unselfish vlogs + more ways to leverage your lifestyle in your content

I'm here to help you grow your personal brand. Okay, not become a nice disease. And you all know on social media, the line is hairline thin. I'm Alyssa and welcome to the Inspired Media Podcast, a space for creators, creatives, and entrepreneurs who know they're meant to do more than just stop the scroll. So we're putting the spotlight on the unspoken truths and unconventional takes on how to truly build a standout brand online. Now, let the show begin. I have a feeling that if you're here, you want to leverage your lifestyle, your personality, more of you in your content in 2025 period. We love to hear it. And you are in the right place because this is exactly what I thought in 2021 when I started my business. And the online space was booming. And there was this tip, this algorithm rule, this algorithm has rocket emoji, the analytics emoji with the red line going up. Like there were so much of that. And I just thought there has to be a different way. There has to be something more fun, more fresh that feels more like me. So today, we're gonna go through what you can actually do to leverage your lifestyle and create you coded content. Now, before we get into the action items, because if you know me, you know, I love an action item. We need to set the foundational elements and mindset first because trust me, everything will fall apart if we don't get this down first. And you might not like to hear this one, but I'm gonna be honest. I'm gonna tell you anyway. At the core of building your brand, yes, even a personal brand, it can't just be about you. Wait, what? Alyssa, I wanna be known. I wanna be seen. I wanna be on Times Square, four or 30 and a 30 vote. Me too. But your own goals cannot be the core reason as to why you are doing this. This is why famous people, influencers, think supermodels in the 90s, so many celebrities have these awful downfalls. If you've even had conversations with huge influencers with big numbers under them, and you know what they tell me when they come to me? That they're so unfulfilled and they don't know why because they have the success. It's not bad to have goals, okay? I want you to have goals strategically, delusional, it girl, huge goals, God-sized goals, okay? But at the core, the heart, your why, has to be about the impact that you wanna make. And in order to make that impact with your gifts, your talents, your platform, the core has to be about that. What's the bigger impact you wanna make that's outside of yourself? I'm here to help you grow your personal brand, okay? Not become a nice disaster. And you all know, on social media, the line is hairline thin. So that spiritual part, that depth part, okay? The bigger impact, you need to have that down first. Now that we have the heart set, let's talk about some ways to leverage your life and create you coded content. And I'm first gonna break down the dedicated lifestyle content and then more subtle ways. But the dedicated lifestyle content that I wanna talk about is vlogs. Anything like get ready with me, day in the life, come with me, content that heavily focuses on lifestyle. Now, January 2025, right now, this is the most talked about topic on my page. And I'm so excited to talk about it because I first brought this up in my content in 2022 and that is an unselfish vlog. So we're gonna go through the differences between a selfish vlog and an unselfish vlog and how you can take a selfish vlog and flip it into an unselfish vlog. So it actually does something for your brand as a whole. First, selfish vlog. What is a selfish vlog? Take a shot how many times I said selfish vlog in this episode, but a selfish vlog is a vlog that only centers around you without inviting us as the viewers into the experience. When I see vlogs or get ready with me is like this, it's usually someone showing me what they did that day and then telling me exactly what I'm seeing. It follows this and then and then and then format. It lacks context and specificity. Sounds something like today, I woke up at 7 a.m. I went to work, I went to the gym, I did the workout, I got home, I took a shower and then I did my skincare and then I made a yogurt bowl and then I did some work and then I ate some lunch and then I did a hugger walk and then and and and and and it's so boring and we can be so much more creative and we can be so much better than that because you don't have to live a lavish lifestyle to make a really engaging vlog. You really don't, okay? Part of being a content creator is making something out of nothing and we could just do so much better, okay? This part, what I just listed out for you, it doesn't really do anything to actually leverage your lifestyle which is kind of ironic because that's what you wanna do. It doesn't show your personality in a way that allows people to connect with you. It doesn't build your brand and especially if you don't already have an audience or a community that's interested in you like that. This is really not the best way to introduce yourself to these people. So now let's flip it and make it an unselfish vlog. An unselfish vlog invites the viewer to be a part of the day and why don't you write that down a part of the day, invite the viewer to be a part of the day by answering the question, write this down again, what's in it for them? If you wanna see examples, I have a whole playlist on TikTok, I have so much on Instagram of not only in depth breakdowns but examples for myself, my clients and other creators. But let's take that example, I just talked about the selfish vlog example. Well, if I took the saved clips as the selfish vlog and flipped it, so instead of the before, the itinerary with visuals and then and and then, the voiceover focuses on telling a story. What makes a good story? Conflict, a mission. Think about your favorite movie, play, musical, book. There is conflict, there's something that's supposed to unfold. So this voiceover could be day one of trying to get my gym crush to notice me. Doing blank, insert person, doing blank persons morning routine every day until I become a morning routine. If you wanna know if waking up at 5 a.m. actually works, I'll test it for you. In all of these examples, there's a mission, a character, there's something to watch. The voiceover isn't just me telling you what's happening in the visuals, you can see them, but it's providing context and specificity, making it an unsolvable vlog, answering the question, what's in it for them. I could take the same clips as that boring vlog and have a voiceover that actually tells a story and that's gonna be so much more engaging than the itinerary with visuals. Now that's just one option. Let's talk about a few other options. Option one was the voiceover vlog that focuses on storytelling and conflict. Maybe you also do a compilation style vlog. Quicker and edit, more aesthetic, edited to a trending audio, with an inspirational text overlay that says POV, you learn that waking up at 5 a.m. is actually worth it. If you needed a sign to start waking up early, take this as your sign. Here's another option. If most of your content is educational, like mine, you can still create a vlog, but the voiceover can be educational. So for example, in 2024, I went to this Cedarville brand event in Malibu and it was one of the highlights of 2024. We were doing so much, I went with my client. It was such an amazing experience. So like when you do a really fun, cool thing in your life, you're telling me you're not taking videos and photos. Like of course I was gonna take the videos and photos. So what I did was I ended up editing all of those clips together showing you everything I did, showing the highlights, the mansion, the activations, my client, us having a good time, all the pretty things, but the voiceover was more educational. I talked through everything I learned and what I thought about Cedarville's marketing after experiencing one of their biggest brand events. Still a vlog, it just has a more educational twist on it. Now there are so many ways that you can do this depending on your goals, but there are a few options and hopefully that gets the creative juices flowing for your next vlog. And here's the last thing I'll say about vlogs and dedicated lifestyle content like this. The goal shouldn't be to go viral. And if your lifestyle content performs lower than more of your obvious value-gift content, don't get discouraged, okay? Because this is usually what happens across the board. When I post a vlog, for example, I posted me getting a designer work bag vlog and it actually did really well. It got 200,000 views, it got comments, heart even at least a comment on it and I was like, "What? I love you!" It was really, really exciting, obviously, but that wasn't the goal. Okay, I didn't go in being like this has to go viral. I want this to go viral. That is a bonus, but I have other goals when I create different vlogs. And here are some of the goals I want you to think of first. Number one, can you use this to grow your brand? In that vlog that you can actually watch on my page on my Instagram, I used it to share the message that I say on my page all the time, which is becoming your own it girl. So it wasn't just me talking about the bag and the experience and like, "Look at me, I got this bag!" Like, yeah, the visuals show that, but in the voiceover, I use it to empower you and to inspire you to become your own it girl. Growing up, I only thought that luxury things and designer things were for other people. Oh, that's for them, that's not for me. Oh, it's nice to look at. And then I also talked about growing up and going window shopping and being strategically delusional, pretending like I'm gonna buy something even though I didn't have the budget for it. I would just put myself in those situations and I'd go, "One day I'd have that, one day I'll have that, one day I'll have that." And then finally, it actually happened and I was actually making a purchase. I was becoming my own it girl, I am becoming my own it girl and I'm inviting you to do it. So it went deeper than just like, "Here's a fun bag." Other things I want you to think about is flexing your storytelling and creative editing muscles. like these things, if you wanna be a better story. teller if you want to get better at editing, you actually have to do it. Just like any other muscle you have to stretch it, you have to challenge it, you have to use it. So use your vlogs as an opportunity to be a better storyteller to learn more about editing. Oh my gosh, there's so many things that you can do animations, keyframes, coloring, pop-up stickers, so many things that you can use, but you're only going to know what you like and how to do them if you actually start doing them. Another way I want you to see vlogs is they are a nurturing piece of content. Maybe they don't do amazing reach-wise consistently. I know mine don't perform amazing in reach, but they're a nurturing piece of content. So that's really the last thing I want you to think about is, am I creating a digital space that not only invites people in via your reach content, but also is a comfy, cozy place for them to stay. And it's these nurturing pieces of content that when somebody finds you on those reach pieces of content or somebody sends that person your page and they start binging, are you treating yourself like a textbook? Are you creating a space that only frames you as a resource, as a page that I'm just going to go there for information and that's it? Or are you creating a space that is so rooted in your authenticity, your personality? Are you allowing us to see these different sides of you via these nurturing pieces of content like a vlog, get ready with me, come with me, any of that? Growing your account and growing your brand are two completely different things. And when you have nurturing pieces of content like this, you are more in the brand route. And that's exactly where I want you to be. Okay, the actual last last last last thing I will say about these types of content is the creators and founders that actually work with me. Apply the work with me, apply and then invest in working with me in my services. They don't just watch one piece of content. They watch a piece of content, they binge, they scroll, they go from TikTok to Instagram, Instagram to TikTok, the podcast, they look at the care cells, they look at the different reels, the different video stories, they're looking and it's those personality pieces of content. It's the storytelling. It's the pieces of content that really go that one level deeper, that attract the most aligned clients to work with me. So again, we're not just growing an account. Okay, we are growing a brand. So that's the tea on lifestyle content like a vlog and unselfish vlog. But let me talk about some other ways because I know vlogs can seem intimidating and I'm going to be honest vlogs are a lot of work. Not only are you filming a ton of content, but the editing process is heavy, it takes a lot of time, it takes sometimes it takes me a few hours to edit a vlog even just for short form. So I want to also name some other ways, some subtle ways, some smaller yet impactful ways to you code your content and leverage you in your content. Number one, catchphrases. Why not take a page out of the big businesses playbook and give yourself a catchphrase or slogan. It may seem small, but it makes you memorable and it can be totally tied to your personality, your lifestyle, your life experiences like for example, there was a reason why I end every episode and every video with break a leg because my failed acting career is forever part of my brand. My failed acting career is one of the reasons why I started my business. My failed acting career is something I still use to this day in my strategies in my point of view, in my perspective, in my strategy tactics. Theater girly through and through. Now I'm not going to tell you that every single time. I'm just going to say break a leg. Number two, and something that a lot of people forget is your colors, your branding, your colors say so much about your personality. And also these are visual platforms. If you're on TikTok and Instagram, these are visual platforms. So even wearing the same colors or having similar coloring in your videos can help you be more memorable, but it should be rooted in your personal style and what colors you actually like that you feel confident in that you feel actually represent you. Number three, your lifestyle pillar. I've talked about this so, so, so much. I mean, years now ever since day one of my business, I talked about the lifestyle pillar. I have a full podcast episode breaking this down. I also have a freebie called the lifestyle pillar freebie, but in short, it is three to five elements of you that have nothing to do with your niche, your industry, your job, that you integrate within your content. Number four, I want you to check if you have the influencer accent subconsciously when we're consuming a lot of content, we tend to take up the characteristics and traits of what we are consuming. And if I have a conversation with you in real life and all of a sudden you press that record button and you sound different, there is a problem there. And I had one client specifically that the contrast was drastic. Like, we would get on a call and she would talk normally, have so much personality. She was her and then she would send me a video that she created and her voice and her tone completely changed. That is the influencer accent or that is you being influenced, but not in a good way to not show your personality in your content. Your tone, your cadence, if you have an accent, all of that stuff is you. All of that stuff is your authentic self and you can leverage that in your content, but they're very easily missed. So you need to check for the influencer accent. When you scroll your own feed and when you create your own content, I want you to like the person that you see. I want you to scroll through your feed and be like, wow, I like her. I think out with her. I get a bubble with her. I go on a date with her. I want that for you. I don't want you just to be chasing the validation of everyone else. I don't want you to make a habit of I need to be this way. I need to be this person. I need to talk this way. I need to look this way. I need to do it this way for other people to like me. No, at your core. No, it can't be that. It cannot be that at all. You are going to you code your content. That's leveraging you. That's leveraging your personality. That's leveraging your lifestyle in your content. Okay. I hope you took some notes and I know whether you do an unselfish vlog or maybe try out the other little ways to leverage more of you and your lifestyle in your content. I know you could do at least one of these things in your next post. And if you do, please share it with me on Instagram, TikTok, @inspiredmedico, you can send me a DM and email. What are those good for you? And as always, break a leg.