Behind the Scenes: From Mom Life to Content Creator

“It must be nice to get free food and fun trips.” We hear that all the time, and it misses the point. Content creation is real work, and when it’s done well it’s also real marketing. We sit down with Lisa Summers, the creator behind It's Summers Somewhere and It’s Somewhere Local, to pull back the curtain on how a Maryland mom builds a multi-platform media brand that actually drives action for local businesses and families looking for things to do.

Lisa shares her origin story, from a long career in sales to a painful house-flipping experience that forced a reset. What starts as a love of travel and local events turns into a consistent social media strategy once she invests in coaching, learns the framework, and makes the hard shift from posting “flyers” to showing the experience. That’s where FOMO comes from, and it’s also how audiences decide if something is worth leaving the house for.

We also get specific about the behind-the-scenes costs of “free” invites: gas, babysitters, filming instead of relaxing, then hours of editing, captions, and cross-posting. Lisa breaks down her workflow, why she edits on her phone with CapCut, how she plans content like a story before she even arrives, and how tools like Repurpose.io help her show up across Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube Shorts without doing everything twice. We talk platform risk, why you funnel followers to a website and email list, and how a weekly newsletter can turn scrolling into real weekend plans.

If you care about influencer marketing, creator economy strategy, Maryland travel, local events, or building a sustainable digital advertising engine, you’ll walk away with a clearer playbook and a lot more respect for the work. 

To see Lisa’s work in action and get inspired for your next outing:

🌞 It’s Summers Somewhere

🗺️ It’s Somewhere Local

📸 Instagram

👥 Facebook

🎥 TikTok 

▶️ YouTube

Lisa blends 20+ years in corporate sales with content creation, speaking, and consulting—helping brands and communities turn content into real-world experiences that actually get people showing up.

Transcript

Welcome To Mom Talk Maryland

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Hey friends, and welcome to Mom Talk Maryland. I'm your host, Claire Duarte, founder of the Columbia Mom. And this is your spot for real conversations, local love, and a whole lot of community. Whether you're folding laundry, running errands, or hiding in your car for some peace and quiet, let's dive in. I'm so excited you're here. Yes. In the flesh.

SPEAKER_02 0:20

I'm excited.

SPEAKER_01 0:20

Thank you for making the drive down here. I know it was a wild morning. I mean, like, I I purposely do them Tuesday mornings, but um also for me, so it's kind of like done and out of the way, but I know at least it's the same thing for me. It's like getting I'm like, why do I do this to myself? But but then it's out of the way. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_02 0:35

I feel like as a mom, you live a whole life before 10 a.m.

SPEAKER_01 0:39

Girl.

SPEAKER_02 0:39

And then you have to start your work day.

SPEAKER_01 0:41

I know. Well, that's what okay. I that's why I'm so excited to have you here today because we're gonna we're gonna talk about work. We're gonna I'm gonna have to have you back because there's so many things we can talk about, and you're so cute because like for the record, you were like, what are the questions? What are the questions? And I'm like I was like, I'll get to them, I'll get to them again. I also had like so many filming days between last week and like the end of the last week and then yesterday, but and then I was like making them, and in my brain I was like, I know Lisa and I are barely gonna scratch the surface of this, but I'm so excited. Um because anyway, well, let me just let me just start with I have Lisa Summers here today. The Lisa Summers, Miss Marilyn, basically. Like you were like, I don't care, I don't know what you call yourself, I call you like Marilyn's like top influencer or one of whatever. Like you really are. You really are. You've done such a tremendous job with what you do. I'm so glad to know you in this space. And so how I like to get started with these podcasts is I love I love an origin story, right? Like, and I see you and I've seen you for over the years, but I want to know how you got started. This is like where I nerd out, and this is also kind of like how I got my own business started because I was so I really love to know businesses like how they got started, why they got started, their passion, you know what I mean? And you and I both have kids the same age, and I think like we started around the same-ish time. So, anyway, so let's start there before we start morphing into all the other influencer world things.

From Marketing Dreams To Sales

SPEAKER_02 2:12

So, one of the things I was thinking about the other day, I I was thinking about what did I want to be when I was little, right? Yeah. And there's this movie, I don't know if you know it or not, but it's called What Women Want. Have you ever seen that? Yeah. Yeah. And so he like bumps his head or something. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You can hear thoughts of women. He's doing all these like PowerPoint presents. Well, I don't think they had PowerPoint back then, but he's doing these presentations about why you should buy fingernail polish or get this hosiery or do this or do that. And I was like, that looks like such a cool job to stand in front of like a boardroom and pitch an idea on how to sell something. So I went to school for marketing in hopes of doing that. And I ended up in sales because sales makes the most money, right? Right. Um, and so I had a long career in sales, almost 20 years, uh being a field sales person where I would drive from place to place. So I've been a pharmaceutical rep, I've been um a corporate sales rep for anything you can think of, like appliances and tires and cell phones mostly. So I did a lot of uh working for Metro PCS, cricket, uh, and then also Comcast. So funny. I've done a lot of that, and I was just out selling somebody else's stuff, right? Yeah. Um, working with individual dealers, franchisees, uh, and helping their team sell. That was my job. And so I and my husband said, you know, we want to try to win. We want to try to like get rich. So what's everybody doing right now? Listen, yeah. We're flipping houses. So we were like, let's flip a house. So we decided to try to flip a house. We got with this guy, got in this program, we had to pay him some money. Yeah, he was supposed to oversee everything. Worst decision ever. Oh my god. Worst decision. So we ended up following bankruptcy, canceling that business. It was like miserable, horrible. Yeah. I was just like, this is, you know, I was depressed. I had a two-year-old, a four-year-old. We were just coming out of COVID.

SPEAKER_00 4:15

Literally.

SPEAKER_02 4:16

Uh, it was just so much going on at the time. And I was like at my lowest. And I said, what makes me happy? And that was travel. I love to travel. I love going to other countries, other states, other cities. I travel around my neighborhood, wherever, right?

SPEAKER_03 4:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 4:32

Um, so I said, if I could do anything for free or anything I love and get paid for it, what would it be? And it would be travel. So I looked at ways to do that, and I said, you know what? Maybe I'll just show our travels on social media. And all my friends were like, well, you always know what's going on in town. You always know what's happening this weekend, all the cool spots. Why don't you share that too? Yeah. So I'm like, sure. So right when I started doing this, I went to like some classes, learned social media, because I am not a social media person. I'm like dinosaur still Facebook, right? Right. Uh we were just talking about it. I love Facebook, like personally. Right. But TikTok, Instagram, all that, it was not my thing. I didn't even use it. Yeah. And so I took some classes and learned how to use it. And I am a person, if you tell me to do A, B, C, I'm gonna do exactly A, B, and C. Yeah. Yeah. And so I picked the best mentors and the best courses, and I did it. Yeah. And at first it wasn't working. And I was upset, like, why is this not working? And the reason is I just wanted to share a flyer with you and say, hey, Columbia Lake Front is having a music concert this weekend. You should go. Yeah. And then nobody was liking it. Nobody was seeing it. And I'm like, what's going on? Right. And then my sister-in-law, who's younger, she's like, everybody needs FOMO. And I always remember this. And she's like, you have to go, show the event. Yeah. But I'm like, but they miss it. They don't, she said it doesn't matter. They won't miss it next time. So you have to show yourself in joy. So true. Yeah. And it it hurt me because it's like, but I want y'all to be there too. That was the whole purpose of the page. Right. And when I realized like she was right, put yourself in the content, show yourself having a good time, show it so next time they can attend. And that's how I became this. I never wanted to be the brand. I never wanted to show myself. I just wanted to show some flyers and tell people to come out. And then it turned into this huge thing of just me enjoying life.

SPEAKER_01 6:32

Oh my God. Now, what year was it that you I know it was like you said you were coming out of COVID when you're doing when you guys uh were going through the old business and bankruptcy. What what year was it that you kind of started dipping your toe in all of this? So I forgot to mention.

SPEAKER_02 6:48

So I'd say the end of 2022 is when, or beginning of 2023, is when I started taking classes and learning what to do. Like that January. Yeah. Actually, like paid somebody to teach me. Right. And then end of January, I got a call from T-Mobile that they let us all go. So I had been around.

SPEAKER_01 7:06

I remember you saying that you like had a job at the time. Yeah.

The House Flip That Fell Apart

SPEAKER_02 7:10

So they got I got let go. I was with them for over 10, well, almost 10 years. Yeah. And I was like, oh my gosh, now I don't have a job. I just paid for this course to learn social media. Yep. But I need to find another job. Yep. And then next thing you know, summer came, and I'm not going to pay for summer camp when I'm going to be at home with the kids. That's right. So that's what really sparked it. I had the kids all summer. So we went to a whole bunch of Maryland Beaches. We went to Great Wolf Lodge had just opened up. Yeah. Um, and we just ran around town doing as much stuff as we could and documenting it. Oh my gosh, you really did.

SPEAKER_01 7:44

So and this is what's so funny. And this is what like kind of like like our little like cohort of like influencer group friends that we all have, you know. It's like a bunch of us started. There's some that have been like doing it for like for a while, right? And then there's a like a funny enough, just all of us moms that like I wouldn't say it wasn't like we were bored on our asses during COVID. It was just kind of like, you know, but that's for like a lot of us. That's how you know I got started in I started this in 22, but funny, I love that you said that you work with a coach because um I started my personal blog in 2020. The year that I was pregnant with my son, because I still had my other full-time job, but like again, being fully at home, it was kind of like I needed a different like mental distraction. And I had started doing like the mommy influencing thing, like you know, kind of just those like off-product sort of things. Um, I wasn't like locally based at the time. Um and it was just like my brand, but and um, but yeah, I I paid to work with somebody like to kind of I I was on Instagram, but I didn't know like how to grow. Reels had just came on the scene in 2020.

SPEAKER_03 8:53

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 8:54

And so I saw I started self-teaching myself that because everybody else was doing it, and I'd already been working with this coach, so she told me everything about engagement and growth strategies and like I just learned like building my own media kit, blogs, whatever like I had learned all of that, and but it wasn't until 2022 that I reshifted into and like kind of repurposing where I want what I wanted to do and how I wanted to do it, getting a little bit more specific.

SPEAKER_03 9:22

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 9:22

Um, but I do think it's so important that like because people don't realize like how much goes into this.

SPEAKER_02 9:29

No, so I think I think I I think everybody thinks, oh, if Susie's doing it, I can do it too.

SPEAKER_01 9:35

And I like yes and no.

SPEAKER_02 9:37

Yes, correct. So anybody can pick up their phone, start filming, anybody could go viral, funny moment. But if you really want to turn this into a business that consistently gets you views, gets you payment, um, and turns you into a brand. Just like with anything, you need to go to school, you need to have a mentor, you need to go to class. And I started from the beginning with the mindset of I'm gonna find the best influencer here, and she happened to have a class, and I work with her, and she told me the way and there's so much behind the scenes you don't know. Like certain tags you gotta use, certain hashtags, certain music, certain this but even like the industry I mean, just like all industries, right?

SPEAKER_01 10:17

But like it's changed even so much.

SPEAKER_02 10:20

It's changed since then It's always changing. Yeah. So you always have to stay educated, know what's going on. Um, and I think that's the biggest thing. People are like, I'm posting all the time when I go out to eat, and nobody's looking at it. Well, there's a actual framework to this, and so many people don't realize that. So always educating on the back end and learning what to do for sure. I know, I know. For sure.

SPEAKER_01 10:43

Well, and I I and to that point too, it's like, you know, this and this is now your full time.

SPEAKER_02 10:48

Yeah, so so so to go into that, yeah. Um, so I did nine months without a job, just running around for free, you know, burning up gas, didn't have a job, and getting around town, thank God for my husband, he held us down. Yeah. And then um I ended up getting a job with uh Comcast, I guess I could say it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And it was a great job because it gave me the freedom and autonomy to still have my nights and weekends free to be able to go around and still do things. So I was building this from like eight o'clock at night to two in the morning Monday through Friday and on weekends. And so we'll go to like things on the weeknights, we would go to two, three things on Friday, two, three things on Saturday, you know, so I could get the content. So we were just ripping and running. And as so I've been in this for three years now, and as of February of this year, I quit my job and I'm full-time in this. Yeah, thank you. Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 11:47

Amazing.

SPEAKER_02 11:48

So it is a grind, it's not something overnight, it was something that I had to do both, and you know, it was tough, but I'm for sure.

SPEAKER_01 11:57

I know I enjoy it. I know. Well, and even like it was a grind, and like it still is. I mean, like, yes, it's to the point that like yes, now it's it, you know, you you've built so much, right? Um, but yeah, people even the you know they I think they see like I don't I sometimes don't even like to introduce myself as an influencer. Yeah, no. Do you know what I mean? Like by definition, that is who I am, that is what I do. And when I talk to people, I also I've now like I describe I do influencer style marketing. You know what I mean? Because that that is what it is.

SPEAKER_02 12:33

I'm a marketing and advertisement firm. I'm not an influencer.

Learning Social Media And Creating FOMO

SPEAKER_01 12:36

Yeah, I say like social media and digital advertising. Exactly. You know what I mean? And I don't like to lead with influencers because the generation that doesn't know what influencers are but know the word. There's such a negative connotation with it.

SPEAKER_02 12:51

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 12:51

Um but ironically at the same time, they all know that they want us.

SPEAKER_02 12:57

You know? It's so crazy because to the public eye, people are like, oh, they don't do anything. But to businesses, they understand the value. Yes. M most Most, not all. Well, some still haven't used it yet. But Right.

SPEAKER_01 13:13

Well, because I feel like so much of what we do is educating a lot of businesses or you know, and sometimes when we when you've when you've grown, like especially to your size, like, you know, which is great because that that point you don't have to do as much education, but there's sometimes more education around, but then they're like, then the price isn't like, oh, we're pretty, you know, they assume that we're just coming in to do, like, oh, I'll just do something for free. Right. And like, you know, and I'm sure I mean I don't I s I finally say, you know, I say no to a lot more things now, and I'm sure I know you do too. Um and but you know, so I do I do still do some free things? Of course. But like we get to now be strategic about that. I I do kind of like not necessarily what I would call like a cost benefit now, but kind of, you know what I mean? Like, do I want this? Do I need this? And I'm always factoring at the end of the day, like, you know, if I'm going to create any piece of content, you know, is it worth my time?

SPEAKER_02 14:07

Yes, you know, and it's not just time. Okay, so let's say there's a restaurant 45 minutes away, and they're like, hey, our meals are usually 100 bucks, come eat free on us, right? Might sound great to the normal everyday job. I get a free meal, but that's 45 minutes of gas. And gas is like 450 right now. In this economy. So I'm paying for that. I'm also paying$25 an hour for a babysitter. So you're looking at two hours for babysitting before I even get to the place. So I'm looking at$100 just to pay the babysitter. Then I'm paying for the gas. I'm paying to get there. I mean, I get there, I get the food. But I'm filming the entire time.

SPEAKER_01 14:42

You're not, people think like it's relaxing. Yeah. Like, now that we've been doing it long enough, like before, I'm sure it was the same way for you when you started, like, we're doing this for fun because that's how we got started. We're just filming all the time. And now I love when I go out to eat, and I was like, I know that in my brain, like, I know I want to film this because I haven't been here before. But I was like, if they want me, they can have me back in. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 15:04

Because I was like, I don't want to film. Sometimes what I've started doing, this is a good trick. Um, if you go to a place and you're getting paid, ask for a voucher or something to come back later. Yeah. So that was a big thing that I learned as well. Because when you're there, you are not enjoying the experience. You are working. You're working. And then it's it's like, hey, they're like, did you enjoy your massage? Did you enjoy your you know, your spa time? And it's like, no, I was moving the tripod and doing this. Yeah, doing this. So it's nice, I'm sure it's a great experience. But you know, I was really doing stuff. We're working. And then when you get home, you gotta like edit and put it all together.

SPEAKER_01 15:43

Because and I'm so glad that you broke down the hours and the time, the money of just that. But for me, I I'm always thinking about like, okay, like, yes, are there reels that I could flip up, you know, and put together in five to 15 minutes? Absolutely. But not all, and so that's not a fair estimate. So I'm like, the n I know the amount of time it takes to edit, write, and then but it's not, it's just it's all the pieces that go.

SPEAKER_02 16:07

It's it's a lot of pieces. And it's it's so much more behind the scenes because even like let's just say I just did Myrtle Beach, right? Um, and that was a multi-day trip. So how do you put multiple days in less than 60 seconds? And then what do you want to talk about in 60 seconds to make it fit? So I had over 30 minutes of footage that I had to shrink to one minute, figure out what I want to say, and then also I created a blog so it can give people itinerary on what to do so they can follow our journey. So then if you want to get the blog, you have to call it a word. So then I had to set everything up on Mini Chat so that it works, verify that it works. Then I have to pick the right song to match the energy of the video. That always takes me forever to find the right song. So it is a multiple.

SPEAKER_01 16:52

And also depends on if like you're doing a voiceover or you're gonna write casts and words. Um I'm also kind of like, you know who I do, I mean you do a really good job with this, but I feel like Leah does such a good job. Like, and like and but I'm I'm so lazy, I just do voiceovers because I'm like, I get so tired of having to like drag and see voiceovers are hard for me.

SPEAKER_02 17:12

I'm not a big yapper, so voiceovers. Really? I feel like you do a lot of voiceover.

SPEAKER_01 17:21

I don't know. I feel like I don't know. I listen to it.

SPEAKER_00 17:23

You do, you do. I was gonna say you do a lot of voice.

SPEAKER_02 17:25

But I I I antagonize over it all day long.

SPEAKER_00 17:28

Like, is this right?

SPEAKER_02 17:29

Do I say this?

Turning Content Into Full-Time Work

SPEAKER_01 17:30

I know that like okay, question. Um just because like we're I'm we're already talking about this, but like to walk me through what is your process. Do you know what I mean? From like how do you like obviously you know, you go and film, right? But then like, what's your process for I mean, like maybe use Myrtle Beach. I mean, that's a maybe a really big example, but um, or anything really, because um I want people to understand, like what I mean, yes, we all might do it a little bit differently, but like walk me through what your process is and like how you edit and come up and organize all that content. Because like in my brain, like, yes, this is our job, but I still get overwhelmed too. I'm like, there's so much material, and I'm always thinking about like how how do I want to put this together, how do I want to say it? You know what I mean? So I'm just walking through it.

SPEAKER_02 18:14

So I try to have a story before I go. So one, I'll tell you something coming up soon. Um, I believe it's like the great big game show. Um is coming to a run, a rundown meals.

SPEAKER_01 18:24

Something like that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 18:25

So you can have teams of up to you know, seven people each side, so 14 people. Uh, so I'm considering going there. And my thought process is one, I have to get 12 people. So I already have being my husband, but now I gotta find 12 people that can come to this on a weekday. So that's already starting the process, right? I gotta reach out to all these people, see who can go, who's gonna show up, yada yada. So that's already work before work has even been done. Girl, right. I have to figure out who I want to come. Do I wanna do it family feud style and have it family against family? Do I want to bring the kids? Do I want to invite my audience? So I've been thinking about this all day and all night.

SPEAKER_01 19:02

Like that stress alone gets me. Like just that one part. I know.

SPEAKER_02 19:07

So that's number one. Yeah. Once I figure out who's going where, like, what am I gonna do? Then I'm like, here's the spin. It's gonna be like this. Now we go. Yep. Um, I look around the room. Is the lighting good? Is the lighting not good? Do I need to bring my lights? Because you're not gonna see anything if it's dark. Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_01 19:24

Uh sorry, but you were already thinking about before you even got there. Before I got there.

SPEAKER_02 19:29

Before you got there, right? Yeah, looking at other people's videos, seeing how they did things, what works, what doesn't work. Then you get there, you film. Uh, you want to film my content, it's all about fun. So I always want to film the emotion. Yeah. I want to I want you to see the fun that we are having. Yeah. Which I think is so cool about content because everybody can go to the same place and have a different vision. Exactly. I want you to see the emotion of fun. And I want you to know if it's worth it. Yeah. That that's my whole page. It's is it worth it for you to leave your house, come pay this money, and go do it? Yeah. And that's what I want to show you. Yeah. And so we're going to do the experience, then afterwards, you know, maybe the next day, I'll sit, edit clips together. I'll probably have 20 minutes of clips that I need to get down into for something like that, maybe 20 seconds, 15, 20 seconds. Because once people see what it is, they swipe. So you can't make the video too long. No. Or it needs to be a payoff, like a promo code or something like that. Yep. And then also, TikTok is completely different than Instagram. So it's TikTok, the video will be longer and it'll probably be actual, real, like you'll hear what we're saying, what we're doing. Yeah. And it's not so like filtered and and and dockered up. So that's two videos that I'm making for one place.

SPEAKER_01 20:47

And question Are you doing all this editing? Yes. And what are you using?

SPEAKER_02 20:52

I use Capcuts. I use my cell phone.

SPEAKER_01 20:54

You're doing all of your editing on your phone.

SPEAKER_02 20:57

Everything on my phone. Holy account. Now, if I did a YouTube video, I'd do my computer. Yeah, yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 21:03

Yep. Oh my God. Um well then, okay. But then the other part that's that gets me too is that like even if like I fully know what whatever, the event, the meal, whatever, and even you know if you know all the details, but then it's like coming back home because then you're you're writing the caption, you're potentially doing the blog, if you got many chat, like there's so many, like where it's like we're re we're kind of like redoing the research again because you want to make sure you have all the information.

SPEAKER_02 21:27

So sometimes I like to well, one when I'm there, I ask questions like what's the price of the buffet, or how much is this, or how much is that? But if the information is available online, I like to do as much work ahead of time as possible. Yeah. So you can actually write the caption at hey, you got the address, you got the hours, you got the you know, the gist of everything. Do you do you do a lot of caption writing before you go? Yeah.

unknown 21:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 21:49

Well, that's it. That's probably what I need to do. Because I know I know where I have to go. I mean, I put in my notes.

SPEAKER_01 21:54

So I know I I do like all of my captions. Well, I'll maybe I'll write them somewhere else, but then I always Put them in there that way I can copy paste. Exactly.

SPEAKER_02 22:02

So you put all I'm doing is just giving you the information, the price, the address, the this, the that. Now, I might put like on my take, like what do we love the best or whatever, but a lot of that work you can do ahead of time. And then all you need is to just create your content. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:17

Oh my God.

SPEAKER_01 22:18

All right. And how many platforms? Okay. Tell the people, tell the good people all your platforms. Because I wanted to, because again, all of us do it a little bit differently. You know what I mean? Yeah. So and and drop your stats. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 22:32

Let the people know. Let the people know. I'm very happy right now because I just hit 319,000 followers on all platforms.

SPEAKER_03 22:41

Hell yeah.

SPEAKER_02 22:42

And so Instagram, I'm at 238,000. I just tell people 250.

SPEAKER_01 22:47

I'm just like, when I talk about you, I'm at 250. Like Leah, like, well, I think she finally rolled over 150, but it was like it was like 250, 150. You know what I mean? Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 22:57

We just roll up. Um so I'm there. And then for uh TikTok, I'm at like 38,000. Nice. Um for Facebook, I just hit 40,000. So I'm really excited about Facebook because I had been on there, but my page wasn't growing for years. Yeah, that's that's kind of been me. And so I'll tell you the reason why. The reason why is my page was a business page. And Facebook does not push out business pages. Oh my gosh. So it doesn't have to be. I thought it had to be a business page. It does not. That must have changed. I changed my page to a creator page.

SPEAKER_01 23:29

But I mean, but do you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_02 23:30

Because like You still need a business overhead, but then your actual like Because I was like, my my Facebook is No, you can change it to Creator. So I changed mine to Creator maybe in January, and I've grown 40,000 followers. Stop it. So it it always made me feel bad. Like, people on Facebook must hate me. Why can't I grow on Facebook?

SPEAKER_01 23:52

Granted, I'm not you're already more active on Facebook than I am anymore.

SPEAKER_02 23:56

Just put the same videos on both. You just cross post.

SPEAKER_01 23:59

Like I have the thing where again I'm not it's showing over there. I'm not doing much else with the page. That's all I do.

SPEAKER_02 24:05

But change your page. I even tell businesses. Change your page from a business page to a creator page.

SPEAKER_01 24:11

But here's the thing. I have to b think believe that like because I remember when I was like when you're setting up your Instagram, especially because it was there were stricter ways of like how it was done, where it's like because originally even um our Instagram had to be a business one, which technically it is, but it's like I finally was able to change it to probably creator on Instagram.

The Real Cost Of “Free” Deals

SPEAKER_02 24:32

Do you know what I mean? It was like the same way. But the page that's it's summer somewhere is a creator page. And once I changed it, it started showing my content to tons of people and it came up. So I'm really happy about Facebook because the way it's going, I'll probably be at a hundred thousand on there by the end of the year because it's like it made me feel so sad. Like Facebook people hate me, but it wasn't. I just had the wrong but even for a business, unless you're selling if you are actually selling products on there, then stay a business page because people can't order from you. Uh but if you're not selling anything, if you have some sort of service or whatever, what are you doing? You're making content. Therefore, you're a creator. Like service, change to a creator page so that people can see you in the algorithm. That's smart.

SPEAKER_01 25:20

Okay, sorry, sorry. Instagram, uh, Facebook, TikTok.

SPEAKER_02 25:24

Oh, and YouTube. So YouTube, all I do is cross-post what I already put on Instagram over there. Uh-huh. And it does that. I use a um platform called Repurpose I.O. Okay. So whenever I put something on Instagram, it can put it on all the other pages too. Does it auto do it? It auto-does it. Whoa. And so I've grown to about 850 followers on there by doing it.

SPEAKER_01 25:43

Because I think like I have, I mean, I started a YouTube because of the podcast. But again, I was like, I was like, I don't have time to do all do you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_02 25:51

Yeah. Yeah. So, well, the thing is, you're doing it differently because with YouTube long form it's different.

SPEAKER_01 25:57

But with your short form, it will pull. Well, that's what I was like, I wanted to put more of like my short form.

SPEAKER_02 26:02

Yeah, yeah. It'll automatically do whatever you do. See, this is why we have these conversations. But I still put it by itself on TikTok because you want to find the TikTok trending music to go on. So I do, and you want to use the native TikTok font. Yes. Uh but if you don't care, if you're not gonna put it at all, just repurpose. Yeah. Just that's what it's called. That's the point. Oh my god. So it's like either you're gonna take the time and do it, you know, each one, or you're like, I don't have time. Let me just use repurpose. Right. And at least you're adding something there and you're growing without even having to do much. It takes your captions over, your tags, it takes everything over. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 26:41

Question. I I haven't really had many regrets about it, but I'm curious to get your take on this because you're also a multi-platform um creator. But I have I I haven't really done much with TikTok because of all the stuff that's been going on with TikTok. And like the threats of it going away when it did, and then like I'm still like don't I don't know, it's it's bizarre to me. Like I anyway, so I like started it again probably back in 2020, and then I, you know, I haven't done it's not been a platform of mine for my business. And luckily, for the most part, it hasn't with the brands that I've been working with, um, it comes up every now and then, but it's with between my website and Instagram, like we suffice over there. Um obviously if you have had performing, I think it's great. But I'm curious, like, do you think like a creator like me or others, I don't know, or other businesses, like should we all be investing in in TikTok? I mean, I know that you can grow really fast with it.

SPEAKER_02 27:44

It's a couple a couple of things. One, I will say if you have a product, let's say you make soap, yeah, or you even our guides, our p our guides, you can sell PDFs on there. Um the TikTok store is second to none. Okay. Um, I've known people get rich overnight. Uh, I have a cousin that made body butter, and she could just sell on the TikTok store. Yeah. And it wasn't about her audience size, it was about just being on TikTok. And what I've noticed this year since TikTok switched over to a US-based company.

SPEAKER_01 28:16

And then maybe that's better.

SPEAKER_02 28:18

Businesses are getting on TikTok. For example, there's a mall that hired me and they're like, We just started our TikTok page, we need to grow it, we want you to do this and run ads. So I am seeing more and more businesses get on TikTok now because they feel like it's more safe.

SPEAKER_01 28:34

Well, that's that was my biggest fear because so like funny story, like my mom's getting ready to retire. She's an accountant, but she worked for a PR firm for like 40 plus years. And um, even though she knows like nothing about social media, she had her company had like heard all this stuff about TikTok, and she was always telling me she was like, Don't do mess with it. And I was always a little like fearful of it. Like I I love watching stuff on it, but I was always like, Do I want to invest my time in something that could disappear and go away? Like, I don't know, because like you know So I think I think everything has a funnel.

SPEAKER_02 29:07

So I I was on a training, this guy named Omar, I forget his last name, Omar. Um, and what he said is everything you do is not just to keep people there. You're trying to move people off the platform. Yeah. So there's an entirely different demographic of people on TikTok, on Reddit, on Facebook, everywhere, right? Right. But your number one goal is to move them to your website, to your email list. Yep. So that if any of that stuff went down, you could have them. So it's just a new pool of people that you wouldn't get somewhere else. Right. So that's all it is. It's about diversifying and being somewhere else. So I don't really mind that my inst my TikTok has 37,000, 38,000 followers. I can put a video today to get 10 million views on there. Yeah. Right? Um, and still have 38,000 followers. So it's not really about the followers. Yeah. It's about just being on it. And it's funny because when I go out, majority of people that come up to me and say, I know you, they go, You're on TikTok, right? And I'm thinking, I don't even have any followers hardly on TikTok. But in their mind, that's what they associate me with TikTok, not Instagram, where most people follow me. Right. So I just think it's worth being on it, but don't dump a lot of money, invest a lot of time. Just put what you're already putting on the other platform on there so that way, if it's somebody a little younger and they only have TikTok, they can find your business on there. Yeah. Or they can find you. Or you're funneling everybody over to your blog, to your website.

SPEAKER_01 30:35

You know, well, that's an interesting way to put it. Um, because um I've been doing a little bit more of like business consulting and stuff that uh this year, and you know, working on some other things kind of behind the scenes, and I'm like, oh, okay, well, maybe I could use that platform for more of like my business side of things. I don't know. Maybe maybe that's the way that I can kind of force myself to start using it a little bit more.

SPEAKER_02 30:57

I mean, I think it's safe enough. Uh, and again, you can sell things on there right so right on the video. Yeah. So you can I could be making a video about here's the five top places you need to go to in Maryland and have a guide that you can buy tag to the video.

SPEAKER_01 31:12

Or, but like I guess, because the same thing you can like is that a way that you can push like your blogs, your guides, and things like that?

SPEAKER_02 31:18

So not the blog per se, because not to a website, but the guide. I can push right the guide because I can upload the guide on the TikTok store and you can buy it directly from the TikTok shop.

SPEAKER_01 31:27

Okay.

Planning, Filming, Editing, Posting Workflow

SPEAKER_02 31:28

Or if I sold shirts like I do, but money things like that. Yeah. You can sell it right on your video. I'm wearing the shirt in the video, I put it right on there. Somebody can one click, buy the shirt. Love that. So it's definitely if you have any products, it's the way to go. That's true.

SPEAKER_01 31:42

All right, but then you're also on threads. Like, my question is like, even as a creator myself, how do you have time for all these platforms and how do you manage all of them? Because then on Threads is then you're also like still going out and filming. Do you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_02 31:58

Threads is just enjoyment. Threads is not a platform I'm trying to do anything on. I'm just on there and I just love I love reading. Yeah. Um, so Threads to me is my like Facebook. But when Facebook used to be authentic, now Facebook, every other thing is an ad, right?

SPEAKER_01 32:14

I think that's why I feel like I'm Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 32:17

Facebook, you're trying to like see what your friends are up to or what's happening, and everything's like an ad, ad, ad. I just looked up toilets, and now all of a sudden every ad is for toilet or plumbing company, right? And you're like, what in the world? Yeah. But Threads is like clean, you're not having all those ads, and you're just reading all these stories and what's happening, and I really get a lot of enjoyment of it. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 32:37

I know. I I was pretty active on it when it first started, and um, I guess it's nice because it's um uh it's so connected with Instagram that I do like like reading on it. I've just haven't been consistent with it.

SPEAKER_02 32:50

But it's like my nighttime pleasure. Like before I go to bed, I like read on threads and then I go to bed. Right.

SPEAKER_01 32:56

Okay, so do we do we can't do we capture all of them? Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, your website, threads.

SPEAKER_02 33:04

Yes, so they're in the I started being on my blog again. Um, I've been put in more travel stuff. So I did Myrtle Beach, I did Dallas, I have a few other things coming soon. So I'm excited about that. Uh but I have another brand called Is Somewhere Local. Yeah. Because travel is very important to me, and I've been doing a lot of Maryland travel on my page, but I want to show travel other places. Yeah. So if you are not interested in travel other places, you can follow me on Is Somewhere Local and just only see local stuff and really get into the nitty-gritty where maybe I'm talking to a business owner. Um, maybe I'm just sharing top five spots to eat. Maybe I'm sharing neighborhoods. Hey, look at this neighborhood, how much it costs, you know, here's a house here, here's some things to do here, would you move here? Yeah. Kind of really get into the localness of Maryland. More than like a here's where you go. It's more all about Maryland. Yeah. And so I have a newsletter, which is what I probably should have just done from the beginning. Isn't that funny? Because I want to tell people where to go. Like here's what's happening this weekend. Right. So the newsletter now puts everything together because when you're scrolling, you're like laying in bed, hanging out in the car, whatever, right? So you're not ready to buy the tickets for the concert then, or uh keep it in your memory. You might save it and never come back to it. I know. So now I can send it right to your inbox. You have all the weekend itinerary, you can know what's going on this weekend. You can click the button, buy the tickets, and now you're good. Yeah. So I I cannot tell you how many men I have met out who say, You help me with my girl, you help me with my wife, you help me plan date nights, right? And so again, my ultimate goal was to help people know what to do. And that's what my newsletter does. So it's so exciting. So it's like the the videos get the views, but the newsletter is what really gets the buy-in, the click, yes, pushes it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 34:59

I mean, there's so much value, and like we know this too, because it's kind of like I, you know, the longer I do this, I'm like thinking that's it's this is the our ecosystem. Yeah. Right? And there's value on each one, and you're you're just right, there's a different demographic of people on each one, right? But they all sort of go together. Yes. Right? Because, you know, especially as you've grown too, I'm sure you've seen like a much more of an increase in traffic and stuff like on your website, right? And there is a lot there's still it is a lot of crossover of the same types of people that are going to these different platforms, but that's why it's an ecosystem. And that's why we have things like the email newsletter and our website and those blogs and guides, because it kind of help bring it all together.

SPEAKER_02 35:38

Yes, yes. Yeah. And I think the biggest thing is people forget in marketing, you need to see a brand seven times, which is why meta ads are so successful. Because if you stare at it for a second too long, they're gonna show you that ad over and over and over, and eventually you're gonna be like, you know what, you're right, let me buy it. Listen. And so I think by having it, you know, I do the video on Instagram and I do the video on TikTok, and then I I share the newsletter. Now they've seen it three times. Yep. So now if a couple of other people show it, now they've seen it seven times and they'll buy it.

SPEAKER_01 36:10

Yep, exactly. Well, and I'm I'm I feel like those are the points that we say all the time when we're talking to our clients. Like, you know, and it's the same thing, of course, like even as consumers, because we know, you know what I mean? Um, and that's like how how we're able to build our our business. And that's but that's like the core of marketing, you know what I mean? Yeah, yeah. Um and well, and I love you do such a good job. I know that you like literally hand research everything with your newsletter letters. And how often are they going out?

SPEAKER_02 36:37

So I send my newsletter out every week on Thursday so you can get ready for your, you know, Thursday night, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, um, have everything. And so I definitely do. I scrounge event break, Facebook events, visit Maryland, visit Howard County, you know, all the tourism. I try to find as much stuff to do as possible, which can be overwhelming. I put like 40 different events, but they're all cool to me. And I, you know, I don't know what's cool to you. So I put a lot of information in there, let people know about grand openings. Like this weekend, the um Sandbox VR is opening in uh Baltimore in Harbor East. Ooh. So it's like a VR room. Our favorite game is Squid Game, so you can actually feel like you're on Squid Game playing the games. It's so funny. Um, and so sharing that grand opening and like a coupon code. Yeah. So you're the first to know kind of what's happening around Maryland. And it's a bulk of Baltimore, but I also share a lot of PG County, Howard County, Carroll County, and DC. Yeah. Because it's some really cool events in DC, so I can't leave it out. I know.

SPEAKER_01 37:45

Yeah, but so what so you got your newsletter, you got some really cool things. What's and you just did your big Myrtle Beach trip. What are what or can you share that's kind of next on the horizon for you or coming up?

Platforms, Algorithms, And Smart Automation

SPEAKER_02 37:57

Uh coming up just a lot more travel. So I again I started this page not to be the face of it. Yeah. Uh I really just wanted to show stuff. But now you're gonna see me leaning into more of showing who I am because that's what's been missing. Yeah. So I plan to share more stories about some of the trips we've had, some of the good things, some of the bad things that have happened on trips, right? Um, because everything's not perfect, like you see. So, really kind of giving you the behind the scenes of what's going on, getting letting you get to know me as a person, which is scary. Oh my god. But that's what's coming on is Summer Somewhere, and then what's coming on is somewhere local is a lot more content on there, like its own separate content. It's not gonna be just the same thing. Yeah. Um, so two separate brands, two separate things. So that's kind of what's coming up, and then also once a week, I'm gonna share a travel video. So my series is like Summers in the City, is my new series.

SPEAKER_00 38:56

Oh, I like it.

SPEAKER_02 38:57

So I have so much travel content. So putting it out in that way where like it's gonna be one week family, next week it'll be date. Wow the next week it'll be girls' trip, you know, and kind of rotating around, like where you should go. And the biggest theme again is is it worth it? I love that. Is it worth it? And these are all not brand deals. They're trips that I've taken or done. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 39:20

Yeah. And like I was explaining to somebody that, like, and kind of like we were talking about earlier, too, of like, you know, do we still take some free things? And I was like, well, absolutely, right? You know, because we're still gonna go places on our own accord just because A, we want to. Yeah, sometimes I'm going somewhere because it's two boxes, it's like it's a new coffee shop that I would generally want to see. Exactly. And I'm like, and I definitely want to film the because I know my audience is absolutely gonna want to see. So it was kind of both. Exactly.

SPEAKER_02 39:45

Right. And that's how Myrtle Beach was. I didn't get paid for Myrtle Beach. I did get the hotel for free. Um, but I was like, you want me to drop seven and a half hours to a hotel for free? Like, what? But then I remember as a kid I went to Myrtle Beach and I still remember it being one of my favorite vacations ever. Yeah. And now I went with my kids and it was our favorite vacation ever. Right. So it just really depends, right? It depends.

SPEAKER_01 40:09

It depends. And it's like, you know, and doesn't mean that we'll always do the same, like, you know, that you would copy paste that to another city, because again, it just it just depends. It's kind of like, you know, is it worth again? It's always a time because they were.

SPEAKER_02 40:22

Yeah, and it was their spring break, so they were already out, you know, where do you go? Right, right, right. So it has to fit. If they have to go to school, no, I'm not pulling them out of school to go somewhere for free. And so it it really and then it helps you reach your other goals. So now other tourism departments have seen the video from Myrtle Beach and they're like, let's have their family come, right? Right. So it it all works together, but it really was something I wanted to do, and all of the experiences we did, I paid a lot of money.

SPEAKER_00 40:50

Yep, that's that's how yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 40:52

Uh we paid for the gas, we paid to get there, it was a lot, but we had a great time. And I think you need that sometimes. We need some trips where we're not filming.

SPEAKER_01 41:01

Oh, it's which is ironic because you did film probably.

SPEAKER_02 41:04

Yeah, but it was very infrequent because it wasn't a job job. It was like, hey, look your ice cream, let me film you. Okay, mommy's phone's going back in her pocket. So I didn't film too much. Yeah. And they loved it. They felt like it was a real family vacation.

SPEAKER_01 41:18

Exactly. I know. I I those are my favorites where I'm like, okay, like uh well, it's funny because I'm sure it's the same way when you go out, your girlfriend's like, oh, Claire's gonna film, blah, blah. And I was like, I was like, I don't think you understand. I was like, I love when I don't have to film. Like this, I mean, again, I obviously we love it. Obviously, this is our job. Like we have so much passion, I have so much fun with it. Um, but I'm like, I don't think you understand. I was like, if I'm coming to a girl's happy hour, like I don't I don't want to be on my phone. I literally am so excited when I don't have to film because filming to me means I have to edit and then I've got da-da-da-da.

SPEAKER_02 41:49

You know, it's interesting to me too. Me and my husband, we had this conversation. Um, he was like, You're always on your phone. I was like, let's track our phone. I had been on my phone for 90 minutes that day. He had been on his phone for seven hours. So it's like honestly, people think if you're a creator, you're probably on your phone a lot. It's actually usually the opposite. I'm not scrolling on TikTok for hours. I'm not scrolling on Instagram for hours. I'm doing what I need to do, maybe look at an educational video or laugh and then get off. Yeah. Same with our kids. A lot of people I know who are content creators, their kids are not on social media. They're not like on it all day and all night. It is our job, but when we're not working, just like with anybody else, you don't want to be working, right? You want to like put it away and go experience life. So it's so true. I know. That's where we are. So I know.

SPEAKER_01 42:38

But yeah. Well, I'm so excited to have you here, Lisa. We're gonna have to have to have you back because there's so many more fun things that I feel like well, and like we're only on the cusp of summer. There's so many more cool things happening. I I know. Well, this is also the start of the season where we're all getting crazy busy because we're all doing the things.

SPEAKER_02 42:54

Well, I think I'll be better. So I'm coming out with a summer guide that I'm gonna sell. And it's gonna have like the top things in Maryland you must do in the summer. Sometimes not Maryland, because I'm gonna dip into Harper's Ferry, West Virginia, you know, kind of close. But like people are all looking for where do we go for summer? Where do we take the kids? Where do we go for a date? Where do we what do we do? Yeah. So I want to put everything in one place so you don't have to scroll. And it's a nice, neat PDF. It'll take you where you need to go and have everything. So that is coming in the next couple of weeks. I also have the famous outdoor movie guide coming. Oh well. So everyone knows where to go for movies outdoor. And then in the next week, probably by the end of this week, I have my famous wine festival list.

SPEAKER_00 43:37

Oh, yes. I love that one. Wine in the woods, it's happening. Uh-huh. It's coming up. Yeah. It sure is. I know. I'm so excited for it.

SPEAKER_01 43:44

And the weather looks good. Like that's what's hard about like, you know, because I mean all these things, right? Um, and I feel like we had so many years when the weather was just like crap. But um yeah, it's like it's like fun season is kicking, and this is where I feel like we all get so busy because it's just yeah.

SPEAKER_02 43:59

But it it's Crazy, it's like it's a lot of pre-work for the summer to let you know where to go, and then like it's not much happening in June or July, and in August, September is like festival land. We have so many festivals in Maryland, yeah. In the fall, it's like big time I know.

SPEAKER_01 44:15

And though, yeah, because like all the fall, like hol yeah, exactly. I feel like there's like a little bit of a lull. It's like I'm busy from doing summer things, but business itself slows down. Um, and even the business, like our own. Because everybody's out there, yeah. Yeah, everyone takes so long to respond. Uh so a little bit of a lull, and then September picks right back to school. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 44:36

Back to school. And then like I said, it the weather's good, it's not so hot, so it's so many festivals. I mean, September, October list. It's always those weekends.

Newsletters, Guides, Kids, And Wrap-Up

SPEAKER_01 44:45

I know my husband's like, we need to like now now it's getting well, I don't know. It's funny because being a creator and a mom, right? It's it's getting I wouldn't say it's I wouldn't say that's harder, but now my kids are doing more activities than they were.

SPEAKER_00 44:58

Now they're older, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 44:59

So like, you know, our evenings and weekends are getting busy, which is good. Like I want them to do these things, you know, but it makes it harder for like all the running around. You know, you have to be then that goes back to the cost-benefit analysis of like, you know, I also want to spend intentional time with my family and have fun time. So, you know, what I say yes to and what I do is a reflection of all of that.

SPEAKER_02 45:20

It is, it is, yeah, for sure. And um, and just for the record, I like to say this everywhere I go, I do pay my kids for being in here.

SPEAKER_00 45:30

Yes, yes.

SPEAKER_02 45:31

So when they are in it, you know, they're getting paid uh money, and of course we can go to Fabelow or something, get a treat, get something afterwards because they don't have speaking parts, they're not actors per se. But if a child's hungry and their food hits the plate and they're ready to eat, and I'm like, mommy's gotta take a picture, you know? That is work, you know. Or wait to run into the water park five seconds so I can pull up my phone and catch you running into the water park. So they are actually they're not acting, but they are being put on hold. They're on weight. You know, they're like, do this at this time. Oh, I want to go to this slide. No, let's go over here first and then do that. So I know I just like to always raise that point because people are like, oh, kids and content. My kids are in about 30% of my content.

SPEAKER_01 46:15

I was gonna say I use them less and like I very much try not to. There's some cre you know, and I again it's different for everybody, you know, and it's and I think we're allowed as moms, I think we're allowed to change our mind. Yeah. I you know, I'm at a point where again, I'm probably like you, I try to have like 20, 30 percent. Um I try as much as much as possible not to. You'll yes, I still show my kids faces and things like that, but I'm like, tomorrow that could completely change. I don't know. Exactly.

SPEAKER_02 46:44

You know, which is great that you you you know you didn't name your page like the family, you know what I mean? Right. You are a mom, yes. But it doesn't have to be your kids on there. And but I think there's power in seeing children having fun that shows you your children will have fun too. Um, which is why I do keep them on. But you can also talk about experiences of how much fun your kids had and things like that.

SPEAKER_01 47:10

So or filming them from like behind and showing their faces.

SPEAKER_02 47:14

So I I just think I I'll point that out because some people are like, oh, I hate when kids are online. And it's like we're not a family that has speaking parts and roles or anything like that, but I do believe it's impacting and powerful to see children having a good time.

SPEAKER_01 47:27

Well, it is I I agree, but and sometimes it's so important for the story that we're telling and the event because sometimes like a lot of the stuff that we go to are family events, you know, and so you kind of like if we're talking about FOMO, like I need to see a family, like, oh, kids are having fun. Yeah, I'm you know what I mean. Exactly, exactly. So there are so many pieces to it. So definitely all right. Well, as we wrap up, okay, where can people we already listed off your platforms, but what's your handle? Where can they find you, and also how can they get on your email list?

SPEAKER_02 47:58

Okay, yeah. So it's somewhere local. I would love for you to follow me there if you just want all things Maryland. It's somewhere local.com is where you go to get on my newsletter. Again, I send it weekly, every Thursday, 12 o'clock. Uh, that's where you'll get all the lists for the outdoor movies, where all the wine festivals, all of that. And then if you just want to follow us traveling, then it's Summers Somewhere. So you can do dot com, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, whatever. All the pages. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 48:29

And I will link all of this in our show notes too. So um you'll be able to access it all directly there for anybody that's listening to this episode today. Um But thank you so much for being here, Lisa. Oh my gosh, I'm so glad we could nerd out. We could probably talk about this stuff forever. But um, well, cheers to an exciting summer ahead, right? I'm excited. I know.

SPEAKER_02 48:50

Yeah, I can't wait for summer and just to hang out in the pool.

SPEAKER_01 48:53

I know. Well, just uh my last thing about, and then we'll go. It was like, you know, because it's still May, you know, saying like, you know, we I still have that summer optimism, you know, um of like, oh, I can't wait to do all the fun things with my kids. And I know like two weeks into June I'm gonna be like not fried, but I'm just gonna be like, okay, I need like a balance. You know what I mean? But like right now, I'm like, oh, I can't wait to do all the things and and and we've got a pretty good summer ahead, so I know it's gonna be good.

SPEAKER_02 49:19

It's gonna be. Yeah, and they're getting older so they can do more and kind of be on their own some too, so they're not like bothering you every two seconds. No, it's wild. It's really good.

SPEAKER_01 49:28

All right, well, thank you so much, Lisa. Thanks for tuning in to this episode of Mom Talk Maryland. If you loved it, leave a review, share it with a friend, or tag me at the dot Columbia Mom on Instagram. I'd love to hear what you think. And don't forget to follow the show so you never miss an episode. Until next time, keep showing up, keep supporting local, and keep being the incredible mom, the woman, and the human that you are.