Ep #27: How to Use Social Media Strategically (and Maybe LIKE it, Too!)
Episode Summary
Jenna shares some commonly held misconceptions around the use of social media in business and shows you how to start using social media in a targeted, strategic way.
Join us in the Clarity Accelerator by scheduling a call here.
Enjoy the show? Leave a review to help other likeminded entrepreneurs gain clarity in their businesses.
If you'd like to talk about working together, book a call here.
Show Notes
Social media. Some of us love it, some of us hate it, and some of us simply resign ourselves to being on it because we believe it is essential in our businesses. There is no one way to think about social media in your business, but there are some specific ways to use it strategically based on exactly where you are that will not only release pressure and focus your efforts, but might even let you enjoy it a lot more.
Social media doesn’t have to be the time suck, tear-your-hair-out-over-what-to-write, desperately checking for likes and engagement experience that you might know or be used to, and thinking about it in this way isn’t serving you. So this week, I’m encouraging you to question your current way of thinking about social media and giving you a simple way to evaluate whether your current beliefs and attitudes towards it are serving you.
Whether you love, hate, or feel resigned to using social media in your business, this episode is for you. I’m sharing some common thoughts and misconceptions held by business owners about the use of social media in business, and I’m showing you how to start using social media in your business in a targeted, specific, intentional way.
What You’ll Learn From This Episode:
Why you don’t need a social media presence to be legit, and what you do need instead.
How to evaluate whether the way you currently think about social media is serving you.
Why safe and comfortable don’t always lead to growth.
The biggest misconception I see in business today.
Why believing that being on social media is the only way to find clients isn’t serving you.
The exact process I used with social media in my business that made it so effective for me and easy to say goodbye to it too.
Listen to the Full Episode:
Featured on the Show:
If you'd like to talk about working together, book a call here.
Click here to sign up for my newsletter and find out how the Connect The Dots Method has helped clients in all stages of their business.
Follow me on Instagram for behind-the-scenes content and daily value bombs!
Click here to get the freebies mentioned in this episode.
Full Episode Transcript:
Social media doesn't have to be the time suck, tear your hair out over what to write, desperately check for likes and engagement experience, that you might know. There are specific ways to use social media strategically, based on exactly where you are in business. And that will not only release the pressure, but focus your efforts. And, it might even let you enjoy it a lot more because you know you're only going to be there temporarily. What? Yes.
You're listening to The Uncommon Way Business and Life Coaching Podcast, the only podcast that helps you unlock your next level in business and life, by prioritizing your clarity and your own Uncommon Way. You will learn to maximize your mindset, mission, messaging, and strategy in order to create a true legacy. Here's your host, top ranked business coach and reformed overanalyzer turned queen of clarity, Jenna Harrison.
Welcome back to The Uncommon Way, how are you doing? Are you in full resolution swing, getting everything organized and making plans for the year? I am. My word for this year is “luxuriate”. Which is actually, a growth edge for me. Constraining my work hours and allowing myself to slow down, and just experience more pleasure.
So, I'm very proud of the work I've done over the past years to create this business. But at this level, honestly, I can live comfortably for the rest of my life. And I know I'm gonna keep making more, so I've just been having this conversation with myself where I'm like; now is the time. Now's the time to get really good at luxuriating. To give my future self that skill set.
I'm also journaling, and I'm looking at my schedule and plans for the year, specifically like when I'll be traveling for conferences and masterminds. And I'm actually playing with the idea of hosting an in-person retreat for the Clarity Collective. This is the first time my clients are hearing about this, by the way. So, everyone, let's talk about it on our next call.
I've also been planning my big trip for the year, I mentioned that an episode or two ago. The trip always happens in summer or early fall, and we always go to the Mediterranean. So, for those of you who are new here, I've committed to taking my now five-year-old son, Dylan, for a month abroad each year.
And since the Mediterranean is where my heart lies, and he's still little, right? And he's not quite ready for more adventure and more realism, let's say, however you want to think about it. So, we keep going back to the Med.
Plus, we're looking for places to retire. They retire young in the military, and my husband will be retiring next year. That's so crazy. Now that we moved into 2023, we can actually say he's retiring next year. And y'all, for somebody like me, who just has mad wanderlust, all the time, to have been with him for this many years and have the government telling us where we're going to live...
I mean, that just feels like… I mean, it's pure liberation. It's so fun and exciting for me. It's a little nerve wracking for him, he's really never experienced the weight of possibility, let's say. But it's all going to shake out beautifully, I know.
So, this year, we chose Spain. We're booked in for Mallorca, in July. And we'll be staying half the time in this beautiful big house in the country. And lots of our friends have already said they're coming, too, which will be so fun. And then, we'll spend half the time in Palma. And, I am beyond excited.
I was there before, back when I lived in the Balearic Islands, but it was a long time ago. And, I don't think I really toured the island much. But everything I've been reading about it now, there are these cool, hip co-working spaces in this cosmopolitan city. It has a very active airport. Plus, you can get out into the countryside really quickly. Plus, there are beaches, plus mountains. And, Spain is supposedly rolling out a new digital nomad visa. Uh-huh. So, I think this might be my place, you guys. We’ll see.
Ben is much more sober about everything; always. He's like, good first impressions. We'll see. So, we'll see. Right? I'll keep you posted. And maybe in a couple of years I'll be hosting mastermind retreats there, and you can come visit my little paradise. Who knows?
In other news, lots of you have been telling me that you really enjoyed hearing from my friends, that have been coming on the show. And enjoyed hearing about their Clarity journeys, and their time in the Accelerator. I am so glad.
It has always been such a game changer for me to hear from peers and mentors, too. And, I do have one more person that I want to bring on to complete that series. She's a seven-figure earner, and we'll be talking about women and wealth and money mindset. So, really good stuff we can all use.
But in this episode, I'm bringing us back to the topic of social media. So, in Episode 23, we talked about why you don't need social media in your business. And I tease that there are also reasons to absolutely want to use it. And I said I'd create a future episode to show you how to use it really purposefully and effectively. So, I wanted to follow up on that promise.
Ah, where to begin? Social media: oh, my gosh, some of us love it, some of us hate it. And some of us just shrug our shoulders and say, “Well, it's here to stay, so I better be on it.” Some of us love it, and would never leave. But we just wish it was working a little better for us, and wasn't so time consuming. And others of us are like, “I would kill to not have to be on social.”
Well, no matter which camp you belong to, this episode is for you. I'm sharing how to use social media in a targeted, strategic way, so that you know, once you've met your objective, you can opt out fully satisfied. And of course, come back again, as your business needs change. Or, just roll right into the next phase, if you're loving it.
By the end of today's show, I'm going to have you questioning whether you really want to keep your current way of thinking about social media. And I'll show you a very simple way to evaluate whether or not how you're thinking about it now, is actually working for you. Is it really serving you or not? And I'll share the process I used with social media that made it so effective for me, and made it so easy for me to say goodbye to it, too.
Okay, let's first talk about how to evaluate if your current thinking is actually working for you. I want you to take a second to think through and answer the question I'm about to ask you. Hopefully, you'll be able to do it in one concise sentence, if possible. And, don't give the soundbite answer, okay? You're in total privacy right now, give the true, candid answer. Just tell it like it is.
Here's the question: If you're using social media in your business, why? What's your actual reason? Out of all the marketing channels in the world that you could choose, why social? Okay, pause this if you need to, so you can get really clear on this.
Now, thinking about that sentence you just came up with, now that you know what's driving your actions, how does that make you feel? What are you feeling in your body? Is it feeling heavy? Is it feeling shut down? Is it feeling open and light? What's the actual sensation in your body?
If it feels really good, great; proceed to the next step. But if it's feeling a little heavy, or negative, I guarantee it's not bringing the best results; you're capable of something much better. And I can prove it's not bringing you the best results. If you want to, go back and listen to Episode 22 on “The Model: How Your Thoughts Affect Your Life.”
But I think most of us, and especially all of us coaches, would agree that when we're feeling less than optimal, there's no way that we're going to show up optimally.
Next, check in with this; how likely is it that my future-self thinks about social media in this way, too? Because even if how we're thinking about something makes us feel good, or at least neutral, sometimes that good is really just safe or comfortable. And safe or comfortable, don't always lead to growth. Sometimes they do, but not always.
So, how does your future-self think about social? You want to be practicing and working towards thoughts of your future-self because she has the results you want, right? She lives the feelings you want. And all of that is available to you, sooner rather than later.
And lastly, is that thought or motivation bringing you the results you want? Results might be clients, but they might be something else. If not, then it's worth questioning the thoughts again. If you now feel like your current thoughts are really serving you, great. You still might love the perspective I'm about to share, about how to think about the strategic use of social media at different times in your business.
But if the thoughts aren't serving you, I'm gonna dismantle some of the more common ones that I see, so that it'll be easier to clear them out.
Here are four of the main ones that I hear from entrepreneurs, at all income levels, by the way. Are you ready? The first one is: It's the only way, or it's just the way it is. First of all, whenever you find this thought about anything, come on over to The Uncommon Way, and we'll get you straightened out.
Because this is never going to be a helpful thought. That's the kind of thought you just need to strike from your brain; zero tolerance. But if this is your first episode here, and your mind is just going blank on any other possibility other than social media, go back and listen to that Episode 23, which is titled “How to Run a Business Without Social Media.”
The line of thinking that says being on social media is the only way to find clients nowadays, is the biggest misconception I see in business today. People that are just starting out, all the way through seven-figure earners, fall victim to this thoroughly disempowering line of thinking.
So, if you're there, it's not just you, but it is reflecting a type of thinking that's not serving you. It's also giving power to the platform, rather than to what you're expressing through the vehicle of the platform. The common denominator should be you, period. You create your clients. You create results. Never the platform. If the platform goes away, you're still hitting your goals.
If I had $1 for every time someone earning over six figures, has heard about my business model and said, “Oh, you're so lucky. I would give anything to be off social. I just hate it.” And kind of frequently, these are the same people who are saying publicly, “I just love interacting with my community and talking to you all in the DM. So, hit me up.” But apparently, not deep down.
It's like there's some script that everyone is supposed to repeat or something. Like the movie Mean Girls, where Lindsay Lohan’s parents were anthropologists in Africa; you remember this? So, when she comes back to the States, she can't help but view all this high school behavior through that lens. Remember? There's that part of the mall, and she's thinking, “Oh, my gosh. This is just like the animals at the watering hole in Africa.”
I can't help but think that way, sometimes. Like, I'm sitting back and looking at our modern culture like an anthropologist, going, “This is an interesting norm. Everyone seems to be engaging in this.” Now, obviously, there are a million ways that I conform to my culture, too.
So, I'm not throwing stones. Or, I shouldn't throw… I guess I was throwing stones, wasn’t I? And, I shouldn't throw stones. I think this one just jumps out at me more because I'm not immersed in social media. So, it's easier for me to see it.
But this is a thought that we want to weed out, that we just have to be doing something that we don't want to do. Why do we do this to ourselves? Why, in 2023, are women still going through the motions and recreating patterns that never served our parents either? Why is society doing this?
We have so much individual choice available to us. And I just want to give a gentle reminder, that how we do one thing is often how we do everything. If we have a practiced thought, meaning one that your brain is used to thinking. That it defaults to, over and over. That it's worth asking; where else in my life is that thought showing up? What else am I tolerating?
And, let’s be clear with ourselves. I'm tolerating it because of the thought, “It's the only way. This is just the way things are.” And not, because that's actual truth. We think those thoughts are helpful, right? That they show we’re adulting or we're resilient or we’re pragmatic; lies, lies, lies, lies. They are a disguised form of victimhood, and they deserve to be challenged as soon as we witness them.
Here's another thought I hear; everybody's doing it. This is an important variation on the ‘it's just the way it is,’ thought. So, if this is you, you tell me what energy it was really coming from. Because some people say, “It's the only way,” and mean, “I have to.” Which is what we just talked about. But what some people really mean is, “Everybody else is doing it. And therefore, I feel more comfortable there. I want to do it, too.”
It could be this need to be doing what everyone else is doing may be a FOMO, if you're not there. Or, just a desire to be part of the group. And that, rather than being driven by our conditioning and how we've been raised, it's driven by something very primal, right? Our human desire for conformity, and our fear of nonconformity.
If you're recognizing yourself in this, I recommend you check out Episode 4, “The Science of Nonconformity.” Because when we can step back and see this as a brain pattern, we can start to break free of it. And so, for this thought, I just want to say, “Not everyone's doing it. That's actually not true.”
Start asking your brain to give you examples of people and businesses that are not on social. I guarantee you'll find them. I wasn't, for two years, and still had a six-figure business. Tony Robbins wasn't on social media when he started out, because there wasn't social media.
One of my mentors, Brooke Castillo, wasn't on social either, and grew her business to what, 30-millionish? Until this summer, when she brought on her college age son and some of his friends to have some fun running her account.
Not everyone is on social, and it is safe to separate ourselves from the group. We’ll no longer be thrown out on the savanna to die. It doesn't mean we don't get triggered, right? We don't have that nervousness, that anxiety, that feeling when we're not where everyone else is, or we're not doing what everyone else is.
But these are things that we have the capacity to manage, thank God. And get on with living a life that actually makes sense, and reflects our unique desires.
Here's another thought, “This is how I prove I'm legit. No clients will work with me if I don't have a social media presence.” Just like it's very common to hear people say, “I need to have a website. People won't think I'm legit if I don't have a website.”
But whenever you have a thought that you think someone else is thinking, “They won't think I'm legit. They won't want to work with me,” it's almost always a projection of something you believe deep down. It's not that they think you need a social media presence to be legit, it's that you think you need a social media presence to be legit.
So, unless you're teaching people how to use Instagram, you don't need to use Instagram to be legit. But to be legit, you have to start believing that you're legit. And that is not something you just have to wait around for, like; I guess I'll feel legit someday. Or, I guess I'll feel legit, when I finally have 20 clients.
No, it's something that we can actively create, along with so many other positive beliefs and emotions. Now and then, it gets reflected in how you show up and the decisions you make. And, it definitely brings on more clients.
The final common thought I want to address is, “I need to be doing this because it takes years to nurture people. And I need to remain top-of-mind with hundreds of little touch-points all the time.” You can feel all the ‘shoulds’ in there, right? “Should” is just a crappy place to create from.
But also, why not let yourself believe that clients are ready to go, right now? They don't need lots of nurturing and hand holding. Think about how it will be to work with the people that don't need lots of nurturing and hand holding. I coach people who are unclear and undecided about something. And yet, they are still able to make the decision very quickly, about whether or not they'll work with me.
So, if your brain is going to, “My people need nurturing,” think again. Know that like and trust can be created very quickly. But you have to believe it can. It doesn't have to, there's nothing wrong with nurturing people. But you're really limiting yourself if you're assuming that's how everyone works.
So, watch yourself to see how the thought, “It will take time,” is playing out for you. Chances are, you're making it all take longer than necessary. Maybe, you're holding back on your calls to action. Maybe, you're stretching out your goals, rather than going after what you want, right now.
Now, these kinds of things, they don't jump right out at us or we wouldn't be doing them. This is why we get coaches, to see the things we can't see. But you can start looking for it yourself. You just need to do some sleuthing. If this thought is yours, then I definitely recommend you take some time, after this episode, to really journal down all the ways that your lens of ‘things taking time’ is creating things taking longer than necessary, for you.
Okay, so if you've been listening to this and thinking, “Alright, clearly some of my thoughts have not been serving me. What should I be thinking instead?” I am going to share some different ways of thinking about social at the end of this episode.
And right now, as I'm talking about the strategic use of social media throughout the life of your business at different points, you're also going to pick up some different thoughts and reframes that may be helpful to you. But I really want to stress here, that there's no one way that you should be thinking about social, or anything in your business.
All you really need to care about, is how does this thought make me feel? This way of thinking, how does it feel in my body? Does it lead to the kind of actions, in the way that I'm showing up, that bring the results that I want, in my particular business?
And so, a thought that works for me may not work for you, and vice versa. This is what I help my clients do. We need to find the mindset and the way of thinking, and the strategies and the tactics, that create their unique results, and really bring their particular business to the next level.
I just encourage you as you're listening to all of this, any thought you hear, use that as a springboard for yourself. Try it on, or let it be the one that leads you to the next thought, that actually does work for you. That initiates this trail of breadcrumbs that gets you where you need to go. So, take all of this and just make it your own, as with everything in life.
When you're early on in your business, I am a huge believer that your main objective is proof of concept; you need to make sure people will buy what you're offering, before you spend too much time on it. So, the most strategic use of your time at this point, isn't to be posting for a year or two in a, “Hey, get to know me, I'm so cool and friendly,” kind of way.
And, you're not there to teach a class either. That's great for retirees or trust fund babies who say, “I don't need any money. I just want to share what I've learned.” But you, my friend, are in business. So, you've got to figure out what leads to sales.
Many of the other actions that you might take on social media; like, relationship building, or trying to position yourself through visual branding, and taking time to make sure everything looks very glossy, and meticulously dissecting the posts of every successful coach out there. Those sound good, but they’re ways your brain avoids doing scary things.
Just think about it; which is easier for your brain? To kind of develop this girlfriend relationship with somebody that you meet on social, and then hope that she refers someone to you when she finds out what you do? Or, is it saying to a human being, “Hey, I can help you. Do you want to work with me?”
Of course, the first one's easier, right? So, of course, your brain will help you gravitate towards those kinds of activities. And, this is another reason why coaching is so powerful. Because there's a place where someone can say, “Let's think about this. Is this really the way you want to be utilizing your time?”
And of course, we don't recognize it in the moment, because our brain is giving us the perfect logical reason. I've often said that one of the most destructive thoughts in my business, one of the thoughts that really keeps me from up-leveling is, “I'll just do this first.” My brain knows me so well. How can I argue with that? “I'll just do this first,” right?
“If I just do this first, it'll really clear up my mental bandwidth. So, I can focus on this important thing.” And yet, I don't. I don't get to because other things happen. So now, whenever I hear that thought, I've learned to stop and reconsider my next course of action.
Now, there is nothing wrong with any of those things that I just mentioned. But that's what you do in your extra spare time, right? After you've completed your main objectives, and your client getting activities for the day. Lots of new entrepreneurs say they're working so hard on their business, but really, they're on Canva. And they're consuming webinars constantly, and hanging out on social, and not really doing anything.
If you were focusing that time instead, on productive activities, you'd move forward a lot faster. But your brain is really in-it-to-win-it, at this point. It's very sure it needs to keep you safe from this harebrained idea you've come up with. Like, putting yourself out there and calling yourself an expert and taking money from people who will rely on you to help them.
It has a big investment in making sure you don't do that. So, you're gonna have to get very clear about what you will and won't be doing, and set some boundaries and practice discipline. I could do a whole podcast on how to reduce time on social media.
I came up with a whole system when I was on social, and I was also nursing an infant, and working naptimes and evenings. I didn't have a lot of time to spare. Yet, I was posting on my Facebook page, in Facebook groups, in my own Facebook group that I had on YouTube. I remember I was repurposing all of it into blog posts, as well. So, let me know in the reviews if you want to hear more about that.
But here's something tactical that you can take away, right now. Go on social three times a day. Set a 15-minute alarm for each of those times. And once a day, post the second time. Answer any comments, or, you know, any engagement that's happened on your post. And then the third time, look at other people's posts and comment on their posts.
If you're spending more than 45 minutes a day on social, that means you're not spending enough time on the other things you should be spending your time on. So, what you're really looking to do, at this point in your business, is test your content. Test your messaging, and see what moves people into a sale.
And that means you're going to be having to create targeted sales messaging with effective calls to action. Maybe, with mini offers, with effective storytelling. And I can feel some of you bristling through the airwaves, right now, right? “Oh, but I don't want to be salesy. I need to kind of date these people first, and then I can slip in the offer.”
But to me, that actually sounds inauthentic. I don't want to date someone like that. I want someone who straight-up; straight-up does not have to mean manipulative. It doesn't have to mean hammering out a sales offer, over and over and over, in the same way so that people just tune out.
But it does mean you're getting very targeted about what you want to achieve from each post. And it means moving into a more direct, get-to-the-point energy. You want to see what moves people. And, you can do that in so many ways.
I remember a post I did that brought on a new client. And it was just me telling the story of my dad. So, it was a brand story. It was very heartfelt. It was about growing up and watching how much he loved his profession. He was a Navy pilot, and how it was just so much of his identity and so much of his joy. He couldn't even imagine doing anything else.
There was a period, of course, my decades of not knowing what I wanted to do. And, it caused me such suffering. He would say things like, “I just want to see you happy. I just wish you could be happy.” And I had to tell him finally, one day… I think when he specifically said, “Why can't you just be happy?” And I said, “Dad, it's because of you. Having seen how you live your life; I refuse to settle for anything less.”
Now, that was just a story. It was not a hard-sale type of post. But I was very specifically testing to see whether that story resonated with people. And, I don't remember how long after that, but when someone got on the phone, she told me that is the post that made her decide to book the call.
The brand stories can be very sales oriented, and so can thought leadership. One of my first podcast episodes is called “The Decision Tree.” And I, just last month, signed a client who said she went back, right when she saw it landed on my web page, and then decided to check out my podcast.
She listened to that one, and it compelled her to get on the phone with me. But guess what? I knew that would resonate with people, because I first put out that content on a Facebook Live, like years ago. And, I got tons of positive feedback.
And then, a year or so later, a woman happened to see that Facebook Live, she went back through my videos, and she signed up for a call and became a client. So, I know, for sure, I've made $50,000 off that one bit of thought leadership. Who knows how many other people it has brought into my sphere, that just never mentioned it to me specifically?
But that was a very effective sales messaging, that wasn't salesy or manipulative. It was very high value. So, when you're using social in this way, you're in a very curious and enthusiastic place. This is the place where I'm testing content. And, I want to test content here, because it's an amazingly fast and cheap way to test my content.
You can do it quickly with ads, too. But it costs a lot of money. Or, you can do it cheaply with other methods like; networking, or SEO, or whatever. But that won't give you this combination of volume, of people, plus speed of delivery.
Social media has a lot of benefits for us. And thinking of it in this way was a lifesaver for me. It really kept me out of the; this isn't working. Why isn't anyone liking my posts? Why didn't this lead to a client? When am I ever going to get a client?
When you're thinking, “I'm excited to test this content. What, specifically, am I testing here? What, specifically, did I learn?” It just relieved all that pressure to sell. Specifically, I wasn't thinking about selling. I was thinking about what was moving people along their buyers’ journey. It took a lot of the pressure off being perfect, because I didn't expect every post to land.
And, it really helped me think big picture. I'm trying new things. I'm practicing how I talk about the things I talk about. That is so necessary in the beginning; is to just hear yourself saying the words over and over. Try the words in different ways. This is why so many of you have created what, 50,000 versions of your “I Help” statement?
I've so been there. And I do it myself, too. It's because this is how our brain is processing and thinking. And I mean, how often have you gone back and looked in your journals and been like; damn, that was pretty good. Right? Because it's all there. The clarity is there. This is just creating comfort for our brains.
And so, as we do this more and more, it's creating more and more comfort, and more and more facility in articulating what we do. If you need help with this, I really recommend that you download a freebie on my homepage. It's the third one down, it's called, “Write Your Way to Clarity.” I think, or the second one down. Anyway, it's called “Write Your Way to Clarity.” It's completely free.
Go ahead and get that. It's basically seven prompts for social media, that will give you a theme for writing each day. And, help you clarify what you are actually wanting to say and to clear up any misconceptions. This is not about getting likes or comments, but sales.
People telling you words, “Hey, this was compelling for me.” Many of the posts, and they were Facebook posts back in the day, but most of the clients that came through specific posts, they never liked or commented on that post; they were too busy booking a sales call.
And it's also very helpful to be thinking, “This is a tool for my growth. This is how I'm practicing being visible. This is how I'm practicing calling myself an expert. And, being a human while I do it. Calling myself an expert, in a human way. This is about me setting boundaries around my time.”
“Managing my mind around all the negative thoughts that might come up, as I look at others who seem to be doing better than me. As I deal with the FOMO from seeing so many people selling all different things. And make me want to buy this one and this one and this one.”
But the truth is, you probably don't need that. Whatever that is in your business, right now. Right? You need the foundational pieces. And all that distraction keeps you from doing the real work that you need to be doing. So, you see how everything has a reason.
You're not just posting because you have no other options. Like, this is what you have to do on social and you do it for long enough, and then people start buying. Know, every time you post or go on social, there's a reason, you're testing something, you're learning something. So, it's always a win; always, always a win.
What is it that people need to believe and understand about me, about my offer, that makes them excited to book a call? That makes them excited to take the next step? Once you create that kind of clarity and certainty for yourself, it is a game changer.
Because as we move into the next phase of business, if you follow my Clarity First formula, which is actually the first opt-in on my homepage, what we're doing in business is we're very quickly creating proof of concept. We're testing what exactly moves our people towards a sale, and how to facilitate that process.
And then, once we have that information, we're using that to create our assets; our static assets, our web pages, our lead magnets, our blog pages, whatever we choose for our specific business. And then, in the third phase, we're just driving eyeballs to those assets.
Now, there may be nurturing involved in that stage. But that is not the objective that we set out to do. And, this is a very important difference. If you're thinking, “I want to nurture people,” you're going to create people that need to be nurtured.
It's very helpful to assume that people will want to take action immediately, and to do what you can to shorten their buyers’ journey. And that is what you're doing with your nurture sequence, and with the right opt-in, and making sure you're drawing in the right people. All the clarity work you did in the first phase, it's so that you're not going to be nurturing people forever and ever.
Again, if you do, that's fine. But people that need to be nurtured are not necessarily going to be your best clients. They may have a lot of hesitancy, a lot of self-doubt. They may frequently let other things in their life get in the way of their progress and of taking action.
Whenever I speak with people, I always ask them, even if they've taken the initiative to get on the call with me, I want to make sure that they're really going to be successful in my program. I'm asking them questions like; what else in your life might bump this from your priority, right now?
Is there anything coming up that may make you say, let me just do this, after this other thing is done? I'll ask; what will happen if three to six months go by and you still haven't solved this?
It's because I want to see where they lie in their motivation. I want to know, has their brain created enough pain and discomfort around where they are? Has it brought that far enough into a conscious level? And has it created enough desire and determination to get to something different? Does it have enough of those two things to override the very strong efficiency factor?
The phenomena of our brain that says, “I would really rather just stay with the devil I know, rather than experience anything different.” The one that says, “I'm willing to not move my business forward, so that I don't have to feel the discomfort of doing X.” “I'm prioritizing the comfort of my feelings, higher than the dreams that I want to achieve.”
And people in that place may not be your best clients. Doesn't mean that they're going to be there forever. These are not fixed personality traits, right? We learn to become more decisive, we learn to value our dreams, more and more. Through our thoughts we create that new way of thinking for ourselves.
But it's usually not a black-and-white switch. And so, someone that has been in that place for a while, when they're sufficiently nurtured to the point that they're going to say yes to you, they've just reached that threshold. And as we know, thoughts just don't go away.
They're practiced thoughts; they will be coming back again. So, when you're in the second phase of creating your static assets, you're speaking to and always thinking about people that are absolutely ready to take action now. Because, why not?
Because you and that person are a perfect fit. You've created this unique one-of-a-kind offer. You know exactly the value you're bringing to the table, and your secret sauce. You know exactly who you're calling in, and you know that this person fits those parameters. And it's just a hell yes, all around.
And so, from that place, as you're moving into the next phase in your business, you're bringing eyeballs to those assets. And at that point, then yes, you really are just trying to get as many eyeballs as you can. And so, you'll probably have a team by that point. Networking and partnerships can be very powerful for you.
It's worth devoting some of your time and/or budget to doing some things that the algorithm likes, just to get in front of people you've never been in front of before. And to create a place where people who are on that platform, can come over and take a look when they first know of you and become interested. Maybe, they heard you on a podcast or something, and now you're just basically creating another storefront for them. Another store window for them to come in and see.
That's really the one I use, “That this is another store window for me.” I am absolutely not there to get likes or engagement, right now. Not that I mind them, of course. But it's really so that when someone hops onto Instagram, if they're an Instagram kind of person, and that is the first place they tend to look to check out a new coach, they'll see a body of my work. They can click through and get a feeling for whether or not we're a fit. So, that they can say, “I just had this feeling you might be the coach for me.”
With that kind of mindset, you want to make very sure that when people scroll down your feed, they know what you're talking about. You're not just going to have random pictures, you're going to have some sort of text that tells them what that reel is about, or what that post is about. So, they can decide if they want to read more. If you do have a picture, you want to make sure it's pretty engaging, so that they're curious and want to click on it.
But you might also choose not to be on social media at this time. You may choose to be driving eyeballs through Facebook ads, through podcasting, through speaking engagements. The world is your oyster. If you want to, fine. But you don't have to.
And then, there's another stage of business that is not in the Clarity First training that I have on my website, but that I'm really feeling into now. And I don't know if other coaches experience this, but it's really a form of altruism.
When you think of Maslow's hierarchy, my immediate needs are taken care of now with my business. When it comes to prioritizing my time, I've used it to understand my people, create these assets, I have enough eyeballs coming in that I'm booking out my coaching practice. And so, my priorities are really shifting into, how can I get this information out to more and more women?
I had a client ask me, she said, “It seems like you're giving away a lot of information on the podcast that isn't necessarily what you advise us to do in the beginning of our businesses.” I told her, “I am creating value and content for people that I will never work with.”
Another way to think of this, is the clients that are going to come to you the easiest are the low hanging fruit. And then, there's fruit that's further and further and further up on the tree. The fruit that's so high, that's way beyond your ladder, that's hard to reach. You're probably never going to work with them.
And so, in an earlier point in your business, you're just prioritizing the low hanging fruit. Where you don't have the investment yet to get the ladder. You can't buy the ladder to get up to the higher fruit. You don't have the time or the money to do that. And therefore, it makes the most sense that you're focusing on the low hanging fruit that you can reach just with your bare hands.
But now, I'm wanting to reach those people, like I said, that I'll probably never touch face-to-face; that I'll never actually work with. And I want them to get this information. I want to change their lives. I want them to know that there's a better, easier way. That it's absolutely possible to get clear. That our clarity is within.
And I'm just expressing this to you, as I'm in it. So, I'll probably know a lot more about this in a year, but right now, it really feels to me that energetically, it is my time to spread my message far and wide. And help initiate a ripple effect that I will potentially never see firsthand, but I'll feel energetically. And, this podcast and social media are tools for doing that.
So, let's wrap up with some potentially helpful thoughts about social media, if you are choosing to use it. Because remember, you don't have to. But maybe after this podcast, now that you're thinking about it, or at least thinking about what you're currently doing in a different way.
So, rather than thinking we have to be on social media, there's no other way, we could be thinking, “It's an amazing opportunity that we didn't used to have in business.” Your business isn't reliant on renting the premium corner on Main Street, and waiting for people to walk by. Maybe, taking out an ad in the local paper.
No, this is the internet; you can connect with people on different continents, in the blink of an eye. I may get blowback on this, but Louis CK had a comedy hit before he fell into disgrace, called Everything's Amazing and Nobody is Happy; you can still look it up. But of course, you wouldn't because of what we know about him; except, that maybe you will.
But you don't have to, because I'm just gonna tell you. He's talking about all the little ways we get frustrated over things that are actually mind bogglingly amazing. Like, he's sitting next to someone on a plane and they make an announcement that the Wi-Fi is down on the plane. And the person next to him was like, “Oh, man. Oh, God,” making such a thing about it.
And he's just thinking to himself, “We are able to travel across the continent in a few hours, in acclimatized conditions.” Right? Comparing it back to the age of the buggies that would take months rolling across America, and facing such hardship. And, we're complaining because we don't have Wi-Fi at that moment. So, the internet is amazing. And, social media is the internet on steroids.
It is a great opportunity, but there are a lot of other great opportunities, too. It's just the one you're choosing, or the one you're not choosing. So, you've already heard my thoughts that this is a storefront, right? And this is a way for me to extend my energetic ripple effect.
But I surveyed some friends of mine, who are successful coaches. They love social media and they're using it effectively. Because I wanted to get their thoughts, too. And I've been listening to some of my clients who use it really effectively, too.
I just want to share some of their thoughts with you. So, one is, “I just go where my people are, that's where they hang out the most. And I'm all-in. Wherever they go, I'll go.” She's not spending a lot of time thinking about, “I don't want to be on social media. I do hear the pros and cons, and this is why it's so terrible.” She's just like, “Well, that's where my people are. They spend most of their time on Instagram. I want to be on Instagram. I'll be wherever they are.”
Someone else, told me they really love that type of content. They love the kind of short, lively, a little moment in time. She said, “I, personally, like it. And, my clients really enjoy it, too. So, I want to be able to give to my clients what I, myself, enjoy.”
I've heard that some really like the visual aspect of it, of Instagram, specifically. And they really had fun putting that together and doing all the little techie things of like, the reels. And that visual creativity component can be really high on, maybe Instagram or YouTube. And they wouldn't be fulfilled in their business, if they didn't have that particular form of expression.
But listen, your business should be made up of things you want to do, right? This is your life. How do you want to spend it? Let it thrill you. Let every bit of it reflect you and your desires and your priorities. This is about a lot more than just giving yourself permission to choose a better use of your time, though that is important.
And, it's about more than just believing in your powers to attract clients from any and all places. Though, that's important, too. And it's even about more than having such clarity; on yourself, your people, your offer, and your messaging; that you can be successful anywhere. Though, that's wildly important.
But this is really about you realizing that you are a true force of nature. Where you understand your power to shape your reality, and get back exactly what you want. Rather than having to make do with what you see in the world, right now. That, as you lend your creative focus, completely different circumstances will start to appear in your environment.
And I have a very strong feeling that deep down, you want that. You want that like, yesterday. Nobody who seeing clearly says, “No, I don't want to experience my power just yet. I don't really want to have the life I want.”
So seriously, look at your phone, click the link in the episode summary to book a call with me, and we'll get you into the Clarity Accelerator as fast as possible. Let's create an offer and messaging for you that's so strong you can pick and choose. You can choose where you want your clients to come from. And then, let's clean up the stuff in your mind that's kept you from creating that life you know you're here to create.
Alright, everyone, remember, deep down, you know who you are. And, you know how powerful you are. Each day you're stepping further into what you are here to create.
Hey, if you're a coach who wants true clarity about your secret sauce, your people, your best way of doing business, and how you talk about your offer, then I invite you to join us in the Clarity Accelerator.
I'll teach you to connect all the dots; the dots that have always been there for you. So that you can show up like you were born for exactly this. Come join us and supercharge every other tool or tactic you'll ever learn, from Facebook ads to manifestation. Just go to TheUncommonWay.com/schedule and set up a time to talk. I can't wait to be your coach.
Thanks for joining us here at The Uncommon Way. If you want more tips and resources for developing clarity in your business and life, including the Clarity First Strategy for growing and scaling your business, visit TheUncommonWay.com. See you next time.
Enjoy the Show?
Don’t miss an episode, follow the podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher.
