So You Started A Social Media Business... Now What?
Hey there, fellow entrepreneur! So, you've taken the plunge into the world of business on social media - congrats! Remember that blog post I shared a few weeks back about kicking off your journey into the realm of entrepreneurship? Well, here we are! How's your website coming along? Are you starting to feel the buzz on your social media platforms? Now that you're on your way, let's dive into some common questions about navigating the ins and outs of running your social media business.
How do you figure out what your brand is?
I get asked about this a lot! Your spark isn’t this thing you need to be chasing. It’s not your purpose or some big hidden thing that you can’t quite figure out. Your spark is your life, and your spark is your brand! When you try too hard, you’ll often pigeonhole yourself into something that you think you are. My spark is not Disney. Mine and Andre’s sparks combined are that we were a couple that visited Disney World as adults and fell in love with the parks, food, drinks, etc. Then, we found this neighborhood and set a goal, and we’ve taken you all on that journey with us for the last several years. That’s my brand. You have to get so specific and so real about what your brand is. There is a more unique depth to you! Will you find it on day one? No, but that’s the beauty of it. Your brand is going to be your journey and the evolution of you over the years.
If you don’t have any money for marketing, how do you reach your target audience and grow?
You’re probably better off. The gimmicks that promote following don’t create that much of a loyal following. It’s people following you to win the prize or because they saw an ad; they don’t know you for you. The best way to grow a following is video. It doesn’t have to be a YouTube video, it can be Instagram stories, TIkTok, etc. People want to see you. If you have a video, people feel like they know you because you’re your authentic self on video. That doesn’t happen through a photo. That’s how you reach your target audience.
How do you promote yourself on your stories without being too pushy?
Believe in your product. If what you have is something that can genuinely help people, then stick to your guns. However, the line between bragging and being grateful is so fine, and you don’t want to cross that line. Focus on what it is that you love, what you’re grateful for and how it helped you. That’s not being pushy, that’s just sharing what worked for you.
How do you know if you’re creating good and engaging content?
Where I was going wrong in the beginning (and where most people go wrong) was spending so much time being worried about a preset, filter, or the location where a picture was taken. While that matters, those are the details. People want an authentic post. You will rarely see me post all about myself and nothing else. Usually I will share a little bit about my journey, take you along for the ride, and ask a question. It’s really boring to be on social media talking with a megaphone at people. To create an engaging post isn’t just a blind question, it’s a genuine care factor. I think the more you can develop that on social media, the more you’ll grow. You’re creating a community of people that actually care to be there because they know that you care.
How do you create content when nothing is going on?
When you have nothing going on, document, don’t create. The best pictures and videos you’re ever going to take are in that moment, not staged. If you feel like you’ve got nothing going on, trust me, it’s still entertaining to other people. For example, I completely reorganized my fridge one day, and it was fascinating to so many people! Keep sharing!
What is your advice for getting results when you just feel stuck?
In the beginning, I would compare myself to other people, and I didn’t know if I could ever be like them. Do not compare yourself. Run your own race, and get really excited about your own consistency. You’re not racing against anyone else; it’s you versus you. What I did when I first started was set new goals for each month. I wouldn’t look at what other people were doing, and instead focused on the things I could control. I would look at what I did the month prior, and try to match or outdo that.
When you’re first starting and growing your business, you also have to remember to give yourself some grace, and some time. Belief and consistency over a period of time are the greatest gifts you can give yourself.
Have you ever hit a plateau in your social media career? If so, how did you change that?
I tried really hard to grow my social media platforms, specifically Instagram and YouTube. At a certain point, I did hit a plateau. I went through a phase where I was trying to post pictures like a girl I followed and tried to be like her. What ended up happening is that I became a watered down version of her, because I was trying so hard to mimic what she was doing. While there is power in duplicating what a successful person does, what happens is that you kind of lose yourself along the way. Not only did I feel lost in my messaging, but I didn’t have joy in what I was posting anymore because it was so not me. I was losing followers and getting less engagement because I was trying to be someone else. That could be you, whether you realize it or not.
How do you legally sell character themed items you’ve made without getting copyrighted?
I’m not a lawyer, but from what I understand, “inspired by” designs are okay. Maybe use characters as a starting point, but I would challenge you to set a goal to grow beyond and innovate. Get to a point where you don’t need to have a Mickey logo, for example, on your products. I think that one restriction of being careful about the legalities of it should be the thing that pushes you to use those creative juices!
How do you say “no” to clients?
I would suggest having set pricing paired with the offerings you have. For example, if someone wants a Zoom meeting with you, have that built into your pricing as one of your offerings. I think that’s a really simple fact. Simplify it for yourself, but also make your offerings clear to your customers. If someone does want something and you have to say “no,” be confident in the fact that you’re a business owner. You can’t always trade all of your time for zero dollars. More than anything, you might gain more respect when you have clear-cut rules.
How do you deal with people that leave mean comments?
I could go on about this forever, because part of me wants to see you succeed far beyond pausing or even wasting 5 minutes on a mean comment. If someone leaves an opinionated comment and it’s a healthy debate, that’s fine. If they’re there just to be mean, I think it’s hilarious that someone would spend 20 minutes crafting a negative comment and stewing in their anger, when it takes the creator 0.5 seconds to delete said comment. If someone leaves a mean-spirited comment to me or someone else and it’s not helping in any way, shape, or form… they can live under their dark cloud, but we don’t have to, so I delete it. If someone has done that to you, just delete it, or if you really want to, block them. You have a planet of people that you are probably trying to attract that just get you. They understand you as a person, no matter what it is that you love or share. If someone doesn’t understand you, it’s almost better that they out themselves now. This way, you kind of know, and it should almost bring you some peace of mind because you would never want that person as a customer or client anyway.
Additionally, if you look at where you’re taking the opinions of others, are you taking them from someone that always seems to be negative and have a problem with other people, and it’s everybody else that’s the problem? If they talk smack about every other person, who’s to say they’re not going to talk smack about me, or that they don’t do it about everything in their life? This is how I think of friendships and people that I trust on social media. I’m very mindful of where my source of information is coming from.
I don’t want you to think it isn’t difficult. It is, especially in the beginning, but it gets easier and easier. Delete, block and keep going because you will be glad that you did.
Whether you’ve been smooth sailing or feeling stuck, I hope this helped you gain some clarity on how to run a business on social media. Keep going, keep posting, and keep blocking out those haters. You’ve got this! I’d love to cheer you on, so drop your website or social media handle below!