Today we’d like to introduce you to Niki Zaldivar.
Hi Niki, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I have always had a camera glued to my hand. My mother had a similar proclivity for toting her camera around everywhere. It was a habit, an urge even, and I must have adopted the feeling. I remember wanting to take people’s photos or make a homemade film of my toys from a very small age. At some point it was a way of engaging with people, it gave me purpose. I enjoyed the feeling of someone seeing themselves the way I see them and gasping because they enjoyed it. That sent giddy to my heart from the start. I love making people feel good, especially about themselves. I also enjoy performance and the magic of Theatre and film. I spent most of high school and college reading fantasy novels, scripts for films, and plays. I wanted to write about magic, and I wanted to create a universe.
Over the years I dabbled in strong photography growth spurts until I finally declared myself a photographer about 8 years ago.
I graduated from Georgia College & State University in 2012 with an undergrad in Theatre and moved back to Atlanta to swim in the Atlanta Theatre and Film industry. I learned a lot, and ultimately saw a new path when I decided to throw being a mom into the mix.
I have two daughters, 3 cats, a dog, and a husband.
While pregnant, I started considering the application of my skillset and had a little too much fun playing with social media content. So I got a User Experience Certificate from Georgia Tech. It was a wild ride and a totally different perspective. Everything clicked into place when I realized the application of UX and doing your research on your audience for social media.
I went about my training in anything but a linear pattern, and yet somehow landed at the business I see before me.
I started “fixing” websites and realized I was designing. I coached my photography clients and inevitably designed a video resume. From there, we started making content packages and coaching and planning. Throw in my behind-the-scenes photography experience, and I became a fly on the wall when I needed to be and the cheerleader and coach when it suited.
I write content and coach organic moments from my clients. I guide them in interviews and find the story underneath. We start with the aesthetic and the message and build the trending material in around it.
Today, I manage a small team of creators and content managers that maintain our client’s content and libraries. We teach our clients to begin developing their content on their own, and we teach their teams to take up consistent posting.
My company started as an individual in freelance saying yes to any and every gig, but through conscious networking and self-education, I managed to develop the groundwork for a relationship-based content creation and management company. I am currently considering expansion and partnering with a web expert to develop into a marketing agency that creates content in-house.
Other and Hobbies:
On the side, I am writing a fantasy novel, universe really… So far I am about 3/4 of the way through the first draft of the novel, with half a dozen side story shorts. The first short story is actually up on my blog. I plan to release and audio version VERY soon. This is a magical universe that plays with the idea of pocket realms, alternate dimensions, and time travel.
I also love to be outdoors with my kids and my dog. I always find the water feature, and really don’t care the time of year, I am probably getting in. In a perfect world I would be skydiving regularly, that’s really expensive so I hope to just go many times throughout my life. My husband and I met and started rock climbing and we never stopped except during the pandemic. We hope to get the kids to the crag and on the wall as soon as they are ready.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I would say it was more like a maze. You don’t have a road map to some magical goal. I stumbled through weeds and ran off the path, cut down a new one and fell down a whole lot. Sometimes we need to walk in the wrong direction for a while in order to see the right path to the future.
I found myself at the helm of many career paths, but they all tended to have one thing in common, I always found my way to the camera. I always told the story of the images, and luckily social media has evolved in a way that is very approachable for my background.
I know I struggled with a niche. I didn’t want to narrow my field because I felt it would hold me back. I didn’t know which options would be the most lucrative, and I often found myself saying yes to everything that seemed like an opportunity.
It can be hard to narrow down your skills and I found that by making a list (visual grid) of all of things I liked doing the most and prioritized those that took the most skill. I wrote down the things I didn’t want to do and found my list for my new assistant. I suddenly realized the true nature of my business and the need that it filled. My company is your management company that trains your team to put systems into practice that will keep you going.
Stepping out of any industry as a mother is difficult. You have to set aside your own dreams, goals, and self in order to be a present force in their lives. In the beginning, this felt suffocating and I was lost. I had friends and contacts that didn’t understand that I could be more than one thing, and it was sometimes hard to open the box I had been shoved into.
I never truly took a break, but I lacked focus and it took my incredible network of amazing friends and colleagues to inspire me to grow. Over the past two years, I have drawn a more definitive line around my business, ultimately opening doors I never thought would be possible.
Today, being a mother is an asset to my work. I am able to problem-solve, change directions, and calm the most unsettled of people. I have a renew purpose, and I look forward to teaching my daughters to be powerful women in this ever-changing world.
We’ve been impressed with Niki Z Media, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Niki Z Media is a local Media Management agency that helps small businesses and individuals to plan for their online media needs. From specific content, basic B-roll, lifestyle photoshoots, thumbnails, branding-specific imagery, and finally events, Niki Z Media can Plan, create, organize, strategize, and post your media across all platforms.
We specialize in training teams that are already in place to adopt new and consistent systems to maximize their social media presence. We focus on defining their target audience and developing a story unique to each team. Our packages range from basic photoshoots to content libraries and all the way to fully loaded social media management. The sky is the limit.
We aim to work with your marketing team to develop an aesthetic that fits your brand. At Niki Z Media your story is our vision.
Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
Books: Secrets to the six-figure woman, Mom Genes, How to be a psychic, Anything by Patricia Briggs for my guilty pleasure reads.
Apps: I love InShot for my quick mobile edits. I simultaneously use Canva and I love integrating the two to achieve the look and feel and speed I need for the content I create. I use Simplified to manage my client’s content and I am utilizing some of the incredible AI tools to keep the work consistent.
Podcasts: I like to stay in the know so I tend to listen on 1.5 speed for efficiency.
Marketing in the Metaverse
Web3 and Nft for Newbies
Fan Fic Book Club (Because they are perfect)
Inclusion Inc
Let’s Talk About Myth.s baby!
Social Media Marketing Talk Show
Marketing Made Simple
Pricing:
- Starting at $250
- Full Content Monthly Management: Starting at $1600
Contact Info:
- Website: www.nikizmedia.com
- Instagram: Niki_Zaldivar
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kambelino
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikizaldivar/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/nikizaldivar
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@nikizmedia
- Other: https://www.nikizmedia.com/single-post/blendedmagic
Image Credits
Niki Zaldivar photo in blue hat behind camera (Aram Martinez) All other photos are either self portraits or my work. including my family photo.
