We recently connected with Nicole Bird and have shared our conversation below.
Nicole , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Alright, let’s jump into one of the most exciting parts of starting a new venture – how did you get your first client who was not a friend or family?
I received my first paid social media content creation client in the cold, rainy month of February 2023. I was working remotely as a paid contractor to assist the CEO of a tech consultancy and had grown restless and irritated with my day-to-day routine of waking up, walking my dog, inhaling a few free breaths on my porch with a cup of coffee, and then spending my day on the computer. I was reawakening to my authentic desire to create with beauty, fashion, and personal-care products and connect with other girls online through making videos and photos.
I had developed a “social media acquaintance-ship” with a lovely girl based out of Canada who had an overwhelmingly larger audience than I did, but she always supported my posts. So, when I saw she was doing a giveaway to celebrate the launch of her new Korean bodycare brand, I decided to enter. I ended up winning the giveaway and being shipped a free bodycare balm stick. I created 3 different videos with the body balm stick and watermarked each one with my social media handle, @mnicolebird. I emailed the 3 videos directly to the girl who founded the brand, letting her know how much I enjoyed her gift to me and that I would be thrilled to discuss allowing her brand to use them for marketing. She brought her manager into the email conversation, who then looped in the company’s marketing manager.
The marketing manager let me know her top choice video from the 3 selections, and I let her know that once our agreed-upon price was delivered to me, I would post the video to my profile and provide them with a non-watermarked copy. I remember getting the PayPal notification that the payment had been transferred to me and thinking to myself, “Okay, I can do this again, this is real for me”. The beauty of our brains is that once it sees proof one time, it gets even easier for your mind to get on track with your goals and send you thoughts and ideas that align.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I am a licensed master cosmetologist, content creator, and strategist who utilizes my skills on social media to teach women how to earn a living in “pink collar ” careers. For those unfamiliar with what “pink collar” is, it is my term that I created to describe fields that largely staff female teams and target female consumers. Think salons, spas, pilates studios, etc. Women are natural nurturers, conversationalists, and have an eye for detail and beauty that our male counterparts often miss. Women excel in sales because we pick up on emotional cues, body language, and we are seen as safer to confide in and open up to (both by fellow women and men).
I not only use my pink-collar industry experience and social media strategy to serve my female audiences on Instagram and TikTok, but also to serve as a relationship and trust-builder for pink-collar brands. A common issue for companies is that they are using their founders, multiple creators, or even their own staff to create and appear in organic social media or ad content. The issue with this is that it creates burnout for their in-house teams, takes the founder’s precious time away from growing the company and forces them to take on key-man risk, and loses trust with consumers. If someone is scrolling on their phone late one night in bed and comes across a video where a creator’s look and personality really resonates with them, but they’re not able to find them again on the company page, or the ad redirects them to a website where the creator is no longer there, the consumer is going to exit out. The trust is lost, they feel conned, and now they associate the brand with being fraudulent or untrustworthy.
What I do for these companies is I first build a relationship with them to understand their mission, purpose, and who they want to serve. I get into the nitty-gritty of how many ads vs organic posts they’re doing, what has and hasn’t been working, and what their dreams are. Then, I work with them to create a strategy so I can appear as their target consumer. I model the personality, aesthetic, and mindset of their target consumer and take over the script-writing, filming, editing, and secure delivery of every single piece of content so that I become the right person who speaks the right message to build trust with the right audience. By doing this, the founder can stay in the background doing what they do best without having to worry about impact on the company’s finances and clientele if they choose to retire or sell one day. They don’t have to worry about regurgitating the same information over and over to new creators who just want a check. They don’t have to stress about taking their receptionist away from the desk and making her miss important phone calls from what could be their dream clients.
How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?
Every morning during the weekdays, I message my client on our dedicated Slack channel to wish them good morning and ask how they are, along with sharing important updates for their content strategy. We’re all human, and as a fellow business owner, I understand how lonely and isolating it can be. It’s not just my job to connect with their dream clients, but to also include them in that care and connection. At the end of the day, we all need love and to feel important. If they’re having a tough week, I send them their favorite latte or lunch with an encouraging note. Sometimes, it’s the smallest act of love that lets people know they’re important and cared for and can help them tackle whatever challenges they are facing behind the scenes.
Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
There are soooo many. Loom and Notion are the two tools that come to mind. Instead of trying to write a long-winded email or setting up a meeting with busy people across time zones, just create a Loom. You can share your face, voice, and screen all at the same time, which is perfect for making personalized introductions, explaining complex or complicated steps, and just providing so much more value and connection. I’m still figuring out Notion templates, but I love that I can use this platform for my CRM, my client portals, jotting down my personal notes and ideas, and even creating websites. Also, Substack. Substack has helped me to read more, think more, and share longer-form content and express myself through writing, which I never before knew was so much fun! Plus, it’s better for your brain first thing in the morning than opening up social media or the news.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.pinkcollarcontent.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mnicolebird
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mnicolebird
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@mnicolebird
- Other: Media Kit www.pinkcollarcontent.com/media-kit
TikTok www.tiktok.com/@mnicolebird
Image Credits
Images by Usman Ishtiaq @makeshiftlens