When I studied marketing at uni they didn’t teach me how to use social media. In fact, the time devoted to learning about social media was the equivalent of a couple of slides in ONE lecture over my 2-year degree. It was hardly mentioned!
At the time I was annoyed because my goal was to work in a social media role after uni – so of course I wanted to learn more.
But 4 years into business I can hand on my Ned-loving heart say I’m actually glad they didn’t because instead, I learnt the important marketing foundations and strategies that work time and time again regardless of the specific channel used.
This has served me so well in business because I know how to show up consistently and attract, engage and connect with dream clients across multiple marketing channels without spending more time creating content or worrying about why Instagram hates me this week.
It’s made growing and nurturing a community and making Sirius money SO MUCH EASIER. I share this with you because it’s easy to get caught up thinking social media = marketing. Which it doesn’t!
Don’t make social media you’re entire marketing strategy
An over-reliance on social media doesn’t serve you. Because what happens is you get so focused on why your follower count isn’t growing or your story views are down or learning about the latest update – you lose sight of the zillions of other ways to market your offers.
Marketing strategies that don’t feel like a soul-sucking dementor.
Social media is only ONE part of your marketing strategy and as I always say – if it’s your entire marketing strategy – you gotta change that.
So in this episode of the How I Do Content Podcast I share ways to maximise your marketing efforts (that never go out of style).
And how do I know these work?
They’re the same spells I learnt in my Masters of Marketing Degree AND I’ve leveraged them in my business to make multi 6-figures over the last 4 years. They’re strategies you’ll always need.
1. Market Research
This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone because I talk about it ALL THE DAMN TIME! It’ll probably be my #1 marketing strategy until I die. That’s because it fucking works.
Consistent market research helps you to:
- Deeply understand your ideal clients and what they desire and what motivates them
- Nail your messaging and have all angles covered
- Create stand-out content that has your community saying “holy flying dementors, you’re in my head!”
- Validate your offers and sell them out on repeat
- Build a community of raving fans who show up for you every damn time
And no I don’t just mean popping up a question box on your Stories that says “what do you want to learn from me?” and then getting disappointed when no one answers or the answers aren’t helpful.
Every interaction with your community is an opportunity for you to survey, listen and learn.
You need to know how to ask great questions to get the information you need. There are many different ways to do market research but once you crack the code – it’ll make everything you do in your business 100 times easier!
It’s the foundation of building literally any business and will help you get into the heads of your ideal clients and use that intel to create marketing + content to magnetise them.
2. Compelling Copy
Copy that speaks to the soul of your ideal clients and gets them to take action…
And what I mean by compelling copy is:
- Write in a way they understand (avoid jargon and fluff)
- Use their words sprinkled throughout ALL your copy (on your sales pages, in your launch emails, in the tagline of your offer)
- Don’t make assumptions about what they know about your business and your offers – spell it out clearly and consistently
The way you get your ideal clients to say “holy flying dementors, you’re in my head” is by using your copy as a mirror for what they’re currently experiencing, feeling, navigating AND what they dream of and desire instead.
Of course, the other part of compelling copy is showcasing why you and your offer helps them get to where they want to be. Basic tips + tricks are NOT going to cut it.
Let’s talk about the robot in the room – ChatGPT and AI
My thoughts? It shouldn’t be the way you write your content.
Use it to get you started, to spark your ideas or to create a rough draft for you – but don’t use it to write everything for you. Right now, I’m seeing a whole load of rubbish content that I can tell was written by ChatGPT. Content that’s beige and boring and has zero magic to it. The opposite of stand-out content. And it’s obvious this output is the result of using shitty prompts.
You can’t input “Hey ChatGPT, write me a social media caption on content creation” and expect anything amazing. Again, you need to know how to ask great questions and to use the intel from your market research to feed ChatGPT prompts that will give you output that’s actually worthwhile using!
You get what you put in: shit prompts in = shit content out.
For the love of dogs don’t sacrifice compelling copy in the name of saving time. You might find yourself with a whole lot of time but not a whole lot of clients.
3. Diversify your marketing channels
If you really want to grow your community and make consistent sales for the rest of 2023 and into 2024 and beyond – social media on its own isn’t enough. It never has been!
The most successful businesses don’t rely just on social media and they certainly don’t waste their time worrying about why their story views are down or how many likes they got on their latest post.
Let me share an example from my own business…
The other week I shared a really epic value-packed Instagram post on how to prepare for the Silly Selling Season and by my standards it “tanked”.
Even though I did all the “right things” to increase reach and engagement – it’s one of my lowest engaged posts in a really long time. But it didn’t worry me because I have multiple touchpoints and ways for people to discover and build a relationship with me – so an underperforming Instagram post doesn’t phase me too much.
Annoying? Yes!
Send me into a spiral where I want to throw everything in the bin? No.
And even though this post “tanked” I still had two enquiries about 1:1 coaching AND another incredible wizard signing up for The Money-Making Marketing Kickstarter!
The lesson?
Only using the ‘Gram to market your business isn’t enough for you to fast-track the growth of your business and your community on its own. That’s why knowing how to create magical marketing to attract, engage and connect with your dream clients across multiple marketing channels in the smartest way possible is ESSENTIAL.
You need a marketing system that grows and nurtures your community without you having to lift a wand 24/7.
4. Think big picture
Instead of focusing on an Instagram post tanking – zoom the fuck out.
Look at your marketing system as a whole – what are all the touch points where potential clients or customers are interacting with your business and how can you optimise them to attract, nurture and convert?
For example:
- Do you have a pop-up or banner or form on your website to capture people for your lead magnet
- On the thank you page for your lead magnet do you have a next step or share an offer?
- Does your lead magnet have an email nurture sequence designed to build a relationship, add value and present their next step
- Where do you share your lead magnet? Is it in your podcast show notes, your link in bio, a banner on your website?
They might seem like really simple things, but you might be surprised to know that most business owners don’t capitalise on these opportunities.
This is how you grow and nurture your community without always having to “show up” online in real-time. It’s how you capture those leads as hot as Harry Styles and turn them into paying clients – I’d say it’s worth it wouldn’t you?!
5. Repurpose your damn content
Instead of trying to come up with new content every time you sit down to create content… How about you make it easier for yourself and look at the content you’ve already created – how can you reuse, recycle or repurpose what you’ve already created?
Content repurposing examples:
- When you write a banging social media post – turn it into an email to your list. This makes sure you’re consistently emailing your list AND making your content go further.
- Or when you write a social media post or email that results in sales – use it as an email in your nurture sequence, turn it into a podcast episode or blog.
Pay attention to the content that resonates with your audience and think of different ways to turn it into more content across your different marketing channels.
You gotta think BIG PICTURE!
Don’t be afraid to post the same content more than once
Before you say “but Tahryn surely someone will notice I’ve already posted it somewhere else”… I’m going to share something right now that might hurt your ego a little bit – no one is paying that much attention to what you’re doing.
Ouch, right?
But also NO ONE IS PAYING THAT MUCH ATTENTION to every single thing you post so you’re free to share the shit out of it everywhere. And if you’re still feeling a little worried someone will notice…it’s not actually a bad thing if they do.
Because people need to see a marketing message MULTIPLE times before they make a purchase decision. So every time they see you share that message, it’s building their level of awareness and moving them closer to hitting that buy now button.
It can literally pay to repurpose your content!
6. Cultivate Community
We started by talking about your ideal clients and I’m going to end by talking about them too.
Because you created your business and your offers to serve your ideal clients. And the best way to see results from your marketing is to always keep them front and centre in everything you do.
When you nail this you cultivate loyalty and emotional connection with your community which ultimately leads to repeat purchases. Many of my clients have been part of my community since early on and have gone on to buy from me multiple times.
I was actually told I have a really small email list and the fact I’ve been able to make sales on repeat with that small list, is a testament to the loyalty I’ve built and the marketing I’ve shared. t’s something I’m really proud of and goes to show you don’t need 10k followers or 10k email subscribers to make an impact and make money.
How do you cultivate a loyal community?
There are a few things I believe are really important:
- LISTEN to what your community is telling you. In your market research, and in your conversations – always take note of the things they’re navigating, what they desire, where they need help and create content and offers that help them and make them feel seen, heard and understood.
- Don’t be afraid to give away a tonne of value in your marketing. I personally don’t see a problem with giving away lots of good stuff for free. You could listen to every episode of this podcast and implement all the golden nuggets I share with you and build a really successful business without ever paying to work with me – and I’m okay with that.
- Show up for your community consistently and they will show up for you consistently. Don’t show up only when you’ve got something to sell. If you’re a consistent presence in their life – you’re building awareness, you’re building a relationship and when it comes time for them to make a purchase decision – guess what? You’re top of their mind.
If you want to cultivate community you need to focus on the community you DO have FIRST. The online space is always talking about attracting new followers and new clients – but what about the followers and clients you do have? They’re much closer to buying from you than someone completely new to your world – remember that.
I invite you to join The Money-Making Marketing Kickstarter.
Instead of being at the mercy of Zuckerberg’s algorithm, I’ll teach you how to maximise your marketing efforts with high-return marketing strategies.
You should know that what I teach contains zero fluff and I’m ALL about simplifying things, which is why I’ve created this potent and powerful 6-week container for you to plug in, get what you need and get on with building your magical business and making money!
I’m on a mission to make marketing magic again so I’d love to have you with me – find out more at www.thesocialbolt.com.au/kickstarter
Want More?
⚡️ Instagram: @thesocialbolt
⚡️ Take the quiz! Discover Your Unique Blend of Content Magic here
⚡️ Get my DIY Content Wizard Bundle to help you with strategic content creation for your heart led business here
