We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Lindsay Weiss. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Lindsay below.
Lindsay, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s talk about social media – do you manage your own or do you have someone or a company that handles it for you? Why did you make the choice you did?
I do manage my own and have found it to be the single best source of client leads. I treat it like a job, so I’m not done for the day unless I have my content done. Here are the main things I do:
1) Learn how to take high quality photos and master the editing software
2) Post every single day – a mix of video and photo carousels
3) Batch content — when I have 30 min, I’ll create a bunch of drafts for me to use on days that I’m too busy to post.
4) Re-purpose content — bring that content back that did well and use it again in a different way
5) Engage with others — Socials only like you if you’re engaging with your followers right back
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
We actually didn’t mean to start a business! I was already working as a writer and food photographer and my husband owns a small engineering company. During COVID lockdown our three kids, they were sort of forced to celebrate their birthdays together. They were already so tired of each other (and us!) so we brainstormed a way to jazz things up a bit. My husband built a few A-frame tents and I sewed some covers and pillows to create a rustic “Cozy Camping” theme. We created a little glamp-out in our basement and they absolutely loved it. They didn’t get out of it for two full days! One of the kids posted a picture on social media and several friends began reaching out to borrow our stuff. Two months later we did it again for our daughter and she shared more photos on social media. The requests began flying in, so we charged a little bit for each setup and our kids would help us create these whimiscal setups for our friends and neighbors. In November of 2020, we officially launched on Instagram and Facebook and we booked the entire month of December in 48 hours!
Business has not slowed down since and, while we’re incredibly grateful for that, it’s also our biggest challenge. Serving as many people as we can, while still remaining a true small business and balancing the needs of our families and those who have come on to work for us, will always be our biggest priority. We treat our repeat customers like family — we remember names, ages, preferences — and always try to fit them in our schedule wherever we can. We feel so honored to be trusted with creating memories for the most special moments.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
We were lucky to be one of the first glamping companies in Kansas City. First to market is such an advantage — but as others have entered the space, it actually helps us all increase awareness of this concept of luxury glamping and picnics.
Social media is absolutely the #1 reason our business is booming. Early on, we had no budget for advertising so we promised ourselves we’d do high-quality posts every single day. We would set up parties for free just to have good content to post. We set up parties for our own kids, friends and neighbors, and any charity event we could find — just to get more quality content. We learned how to take and edit amazing photos and edit short, snappy reels. We joined TikTok and somehow went viral. And we posted every single day (we still do!). Social media is an amazing tool if you’re willing to work for it!
How do you keep your team’s morale high?
Our team is not large — but we treat them like family. The two most important things to our team members are schedule flexibility and competitive wages, so we work around their schedules and pay them generously. We have added to our team over the years, but haven’t lost a team member yet!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.kchappycampers.com
- Instagram: @kchappycampers
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kchappycampers
- TikTok: @kchappycampers
Image Credits
KC Happy Campers