I Love New Mexico Tourism: Caitlin Krantz

Episode Transcript

Bunny : (00:00)
Hi there. I’m Bunny Terry, and you’re listening to the I Love New Mexico podcast. Whether you’re a native new Mexican, who’s lived here for your entire life, or you’re just considering a visit, this episode is for you. Join us as we share a lot of New Mexico stories, talk about all things New Mexico, and include topics like what’s magical here, where you ought to visit, what’s happening, and the things you absolutely cannot miss in the land of Enchantment. We’re excited that you’re here and we can’t wait to show you what an amazing place New Mexico is, because let’s face it, I love New Mexico. Today’s guest is one of my favorite people, and it, the, the funny thing about this guest is that I run into her all the time online and almost never in person because we’re both online so much. So it’s really a treat, um, first of all to have you as a guest, but also when I run into you out in the real world. So the, our guest today is Caitlyn Krantz, and Caitlin, I want you to tell our guest who you are and what you do.

Caitlin : (01:18)
Good. Hi everyone. I’m Caitlin. I’m an entrepreneur here in Santa Fe, New Mexico. I’m just celebrated my 10 year Santa Fe bursary a couple of days ago, four days ago, . Um, and so it’s been a great, had a whirlwind 10 years, um, especially in the entrepreneurial world. Um, I am co-owner of Simply Social Media. We are a influencer in social media marketing agency, um, currently like specializing in tourism and travel related industries. Um, we also do some social media management, um, mostly focused on influencer marketing. I’m also a wedding photographer, uh, with Caitlyn Elizabeth Photography. I do weddings, engagements, and surprise proposals. And then me, myself, I’m also an influencer in the, um, Instagram world. So I get, I dabble in all sides of things. ,

Bunny : (02:14)
Caitlin, so it’s really cool because I think that maybe the first time that we met you did, um, an event for the foundation, for the Cancer Foundation for New Mexico, right?

Caitlin : (02:25)
Yes. I used to do event photography for the Cancer Foundation for New Mexico.

Bunny : (02:31)
And, and I’ll just say you were the best we’ve had, so . So, it seems to me that your work, um, this is what you convey is really joyful, whatever it is you’re doing, um, whether you’re you know, um, working for a client, um, as an influencer or if you are, um, showing off your, the photos from your, from the weddings and the engagements that you’ve done, it seems very joyful. Do I have that right?

Caitlin : (03:02)
You do, yes. I like to I have a very smiley, bubbly personality and I, um, I make it my goal to have that portray through the content that I share both, um, photography wise and video wise, .

Bunny : (03:17)
Well, and I like to think that part of that is probably because you get to live in the best place in the world, right? Well,

Caitlin : (03:22)
It’s, it doesn’t hurt, that’s for sure. ,

Bunny : (03:25)
So what, in, what in the world brought you to New Mexico?

Caitlin : (03:30)
I am a transplant most recently from upstate New York, although I grew up in Michigan. I came out here with an ex, um, on our road trip as many of us do. Um, fell like it was right around the balloon fiesta. I fell in love with it. We were looking for a change, and I went home, packed up my things, put in my two week notice and moved here.

Bunny : (03:53)
It’s a funny thing. I mean, I hear that from people all the time, and especially ’cause, you know, I’m in the business of hopefully moving people here when I’m doing real estate, but I do hear, um, you know, there’s a phrase that I hear a lot in, um, both Santa Fe and in New Mexico as a whole, where it either really warmly embraces you or on occasion, sometimes spits you out. And I think that’s I mean every time I ever left here, I was just like please get me back so I can stay.

Caitlin : (04:25)
Yeah, , definitely. I heard the exact same thing when I first moved here. Um, I wanted to start first off by starting my photography business, um, not knowing very many people and not having a lot of money for promoting my, my business. And so I did a lot of networking in the very beginning. And so when I was telling people, oh, I’m a photographer, often I would hear well in Santa Fe, good luck, . We have so many actors here.

Bunny : (04:52)
It’s like being a musician in Austin, right? , yeah. Yes,

Caitlin : (04:55)
Very much so. .

Bunny : (04:59)
Well, I’m glad you stayed. And I wanted, because we’re ta we’re talking folks, I just want you to know that Caitlin is the expert in terms of, um, being an influencer and promoting who you are and where you live. I would love if you could give us like two or three minutes of just if somebody is, and I have these people in my business right now who are, um, brand new perhaps to this profession, or they’re brand new entrepreneurs, and they’re sort of and I know this is not a 20 minute talk, but, um, best tips for creating a successful new platform in social media. Do you have any of those that you can share?

Caitlin : (05:50)
I do. Um, and so one of, one of the big things that I tell people that we, um, train on social media is it’s very easy to forget that social media is not just in your little bubble, it’s worldwide. And so when posting things online, you need to tell people where you are in the community that you’re trying to grow. And so often by using either location-based hashtags, the, um, tools that the programs give you, such as using locations in your posting, um, and also incorporating those words into your caption as social media tends to, um, is currently veering more as like search option, search option optimization. There’s such a

Bunny : (06:35)
Optimization, whatever, what’s that word?

Caitlin : (06:38)
Website. So SEO is very, um, mystical to a lot of people, but it can be as simple as putting keywords to help people find your content. If I say, oh, I’m looking for people who are interested in this restaurant in Santa Fe putting like, new restaurants, Santa Fe, New Mexico, come visit. All of those things in the caption itself will help help that show up more likely when somebody’s searching these social media platforms for the content that you’re producing.

Bunny : (07:10)
The other thing, and I just learned this, I’d like to hear whether you think it’s right or not, but I just heard somebody say, a really good strategy is to figure out what your lane is. I mean, I, I see people on social media all the time and there’s, you know, they’re, you know, they’re posting about their dog and then they’re posting about their job, and then they’re posting about a restaurant, and then they’re, you know, they’re sort, you know, what is your lane? And, and I heard a guy in a podcast yesterday, which I thought was very helpful. I mean, I’ve been doing this a long, not a long time, not as successfully as you have, but, um, it’s, if you can’t figure out what your lane is and then stay, and he suggested three lanes, you know, is it your family? Is it your, where you live, is it your business? And, and stay there. This sort of random grabbing stuff out of space does perhaps seem like it might be confusing to your audience.

Caitlin : (08:03)
Yeah, I would, I would agree with that. So, um, you, it doesn’t mean that you can’t share something that’s off topic or not your typical, um, content that you produce, but find a way to tie it into your typical content. So if you are a business, does that mean you can’t post about your dog? No. But that means that it’s gonna, it might confuse people. And so tying it into the caption of, oh, my dog is something that I do when I’m not doing my business, but you can find me here. Um, tying it around so it makes more sense.

Bunny : (08:35)
So did you ever have like the ultimate post that went so viral, you woke up in the morning and went, holy mackerel. How did that happen? ,

Caitlin : (08:44)
Um, you know, I, not super crazy viral. I have had a couple, um, do fairly well. One was a reel that I posted in the springtime of Santa Fe and I was, there was this like marching kind of sound that was trending and I was walking along the rail trail and I staged it perfectly so that a tumbleweed was like racing me. Um, that one did particularly well. And then I know that when I published something on my own platform about something new in Santa Fe or something that has changed or people have been looking forward to, um, such as boxcar, um, relocating and opening their new location, that post has been shared over 900 times. ’cause people are really interested, either they didn’t know it was, oh, it was changing locations or, um, they’ve been looking forward to it, or maybe they’re, they visited once and they’re hoping to get back and, oh, look at, I didn’t know this was happening. And, and so it really, it makes me really happy that people are having conversations and my content is helping to navigate that.

Bunny : (09:48)
I always think about, so in the very beginning when it was just, um, Facebook mostly on my, I love New Mexico page. I had like, I don’t know, 300 followers. This is like in 2010 maybe, and I posted a picture, there was a gathering in Albuquerque of, um, Navajo code talkers because at that time there were still probably 14 or 15 that were still alive. I just posted this article and I got up in the morning. I had like 2,400 followers, and I was like, who knew? I, I mean, I guess what what I’ve learned over time is that it’s not so much what you post, but that you do it, that you’re consistent. I don’t know what Yeah, what your advice is on that.

Caitlin : (10:38)
Consistency is definitely key. Um, and also having your heartbeat behind it, because if you, if you like, um, I don’t know you, your joy in creating that content can show through what you publish on social media. Um, it’s not necessarily the amount of time that you put towards things. Some of my content that’s taken the longest to put together has not been the best performing, and you never really know what’s going to spark, um, speak to somebody in a way that will encourage them to share it with like 16 of their friends. Um, and so sharing, sharing something that makes you feel happy, is more likely to resonate with somebody else. .

Bunny : (11:19)
Absolutely. And showing your face, right, is that important?

Caitlin : (11:23)
That’s definitely part of it. I mean, and you, that that doesn’t mean you need to always share, show your face, um, but it is nice to have, especially as you’re developing your community for people to see like a connection between the person behind the account, .

Bunny : (11:38)
Well, so I’m curious, um, because this is a podcast about New Mexico, what, do you have a list, first of all, do you have a list of things you absolutely love about being here? And then I’d love to hear if you have a bucket list of places you haven’t hit yet, because we’re, because we’ll come back after you’ve done that and have another conversation about those places.

Caitlin : (12:02)
Yeah. I love how diverse New Mexico is. My heart is definitely in Santa Fe, and I plan on staying here for sure. Um, but it is really a great state to travel around and see all the cute towns, that’ll get you from here to there. Um, I, especially with our work within the New Mexico tourism department, I’m very lucky to have been able to take trips to Red River and RSO in Silver City in Las Cruces. And I love visiting those towns and kind of seeing the communities that are there and all of the local businesses. Um, that’s definitely what brings me a lot of joy as a new Mexican. Um, well

Bunny : (12:40)
Now wait a second. I I didn’t know that. Tell me about what you’re doing with New Mexico tourism or what you’ve done.

Caitlin : (12:46)
Yeah, so, um, New Mexico tourism department has a co-op marketing, um, initiative, um, where they offer kinda grant marketing dollars to, um, destination marketing organizations, which are tourism departments and, um, events that we rely heavily on tourism dollars and tourists to come in order to make them successful. Uh, and so as the dmo, um, they, uh, express interest in, uh, different marketing services if they’re interested in influencer marketing. My agency is the one that is, um, kind of available to them. And so we offer, um, group influencer events, uh, through that program as well as content creation and on also what’s called like a seasonal four season destination program where we send somebody an influencer once a quarter to visit their, um, destination and post about it online. So it’s a really great partnership that we have.

Bunny : (13:43)
Wow. That is way cool. I, so if there are communities that are interested, I guess they could just talk to the tourism department, right?

Caitlin : (13:50)
Yeah, definitely. Yeah, it’s, um, the, I think the actual program opens for applications in March, um, for the next fiscal year, which starts in July.

Bunny : (14:01)
Sweet. Sweet. That’s good to know about. And what about your bucket list?

Caitlin : (14:06)
Know, there are some places that I have not been to, um, that are on my list. One of them is Carlsbad Caverns. I have not had, not me neither.

Bunny : (14:13)
I’ve lived here all my life. I’ve never been to Carlsbad. We should do an influencer trip to Carlsbad .

Caitlin : (14:18)
That would be so fun. Um, and I’ve seen some amazing video from Bii from the Bis Bii Badlands. Uh, that looks very, very cool. I would love to visit there one day. Um, and then I’ve been skiing in at Santa Fe, ski Santa Fe plenty of times, but I would love to go take a trip to Towson and ski the ski basin its house.

Bunny : (14:42)
Wow. Well, that’s a good list. That’s a really good list. Um, and what, so if, if somebody was coming to, let’s just say Santa Fe, since that’s your base Mm-Hmm. , um, if somebody could be here for three days, um, do you have like a favorite itinerary? I I have some ideas of what you might say, but, um, I’m curious to know, because I get that a lot from, um, from my, um, you know, somebody, so the way my business works is that somebody will give me a call in April and they’ll say, you know, we’ve been looking at Santa Fe, we’ve been there to visit three times, or never, ever before. But they’ll say, we’re gonna come for three days and look at houses one day. What should we do the other two days? And, and I’m always, I create a list, but I’m always curious to know what other people would say.

Caitlin : (15:34)
Um, it definitely depends. My recommendations would change if somebody has been here or has not been here before. Um, I always recommend like, the plaza’s always a really fun place to visit Canyon Road. Um, I would say some of my favorite like experiences I really enjoy, um, tumble Root Pottery Pub. Have you been there before?

Bunny : (15:54)
No. And that’s new, right? I mean, it’s relatively new couple of years.

Caitlin : (15:59)
Um, it’s a collaboration between Tumble Root, the Distillery and, um, EO Pottery Pub. Um, and so it’s a fun place where you can go get, uh, cocktails and you can purchase some clay to make some mold something and make it your own. It’s like a fun date night activity. Um, and they often have monthly contests where if you are interested in participating in their theme, you could like win some of their hand thrown pottery, um, which is really cool. And that’s like a local community. It’s right there on the plaza. And so it’s super convenient to get to also.

Bunny : (16:33)
And so do you, um, drink their brew and do pottery at the same time?

Caitlin : (16:39)
You absolutely can. Yeah. ,

Bunny : (16:41)
That would make for some interesting results.

Caitlin : (16:44)
Yeah. Um, and then you don’t necessarily have to drink, you can go there just to do the pottery, um-huh. But it’s a, it’s a fun combination that’s available to, to multiple interests.

Bunny : (16:54)
Well, and one of the other things that you and I have done, um, to together as influencers is Sky Railway. I mean, I always tell people, get a ticket and ride the train. It’s such a surprise.

Caitlin : (17:06)
Yeah. I love Sky Railway and all the different, uh, experiences that they offer. Um, I’ve been on almost all of them , um, course of being, um, one, uh, having them as a client. And so I definitely recommend even doing that multiple times experience, maybe not on the same trip, um, but experiencing it like during the day, during like Santa Fe Scenic and then during the night and the Sunset Serenade, or even like after Dark, they, they find a way to make it interesting. Um, going multiple times and always having live music and, and the bars on every car, they, they know how to do it right. .

Bunny : (17:44)
So I would say that, um, I, I’ve been encouraging people, um, especially my clients to come now, um, especially, um, I mean, the weather isn’t absolutely perfect, although it’s hopefully different from where they are, but there’s really a lot to be said for experiencing New Mexico when it’s where when you can live like a local Mm-Hmm. when it’s less crowded, um, when it’s a little easier to find a parking place. Um, there’s a lot to like about it right now. I mean, people are always saying, well, you think we ought to wait until summer? Like, no, no, no, no, no. This is really a great time.

Caitlin : (18:25)
Oh, yeah. There’s so much to do, even in like non-typical, not necessarily like off season, but yeah, less, less popular times to visit when it is easier to do the things that you wanna do. I mean, not that, not that you’re ever gonna be turned away or, um, this might be a wait somewhere, but there’s, there’s always something that you can do .

Bunny : (18:46)
So. Um, what about restaurants? If you were coming here?

Caitlin : (18:52)
Let’s see, one of my favorite happy hour spots is dinner for two. Um, I think they, they know how to do it right? I love their outdoor patio with that neon sign. Um, and they’ve got some very photographable cocktails like the Love Bubble with that little puff of, um, a smoke bubble on top. Um, let’s see, what else? I really enjoy Paper Dza. That’s one of my favorite restaurants.

Bunny : (19:16)
I’ve never been there.

Caitlin : (19:17)
Oh, you’d love it. I love their food. So, so great. Nelly and Paul Raj are fantastic people. Um, I also love, there’s a wine bar, um, called AM Mayo, and it’s through a gallery on Canyon Road. So you’ll by on the exterior, it’s very much like a gallery, like most of them are. And you’ll walk through, like all the way through it to the back. And it’s this very quaint, actually, I say quaint, but it’s a very large space, surprisingly large space. Uh, and it’s a wine bar. They have like wine, um, and some charcuterie options, and they usually have live music, and it’s a fun respite away from, uh, the hustle and bustle of Canyon Road. Um, I’m also a big fan of Palace Prime. That’s where my husband and I usually go on date nights, . Um, and that’s kind a fun kind of throwback to the old Santa Fe days too. ,

Bunny : (20:09)
Um, am Mayo, I went in there, um, and because I think that I had seen something that you had said about it, but I have not been back. I mean, I’ve been there and because it seems that they have, um, they’re less of a fru gallery. I don’t know how else to say that, and more of a local artist, um, local artisan, um, curated space. Is that, is my impression, correct?

Caitlin : (20:38)
I think so. Yeah. I, I haven’t, um, admittedly taken too much of a look. I would kinda straight through to the back. Um, but I do know that

Bunny : (20:46)
You just went to the wine Yeah. .

Caitlin : (20:48)
Yeah. Um, I know that they seem to have a large kind of variety of options from like, jewelry to really cool glass pieces and of course, paintings on the wall that are available.

Bunny : (20:59)
So we’re, so everybody who’s listening there are, are links to all of these places in the, um, notes, in the podcast notes. I’m curious about what’s next, what’s, what’s coming up that you’re excited about?

Caitlin : (21:15)
I’m excited. 2024 is gonna be a really great year. Um, we’ve got some events planned, um, on the calendar, some group, um, tourism events with like Visit Albuquerque, visit Las Cruces Gallup, um, and Angel Fire. And so those are gonna be really great where we’re flying influencers in from our drive market states to show them how great New Mexico is. Wow, , that’s

Bunny : (21:39)
So cool.

Caitlin : (21:40)
Yeah.

Bunny : (21:43)
Nice, nice. Well, Caitlyn, I want to get back together. First of all, I want, um, so it’s my understanding that you are not handling private accounts for new clients, um, at the moment, but, um, I wanna to create a link to where people can find you because, um, I think the most sincere compliment is, uh, the most sincere form of flattery is imitation. And you have great, um, promotional. I mean, you’re, you’re really good at this. I want people to find you and follow you. So we’ll, um, post a link to where people can find you on Instagram and where they can find your website. How else would you like for people to know where you are?

Caitlin : (22:25)
Um, yeah, I think both of those are great options. So simply social media, it, the website is simply social media nm.com. You can find us online at Simply Social nm, and then my myself on Instagram, it’s simply Caitlyn Elizabeth. I also have a website, um, if you’re interested in working with me as an influencer. Uh, and then for photography, it’s caitlin elizabeth.com for Caitlyn Elizabeth Photography, uh, if you’re getting married or know someone who is.

Bunny : (22:52)
So when do you sleep?

Caitlin : (22:54)
Uh, you know, I I get that question a lot. Um, I, I, I do. Okay. I do. Okay. . It, it helps to have a team and to delegate when necessary. We’re, we’re building our team for sure, as, as we’re continuing to grow .

Bunny : (23:09)
Nice. Nice. Well, it’s so fun to talk to you on the screen and, um, let’s bump into each other somewhere. Okay. Mm-Hmm, . All right. Thanks Caitlin. Thanks to all of you for taking the time to listen to the I Love New Mexico podcast. If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please feel free to share it with your friends on social media or by texting or messaging or emailing them a copy of the podcast. If you have a New Mexico story that you’d like to share with us, don’t hesitate to reach out. Our email address is I love New Mexico blog@gmail.com, and we are always, always looking for interesting stories about New Mexico. Subscribe, share, and write a review so that we can continue to bring you these stories about the Land of Enchantment.