Ep 42 | Tiara Caldwell on Social Media

Annie: Hey there, Leah.

Leah: Hey, Annie. How are you?

Annie: Well, I'm terrific because today we have one of my favorite people in lactation on our podcast. We've got the amazing. Tiara Caldwell. She's an LPN and IBCLC, and I first met her at the LCMPP workshop a few years ago, and just have really, really enjoyed getting to know her over the last couple of years. So, for those of you who don't know who Tiara is, she is in Maryland, where she provides doula services, childbirth education, and lactation help through her company, Crowned and Cradled, which she founded in 2015. Early in her marketing endeavors, Tiara found the value in having a strong social media presence and through that has explored different ways to engage her audience and speak to her ideal clients. As a mom of four, Tiara has learned ways to maximize the small windows of time in her day to make the biggest impact online. Her desire is to educate and encourage other professionals and be comfortable with their own unique voice. Welcome to the podcast.

Tiara: Thank you. I'm so happy to be here with you both. You know, I love you both. So I'm so happy to chat with you today.

Leah: Well, as Annie was reading that bio and was saying, throw out all the, you know, influencers and all these things you're supposed to be trendy doing. It made like, I kind of got like a relaxed feel. I was like, Oh good. She's not going to tell me that I have to be like this social media influencer to even do my social media correctly. And that made me feel so good. And I'm so excited. That's the way you come at it because I've done other like courses on social media and stuff, and it's just like. That's not what I can do. I want to spend most of my time helping moms and babies and then a little bit of time dealing with social media and putting myself out there. So I am so excited to hear even more tips and info on that.

Annie: Well, let's get started and find out what is the main reason that a private practice lactation consultant would even want a social media presence. So like, pretend like I came to you and I was like, Tiara, I would prefer to just hide under a rock and answer my landline. Is that okay? Do I really need to do this social media thing that I find so scary?

Tiara: Well, friends. Yes. I mean, we can see a perfect example because of what's going on right now with the pandemic and Things being closed and things being more virtual. You definitely need a social media presence in some type of way. We always talk as private practice lactation consultants about really taking our business seriously and being recognized, you know, as business owners and not just people who are doing a hobby to come hold babies all day, which we love. But part of that is marketing and social media. I always say is one of The best ways to get your feet wet with marketing to kind of figure out your voice and also a lot of times it's free. So why not do something that will potentially expand your business, get you more comfortable sharing about yourself and your business and get seen. Definitely.

Leah: I think also I always think about. You know, there probably was once a time when I first started out 10 years ago, almost 10 years ago that like, you didn't have to have to be on social media if you had a website, but the population that we're serving now, I feel like social media is there. You know, their white pages, I mean, that's like the only place they go to the, the website's kind of just for you, like you're scheduling and like, make sure you're a real person. But are you seeing that as well, that like the families that we're serving now are like really, really dependent on social media as their way to find resources? Is that kind of the trend that you're finding as well?

Tiara: That's definitely the trend that I've seen, especially it's things that a lot of people are, or a lot of companies now are taking the educational route or even the influencer route to kind of get new parents and expectant parents to try out their services and their products. So by us saying, Oh, I don't think we want to do that. We're really missing out on reaching the people that. really need us, the professionals who have took the training, who care about them, who care about their babies. And yes, the white pages. I don't know if you guys have seen, have you guys seen that documentary on Netflix about social media?

Leah: Yes. Yes. It's a little overwhelming to even think about,

Tiara: But it's so true. It's crazy, right? So to be honest, like after I watched it, I was like, Oh my gosh, I just want to delete everything. I know.

Leah: I know to know like you're a product, you are the product. Oh, it just sounds crazy, but it's also kind of how business is working. It seems like these days. So when we say social media, it's just this huge umbrella over. So many different platforms and things. And I think that's what gets overwhelming because it's like, okay, you could be literally on five different platforms. And then you're thinking, oh my gosh, I need to put new content on everything every day and not the same content and mixing it up. But I've got to now edit videos and, and get those out there. And I've got to do. cute Tik Tok dance things and point at stuff and, and decide what to point. I'm like, Oh my gosh, Sarah, help me. Like, do we have to do all of them? And which ones do you think like, are the best for like, I'm sure like, if you're really creative and love like dancing and funny little things, that's kind of your voice, like Tik Toks where it's at, you know, but That might not fit for everybody. So can you kind of give us a rundown of like, what should we focus on? Which ones would be best for which people? Like, give me some, some, something to go on.

Tiara: I always tell people, let's start with making a few categories for the platform. So when you think of platforms like Pinterest, even YouTube, those are more like search platforms. So people go on there to search for specific things. Same with Instagram too, right? So people will type in hashtags or a location and they're looking for a specific thing. The great thing about Instagram is because they've, I guess, tried to dominate the whole market. They have a lot of different things in one platform. So you can search on Instagram, you can keep up with people, you know, on Instagram, similar to Facebook. And then you can also now do the fun TikTok type of thing. Yes. Instagram is like the unicorn. Yes. Facebook. And even YouTube too can also be what they call discovery platforms. So if you are trying to keep up with someone or you're trying to be engaged with a certain theme, something that's related specifically to you, Facebook and YouTube are also there for that as well. So that's the first thing, kind of knowing what. Purpose. Each platform serves for you and your business. The other thing to take in mind is something that you said, Leah, is your personality, right? So I don't expect my derelactation friends who are a little bit older than me to be on TikTok.

Annie: I resemble that remark.

Tiara: You know what I mean, Annie. Like, I'm talking about my seasoned friends, you know, like I don't expect them to be on TikTok. They could be, but they're not expected to be. So, I mean, it's based off your personality. I always tell people start with whatever platform that you're most comfortable with outside of your business. And for a lot of people that's Facebook. For me, it was Instagram because for a minute it was like all the college kids were on Facebook. I wasn't in college when Facebook first started. I was on my space. Facebook was more like a way to keep up with your old classmates and things like that. And Instagram was the one where you could just You know be cool be hip kind of post your quick little picture and be done You didn't have to really engage with anyone So that's why I chose instagram, but always start with whichever one, you know how to work a little bit And that you actually Enjoy posting or sharing on which one do you think really gives the most bang for your buck? Like if somebody's like just venturing into this and they're like, I really don't do much on social media anywhere I need to dive into us. I know this is important for my business You know, I know all of them can be helpful and all of them can like talk to each other and all be helpful but what's the You know, the starting point that you would give somebody who is like just venturing into this, and they want to put their energy into just one. I would say Facebook. Okay. Yeah, only because it's, you know, they've changed the interface a million times. It's pretty simple to know the basic, you type in this box, you push post, but doesn't require you to Make graphics. It doesn't require you to know how to post in the stories, even though there's an option to post stories. And it's a great way for people to see where your business is located. They can also see reviews of your business and just learn a little bit about it. You and your business without you having to do extra content creation.

Annie: Facebook is definitely where I started and it was more about the Facebook groups. I didn't have even a page for my business until a while in, but just participating in parent groups. And which then I'm like, Oh my gosh, get me out of these parent groups. I can't, I can't take it anymore. But in the early days of building my business, it was really helpful to be able to go in there and just be a friendly face and communicate. You know, I was, I really went in there to be like, I'm going to show you that a lactation consultant can be warm and nonjudgmental. And that's what I'm here to do. And I'm not, and that was really effective for me and getting my name out there. And then for my, you know, for my paperless lactation business. I love, love, love my Facebook group. That's been a great way for me to just interact with other lactation consultants, test drive ideas, be part of the conversation and, and I really have enjoyed that. I have not ventured personally into having a Facebook group for parents, you know, for my private practice. Cause that's just something where part of me just goes, I don't. I don't have the bandwidth for that. I don't think I would enjoy that. And Instagram, like, I want to like Instagram so bad because I like Instagram, but I'm like, I never know what to post. I don't, you know, I just get so intimidated and then a month can go by and I won't have posted anything. And then I'm like, is that bad? And I've kind of made peace with like, who cares? Like, I'm, I'm just going to be there when I'm there. And when I'm not there, I'm not there. And that feels like real life to me.

Leah: Yeah, totally. I have the same thing. I'm always like, I think it's either the the graphics like I'm, I'm like, Oh, do I need to like, make really super fancy graphics? And is that the only way to get your Instagram post noticed? I don't know. Can you shed some light on that? Cause Instagram also intimidates me and I'm always like, okay, I shouldn't post anything unless I have like fancy graphics or the perfect filters or I don't know. Like I, I don't even post that much on my personal one. So can you give us a little insight on, on that? Like what makes a good Instagram post? Just maybe a little tidbit there.

Tiara: Well, the good thing about Instagram, I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing, but. If you've noticed, people have stopped posting so much on the main feed. So the main screen where you see all the squares for people who may not be familiar with what I'm referring to. Yes. People using the story feature. Mm hmm. And. A great way to get people to see your page and also to get engagement on other pages that you like is to simply tap someone's square. Tap the little paper airplane icon. Oh, yeah. And it'll allow you to get people to Add post to your story. Just hit add post to your story. And ta da! You've posted for today. You haven't had to make any graphic, but you're still getting engagement to your profile as well as whoever's profile you shared that content from.

Annie: And you can add the fun little stickers.

Leah: Does that change anything though? Like if you, do you have to add the stickers? Do you have to do that part? Cause I'm always like, I'd love to share this, but I feel like I have to like add an at such and such or a hashtag da da da or stickers.

Tiara: Does it make a difference? It has to. I mean, I always say adding a hashtag or something that Lets people know that you actually agreed or something with the content kind of resonated with you instead of just saying, oh, I'm doing my job for today, and just reposting this.

Leah: Yeah, but you don't have, you gotta be genuine. You gotta be genuine about it.

Tiara: No, you don't have to. I at first was reluctant to use the stories because I was just like you, like I don't know what to . I dunno what to post you know about, but. Most of my social media use today is just sharing stories, sharing content, other people who have taken the time to create great content, and honestly, just sharing things that resonate with me personally, so if you have a group practice, maybe you can't post things that you personally think is funny, because you know, you know, you want to be respectful to everyone, but for me, Thank you. I share if I see something funny, I share it. If I see something useful as far as information or education, I share it. And I get a lot of engagement from it. And I don't post that often on my feed. But if I go to my analytics, I can see who's gone to my profile, who's gone to my website. And I know that engagement has come from me sharing in the stories.

Annie: That's cool. What I like about that is that It takes the burden off of you to generate new stuff. And you might feel like, well, that's, isn't that the point? You have to be original and you have to make things, but a good conversation is not everybody has a brand new idea and you just keep listing brand new ideas. A good conversation is going deeper. And so by using stories in that way, it is a chance for you to take these ideas and go deeper. And also, you know, have a, be collaborative with other people in the community, because if you. What I've noticed you share to somebody's story, share, uh, you share somebody's post to your story and you add a little something, but then what they'll do is they'll share your post on their story to say, look, they, you know, thank you for talking to me. And it just, I really like that way of making connections of people. It does feel so friendly and it's, it's different than how things get shared and commented on in Facebook. It's, it just feels. Easier and less like the stakes are not as fraught as they can be on facebook or someplace like twitter So when you're talking with people about social media What's the biggest thing that you think keeps people from making the most of their own social media presence?

Tiara: I think two things the first thing is what we talked about not knowing what to post or kind of that I think we'll both both points. It's kind of a little bit of imposter syndrome, like not feeling that like you're the expert or that the information that you're providing is anything new, right? Or that hasn't been said. The other part is because we see so many influencers now on social media and how they post and they have all these bells and whistles and the Images are all the same color and they have patterns and all this other stuff. I think sometimes we can get in that place where it's like, well, I don't have this, I don't have that. I don't have the perfect lighting, the best camera, et cetera. So, you know, what I always try to tell people when I'm. about social media and really finding their voice is let's scratch all of that and kind of figure out who you are as a person. What do you want to say with your business and kind of how can we translate that onto social media?

Leah: I so appreciate that because you do really get pulled into these like beautiful I mean, some of these people have like I mean, that's all they do though, you know, they're not, that's their, that's their whole job is to create, cultivate beautiful Instagram profiles because they're influencer, but it really can get intimidating because you think, well, your Instagram is going to be irrelevant standing next to that. But in the grand scheme of things, good news is they don't really stand next to each other. It's a tapping in with your voice. To the people that want to hear your voice is what I hear you saying. And I think it, it helps so much what you said about like just trying to put yourself out there as your genuine self, you know, like you don't have to be perfect lighting and the best we worded, you know, post ever, but just like using your voice, do you think it's helpful to have, you know, like something unique about, you know, like trying to find something unique that you kind of. It helps generate the ideas. I've seen other people do this. Like, I don't know, but this is like a total not related to breastfeeding at all. But like, you know, your gig is, you know, you maybe you make whatever, but you know, wiener dogs are your favorite thing ever. So like. You have like this wiener dog theme or something, but I was thinking about that as far as like with breastfeeding because like maybe you have, you know, I've seen people like they love coffee, you know, so yeah, they'll have like some, you know, breastfeeding information, but then they're like, I'm a coffee lover and everybody gets coffee this morning. Is that kind of what you mean about like finding your voice and, and who you are and your quirks about you? Is that what you're talking about? I, I, it's a long way around to try to ask that one question that involved wiener dogs. Sorry, that was so random, but it's the only thing I could think of.

Tiara:Oh my goodness. Yes. I would say not in the literal sense. So if you like coffee, you don't have to. To say, Hey, here's my coffee. But I think this, and that's where the creativity comes into play when it comes to social media, because you're able to find ways to still bring you into your platform without being corny or being fake. You know what I mean? Because my approach to social media won't work the same for someone else. So that's why when people say, Oh, well, should I do. Hire someone to do my social media. I say yes, absolutely. Hire someone to help come up with your graphics. You can have someone post for you or you can use a, you know, scheduling app. But when it comes to. You creating like a calendar or something like that, you need to be the one to come up with those ideas because no one's going to be able to be you.

Leah: Like how to capture your voice. Yeah. I think that's critical.

Tiara: It's impossible. So, yeah, I definitely think that there are some creative ways that you could show your personality, but honestly, just being yourself. Like, you don't have to go out of your comfort zone and say, Hey, I like cats so , I'm gonna show you this. That's my unique voice is cats . Like to me, if I have tore up nipples, that's not gonna make me say, Hey, I want this person to right, come help me. But if someone is sharing that they're also a doula or that they. You don't have to share this, but let's say, for example, you suffered a pregnancy loss, or if you had to deal with a baby that wouldn't latch, you know, just sharing little small parts of your journey to where you are. I think it's always good for your colleagues and your potential clients to be able to connect with you on a more personal level without telling all of your business if that makes sense.

Leah: Well, that's very helpful. We don't have to share the wiener dogs.

Tiara: We don't.

Annie: I love that. It's really always so reassuring to talk to you because you bring things down to a manageable level. And I love that you remind us that it's really just an extension of who you are. And if you're trying to make it. Anything else, it's it's not going to work and people I think are so sophisticated in their social media consumption these days that they really can tell when you're faking it and that's worse than having like being a little unpolished is better than trying to fake something that you're not in my opinion. I mean, nobody hired a lactation consultant because they were like, I want her couch. She must be the one that can help me with breastfeeding. So I do go to like clients houses and I'm like, I totally want that couch at one time. This is totally an aside. I was at a client's house and I was like complimenting her on her rug. I was like, your rug is really beautiful. And like two weeks later she was like, do you want a rug? We're giving it away. We actually found a better rug. And so I have her rug is a nice. Living room. And I really love it.

Tiara: I'm glad that you actually liked it and you weren't just trying to make conversation.

Annie: I think I asked her, I was like, where did you get your rug? I really like that rug. I'm curious. I might want to buy that rug myself. So anyway, sometimes our clients influence us. And isn't that the lesson for the day?

Leah: Definitely. Definitely. Well, this has been so fun talking about social media. I'm always intimidated starting into these conversations, and then, Tara, you always make me feel so much better, and I'm probably going to go, everybody go look at my social media feed, because I'm going to post a whole bunch of things, like, to me, because I get all inspired, and I want to do it now, because I feel all relaxed about it and like, I can do this. I can share my voice. So thank you so much for all that you've shared today and for joining us. We really appreciate your time.

Annie: If you want to follow Tiara on social media, she's at birth CEO on Instagram and YouTube. She also has a podcast, the birth ish. Podcast. And if you are interested in working one on one with TR for social media services, you can go to paperless lactation dot com slash social media and find out about her one on one services to help you get more confidence with social media and come up with a plan that works for your goals and your specific voice.And she's really good at it. So thank you so much, Tiara, and I hope you have a wonderful day.

Tiara: Thank you. Thank you for having me. Thank you.

Leah: Bye.
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