The social dilemma…

Herein lies the dilemma.  Never before has starting your own business been as easy as it is now.  This is thanks largely to the online space and even more to social media.  Social media provides a FREE platform to market ourselves and our businesses.  There’s no denying the opportunities social media presents to maximise money-making, but I can’t help but wonder, at what cost?

Are we becoming a society glued to their phones? Disengaged from our community and unfamiliar with the art of true human connection?

Don’t get me wrong, making money matters but I really believe there is a more balanced way to go about things. I know that I don’t want to spend the time with my kids, glued to a phone, hustling for my business.  Because at the end of the day, in this one, precious life we have – the time I spend with the ones I love, matters most, NOT whether I went viral on TikTok, or made 7 figures in my business.  I don’t want to teach them to find solace only in a screen, either.  So I believe now more than ever, the way we market our business matters.

Do you actually need social media for your business?

In a nutshell, no.

There are many other (some would say, better) ways to connect with your customers outside of using socials.  However; social media makes marketing ourselves and our businesses relatively easy.  I mean, it’s free, easily accessible, entertaining and has a large user base which is why it becomes the go-to for so many emerging businesses.  BUT there are downsides to social media, too.  Take instagram for example, you could spend hours cutting together the perfect short form video to upload as a reel – for it to have very few views and non-existent conversions.

In order to rely on other marketing methods, we need to think outside the box of socials and get strategic with how we plan to spread the word!

If you’re picking up what I’m putting down and this is resonating with you, read on.   I’m sharing my favourite ways for generating leads and making sales outside of social media, to hopefully inspire you to do the same.

My favourite ways for marketing your small business without relying on social media.

1. Create an Email List.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock you probably know you should consider creating an email list as soon as possible.   Email marketing is such an effective way of reaching our audience and potential customers. Emails don’t rely on algorithms like social media does.  It’s a guaranteed direct line to your audience, every time.  It can be a super personal way to connect with your audience and build the know, like and trust factor that we need as consumers to make a purchase decision.

Starting in email marketing can feel overwhelming but my advice here is to keep it as simple as possible.  I build my email list from my in-person events as well as through my email opt-ins.

2. Work on your search engine optimisation (SEO).

This goes hand-in-hand with your blog but can also be a stand alone concept.  SEO is about structuring your website so that it has the best chance of being seen in search engine results.  The best time to work on your SEO is when you build your website and the second best time is now!

SEO involves things like keyword research and placement, image size, structure and site speed.  If you are clever about your SEO, you are improving your chances of ranking in Google and increasing your potential of being seen without having to show up on things like social media all the dang time!

If you want to know how I managed to rank on the first page of Google for multiple keywords, download my beginners ebook – SEO Rookie for my step-by-step tips.

3. Start a blog.

The word blog I find can often be a bit misleading.  I still have clients ask me ‘Is blogging still even a thing?’ The answer is yes.  Blogging is 100% still a thing and will continue to be as long as the internet exists.

Instead of the word blogging, think of blogs as articles – just like this one you’re reading!  They are a way of sharing your expertise, connecting with your target audience and positioning yourself as a thought leader in your niche.

Blogs are also an integral part of your website strategy and getting your website seen on Google.  The more you blog about particular topics, the more your website will be associated with certain subjects or topics.

4. Host an event.

Granted, in person events have been slightly trickier the past few years thanks to ol’ mate COVID.  But I feel like as the situation improves across the world, so do the chances of hosting an in person event.

There is really nothing quite like the connections you make with people in real life.  I truly believe that we are here on the planet to learn more about ourselves from our connections to others.  It’s all part of the human experience and I feel like from a business perspective, it’s so often overlooked.  Events are an opportunity to educate, entertain or inspire your audience (or all of the above!) in a unique way that only you can do.  You can make max impact and leave a lasting impression which helps to cement your brand and business, hopefully in a good way, for days, weeks or years to come!   Events can also be a fab way to build your email list at the same time.

I love hosting Honest Biz Brunch events for Perth women in business.  I release tickets to these intimate, round-table discussions through my email list.  To have first access to tickets (and they always sell out fast) my audience has to join my Honest Biz Mailing List.  This has helped me to not only sustainably build my email list, but enjoy build lasting connections with other business owners.

5. Business networking.

Business networking could be considered ‘old school’ but don’t underestimate its effectiveness, even in this digital age.  In the right networking environment, you will meet like minded business owners who will share advice, stories and tips to help you succeed.  It is also the best way to forge friendships (hello word of mouth marketing!) and establish future partnerships or collaborations.

I like to think of business networking like having your own personal cheerleaders and ‘little black book’ to cross refer to your own audience, too.

6. Collaborate with another business.

Partnerships and collaborations can be a highly successful modality to market your business. This is where networking comes in handy.  Networking is an effective way to ‘put yourself out there’ and meet different businesses with the same target audience whom you could potentially collaborate with.

Some ideas for collaborations or partnerships are things like hosting an event, workshop or masterclass. Or you can create a situation of cross promotion – maybe you each share a discount code to your audiences or hold a giveaway together.  If the idea of organising an event feels a bit much,  put yourself forward to be a speaker or guest presenter at another businesses’ event.  This is a fantastic, low-cost way to really boost your exposure to an aligned audience.

The beauty of collaboration is that you can double your reach and impact and also halve your workload at the same time!  Social media can play a role in collaborations and it’s these sorts of applications where I actually think social media can be really helpful.

7. Start a podcast.

Another way to grow your business without social media is to consider podcasting.  You might think that podcasting is a saturated space but my advice here would be similar to a website – if you’re not on there, your ideal clients can’t find you.   Many consumers have their ride-or-die podcasts that they listen to religiously, but many also use podcast apps like a search engine.  They turn to podcasts to find information about particular subjects or niches.  Because of this, keyword research can again play a part in making sure people can find your podcast, however; most apps also search show transcripts now which helps in this arena.  My point here is, don’t feel you need to have a hefty number of podcast followers to see results.

If you don’t have the capacity to produce your own podcast right now, ask if you can be a guest on someone else’s! Similar to being a guest speaker or presenter, being a podcast guest helps expose your business to oodles of new people, without the overheads.  A word of advice: if you are going to pitch to someone asking to be on their podcast, There’s a couple of things to consider:

• Make sure they have the same/similar target audience.  For example, there’s no point being a guest on a gardening podcast if that has absolutely nothing to do with your story or your brand.
• Cold emails/messages/DM’s aren’t always the best way to pitch to be a podcast guest, especially with bigger podcasts.  Do your research, find out if there’s a process for applying to be a podcast guest.  It also always helps to have followed someone for a bit, consumed some of their content so you can approach them in a more genuine, authentic way.

I know so many businesses that generate many leads through podcasting, including me!  I can totally vouch that it works.

Podcasts are similar to blogs in that they allow you to share your expertise, experience and add value to your audience.  And in an increasingly busy world, a lot of people are turning to podcasts. For this reason I always recommend turning your blogs into a podcast and vice versa!  This is a task that you could assign to a VA as it can be quite time consuming, or you can implement a sweet content repurposing strategy to make it easier if you’re a solo operator.

9. Linked In

Okay, so maybe this could be considered social media but I categorise it differently because it isn’t part of the Metaverse.

The thing I like about Linked In is that there doesn’t seem to be the same algorithm that keeps us scrolling and scrolling for hours on end.  We can hop on and off, spend a little time there without it taking over our days.

Linked In is a great tool for B2B business models.  It is an online networking tool enabling you to connect with aligned businesses, publish posts (think of them like mini blogs) to help build thought leadership and add value as well as share your events and market your services.

There is a job search element to Linked In too, so you could actively look for potential job opportunities that would align with your skills.

Let’s just hope Linked In doesn’t do an Instagram and change its algorithm ten times per month and have us having to make videos where we dance and point at things just to be noticed.

Social media isn’t the only way to market your business.

If, like me, you’re feeling tired of doom-scrolling Instagram, I hope this blog has given you some inspiration for different ways to grow your business without relying purely on socials.

At the end of the day, I’m a big believer in doing what feels right and true for YOU and your business, not because someone told you to.  Feel free to pick the ideas that feel aligned and that you realistically can execute in your current business setup. 

On that note, if you love social media and what it creates for your lifestyle and business, then you do you. However; I do think that even if social media is your go-to marketing strategy, you should consider adding at least one more channel into the mix.  All it takes is for your account to be suddenly deactivated, hacked (it happens – read the comments on this post for evidence of this) or for a glitch on the platform to lose contact with your entire audience.

Diversify your marketing and start simple.  Build your email list with an epic lead magnet, use your social media platform and direct your followers to download so you can start in the very least to build an email list.

Want more?

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I advocate not to rely on them but I still occasionally dabble… Follow me on Instagram and Facebook.