Social Media: Is It Necessary for RVers

Ever wonder how to use Social Media in RV LIFE? Today's episode we guild you to make the most of your RVing adventures by connecting with the vast majority of the US population on social media. We welcome a special guest Elizabeth McKenzie, who has built successful teams using social media, and who shares her experiences of being on social media in an authentic way.

The world of social media extends beyond its impact on our lives. It's a powerful tool for connection and brand-building. Today we discuss social media platforms like, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Linkedin. Finding the platform that is right for you, having fun on social media and doing what you love. Elizabeth just that and shared her love  of sunflowers and has been a great inspiration to others. We shine a light on the RV Life Podcast's success, emphasizing how a robust social media presence is crucial for businesses today.

We just touch the surface of social media, if you want to build social media for business we highly recommend our sister podcast The RV Entrepreneur at https://therventrepreneur.com/ 

We conclude the episode by addressing the importance of authenticity and setting boundaries in our usage of social media. We share strategies to keep screen time at bay, such as setting timers and swapping screen time for audio books. Authenticity is key, and we explore how to keep your posts genuine and relatable. Remember, it's not just about garnering followers and likes, but about nurturing relationships. So, join us for an engaging conversation about all things social media, and learn how to make it work for you, not the other way around!

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Do you use social media? You're listening to the RV Life Podcast. I'm Dan Hunt with my incredible wife, patty Hunt. We are in Lake Charles, louisiana. Oh my goodness, we got a great show set up for you today. We're going to talk all about social media Our guest today, an expert in social media and we'll talk about how you can get the most out of your social media. Whether you use it for business, or you just use it for fun, or you just use it to talk to people, there's a reason for social media.

Speaker 3: 0:46

And social media is definitely a huge part of our lives. Now, for those of you who don't know, dan and I have been traveling full time in our RV for almost three years Unbelievable. We have sold everything. We don't own a house, we don't have a storage unit, we are full time on the road and working, and all of that. We certainly need social media, that's for sure. Now, as Dan said, we are in Lake Charles, louisiana, visiting a friend. This is our first time in Louisiana staying here.

Speaker 1: 1:28

It is Now. We were at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta and we made our way down from Albuquerque through Texas and we drove all the way across the state of Texas, now Texas, if you haven't been to Texas, everything's big in Texas and I got to tell you, the state itself it's pretty darn big too. So it took us quite a while for us to get across the state of Texas.

Speaker 3: 1:56

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Speaker 1: 2:15

You know, rvtripwizard saved us as we were going through the state of Texas. Just some really really long, long highways with nothing out there except cows and grass. But we had a really really good time in the state of Texas.

Speaker 3: 2:33

We did and just so people know, we do have a garment that we use. We've had it and in comparing that to the RVTripWizard mapping system, the GPS, the RVTripWizard said we could go on a road that the garment didn't and we actually called the state police right the local or the state police. And they said you are good to go, so RVTripWizard, to the win again. Thank you, rvtripwizard.

Speaker 1: 3:02

Yes, the garment would have taken us 100 miles out of the way.

Speaker 3: 3:05

It just said we couldn't get here. They said we can't go here, yeah.

Speaker 1: 3:09

We're already looking for a place to stay.

Speaker 3: 3:11

Yeah, leave the RV on the side of the road.

Speaker 1: 3:14

Yeah. So the RVTripWizard is something that, if you are an RVer, we Patty and I strongly, strongly recommend that you get RVTripWizard. It's really, really inexpensive. As a matter of fact, you get a trial period with our code that's in the show notes below. You get a whole bunch of different stuff.

Speaker 3: 3:35

You get discounts and tell me what do you get? A seven day free trial plus 25% off, and it takes it down to under $60 for the year.

Speaker 1: 3:47

And you're not stuck in any long-term contracts either. Rvtripwizard is something that we strongly recommend. We've had it. We actually bought RVTripWizard before we bought our RV.

Speaker 3: 4:00

Right, because planning and safe travel is most important.

Speaker 1: 4:06

Now that sound means it's time for today's fun fact. And fun fact is brought to you by Open Road Resorts, with four great locations in Montana, idaho and Texas. And yes, patty and I finally made it to Dallas, northeast, where we stayed at an Open Roads Resort and we loved it.

Speaker 3: 4:28

We absolutely did, and whether they're sponsors or advertisers, it doesn't matter. We bring you the real story. You could go on our social media when I will post the greatest spot, the greatest site we've ever been in, one of the greatest sites, overlooking a lake, watching the sunset every night. I was in awe. It was now the campground can't control the sunsets but just the perfect site. It was level, it was cement, it was humongous not just big, not just huge, humongous and that sunset, amazing. But let's get to the fun fact. People are waiting and this is a crazy fun fact 302 million people use social media as of 2023. That's 90% of the US population.

Speaker 1: 5:27

Wait a minute. Did you say 90% of the US population?

Speaker 3: 5:31

90%. I did double check my facts. I'm sorry I didn't write down where the fact came from, because it's astonishing, so I did double check them. If anybody has a different statistic, please let us know on social media. But 90% of the US 90%.

Speaker 1: 5:49

I mean, let's just think about the gravity of that. Every day, we go out, we walk down the street. We see people everywhere. We may even go to a baseball game or a football game and you see lots of people at those. What we're saying here is nine out of 10 people that you see every single day. Like it or not, they've got social media.

Speaker 3: 6:11

They absolutely do, and today we're going to talk about how to use it, how you're using it, what to do with it, all of that. That's what we're talking about today social media, so it applies to everybody listening pretty much.

Speaker 1: 6:26

Everybody, like it or not, social media has become, just in its own, a very, very big part of our lives. Now our guest today. She has lived in 11 states. Count them, 11 states. Are you kidding me? She inspires people everywhere she goes. She has leveraged her social media to build successful network marketing teams. She's a mom of three, she's a wife and she is the CEO of her house and anybody that's in that house she just takes over and says you are going to do this, this and that, and you just fall into suit with her. She's helped everyone that she has touched and she is Patty's first contact each and every day, even before she. Patty wakes me up, because I always sleep longer than Patty does, but even before she wakes me up, when I wake up and I hear Patty out in the living room on her brand new table. She's out there talking to Elizabeth.

Speaker 3: 7:33

So yes, now today we are going to be speaking with my very, very, very, very good friend, elizabeth McKenzie, and she is our social media expert. Welcome to the RV Life podcast.

Speaker 5: 7:46

Thank you so much. I'm so happy you guys are here.

Speaker 3: 7:50

Yes, I'm actually here staying with her, so she's here with us live or together. So that's really cool. Before we jump into social media, as Dan said, she is the first person I talk to every morning. She really is. You're giving away my secrets, so let's jump in and talk. We called you a social media expert and we're on a podcast, so I have to tell you I'm using air quotes what does social media, being an expert, as I'm calling you I know you don't call yourself that what does that mean? To?

Speaker 5: 8:23

you. I'm definitely don't think of myself as an expert, but I do know that social media has changed since the beginning, when I was just on there connecting with my children, and since they all live in different states. That is just vital to my life and as time has gone on, I just realized that, not just sharing the things that I love and what I'm passionate about and anybody that knows me will know that I love sunflowers I always say I need an intervention, but I don't think I see that anywhere in sight.

Speaker 1: 8:55

Well, I'm going to say, you know, everybody has their thing, patty, for Patty it's a cardinal, she loves those darn cardinals, so she's got pictures of them all over the place. Now you have built a brand out of sunflowers and I'm really really impressed, as I watched this happen from our front row seat from 10 years ago, and I'm really, really excited to be able to bring you on this show with this audience to you know, as a matter of fact, let's just talk real quick about our audience. You know we are so happy here. We are just finishing up our first year.

Speaker 3: 9:34

Not quite.

Speaker 1: 9:35

Not quite Well, we're just finishing it up. We're just we're coming to a close on the end of our first year as the RV Life Podcast and we have grown from 50, 60 people in that first podcast to being in the top 10% of all podcasts in the entire world, to being in the top 5% of all podcasts in the entire world. And you know, right now, as we're talking, 35 countries are downloading our podcast. You know the numbers are just staggering. We're closing in on a hundred thousand downloads. I'm just the staggering, staggering numbers is just impressive. Now, podcasts is kind of social media.

Speaker 3: 10:23

It is, and to your point, that I was going to say, in hearing those numbers, I'm turning red and I'm like, wait, let's not be over promoting ourselves. But the fact is, and the reason we're bringing it up is because it is a way to get out to people, and so we're going to be doing the podcast. We want to get out there, we want people to for us be inspired, be educated, be entertained. So it's the same thing with a social media platform and you said you love sunflowers and you have built a brand, but let's take a little step back here and let's share with our audience what do you see reasons or benefits for being on social media? What are those reasons or benefits? Just to be there?

Speaker 5: 11:09

Well, I believe, with all of the moving around, that I have done is just meeting new people and I've joined a lot of groups so that I can be around like-minded people.

Speaker 3: 11:19

Yeah, I mean that's really what it's about. It's connecting community. So let's break it down a little bit. When we talk about social media, we can talk about it from the business side. Now I'm also going to give a shout out to our sister podcast, rv Entrepreneur. We love these guys. They are three hosts and I know Jim Nelson is the new host. I love what they're about and if people out there listening to this are looking to build social media for business, we're going to tell you how to connect with Elizabeth. But check out our sister podcast, rv Entrepreneurs. So one of the big benefits is for businesses, but what else do you see?

Speaker 5: 12:02

Well, I've used it to just like a directory looking up a restaurant or just people in general that I've met along the way. But it can make your day or you can get lost in it.

Speaker 3: 12:16

Absolutely, and we got to talk about that too.

Speaker 1: 12:18

Let's go in the Way Back Machine real quick here. Let's go in the Way Way Back Machine about 10 years ago, mr Joseph. We're sitting in our living room after an event. For those of you, just so you get some backstory Elizabeth has worked with us and has helped us in a lot of our public and speaking throughout the years. Really great to have somebody like Elizabeth, like Alexandra, that really is there through a long period of time to understand what is needed when you're talking at big events. There's a lot of people out there.

Speaker 1: 12:57

I remember you coming down the stairs one day and a bunch of us were sitting in this den dining room around couches that we had there. You said to us, you said to the whole group and there was probably 10 or 15 people there are always 10 or 15 people at our house. You said to the whole group I don't know what to say, I don't know what to do. And Patty looked at you and said well, what do you really really love? And you said sunflowers. And I said sunflowers and you then started posting pictures of sunflowers and I think you did it every day for like a year. Oh, longer than that, longer than that. And you said today to me that you actually end each sentence with a little sunflower, like instead of a period or something like that. And I have to say that in the last four or five months, patty and I have been quite a few places, and I think we were out in California no, it was Pennsylvania, right.

Speaker 2: 13:55

Yeah, Pennsylvania.

Speaker 1: 13:56

We were in California, we were in Pennsylvania, we stayed at a harvest host and for those of you RVers out there, if you don't know about harvest hosts, they are not a sponsor. We just love them and I will give them credit every time I possibly can. Love the people, love the organization. It's a must have, it's really a must have. So we were staying at a harvest host and it was in Lancaster, pennsylvania, and they had cornfields for cornfields, for cornfields, but they also, patty and I, were out in the middle of the cornflutes. We were flying the drone and taking picture of corn and corn and more corn. All of a sudden I said, wait, what's that? And Patty's like what I told her look at the screen, look at this. There's this big yellow patch out there and it was a patch of sunflowers that they were harvesting to sell them, right, I guess yeah.

Speaker 3: 14:48

Sunflower seeds, I guess.

Speaker 1: 14:50

I don't know. It was right in the middle of a cornfield. There was probably a patch that was, I don't know, maybe 50 feet wide by 200 feet long, and it was just all these great big sunflowers.

Speaker 3: 15:05

They were huge, and so let's get back to the point you're making. One of the things that you did was posting what you love. So is that how social media started, and was it just about sunflowers?

Speaker 5: 15:20

Well, it just developed on its own. I didn't even realize what I was doing. I was just sharing what I loved and what I'm passionate about. And then I get people sending me pictures of sunflowers that I thought about you, or people give me gifts with sunflowers, and it's just. It continues to this day and I don't mean to be in everybody's mind, but I am thankful that I am, and I do my best to stay positive and offer some good value.

Speaker 3: 15:48

And that's a big thing. I just want to lead on that, so it's not just about sunflowers. I've got to say and I was hoping you would say it, but I'm going to put you on the spot a lot of inspiration. So what else do you like to post on social media? What's your goal in being on there? And I said inspiration because I know that's a big part of what you do.

Speaker 5: 16:08

Well, sometimes the things that I post are things that I myself need that day, and I always feel like, if I can help just one person, one person, that I'm happy for that, and I have had people come up to me and tell me that I have made a difference, and that is what it's all about for me.

Speaker 1: 16:27

Now for our RVing audience out there. Rving can be kind of lonely sometimes. Yes, you can, you know. I mean here we have been in maybe four or five states in the last two weeks. We're, you know, all over the place all the time and it can get a little bit lonely. So sometimes getting on and even seeing your old real friends and seeing that they're post on there, it just kind of gives you a little bit of a pick me up and I really really like that.

Speaker 3: 17:02

And I guess to your point, like growing relationships. You know we travel around, but you've moved 11 times. You said to your kid, a teenager, 11 times. Most people don't even visit 11 different states and you've moved to 11 different states. So how can social media help people stay connected?

Speaker 5: 17:23

Oh, it's really been a lifesaver for me, even though a lot of my friends we, you know communicate through text messages on our phone calls. But it's still nice to see their face and see what they're doing and feel like they're still being active in their life.

Speaker 3: 17:37

Yeah, so, and again, it's interesting because there are people that we've connected with on social media you and I connected on social media, so let's go back and tell that story, because a lot of people think of social media and we're not necessarily talking about it for business, but all this could certainly lead to business. So Elizabeth found us on social media. She reached out to us in a message. She said she had to get on a call. There was a company Dan and I were involved with and she saw what we were doing. I think I call her a stalker. She was stalking our page. It's okay, that's a good thing in this regard, because she saw, as she said, she liked what we were doing and what we were saying. And you reached out. So you know you see this a lot in what you do and how you help other people, and so talk more about, like, how people can be connected or get connected with others.

Speaker 5: 18:35

I think the best way to get connected with others is getting involved in a group. If you have an interest, seek out the people with those same interests. And I was thinking about you know, as far as RV living, it's easy to maybe get in a group and find out if those people are going to be at your next stop. And if you're like me, I like the belly to belly, I like looking somebody in the eye, I'm a big hugger, and so that would be my goal. If I was in an RV, I'd be coming for you.

Speaker 1: 19:07

Give it a hug. I think social media is really about finding your tribe. Now, what do I mean by finding your tribe? I'm talking about finding like-minded people that can get along or understand what you're doing. I will tell you that we have a Monaco. We have an older Monaco, a 40-foot Monaco, and there is a Monaco Owners Group on Facebook that we are members of and it has been invaluable to us. So many of the questions that we have had and the problems that we have had through time have been answered and taken care of through that Monaco Owners Group. Now I want to just take a second here, because I'm looking to try to engage people in social media, which means reach out to Patty and myself on social media, whether that be Facebook, instagram.

Speaker 1: 20:06

Just stop he just stopped there, he just wants to keep going.

Speaker 3: 20:09

And that brings us to our next point. So when he says reach out to us on social media, that's me. I'm going to call you on that. So that's RV Life Podcast on Instagram and Facebook Reach out, add to the conversation, start a conversation. But that's going to bring me back to a conversation with Elizabeth why and which social media platforms? We talked about this before the show. There's no one perfect thing for everybody. Why did you pick social media platforms and why did you pick the ones that you're on?

Speaker 5: 20:44

Well, I chose Facebook first because that's where my children were and I wanted to see what they were doing, and then and I like Facebook for groups and things like that but Instagram is also beneficial to me. A lot of my friends have left Facebook and they've gone to Instagram, so if I want to stay connected with them, especially the ones that live out of state away from me, I just I use Instagram as well.

Speaker 3: 21:07

Right and and I know for both of us, when it comes to business, we use LinkedIn. And, dan, everybody needs to know that you really don't do social media much because I don't want people to message you and then feel offended, so I just want to let people know you're just not on there much, but LinkedIn had always been. When you were in big time in your business mode, linkedin was your go-to.

Speaker 1: 21:30

It really was my go-to because I worked in the entertainment industry most of my adult life and I have built a network of four or 5,000 people all in the entertainment network and so when we started a conversation, you know a lot of people could, could push into that conversation, just like now we've we have on Facebook and Instagram and on Apple podcast and Google podcast. We've built a group of 5,000, 6,000, 7,000 people that listen to our podcast on a regular basis and download it so we can start conversations about RV related things. As a matter of fact, I'm going to do that right this very second, and I'm going to ask the question has anybody ever gone into a toll booth or a gas station or where it just wasn't wide enough for you? Well, I will tell you, and I will confess to this. It's a bad confession.

Speaker 1: 22:36

It was a bad, bad day yesterday in the Hunt household, but we pulled into a gas station using our open-roads gas card, so it was a truck stop, and we pulled into this truck stop and it was in Texas I don't know even know where it was in Texas and the signage in this place was just just terrible. I mean, there was one sign saying go in this way and one sign going I'd say go out that way and they were very confusing. There was nothing painted on the ground as a result, you know how the trucks have those diesel islands and there's probably eight or ten rows where the trucks can go through to pull in for gas. You had and this is the only time I've ever seen this, ever you had trucks physically going in the out, or what was perceived as the out, and other trucks coming out the right way. So you had trucks going both ways in this system.

Speaker 1: 23:33

And then, on top of that, I pulled around and I'm coming in. I'm coming in and I'm going in between to the two gas pumps and I'm like Patty, this seems really, really tight. I actually bumped one of the post on the passenger side with the mirror because I couldn't get in. But as I bumped that side, my other side was barely rubbing on the post, so it just wasn't big enough, it just wasn't. I didn't fit Okay.

Speaker 3: 24:02

And I have to say we have been. We have been using the open roads fuel card. When we started, when we picked up the RV, we had it. It was called some days before. They're now transitioning to open roads and we have never, ever, ever, ever, ever had a problem these places are huge, they're easy to navigate.

Speaker 3: 24:22

This one and I will probably send a message to open roads and say look this, this is a problem place, just to let people know, I guess, just want to say I want to give a plug out to open roads, and this is another thing that helps with with social media, because it's a way to communicate, right, let's talk about having communication when it comes to social media. Now I asked the question what's the best social media? And really there's not any one answer, right, like, what do you think and again I'm putting you on the spot a little bit here Dan wanted us to jump on the TikTok Bam Wagon. Have you even thought about that? And why? Or why not? I am not on TikTok.

Speaker 5: 25:01

I don't know if I have a good reason to why I'm not on there. I'm just. I'm just not. I just didn't want to spread myself too thin, and so I just stayed with what's been working and what what makes me happy, so I don't have to do what everybody else is doing.

Speaker 3: 25:16

And I think that's great, dan. We don't have to do what everybody else is doing. I think that is the most important thing. When you and I started out Facebook was it? We did Facebook and we we did what we enjoyed, like we didn't try and do everything else. I felt like Dan, you want to get on TikTok, you want to do what everybody else is doing? Well, we are video creators Understood.

Speaker 1: 25:37

You know that short form. I often say that that our audience has the attention span of a fleet.

Speaker 3: 25:45

Yes, they do.

Speaker 1: 25:46

So that short form video seems to work, but now that YouTube has got their short system out there, I don't think there's any reason to add that TikTok out there. Like, like you just said, it's really important to not overextend yourself, because you can very, very easily overextend yourself.

Speaker 3: 26:07

Thank you, elizabeth, for helping us clarify that, because I've been saying it and it's true you want to jump on the next big, better, wonderful thing. I mean, let's talk about Facebook lives. Did you do those? You did she's looking like it.

Speaker 5: 26:21

Yes, I did do a few Facebook lives against my will, but yes, I did do them.

Speaker 3: 26:27

And today it's up mounts, right yeah.

Speaker 1: 26:30

Well, let me ask the question. As we have it written out here. Social media, especially Facebook, it's changed over time. Facebook Live was a really big thing four or five years ago and now shorts is the really big, big, big thing. So it's a live thing. It's constantly moving, it's constantly adding to and changing and Facebook lives. You used to. Even when we were lecturing on social media and doing things in Las Vegas, you used to have challenges to get people to do it. Facebook Live every day.

Speaker 3: 27:06

Yep and Elizabeth, you know all too well, right, I got you doing it.

Speaker 5: 27:11

Yes, I did do a few, although I didn't do everything you said, patty, I'm sorry, it's okay, but that's a good point too.

Speaker 3: 27:19

You didn't do it because it didn't feel good for you. You didn't like it. You didn't have to jump on the bam wagon.

Speaker 5: 27:25

I think what we just need to remember that social media is to have fun. If you're not having fun, then you need to do something else. So if TikToks were your words, that for you, then I say go for it. But we all have to do our own thing.

Speaker 3: 27:39

Exactly Do your own thing and be authentic doing it.

Speaker 1: 27:42

You're right, we all have to do our own thing, and my thing is pushing the yellow button to make the commercials play. We're going to take a real quick break, but when we come back for the break, we're going to talk about questions like do I really need social media? Do people really get addicted to social media? I have a face for radio. You must have written this one.

Speaker 5: 28:06

I have a face for radio.

Speaker 1: 28:08

Do I really need to do video on social media? We're going to talk about that and a lot, lot more right after this.

Speaker 3: 28:15

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Speaker 2: 29:01

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Speaker 1: 29:31

That's right. Peace of mind. A warranty on your RV would give me some great, great peace of mind. Now, as we talk to you, you can hear a little bit of echo. We're not in a studio, we're not in our RV, where we normally are. We are actually in Elizabeth's office in Lake Charles, louisiana, louisiana, yeah, louisiana, yeah.

Speaker 3: 30:01

I'm going to go ahead and talk about social media, and I just want to be clear that social media has many uses. It could be used just to connect with friends and family. It certainly is used all the time for business. It could be used to be part of a community and feel like you're part of friends, and feel like you're part of the RV life community or the monocoque group or, you know, if you like knitting, you can find a community. My mother used to go on and she was part of a group that did puzzling yes, puzzles Because she was working on a 9,000 piece puzzle and needed all the support she could get. So we know that social media has its benefits. Do we really need it? I'm going to throw it to you.

Speaker 1: 30:48

Elizabeth, wait, wait, wait. Did you listen to what we said in the first part of this? I'm going to go back to page one for a second. We talked about nine out of 10 people that you see every day uses social media daily. Nine out of 10, almost everybody that you look at.

Speaker 3: 31:07

You're using it, but do we need it? So when we talk about, we're talking mostly here to the RV community, you know. Again I want to talk about is social media. Do you think social media is a good way for people to be connected and stay connected?

Speaker 5: 31:24

Absolutely, but I think we've been conditioned to some degree and it's just like that sweet piece of candy. Sometimes we might eat just a little bit too much.

Speaker 3: 31:34

Ah, so down, and that's a great, great thing we're ready to do.

Speaker 1: 31:38

The next question I promise that we would cover after the break Do people really get addicted to social media?

Speaker 3: 31:47

I gotta be honest. Elizabeth Slafag, what do you have to say about that? An addiction too, oh yes you can get addicted.

Speaker 5: 31:55

It's like it just sucks you in. You look at one thing and then you're on to the next and the next thing you know, 30 minutes has gone by and you just don't even know what happened.

Speaker 1: 32:03

You know I'm going to go over to Instagram and I'm going to put a question out, and I want people to be really, really honest here, because I know you accuse me of doing the same thing. I accuse you of doing it all the time. Have you ever gone on the short speed of YouTube and just started watching the videos and the next thing you know it's an hour later? You've just been watching video after video after video after video after video.

Speaker 3: 32:28

And I think for both Elizabeth and I and we've talked about this and again, only because, dan, you don't really get on social media, but we would get on for business purposes or connecting with people. You know, doing what we thought would help business, whatever and we're going to talk about doing that authentically. But you know we would get on and say, well, it's business, and we would do not just 30 minutes, not just an hour, but hours would go by. So while you're connecting and you're trying to build your audience whether it's for a podcast or YouTube or a business there you are like you're spending so much time. So you and I really needed to withdraw from social media. So what are some of the things that you've done because you're not on it as much as you used to be? What are some of the things you've done so you're not just glued? Because if we're glued to our phone or computer, we're not living right. So what are some of the things you've done to get over your addiction?

Speaker 5: 33:26

Well, since I've moved, I've had, you know, some things to do resetting, you know, getting my household set up again but I've been listening to audio books, which is something I never thought I would do, because I like to have the real thing in my hand. But that's what I have found that gets me doing something different than just scrolling mindlessly through Facebook and Instagram.

Speaker 3: 33:49

Yeah, and Instagram or whatever platform, and I think that's one of the things that I had to do. I had to set time limits and you and I talked about it. Part of our business and the podcasts and people asking or asking questions or hey, I'd like to be a guest I get a lot of that on social media. So now I set time limits, I do it, I do my morning routine, have my coffee, meditate, journal, whatever I'm doing, and then I'm like stop and I go into social media and I set 30 minutes and then I'll do it again later in the day. Look, that's a perfect scenario. It doesn't mean there aren't times. I am endlessly scrolling, but I really have had to become aware of this endless scrolling.

Speaker 1: 34:32

I think it's a really good idea and it's so easy to limit yourself that way, because all you have to do is say, hey, siri set a timer for 30 minutes. It's very, very easy to do now, as I did, that my computer and my phone both set timers for 30 minutes, but it really, really is very easy to set those limits for yourself in this world of technology. Now, the last question that I said that we would cover and I know there's a lot of people out there that I personally have talked to, a bunch of people that are just like me. I have a face for radio. Do I really need to do video? Now, my answer to that is different today than what it would have been five years ago, but I think we as Americans, as humans, as RVers, we are kind of addicted to being watching that video and being entertained. At the same time, we're getting the information. So I think that the video aspect of social media is very, very important.

Speaker 3: 35:39

So let's gauge what would you say. Elizabeth is enough time to have your face on social media. Well, yeah, you're making, she's making faces. I'm really putting Elizabeth on the spot. What's that, you know line.

Speaker 5: 35:55

Well, I just don't know. I don't think I've really ever thought about it, but you know, there's so many more ways to do video than just broadcasting yourself. I think that, for me, I love the ocean, I love seeing ocean waves and listening to them crash on the beach, and I like that I don't have to have my face or someone else's face in there.

Speaker 3: 36:15

But that's a good point. Yeah, sometimes something else.

Speaker 5: 36:18

But I do think that that's another good way to communicate is, you know, having someone see your emotions if you're trying to convey a certain thing. And so I think that sometimes we need to see our people, need to see our faces and see how we really feel.

Speaker 3: 36:31

Right, and so I'm going to take it to either the RV community, to people in the business world, whatever those groups are. When you look at okay, I'm going to call it out the RV community there are people that are on three, four, five times a day. That's great. Have at it all. And how many times a day do I need to be on? How many times a week do I need to post? What do I need to post? Do I need to show people that I just bought three gallons of milk at the Costco? Yeah, for real, I bought three gallons of milk at a time, and it is only Dan and I.

Speaker 1: 37:06

I like milk.

Speaker 3: 37:07

He does and he drinks it, and we're good with that. But I think the bottom line is being authentic, being real, being authentic. Let's stop following what everybody else is doing. If you go to that ocean and you just want to do a video of the ocean, do a video of the ocean If you want to get your face in there and you have something to say, so I think for me that's the gauge. Does this feel like work? Does this feel like I have to do this, or is it just natural and organic? The pictures I took at Dallas Northeast Campground and those amazing sunsets my face did not need to be in any of them, so go with what you feel. There are a lot of social media experts. Let's just talk a little bit about that, about social media experts. What do you feel about, say, hiring some social media expert or listening to them?

Speaker 5: 38:00

I think that if you can hire somebody to do it we want to work smarter, not harder and that can open up a door for you to be building other relationships. Maybe, the belly to belly you could be doing that while someone else is taking care of your social media.

Speaker 3: 38:17

Right, so you're talking about hiring somebody for your social media. I'm also looking and I their classes, Dan and I have taken that have cost thousands of dollars to learn how to do social media. Have you spent thousands of dollars doing that? What do you do?

Speaker 5: 38:30

No, I have not. Like I said, my social media just kind of evolved. I didn't even really know what I was doing, but I have taken some classes and I have learned some tips and I think that that's okay too. But if you get out there and talk to your friends and see what they're doing or go to events or get on YouTube, there's so much free information out there. You just have to go and find it.

Speaker 1: 38:54

Yes, and it should feel natural, authentic natural, authentic, and you know I'm going to point out something to people. It's. You know Patty said several times I don't get on social media, I don't get on Facebook, I don't get on Instagram. Very often I do a lot of editing and by the time I'm done editing or exploring through our YouTube channel videos, I'm done. Yeah, no judgment. But no, no, no judgment.

Speaker 3: 39:18

But what I want to do.

Speaker 1: 39:19

I'm going to put a link in the show notes today to a video that I did that we got a lot of feedback on this video because it was authentic and it was real and you know what? There was a national park ranger that had a sense of humor. So you know, this is a video that I did. I was very, very excited when I turned 65 and I was able to purchase the old guy national parks pass 62. 62.

Speaker 3: 39:48

Yeah, 62.

Speaker 1: 39:49

Whatever, yeah, they all run together after 60.

Speaker 4: 39:52

That's why, I keep you on track.

Speaker 1: 39:55

But you had to be the certain age to get the senior pass.

Speaker 3: 39:58

Well, you're not going to give it away, are you?

Speaker 1: 39:59

I'm not going to give it away.

Speaker 3: 40:00

Oh okay, Just making sure.

Speaker 1: 40:02

So I was very, very excited about that. And then the guy teased me about it and it was funny as heck. And then I got in the water and I was excited. And you know I got into Lake Mead because we were at Lake Mead and the water was literally 90 degrees. It was really, really warm. But to me that is a perfect example, not just because I did it, but it's a perfect example of being real and being authentic. And people did react to that video. You know, one guy said asked me if I was taking drugs because I was so excited about everything that was going on. But that's just my personality of being excited about that kind of stuff. So I'll put a link to that and you'll be able to take a look at it. And we'd love to hear your comments about what you think about this kind of things. Is it important to be authentic? Is it important to get the reactions of people? You know, interaction is just as important as the numbers of followers that you have these days.

Speaker 3: 41:06

That is huge and again, so many directions, right. I mean, you and I talked about it back years ago when we started social media. It was all about subscribers, followers, whatever they call them on each platform, so has that shifted? I mean, I don't think you ever really focused on numbers. That's more important than just people hitting connect friend, like you know Well it's about being social.

Speaker 5: 41:34

You know you, social to me is talking and having interaction. If we're just sending emojis and a thumbs up or whatever I I just that's just not enough. I mean, that's not what you would do when you'd walk into a room if somebody Said something to you, wouldn't give them like a thumbs up, just go on away, right, and that's that is so, so important.

Speaker 3: 41:56

That's what it's about. It's about interaction, and I'll just add that today, you know, people talk about these big channels, whether it's YouTube, instagram, facebook, podcasts, a huge podcast. Nobody knows how many people we have on our podcast other than you share it, but it is about how many people do we interact with, and that's what companies, that's what these affiliate programs. So if you're looking at a business on social media, you need to look at interacting, and nobody's interacting with you. Nobody's talking about what you posted. If you're not doing that for them, right, you get these people that just hit like, like, like, but they expect you to make a comment on their post. So that's, that's a big thing.

Speaker 1: 42:41

It really, really is. So I'm gonna ask everybody to interact with our sponsors the RV live podcast, our guest today, elizabeth McKenzie, our friend, our longtime friend, social media expert. My wife Patty and myself, dan, we are here with you from Lake Charles, louisiana, on our way down to Florida, and we will be back right after this.

Speaker 2: 43:08

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Speaker 1: 43:38

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Speaker 3: 44:47

yes, we could not go through Dallas. On the top of our list was making sure that we visited Brett and the NIRVC Location. We had been to the one in Manassas, or they call it their Washington DC Location, and that is a small brand new location. They're looking to expand and we were impressed. But Dallas is five, ten times the size. It was just an amazing operation and I was incredibly impressed with Brett and his attention to detail. What he knows about the RV industry is Like nothing I've ever heard. I was having a hard time keeping up with him and, all fairness, I knew you were, but, bottom line, he's an amazing guy and that is deep out of line.

Speaker 1: 45:36

You know and I want to talk one about one thing that it's a exclusive product To NIRVC and we talked about it quite a bit. He showed me a couple of videos on it. That's where the conversation started. It's retro band, and retro band it's like an insert that goes in your front, your drive wheel tires. Now, greg or Brett, I'm sorry, I actually did a video when he's driving on a test track at 70 miles an hour and they blew out one of his front tires.

Speaker 1: 46:07

In a 40-foot motor home and a 40 foot motor home.

Speaker 3: 46:10

Let's just make it clear it wasn't some little car, it was a great big motor home and they purposely blew out his tires Because the retro band in this first time I really saw it Inflates and keeps you from swerving and it keeps you from riding on your rotors. Right, there's rotors in the front. Hey, are you?

Speaker 1: 46:31

now NIRVC is the sponsor. Retro band is not the sponsor. We're just talking about it because we were so impressed at this product when we were there.

Speaker 3: 46:39

This is a life-saving product, literally life-saving and so, yeah, incredibly impressed. A little scary some of those videos were incredibly scary but, yes, something definitely to check out. Now we do have Elizabeth. We're gonna ask will you stay with us to help us answer the question of the week? Absolutely great. Not that we've really gave her much of a choice. We've been putting her on this spot the whole time.

Speaker 1: 47:07

Well, that sound means it's time for today's question of the week that, elizabeth, you're gonna hang around for with the elegant or not? And this week's question of the week is brought to you by clear to owe your RV water solution.

Speaker 3: 47:21

We all need fresh, clean water and our veers it's an even bigger problem. You know you're either lugging bottles, you're trusting the filtration system You're using, you know it's. It's a lot to have to navigate. When we met the owners of clear to owe again Amazing people, because that's all we do business with. It is people we truly Care about, like that are authentic. Now clear to owe introduced in her she a new product and it's called tank fresh and you put it in the freshwater tank.

Speaker 1: 47:56

It is so cool.

Speaker 3: 47:58

Because now, in all honesty, we didn't want to get. We're ready to get our freshwater tank Cleaned by a professional and they use bleach and they put bleach in your freshwater tank for about 10 hours. Well, I don't know where I'd go for 10 hours because I wouldn't be able to tolerate the smell. This fresh tank, it's a blue bottle, it's about a gallon size, it doesn't have an odor, it doesn't have any nasty chemicals. You put it in your tank for a couple hours and you can rinse it out. You are ready to go. So I am super excited about fresh tank cleaning our tank. That's great.

Speaker 3: 48:33

Now let's get to the question of the week. The question of the week was actually Dan and I, as he said, we're in Albuquerque, new Mexico, and we were with a group of RVers and maybe the teacher and me, maybe because I know I want questions for the podcast. I'm always asking questions and usually just listening to people, and this question is About social media, because a lot of RVers want to be on social media, whether they're just wanting to show their adventures or they're trying to build a business, whatever the reason and we sort of touched on this, but we're going to go back to it what is the best social media platform for? Whether there are Viers or not, what would you say is the best platform?

Speaker 5: 49:21

I would say Facebook.

Speaker 3: 49:22

Okay, so you're still, I'm still stuck on Facebook. You're stuck on Facebook because you said you like there's groups. I find the same thing. There's more interaction on Facebook, right?

Speaker 5: 49:34

Well, for me, being in a new area, I just started to find local groups and that's why I like Facebook, because it has served me with my situation Right.

Speaker 1: 49:44

And we bought Explorer 3 through the Facebook marketplace. Yes, rgp.

Speaker 3: 49:49

And so Facebook and Elizabeth and I were joking about this earlier was for older generation, but we were comparing it to Instagram. We both have Instagram account, or all three of us have Instagram accounts. I don't count, dan. So, and Instagram has its place too, but you're saying, if you were going to pick one platform, facebook tends to be an overall good one.

Speaker 5: 50:15

Yes, and you used it as a directory to help me navigate my new area.

Speaker 3: 50:20

Yeah, so you want to be on there. But, as we've talked about before, there are so many other social media platforms. Find what feels right, find what works for you. Don't jump on the next bandwagon because somebody's got a million views on their video on TikTok and say, okay, I need to jump on, find what feels right. I think that's what you and I have always done when it comes to social media what feels right for us, what are we enjoying? We've got to enjoy it. So you know, as I said before for the RV Life podcast, we have Instagram and Facebook for sort of both audiences.

Speaker 1: 50:58

Including the old guys like me, including the old guys.

Speaker 1: 51:01

Even though, according to Elizabeth, I just look at the Facebook. Okay, so moving on, we are excited to announce our new advertising partner. Now. This is a company that we have used from day one. We literally again signed up for this program before we went and bought our RV. Now we recently met the leadership team of this company and we love them. We even love their spouses. It was just such a great time at the Hershey RV show meeting these people, being able to spend time with them and talk about their brand new product that they're introducing. It's called the Toll Pass for the entire country.

Speaker 3: 51:50

Let's talk about that.

Speaker 1: 51:51

We're going to talk about it later, yeah. First we're talking about Open Roads and they fuel program.

Speaker 3: 51:57

So Open Roads. They used to be TSD. We have a card that says TSD. Open Roads says, from what I understand, separated and they now deal with us RVers, which is fantastic. Their card is a bright green, emerald colored. Okay, I'm excited about it. I was told they're coming out soon and let's just for those people who don't know Open Roads, it is a free membership. You sign up, you attach your bank account, you go on your little app and you find a diesel. Now, these are only for diesel, but a diesel gas station. You can find them in the entire area which one you're going to go to. And the app is fantastic. I can look and see do we want to get gas in Texas or do we want to wait till Louisiana, which is going to be less expensive?

Speaker 1: 52:49

I shouldn't wait until Louisiana.

Speaker 3: 52:51

In that case we had a little bit of an issue and that, but that's the first time in three years and maybe a little bit of our fault, but Open Roads again it's free. We could save as much as we've saved as much as we could. That's 40 and 50 cents a gallon. We have 125 gallon tank.

Speaker 1: 53:10

You know the station that we had the little boo-boo at. You know we were talking about that as we were going or actually actually came out and we were looking at prices of diesel and they're easy to see because there are big green numbers up in the sky. But what we paid was over a dollar less than the advertised price at a station just right down the street.

Speaker 3: 53:29

Exactly so. It'll lead you to the station. Look when we're on the road. One of the big concerns is fuel price, diesel prices, and this, this card, is a no-brainer Sign up.

Speaker 1: 53:43

For those of you that don't know, Patty and I drive a 40-foot Monaco with a hundred gallon fuel tank. Now, I never let it get down below a quarter tank, but this was one of the cases where we were down below a quarter of a tank Because I knew I could save us 30 cents a gallon.

Speaker 3: 54:01

So I had to have you push to the gas station 30, I mean it was a dollar difference. It was one full dollar. Well, a dollar with the posted prices and the posted price yes yes.

Speaker 1: 54:11

Well, if we didn't have this card, we'd have to use the posted price Exactly so saving $75 on one tank of gas that, to me folks, is life-changing.

Speaker 3: 54:22

Yeah, that was amazing. Now they are coming out with they do have I'm going to post it in the show notes this toll pass and again, I don't know what, exactly what the name is to toll card. So, like Dan and I have easy pass that's for the east coast, up and down the east coast, and then we get to Texas and it doesn't work. Literally. We're in Texas and we're like darn, it doesn't work. And Gina, the person we know from open road, she said we now have this toll pass and it covers the whole country. I am so excited. I'm sorry I got to get rid of my easy passes. I've got to get rid of them.

Speaker 1: 55:01

So excited to have one pass, yeah, but I know we're going to have some fines coming through going through Dallas.

Speaker 3: 55:05

We absolutely are, because we didn't have a pass. So this is going to again money saving as you travel around the country.

Speaker 1: 55:14

It really, really is. So we're very excited about this new toll pass. Now there will be an actual QR code right.

Speaker 3: 55:22

Then they give us a QR code? Yes, I will have a QR code, I'll post it.

Speaker 1: 55:27

We'll post it in the show notes, right? We'll get you over there. Just make sure you tell them that you heard about it on the RV Life podcast. If you don't use our QR code, just tell them that you heard about it from the RV Life podcast. That would help us out a whole bunch. And that's what social media is all about People helping people.

Speaker 3: 55:47

Oh, you're going to say that Are the lucky Elizabeth could actually say Okay, she's saying no way, no way, okay.

Speaker 1: 55:59

And that sound means it's time for the RV Life pro tip of the week.

Speaker 3: 56:06

Let's get that RV pro tip from Patrick Buchanan.

Speaker 4: 56:10

New RV Life trip wizard. Customers are often surprised to see how many campgrounds are displayed on the map. To help narrow the selection of which campgrounds to add to your trip, use the filters feature built into the research menu. You can filter based on your preference of park type, rating, reviews, hookups, amenities, price and club memberships, just to name a few. Virtually every part of the RV lifestyle can be identified and filtered to show you the campgrounds, rv parks, state parks and more that are important to you. You'll find much of the same filtering available on the RV Life pro mobile app as well, for those spur of the moment journeys. Create your best RV trip with the best filtering available. I'm Pat Buchanan with your RV life pro tip of the week.

Speaker 1: 56:59

Thanks, patrick, and you know I'm going to say that Patty and I do not move our RV Explorer one, one inch without first putting it in RV trip wizard. Now coming into the location that we're in right now, our Garmin told us we couldn't come this way, but the RV life trip wizard, which has RV safe routing, said go ahead, you're good. So we call the state place and they said you're good. And we pulled in with no problems and we are boondocking or mooch docking one of my favorite things in the world in Elizabeth's front driveway.

Speaker 3: 57:39

Yes, huge, driveway.

Speaker 1: 57:40

Huge, huge driveway.

Speaker 3: 57:42

Thank you so much, elizabeth, for being on the show with us. Well, thanks for having me, and we'll post her social media so you could see what she does and the stuff she loves, and some flowers.

Speaker 1: 57:56

And don't be afraid to reach out to her. You never know what you could learn. You're listening to the RV life podcast. I'm Dan Hunt with my incredible wife, patty Hunt, saying have a great rest of today.

Speaker 3: 58:11

And an even better day tomorrow. Bye.