Hey there – and welcome to episode 128 of the Small Business Made Simple Podcast.

Thanks for leading me your ears today – I know you have lots of choices out there and I appreciate you making me one of them.

I’m Jenn, the host, marketing thought leader and digital strategist and coach for small businesses.  And just an all-round small business lover with one goal in business – to make every small business I come across to make marketing a priority in their business – because if you want to grow, you need to market!

It’s that’s simple – not easy, but simple for sure.

Today’s podcast is going to be a great one and it’s tailored around a conversation I keep having with clients and people in my audience.

My (insert social media platform) Facebook isn’t working – no one comments or likes or shares, what can I do?

So, in this podcast, I’m going to tell you exactly what I think you should do – in 3 parts.

1. Actually, make SURE it’s not working

Don’t just assume, or look at the post and think, pfft didn’t work.

You have your secret weapon – your insights, take a look – let’s see the hard data and what’s ACTUALLY happening, not what we assume is happening.

2. Ok, so we’ve checked and yep, our social media is tanking organically (meaning – the free stuff, not paid ads).

So, a massive high 5 to you if you can guess what I’m going to say next?

What’s the number 1 thing I’d tell you to do if social media was tanking?

Email marketing.

Yep, email marketing – take a different approach to your customers.  Engage them in a different way.

It’s absolutely going to be more work than throwing a post up on social (which might be one of the reasons why social is tanking – but we’ll get to that in number 3!) but it’s the thing you should be doing.

What if you don’t have a list to email?

Get one!

If you’ve had past clients or customers, you must have email addresses?

And start now – before you get to the “social media has tanked on me position” – start gathering them now!

Yes, if you’ve never emailed them before you are going to have to send a well-crafted email to them to engage them, but I guarantee you, you will get a better open rate than an organic reach rate on social.

3. Lead with value!

If you go through your feed and the only things on there are

• Posts where you’re selling something or asking for the sale, or
• Funny/humour posts that have nothing to do with your business

Then, tough love, no wonder it’s tanking.

No one likes to be sold to ALL the time.

Lead with value.

Don’t underestimate what you know that others would like to know or need to know.

You have so much knowledge to share, get it from your brain, onto paper and share it!

Oh, and if YOU, yes you, are always missing from your social media – then start showing up for your audience so they can get to know, like and trust you.

People buy from people they like, know and trust – if your people don’t know who you are or what you’re about – then they will go to the next person to buy what it is that you sell.

And because I’m a serious overachiever, here’s another thing you can do – get off your social media and get into other people’s social media!

It’s called social media for a reason!

So go get social.

Join some groups – give some love and value.

Comment on other people’s posts and share them and engage with them.

Givers get – so be a social giver of your time and the algorithm (along with other accounts) will give love and engagement back to you!

Your social media might no longer tank then!

For many business owners, they need to get with how marketing works in 2021 (and has done for a while and will do for many years to come!).

No longer do we spend 5 minutes curating an ad for a newspaper, tv or radio station or print a poster and hand it around and wait for the sales to come in.

We need to be marketing every day, engaging and being social every day and working for the sale every day.

That might mean 20 seconds of your life each day – or it might mean 10 minutes – but this set and forget, posting and ghosting – nope, not going to work and you are going to keep getting frustrated with marketing until you embrace what marketing means these days – everything!

My hope for you is that you took my advice in number 1 above, looked at your insights and thought, huh, I’m doing ok after all and the panic went away, but the points in 2 and 3 and beyond will still help build your profile, your audience and ultimately your profit!

That’s it for episode 128 – I’ll be back for 129 next Thursday – look forward to chatting again then.

Have a fabulous week, whoever or whatever it brings.  Don’t forget to get social on social with me! Let’s have a discussion in the Like Minded Business Owners group about app and programs and things that make life easier for you but not for everyone!

If you’re enjoying this podcast, which if you have listened to here – you hopefully are, don’t forget to subscribe, share this episode with another superstar business owner who’s doing the daily grind and would appreciate someone making their business simpler, and leave a rating or review to show how much you are loving this free weekly content and my fabulous guests!

See you next week

But whatever you do,

……..remember small business peeps, as my opening song says, there’s no point in dreaming small!

 

I would like to acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land, the Yorta Yorta People, on which I record this podcast and conduct my business today and pay my respects to their Elders past and present. I extend that respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples here today.