Kim Rittberg
Appearances
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
Like you really don't, you don't need to be anchor. You just need to be yourself and the most confident version of yourself. Because if you believe in what you're talking about and you're knowledgeable, you're teaching people. You're educating people. And if you're funny, then you're entertaining them.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
That elevator pitch message can be applied to a lot of different things, but I think that's the way. And the reason I created this framework, when I worked in media, I sat on these panels with hundreds of people pitching me. And I got pitched all the time just because I was a TV producer. And people come up and they'd say, oh, I'm a dentist. I do this and that. I love kids.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
And then I would be like, You went to Oxford or like you invented the type of enamel for teeth that is used all over. Whatever that accolade is, that should be the first thing you're saying because that's really selling me in on you. Because when you're trying to get on media or trying to get press, that journalist or producer, they have to love you, but they have to sell you to their boss too.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
They have to be like, Heather is the best. She was a CRO. She was the number one person in her area. She made $55 million. I'd be like, wow. And then I feel like I can sell you to my boss. So those are a couple of things to really keep in mind when you're creating that elevator pitch or the messaging.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
This is such a great question. So what I love about my career is that I feel like I've gotten to learn so many different things. So I started in TV, writing stories that are 30 seconds, maybe two and a half minutes, breaking news and entertainment. And then over time, shifting into digital video, which is not on TV, obviously. It's on your phone or it's on your computer, short form.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
But within there, I also did hour-long content. So I really understand how to tell a story short to long. And then I switched into podcasts as well. So now I'm sort of like a Jane of all trades. One of the things that I find for all of these things that I help brands apply to it is we talked about this before about the message.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
When you're starting to do content, you get your message, make sure it's not too complicated. So all of these things that you never will see a media outlet tell a story that's about like 20 different people all around the world doing something. It's always like there's three central people or there's, you know, one couple and this other couple and they're intertwined.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
Like it's not too complicated because people don't like something that's so complicated. So when I teach people, I have this like, I'm auditioning a new framework called the messy framework, right? I'm auditioning with you, Heather. So M, your message. Not too complicated. Tell your granny. Go call your granny. Explain what you're about to do. Explain the message you're about to do.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
Read her your script. If she doesn't understand it, that's not your message, okay? Keep boiling it down. Boil it down until your seven-year-old cousin and your granny can both understand it. Then you have a great message. So that's something from Netflix to Us Weekly to cable news, the message, super simple. You're on camera. This is more like for professionals being on camera.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
A lot of professionals don't want to be on camera, but you have to be. I think there was this trend for a little while that I saw in digital video where it's a lot of content and words, but not a lot of sound. And if you still see it a little bit, but not as much, people really like connecting with faces. They really like seeing people and getting to know you.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
So I'm all a fan of an inspirational quote, but putting yourself on camera is really the way to go. And so I think you're seeing that as a trend back to that. You're seeing that really everywhere. YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, people putting themselves on video because... That's how you build connection. That's how you get to know people.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
So putting a moving quote on a screen, it's just never going to build that connection in that same way that a person will. Oh my God, this thing, as I said, this is a messy plan, right? M-E-S-S-Y, message, E, easy to understand. That's the E-S, strategy plan. You need a strategy. So every one of these places, you would never just turn on a camera and be like, guess what? We're recording.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
You know why? That's a huge waste of money. It's a huge waste of money. So every time you're recording something, you don't have a script or you don't have a plan, you're wasting your time, you're wasting your money. If you hired a camera person or an editor, you're wasting everybody's time and money. So you really have to come in there with a strategy. And so that's for every single place.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
And it's interesting. Now that I work more with professionals or brands, they sometimes feel more time-starved or perhaps budget-starved. But so does everyone. I was running a 17-person team at Us Weekly. I had to say no to plenty of great ideas. So plenty of celebrities would pitch Us Weekly to do a video and I would say no because you're always going to run out of time and money.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
So you have to have that strategy and plan and decide what's important to me right now in this quarter or in this half year. And you have to be really ruthless and you have to really stick to that because money and time is going to go away. Okay. And then the why is you're a journalist. You're always a journalist. You're never a salesperson. No offense, Heather. I love being a good salesperson.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
But the main thing is you will never see media outlets and you should never see brands selling. No one wants to watch commercials unless it's the Super Bowl. So that is like one of the keys. And when I did branded content within these media outlets... You know, when we're working with Swiffer or Target or Etsy or AT&T or whoever, or NyQuil, ZQuil, you're never making an ad.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
You're really always thinking, how can I make this fun? How can I make this feel like something somebody would want to watch on their phone? So that could be entertaining. That could be educational. That could be touching. It could be moving. But it can't just sell. As soon as it sells, everyone's swiping by it. Nobody wants to watch that.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
all of the media outlets and also the branded content I did at those outlets. I feel like those are the messages that I have taken with me. And now I try to apply to brands and professionals because people don't know that if you're a lawyer, you're a doctor, you're running your, your wellness clinic, you haven't spent 15 years in media. So why would you think about that?
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
You shouldn't, no problem, you know, but now that I have thought about that, I really do apply that. And that's what I think is like really, really interesting. It's just getting your headset and as a journalist, like what do you think somebody would be interested in hearing from you? And it takes a little bit of mindset shift, but once you do, you will have just like a Google Doc full of ideas.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
Like once you unlock that, the brainstorm's just going to flow.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
So converting is, you know, that slow process, you know, like, know, and trust all of that. Like people have to feel a connection to your brand and you have to stay relevant to them continuously. You're gonna have multiple touch points, right? So they might not buy from you from that video about the best smiles in America. I'm just like making up a random thing.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
Like maybe you're a toothbrush brand or you're a dentist or whatever, and you're doing something about like the greatest smiles in America. And it's videos of like, old ladies and babies and whoever, right? Maybe someone's not clicking and buying from that video, but it's got to be a part of your mix. Because if all you're doing is selling, you're not even going to have followers.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
If you're only selling, it's like the equivalent of your mail being full of junk mail. You know, it can't always just be offers and discounts and coupons and stuff. It has to be, you have to build that relationship. And you see brands, there are lots of brands doing amazing on social. That's because so little of their content marketing is selling. So much of it is marketing.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
And also some of the content marketing. So content marketing, obviously, you know, is the sort of marketing that companies are doing that make it fun and make you want to watch it. But you think about fashion brands, you know, they're doing lookbooks or shoes. Like, you know, I get Incas in my Instagram feed or Allbirds or whoever.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
Some of those, in theory, they're selling because it's full of their product, but they're cool and they're fun. It's more like a music video rather than like on sale now, 50% off. It's bringing you into an aesthetic experience and it's fun and it's colorful. So it has to be a part of that because if all you're doing is selling, you've already lost.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
Yeah. I think you have to have those convert points, but it's not the majority of your content. Because if the majority of your content is the conversion points, I think you honestly don't have enough people even in there to then even get to converting. You have to have the majority of your content being things that people truly want to consume. And then that's going to convert.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
And I think that's forever. I think that's for professionals. I think that's for brands. That's for products. That's for services. And I think you see that with the most successful people and the most successful brands. If you really look at their content, a lot of it really is things that you're like, oh, that's pretty or interesting.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
You're not saying you're not looking at their feed and going, oh, 50% off. Oh, sale. You know, it's a part of it, but it's not all of it.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
What kind of company? I always like to think like sometimes it depends.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
Oh, well, you should tell me he's wrong and that Kim said so. I really do think that when you talk about someone who started a company, right? That person must be really passionate about digital marketing that they started a company. So I think that to hide that person away and lock them in a little tower and not put them on video is doing a disservice to the company, but also to the clients.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
Because clients can feel that energy. The person who's most connected, who's most lit up about the message should absolutely be on camera because that is going to build that relationship to say, oh, not only are we an expert, we're going to do X, Y, and Z for you. But like, I love talking about this. I love doing this. If you work with us, we're going to... Make your business skyrocket it.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
And I think that it really does a disservice. And I think, again, we talked earlier about being on camera and everyone hates how they look, hates how they sound. Everyone feels that way. But at the end of the day, you're doing it for your business. And I do think it needs to be a business goal. And...
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
Sometimes to help unlock some of the professionals I've worked with, I've said, well, what are the things you love? Why don't we sit down and film a YouTube series only about those things? Like, let's do a little YouTube playlist about just these five topics that you love.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
And then let's see, you know, because I think it is hard to push people to be like, get on a panel and get on and do this and do that. But like, let's start with the thing that lights you up and just see where that goes. Yeah. Yeah, I'm a huge advocate. I just think it's really, really important. I feel like you put me somewhere, I'm like, I'll talk all day. I love this.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
And I really believe, I also believe everyone can be great on camera because I think we're in such an amazing and lucky time when I was in my 20s. Of course, I'm still in my 20s, as you can tell by my voice. I'm just kidding. Obviously not in my 20s. So in my 20s, I started in journalism. And It was sort of that era where no one on TV was sort of a regular person.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
It was like everyone was a gorgeous woman who came from a pageant. And then maybe there were men in suits. But for women, it was a lot of pressure to really look perfect and be perfect and speak with the perfect diction from the middle of the country. It's not like that anymore. So nowadays it's all about being authentic. And so I think that professionals just have to be themselves.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
And I really like, I'm the biggest cheerleader who's never been a cheerleader in high school. I really am such a cheerleader. I believe so strongly that everyone can put themselves out there and can use that to grow their business because you don't need to be perfect. Like you really don't, you don't need to be anchor. You just need to be yourself and and the most confident version of yourself.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
Because if you believe in what you're talking about and you're knowledgeable, you're teaching people. You're educating people. And if you're funny, then you're entertaining them. But I just think it's really, really important. And I do, I just love like unlocking that for people. I'm like, look how good you are. Oh my God, you're so much better than you were two weeks ago.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
A hundred percent. And listen, I'm a mom of two. And I think that there's a lot of, in the business world, you're like, eh, do I acknowledge I'm a parent? Do I hide it? Do I like, it's a photo of my desk, but I never talk about my kids, whatever. There's all those questions about like, how do I incorporate my family into my work life?
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
And the founder story, like, why would I not share the story that I was in a hospital bed? And then I realized, yes, I want to work. Yes, I love working and helping people and making great content. But there's more to life. There's more to life than that. And there's a way that you can take control and take a risk on yourself and create the life you want.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
And so like now, pretty much like any day of the week can just be like a day where I take my kid for ice cream after school. Oh my God, what a life I live in. And in the summers, I try to work less so I could pick them up from camp and go to the beach with them and collect shells. I literally never thought my life could be like that. And so hiding that story of having my epiphany in the labor room
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
That makes me feel like, seem like a robot actually. So when you hide that founder story, it actually, it makes you seem one dimensional. And I think when you can bring the real you, and I still work, everybody still works. I'm not that vulnerable. There's a lot of other stuff in my life I'm not talking about. You know, I think we all have our privacy and our like, real secrets, secrets.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
The next episode is about secrets. I'm just kidding. But I think being vulnerable to whatever extent you can be vulnerable really brings people in. It makes people so much more interested. There's a hundred digital marketing companies, but only one was founded by person X with the most amazing story. And so I think that just bringing that in brings that humanity.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
And it's funny because I advocate all of these things for my clients. And now I try to practice what I preach more. And I've been called for all these speaking engagements, to be on all these panels. I've been on TV like three times in the past six months. And that's because I'm telling my story. But before that, I was like, oh, I'll help you grow with video. I'll help you be better on camera.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
And I was hiding. my own personal story. Not because I was embarrassed of it. I just was like, who cares about my story? But then I really thought about it. I'm like, oh, I'm a journalist. This is my headline. This is my headline. This is my why.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
And so once I decided to apply my own principles to my own business and my own story and trying to grow my business with that, it's really unlocked a lot. So I think that anyone who is a founder of a company or is the face of a brand, and even if you're not the face of the brand, think about putting yourself as the face sometimes.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
It doesn't have to be all about you, but it should be sometimes about you.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
It was a whole nightmare. That's exactly true. So I had been working in media for 15 years and I had the opportunity, like seriously dream job. I've been in TV news for 10 years. I switched into digital and I got to run the Us Weekly video unit and not just run it, but like build a business inside a business. And it was everything I wanted. Like I'm really like very ambitious.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
I totally agree. And when you think about our fractured world of content consumption, who knows where people are listening from? People listening to podcasts, people listening on YouTube, they're watching on Instagram, they're watching on TikTok. They really don't know your whole story.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
And so don't, this is the other thing I think just in all of this is like, we feel like, oh, well, they've heard my story or, oh, I'm going to be judged or first of all. People are too busy thinking about what they're having for lunch to think about you. They're deciding between a turkey sandwich and a BLT. Like they're not thinking about you.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
So in the positive side of that is you have to remind them about yourself. And so every time you're on an interview or on a video or in a press interview or whatever it is on social media, you have to remind people who you are and you have to remind them of that backstory because they don't remember that. People meet so many people. Like you were in sales, Heather.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
You've met thousands and thousands of people. Even regular people who don't do sales meet hundreds and thousands of people in their lifetime. They really don't remember the nuances of your story. And so you should remind them. You're interesting. Like everybody thinks they're not interesting. They are. Everyone's interesting. And so it's just important to remember that everybody feels that way.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
But you have to remember you are interesting and you have to get your story down. I think that's the other thing. whatever your story is, you need to write it down. You need to perfect it. You need to keep saying it. You need to keep telling people because it feels weird to say that. It feels weird. You know, I used to feel weird bragging.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
I used to be like, oh, like I launched the video unit for Us Weekly and, you know, it sold for a hundred million dollars. And I'm like, Why would I not say that louder and brag about that? That's bananas. Not that many people can do that. Not that many people have done that.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
So you have to remember whatever that thing is that you do, say it loud and proud, practice it, keep pitching with that because it is interesting. You are interesting and everyone has something to say.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
And yeah, and I love to be honest about the fact that like, I have an amazing resume, except I also feel the same self-doubt that everyone else feels. I didn't feel comfortable building my business. I didn't know I'd have clients. And, you know, we feel super human confidence in sometimes and we feel super low in other times.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
And so I think being honest about that with people and reminding everyone, we're all humans. We all feel bad about ourselves sometimes. We all need like to call our mommies or our brothers to be like, am I awesome? Tell me I'm awesome. You know, We all need that. And so at the end of the day, just remember that we all are interesting. We all are great. And we all are worth telling a story.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
I love like building something and I loved running a team and it was such a dream come true. So I was leading a 17 person team. I had my first baby there. I joke, I had two babies, baby Lily and baby Us Weekly. And a very amazing unit full of great creative people. But when I was pregnant with my second, we were getting acquired.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
And I'm truly the biggest cheerleader. I just think everyone has a story to tell and should be putting themselves out there because they're hurting their business by not.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
But like even your passion for your business is interesting. You know, like I think that that's the other thing that when you're passionate about what you do for people who write, maybe it was the semicolon that drove you crazy in 11th grade and that led you to be a writer. Okay.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
You know, whatever, whatever your story is, maybe it's, you know, you smashed your tooth on a skateboard ride when you were 12, you want to be a dentist. Okay. That's fine. You know, like no problem. Like everyone's got a story. It's not, it doesn't have to be as, as mega as everybody else's.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
That's such a good question. I start every plan with a client with their goals. So when someone says, what should I be on? I say, well, what are your goals? Because I think that different platforms are perfect for different brands and professionals goals. So I think LinkedIn, we all know it's a very professional platform.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
All of the platforms are you get what you give and you got to be on there and you have to be engaging. But it really is a lot of connecting with people. So TikTok is the hottest thing ever right now. There are adults, grownups and professionals on it, but still a lot of dancing young people. And so you can hit it, you could strike it, you can blow up on TikTok.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
You can also spend so much time on TikTok and it's not doing anything. So I see it both ways. I think it really depends. If you have a lot of time and money and you could be on all the platforms, great. But truly, I think you should pick like one or two to focus on. It's hard to do more than that, depending on the size of your business. I think you really have to focus. and prioritize.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
Within that, I would say, as you're creating content, try to squeeze that orange. So I just did this blog post on my site, cambrickberg.com, where you work from your biggest content down. So right now we're on a podcast. We're talking for like 30, 40 minutes. You have that podcast on video and audio. So that's your hero content. You've got a big piece of content, a YouTube or a podcast.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
Then you cut that up, you squeeze that orange, you squeeze all the juice out of it. Can that be a blog post? Can that be pretty quotes that you can put on Instagram or LinkedIn? Can that be a LinkedIn text post? Can it be a newsletter? So you can really be creating like 10 pieces of content in 10 minutes once you have that hero asset.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
So it's important to remember that while it's very overwhelming to do everything, you actually have like little hacks. That once you're talking, once we're talking about content, for example, we're talking about content, we could be making 10 pieces out of this conversation. And no one's checking all your different platforms. So don't worry if you're being duplicative.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
And also you could pull, we're talking for 30 minutes. We probably have seven amazing quotes. We are so brilliant. Of course we do. So, you know, we probably have seven great quotes to make really pretty quotes. We probably have seven short form videos you can cut up. You do vertical for Instagram, vertical for TikTok, horizontal for YouTube, whatever.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
And typical messy acquisition, everyone's getting fired or laid off or quitting or whatever. I wasn't laid off. None of my team was fired or anything. Actually, the new people said, we love the video unit so much. It's a big part of the reason we bought it. I'm like, oh, well, this is my reward. Like everyone on my team is quitting.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
So you could just be cutting that up in different ways. But I think if you're limited in terms of time and money, I think you should really stick to two platforms. Try to go all in. Try to engage. Try to build that community there. And then you look at the analytics and you see how is this content performing and you follow that.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
If you have a lot of money and a lot of time, you should try everything. Great. If you have a team and they're willing to engage on all these platforms, go for it. But most people really don't. And so I think that I'd recommend being on a few different platforms. And I also like to say, don't sleep on blogs. Don't sleep on blogs. Don't sleep on newsletters.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
If you use that content across video, but you're also putting on a blog, you're getting that SEO. So Google's loving you. When Google loves you, that's great. You want to be Google's lover. So
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
It's laughing at me, but it's important, you know, to really just be trying to get as much as you can out of it without killing yourself and without looking at your week and being like, I spent nine hours making content. You don't want to do that. You know, you want to keep it a little, little bit less than that, a little more manageable.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
And people also feel like, oh goodness, I need to have all of these followers. Like you really need the right followers because if you have a million followers but you're not getting clients from them, you'd rather have a thousand followers that are buying from you. So I think that it's just like, People need to get out of that popularity contest.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
Like I always, every client I sit down with, I'm like, followers is never a goal. Driving revenue, driving client leads, driving business, those are goals. Those are real goals. And I just think like that's the most important thing to remember. So LinkedIn, you could meet three people on LinkedIn. They could be clients today.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
You can be on TikTok for a year and have a million followers and never sell one dollar. So I just think it's like an important thing for people to remember. And one thing, I just thought about this about where we're thinking about content earlier. The idea of using the journalistic elements of like telling a fun story.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
So as at PopSugar, we were doing this branded content for Swiffer, you know, the cleaning moppy thing.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
I know. Who doesn't have a Swiffer, right? I have a Swiffer. I think I have two. Anyway, we're doing a Swiffer video and we're brainstorming it and we're doing it with like animals. Okay. So cleaning up after animals. That's cute. Yeah. But I was like, you know what? People love not just animals, but the most, the biggest, the superlative, right?
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
So we did this video to be the fanciest pig in America. And we featured, or it was the most, what's the pampered? Most pampered. The most pampered pig in America. And this is a pet pig that was getting dressed up in pearls and like had a feather boa on. And when this pig would walk through the kitchen, they would Swiffer and you would keep going.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
All of my peer executives were laid off and I had to build everything I had just built over the last two and a half years while nursing a newborn again, all from scratch. And I just, I was just, I realized this is just not what I wanted. Like, I just felt like this caricature of myself. I'm in the hospital, in the labor and delivery room, getting fluids, you know, the IVs.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
That is a good example of a video that you'd watch because it's fun, even though it's branded content, you're watching because it's fun. So I think that's a good example of you're getting your messaging in there. People understand, oh, Swiffer does a good job of cleaning, but you're watching it. It did really, really well. It performed really well.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
You're watching it because it's a cute pig and it's a pig where it's like a diamond necklace on. So- That sort of drives on that message of when you're coming up with content ideas, think about what might your listener base, your viewer base, what might they be interested in, your clients? What might make them laugh? What might make them learn?
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
And instead of always just trying to sell, sell, sell.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
Great. So my website is kimritberg.com. I'm on Instagram, instagram.com slash kimritberg. Why did I even say that? Everyone knows how to go Instagram. You can also follow me on LinkedIn. I love talking content. I just started a blog because I do believe in the power of blogs. They're old school, but they're valuable. And reach out. I love hearing from people.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
I love hearing what's working, what's not working. And I'm just super passionate about making great content to grow people's businesses. And I believe that everyone can be on camera.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
And I'm on my phone saying, okay, Okay, if John doesn't want the job, then you should offer it to Eliza. And then if Eliza can't have... And for this job, look at this person. And I'm like, what am I doing? I felt like such a caricature of myself. I'm actually a whole, well-rounded, normal person who doesn't do that. And I just... Everything felt out of whack.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
And I decided that day, I need to figure out a different way where I can bring my skills and my experience to the working world, but in a way where I just have more control. I want to be fulfilled professionally, absolutely. But I also want to be present with my children. And I have little kids. And for as long as they want me around, I want to be there a little bit more.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
So that's when you decided, you decided that day that you were out? I decided that day that something was off. But just like real world, it's messy. I took two more years and two more jobs to launch my business. So, you know, I come from media. The soundbite is like, I was in the hospital and then I launched my business and now it's so successful. No way.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
I earned like a few thousand dollars freelancing in that area. I thought I would launch my business. And then I was a little bit stressed out. Like, how am I really going to make this be a full-time career, a full-time salary, a full-time income? And so I took two other jobs. I worked at PopSugar as a vice president of branded content. And then I worked at Netflix in marketing.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
And I loved those experiences. I valued them. But I 100% knew I wanted to work for myself at that point. It just... And I really had that clarity of I want to take all the things that I've learned and help people. And I do feel like I learned all of this from media and also branded content. So I'd work with Target and Essie and Kia and AT&T.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
crafting these really interesting branded content projects. And I feel like there's all these professionals and smaller brands out there that could use someone like me. So I'm like, you know what? I'm just going to try it. I'm just going to go for it. I have no idea what's going to happen. And I just started, like you say, I just started putting one foot in front of another.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
I told a few people that I was looking for clients or projects. I made sure to say I'm not looking for full-time work. And I launched my business. And so my business, I help businesses and professionals be better on camera and make amazing content to grow their revenue and their client base. And it's been amazing. But I definitely had that at the beginning. My confidence was all over the place.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
I'd have a great project and then I'd be like, no one's ever going to hire me again. But of course, if you're doing good work and you're meeting people and you're networking, you will get clients again. Your business will keep growing. And I'm on year three and every year is better than the last.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
So you raise the best point. As soon as you put a camera or an iPhone in someone's face and you turn that little red or green button on, it steals your soul. Instantly, everyone's insecurities, self-doubt, just feeling like you're not interesting comes out. So I've worked with executives, CEOs, Congress people. Everyone is like, I don't know what to say. Like, I'm not interesting.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
Why should I talk? I'm like, of course you are. Like, you're so smart. You're so established. So the first thing is everyone feels this way. I think the level setting is super, super important because it doesn't matter who you are, what your background is, like, you know, your job. Everyone feels self-conscious on camera.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
So I think understanding that helps them to the next stage, figuring out why are you putting yourself on camera? Once you really identify that this is a business goal, I think it's a lot easier to say, okay, maybe I don't feel that comfortable. Maybe I'm not really sure why I'm filming an Instagram story in my bagel store.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
But I understand this in some way is helping people connect to me, is putting myself out there to grow my business. So I think... Number one, everyone's self-conscious. Number two, that is just so important to understand that you need to remember it's a business goal. Otherwise, if you're trying to be an influencer, that's a different thing.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
But you're primarily trying to put yourself on video or on podcasts because you want more clients or you want more revenue. So then from there, it's really, really all about practice. It's a skill and you have to start every single day talking to your camera. It's an uncomfortable and awkward thing to do. And the first 10 times you'll record yourself, you will hate it.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
You'll hate hearing your voice. You'll hate seeing your face. It doesn't matter what you look like. You'll think you look terrible. So every time it gets easier, I have a couple of like nitty gritty tips that I give people. So First, there's the mindset stuff.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
Before you're about to film, play some fun music, whether you're a yoga person or you're like a EDM person, play that music that makes you feel great. And that's going to get you into the right mindset. Right before you're on camera, Got to do breathing. Our body does that fight or flight. It's like, ah, I don't want to do this. I'm so nervous. Like your breathing is off.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
Your brain is shutting down a little bit. The breathing will help you come into the body. So you're feeling good with music. You're getting your breathing. And then you have the messaging, which is a little out of order. You got to have your message down because I think you can never, ever be good on camera if you don't know what you're going to say. Like you have to have that.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
So those are the three main things I think is really important for people to remember being on camera. So it's that messaging, it's that getting into the right mindset, and then there's that breathing. So those are like the three things. And then as you're filming to your camera, You have to just get into practice every single time. It's going to get a little easier.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
You got to feel like you're talking to your friend. Whoever your friend is, you have to be conversational. And this is a hard thing because it is one of those things that only comes with practice. But the more you do it, at the beginning, I did on-camera reporting for local news many years ago. My first videos were awful. I was a deer in the headlights. I was robotic.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
I was impersonating what I thought a reporter should sound like. Everyone does that. Over time, you'll get your own voice and your own voice on video will soon sound like your actual voice. So I think those are the real keys. It's messaging. It's getting to the right mindset. It's doing the breathing.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
And then it's talking casually and conversationally to your phone, which over time will be more natural.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
Nowadays, it's all about being authentic. And so I think that professionals just have to be themselves. And I really like, I'm the biggest cheerleader who's never been a cheerleader in high school. I really am such a cheerleader. I believe so strongly that everyone can put themselves out there and can use that to grow their business because you don't need to be perfect.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
So messaging is the most important thing before you even lift a camera or take your phone out. So at the very core of it, you have to know what you're offering people and you have to know who you are as a brand or as a professional. Once you have that, you write down your message. I generally recommend for people to slash 30%, okay? Because you want a really succinct and high energy message.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
The more words slows it down, slows down the energy. So my number one thing is you write down, I'm Kim Ritberg. I'm an award-winning content expert. I spent 15 years in national media and now I help professionals and brands be better on camera and grow their business with content. Every time I try to say, okay, can I take out one or two words? You try to get it tighter and tighter. So
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
That messaging is really, really important. So that's one of the things. And then I do, I think the elevator pitch that I teach people also comes into point for messaging. When we think about messaging, it could be for brands, it could be for professionals. Messaging is also selling yourself, right?
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
So if you're doing an elevator pitch, you have 30 seconds probably to sell yourself and no more than that, truly. And I think about that message is A, B, C. A, you get your accolades right at the front. You tell somebody, if you have your Harvard MBA, you put that right in the front. Business.
Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan
Confidence Classic: How To Show Up As The Most CONFIDENT Version Of Yourself with Kim Rittberg Digital Video Expert & Content Strategist
Your business background or anything like that that relates to the thing that you're talking about or selling. And then C, creative. Any fun spin that makes you you. If you travel the world for a year, if you're an Olympic lacrosse player, just something fun that's personal that cracks open a way to talk to you. So...