Believe it or not, I’ve been marketing my business on social media for almost ten years!
You can imagine all the changes that have gone down in that decade. Before starting my business I used social media very scarcely. I talked about my upcoming wedding back then, my workouts, and some random posts about food or friends! I had zero interest in creating a brand, connecting with other people, or really offering any value at all. It was more like a digital diary for my close family & friends to see – and nothing more. I was on Facebook with zero plan, and Instagram wasn’t around.
In fact, the WEEK before I started my business – I actually deactivated my Facebook account. Loren was going through high security and digitally sensitive training block within his special forces military training. I cared so little about my platform. I just decided to shut it down so it wasn’t a hindrance of any kind during his training block LOL!!
Then, a week later – I decided to start a business. I ended up using social media as a primary route of communication, advertising, and marketing!
Ironically, in my business, the content that I shared was going to be an elevated version of what I was already sharing. I’d share my workouts, my lifestyle, and the things going on in life. Now through a lens of helping others, offering value, and encouraging people.
I’m an independent business owner – and am what is called a BODi coach.
Like any entrepreneur, all marketing is up to me. The way I brand myself is completely up to me. That felt pretty overwhelming at first. I had absolutely no background in business, no knowledge of marketing, and zero skills when it came to social media. I ended up growing my business primarily on social media – which, for an introvert like me, was such a blessing!
The beautiful thing about my business is that it is a relationship business. The central focus of what I do for a living is to help people. Specifically, to help people in their wellness journey. My purpose in my business allowed me to use social media in a more relaxed way because I wasn’t trying to just sell a bunch of products or services. My goal was to connect with others and show them what was possible.
It turns out, this approach to using social media was really the best route because it actually IS the most authentic. People don’t want to be hunted after, messaged randomly, or consume a ton of salesy content from my platform. What people really want is to learn about what has helped me in my life – and how it can help them, too.
I’ll share a few KEY marketing tips that helped me grow my business over these last ten years. These are in no particular order of importance either!
Consistency
The consistency with which you show up on social media matters a lot. The “rules” have changed a lot on social over the last 9-10 years – but the importance of consistency remains the same. The reason for this is that consistency in showing up on the platform translates into trust for the audience. When they get to see you or hear from you regularly – they begin to feel like they are getting to know you AND that they can count on you to keep showing up + adding value.
Value
Speaking of value – this is a huge part of your success formula. If you are simply showing up just to talk about yourself – it won’t last long. EVERY human wants to know what’s in it for them – or how can this/that help them in their own life. If all we do is say how our life has changed or how something has affected our lives – the interest will fade, because we want to know what’s in it for us already… 😛 Add value in any possible way! It can be small or big. Just make sure when you’re showing up consistently on social media – you have something of value to offer others – and for the most part, it’s free for them. Keep asking yourself, HOW CAN I SERVE MY AUDIENCE BETTER TODAY?
Visual
Be visual! Have fun with social media and ACCEPT that it is a visual platform. Everyone can learn to take better pictures. You don’t have to be perfect and you certainly do NOT have to cover “flaws”. People come on to the platform to look at something. If you want to stand out – make sure your content offers something visually to them. It could be a great picture, it could be a creative filter or a fun quote graphic. Catch their attention with content that stands out from the crowd – and infuse your personality into this.
Make A Calendar
Make a calendar that helps you stay organized. It can be extremely helpful just to simply have a guide for when you need to be talking/posting about certain things. I’ve used a calendar for specific posting goals, I’ve used a monthly cadence for determining what topics I’d focus on during what weeks of the month, and any form of calendar planning can be really helpful on social media. Marketing takes thought and the timing matters. We need to be sure our audience has time to consider and digest whatever it is we are marketing – so laying it out on a calendar allows you to have the time to create content and share content before any deadlines start to approach.
Set Goals
Set out a specific set of goals. What are you working towards exactly? I’ve set monthly and weekly goals for a decade now! I even set quarterly goals when I’m in GO MODE or getting organized for a season of higher business focus. Be specific so that you can map out what needs to be done on a daily & weekly basis in order for you to achieve that goal. When you set goals & regularly assess how things are going – you have plenty of time to course-correct or make adjustments so that you can still end up hitting those goals each month.
Know Your Audience
Get to know your audience. The more you know your target audience and your niche – the better you will be at serving them. If you are confused about who it is you are trying to reach – you will likely find it difficult to connect with anyone.
Connect With Your Audience
Be sure to connect and engage with your audience! Ask for their feedback, respond to any of their interactions on your content, and be a genuine person who appreciates the people consuming the content you’re putting out there.
Follow Your Own Rules
Be willing to adapt and change BUT don’t feel like you after to jump on EVERY bandwagon trend that social media rolls out either. Be yourself, but be willing to learn, grow & adapt as needed. Social media will always be an ever-changing platform.
Make It Personal
This may vary depending on what your business is – but for me, in order for people to trust me – they have to know me. I have to be able to help them understand what problem I can help them solve. They have to connect with me on some level. They may connect with me over something in my personal life that I shared – the trust develops – and then they are ready and willing to listen to more of the business side of things. In my line of work, sharing my lifestyle and who I am is a big part of the value I am able to add. This isn’t for everyone, I know that, but for me – it’s been a big piece of my success. It also means when I need a social media break – I need to be able to give myself that breathing room without judgment too. Sometimes that means taking a day off of social, sometimes, it’s a little more involved. After 9 years of consistent social media presence – that is something I’ve learned to be ok with when needed!
Help Your Audience Learn More
Be sure there are EASY WAYS for your audience to learn more about whatever it is you are offering. Don’t make it hard for them. Make it easy. Whether you have a link option in your social media stories, a landing page linked to your bio, or a simple email direction for them – just be sure it’s simple so that you can take the conversation deeper and off of social media!
That’s it! That is my summary! You can get into all the apps and 3rd party tools for marketing – which can be SO MUCH FUN!! But at the end of the day – the important things are to be consistent, be visual, be personal, serve others, be organized, know your audience, set goals, connect and engage with your audience, and make it easy for them to learn more about you and what you’re doing!
Xoxo,
Brittany
