Background
In this Loomly Success Story, we spoke with Sarah Mills, Founder of Ink & Olive Media, a digital marketing boutique based in Ashburn, Virginia.
Sarah founded Ink & Olive in 2018 after getting her start in social media management at a real estate brokerage. Since then, she’s specialized in helping realtors and other serviced based business owners tell their stories online.
Sarah has been a Loomly customer for over 1.5 years. Here’s her story!
Why did Ink & Olive choose Loomly over other social media management options?
“I’ve used other platforms before, but one of the bigger ones got to be super expensive and their customer support was terrible. I found Loomly through a Google search and reading reviews.”
“I did Loomly’s 2-week trial and it was so user-friendly. I didn’t spend the whole two weeks just figuring out how to use it – I was actually able to implement it and start helping my clients.”
Which Loomly feature helps you and your clients the most day-to-day?
“I think it’s the culmination of everything: being able to serve all of my clients and all their accounts from one tool.
But, to single something out: being able to preview Instagram posts is something that seems so simple, but not every tool can do that yet. The ones that do – that’s their core feature, so you can preview your Instagram feed, but you can’t schedule other content. So you really can do everything with Loomly.”
How has Loomly saved you time and improved your workflow?
“It’s saved me loads of time for sure. Before Loomly, I was having to bounce between two different platforms to get the features I needed. I was also having issues with one that was causing me to spend time reaching out to customer service.
Loomly has all the capabilities in one platform. I love being able to toggle between different calendars. I definitely prefer the calendar view – it’s so easy to just plug it in, select your platforms, put in your content and change it up depending on where it’s going. It’s just so user-friendly.
Other little features like being able to schedule the first comment in Instagram are really cool too. You can also add your location when scheduling, and a lot of that stuff just isn’t available with other platforms.”
What’s a social media marketing tip you wish you knew earlier in your career?
“One of the things I would always hear is ‘niche down’, and I said ‘Ok, whatever, I don’t want to listen to that…’
There was a point when I left my real estate office that I wanted to learn about and get involved with other industries, but my whole sphere was real estate. Everyone I knew and everyone who was coming to me naturally, so it took me a while to ask ‘Why am I pushing against these clients that are coming to me so naturally?’
Once I started going with the current, that’s when I started to grow, and that was around the same time I started using Loomly. Those two things together helped me be consistent and speak to my ideal client and have definitely helped me grow.”
“In terms of my clients, yes, they’ve seen growth, but my favorite feedback is when one of my clients tells me that someone from their sphere stopped them in the grocery store to tell them how great their social media was looking. That’s the kind of feedback I love.”
What’s one of the biggest challenges for real estate agents when getting started with social media or marketing in general?
“I think a lot of realtors just get in their own way thinking ‘How do I stand out from others when the industry is so saturated?’ A lot of agents try to stand out by just sharing their transactions, instead of sharing their personality and things that are actually going to make people want to work with them.
One of the biggest questions I get from people is: ‘How many Instagram accounts should I have – should I have separate personal and business accounts?’ I always recommend running just one account where you’re sharing your personal and professional content.
Your professional content is great for your personal sphere because it reminds them that you’re a realtor and available to help them, and your personal content is great for your professional sphere because it helps people to know, like and trust you.”
Be like a Nike commercial: ‘Just Do It’, and start showing your personality.
Which social media platform do you see the most opportunity in for you and your clients over the next couple of years?
“I know TikTok is growing rapidly and there’s a huge opportunity there, but I still think it’s Instagram. You just have to be there. They have two billion monthly active users now and everyone is just there.
I know how annoying it is that Instagram started out so different from what it is now and that they keep taking features from other platforms and replicating them, but that’s just the name of the game.
Fortunately or unfortunately, they do a pretty good job of it (now they’re testing out a new BeReal feature)… People latch on to these new features because they help you get seen, so it’s a beast, but if you’re a business owner you need to be there.”
What’s your favorite brand to follow on social media? Who’s killing it nowadays?
SparkNotes. They’re so funny and they’re killing the meme game. They do a great job of meeting customers where they’re at.
To learn more about Sarah and Ink & Olive Media, visit inkandolivemedia.com.
Check out Sarah’s course, The Instagram Roadmap for Real Estate Agents, and give her a follow on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn!
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