[00:00:00] Dave Polykoff: I am pumped to introduce my guest today. It's good friend of mine. And we like to nerd out on content all the time. So this is going to be a fun conversation. she is the home ownership and financial education advocate for those who are looking to build wealth through home ownership.
[00:00:14] Dave Polykoff: She graduated with a degree in production, and journalism, which she now uses to launch her own personal brand. she is the mortgage advisor at you mortgage, so I'm honored to introduce my guest, Nicole Peraino Nicole, welcome to the show.
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[00:00:27] Nicole Peraino: I have to remind myself to be exactly who I am and everyone always says like, be yourself, lean into who you are, but people really don't.
[00:00:34] Nicole Peraino: Cause that's really the whole goal of being on social media anyway. we're not trying to like jam all this information, like down people's throats.
[00:00:41] Nicole Peraino:really the point is to connect with people. So you have to be very vulnerable.
[00:00:44] Dave Polykoff: If you are going to share knowledge that, that is great to share knowledge, but please just make sure you frame it in a way that people know why they should care
[00:00:51] Nicole Peraino: If you could travel back in time what's one piece of advice that you would give that, that Nicole.
[00:00:56] Nicole Peraino: I would tell that person to do what I'm doing [00:01:00] today, which is
[00:01:00]
[00:01:00] Dave Polykoff: I want to start with your background in journalism and video production, and this is something you majored in.
[00:01:10] Dave Polykoff: So not a lot of people usually come into content with a master's degree, if you will, in in the craft. So kind of walk me through, what is it that you learned? In your experience there. And what have you been able to apply to the shorter form, more handheld version of that,
[00:01:27] Nicole Peraino: Yes. Great question. So when I went to school, it was 2010 to 2014. So the content, as we know it, like TikToks and reels were not really existing. The big thing when I was in college was blogs and multimedia type blogs. So big project I had worked on was like creating a blog.
[00:01:46] Nicole Peraino: So everything from HTML to CSS to like standing up the webpage and then putting articles that I had written, whether like interviewing people or writing like. Buzzfeed type articles, like listicles photos and videos and [00:02:00] everything like went into there. So it was more of like a multimedia approach to everything.
[00:02:04] Dave Polykoff: right? were doing, you're doing content before it was easy. Yeah,
[00:02:09] Nicole Peraino: like, I had to like whip out the whole DSLR camera, like the phone cameras weren't where they are today. It was like, you could do stuff on your phone, but it wasn't like, there was no cinematic mode on the
[00:02:19] Dave Polykoff: yeah, yeah, yeah.
[00:02:20] Nicole Peraino: So it was like, it was difficult. Yeah. You had to take the SD card, plug it into the computer, transfer the content off, maybe edit a little bit or tweak and then post.
[00:02:30] Nicole Peraino: So it was like crazy, but I would think what I learned in even journalism, whether it was writing or interviewing people and putting out like short form, like clips for media, for for television news. Or like on, magazines were like starting to get online too, but I really learned the importance of the hook, which is still a very important thing today.
[00:02:54] Nicole Peraino: So that's the first place I started to learn like what a hook really is and why it's important to [00:03:00] capture somebody in those first few seconds. Now this wasn't like TikTok and reels, but it was still, if they were reading an article or they were reading a blog that you were publishing and you didn't catch them in the first sentence or two.
[00:03:13] Nicole Peraino: Like they're not, they're going to scroll away still. They're not, they're going to leave your page.
[00:03:16] Dave Polykoff: Yeah, that's interesting. Yeah, because whenever I think about hooks now, I always compare it to modern media or just media in general, in the sense of you're really acting as your own kind of media company. you're fighting for attention because every other person is their own media company and it's their own way of trying to, capture your attention.
[00:03:35] Dave Polykoff: And so you have to be unique and you have to have your own angles and you have to have your own hooks. So you really are like your own CNN, your own, MSNBC or whatever. And you have to think as though you're a journalist and find that hook. What were some ways, what are some tidbits, and strategies with that hook. How did you take that long form content and know where value in the story is
[00:03:56] Nicole Peraino: I don't, I don't, there wasn't really like a, there wasn't really like a formula. one [00:04:00] of my favorite journalism classes was like life, lifestyle journalism, or I forget exactly what they called it, but it was not like hard news.
[00:04:07] Nicole Peraino: It was more like lifestyle journalism and telling about, human interest type stories. And that's the one I really gravitated towards the most. And I remember the teacher always saying you have to get like the who, what, when, where, why, like the rules of journalism, right?
[00:04:22] Nicole Peraino: Who, what, when, where
[00:04:23] Dave Polykoff: Well, walk that. What is, What is that? What is the rules of journalism?
[00:04:26] Nicole Peraino: all right. so let's say you have a human interest story and it's about, this kid who's struggled with something and now they're raising money to give back to the community. You have to tell who they are, their age what they're doing, why they're doing it, when they're doing it.
[00:04:40] Nicole Peraino: So like all these things to get people set to understand, the rest of the message you're going to deliver them
[00:04:49] Dave Polykoff: Is that like this
[00:04:49] Nicole Peraino: in that first,
[00:04:50] Dave Polykoff: of this story essentially?
[00:04:52] Nicole Peraino: yes. Framework of the story. Yes. So instead of just going into it, like you wouldn't want to start telling the boring details.
[00:04:58] Nicole Peraino: you don't want to give people too [00:05:00] much before you've framed it. That's exactly right. don't want to say, Oh, this is happening. At this community center, we're raising money for this. It's like, all right, what do we care? Like, why do we care about that? Versus if you say this eight year old boy who's struggled with X, Y, Z.
[00:05:16] Nicole Peraino: And has now overcome XYZ is raising money to give back to his community, his fellow people who are struggling. And it's so important to him and that's why he's doing that this spring. And that would be your hook to get people like, Oh, okay. Even something as personal as you can get about the character or the person you're telling the story about, then you're going into like the background and all the details and the
[00:05:40] Dave Polykoff: So get some more, like the hook is like, Why should I care? What's the emotional connection? What value am I getting from this story? Yeah.
[00:05:49] Nicole Peraino: Yes.
[00:05:50] Dave Polykoff: you've taken this and you say you try to apply this then to the content you publish on your accounts?
[00:05:56] Nicole Peraino: Yes, for sure. I always, before I even think to [00:06:00] post anything I, I mean, sometimes, like when, sometimes there's selfish things I just post because I won't like it, which is like my dog. I'll just be like, I know no one cares about this,
[00:06:09] Nicole Peraino: but I
[00:06:09] Dave Polykoff: right? Like, your life. People can connect. Oh, I have a dog too. I didn't know she had
[00:06:13] Nicole Peraino: Yeah, you're right. I think, but I, yeah, I don't put like too much effort into it, but anything else that's let's say it's about. Home ownership or mortgage or business or like mindset or giving back to the community, volunteering. I'm always like, why are people going to care about this?
[00:06:29] Nicole Peraino: If I put myself in their shoes, if I was scrolling through, my feed, why would I care? How is this going to help my life? How is this going to impact me? Or why is it so crazy that I would care about it? And whatever that bit is, like this can help you in here, or, you might want to know this because it's tax season and you might be having this happen to you during your, putting your taxes together, anything that's going to say, okay, this is why I should care.
[00:06:57] Nicole Peraino: And then you can go into the boring detail.
[00:06:59] Dave Polykoff: [00:07:00] Yeah, that's good. Yeah. Understanding the value prior to creating the content so that you understand how to frame the content itself. Love that. what I love that you've been doing lately, and this is kind of slightly it is some inspiration for why we're even talking today is one way that you've been creating content is by doing Instagram lives or just, you having interviews with people.
[00:07:20] Dave Polykoff: I've been Putting those out as lives. What was kind of the inspiration for that and what's your process for that? And then how is that going? Is that, are you seeing results with that? Do you, is there any changes that you would make to it?
[00:07:32] Nicole Peraino: Yes, that, yes. So that was my goal for this year to just put the content out. I think a lot of times people overthink their content, myself included. I'm like, Oh, I go too in the weeds of it. I'm like, is this meeting all of the guidelines and rules that content is supposed to be? And, is it going to be perfect?
[00:07:51] Nicole Peraino: And is the quality going to be excellent? And, is the timing going to be perfect? Correct. And, all these things that, that you start to overthink. So my goal [00:08:00] with that series was how can I get in front of the most amount of people and produce the largest amount of content with the most easy Lift on my part.
[00:08:10] Nicole Peraino: And how can I make sure that I'm not going to get burnt out because I've been there before. I've overdone it with the whole production side, just coming from my background. And I have to remember now, like I'm running a business. I can't be production and content all the time. There has to be a balance.
[00:08:24] Nicole Peraino: So how can I do that somewhat high level of quality of production? Not burning myself out to make sure that I can continue being consistent with it for the whole year. And so I talked to my marketing team at You Mortgage and I said, how am I going to make sure that I'm doing enough, but not too much?
[00:08:43] Nicole Peraino: And they said it's important that you go live for longer. Not necessarily the frequency, but when you do go live, cause I was going to try to do two parts. I would have a guest on. Part one, then the following week I would have them on part two. And they said no, just combine it all [00:09:00] together so that even if you go live every other week.
[00:09:03] Nicole Peraino: So even if you don't have enough guests for every single week, it's better that you talk to them for a longer period of time, because it gives people a chance to jump in there and see that you're live and tap in and start commenting and liking if you're live for a longer period of time, then the next week, you can just take off.
[00:09:21] Nicole Peraino: And go live every other week. Okay. That's what I, that's what I set forth to do. And then, no one's supposed to know this, but I just pre record them and then restream them live. So that's another way that I save myself from getting burned out. and also. it gives people a chance to be available because I'm meeting people all the time.
[00:09:39] Nicole Peraino: I might meet someone at an open house. I might meet someone like you in my networking group. I might meet someone at the grocery store, like wherever I meet someone, I, and, or people, just people in my life that I know went to school with or whatever, or my neighbors. If they're a homeowner, they're welcome to be a guest on my podcast.
[00:09:56] Nicole Peraino: So anyone who's ever bought a home and they're just telling their [00:10:00] story about. Getting into buying real estate, being a homeowner. So that many different people, you got to make it kind of like meet them where they're at. So to have everybody available at the same time to go live every week is not going to be feasible, but to prerecord it and give them a couple of set times of the week is feasible to be able to do and then just stream it live at the same time.
[00:10:23] Nicole Peraino: So it's consistent for the audience to know. So I think it's a little bit early to tell for like results. But results meaning am I like getting leads from this? Am I getting clients? Are people commenting like, yeah, I'm ready to get a mortgage. I want to buy Not necessarily.
[00:10:38] Nicole Peraino: No, but it's keeping me top of mind in the little Instagram feed, because I'm always live every other week. And people are just hearing me talk to people about buying homes. So they're putting two and two together.
[00:10:49] Dave Polykoff: That point is I feel like
[00:10:50] Dave Polykoff: there's so many passive. spectators to content that aren't maybe like liking and engaging with your content, but they do see it. And when it comes [00:11:00] time for the purchasing decision,
[00:11:01] Nicole Peraino: like you're saying
[00:11:01] Dave Polykoff: you're top of mind. So it's tough sometimes to understand like the return on investment for the effort, but it really shows its head when someone makes a purchase and it's Oh, by the way, how'd you, why did you think of me?
[00:11:13] Dave Polykoff: Well, It's how I saw your video, whatever, but it's like they never with it. So you just don't know. But yeah, sometimes the understanding of the return on investment doesn't really show its head until like months later.
[00:11:22] Nicole Peraino: it's so true. And you also, you can, you cut shorter clips always from the live streams. So that's like easy content to be able to post later on. And it just keeps kind of like a waterfall effect.
[00:11:35] Dave Polykoff: I have a friend that started a podcast that is just like It's her and her other friend just talking. there's something about just being a fly on the wall to a fun conversation. That's awesome. valuable and like entertaining,
[00:11:48] Nicole Peraino: Yes. Cause it goes back to that connecting with people. Like that's probably what I need to do even more of with what I'm talking to these people. Like just be more. [00:12:00] natural and have a real conversation. Cause when your real self comes out, like people feel like there's something they're going to connect with and like about you, and then they're going to want to follow more
[00:12:09] Dave Polykoff: 100%. So this is actually what I thought right before this pod was the value that I want to give my audience is whatever nuggets can come from the conversation. So it might be you say something valuable, or we discover something together, or I jump in with something valuable, whatever. So there's that, but also the secondary value is I want my audience to like me and the only way, as we're talking about, the only way that my audience can like me is that they get to know me more and I have to know my quirks and like the way that I think and the way that I would respond to something and the humor that I would inject into it.
[00:12:51] Dave Polykoff: And the only way they can do that is you have to, you can't be a robot just asking questions the whole time. It has to be conversational because [00:13:00] then you get those things come to light more.
[00:13:02] Nicole Peraino: Exactly. So true. And then there's going to be also like times where they say, Oh, Dave, you would love this. Like, I know you, they might like send you stuff. Oh, I know you would love this because they know a little bit about. You, your personality, what you like, what you dislike, like anything you can post that's like controversial, not in a political religion kind of way, but like anything that's controversial is always so good.
[00:13:28] Nicole Peraino: I don't know what people post about, those funny like polls and controversial things people will post about. Do you put a peanut butter or jelly on the bread first? Something silly like that. And then the next time someone goes to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and you were so adamant about putting the peanut butter on before the jelly or putting both on both sides of the bread, whatever they're gonna be like, Oh my God, Dave, you would love this.
[00:13:53] Nicole Peraino: I made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich this day and I didn't make it the way you make it, That kind of stuff then is [00:14:00] so it's just it's how we connect
[00:14:01] Dave Polykoff: That's why
[00:14:02] Nicole Peraino: can, if you can do it to the masses, why not?
[00:14:05] Dave Polykoff: a hundred percent. And It may not even have to be you creating the PB and J sandwich, but maybe you see a TikTok video where the person is creating a or is creating or eating a PB and J sandwich. So you share it with them and then you would you add in your own additional element to it, like you would hate this person there, somebody, right.
[00:14:21] Dave Polykoff: Like
[00:14:21] riverside_nicole_peraino_raw-video-cfr_guest_podcasts_0003: Yeah,
[00:14:22] riverside_nicole_peraino_raw-video-cfr_guest_podcasts_0003: Exactly. So more of that, less of trying to prove yourself or like posting about your credentials or. knowledge that you have that other people don't have. And you're just trying to sound smart.
[00:14:36] Dave Polykoff: If you are going to share knowledge that, that is great to share knowledge, but please just make sure you frame it in a way that people know why they should care
[00:14:45] Nicole Peraino: and make sure that it is a reason people should care.
[00:14:48] Nicole Peraino: If it's just something that you're nerding out on, like cool, it might be a better place to put it in like a group, a Facebook group or something where it's like a bunch of other people that are nerding out on that kind of stuff. Like, you know,
[00:14:59] Dave Polykoff: Yeah,
[00:14:59] Dave Polykoff: No, [00:15:00] that's a, that, that's funny. You say that too, because there's, yeah, there's times where I'm like, Oh, this does hit a passion of mine and I am nerding out on this. I'm like, Oh, I should post that. But then I'm like, who, no, like my audience doesn't care about that. So if I was to post it to your point, frame it or somehow include it in a way where they'd be like, okay, this is this somehow is valuable to them. Or there's obviously there's posts, which is like your main feed, but then stories on like instagram. That's more so for oh, I'm going to go see the new dune movie. That's where maybe you would put that stuff.
[00:15:32] Dave Polykoff: Not like. A picture of me seeing the new Dune movie as like your main posters or whatever.
[00:15:37] Nicole Peraino: Exactly. Exactly.
[00:15:39] Dave Polykoff: One thing I want to touch on, as you mentioned, you used to create a lot of content, it sounds like, and then got burnt out. And so now this strategy, you've taken that into consideration. Yeah. What was this old strategy and what do you think you did wrong with that led to the burnout?
[00:15:55] Nicole Peraino: Yes last year wanted to get in front of real estate agents because that [00:16:00] was a target audience or like a referral source for me. So I set out to do an interview with a different real estate agent every week. So first of all, that was a lot. The every week was a lot.
[00:16:14] Nicole Peraino: And what I realized is the quality of the interview started to deteriorate.
[00:16:19] Nicole Peraino: It started to be just anybody I would throw on there. Like it didn't, they didn't, it didn't even matter how much experience they had or if we had a good relationship it was just like, get it out and just get it done. So I wanted to make sure I went in with a quality over quantity mindset with this and say, and there's still work to be done.
[00:16:37] Nicole Peraino: These are not like my best work, I would say, but as I go being consistent about it. I'm not going to be desperate enough. now, I have enough booked up in the future that I can say, okay, I have months of content pre recorded. I can now be really strategic and get quality.
[00:16:53] Nicole Peraino: Like you did a really good job with this, doing a questionnaire, asking stuff like, you know, [00:17:00] searching the person's feed and like getting to know them so you have like the right kind of stuff to ask. I could probably do, take a page from your book and do more pre production stuff now as I go into my next sort of like season of pre recording these interviews and not just be rushed.
[00:17:15] Nicole Peraino: Before, like last year, it was desperate, it was rushed, it was like, gotta get somebody on every week, I'm just gonna throw anybody and the quality started to deteriorate.
[00:17:23] Dave Polykoff: I feel like that's such a common story, too Is that people feel the need that they need to produce content? they want to stay consistent. and they want to have a lot of content. So they pile a lot on themselves in order to do that. But then that actually in turn hurts them because they end up having too much on their plate where they fall off, they get burned out and they don't stay consistent.
[00:17:45] Dave Polykoff: So it just ends up being the the double edged sword of like quantity over quality. Plus add in the mix of consistency, so it's a good lesson learned there. One thing too. have this personal brand online and you're kind of new in the space. [00:18:00] And I know you struggled with a bit of I don't know if we would call it imposter syndrome, but you were just new in this area, but you did want to create content. And be a thought leader in that space, but you're battling the idea of, okay, I'm new, maybe I don't have full experience in some areas yet. How did you deal with that idea of coming into a space that maybe you didn't have the experience yet, but you still wanted to add value.
[00:18:23] Dave Polykoff: And maybe dealing with some imposter syndrome, but, battling those demons from both sides.
[00:18:28] Nicole Peraino: Yes, I still definitely have the imposter syndrome come through all the time. Like probably once a week it, I let it, sometimes I'll let it get to me more times than others, but recently I've been just talking about it more with people and that has helped a lot. Like, I think I definitely do this. Maybe other people do this, suffer in silence, like bad.
[00:18:53] Nicole Peraino: If I'm feeling something, if I'm struggling something, I just beat it into my head that, no, you shouldn't be feeling this. [00:19:00] Just keep powering through, shut it, shut it down. Like completely shut it down. Like what you're feeling is not warranted. You should just keep powering through and everything will be fine.
[00:19:09] Nicole Peraino: And that is not the case. That is not true. So once I started to talk to other people, And I realized, and like other people in my company, other mortgage professionals in the industry, I realized, Oh, they're all struggling with similar things, or they have struggled with similar things, or they're way more advanced than me, like many years of experience.
[00:19:29] Nicole Peraino: And they are still struggling with something similar or, even something different. Like they have new challenges. Then it it like dissipates the feeling of, you know, Oh, I have to, power through. I have to power through. It's like, lets me have a moment to just say, okay, it's okay to feel like a little chaotic or a little all over the place or struggling, and then also remind,
[00:19:55] Nicole Peraino: I have to remind myself to be exactly who I am [00:20:00] and everyone always says like, be yourself, lean into who you are, but
[00:20:03] Nicole Peraino: it's,
[00:20:04] Nicole Peraino: people really don't.
[00:20:05] Nicole Peraino: Like they really do. They don't remember what makes them genuine, I think, and what makes them really unique. So for me, like it's dancing and I always thought, Oh, I love dancing, but it's goofy or silly. And, people aren't going to take me seriously. That's what I always thought growing up and like getting into my career for the first time, I thought, Oh, people aren't going to take me seriously.
[00:20:26] Nicole Peraino: Like I'm, they're going to think I'm just some funny person. that doesn't really, can't really help them or isn't professional. I'm very, a very expressive person, you know, and then I have to, so I have to keep reminding myself, like I'm not even to the point where it's, it comes natural, but I have to keep reminding myself that is what makes people gravitate towards me.
[00:20:49] Nicole Peraino: And in order to not feel the imposter syndrome, I just have to back it up with. Facts and knowledge and keep learning and keep getting [00:21:00] better and keep asking questions and keep, refining my knowledge for the industry and how I can help people, but also don't lose sight of what makes me unique.
[00:21:12] Nicole Peraino: And me, because that's what ultimately gets people to connect to me, to even then be able to transfer that knowledge and educate them and help them.
[00:21:21] Dave Polykoff: I love that this point here, because basically what you're saying is in a time where maybe experience isn't established yet you need to still differentiate yourself in the market, you lean a little bit more on what makes you specifically unique than Maybe the experience and credibility side of things.
[00:21:46] Dave Polykoff: And so you would still want to tune in, follow, be in my web, if you will, because you resonate with my beliefs and my, work ethic and, my [00:22:00] interests and things like that. And you know, the experience will come over time, but, Maybe someone who is a professional and does or farther along in their career, who has that experience, but you can't connect with them on a like side of things, you know, you can trust them, but you don't necessarily maybe like them, then you're still not vibing with them.
[00:22:19] Dave Polykoff: So you can still, if you can win their hearts, then eventually it will win their minds type of thing.
[00:22:23] Nicole Peraino: Yes, exactly. And a lot, I think even as I get more experience, like 10 years from now, I'll look back and say, Oh, I've, I have 11 years of experience in the mortgage industry, you know, I think I'll still try to remind myself not to lead with that because that's not where people are going to connect with you.
[00:22:41] Nicole Peraino: A lot of people I see out there. Either like speaking at events or doing this content. A lot of times they lead on their resume. They lead with, I have 15 years of experience in mortgage. Okay, what does that mean to me? As a consumer, I mean, all right, maybe there's some people who are like buying their fifth house [00:23:00] and they just really want to go for someone who.
[00:23:02] Nicole Peraino: On the books, has the experience, but. I doubt that's the only reason they've ever connected with that person. I don't think that's the number one thing. I think if it was between me and somebody else and they're only, and they liked both of us and trusted both of us, but there was one thing like that could beat me out.
[00:23:20] Nicole Peraino: Okay. But as far as attracting people, like casting a wide net and attracting people, that's not the number one thing people are going to go for. If anything, I've had. Many, and I have to remind myself too, like all the people I have helped already, just in my first year of doing business, they've not asked me for my resume or my accolades or how many years of experience have you done mortgages for?
[00:23:44] Nicole Peraino: They just, They just liked me and they trusted me to guide them and they knew I had other resources in my company that I was going to get them the right answer to the, whatever question or concern they had. And they knew I was going to guide them down a path to achieve what they want to achieve.[00:24:00]
[00:24:00] Nicole Peraino: And if anything, at the end, they almost say wait, I didn't even know you were like, not that many years in the business license. So it's like an afterthought a lot of times
[00:24:08] Dave Polykoff: That's an interesting thought. Like it's almost like the uh, the initial attraction is that they just like, You and then later on, you can build that trust over time, but they're initially going to. Be bought into the concept of Nicole. And then yeah, I'll buy from you over time. Cause trust is earned over time anyway.
[00:24:30] Dave Polykoff: But I initially, I'm going to like, subscribe to the concept of Nicole, just because, you know, I, I like what you're doing. You know, I can see that you you're consistent. I can, I'm checking you out in terms of like your social and see that you're consistently publishing. This person seems credible just from the sake of the fact that they're showing up.
[00:24:48] Dave Polykoff: And then, yeah, the credibility of like, I, what are your credentials? What's your resume look like? That's the afterthought that you can sprinkle in over time.
[00:24:56] Nicole Peraino: Yes. And usually it, it actually just gets them to, [00:25:00] usually people do start. They start by saying, oh, I've seen your stuff. I've seen you've been posting. You look like you're killing it. Even when I wish people happy birthday, like we might talk once a year, Okay. But they always say, congratulations on this.
[00:25:13] Nicole Peraino: Happy for you. You look like you're killing it because they're just constantly watching, even though they're not commenting or liking ever. So those are the people that like, we'll reach out with a question. Hey, I see you post about this stuff. I had a question about X, Y, Z, as it relates to real estate or home ownership.
[00:25:28] Nicole Peraino: And if I can find the answer for them. Now they trust my credentials. If I couldn't find the answer, if I was just like faking it out there, they would come to me with questions and I'd be like, Oh, I don't really know, or I gave them the wrong answer, like that would just diminish my credibility.
[00:25:45] Nicole Peraino: But as long as I can provide them the answer to what they want at the time they want it, then usually the rest goes pretty smooth. Yes.
[00:25:55] Dave Polykoff: it's like Google, right? Google doesn't actually [00:26:00] publish anything technically. It just gives you the answer. It directs you to the source that has the answer. So like you, you subscribe to Google because it's the easiest path to getting what you need.
[00:26:15] Dave Polykoff: And so you put value into Google, but it doesn't, it technically publish the content itself. It's just like the resource to find the resource.
[00:26:24] Nicole Peraino: It's like a super connector, what we all strive to be, a super connector, where somebody searches, input something and we get them to the right
[00:26:31] Dave Polykoff: So that's the idea, right? If you don't have necessarily like the experience or the knowledge early on, maybe lean on your ability to find it and be that connector. And that's the value, you you turn the value knob up by being just the person who can. Help direct you to where to find or direct you to the knowledge, you know, instead of having it yourself, essentially.
[00:26:56] Dave Polykoff: One thing too, I want to talk about, cause you mentioned, you're crushing it online [00:27:00] and people are commenting about how often you're publishing and the quality of the content and all that kind of stuff. And I, that's one thing I, I love about what you're doing is how consistent you are and how much you change up the content, the types of content you're publishing.
[00:27:15] Dave Polykoff: And everything that you do publish really has a good story behind it. How are you approaching your content strategy? is there a strategy behind it or is it more so whatever you're feeling that day? Cause you're not even, you know, you publish posts, you publish stories, how have you, how methodical is it?
[00:27:33] Dave Polykoff: And how are you able to stay consistent with your content? You know, Is there systems in place, tools that you use, things like
[00:27:39] Nicole Peraino: I wish there was tools, honestly, because it's kind of difficult sometimes to do. I do it all just manual, but I feel like the manual, it just comes out the most natural for me or like in the moment. I do just I use like a, like I have my notes and my to do list where if I think about something, I really want to [00:28:00] write the caption, I'll write the caption for it and I'll save it.
[00:28:02] Nicole Peraino: So then I can just copy and paste to every platform. But honestly I, I probably could do better there too. I don't even change the copy or the written copy. I don't change it from platform to platform, like LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, I do the same exact thing, except maybe minor.
[00:28:19] Nicole Peraino: Tweaks, like depending on the platform, like hashtag or not hashtag, but you actually helped me with this when we met a long time ago, you were talking about like the content pillars and the themes and the reasons people object to working with you and how you can like speak to those things. So I still need to do better on that, but. At least the content pillars. I've been thinking a lot more about it. So I just try to bring my actual real life to light on social media. And that's been my thought. That's been my thought process. And like strategy is just every single thing I do is content or can be content. So whether it's like, [00:29:00] whether it's like dancing, I like dancing.
[00:29:02] Nicole Peraino: Okay. I'll post about it, but I'll, I also will give insight into what I am feeling or thinking about. And then whatever it is, I'm feeling doing my Spanish lesson. Like that is something I do every single week and it has helped a lot. Like it has helped me connect to a lot of people because they reach out and they say, Oh my God, I want to take Spanish lessons like that too.
[00:29:26] Nicole Peraino: Even dancing. They're like, I want to dance like that too. So anything I can put out there that I feel like is going to start conversations with people.
[00:29:34] Nicole Peraino: Cause that's really the whole goal of being on social media anyway. we're not trying to like jam all this information, like down people's throats.
[00:29:41] Nicole Peraino: I need to do a little bit more of that information giving, but I get so nervous because I'm like, I don't want to be that person that is just like constantly spewing out facts at you. We,
[00:29:52] Nicole Peraino: really the point is to connect with people. So you have to be very vulnerable.
[00:29:55] Nicole Peraino: Like I'm putting myself out there, like speaking in Spanish, like I sound ridiculous, but [00:30:00] it helps connect with people.
[00:30:03] Nicole Peraino: And that's really what I want to do more of is put stuff out there that is. Helping, connects with other people. Same with Women's Month and these stats, which, who even knows, honestly, if they're legit or not, but these stats about women Own more homes than single men or than single Americans.
[00:30:20] Nicole Peraino: Women own more homes than men when it comes to like single people owning homes. So like, that's something that's like a little bit of information fact, but I try to make it fun and, people love to celebrate and cheer, cheer people on and cheer ourselves on. So anything like that, just keeping it like very. honest, real, so anything I can think of in my life. And then it makes me think Oh, I think I need more stuff going on in my life. Like maybe I work too much. I need more, like I need other stuff to share. That's not just work. So
[00:30:52] Dave Polykoff: yeah,
[00:30:53] Nicole Peraino: that'll be too like, Oh, I'm starting this new hobby. Like I'll post about
[00:30:56] Dave Polykoff: yeah. One thing I've heard recently was you know, your personal brand is [00:31:00] just the digitization of your reputation and it's, what is your life and then it's just digitized. And so it, like you're saying, you know, you have Spanish lesson lessons like that is, that's content, but you can wrap that.
[00:31:19] Dave Polykoff: In something that will one that helps people relate, like you're saying people are reaching out to you to say, Oh, I always wanted to learn Spanish or like good on you for learning a new language. I can see your work ethic. You learn more about you that way. But then there's times where I think you take that concept and then you wrap it in a story.
[00:31:39] Dave Polykoff: That adds value to people. So it's Oh, learn about my life. But also I'm going to like also sprinkle into this recipe, a lesson that you can take away. And this is one thing too. I, I saw you mentioned this post, like the other day you did more like a dancing post with the the new Beyonce song, which I love.
[00:31:59] Dave Polykoff: [00:32:00] And I love that post too, because it was okay. We get to know you more. You mentioned you. And for those who. Aren't aware, you know, it was, uh, a dancing post to the Beyonce song, but then wrapped within a story where it was like, Hey, going through some, some things in my life, what helps me is I like to dance and that helps relieve stress.
[00:32:20] Dave Polykoff: And so like we connect with you because one, it's a popular new song. Everyone loves the new Beyonce song. It's also like, get to see your fun side. Also, it's a vulnerable story about. Going through some hardships with everyone can relate to whatever. So there's it's multi dimensional, I think people think, Oh, I don't want to post like Tik TOK dances.
[00:32:39] Dave Polykoff: Well, Okay. If, If the post is just you dancing, sure. Yeah. Don't do that unless you're a Tik TOK dance account, but if it's, but if the way that you approached it, added value, allowed us to connect with you more and I just looked. Before you know how that post is performing on your instagram and it's like one [00:33:00] of your top viewed videos.
[00:33:01] Dave Polykoff: So it's yeah, when you approach something from like a multiple angles and you make sure all the elements are in there, it works. So one thing, too, is to post a dancing video takes confidence, right? Because people it's you are vulnerable. Also, you're posting a vulnerable story with you about some struggles. And that takes some confidence and people would assimilate that with being an extrovert.
[00:33:28] Dave Polykoff: But you mentioned to me that you're more introverted, correct? like how, how has that been with being, introvert? Introversion is usually like, I want my life as hidden and compact as possible. And, I don't want to be the center of attention, but the social media and being vulnerable publicly is the opposite of being an introvert.
[00:33:52] Dave Polykoff: How has that, what's that battle been like for you as you try to publicize your life?
[00:33:58] Nicole Peraino: So someone I, I definitely [00:34:00] am. I love to be the center of attention. I am that person. And that's something I've come to terms with that I used to think, Oh, I'm not a selfish person. I don't want to like to be the center of attention. Then as I got older, I realized, yes, I love to be center of attention.
[00:34:11] Nicole Peraino: And that can be one of my biggest strengths if it's used in moderation and balanced out, you know, obviously if it's overexerted, it can become a weakness, but someone told me recently about this term ambivert or something, ambivert, it's like, Where you like to be an extrovert when you're in public, but you also love your alone time, which I'm starting to, I'm starting to believe that's really most people.
[00:34:37] Nicole Peraino: I don't know if there's truly extroverts out there, but I guess there are like people who always want to be with someone when I'm out in public. I'm an extrovert. If people are there, I don't have a switch that can go like dial it down to like medium. It's either zero or 1, 005.
[00:34:54] Nicole Peraino: That's my energy level. There is no like, Oh, let me just be a fly on the wall. Let me [00:35:00] just, not ask for everybody's life story that is around me. So. That exerts a lot of energy when I'm in public with people and when I'm in person with anyone it exerts a lot of energy So when I'm away from people I have to be extremely alone I'm not like I've never had a roommate or lived with anyone except like in college where I had to which was the worst Time I didn't like it at all.
[00:35:25] Nicole Peraino: But at least I had my own room where I could close the door I need to be like completely alone. And I'm not the person that's going to call up a friend and say, Oh, how was your day? How's everything going? Oh I'm struggling with this, which is going back to why I probably suffer in silence a lot because I don't have those friendships where I call someone up and say, Hey, I'm feeling a little bit down today, or I'm feeling overwhelmed.
[00:35:47] Nicole Peraino: What should I be doing? That's what a therapist is for. So I need to get back to that. But um,
[00:35:52] Dave Polykoff: by, uh,
[00:35:53] Dave Polykoff: betterhelp. com today.
[00:35:55] Nicole Peraino: yeah, exactly. That's what a therapist needs to be for. So yeah, I'm [00:36:00] not the, I'm not like that kind of extroverted person where I need to have, always have a buddy to talk to or like text. Once I shut it off, I shut it off and I'm totally good being in silence alone.
[00:36:14] Nicole Peraino: Nobody bother me until the next time I'm at an event or with someone because then I need to rejuvenate myself I need to recharge the battery so I can give that full energy like I do Yes
[00:36:27] Dave Polykoff: then? Cause you mentioned you don't really have that person to you know, spill your emotions to, or evaluate what you're feeling to. Do you find that, with your one post that we talked about where you were honest through that, it was almost like a diary entry.
[00:36:43] Dave Polykoff: do you feel that content creating content or the process of creating content is almost therapeutic or acts as that? Buddy to, to communicate what's going on in here and in here.
[00:36:55] Nicole Peraino: I never thought about that way, but actually yes, that's like spot [00:37:00] on I think like things i'm feeling I want to write about them or journal or use it as like a diary and then i'm definitely not afraid to like You Put it out there because I like connecting with people. I'm just not as good at doing it. I don't know. I guess, I guess that does, it does achieve what you're saying. It helps me connect with people because it also helps fulfill my creative side because like mortgages, there's no creativity in doing mortgages, but marketing myself and doing events and branding and like helping other people helping other like real estate professionals, I get to like tap into my creative side, which I've always loved.
[00:37:39] Nicole Peraino: So it lets me have that creative outlet and sort of therapeutic and connect with people. So that's probably what I love about it so much. Yeah. It fulfills like a lot of those needs for me. And of course, long term it helps grow the business. So it's like a win.
[00:37:59] Dave Polykoff: Yeah. I've always thought [00:38:00] about this idea of it, the process of content of creating content is therapeutic. And then somewhat of like, you know, when you are looking at your content strategy, part of the content strategy is to reflect on your life and see, okay, why am I qualified? To speak on this topic.
[00:38:18] Dave Polykoff: What are some stories that I can inject into my content to help, deliver what I'm trying to say better. And so it's very reflective and you you need to be honest with yourself. You need to be understand who you are. Also, when you talk about authenticity, you need to know what it means to be authentic, like you have to know what type of person you are and be honest with yourself, I really shouldn't be producing this type of content because it's just not my vibe. It's not who I am. It's not authentic to me, but you have to understand self awareness about that to know what is authentic. So it's such a therapeutic thing. Cause you have to go through, you know, you talk about therapy, like it's really is.
[00:38:59] Dave Polykoff: I feel like people who [00:39:00] go through therapy are probably the best content creators because they understand themselves. Well, you just have to take that and translate it into content. Essentially
[00:39:09] Nicole Peraino: So true. And always put yourself in the shoes of others or just put yourself in your own shoes when you are scrolling through, who are the people you're connecting with and you want to comment and engage and and follow and see more of their stuff because you're connecting with them on some inner level, like something that you believe or value.
[00:39:27] Nicole Peraino: They are also sharing with you about, which is very vulnerable for them on their part, and you're connecting with it on the other side of the screen. Why would you assume that other people are not going to connect the same way you do? Like we're all the same. That's the, that's like the biggest misconception of humanity is that like, everybody's different than me, but no, they're all exactly identical.
[00:39:49] Nicole Peraino: Like whatever you feel embarrassed about, they feel embarrassed about whatever you feel ashamed about. They feel ashamed about. Whatever you feel proud of, they feel proud of. Whatever you value and fear of [00:40:00] missing out or not having enough of they fear the same things.
[00:40:02] Dave Polykoff: I feel like that's an element of just like ego in there. Like you almost think so highly of yourself. This is actually a reading the book. What was it? Uh, The subtle art of not giving a fuck.
[00:40:12] Nicole Peraino: Ooh, I have it. Okay.
[00:40:14] Dave Polykoff: You have to read this because it really speaks to this concept of the ego and thinking so highly of yourself that you think you're so special.
[00:40:24] Dave Polykoff: That your problems are unique that, Oh, it works for the other person, but it won't work for me because I'm too special that I have a unique circumstance. But like you're saying everyone pretty much, the world and in human society, it just balances out and everyone's really facing the same things.
[00:40:42] Dave Polykoff: If you just speak to your own story I'm A million other people are going through the same thing, but it's that ego to think like, no, there's no way. No, anyone else could possibly be thinking the same thing as me.
[00:40:56] Nicole Peraino: Yep.
[00:40:57] Dave Polykoff: well, This has been great. And what I want to end on [00:41:00] today is, you've been creating content and had your personal brand for a while now, but I want to, I want you to think back to day one, Nicole, when you were first starting.
[00:41:12] Dave Polykoff: When you really had that motivation to start publishing content. And, you know, you're probably bright eyed and pushy bushy tailed as to what the future will hold. And you didn't really know what you're about to get into.
[00:41:27] Nicole Peraino: If you could travel back in time
[00:41:28] Dave Polykoff: and talk to that, Nicole,
[00:41:30] Nicole Peraino: what's one piece of advice that you would give that, that Nicole.
[00:41:34] Nicole Peraino: Ooh. So I would tell that person to do what I'm doing today, which is stop overthinking it. not that special. Whatever's coming to mind. Whatever's first coming to mind, post that. try to put so much high quality production out there. like Don't let perfect get in the way of good.
[00:41:57] Dave Polykoff: for being on [00:42:00] today's show. This was great. I think largely. I think the takeaway from today is, get out of your own head. Everyone else is facing the same problems. You're not that special, but find what does make you special and lean on that. All right, Nicole. I appreciate you. Thank you so much.
[00:42:21] Nicole Peraino: Awesome. Thank you. This was great.
