The Candid Creative

In the pilot episode of The Candid Creative, our host Antonio Ruiz introduces himself, the brand, and his vision for the podcast. After an experience owning a now-defunct fashion brand, Antonio has decided to focus his professional attention on branding and mindset. The goals of the podcast are to share experiences and insights into how to start, grow, and maintain a digital presence for your brand. Today’s topic is getting started on social media.

First of all, Antonio talks about the “why.” Why will you be creating your content? Without a purpose, you will not grow your brand. Growing your following is not a purpose; it is a goal. Vanity metrics are deceptive. The more specific you are, the better.

Second is the “who.” Who exactly is your target audience? Who do you want to consume your content, and for what reason?

Lastly is the “what.” This includes medium, delivery, and format. What kind of content do you want to create, exactly? This could include, music, writing, photography, video, and so on. But think carefully about your what. Starting out, you should focus on your strengths and grow from there. Bring new things to the table. Remember, however, that there is no step-by-step guide for how to be successful on social media: chance is a huge part of it. Don’t create content for its own sake. Figure out what you want to do, and what your audience wants to see, hear, participate in.

Try to find your own style. Create content that you’re an authority on. And above all, be you. Your audience will be more receptive to know who you are and relate to you.

No matter where you choose to publish your content, consider what you actually want to create. Choose the platform that is going to best serve your content. Ultimately, it’s about creating content that engages, inspires, and encourages. There is no limit to this. It’s all about what you want to do. Be sure you’re happy with the content, above all.
Follow Antonio on IG: https://www.instagram.com/imantonioruiz | Visit the show's website at https://www.thecandidcreative.com

On this episode of the Candid Creative podcast, Antonio interviews SuperManny, a videographer and content creator.

• Manny got is start on YouTube putting together compilations of sports highlights, which was also his first experience with video editing software.
  • He watched a lot of videocopilot.net tutorials
  • He started out using After Effects, but now he uses Premier or Final Cut
• When he started publishing his own content, he focused on motivational content, usually just talking about something he had recently read or experienced.
  • He found that this content was valuable to his users and he was fairly consistent with it
• Manny really enjoys lifting other creators up, encouraging them to get their message out there even if they aren’t confident at first.
  • Most users just want to see genuine lifestyle content, not highly-produced scripted shows
  • He wants to start putting more behind-the-scenes content out there because it resonates with a lot of people
• There have been many impacts on his content creation process.
  • Manny grew up in the U.S. but also lived in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic for a good period of time.
  • His multi-cultural experiences have opened his eyes to the type of content that people need and he hopes to encourage specifically users and creators of Latin origin to break the barriers that have been embedded in them and use their ingenuity.
• Manny has also realized that he wants to publish Spanish content, and this conversation is a reminder that he really needs to just do it.
  • The Spanish audience could benefit from more straightforward motivational content rather than just entertainment or humor.
• He recognizes the importance of speaking out about injustices and other current events.
  • While everyone may not have the same opinions, it is important to speak the truth and be united against the wrongs that come about.
• Manny provides 3 pieces of advice for people starting out as creatives:
  • Do it for yourself or what you believe in
  • Do it with what you have
  • Focus on the community; get to know people

Follow SuperManny:

IG: https://www.instagram.com/supermanny54/?hl=en

Twitter: https://twitter.com/supermanny54?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Twitch: https://m.twitch.tv/supermanny54

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdBMCEk8PF4rpRmxF-Jhwpg

Follow Antonio on IG: @candidwithantonioCandid Creative on IG: @candidcreativela

On the fifth episode of Candid Creative, Antonio speaks with friend Rapha about the power of hashtags. Rapha’s big interest is in hashtags and hashtag research. He has been primarily focused on the relationship between hashtags, data, and growth. From branding and marketing to traffic and SEO, Rapha knows the insides and outs of how to make hashtags work for you.

He broke through on Instagram as a “hashtag hacker” for sharing all of his secrets about SEO optimization and analyzing hashtag data. Starting with keywords, Rapha focused on the size of hashtags. Then he moved to people focusing on real estate posters and found that they do not behave the same way that content creators do. One example of this is that mortgage and real estate don’t comment on their posts, when the wineries would. A mentor told them that “normal people” don’t use the platform in the same way that workers do. This was a breakthrough.

Rapha and Antonio briefly dive into how the Instagram algorithm affects the exposure of posts, whether from humans or bots. What’s important for people to remember is that hashtags are only a tool: they cannot see the future. This has caused Rapha to greatly reduce the amount of time he’s spent analyzing hashtags. Rapha realizes that there are other metrics of far greater significance. Like, for example, are you creating good content? Do you understand your audience? Do you understand your why? Do you know the value of your content? These things are going to drive more success than trying to “hack” the hashtags. In many cases, even the developers don’t really know how the algorithms work.

Finally, Antonio and Rapha discuss some of the pitfalls of hashtags. The big one is this: less is more. If you have too many, they just get buried. The best thing to do is to move away from relying on hashtags and the algorithm and focus more on doing things to increase your own engagement. Spend time on the platform liking, sharing, commenting, posting good content—this is going to drive engagement more.
Follow Antonio on IG: https://www.instagram.com/imantonioruiz |

Follow Rapha on IG https://www.instagram.com/iraphacarpio |and for content in Spanish @_rafacarpioBecome a Patron to this podcast and Antonio's content on Instagram
https://www.patreon.com/imantonioruiz

On this episode of Candid Creative, Antonio speaks with Rhonda Glynn, a small business strategist, and coach who works primarily with female entrepreneurs. To begin, Rhonda discusses her career in the aviation industry and how it has prepared her for a customer-centric world.

Aviation is not a physical space, she says, it’s a doorway into people’s lives. Travel can be motivated by tragic events or a desire for pleasure. That’s why it’s essential that airlines base their branding on their customers. Everything else is secondary.

For so long, businesses have been focused on the transaction, not the value. They provided a product and the relationship quickly ended after that.COVID-19 changed the landscape overnight. Due to a loss of capital and the impossible nature of uniformity, a movement has begun to understand the ‘why’ of what’s happening, rather than the ‘how.’

Unfortunately, customers can still be lost in a value market. When creatives compete with each other, they tend to focus too much on vanity metrics, instead of a central message that leads to change. The most important way to create loyal followers for your brand is to show up as yourself. “People buy from people,” and authenticity is key. All of us are constantly evolving and accepting which leads to a greater level of success.

The other event that has affected branding in 2020 is the Black Lives Matter movement. Rhonda explains that a tipping point forced individuals and companies to reckon with decades of injustice and shift to a more genuine model. People began to see ‘people of color,’ not other colors, and realize that we all need to understand and be understood.

However, not everything you see is genuine. Some companies, such as Amazon, continue to operate in a ‘sweatshop-like’ environment while putting on a good face for the public. No matter what shape business takes, data informs strategy and change will come whether it is universally accepted, or not. Companies must, and will, adapt to survive.
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Follow Antonio on IG: @imantonioruiz.

Visit Rhonda at https://www.rhondaglynn.com/

Follow Rhonda on IG: @zoma.business.solutions

On episode 12 of Candid Creative, Antonio speaks with Roy an administrative assistant and part-time copywriter who has been honing his craft for about a year. Roy begins by sharing his philosophy of copywriting. In order to be successful, you must fill the gaps with words that sell and evoke a strong emotional response to instill a call to action.

Writing for brands and individuals is the same because you are always writing to people. That’s why personalization is so important. At our core, we all desire a human connection. When a copywriter mentions an individual by name, or singles out their demographic and interests, they show that they understand the customer and make a stronger case for their product.

Roy explains this further by discussing the difference between individual and company-based engagement. When he sees a corporate logo, he understands that he’ll be getting a service that he will pay for. When he discusses a project with an individual, he knows that he’s not talking to a middleman or employee. He’s speaking with the person who will do the work directly.

Since telling a story isn’t always possible, or essential, the information needs to be revealed in an enticing way. Beginner digital marketers must study each other’s content to see what works and what doesn’t. They should examine what is compelling to them and figure out why.

To close, Roy asserts the importance of practice when it comes to a career in copywriting. You only improve your craft by working hard, getting feedback, and anticipating objections. Proactive thinking removes the ‘no’ from the process and leads to a successful campaign.
Follow Antonio on IG: @imantonioruiz

Follow Roy on IG: @copywriterroyFollow @candidcreativepodcast and visit thecandidcreative.com