Influencer Session with Nicole | Socially Powerful

Socially Powerful interviewed Nicole (@thenicoleworld on TikTok), who is a marketing expert turned influencer. Nicole began creating content during the pregnancy of her second child and later started working with baby brands and growing her TikTok following. She focuses on vibrant, engaging video content that helps build authentic connections with her audience. Nicole emphasizes the power of influencer marketing, particularly its shift toward user-generated content and product placement, which fosters organic engagement. She works with brands she genuinely believes in to ensure the content aligns with her personal values. Nicole aims to grow her influencer marketing career, reach 100K followers, and use her platforms to create positive change.

Nicole @thenicoleworld on TikTok

We caught up with influencer marketing expert Nicole, aka @thenicoleworld over on TikTok, to talk all things brand collaborations, creating an authentic connection with her audience and bulk-creating content. Read on to discover how this Mum of two is able to create a sustainable work-life balance in the chaotic world of social media.

1. Tell us about your background and how you started to build your following.

I’ve worked in marketing for 7 years now, with my most recent role being Commercial Marketing Manager, working at a senior level managing strategy and overseeing all marketing activity whilst managing the team. When I was pregnant with my second baby, Rudi, I started to work on gifted Instagram campaigns for baby and pregnancy brands we loved.

This then progressed into PR trips on family days out and working with clothing brands I love. I started to post some pregnancy video content which completely took off and started the growth of my TikTok following.

2.Which platforms do you predominantly use? Which is your favourite for posting and which is your favourite for community engagement?

I use TikTok predominantly, as it’s an excellent platform for storytelling and video content generates higher engagement and views than photo content in the social landscape. Video content encourages community engagement the most, as it allows my audience to really get to know me, more so than static content, as they get to see me, hear my voice, see my mannerisms and have more insight into me as a person.

3.What type of content do you create (video/static etc), and which type works best for your audience?

I feel video content allows for a more personal and authentic approach. I also use Instagram with static and video content. I love utilising static posts for more of an aesthetic approach to content. I’ve created some really cool photo content for brands with illusions and eye-catching features, such as a can pouring itself for Chocomel.

With both video and photo content you have the opportunity to be so creative and use different concepts.

4.In your own words and experience, how would you define “influencer marketing”?

I’d define influencer marketing as leveraging a person’s creativity and engaged online community to spread brand awareness and product awareness with a view to increase revenue for a brand.

5.Why do you think influencer marketing is so powerful today?

Influencer marketing is so powerful today, as it has moved on from the time of basic product review and endorsement posts to actually creating really fun and engaging campaign content to share to an audience which may trend and create a demand for the product or service.

Brands have also opened up their interpretation to the meaning of an influencer. This has meant that brands are no longer only relying on working with celebrities and people of high status but instead are working with creators of different sizes and in different niches who have the creative and persuasive ability to drive that demand for products and services and create FOMO (fear of missing out) within their online communities.

6.Have you worked with brands before? How do you decide which brands to work with?

I’ve worked with a huge amount of brands ranging from small businesses to household names, including but not limited to Aero, McCain, Chocomel, Newlook, River Island, Next, Eylure, Cillit Bang, Pretty Little Thing, Fisher Price, Home Bargains, Protein World, Muscle Food, Drayton Manor, West Midlands Safari Park, London Zoo, Pampers, Vanish and many more! I only ever work with brands that I already love, have used their products previously or have an interest in using the products.

I like to stay authentic to my audience too so I won’t work with controversial brands where my audience may be offended or might not have an interest in the brand. For me it’s important when I work with brands that I feel confident I can create a good ROI or high brand awareness and create desire for the product or service as it’s a mutual partnership. If I don’t feel that then I won’t work with them.

7.How do you think influencer marketing will change over the next 12 months?

In the next 12 months I strongly believe brands will start to utilise more user-generated content to seem more organic and authentic when promoting their own products online. I also believe influencer marketing will be less about promoting products and a little more about product placement and we will see a higher ROI from product placement than we have in previous years.

Online audiences will start to take an interest in products that they see influencers use organically in their everyday life, more than one-time ads. This will likely lead to longer partnerships between brands and influencers to create that genuine product placement effect.

8.How has influencer marketing changed since you began working within social media?

Influencer marketing has changed in a way that allows more creators to come into this space, giving brands a wider talent pool to choose from, thanks to the influencers sticking to a niche. This has made it a little more competitive for creators and influencers, but at the same time, brands are able to achieve more with a smaller budget as they aren’t having to work with the biggest celebrities to achieve great results.

9.Do you use any software to help create and edit your content?

I use a wide range of tools to edit my content. My favourite for TikTok is CapCut as you have a lot of different editing options and you can download the content in 4K to retain the quality. TikTok also loves content edited in CapCut, as both are owned by ByteDance. For photo content I use the Adobe Creative Cloud mainly Lightroom and Photoshop Fix.

10.How do you balance your online and offline lives?

To balance my online and offline life, we are selective about what we share as a family and, whilst I’m very open with my audience about my personal life, life experiences, and stories, there are some things, of course, that I choose not to share. I am a big fan of bulk-creating content and scheduling so I can take social media breaks and no phone days without it affecting my pages and engagement.

With any social media platform it is also really important to keep reminding yourself that not everything is as it seems and there’s no such thing as a perfect life. People show what they want to show and even the biggest of influencers have huge struggles that they choose not to disclose so it’s important not to compare yourself and to stay in your own lane.

11.Which influencers inspire you?

An influencer that really inspires me is @maddiegracejepson. She’s created her audience by being unapologetically herself. I feel like she is incredibly relatable and is not afraid to show the random and weird things that a lot of us girls do, but hide, which makes her content hilarious. It’s inspiring and refreshing to see how far she’s actually come in terms of the growth of her platform and the amazing brand deals she gets just by being truly and authentically herself.

Another of my favourites is @parttimeworkingmummy, Rachael Hambleton, as she is very open about her family life, her son’s Autism, and life as a blended family and she doesn’t mask or hide any of life’s problems that they face. I love influencers who are real, genuine, down to earth, relatable and who use their platform to be raw, open and highlight real issues to help others.

12.Where would you like to take your career as an influencer?

I have now gone full-time as an influencer and UGC creator which was a goal of mine but now I’d love to reach 100K followers in the near future and tick off my bucket list of brands I would love to work with on creative and fun campaigns.

I’d also like to have the opportunity to use my platforms for good in every way that I can. I’m less about being picture perfect and more about being real, genuine and relatable.