Ep.57/ How Sexism in the TV Industry Led to Her Launching a 7-Figure Social Media Biz with Katie Love
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Katie Love shares how sexism forced her to leave TV news, the conversation that went into having her husband be a stay-at-home dad, and how she launched her own (now 7-figure) social media business. Plus she offers tips on how to grow your business and build an engaged community through social media.
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In this episode you will learn:
How to engage with customers in a non-creepy way
How to create a great social media strategy and build a community
How to grow your business through Instagram Reels
Show Takeaways:
Are you thinking about leaving your current career to start your own business? Does the thought of trying to figure out how to use social media to grow that business seem overwhelming?
Katie Love shares how sexism forced her to leave TV news, the conversation that went into having her husband be a stay-at-home dad, and how she launched her own (now 7-figure) social media business.
Plus she shares all her tips for leveraging social media to build a business, creating a social media strategy that stands out, and optimizing Instagram accounts for businesses.
“The amount of sexism in the industry was so rampant and it was really crushing my soul.”
“People who are on social media are choosing to be on social media it's not like you walked over to their house and you knocked on their door. I think people forget that there is that difference like they're choosing to be scrolling on Instagram or Pinterest.”
“I think the originality of having your voice whether you're in the car, in the grocery store, or with your kids I think that that is a trend that's really interesting right now."
“I think mindset is the number one barrier to people leaving their careers quitting and just trying something new.”
“There are plenty of people who want to cheer you on.”
“One of my highest rated stories was me putting on a bikini after giving birth to my daughter and just talking about the new stretch marks and my body looking different and feeling self-conscious. But here I am and I'm going to put on a bikini and it has nothing to do with running a social media business. But I remember getting a couple of client calls after that because people were like, I just relate with that so much and I feel like I can trust you with my other baby, which is my business baby.”
“Do little audits every month, what were my big wins in content the last four weeks? What's really not working? I really need to get rid of doing this kind of video because it's just not performing.”
Follow host Kim Rittberg on Instagram!
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EPISODE LINKS:
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FULL EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
Kim (00:02):
Katie Love is here to tell you how she left TV because of sexism and bet on herself eventually growing her social media agency to seven figures. Katie shares her story about leaving her job, how her husband decided to be a stay-at-home dad, and she has tons of great tips on how to grow your business through social media, like how to engage with customers in a non creep way and so much more.
(00:24):
This is Moms exit interview, the show for moms who want to craft the career and life they want. Each episode, you'll meet inspirational moms across various industries and levels who are working and living life on their own terms, and they'll bring you actionable tips from finance to business development to happiness to crushing that imposter syndrome. I'm Kim rit. I was a burnt out media executive at Netflix a weekly and in TV news. I wanted a career where I was fulfilled at work but present at home with my kids. So I started working for myself and I love it, but not every day was easy or is easy. I wanted to explore with all of you how other moms were creating careers on their own terms, their carving out flex jobs, starting their own businesses. They're taking back control. Join me and make work work for you instead of the other way around.
(01:27):
Today we are talking all about social media and I'm going to say so much of this is showing up and being aware of showing up or if you are not showing up, basically meaning we need to show up on camera to grow our business, to build our brand. And even if you're not showing up on social media like so much, maybe a product-based business, you're still going to have to show up sometimes that's the truth. And even people in jobs have to show up with confidence to ask for raises, to show up in meetings, to present your ideas, to get buy-in on your ideas, right? And this is something I've thought about as I've worked with more business owners, helping them message who they are to the world and making people realize that they are fantastic and even steps before that is believing your fantastic to then bring your amazing messaging and video strategy out there, putting it out there.
(02:15):
So I've learned to call it the unhelpful voice that that unhelpful voice can be too loud. I talked about this with my daughter recently. I shared her into that my unhelpful voice was getting too loud and I had to quiet it. So I've been loving teaching more business owners how to show up with confidence and to raise the volume on the helpful voice and lower the volume on the unhelpful voice in our heads that tells us not to show up, that we're not an expert, that we don't have good things to say. And if you want to learn more about how to show up with confidence on camera and grab my free download, it's what I learned from my 15 years at places like Netflix launching US Weekly's video unit and being a TV news producer. So you're going to check it out@kimripper.com. It's also linked out in the show notes, right?
(03:00):
I'm so excited to have Katie here with me. We met through a women's networking group called Reta and we have stayed in touch and after spending years covering natural disasters, high profile murder cases and presidential elections just like me in news, Katie took a strategic leap when she jumped head first into launching her social media agency called Love Social Media. She and her team have worked with 200 businesses and more. She worked closely with Oscar winning actress Naomi Watts, to leverage not just her own social media accounts. Love social media created the social strategy that's still being used for her product line Stripes, which has 117,000 Instagram followers. And Katie was a critical part of the social media launch for HBO's Big Shot show with Bethany Frankl. She helped her grow her personal Instagram to 2 million and increase her TikTok following by 146% in six months. Katie was raised in Miami, Florida where she lives with her husband who's a stay-at-home dad to their toddler daughter. Katie, thank you for joining us.
Katie (03:52):
Thanks so much for having me, Kim. I'm excited to be here. I love what you're doing and what you're talking about women making exits and doing big things afterwards.
Kim (04:02):
A hundred percent. I would love to know what was the impetus for you to leave TV to then start your own social media agency?
Katie (04:09):
I'll tell you the day that I knew I wanted to quit news and it starts dark, but then we'll get into the light and the happy and the pink and all the glitter. But I was covering on Christmas Day, a horrific tragic fire. Christmas tree went up in flames, a family of five all died. It was horrific. I was in tears. I was barely able to compose myself on tv. My news director calls me into the office and says, has a picture of me up on the screen, it's pause and he says, what do you think I was missing from today? I said, I have no idea. This was one of the hardest stories I've ever covered in my career. It's horrible, horrible. It's like, where was my Katie Love Mile? I don't see the pretty girl that I hired in. Your dress is a little bit too loose.
(05:02):
And I thought, you have got to be f-ing kidding me. I said, did you watch without sound or with sound? He's like, I don't care. Stop talking. Just make sure you bring your smile every day. I was like, I can't do this. I really can't do this. I know that the work as a journalist is important. I'm sure you felt the same. You're telling stories, you're making a meaningful impact. But the amount of sexism in the industry was so rampant and it was really crushing my soul. But what I learned is the way I was able to tell stories and how people were being communicated with, people weren't waiting for the five and six o'clock news. I was able to jump on Facebook and Twitter and Instagram and reach thousands of people and the matter of seconds. And so how could I bottle all of that up and start storytelling in a way that lit my soul on fire instead of crushed it?
Kim (05:52):
Wow. What a story. What year are we talking about and how did you start finding your clients?
Katie (05:57):
So that was 2015, 2016. I had just stopped the Trump Clinton election in 2016. Ohio was a big swing state. I was in Columbus, Ohio, and my husband and I met, we were the only Jews at the station at the time, and no one wanted to work and they like Christmas or Easter, and so we were always paired up together. We fell in love that way. And so he had gotten a job in Pittsburgh where he grew up. It was like his dream job. I had gotten a reporting gig and two weeks before I just looked at him and I was like, I can't do this. I can't do reporting for one more second. It was like, whatever you want to do, I support you. So I was in a new city. I knew no one I knew I had this big dream of wanting to tell stories through social.
(06:44):
So I said, okay, let me go to downtown Pittsburgh. There's so the bustling city of New York, but there's still something's happening. And there was a coffee shop in particular. I had looked at their Instagram and their Facebook and I just walked in there, asked to speak to the manager. I was like, I have a video strategy that I think will change the way people are drinking coffee and how you're getting more people and more foot traffic. He was like, who are you? What are you talking about? I was like, well, you're doing nothing right now on Instagram, so lemme prove to you three months I'll do it for free. And that's just how I got my start. I started asking businesses if I could transform their Instagram, I would do it a couple months for free. They would see the value and then they would start paying me.
Kim (07:28):
I love understanding the idea of transferable skills. So obviously you knew how to story tell because you were in tv, but had you been doing any social media content at the TV station?
Katie (07:37):
A ton, yes. So I was known as their social media reporter. I would go live for most of the shows on Facebook or on Instagram, and so I was learning a lot. But that's something that women ask me all the time. They're like, this is a one query I've known for 10 years. How do I make the transition? I don't feel like I could do anything else. I feel stuck. And my message is always, there's so much that you have absorbed and those last 10 years, whether it is writing skills, being on camera, how to edit video. And I just dug deep into what I thought I could bring to businesses. So in that same way, I was telling a minute 30 story on what was happening in a presidential election. How could I do that for a business to tell their story beginning, middle, and end? But I had learned a lot of that at the TV station when there was a precedent of making sure that all your content was going on social as well.
Kim (08:32):
I mean, I think that's also so applicable to a lot of people who are working for themselves across strategy and accounting and law, and that you still have the basic skills and it's really more of a tweak of your mindset to learn how it fits in this new world rather than, well, I've only done it for X process. I remember I worked in TV as a producer and writer, and then I shifted into digital as an executive in digital video. And tons of people who editors, the editors who put the stories together, some didn't want to shift to the new digital style, but you can learn. It's not that hard. You just have to say, okay, how do I exist in this new sphere? And I think that's so applicable to all people, not just in media, but people in general of how do my skillset, how do I bring them with me and how do I learn to shift them into the new area?
Katie (09:18):
I think mindset is the number one barrier to people leaving their careers quitting and just trying something new. And so whether it was right or not wrong, I had all the confidence that I could do it. And I look back and I'm like, where did that even come from? But I think that I just had to the old thing, fake it till make it. And once I was there I was like, I can do this. I got this.
Kim (09:43):
What was the hardest part about starting your own business?
Katie (09:45):
I think besides finding out how to get clients, and I had this skill and then I needed to find the people who would trust me, that was probably the first barrier that was the hardest. So how do you get a job when you don't have prior experience? And so I started treating my own Instagram. I was my first client, and so I quickly just doubled down on how much content I was creating. I created my own strategy. I started doing these female founder Fridays where I would ask women in a DM on Instagram, Hey, if you send me your product totally for free, I'll make this video. So then when every Friday when that would come out, they would start sharing with their friends and more people would learn about me. And so I really took my account very seriously and put my head down and started to try to grow it in a meaningful way. So then when people would come to my page, they would say, okay, well she has 30 some thousand followers. Clearly she's doing something that got her here, so how can I leverage that and use it on my account? So really I was my first client.
Kim (10:52):
And how long did it take to grow your own account? What were the jumps? I know there's generally jumps,
Katie (10:57):
Right? Yes. So six years. And so for me, it was not this viral moment where all of a sudden I had 30,000 followers. It was very slow and steady and maybe five to 6,000 new followers a year. And over six years I had maybe a couple thousand from reporting two or three and then started growing it over the six years. And I think that when reels came into play, I saw my growth hit go a lot faster and a lot of people experienced that as well. But also just sharing my story of quitting and being very personal and talking to the camera and showing my journey of becoming a mom and what that was like being a business owner, I really opened myself up. And not everyone feels comfortable to do that, and I completely understand, but I think that that really helped me as a lot of women felt connected to me and my story.
Kim (11:52):
I love that you're saying that because I teach people how to be more confident on camera, how to leverage video to do it themselves. And I think a lot of people struggle with that. I struggled with that. I felt very comfortable educating. My first thing is I can teach you stuff for days. I've no problem with that. But the other stuff, me as some inspirational person or me being vulnerable, that was very foreign to me. I could write a beautiful story about someone else as a writer and producer for TV news. I could write the most beautiful bio package about you. But when it came to writing it about myself, it was a little more challenging. And I see that with some of my video students. My on-camera people is like, they're like, who cares about that aspect of my story? And to your point, a lot of people care.
(12:37):
People want to get to know other people, people that they're interested in. People want to see behind the scenes of someone else's life, and not everyone is bringing you in. I think we feel like, oh, well, who cares about me? It's everybody's sharing all this stuff with most people are just a couple of pictures of their family and maybe a couple pictures of their business, not that many people are taking you along for the ride. So if you are, it just really builds that bond. And I have seen it for myself too. The more open I've been, definitely the more I've grown, not just on social media, but my business is growing, my public speaking is growing because people are associating me as being a real person, not just look at me. I can teach you stuff. I had a great resume, but I'm a real person who struggles also with all the insecurities and all the balance stuff and all the questioning of every decision you make. And so I think to your point of that openness really does work really once you say, I'm going to do this and I'm going to be more open, it can work, does work,
Katie (13:32):
It really does. I think people start to invest in you and they want to see you succeed. And we're sort of in a cynical mindset where people are going to think, I'm just bragging about myself and I don't want to put myself out there in that way. But actually there are plenty of people who want to cheer you on. And that's been such a lovely side of the internet for me, is sharing the different things that I've gone through. And there's so, so many women who have shared their own issues of sexism in the workplace with me after I've been open about my story for so many years, being so scared to say anything. When I was a reporter, obviously I was worried I wouldn't get promoted, and so I just kept quiet. And now that I'm in this place where I have no Sierra on my own boss, and I don't know if you can curse on this podcast, but those guys, that's basically how I feel.
(14:21):
And then it, I've helped other women stand up for themselves. And so that feels very meaningful and wonderful for me. And as I was growing my business, people started to invest in who I was when I would share different parts. One of my highest rated stories was me putting on a bahini after giving birth to my daughter and just talking about the new stretch march and things and my body looking different and feeling self-conscious. But here I am and I'm going to put on a bikini and has nothing to do with running a social media business. But I remember getting a couple of client calls after that because people were like, I just relate with that so much and I feel like I can trust you with my other baby, which is business baby.
Kim (15:05):
That's such a good point. Okay. I want to hear about how you and your husband decided that he would be the stay-at-home parent, a stay-at-home parent, not the a stay-at-home parent.
Katie (15:13):
Yes. One of the many. So we had our daughter in 2020 and he was an investigative journalist. His life did not stop. He was still leaving for work at 7 38 in the morning and not coming back until eight. And he was just missing it. He was missing her whole life and it was really hard for him When he would come home, he wasn't necessarily wanting to jump into his arms because she just didn't have that connection with him. And it was a really hard time in our relationship where he just didn't know if he was a good parent or if his daughter would ever have this connection with him. And so when I said to him, I really feel like I need to be in another environment, I want to be back in Miami. I have family support here and this is the city I want to live in.
(15:58):
He said, okay, let's do it, but I don't know if I'm going to be able to get a job in Miami. And I said, well, frankly, you don't really, because my business had grown so much, the amount of money he was making as a reporter in the same way that we see this happen with so many men and women where the woman looks at her salary, if we're talking about super conventional relationships and they say, well, it's going to cost us more to put this child in daycare or have a nanny. That was the same thing with that happened with my husband. And there was some discussion back and forth of like, well, can he really leave his career of journalism for 12 years and what are his family and friends going to think of him? And I said, well, what do you want to do?
(16:41):
What's going to excite you? He's like, I want to wake up and be with our daughter, and I really want this chance to do this. This is such a unique opportunity. I don't know if I'm going to have this chance to be home with her all day. And he's like, let's do it. Who cares about what everyone thinks about you? This is our life. And he is the best parent. I mean he, he's actually built better to be a stay-at-home parent than I am. And I love my daughter seriously, but it just wasn't something that I felt called to do. And there was so much pressure on women to spend a certain amount of time with their child and to stay home with them. And I love her so much, but I also love my business and I think I can do both. And with him, I really can. So we moved to Miami. He started staying home with our daughter is now stay at home dad on Instagram, and we haven't looked back since.
Kim (17:33):
I love that. Now I need to jump in to advice from you because I know we have so many people all looking to grow themselves on social media. So I'm going to jump into tips from you. All right, Katie, talk to me about what you recommend your biggest tips for leveraging social media to build your business.
Katie (17:50):
So my top three tips are strategy, content, community. So take a step back, stop comparing yourself to everyone else on social. Think about what is your goal, what do you want to achieve at the end of the day? Who are you talking to? What does their day look like? What makes them laugh, feel inspired? What is going to motivate them in the end to buy a product or a service? And that's outlining your strategy. And then thinking about your content, which you're so good at Kim, and helping people with video and thinking about how you're going to communicate your story as a business owner and the different ways you can do that video carousel pose. What platforms should you be leveraging? Should you be on TikTok and Pinterest and Instagram? So many people ask me that question and my answer is, you don't have to be on all the platforms, but you do need to be on the platforms where your people are.
(18:39):
So if your people are on TikTok, then it's time to move over there. But also don't forget about Pinterest and LinkedIn. Those are also really important platforms. So once you have your strategy and your content, then it's time to build community. I always say in order to get the love, you guys got to get the love. We can't expect to just post and get all these like and s of comments. We need to be an active participant on these social media platforms. You need to be engaging in community and starting those conversations, taking people to dm. It doesn't have to be salesy first, but just being genuinely interested in people inside your target audience is going to go a long way. I have so many amazing connections that I have made. I can truly say I built my seven figure business on Instagram. And that is from really digging in and building a community.
Kim (19:27):
And what are your recommendations for outbound engagement? I think that people feel really weird about going out and messaging or commenting on people's posts that they don't know. It's obviously very important, but what are your tips for people to sort of, how can they do it so it feels more authentic to them? What sort of things should they be saying?
Katie (19:44):
I think it's a great question. We want it to come from a real place. So if I'm thinking about my target audience, it's you, right Tim. It's someone who has a business that's servicing people. You are a mob, you are successful. And so how do I make a connection with you, which we did over the internet, and how do I do that in a meaningful way? So I would look at your page, I would look at your last three posts. I wouldn't just like, okay, I don't want to be a liquor stalker. I want to get in there and I would find something that really resonated with me. Whether that is the tip about talking with your hands or what to do with your hands on video, I think about often. And so how did that make you feel when you saw this person's video or whether it's a photo of their family and just say and talk and write you to a friend. You don't need to say, send me a damn for a hundred off coupon, but just saying like, oh my gosh, my daughter has that thing dress from her old Davy and it's super cute. I love it on her. And when I see a comment like that, I think, wow, this is building connection and community and it's so fun to interact with people that you don't know. And there's putting yourself out there, whether it's one or two times a day, I think you will see a huge difference.
Kim (21:00):
I love that because I think that's really helpful tips because one thing that I see when I teach people how to make great videos, it's the same like you said, you have to give love to get love. So you have to be in there and people feel like, I don't know these people. I felt it when I first started being on social. I'm like, I'm going to just write to someone that I don't know. Isn't that weird? Isn't that creepy? And now what I do is anyone who follows me, I'm just like, Hey, thanks for the follow. How long have you been in business? Or how's the weather in Ohio? Never sell. I literally will never, but I'm just nice to meet you. I think it's been an adjustment for me to realize it's actually just people and the people who are on social media are choosing to be on social media. It's not like you walked over to their house and you knocked on their door. It is different. And I think people forget that there is that difference. They're choosing to be scrolling on Instagram or Pinterest and
Katie (21:46):
Choosing to be public. Yes, too. Yes. If their profile's not private, then they are totally inviting people to interact with them.
Kim (21:53):
Absolutely. Okay, I need to get more tips from Katie. Alright. Creating a social strategy that isn't cookie cutter. So I think that first of all, creating any social strategy is awesome, yay. But then how do you create a social strategy that isn't cookie cutter, that isn't like everyone else?
Katie (22:08):
I think that the most common mistake that people make is just going too far one way or the other. And I'm going to tell you the extremes. The one extreme is they're constantly selling and constantly talking about the product. And then the other is they don't want to be too salesy that you have no idea what they are doing. And so when you think about your brand, think about the world in which your product or service lives. So for me, I know that if I just talk about social media services and tips all day, no one's going to resonate me with me. But I'm also talking about working out and mommy and me fashion with my daughter and I'm building a whole world around what it means to be like the Katie Love Life Sale brand. And so when I meet with my clients that that's what we start to build is a whole brand and world.
(22:57):
Again, it goes back to what's going to make people laugh, feel inspired, what's going to educate them. And we can't just talk about our product all day, but we have to lean into other things so people can keep coming back for more. And of course having value driven content. And I think the biggest thing that I've seen lately, I know this probably sounds like beating you over, but we recently had a conversation with the meta team who said that jumping on trend is more important than ever. And so what I mean by that is can you go into the Cap cut app, which is free and you should be downloading it and you see these templates and so how do you utilize and use these trends to capitalize on something that's going viral and has a lot of virality? You did this in such a beautiful way with the Met Gala video that you did. And so that was a cultural moment. And so how do you jump on it? So we had a cosmetic dentistry client out of Pittsburgh and we're like, how do we connect teeth with the Met Gala? And what we did for them was we did a recap of the best Smile, beautiful teeth, smile,
Kim (24:03):
Smiles. I was like, yes, teeth and Met Gala. Everyone's smiling absolutely,
Katie (24:07):
Of course. But it's not like the most natural connection. It's great. And that was a viral video for them and they had, so how can you think outside of the box to capitalize on those moments? I think that's really going to make you stand out in a crowd.
Kim (24:22):
I love that. And so Katie was referencing, thank you by the way, I teach people about video. So one thing I posted this is to the listeners who aren't tracking each other on social like we are, but I teach my students that to jump on those trends. But I think especially to what Katie you were saying that I teach my students as well is you have to really know who you are and what you talk about that makes it easier to jump in on a trend. Because until you really understand these are the three to five things I consistently talk about. So when an event happens, the me gala or the Super Bowl or the Oscars, you can have in your mind what are the metaphors, what are the ways, what are the jokes I might tell? What are the inspirational things I might say about this thing?
(25:01):
But until that it's really overwhelming, you're like, I'm just going to jump on a trend. What am I going to say? Of course it's overwhelming. So sitting down and realizing I talk about being a mom, being an entrepreneur, betting on myself, being scared to be an entrepreneur, and then I al always talk about how to be good on video, how to be more confident. And so I don't do it as much, but I could take a moment from the Oscars or something about why so-and-so's speech was so amazing because I talk about communication. So I think once you have those content buckets, it makes it easier to jump on trends to your point. So that's my add-on to that tip
Katie (25:38):
And it's a great add-on and
Kim (25:39):
It's a great add-on. And then I'd love to know how do you win big on reels? I think so many people see all over that video is the way to really grow faster and better on social. So how do you recommend growing on Instagram reels?
Katie (25:53):
So I'm just going to preface this by saying every Instagram or social media guru has a different idea of how to win, but this is just my experience and what I've learned, what I have learned about reels is that we can't be so precious with sticking to the same thing that we've done over and over and over again. And we need to try experiment and take big swings. So when we see a trend that comes out, and I'm not saying we need to dance all the time, we don't need to dance in point, but how can we utilize what's happening in the world to jump on it? And I think if you can show up on video even one time a week, it's going to be huge for your strategy. I don't think you need to get so overwhelmed with the idea that you have to show up every single day and post a video every day or multiple times a day.
(26:41):
I think that consistency is we are really going to win. And I see so many people burnout. They'll come to me and say, kitty, I posted every day for a month or two months and then I just can't do it anymore. And then they stopped posting for six months. You're going to lose people. And so even if you can say to yourself, I'm going to show up on Monday and Wednesday and I'm going to do that every single week for three months, I think you're going to see a huge difference in just making that time for yourself. Even batching content, I'm sure you've heard of that, but on a Sunday, if you have time, you've saved a bunch of reels that you think are interesting and then you do your hair and makeup for once, one time you have two or three different outfits and then you just get it all out and have it saved. And then it's less time each day thinking about, what am I going to post today? What am I going to do? And I think that that really helps you win in the reels game. Talk
Kim (27:35):
To me about consistency. How much do people have to be consistent to the same day or time? Or is it I'm going to post three times a week, it's okay if it varies. What's your point of view on that? I think
Katie (27:46):
It can vary. I think it's just not going dark for several weeks or months at a time. And then paying attention to your insights. I mean, if you are not a creator or a business account, you need to be because those insights are very valuable. Your reach would be limited if you switched to a business account. That's just not the case. And by looking at what's performing well, and I'm not just talking about likes, but I'm talking about how many people your content reached on the explorer page and through hashtags and how many people sent your video to their friends. I mean, sometimes I'll see that my videos don't have a lot of likes, but then hundreds of people sent it to other people. And I say, well, okay, that's a win because that means that someone liked my comment so much that they either saved it or shared it. And that those are very important metrics to stay on top of. And doing little audits every month, what were my big wins in content the last four weeks? What's really not working? I really need to get rid of doing this kind of video because it's just not performing. And outside of video, carousel posts are another huge win that we've seen a lot of our clients happening or have, I think gone are the days that you post one graphic or one photo. People really need to be able to engage and swipe and see different things.
Kim (29:04):
It's funny, I'm a huge video person, obviously I come from tv, I love video, but I love a good cold carousel because I do think people really like to have that snackable nugget that they can take with them. The big bold text, like a couple of words on the, not a couple more than a couple several words on a page. And you just walk away with that. So I think that even though I'm a huge video person, I understand a hundred percent why carousels do well. And I see that my tips carousels do get shared for people debating between creator and professional and personal. So professional, you can't use all the music, right? If you have a professional account, sometimes you can't use all the trending music.
Katie (29:39):
So basically it protects you from copyrighted music, which can be good if you have a business that someone might sue you over. I would say most of my clients are, it's okay, but when we've worked with big, our big celebrities like Bethany Frankel and Naomi Watts, we do need to be careful of using music that's owned by someone else. So having a business account keeps you safe in that regards, but it is limiting when you see something trending, you might not be able to use it. So you kind of have to weigh the risk there. I think that the creator account is for the individual, it's for the founder behind the business. It's for someone who's a content creator or an influencer and then everyone else is probably a professional slash business account.
Kim (30:23):
What are some tips to still ride the wave of trends if you have a professional account, so you can't necessarily use all those trending music because of your professional account. What are some good ways that they can still get in the mix of the trending moments?
Katie (30:34):
So there was a really popular cap cut template with Pedro Pascal like eating a sandwich. And so you can still use that template, you just might not use the sound that went viral with it and just pick another sound. You can still ride that wave. It just has different music over it. I mean, we know 80% of video is consumed without sound, so we know how important it's to have those close captioning and be able to tell a story without music. So that's something to think about. And a lot of times the viral trends that are people saying words are not necessarily copyrighted, it's more music. So leaning into trends that have people speaking is another way to do that.
Kim (31:14):
Can you tell our listeners a little bit more about the Cap cut app that you're talking about in terms of the templates and how to use that?
Katie (31:20):
Yeah, I bring it up because I do think that it's something people have just started to explore and it's such a great way to tap into what's happening. It's always starts over on TikTok and then moves onto Instagram. It's a free app and you're able to see hundreds of different templates that allows you to edit your video in unique and engaging ways. And there are also templates that a lot of people use that have celebrities solve them or a different recognizable people that you're able to jump on a viral trend. And so instead of taking hours to search for what's popular, you're able to just pop over into that app,
Kim (31:57):
Chris Cat that's known for being editing, but now it's, it's also research and it's templates. And so you're saying people can get discovered more through using a trending template, not just the trending music?
Katie (32:09):
Yeah, that's a great point because it is an app where you can edit all of your video and sometimes it's a little easier than TikTok or Instagram that might glitch and you can add your audio clip sounds, but also you can get discovered by just in the same way that a hashtag using a hashtag can help you get more discoverability these template 10 as well.
Kim (32:30):
That's interesting. Yeah. Cause I think that people know that it's an editing tool, but I don't necessarily know that everyone knows about how to all the different ways to use it. What apps do you love? Speaking of, what apps do you love? What apps do you rely on for yourself or your clients or what do you recommend?
Katie (32:43):
So we're all over Canva. That's just an app that we create all of our graphics. We also use Notion, which can be an app on your phone that's sort of project management. And then I use Color Story to edit photos and videos. So I'd say those are my top three.
Kim (33:01):
A color story. That's what you're like to edit. Ok, cool. Yes. And what do you see happening, new trends that you're excited about coming on across social in general right now,
Katie (33:11):
One of the newest trends is seeing people story tell on camera with no music. It's just original audio and they're giving a quick stackable, stackable piece of valuable content or they're telling a story and you're just engrossed. It's like a little bit of a longer form. We're seeing those go up to 20 seconds. And I think the originality of having your voice, whether you're in the car or in the grocery store or with your kids, I think that that is a trend that's really interesting right now.
Kim (33:41):
Awesome. Getting verified. Is it worth it, do you think?
Katie (33:44):
I think it depends. It was worth it for me. There's so many people who still, when they see the blue check mark, they're like, it's like about reputation and this is someone that I can trust. I don't think for the regular person it's worth paying $15 a month for. But for me who lives and breathes by social and having that access, we've already had an issue with one of our clients who was verified where we were able to talk to a real human, which never happens and is so impossible to help. Having that support I think was really a game changer.
Kim (34:18):
Awesome. And Katie, how can people connect with you and work with you? I understand you do an Instagram social, an Instagram audit for businesses.
Katie (34:26):
Absolutely. So if you're looking just to take the first step in creating a strategy and an audit, we can put together that roadmap for you. You can find me at Katie Love Social on Instagram. Our website is love your social media.com. Tell me that you found me right here on Islam's Exit podcast and we'll give you a special discount.
Kim (34:44):
I loves Katie. This was so fun. I'm so glad we got connected through. I'm always big on the power of community. I didn't take it up. It took me several years of running my own business to actually use network and use communities and it's been people like you who've make me like, oh, I'm going to connect with more people. I like these people I'm meeting. So thank you so much for telling your story. I'm sure everyone's going to learn so much from this episode.
Katie (35:07):
Thanks for having me, Kim. It was so fun.
Kim (35:09):
And you can learn more by checking her out at love Your social media.com or on Instagram at Katie Love Social.
(35:21):
Thank you so much for listening. Make sure to drop a review and if you want to send in a real mom moment that we'll share on the air, check out moms exit interview.com. And if you're a professional or small business owner looking to grow your brand through amazing content with no silly dances and with no burnout, check out my website, kim rit bird com and you can hit contact to chat with me. And thanks for listening. Like this is the most amazing community. You guys send in the best feedback. So share it with your friends. Let anyone know who you think would appreciate it. And this is Mom's Exit interview. I'm your host and executive producer Kim Rit Bird. The show is produced by Henry Street Media. Jillian Grover edited this episode. And Aliza Friedlander is our editorial producer and publicist. I'll see you next time.