As New Zealand’s answer to Lara Bingle, and with one of the brightest smiles in the influencer biz, it’s no wonder The Bachelor winner, Matilda Rice left her job in sales to pursue her career as a personality late last year. In early 2017, Matoodles was named as the Kiwi ambassador for Colgate Optic White, a title also bestowed Aussie counterpart, former Miss Universe Jennifer Hawkins.
So with Miss FQ’s partnership with Colgate Optic White for the 2017 Influencer Awards, we thought it would be cool to catch up with Miss Matty to talk all things “influence” ahead of next week’s nominations, to find out what life is really like when you’re successful on The ‘Gram, and to get some insight into how she works with global brands.
What do you think it means to be an ‘influencer’?
It still feels weird to think of myself as an influencer! However I do appreciate being given the chance to reach so many people through my social media, and being able to help people and charities simply through posting on social, and donating my time. I consider myself bloody lucky to collaborate with brands that I love, and to be able to share positivity and show people that it’s OK to be silly! In this crazy new social media world, I think it’s important to show young NZ’ers that you don’t need to take life too seriously! Enjoying life, and putting your energy in to all your relationships is far more important than getting a perfect picture for Instagram.
What do you attribute to your success on social media?
I guess that depends what you deem successful. Success to me, is having a platform that I can make an income from, whilst also staying true to myself and having my followers trust me. People can relate to me, I think. I will only ever post about things I use or love, and I let my personality come through in to every post, so I don’t become a noticeboard. Speaking broadly, I think brands appreciate when their product is a natural fit with the person, and doesn’t get lost in amongst a whole lot of ads. My philosophy for social media is to have fun with it, and stay true to myself, and I like to think I’ve done that pretty well.
What advice do you have for girls who want to grow their following and become an influencer?
DON’T try and be anyone else. Do you, and do it unapologetically. There is far too much fakeness on Instagram already! Just post cool photos showing the world an insight into the world that you live and love.
I for one can definitely attest to you being exactly the same, lovely person IRL as you are on social media! How do you stay authentic and true to yourself despite the curated, filtered nature of platforms like Instagram?
Thank you! I guess I can differentiate real life from social media pretty well. I love social media as you can get such an intimate view of other people, cultures and places, but at the same time, laugh at videos of cute puppies. But I also know there’s more to life than having a million followers on Instagram. Real life relationships will give you far more happiness than followers on an app.
How do you decide whether or not to work with a brand as an ambassador?
I look at whether I do, or would, use the product, then I look at the people behind the brand. Are they nice people? Fun? Easy to work with? If yes to all of the above, then I’m in.
Social media can cop a lot of flak but we think it can often act positively. How do you feel about this topic?
I feel exactly the same. It is all down to how you use it. If you follow accounts that make you feel bad about yourself, than it can be detrimental. But if you follow accounts that make you say ‘Wow’ at an incredible photo, or makes you laugh, or show you yummy food, or fun workouts to do, what’s the harm?! Every so often I get some awesome, supportive comments from people I don’t even know, and it makes me all warm and fuzzy. If you can understand that your worth is not determined by the amount of followers you have, then social media can be an incredible tool to connect you to the rest of the world.
How do you find balance between living your life and sharing elements of your day with your followers?
I share things that I find interesting, and that I think other people will too. Sometimes people really don’t care, sometimes I get lots of messages! I’m quite private, so I don’t share everything I’m doing all the time, but it’s fun being able to show people something funny, or tell people about a product I love. I make sure everything is on my terms, and I think people respect that.
We’re about to launch the Miss FQ x Colgate Optic White Influencer Awards on July 24 in celebration of NZ’s social media and digital talents. Who are your ones to watch in the online world right now?
Hmm, Art Green! Ha, but apart from him, I love following Johnny Danger because he is is hilarious and just does not care, Jaime Ridge and Georgia Fowler for farshun, and Wildboy_adventures and Lola Photography for awesome adventure content. So hard to choose!
This article was brought to you by Colgate Optic White, proud sponsors of the Miss FQ x Colgate Optic White Influencer Awards.
