Building Authentic Partnerships: The Creator's Perspective
Building Authentic Partnerships: The Creator's Perspective
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In this episode of Local Marketing School, Emily Steele interviews Candace Molatore, a creative director, photographer, model, and branding consultant from Portland, Oregon. Candace drops by to share insights into her career as a content creator and influencer, discussing the importance of building long-term relationships with brands, the value of creative freedom in partnerships, and the realities of being a content creator beyond the glamorous facade. We talk about community building and how to build connections authentically. Listen in for a valuable perspective on the influencer industry from a creator's point of view!
TUNE IN FOR TOPICS LIKE:
2:13 Candace's journey into content creation and creative direction
8:49 Creating intentional spaces for healing and connection with Black Women Wellness, PDX
12:29 Overcoming doubts and building a community
16:07 Translating community success to digital spaces
17:54 Evolving event strategies for 2024 compared to a decade ago
21:33 Carving a path in the lifestyle and travel content creation space
25:12 Content creator vs. influencer: Exploring the labels
26:40 Securing and managing brand partnerships
32:09 Advice for marketers collaborating with creators and influencers
35:58 Understanding ROI in creator partnerships
38:19 Candace's advice for aspiring content creators
Listen to this week’s Local Marketing School conversation!
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Emily Steele (00:00)
Welcome back to another episode of Local Marketing School. My name is Emily Steele. I am your host today and always. And today I'm bringing you a content creator that I'm so excited we were introduced to by Delaney. Delaney is a PR extraordinaire and she's made so many incredible connections and opened doors to bringing guests on our podcast. So shout out to Delaney. And if you have other ideas of guests that should be on the pod, please send them our way. love interviewing and bringing guests to you that are doing really creative, unique things in the world. And you will absolutely love this conversation we had today with Candace. Candace Molatore is a creative director, photographer, model, and branding consultant who lives in Portland, Oregon. She has over eight years of experience in her field and has developed a passion for fostering true representation in media, creating high quality content in the digital space and community building in her area.
Candace feels like a kindred spirit as someone who also just is so passionate about building community where I call home to in Des Moines. So in today's conversation, we talk about how did she get started in the world of content creation. We talk about her initiative, Black Women Wellness, PDX, and how it ties into what she's building and kind of her mission. We talk about community building and maintaining authenticity.
We talk about representing and fostering true representation in media and so many other things around the influencer space. Like what do you know, what does she wish marketers could do to improve or better the space and, what kind of advice should aspiring creators learn from her? So it's an incredible conversation. I'm just so grateful to have the time to chat with her today. So welcome Candace to the show.
Emily Steele (02:01)
Hey Candace, welcome to local marketing school. I'm so excited you're here today.
Candace Molatore (02:04)
Hi, thank you so much for having me.
Emily Steele (02:07)
Yes. Okay. Let's dig right into all the good stuff. How did you get started in content creation, creative direction, and branding?
Candace Molatore (02:16)
So I feel like I sort of fell into it as a career path. didn't, like it wasn't something I went to school trying to become like a creative director, a marketer, anything like that. I went to school for like general studies essentially, cause I wasn't sure what I wanted to do, which I feel like is actually a pretty common thread among young people. Like it's tough to grasp the concept that you have to decide your life path at like 18 or 19 years old. So I was kind of like, let me just try a bunch of things and see what I'm really interested in. But at the same time, I got really interested in photography and sort of like online social media culture. I was watching a lot of YouTubers and like scrolling Tumblr, you know, on my days off of school and just got really inspired by the concept that you could sort of create a community through the internet. And So I sort of started in photography, emulating a lot of the things I saw on Tumblr and was really inspired by. The Pacific Northwest was like a really big booming like spot for photographers to come together and they would host like community shoots and stuff. And so I sort of gained a big community around that at the time. So I was shooting a lot of people, shooting a lot of nature and sort of like networking with photographers in the area while I was going to school and was building community in that way for probably about like three or four years. At the same time, I was also shooting some concerts and just kind of trying my hand at learning photography, learning how to shoot in manual post-processing on my own. And before I knew it, I had captured the eye of a few local businesses in town that wanted me to come on and sort of shoot their products, sort of like try to market their business through photography. And in doing that, I learned like a whole other niche of like photo skills, basically. And so there was one company in particular that I was working really closely with at the time. They were like a cafe in town that was growing pretty rapidly. And the owner was like, listen, we've got this Instagram page and like, You know, there's been some interest in it, like through people commenting or liking our photos, but I really can't manage it anymore. We're trying to build this business. Like, would this be something you wanted to take on? And I had photography skills at that point, but I had no skills in terms of like building a brand on social media. At this point, this was probably 2015, 2016.
Emily Steele (04:47)
Yeah. Mm-hmm.
Candace Molatore (05:06)
So brands were really just on the cusp of figuring out how to organically market a business. was very like faded edited latte photos at that time or just random things on social media, right? Like people were not like doing marketing through Instagram. And so I sort of took what I'd learned photography wise and I'd been with the brand long enough to sort of have an idea of what their brand voice and messaging would be.
But everything else, we just sort of like threw a lot of pasta to the wall to see what would stick. But in doing so, we grew the account pretty rapidly. And I started to sort of study that like consumer behavior behind, you know, what photos or what posts were performing better than others and why they were performing better than others. Because I was given the amount of creative freedom to test a lot of things out. We learned what would work really quickly. And so I basically took what I learned from that and then started applying it to my own personal page as well. I obviously wasn't posting like latte photos or anything, but I was talking a lot about my journey as a creative, what my life kind of looked like as a black woman living in Portland, Oregon, a majority white city. My background growing up in a smaller suburb of Portland and just sort of what my daily life looks like in between. I kind of did the same thing, threw a lot of pasta to the wall, saw what stuck, and people really resonated a lot with my story and my messaging. And I just kind of kept going from there. And so, you know, I built an audience based along sort of my life and a lot of lifestyle content that had to do with me. And then I sort of turned that into a business where I work with brands. I do a lot of like video content creation now for businesses. And then I also still run my page where I just talk about my life, travel, I talk a lot about wellness, I deal with PCOS, which is like an inflammatory issue. And so, you know, I just try to like stay true to myself and my messaging through most of the stuff that I post online. But in doing so I've been able to kind of like build a career in working with businesses that resonate with my message and then also building an audience that also resonates with that same message. And it's been a wild ride. It's been like 10 years, which is so crazy, but I'm still having a blast doing it. So maybe 10 more years, who knows?
Emily Steele (07:41)
Yeah, it's, yeah, you're like, who knows that, like, what even will evolve, you know? I could have never conceptualized Reels being like a way we would create and share content, but like, surely something else will come around that, you know, is also really new and fresh and exciting that we just have not seen yet.
Candace Molatore (08:10)
For sure. And I feel like social media is so new compared to other forms of media, Like Instagram versus something like the New York Times is like a baby in comparison. But it is really interesting to see cyclical patterns just based off of what we've experienced within that social media realm already. And so you're seeing things like YouTube kind of creep back up again and have a bigger sort of positioning within the social media landscape. Obviously TikTok came in with a huge boom and really like solidified video as part of that social landscape. it's like you said, it's so interesting just to see where things go.
Emily Steele (08:48)
So tell us about Black Women Wellness, PDX, and how it ties to your overall brand and mission. I'm really excited about this one.
Candace Molatore (08:54)
Yeah, for sure. So essentially, Black Women Wellness is a platform where young Black professionals can sort of like come together, build community over collective healing, essentially. And so whether that be like meditation or yoga classes or communal like happy hours, or we can just kind of sit and talk and chat with each other.
I've done a few events here and there to sort of like test run what I feel like people are most drawn to. But what inspired me to start it was just, I'm really interested in wellness and I sort of have my own wellness journey in dealing with my PCOS and being sort of like a young woman coming into adulthood in sort of a higher stress environment. You know, marketing is not for the week as I'm sure you know. Yeah. but I just thought that there has to be something where women who were just like me can come together and sort of, collectively have community that, that understands what we're going through. and build programming that sort of speaks to, that sort of collective need for healing and for community and for overall just trying to like get through life in a way that feels more positive, like if we're just gonna be real, right? And so I wanted something where I was like, I really want to create a safe place that we can come together that is like a space that's made for us by us. And so far it's been great. I mean, we're growing the mailing list, we're launching the website. I'm really trying to, forge more conversation in the online space as well as in-person events. And so far it's been really exciting. We're working with like some local businesses that are really into what we're doing. I say we, but it's really me.
Candace Molatore (11:12)
But in terms of like me and the collective group and stuff, like they want to support and they want to open their doors and make sure that we sort of like have the resources that we need to move forward and keep doing it. So it's exciting and I'm excited to grow the programming like through this next year. And, you know, I feel like 2025 is just looming very quickly and there's so much that I want to do and get done within that. But I'm excited to see what it has to hold for us.
Emily Steele (11:38)
I'm excited for you. I think something that's so interesting that, I you just kind of talk about like, yeah, I created this community. It's about healing. Like that takes so much courage to say, I'm going to build a community. I trust that people will come to my events. They'll care about what I'm doing. Right? how did you, how did you know that you could bring this to life and that you would have the support that people would attend? Like, did you, did you feel really integrated in the city where you knew a lot of people? Like I'm trying to think about the people who are listening, who are like, I wanted to build community in a certain way, but I'm new to a city or I don't know that people would care about my idea. What are some things along the way that gave you confidence or maybe you overcame some of the self-doubt to bring this to life?
Candace Molatore (12:29)
Yeah, that's such a good question. I feel like there are a few things. So me, myself personally, I spent quite a few years, especially during the pandemic, sort of inserting myself into different groups and trying different things, trying different hobbies, right? So I joined a book club that is all women of color, specifically centered pretty much in Portland or the Pacific Northwest. and so that right there is like a group of about 200 women that I'm connected with on a regular basis that are interested in sort of like a softer hobby, quote unquote, I guess, like, you know, we're reading books, right. And we're discussing them. So that right there is like a group of women that are really interested in connection discussion over some sort of like literary element. and then I joined wellness clubs in town. So like I'm part of a Knot Springs wellness club in Portland.
Candace Molatore (13:24)
And so that is also like a resource where I'm like, okay, I can sort of begin to have conversations with folks around this sort of wellness hobby. And it's also something I share with my community to gauge like their interest in their response to that, right? So I sort of leverage the platforms that I had available to me to sort of start to create community around that and have those discussions with folks. And then I also was kind of like, If I'm feeling this way, I know I can't possibly be alone in this, right? Like if I'm feeling like I want a safe space where I can like go to yoga and like be surrounded by fellow black women that are in Portland and like we can have a discussion around like collective like wellness practices or what we're doing in order to stay sane out there. Like I'm sure I'm not the only one. So, you know, my advice to someone who might be newer to a city, and doesn't quite have like all of those platforms is to really try to find maybe like a club near you. And that doesn't have to be like a wellness club, but like it could literally be something as simple as like pottery or like some sort of quiet outlet hobby or even going to your yoga class or something like that and trying to figure out, okay, who are people that I really want to serve with what I'm doing and how can I connect with them in multiple different ways. know, like maybe you don't start something of your own on day one, but you're really trying to like move through your community with the mission of creating that connection. So then when you do want to start, you've got like a solid group of gals. And like, I know so many friends who have started, like my friend who started her book club, it started with a group of just friends. I think it was like a handful of girls and it's grown to like 200 and 250 members. So like, understanding that there are definitely people out there that will resonate with your mission and will want to be a part of what you're growing just might take some time to find your people, but they're out there for sure. And there are so many ways to reach them. And even if you can't do something in person, the possibility to reach people only grows exponentially when you push something to the online landscape. So maybe in lieu of only doing in-person events, you start something online or you do both like I'm trying to do. Yeah. Yeah.
Emily Steele (15:48)
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So let's talk about that. Because online community building, like what does that look like for you as you think about like what you're building with Black Women Wellness and also your personal brand and kind of a life of being a content creator.
Candace Molatore (16:02)
Yeah. Yeah, so I mean, I have some experience, right, in my background of doing general community building online through social media. Obviously, as we've talked about, the landscape changes all of the time. And so how I used to get people into a cafe in 2015 is not the same way that I'm trying to get people to a Black Women Wellness event in 2024. You know, it's so different now. But I think that if If you're sort of able to use the online tools at your disposal, it's a really nice time to get creative and just try a bunch of things. And I think in trying to build black women wellness, I'm sort of doing like a two-pronged approach. So I'm attempting in-person events as a way to sort of like get word of mouth spread where someone will be like, I just went to this amazing yoga class like a week ago.
You know, this girl is trying to like build community in Portland with black women, know, Deborah, you should totally check this out. she's got an Instagram page. I see that they have, you know, a live discussion where they're hosting something with a Black naturopath like Wednesday, let's listen in on that. So I'm trying to attempt to sort of build community online so that the in-person events can also be even stronger.
But people also can still feel like they're part of that discussion and part of that group no matter where they are or where they're accessing the internet from.
Emily Steele (17:31)
Yeah. Super cool. Yeah. Can we just rewind together since I feel like we were in kind of social media brand building days together in like 2014, 15. Do you remember like Facebook events used to work? Did you ever get like, I just remember you'd put it out there and people would like literally see it. Now if I open, I don't even open Facebook anymore. I'm too scared. There's too many things.
Candace Molatore (17:42)
I don't either, right? It's so crazy. And yes, I do totally remember. So when I was working with this cafe, I was sort of like all hands in the marketing. So I did all kinds of stuff. I was doing newsletter, copywriting, social, all of it. And one of the things we used to do was help local businesses host events in our space. And so we would do part of the promotion so that they would get promoted they would promote to their audience also, but then we would also promote to ours. And part of that was Facebook events. And it was so crazy being able to like so quickly and easily track RSVPs, run ticket sales through that. And now like you, like, don't even think I, if I was invited to a Facebook event in the last 30 days, I have no idea about it because I don't look.
Emily Steele (18:31)
Yeah. Uh-huh. Yeah, same. One of them was a wedding, by the way, that I was like, we're sending wedding invites over Facebook. we got it. I'm not going to see that, by the way. Maybe just see what's going on in there. And I also remember 2014 building a brand. I was building Pop Up Yoga DSM where we were bringing yoga into the city before everyone was doing it in trendy ways with beer and yoga, cats and goats and all that.
Candace Molatore (18:51)
Wow, now I'm like maybe I should check, no.
Emily Steele (19:11)
And it was like, you would go out and I would take these really fun pictures of people doing yoga, like before farmers market, and it just popped up. And I was like, you just quite get that in the same way of like, people see it. They're like, I will now attend your event. Like, I'm just, I kind of miss a little bit of like the ease you, like the ease of that, but I don't know. It's okay.
Candace Molatore (19:32)
I feel you. It's, I think, it's also tough post pandemic with in-person events in particular. I feel it's just not quite the same. I think you sort of have to market your event in a different way. People, you know, want more information about what it's going to be like when they come, how much effort it's going to take to be able to show up to this event. And that's a very real thing. Like I resonate with that too. Like, you know, if I, know that I can go to a yoga class down the street for like 12 bucks and like I can walk there. It's going to be easy. I bring my mat. It's no fuss. But then there was like one that's across town and I don't know what the parking is going to be like. I don't know who's going to be there. I don't know what the instructor is going to talk about. Right. Like that to me, I need a little bit more of a push. So I think that's kind of our job now is to figure out like how we can best translate events in a way that feels like safe and welcoming to as many people as possible. And it's an extra leg up, but also like it can be really rewarding depending on who you reach and how you reach that.
Emily Steele (20:37)
Yeah, yeah, that extra effort to be like, this is what you can really expect to feel, to experience. Like, yeah, that would change my mind. That would maybe help me overcome a few invites. And I'm like, I just, don't know. And if I don't know, I'd rather watch a show tonight with my bed. you know, I love it. Okay, so let's talk about kind of your content creator life, right? I love that you also referenced Tumblr because that just like is a, I don't know that maybe Gen Z would do that in the same way. I don't know.
Right? But I love it. I think it's still around and doing well. So talk about your life on as a content creator. You're really focused on kind of the lifestyle, right? What's that kind of how you would describe how you approach putting yourself out into the world? Kind of chat a little bit, but let's break that down a little more.
Candace Molatore (21:28)
Yeah, I would say so. I feel like my presence on social media, specifically on Instagram, has evolved over the last 10 years. I feel like that's everybody, right? But I still think I'm pretty true to, obviously, myself and what my interests are. But my content specifically, I would say if you had to put it into a category, I'm really bad at niching down. That's just never really been me. I always have so many interests and so many hobbies and want to share them with everybody and every little thing that I'm doing. So I guess if you were to niche it down, it's definitely lifestyle focused. But I do a lot of travel content, specifically travel in and around the Pacific Northwest. And then I do some wellness as well. So I kind of tied in the wellness and the travel with solo trip series that I do where I'll go to a destination usually it ends up being sort of like a quiet, woodsy retreat of some kind. And I go alone and I meditate or I just enjoy alone time. I write, I, you know, just do whatever feels right to me at the time. But it's like a good reminder to be able to, one, trust yourself in terms of like getting done what you want to get done and not having to wait for other people to have certain experiences. Like you can go by yourself and have just as much fun or have just as much of a rewarding experience as if you were going with like a group of 20 friends to Cabo or something, you know? And so I do use that messaging quite a bit. Travel in general, just like exploring and sharing like new unique spots to check out or stay in the Pacific Northwest. And then I also talk about like wellness stuff. I'm actually starting a resets a journey that I'm announcing today on the way to my 30th birthday in March. And so I'm doing 120 days of no alcohol, regular workouts, and then sort of changing up my diet, talking to a nutritionist and getting their expertise on what is the best way to eat for my body and all that. I'm documenting that whole thing and sharing that as I lead up to my 30th birthday trip to Mexico City. So it's a whole journey, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Emily Steele (23:54)
Okay, that is, this is happening? This is like being announced today? Okay, no big deal. And also, you are, you're technically Gen Z and I was like, Gen Z doesn't know Tumblr and you're like, I know Tumblr.
Candace Molatore (24:06)
I mean, I'm like, I think I'm one of the last millennial years, I think, so I'm one of those like, yeah, on the cusp.
Emily Steele (24:09)
You're like, yeah, no, you're on the cusp. Do you resonate more with Gen Z or Millenial or are you just kinda like, am who I, like whatever?
Candace Molatore (24:19)
Think I really feel like I resonate with like, I'm in the middle, but I think maybe more millennial. I'm not really sure. I feel like I've always felt like a little bit of an old soul. like when I tell people I'm turning 30, they're like, we thought you were already 30. I'm like, yep, that's just how it is. Yeah. I was raised by boomers. So maybe that's just a little bit of them creeping in. Man.
Emily Steele (24:29)
So you resonate with the boomers, this is what you're saying. You're like, okay, no. Yeah. my gosh. So I'd be so curious about kind of the journey of growing. Do you consider yourself an influencer? Do you use that language to describe yourself?
Candace Molatore (24:55)
I do. I'm going to be so honest with you in that I feel like the term influencer has gotten so much like negative connotation, but at the end of the day, it's kind of like the best term, right? Like content creator also works. I don't feel really strongly about either phrase, cause I'm really just in it for like, I really enjoy this, this work that we do. and I think it's a really fun way to be creative. I think, you know, it's tough cause it's such a new, job in terms of like, you know, comparing it to something like being a lawyer, like you're not really going to school to learn how to do this yet, or maybe more recently, but you know, not traditionally. And so with that just comes a lot of like, misunderstanding or assumptions or whatever. But I think like, when you are a content creator, your work just kind of speaks for itself, and people can choose to resonate with it or not. And that's totally fine. But yeah, guess, yeah, I would consider myself an influencer. Yeah.
Emily Steele (25:55)
Cool, I just am always curious how people, like do they let themselves label, you know, like how you think about that perception. So yeah, I agree, it does have negativity around it. I'm like, that's such a bummer, right? Like, why did we have to do that? It could be, and it can be really positive to say, yeah, I have influence and I use it in a way that's really positive. Some people don't, but you know, that's not you. So as you think about growing as an influencer, as a creator, You obviously have more opportunities to seek out brand partnerships and sponsored content. And so how do you think about that? How did you start to, I mean, were you getting pitched at some points? Were you pitching? Is this part of how you really make a living? Like tell us more about that part of your life.
Candace Molatore (26:37)
Yeah, so I will say probably like 90, 85 to 90 % of my income is through brand partnerships. And I personally believe that I don't personally want to ask my audience for money. I feel like their engagement is enough for me to like seal a partnership with a brand who can actually afford to pay and invest in what I put forward on the internet. That's just how I feel personally right now. And so most, the majority of my income is from brand partnerships, is from like larger brands being able to invest in the work that I do. So I feel like in general, it's been sort of like an interesting road navigating that. Since I kind of hopped on the internet, I'd been doing brand partnerships and I was friends with a lot of like creators in Portland that were doing it before I got into it. And so I learned, I had kind of a crash course when I first got brand partnerships and sort of learned how they should be navigated. And it's, it's pretty similar to how it's always been over the last like decade. They haven't changed too much. It really just depends on the brand and what the campaign is and all of that. But my bottom line is to pick what resonates with me and leave everything else. So like, You know, I personally don't drink coffee. It's not something that I think is bad for me. It's just, I've never liked the taste of coffee. So I'm not going to go and do a partnership with Starbucks. Like it just doesn't make sense for me. Right. So I'm, I'm always picking what works for me in the most authentic way. And also because my content is based around myself and my life, my audience knows what is authentic to me and what isn't you know, if I pop on there and I'm like, hey guys, like you have to try this latte. It's so good. They're going to be like, girl, we know you don't drink coffee. What are you doing? Like what? What's happening? So, so yeah, I feel like my, my biggest rule is to just like pick what actually represents me, pick what I think, would work for me and my audience and everything else just isn't for me. There are plenty of other creators that that would resonate with or that would take that. And I don't need to take it just because there's a check. That's just not my vibe. But yeah, so when I first started, I was fielding a lot of requests myself and just navigating myself. And that was sort of difficult to be honest, because a lot of times you really have to advocate for yourself. And sometimes you don't get taken as seriously when it's only you rooting for you. And then in 2020, I got representation through a talent management agency.
Candace Molatore (29:20)
And for those who may not know, a lot of influencers or content creators are backed by a talent management agency once they hit a certain level of followers or once their community reaches a certain number. essentially what those talent managers do is they are your representation, they're your backbone and they advocate for you. And so when a brand wants to come in and sort of like ask for a ton of stuff, for very little money. That's a lot of time that's dedicated. And as a creator, you're doing all kinds of things, right? Like I think a lot of people forget, you're not just whipping out your phone and taking a photo. Like you are doing everything. You are essentially a one person creative agency is how I like to put it. So everything from marketing to lighting to makeup and hair to wardrobe to location scouting actually shooting, getting all the equipment to shoot those concepts. Like that is everything that that one person is doing. and it has to be taken into consideration when you're trying to figure out how much you would charge a brand to also do all of that and push out their product to a specific targeted audience that you have spent years curating, growing and nurturing. and so when you're a one man show, it's kind of tough to get the brand to see that sometimes and to respect that. so talent management agencies can come in and sort of like be that advocate and really make sure that the creator is getting their worth. And so I've Gosh, it also helps me creatively because it helps me creatively as well because I can focus a lot less on the negotiations and the contracts and I can focus more on the creative side of like scouting those locations, figuring out what the storyline will be, figuring out how to communicate you know, whatever the product might be or the service might be to my audience and making it look good and professional and high quality. yeah, management has changed the game for me personally. I do know some like bigger creators that just prefer to do it on their own and that is amazing for them too. But for me, it's been a big help.
Emily Steele (31:44)
Yeah. Cool. As you think about that relationship, maybe it's like before 2020 or maybe what you're seeing today, like, and having someone represent you, do you, what advice would you have to people who run influencer marketing programs at larger brands or smaller brands as they think about working with people like you or other creators or influencers? What would you tell them? What do they need to know?
Candace Molatore (32:20)
Yeah, for sure. I'm a big proponent for growing long term relationships with brands. Personally, I feel like it creates more brand loyalty, brand awareness, and it creates more trust within the influencer, the brand and the audience. You know, if I were to just talk about my phone case and the company that made it one time, like, okay, that's cute. And some people who might be in the market for a phone case like you know, they'll probably go buy it or whatever. if I'm like every few months or every season being like you guys, like this phone case company is great. I'm back on here again, like talking to you guys about why I love them, why they're the only case company that I would use. And as that relationship develops over the years, your audience really starts to understand like, okay, this is a real partnership and she really means what she says and getting behind this company because she's been putting her name behind it for years.
And they have also shown a mutual amount of respect in hiring her for years and making sure that she has income and support for years and, you know, and trusting her as like a creator also. And, know, obviously phone case company, just an example, but I am a big proponent for building long-term relationships, even if you're not working together on a monthly basis, but like coming in, like even like once a year, twice a year, doing something that sort of reminds people why you love a brand and for the brand as well, reminding their audience like why you are an important kind of spokesperson for that brand. It just builds so much like mutual respect, understanding, awareness and trust.
Emily Steele (33:59)
Yeah, yep. So it's that longer term play. Any other things that you're like, I wish more people understood this or knew this is how it really works or you.
Candace Molatore (34:06)
I also feel like sometimes, brands giving creative freedom goes a long way. I think you can sort of tell when a creator is given like free reign to do what really works for them in their audience and what their audience resonates with versus a brand that's like, here's a script, stick to the script. And like, it's just like, I feel like it kind of like takes your own personality out of it as a creator. and then you kind of show up and you're like, This is what I was told to say kind of in so many ways and that's just, it doesn't work. And so a lot of times when a brand tries to do that, I'll either bow out altogether or I'll give that intense feedback that's like, listen, you hired me to do the work. If you just wanted anyone to say this, you might as well just hired anyone else. Yeah, so that's a big one for me is like making sure that like you give the creator the freedom to do what they do best and trust them enough to understand that like they know how their audience would react to even certain phrases and the way that things are said. You know, if you're like, I don't think I would describe it that way. You know, you have to make sure that you trust the creator enough to know that like there needs to be a rework in the script and how they would say it then. So yeah, I feel like giving creative freedom is a big one. I think it just ties in with the trust element really because if I'm saying something one way for years and I just change it all of a sudden, you're like, what is going on there? So, yeah.
Emily Steele (35:39)
Yeah, yeah, totally. Do you think that brands are kind of softening around the performance marketing play of it and leaning more into brand? Because I don't like, as you were kind of sharing, like, I'm not here to like sell things, right? Like I'm here to like build an engaged audience and add value. is that welcomed by brands or do you find maybe it varies per company and what they are selling or doing?
Candace Molatore (36:07)
I would say it probably varies. think, like we said before, the landscape is always changing, right? And so sometimes brands needs change as the years go on. I think in terms of maybe how they want something to move or sell is gonna depend a lot on the brand. And Hopefully the brand has done their research in terms of like the creator and who would be the best fit for the best for whatever campaign I Think there I don't know in terms of brand softening to that I it really depends on the brand. I think some brands are like, Absolutely, we trust you to do what you know, your audience is going to love and and we love that and there are other brands that are like we really just need to get this across and we'll rewrite entire things that I've presented. And that doesn't happen very often with me. It might happen with more creators, it depends. But it has happened. And I think as a creator, sort of like, you kind of need to toe that line of understanding that this is a job and that this brand is hiring you to do the job, but then also understanding how to best communicate what that job really is to the brand. And understanding that if you want to just put a billboard up that says exactly what you want it to say, that's also an option. But if you want a person to come on and say what you want them to say, you need to have a little bit of wiggle room here. Otherwise, you're not going to sell anything.
Emily Steele (37:34)
Yes. Yeah. People are going be like, more robots talking about the same thing. you're like, OK. Yeah. The last question I would love to ask is, anyone listening who's an aspiring content creator, they see your work, and they're like, I want that. This is what I want. I feel like everyone wants to be a content creator or influencer. The studies show that this is a path that a lot of young people and probably older people too think that they desire, they do desire, right? What would you either give them words of encouragement or, you know, words of not warning, but like, hey, also, like the things you think you think you want, but maybe you don't, you know?
Candace Molatore (38:25)
Yeah, you know, I think I actually really like this question because I think it sort of like puts things into perspective for me and other creators who have been doing this for a minute is figuring out how we're also portraying the lifestyle of being an influencer. Like it really is not just getting free things and getting paid a bunch of money to talk about things on camera. Like that is like maybe the majority of what people see, right? The end result, but behind that, it's like an iceberg. Like behind that is like so many other things. And so I guess not as a warning, but just as things to consider is figuring out what you want to talk about and what you're passionate about and figuring out if you would still be passionate about that 10 years down the line or even two years down the line, right?
So like, if you build an audience based off of doing makeup reviews, do you really love that? And how can you continue to keep that interesting for one, two, five, eight, 10 years? And a lot of people could, like there are so many creative people in this world that do make it super interesting. But just keeping that in mind and then also keeping in mind being self-employed and like, all of that, all that that entails and making sure that like you're able to sort of either have resources at your disposal that will help you navigate that or being able to just navigate that yourself. Those are really key important things that I did not realize because I sort of fell into this and just sort of figured out along the way. But are things that I would tell people to keep in mind. Other than that, like really make sure that you're having fun with what you're doing and that you're enjoying it and that there's so much more than just posting your stuff and that's it. Like there's a whole community of people that want to know more about you and want to connect with you online and in person, right? Like beyond just my audience online, there are tons of creators in my city, tons of amazing people in the own local businesses that I've been able to connect with over these last 10 years. And that to me is like, The biggest reward of all of it is that I've been able to make friends, like lifelong friendships, and also just like get to know people who are sort of within my city based off of what I do. And I'm able to either help their business, connect in some way, do an event together. That to me is so much more fun than just opening boxes of PR and showing it to the camera. Like, you know what I mean? Like it's just, you know, it's there's more to it. And I think if you really dive deep and figure out how much more you can do with a platform and with what you do, it just becomes more rewarding that way. So things to keep in mind.
Emily Steele (41:28)
Yeah, yeah, super helpful. Well, I'm so glad you could share your journey, what you've been up to, what you're building, what you're creating. It's super cool to hear it from your perspective. I think we've interviewed a lot of people on the brand side of the house. Like, how do they think about working with creators as a brand? But it's awesome to have someone come and talk about how do you think about it from the creator side? So appreciate your time and perspective on things.
Candace Molatore (41:38)
Thank you so much again for having me. It was great to chat with you about this all.
Emily Steele (41:58)
Yes. Thanks Candace.
