge into going full-time in my biz and I haven’t looked back since.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I love this question because, to me, your personal brand IS your reputation. Whether you call it your reputation or your personal brand, it’s what people think about you and know you for. So of course knowing how to build a website and how to position myself on social platforms helped, but the secret sauce is in the delivery and how I treat people in one-on-one situations. It’s the relationships I built when I was in college and first started my career. It’s the relationships I continue to build now. It’s all about how you treat people and over delivering on what you say you’re going to. That’s how you build a powerful reputation.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Yes, this is what we do!

First off, get clear on what your goals are. Why do you want to build your social media presence? Do you want to book more speaking gigs? Do you want to be a best-selling author? Do you want to sell out a 100-person membership? Do you want to sell out a coaching package to 5 people? Your goal will determine what you prioritize and where you should put your efforts.

Next, make sure all of your social media profiles say the same thing and match. They should all point to the same freebie and have the same banner, pinned post, username, profile pic, etc. This will establish your brand with a cohesive image.

The content you post will be based on your goals but it should always provide value in order to get people to want to follow you. Growing a personal brand account is easier than growing a business account so keep that in mind when building your online presence. Focus on one platform at a time. Batch your content to save time. Schedule posts to save time and keep consistent. Collaborate with other creators to reach their audience. Create content that makes sense for the platform you’re on. Stick to your niche and always have a goal in mind. Keep track of your analytics so you can monitor what’s working and what’s not. Things change quickly with social media so just because something works now, doesn’t mean it always does. And most importantly, create content that feels authentic to you and that you feel proud to put out.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.azaleemaslow.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/azaleemaslow/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AzaleeMaslowOfficial
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/azaleemaslow/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Azalee_Maslow
• Other: The PrettyAF Facebook Group – https://www.facebook.com/groups/3959588124166778/

Image Credits
Ati Grinspun