LET'S MAKE WAVES with Rana AlBasri Mouawad

Your business changes every year. Does your brand keep up? In this solo episode, I share how my own brand fell out of sync when my consultancy shifted from corporate clients to entrepreneurs, and why every founder needs a quarterly brand check-up. You'll learn the five things to review every quarter, two fixes you can do this week, and how to get a full diagnosis of your reputation before you plan 2027.Links mentioned in this episode: Brand Beyond Social: https://www.ranamouawad.com/brandbeyondsocialSend us Fan Mail------RESOURCES:- Subscribe to my Newsletter, Built, Not Branded: https://ranamouawad.kit.com/builtnotbranded- My Resources: https://www.ranamouawad.com/resources- Work with Me: https://www.ranamouawad.com/workwithme- Get in Touch!: https://www.ranamouawad.com/contactKEEP IN TOUCH!- Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ranamouawad/- Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rana.mouawad/

Most founders launch an offer and go straight to content. In this solo episode, I explain why your offer is actually your communication map, and walk you through how to map yours across three stages: before they buy, while you deliver, and after the work is done. Through the story of a life coach whose high-ticket program wasn't selling, you'll learn the five questions every offer needs to answer, why depth matters more as the price goes up, and why content is only one pillar of a reputation/personal brand that sells.Links mentioned in the episode: My Private 1-on-1 Consultancy: https://www.ranamouawad.com/1-1consultingSend us Fan Mail------RESOURCES:- Subscribe to my Newsletter, Built, Not Branded: https://ranamouawad.kit.com/builtnotbranded- My Resources: https://www.ranamouawad.com/resources- Work with Me: https://www.ranamouawad.com/workwithme- Get in Touch!: https://www.ranamouawad.com/contactKEEP IN TOUCH!- Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ranamouawad/- Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rana.mouawad/

When I asked my Instagram community where they feel stuck with publicity, 46% chose the same answer: they don't know what story angle to pitch. In this episode, I explain why the angle is so hard to find when you look for it inside your own business, and why it really starts with the audience of the outlet you want to be in and the way that outlet tells its stories. In this episode, you'll hear The difference between a topic and an angleWhat journalists say makes a pitch relevantHow to study an outlet before pitchingWhere to look in your own expertise for angle material3 questions to answer before you write any pitch.Send us Fan Mail------RESOURCES:- Subscribe to my Newsletter, Built, Not Branded: https://ranamouawad.kit.com/builtnotbranded- My Resources: https://www.ranamouawad.com/resources- Work with Me: https://www.ranamouawad.com/workwithme- Get in Touch!: https://www.ranamouawad.com/contactKEEP IN TOUCH!- Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ranamouawad/- Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rana.mouawad/

She grew her account from 2,000 to 48,000 followers, and her sales didn't move. In this episode, I share a conversation with a fashion designer at a friend's house, and the questions she asked before giving a single tip. You'll hear why social media is a distribution channel and not a strategy, why most businesses have more than one audience, what I learned from the boutique buyers who said no to my own fashion label, and which communication tools build trust beyond your feed.Links Mentioned in the Episode:Brand Beyond Social™: https://www.ranamouawad.com/brandbeyondsocialSend us Fan Mail------RESOURCES:- Subscribe to my Newsletter, Built, Not Branded: https://ranamouawad.kit.com/builtnotbranded- My Resources: https://www.ranamouawad.com/resources- Work with Me: https://www.ranamouawad.com/workwithme- Get in Touch!: https://www.ranamouawad.com/contactKEEP IN TOUCH!- Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ranamouawad/- Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rana.mouawad/

Your clients rave about you, your referrals convert, and yet the keynote invitations and media quotes keep going to people with half your results. In this episode, I look at what the research says about modesty, bragging and the humblebrag, why praise lands better when someone else says it (with a little help from Keanu Reeves), and three practical ways to build a reputation that travels beyond your inner circle without becoming someone you're not.In this episode: Why your instinct to stay quiet is partly rightThe humblebrag trap and why sincerity winsWho gets taught to stay smallThe wingman effectWhy thought leadership levels the playing field for lesser-known expertsThree moves for a humble brand.Find out exactly which part of your reputation is holding you back with Brand Beyond Social™, the masterclass and the TRUST Method™ self-assessment workbook: https://www.ranamouawad.com/brandbeyondsocialSend us Fan Mail------RESOURCES:- Subscribe to my Newsletter, Built, Not Branded: https://ranamouawad.kit.com/builtnotbranded- My Resources: https://www.ranamouawad.com/resources- Work with Me: https://www.ranamouawad.com/workwithme- Get in Touch!: https://www.ranamouawad.com/contactKEEP IN TOUCH!- Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ranamouawad/- Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rana.mouawad/

This week's episode is a personal one. Let's Make Waves just hit its 6 year anniversary, and I'm taking the full episode to walk through how it all started, back in 2020, right after moving from Dubai to Canada in the middle of the pandemic.I get into what changed along the way, why I experimented with video, what podcasting has taught me about being myself instead of performing, and the honest advice I'd give anyone thinking about starting a podcast today.And to celebrate 6 years, I'm opening up something new. 6 guest spots, for you, my listeners. If you've ever wanted to come on the show and talk about your expertise, your reputation, or your own journey, this is your invitation.In this episode:How Let's Make Waves started, and why the pandemic became the catalystWhat changed when I chased the video trendWhat 6 years of podcasting has taught me about showing up as myself6 pieces of advice for anyone starting a podcast todayThe 6 guest spots now open for the anniversary, and how to applyApply to be a guest: ranamouawad.com/podcast-anniversary-applicationIf this episode brought back memories or gave you the push to start your own podcast, share it with a friend, subscribe, and leave a review, it genuinely helps this show reach more people.Want more on personal brand, reputation, and communications strategy between episodes? Sign up for my newsletter, Built, Not Branded.Send us Fan Mail------RESOURCES:- Subscribe to my Newsletter, Built, Not Branded: https://ranamouawad.kit.com/builtnotbranded- My Resources: https://www.ranamouawad.com/resources- Work with Me: https://www.ranamouawad.com/workwithme- Get in Touch!: https://www.ranamouawad.com/contactKEEP IN TOUCH!- Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ranamouawad/- Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rana.mouawad/

This week, I'm talking about something most personal brand advice skips entirely, the difference between guessing at what's wrong with your brand and actually knowing.I share two lessons that shaped how I think about clarity, one from years ago watching a creative team at an agency avoid their desks before a big brief, and one from this year, when I finally sought an honest assessment of what was and wasn't working in my own business. I also get into why turning 50 this year felt different, why I put myself back in the student seat, and why real clarity rarely comes from more research, more content, or more copying what's already working for someone else.I also introduce Brand Beyond Social™, a personal brand self-assessment masterclass and workbook for founders, solopreneurs, and business owners who are visible online but not converting that visibility into trust or leads.In this episode:Why "you don't know what you don't know" applies directly to your personal brandThe lesson that changed how I think about creativity and clarityWhat taught me about seeking real assessment over self-judgmentWhy learning outside your industry sharpens your message inside itAn inside look at Brand Beyond Social™ and how it diagnoses your brand across the 5 pillars of the TRUST Method™If this episode helped, share it with a friend, subscribe, and leave a review, it genuinely helps this podcast reach more people.Links in this episode:Brand Beyond Social™: https://www.ranamouawad.com/brandbeyondsocial Send us Fan Mail------RESOURCES:- Subscribe to my Newsletter, Built, Not Branded: https://ranamouawad.kit.com/builtnotbranded- My Resources: https://www.ranamouawad.com/resources- Work with Me: https://www.ranamouawad.com/workwithme- Get in Touch!: https://www.ranamouawad.com/contactKEEP IN TOUCH!- Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ranamouawad/- Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rana.mouawad/

Why does your best content get ignored?You've put real thought into it. You know it’s good. But you post and then nothing. A few likes. No comments. No leads.The explanation most founders give themselves: wrong time, wrong algorithm, not enough followers. The more common explanation: your content was valuable AND completely irrelevant to the person it reached. Both things can be true at the same time.In this episode, I break down the three-layer language gap that explains why expert content sometime misses, and give you a practical framework to close it.What is covered: What the language gap actually is: the distance between how you understand a problem and how your audience experiences itLayer 1: The vocabulary gap: your language vs. their language (with real examples)Layer 2: The urgency gap: awareness vs. recognition vs. decision-stage contentLayer 3: The stage gap: why most founder content is pitched three steps ahead of where the audience actually isThe practical framework: how to close each layer starting with your next piece of contentSend us Fan Mail------RESOURCES:- Subscribe to my Newsletter, Built, Not Branded: https://ranamouawad.kit.com/builtnotbranded- My Resources: https://www.ranamouawad.com/resources- Work with Me: https://www.ranamouawad.com/workwithme- Get in Touch!: https://www.ranamouawad.com/contactKEEP IN TOUCH!- Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ranamouawad/- Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rana.mouawad/

What if showing up on camera is not an option for you? You've tried doing more videos, but there is a real, legitimate reason why video doesn’t work for your life, your culture, your industry, or your comfort level.In this episode, I dismantle the assumption that personal branding requires video, and walk through exactly what faceless reputation-building looks like in practice - including who this is really for, the formats that actually work, and the trust signals that build credibility without a ring light.If you’ve been sitting on the sidelines of personal branding because you thought video was the only way in, this episode is for you.What we cover:Why the video-first assumption is a relatively recent and not a universally applicable ideaWho faceless personal branding is specifically designed for (cultural, industry, temperamental, and circumstantial reasons)The formats that build real reputation without being on cameraThe trust signals that work regardless of medium: specificity, consistency, proof, third-party endorsementHow to choose the format that matches how you actually think and communicateThe honest trade-off: format choice affects growth velocity and timelineSend us Fan Mail------RESOURCES:- Subscribe to my Newsletter, Built, Not Branded: https://ranamouawad.kit.com/builtnotbranded- My Resources: https://www.ranamouawad.com/resources- Work with Me: https://www.ranamouawad.com/workwithme- Get in Touch!: https://www.ranamouawad.com/contactKEEP IN TOUCH!- Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ranamouawad/- Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rana.mouawad/

This is a bonus episode, and it is a little different from what you usually hear on Let's Make Waves.What you are about to listen to is a keynote I delivered to a room full of real estate agents at Royal LePage, one of the largest real estate companies in Ontario, Canada. I decided to share this keynote here because the knowledge inside it belongs to anyone who is building a personal brand in a competitive market, not just real estate.The core question I set out to answer in this keynote is one that applies to every founder, entrepreneur, and business owner listening to this podcast: why are so many people showing up consistently online and still not building a pipeline?The answer is not about posting more. It is about the difference between being visible and being credible. And that difference is everything.In this keynote, I walk through the TRUST Method framework, my proprietary approach to building a reputation that drives real business results, with a specific focus on two of the five elements that move the needle fastest: Understanding and Testimony.Here is what you will hear in this episode:Why your expertise is not the problem, and what actually is. The critical difference between visibility and credibility, and why confusing the two is costing you leads. How to stop targeting a demographic and start speaking to an emotional context, because that is what makes content people actually share. The three types of content that build trust faster than anything else for a service-based professional in a competitive market. A real before-and-after case study showing the difference between a post that gets scrolled past and one that makes the right person stop and say: this is who I need to call. How to collect and use client testimonials in a way that actually does trust-building work rather than just sitting on your Google page. A three-action plan you can execute this week to start shifting from activity to positioning.Whether you are in real estate, consulting, coaching, or any other competitive field where trust is the deciding factor, the principles in this keynote apply directly to your business.This is what reputation strategy looks like in practice.If we haven't met before, this is a quick intro: Rana Mouawad is a communications strategist and personal brand expert with 20+ years across agency, corporate, and entrepreneurship. She is the creator of the TRUST Method, host of the Let's Make Waves Podcast, and co-founder of InfluStudio. She works with founders, entrepreneurs, and senior leaders to build reputations that drive business growth.If this episode was useful, share it with a founder or entrepreneur who is putting in the work on their personal brand but not seeing it convert. And please leave a review. It genuinely helps more people find the show.Send us Fan Mail------RESOURCES:- Subscribe to my Newsletter, Built, Not Branded: https://ranamouawad.kit.com/builtnotbranded- My Resources: https://www.ranamouawad.com/resources- Work with Me: https://www.ranamouawad.com/workwithme- Get in Touch!: https://www.ranamouawad.com/contactKEEP IN TOUCH!- Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ranamouawad/- Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rana.mouawad/