Episode Transcript

This transcript was AI generated.

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You're listening to a DayOne FM show.

00:00:07:16 - 00:00:12:10

Katharine

I started Crane Creative because I was done watching good people play small online. I believe in putting heart back into your social media and taking back control of your digital presence with a strategy that works and systems that serve. I don't do cookie cutter, I do clarity, and I don't do smoke and mirrors. I do real human and aligned growth because marketing should never feel fake, and because it should never cost you your joy.

00:00:32:09 - 00:00:52:06

Lucy

Hello and welcome to another episode of Mondays and the podcast by Mums and Co. I'm your host, Lucy Kippist. And today we continue our season theme of exploring the stories of women in the early stages of small business. Katherine Crane is not an early stage business owner, but she started just like most of us out there. She's the brilliant mind behind Crane Creative, which is a leading social media marketing consultancy. Catherine has a passion for driving customer and consumer engagement, and has dedicated herself to helping businesses thrive through innovative digital marketing strategies, compelling content creation and comprehensive training. Catherine also has 20 years experience in the hospitality industry before she moved into the small business arena. So she brings this really unique perspective to the table. In our conversation, we cover everything from how to handle your social media and set it up correctly to things like AI and the really incredible way she's using ChatGPT to help manage her mental load.

00:01:37:04 - 00:01:48:10

Lucy

Catherine, welcome to my ambition. We've had a wobbly start this morning, but here we are. I'd love to start with you answering how your business helps - who and how?

00:01:48:10 - 00:02:17:05

Katharine

I generally help business owners who are feeling really overwhelmed in their social media. Because we know that it can be like a base that we constantly need to feed. But I, I try and I do help people understand that they can do it in a sustainable way that works for them and in a way that doesn't feel like they're selling their soul as well. Because, you know, there's so many times when you kind of hear so much going on and that you should be doing this and this, this way. With everything that is going on and especially, you know, tapping into AI and stuff as well, everything that you have to do with your business still comes back to the fundamentals of the basics of of marketing. So getting those foundations right mean that you can actually, you know, still put your message out there without having to follow trends that doesn't align with you.

00:02:56:15 - 00:03:18:09

Lucy

Yeah, I love that. And I really want to get into the AI component a bit more with you later, because I think that's a really important part of this conversation. But just take us back to the very beginning of your business journey, because that's what this season of Mumbition is all about, really reflecting on other people's starts to in order to inspire other people to start. When did you first start the business and why? What was the why?

00:03:22:02 - 00:03:46:19

Katharine

So eight years ago I started, I came from a hospitality background, so I've been doing that for 20 years. Then got pregnant and went, a shift to bit. I think I'm done with that. And during that time there, I was actually working on the socials, a digital marketing for the hotel I was working at. I went, oh, actually found a this is a bit of a calling, I think. And, after our daughter was born, I actually worked for another agency for a while, for about 18 months and then went out on my own. So it was more about having the freedom and not having to shift work, I think was the main thing that I wanted to get rid of.

00:04:08:05 - 00:04:15:09

Lucy

Yeah, 100%. And hats off to everyone that does shift work with, you know, children of any age. Really.

00:04:15:12 - 00:04:16:12

Katharine

Yeah.

00:04:16:13 - 00:04:27:10

Lucy

I know that that's a that's a real challenge on its own. But you got out of that. So good on you. And eight years in business is nothing, you know, is not a small milestone.

00:04:27:12 - 00:04:28:00

Katharine

No.

00:04:28:01 - 00:04:46:20

Lucy

Something to celebrate for sure. And I'm sure you've had many iterations and lots of changes in that time, but I'm really curious to know on a granular basis, this is what I really want to get into in this podcast. Like how it all actually works. So what what does keep you in flow? So you've mentioned you have a daughter. We kind of met your dog there in the background. Well, how do you keep how do you keep yourself motivated day to day? Is there a secret there for you?

00:04:57:11 - 00:05:24:08

Katharine

I just follow the dopamine, which probably isn't the best way to go. But it's I mean, it's opening sessions when you're like, oh, there's all this stuff I need to do that I haven't done. So now I'm going to just hyper focus and get it all done. So, but, you know, it's for me. I, I think what keeps me going, especially within the digital space, is that it is constantly evolving and it is constantly changing and, you know, very similar, I guess to hopefully that every day is going to be different. And I think that's what does keep me going is that it's not the same mundane thing of doing everything every day. Something's different. Yeah. You're either go to coaching call or you jump on a podcast or, you know, you've got new updates that have happened and you tools rolling out. And so, you know, there's always something different to then kind of keep you moving and motivated to keep doing the best.

00:05:50:14 - 00:06:13:13

Lucy

Yeah, I love that. It's a dynamic working environment. So, you know, you're keeping yourself fresh, which I know is a big part of what most people are looking for in starting their own business, too. Because often when we work for other people, we're on their timeline, we're on their KPI and their goal. And sometimes there isn't that much, day to day flux in terms of what we're doing. So that's a really great point.

Let's talk about technology now, I know it's something you're passionate about. And obviously it's played a very big role like, oh, when you think that you've started eight years ago and just the sheer amount of change, but like just on social media platforms for one, but obviously into technology and now into AI in the last 18 months or so, how do you think that tapping into technology has helped you to manage your business more effectively, or grow your business more effectively?

Is there some tools that you'd recommend or some tools that you on the other side, wouldn’t?

00:06:51:15 - 00:07:21:16

Katharine

Yeah. Like I said, it's just that constant every day is something different. And there's been so many different evolutions like when I started using, you know, social media meta, you know, there was, you know, it was very basic. And now, you know, then you'd have to use things like Hootsuite and later and things like that, where now, within its own systems, I would just recommend not paying for third party and just using the meta business suite and, you know, to do your scheduling and stuff like that. It saves you time. Yes, people say it's glitchy, but you know what so is Later and Sprout and all of the other ones all have their own glitches. So nothing's perfect. Obviously, AI is a massive game changer in a lot of things. You know, using the way that email marketing has evolved and changed as well is, is massive in that you're making sure you've got the flow set up. It's not just, set it and forget it type scenario, but you can have things automated to make your life a lot easier. ManyChat is another great tool to have as well. Especially, you know, to automate some of that stuff which, you know, once again, saves us time. It we are, very time poor.

00:08:14:17 - 00:08:28:23

Lucy

Yeah. It's so funny to like to think of the, the product of Hootsuite like, that was such, you know, like, everyone was using that. I remember using that. Right? Yeah, yeah. And that feels like a relic now, doesn't it?

00:08:28:23 - 00:08:29:19

Katharine

It does.

00:08:29:19 - 00:08:53:15

Lucy

Using how quickly this stuff changes, which I think is which I love what you've said there about not investing in that stuff. Now, obviously the other platforms have evolved to ensure we don't necessarily go outside the confines of those anyway, but I think noting how quickly things are evolved, it's kind of important to know at that early stage of business, don't over invest in these.

00:08:53:19 - 00:09:06:15

Katharine

Yes. Yeah. You know, just because it's something that's shiny and you've seen other people use it doesn't mean you have to. There are ways to do things without having massive overheads that you don't need.

00:09:06:16 - 00:09:25:19

Lucy

Yeah, love that advice. So this is related, but you're a digital strategy expert. So our million dollar question for you really is what's the platform that we do invest most of our time in as a business owner. Is that an easy question to answer? I mean. If you're thinking through the lens of someone who's just starting out and like, let's say for to make it easier, they're a professional services person, so they don't have a product.

00:09:35:04 - 00:09:58:20

Katharine

You know, fundamentally you're always better off starting with Facebook. Yes. Because yeah, that's pretty much where most people still are. But I think the really the first thing you need to do, you know, is understand your target market and who it is that you're wanting to speak to, who it is you're wanting to service. Because without knowing that, you know, and I've got a quote that I say in all my trainings is the content for everyone is content that sucks. Because you're not talking to everyone, you know, you have to know exactly who you're talking to. You know, you want to make sure you understand what their, you know, fears are their desires. It's not just about knowing. Are there 27 and they live in Sydney, you know, it's a lot more nuanced than that. Especially now, you know, understanding more of the psychology behind what motivates your customers.

Hang on. Just press the button. No, I thought he turned the TV back on. So, it's. Yeah. Understanding what motivates those customers and what makes them tick and how you can solve these problems that you're wanting to do with for them. Yeah. And how are you going to do it with them? So once you know those type of things, then you know where it is they hang out online. That's when you know where to invest your time. So, yeah, even with all the things that really said, the beginning comes back to those fundamentals of the knowing and the who, what, why. And then you build upon that. Yeah. So, you know, you find, you know, if you are serviced by some, maybe you are just spending a lot of your time on LinkedIn because if that's where your customers are Or you'll find that maybe, you know, for an example, if you yeah. Especially if you probably looking at agribusiness X is still probably a really good point place for you to be. Yeah, because a lot of the farmers, when they first started social media, they found Twitter. And they're very stubborn and they don't move around a lot. So they're probably still there. So like, yeah, it is about understanding who they are and where they are as to where you invest your time. But at the crux of it, you know, especially if you are wanting to eventually work up to doing advertising through Meta and Instagram, you need to have Facebook down. And then you also need to have all of the back end done as well. So a lot of people just kind of think that you have your personal profile and you have a business profile, and then that's it. But there's lots of different layers behind meta, and knowing what they are and how they work and how it connects in order to, A, make sure that you've got your security settings completely set out, which is a major thing, but also understanding, you know, that it can collect the data on who it is that is interacting with your page, who is going to your website, collecting, connecting all of those things together. You know, is a huge, starting point in order to set you up for the future. And that can be very overwhelming for people because they're like, what do you mean? There's a pixel and there's a thing and there's stuff. Then there's and then there's commerce accounts if you're selling products. So yeah, there is a lot of stuff that goes into it. But without having that set up as well, you it's, you know, you're building a house once again without foundations.

00:13:25:22 - 00:13:54:18

Lucy

Yeah. Not to mention all the updates and, and everything that happens as well. Right. So this is where a business like yours comes into its power, so to speak. Because that's exactly what you can help people with, right? Yeah. So imagining that we are a newbie, like we've got our idea and we've just set up our accounts, how long would it take you, roughly to work with someone like you to get that stuff sorted? Is that like a one session thing? Is that, like, two sessions things? Yeah.

00:13:58:09 - 00:14:14:20

Katharine

So I have my, business set up audit, it's had different names over the years. But because business manager is now business portfolio, so, you know, constant evolution. But it is the. Yeah. Usually takes about an hour. That we sit, we zoom together. I used to make people press all of the buttons, but now zoom has now updated itself where I can take control of screens. It's a wonderful little thing. And you know, so I can quickly click all the buttons, get it done and, you know, make sure that their security settings are all set up and the things are connected. So that's your website URLs verified through meta. Your data assets and pixel is all set up and connected. The events are set up on your website and you're all good to go.

00:14:55:00 - 00:15:23:11

Lucy

Wow. So that's pretty quick. Let's talk about staying across new technology now, because at the beginning there we talked briefly about AI. And your caution there about not just jumping into that and just staying on that. But how do you like is there a blog or a podcast or something like that that you rely on to inform you of these kind of updates that you'd recommend others look at?

00:15:23:13 - 00:15:45:03

Katharine

I have I think is social media today is a really good email that you can get daily, which has a lot of updates, as well as Social Media Examiner. They're always good to say, know when things are changing or things are rolling out. They're generally the first ones to be telling you.

00:15:45:05 - 00:15:51:03

Lucy

Okay, right. And tell us a bit more about your take on AI. Like what do you use it for, if anything?

00:15:51:05 - 00:16:13:00

Katharine

What don't I use it for? Yeah, use the question. I use it from, you know, helping rewrite things to, I get it to help me to do the planning and menu planning. I've used it to get my daughter to clean her room.

00:16:13:01 - 00:16:15:01

Lucy

Tell us about that.

00:16:15:03 - 00:16:36:02

Katharine

I know, like, every mum's just gone. Yeah. So, you can take a photo of the space that you wanting to get done. And then you give it the prompts to say, hey, you know, for months, for example, I've got a nine year old daughter who is neuro spicy, and we need to clean up the space. Can you please create a step by step guide and make it gamified and easy to follow? She followed every step.

00:16:48:01 - 00:16:50:02

Lucy

Million dollar question. Did it work?

00:16:50:04 - 00:17:13:23

Katharine

Yes. It will a lot of the time. Will it work every time? But does everything work every time with a kid? No, no, but if it works a few times, I might. I use it as well for myself. If I'm looking at a space and I'm like, I'm overwhelmed sometimes it's just that getting started that you need a bit of a help with. So, you know, I think it was my bathroom and I'm like, okay, I need to clean that, took a photo.

What do I start?

00:17:15:10 - 00:17:16:01

Lucy

Wow.

00:17:16:01 - 00:17:20:12

Katharine

And then once you get started, your fine.

Lucy

And I know that you and I had an earlier conversation about. And correct me if I'm wrong, but using it for meal planning or recipes is good. So tell us about that?

00:17:32:03 - 00:17:58:02

Katharine

I had asked it to be a perimenopausal expert when it comes to dieting. Or at least eating. Yes. And to, you know, we would create meals and I can go all right, I've got, chicken breasts. What am I doing with that tonight? I can also sit it down. Oh, I don't sit it down. I talked with it, and I would be like, all right, so let's come up with what my meal plan is for this week. Once I'm happy with what those ideas were, I'm like, okay, I'll be shopping at this supermarket and this supermarket. Can you cross-reference the prices for me and create shopping lists for each of them based on price.

00:18:20:11 - 00:18:23:15

Lucy

Wow. I love this, I love this. How clever.

00:18:23:20 - 00:18:46:18

Katharine

I even did Christmas was because I came from hospitality background. I had a lot of, you know, event order kind of brain thingy. So, you know, I have to have things running properly. Because that's just keeping that especially, you know, at Christmas is like, it's chaotic. So, this year, that was my parents place. Mum and I had already talked about what we were having. So, as I was driving to school. So this is the joy of, like, paying for ChatGPT because you can talk to it. And I'm like, these are what the things that we're going to be having. Can you please create the shopping list based on this? I want you to break these shopping lists into fruit and veg, into meat, into staples. And then because I wasn't heading over to Mum and Dad's because they're in a different state until Christmas Eve, I went now I want you to create weekly shopping lists based on how, you know, for the next, you know, few weeks leading up to Christmas. So nothing perishes and we have what we need. So it's not one big huge shop and panic.

00:19:31:03 - 00:19:37:18

Lucy

So good. Catherine, I feel like there's little side business in this holiday. Yeah.

00:19:37:19 - 00:19:43:05

Katharine

So that is, you know, I used to sit down and do that manually with Christmas planning. And then I, you know, come Christmas, I was like, you know, what's my prep times for all of these things? And what’s our cook times.

00:19:54:12 - 00:19:55:15

Lucy

I love that.

00:19:55:17 - 00:20:26:19

Katharine

Yeah. So not just for business. I mean, obviously there's so many different things you can use it to code website landing pages and all of those type of things as well. You know, it's pretty much infinite. But for what? You know, a lot of us busy mums in business do like it's not just the business side, we can use it to help us kind of go find that moment to breathe in all of the chaos that we have. It doesn't really help train a Kelpie, who doesn't listen.

00:20:31:07 - 00:20:52:18

Lucy

Maybe. Yeah, maybe that's a work in progress. But I love that point, Katherine. And I think and I really want to reiterate it because that's what makes mum vision in the podcast different to other business podcast, because I really want to get under the, underneath the hood, really, of how the home works for a mum in business, because it's not an inconsiderable thing to talk about. And, you know, I've read a lot of articles recently about how people are using ChatGPT today as a colleague or as a, as a co-founder for a business, which is great, but you can also use it, as you suggested, like as a, as a co-parent or as a co house. House keeper. What's the word for a housekeeper?

00:21:13:02 - 00:21:20:21

Katharine

Maybe could actually do the stuff for me then that would be. Oh, well, that's why I always said I wanted the robot from Jetsons.

00:21:20:21 - 00:21:22:15

Lucy

Yes. Oh me too.

00:21:22:17 - 00:21:47:01

Katharine

Because she was sassy and she was fun, but she got it done. So I want her. But yes, it is it. You know, it does help take some of that overwhelm, I guess, out of us thinking, you know, of all the things. And we know that as mums, we have so many things going on in our brains that if we can go, just give me what I'm cooking for dinner is one of those things that I don't have to think about. And there's a recipe with steps to follow. And I've got to say, I've been doing it now for at least six months, and everything I've made has been delicious.

00:22:01:20 - 00:22:24:13

Lucy

So good. Please take note of that everyone, I will be I will be trying that next week. So is there anything else in terms of the, you know, you've said a great parenting hack, then you've had a great home hack. Is there anything else that you that you use yourself that really helps in this harmonizing of home and business that you'd like to mention?

00:22:24:13 - 00:22:40:05

Katharine

It's also having the right people around you as well. You know, they say it takes a village for, you know, raising kids. It also takes a village to raise a business. And that doesn't mean you have to have staff. You know, it also, you know, having people that you can call on or work with that you know, or and they go, all right, mate, I think you're just trying to overcomplicate stuff. Or how about you just focus on what it is you meant to be doing? And but yeah, having friends that you know, are also in the trenches with you and that you can go, all right, listen, I, I'm struggling to focus can we do a co-working day around the table, you know, or, you know, once a month you have a session set up with a friend where you go, okay, we're going to make this cafe, we're going to just work together for a few hours. Yeah. So having those type of things in place as well just keeps you sane, as much as you could use such, you know, ChatGPT to also do some of that stuff and you can program it to do that.

And that is, you know, also what I do, but, you know, there is as and I think it is as much as we are, you know, so reliant on our technology. And we feel that we're so connected now through all the different mains, we're actually all very disconnected. Yeah. So making sure that we have the time to go back and, you know, actually sit with humans and talk with humans. Yeah. And in a physical way is a really important thing to do as well, not just for, you know, it's for your mental health as well. But, you know, just to feel that connectedness.

00:24:09:00 - 00:24:42:18

Lucy

100%. And I think that's a great point. And I think also we can get this idea that things need to be easy if they're good for us. And sometimes getting people together in real life is difficult people as well. Yeah, I'm finding that time. But yeah, that that connection in real life is absolutely so important.

And the final question for you, Katherine, would be thinking about, you know, the last eight years in business for yourself and obviously you've come into contact with a lot of other women in business.

What's one thing you'd like to see changed in this landscape for our for our industry and our community?

00:24:49:08 - 00:24:52:21

Katharine

That we don't get asked, how's your little business going? If people could just stop doing that, that'd be great. Because, yeah, it's a business. It's not a little business. But on the flip side of that, I'd also like women to own it more and not say, oh, I just do this, or I just know I am a successful business owner who helps people with because that is then going to stop the people asking about a little business because we aren't keeping it little. We're not playing small, we're owning it and we're standing in it, and there's so much power in that.

00:25:35:14 - 00:25:48:16

Lucy

So beautiful. That's such a great quote to leave on. I’ve made a note to myself there. And is there anything else I've forgotten to ask you or that you're bursting to share, with us?

00:25:49:11 - 00:26:09:12

Katharine

Really? I think it's just reiterating that. Be clear on the who it is that you wanting to serve and how you speak to them. You know, you want to be the person that someone is reading to  go get out of my brain.

You know, you want to have you want to be the brand. That's like when someone reads it is like, oh my god, you're in my head. Because that means that you have nailed who your customers are and they're going to follow you, engage with you, and buy from you. But in saying that, I also want to say that social media and digital marketing is a silver bullet that a lot of people think that it is. You know, it does take time. You can't just go, well, I've just put my website out there. Why isn't no one visiting it? Because, it's not magic. You still have to work at it. And that's why I always talk about this is, you know, I put the heart back into social media because I believe that the way that your social media and your marketing work on a holistic level is that your heart is the social media because it pulls people to and from.

So that takes people to your website or it brings them back. So either way, whatever part of all the different marketing arms you're using, you know, eventually it'll come back to the social media, but it'll also go to your website, it'll go to your print marketing, it'll go to whatever else. But people will still come back to your social media to check that you are legit, that you are active, and that you are real as well.

So with all the things you have to make sure that everything is working and everything is connected and everything is pumping.

00:27:42:10 - 00:27:49:14

Lucy

Absolutely love that. Katherine, thank you so very much for joining us on my Mumbition today and your patience in the beginning.

00:27:49:16 - 00:27:50:10

Katharine

No, no, your fine.

00:27:50:11 - 00:28:05:11

Lucy

I absolutely love your story, your passion and your enthusiasm comes across so well. You can find Katherine on the Mums and Co member directory. But also please share your handles and everything. Social media handles and everything with us now so we connect people with you.

00:28:05:12 - 00:28:30:03

Katharine

Yes I, I like playing on Instagram a lot. That's my favourite space. So if you can find me at Krane_creative. I am on Facebook as cranecreativemarketing. And please don't go to my website because it is horrible and yucky. Okay? I am like the plumber with the bad plumbing.

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