Why Bec Malseed stands behind her stall

A shopper stopped at Bec Malseed’s market stall and reached out to feel the wool. Bec leaned across the table and told her why she had started ZIAKE. “I really want to help these farmers and be able to do something with this incredible fibre that has been under underutilised that we grown here in Australia.”

“This is exactly what I’ve been wanting,” the shopper said. “I’m so glad you’re doing something with crossbred wool.”

“The products then just sell themselves,” Bec says. “But if I wasn’t standing behind that stall and connecting that emotion to it, the consumer might just walk past it.”

Tip 1: Connect the brand to yourself and the reasons why you started it

What sparked Bec Malseed’s personal brand?

Bec was working in the sheep and wool industry when she saw how little crossbred wool was worth. “Farmers were struggling to get any returns on their wool, just to pay their shearers,” she says.

She went to New Zealand, where crossbred wool has come into strong focus, and came back with a plan. “After coming back from New Zealand I thought, right, I’m going to create my own personal brand and designs for crossbred wool and challenge our reliance on synthetics and reduce landfill.”

She named it ZIAKE, after her two sons’ names, searched the trademark registers, locked in the logo and had it all registered.

Tip 2: Lock in the name, logo and trademark before you start promoting

What has ZIAKE done for Bec Malseed?

ZIAKE has brought Bec opportunities she didn’t plan for. People call to ask if they can stock her products, including some who have never met her.

“It definitely opens up new doors,” she says, “but not in the way people would originally think.”

Where does Bec Malseed show up for her personal brand?

Bec shows up in:

• Instagram: @ziake_wool
• Facebook: ZIAKE – Australian Wool Bags & Fashion
• LinkedIn – Bec Malseed
• TikTok @ziake047 ZIAKE | Australian Wool Fashion
• Markets and events: selling in person at local event and online
• PR

Bec films lots of content on good days, often over the weekend, then edits and schedules it during the week. She changes the message for each platform. “I basically tailor my social media content to my audience accordingly, my TikTok content could be fun and light hearted, whereby a LinkedIn post maybe more tailored towards scientific research and business journey”

Tip 3: Tailor your message to each platform's audience

She keeps the B-roll she doesn’t post. She had one clip with no obvious use, but two months later she slowed it down, recorded a voiceover and posted it. It made the video “feel emotional and connecting the fibre to the farm,” she says. “And it was one of my biggest, best social content.”

Tip 4: Build up a library of B-roll

Before posting, she sometimes sends options to a friend who tells her which one gets the message across.

How does Bec Malseed use AI for her personal brand?

Bec tried AI-generated static posts, and they didn’t work. “There’s not as much interaction and it looks fake.”

Her unpolished videos do much better. “They see me walking in a paddock talking, making blunders or making a whoops in your speech, the likes just go up. My audience likes authentic content, not AI posts. Be you, be real!”

Tip 5: Keep the blunders in - they make it real and human

What is Bec Malseed’s #1 piece of advice for building a personal brand?

“Keep pushing forward. It’s so rewarding when people come up and say, ‘I love what you’re doing.’”

Further tips from Bec Malseed

• Don't delete random footage. You might come back in two months with a voiceover idea that turns it into your best post.
• Send content to a friend before posting. Pick someone who can tell you which one gets your message across.
• Film on good days and batch your content. Shoot a heap over the weekend, then edit and schedule during the week.
• Stay humble. "People want to trust you and value your morals and ethics of what you're trying to achieve."