Podcast Episode

TRANSCRIPT

Social media. It's 1 of those love-hate relationships in today's episode. I want to talk about how to create value, driven content, that converts and actually leads you into having paying clients. I see way. Too many business owners wasting hours and hours and hours on social media every single day, whether it's scrolling, posting, engaging. But here's the real question, how much money is social media actually making you? Or are we on there just because we feel like everyone else is.  are we just throwing content out there and hoping someone anyone sees, it follows you, and somehow magically turns into a paying client.  Because if that's your strategy, let me be really freaking Blunt on today's episode.  your way. You are working way too hard for what may be very little return.

Now  we can start off by saying that the only way to track how your social media is actually turning  clients into your business  is to actually look at the data, look at the stats, look at your metrics and see what's actually working.  But I know you already know that. So  let me be really clear for a start. I love social media. It's an amazing tool.  But it's not always a business strategy.  And it's definitely not a sales plan.  If you're not converting from your content, then all that time you are spending on Instagram, Facebook, Tiktok just becomes a really, really exhausting hobby or habit.  I know that for me, when I'm feeling a little bit all over the place, whether it's in business or just exhausted in life in general.

I always go to my phone and scroll on social media. I'm always looking for that dopamine hit. So there's a lot of times we can think that we are being productive. And like, yeah, we'll do some social media posting. We'll get on Facebook. We'll do some Instagram lives or some stories, and we hope that that is going to grow our business. But that's not necessarily always the case. So today we're going to look at why your content isn't converting, and what we need to do about it.  We want to look at the biggest messaging mistakes that are keeping your clients from saying yes.  and if you're one of my clients listening to this, you will know that I've looked at your social media, and we have looked at whether we're actually selling or not. And if it's really clear on how people need to work with us.  and then we'll also look at how to create opt-ins and free content that actually leads you to sales.  because if you're putting in the effort, you deserve to get paid for it right period end of discussion  before we really dig in deep, I want to let you in on a behind the scenes of my business. I started my business.

I don't even know what year it was  less than 10 years ago my consulting firm. This was not my 1st business, and I grew my business organically. I've never paid any marketing for marketing in this space overly like it's never been a real strategy. Yes, I've dabbled in it, but it hasn't been like, yeah gun busters. Let's roll on Facebook ads or Google ads, or anything like that.  But I've built quite a successful business  without even really having a clear social media strategy without being consistent all the time with my social media. So  social media showing up on social media doesn't mean that people are successful people showing that aren't successful on social media. So maybe they've only got a few followers, or only got a few posts, does not mean that they are not successful. I just want to put a little disclaimer in there, because, as I said, I have built my business and continue to double my turnover without being consistent on social media. So let's look at the problem  a lot of the time. The problem is, you're showing up. But you're not actually generating the cash.  Most business owners post just to post right  to kind of be there to have their face  kind of around, but they don't actually have a real clear plan behind their content. There's no messaging strategy. There's no conversion goals. There's no sales process behind it. It's just a constant sale, constant cycle of, I need to post something today. Let's throw out a random caption or reel. Let's get a few likes, maybe a couple of comments, and then they wonder why no one is buying, or they'll sit down and plan for the month and be like, okay, I've got all my content plan for the month, and I can't wait to generate all these sales and stuff. Does this sound familiar to anyone  like, are you listening to this going? Maybe that's me. Maybe Maree's looking inside my window, maybe.  But let me tell you why this is happening  a lot of the time you're posting for engagement, not for sales.

There's a really big difference there. You're trying to get likes and comments and shares. But none of those things actually equal revenue. Your content that actually moves people towards buying is what you are looking for.  Okay, I've had many clients that have had reels go, viral, they've had pieces of content. Go! Viral. Has that equaled money in the bank? Absolutely freaking? Not  are there ways that we can bounce off that and utilize that absolutely. But we need a sales strategy behind that. It's not just a matter of going far and going. Yes, I've made it. I can sit back and relax and watch the cash flow in. That's not. That's not what happens. Or, if it has happened, let me know. I want to know how you did it or what it looks like, but from the many, many businesses that I've worked with, it hasn't necessarily gone that way.  Another challenge that I see is that people's messaging is weak.  It's just not  hitting the nail on the head. The audience doesn't fully understand what it is that they do, how you help them, why, you need to buy with them, and why you need to buy from them or work with them over someone else. or even  if like even looking at, is your messaging, talking to your ideal client, those people that you want, those people that are ready to move forward, those people that when you've got that ideal client that you sit back and go shit. Yeah, excuse my language. I want another 10 or 100 of them  right. I know when I think about growing my business, and I sit and I'm talking to my clients. I'll be like, yeah.

I want a whole heap more of her. She's amazing. She's brilliant. She lights me up. My soul is on fire. I'm in the shower thinking about how I can grow her business.  I see stuff, and I think that would work really well for her business.  If that's not happening, and your messaging isn't on par, then you'll really struggle to convert your social media  and your content into paying clients.  And the other thing I see is that there is no clear next step when it comes like in your content. So your audience has no idea what to do next, and guess what they'll do. Nothing. They get easily distracted. There's so much noise out there these days. People need a call to action so that they know how to work with you. It's really clear. Click the button click the link.  DM me, whatever that is for you.

We actually have to tell them every single time. Right?  And before you say, Maree, I don't want to sound salesy. I don't want to hustle. If people want to work with me, they'll find me.  You're a business you are here to sell. You are here to serve.  And if your content isn't doing that.  then my question to you is, Are you just making noise?  And if you are.  are you willing to change it. That's the question of today's, podcast. Are you willing to change what it is that you're doing? If it's not working for you?

Now, let's look at actually fixing your messaging and how to create content that does convert  your content needs to do 3 things. We need to attract your ideal client and attract the right clients. Okay. One of the beautiful girls in her sales club the other day had been running some Facebook ads. And when we looked at her results, and the people that came in will like, are they your ideal clients? And if they're not, what do we need to do to change or tweak your messaging.  So your content needs to attract your ideal client, not just attract, leads your ideal client.

Okay, step one, attract step 2. Educate them on what it is that you do, and why they need you, how you can help them.  how you can serve them, how you understand their challenges, how you know inside and out, what they're going through.  and how you can get them either out of that or moving them towards what it is that they really want.  So educate them on what it is that you do, and don't just think that everyone knows what it is that you do. Okay? Because, as I said, social media. A lot of noise. People are in inverted commas very busy these days. There's a lot happening. We're easily distracted. Or maybe it's just me. But no people in general are easily distracted because we've got phones  constantly in our hands.  right like there's constant noise everywhere. We look. So we need to educate them on what it is that we do and be so clear on it. And they know why they need us.

And then step number 3 is we need to actually convert them. Surprise, surprise. We need to convert them into actual paying customers, not just likes on our page, not just followers.  actual paying customers. And you know what the secret to making this happen is your messaging. because if your messaging isn't clear, your audience is confused, they're just going to ignore you and scroll on past  the other thing actually on a side note, I want to add in, there is.  I also see, a lot of people on social media that  constantly just sell, sell, sell. The only time they show up on social media is to sell stuff.  and there's no engagement. There's no value. There's no connection. So we don't want to be doing that either. We want to make sure that your messaging is so clear that people know what you do. But it's also value adding. And it is expressing your vibe and your personality and drawing people in rather than pushing sales onto them.

Okay.  so let's look how we can tighten up your messaging. The 1st thing you want to do is talk to one specific person.  not everyone, not all the people, not all the busy moms. Because if you ask any mom, she'll tell you she's busy. Not every busy business owner be really, really clear on who it is that you are talking to.  If your content could apply to literally anyone, it's going to land with no one.  absolutely no one. They'll be like, Oh, yeah, that's nice, or and people will actually say that, oh, wow! I love this about whatever it is on your content.  or they'll just give you a little love heart.  Okay. we want to speak directly to your ideal dream client, that one that we go. Yes, I want another 10 or 100 of her, and for me, I actually label that I name that person, and that person for me is Sally.  It's like I want more, Sally's. How do I talk to Sally, what does Sally need to hear from me today? What are the challenges that Sally is having, that I can give her a few tips to move forward with  right that one specific person.

And then I want you to stop being so freaking vague a lot of the time. People are vague because they're worried about shutting people out, or they're worrying about like  cutting, half cutting their audience in half. It's like when I start when I started her sales club the amount of people that came to me and were like, Oh, so men aren't allowed to go into her sales club.  No, they're not. It's her sales club. It's focused on women. It's focused on women in business. It's focused on women in business that offer services to people. It is so clear on what it is that we do  so stop being vague instead of saying, I want to help women grow their business. Say, I help service based entrepreneurs with a legion system that brings in 10 plus high ticket  customers every month or every week.  like what is it specifically that you do educate your audience on that.  And then what we want to do is we want to focus on the outcomes, outcomes, outcomes, outcomes, not features. not features.

Just look at, also, including the outcomes of what it is that you do. People don't care that your course has 10 modules. People don't care that your doors are open, people don't care that it's an 8 week course.  They care that those modules are going to get them consistent income or a consistent outcome that they're looking for.  Okay, outcome focused, not just features.  If you go on your social media now, and we'll talk about this a little bit more as we go through this podcast but if you went on your social media now, how many of your posts just have the features of what it is that you do?  Hmm! Have a look any offers that you've made? Are we just talking about the features?  And then, as I mentioned before, we want to have a really clear next step, how can people work with you? How can they give you money? Every single piece of content should answer the question, What do I want them to do next?  Do I want them to download something? Do I want them to share something? Do I want them to buy something? Do we want them to click a link. DM, you sign up for a fee freebie. Make it so obvious  that they can't miss it. And if they are your ideal people, then they're going to take that action if we've nailed our messaging, and they're really clear on how we can help them.

Now, the next part that I want to kind of take you through is why your opt-ins and free content need to actually sell.  One of my amazing, gorgeous, beautiful clients was in the middle of launching one of her offers.  And  late one evening, when she was having a little bit of a moment, and I reached out, and I was like, hey, Hon! How you going? How's your launch going? How are your sales  right? How are you feeling like? Where are we at?  And she was like.  I don't understand. I'm not getting any sales through the door. Normally, I've got X amount by this stage, and I'm sitting at less than half of that. I'm like, Okay, cool. Give me a minute. I'll come back to you.  I took less than 3 min and I scrolled through her social media. I looked at her posts. I looked at her lives. I looked at her stories. I looked at her, content that she's putting out there and guess what she wasn't actually selling. She had some great content out there. She had some engaging stuff. She had some really funny stuff that I was laughing at, and I'll show my husband.  But was that actually selling what she did? No.

So  let's look at what gets overlooked so easily, which is those freebies, lead magnets and opt-ins, and actually make them into  pieces of content that sell and that get people to take that next step.  I see business owners pour their heart and soul into creating freebies, a checklist, a webinar, the time and effort that they think about what they're going to put out there to attract their clients in, to make something super valuable.  Then they promote it like crazy, and then nothing.  no real sales, no conversions. Just a list  full of freebie hoarders who never actually buy.  I think I heard somewhere one day that someone said, it gets dusty on your digital bookshelf in your business. It's like, Yeah, I'll look at that later. Oh, that looks really good. I'll look at that later.

And so we just keep collecting these freebies. But we're not actually doing anything with them. And people aren't actually buying from our opt-ins and our freebies.  because their opt-in or their freebie doesn't lead anywhere.  so your free content should give them a quick win, so that they instantly trust you. They get a good vibe about you. Show them how you actually help and serve them so that they can see your true value.  Okay? And then we want them to naturally flow into your paid offer. So the buying feels like the next logical step. We're not pushy. We're not hustling. We're not in their face. Rah! Rah! Rah! If you don't buy this, you'll never succeed. None of that rubbish right.  Your freebie is not just a nice thing to have. Okay, it's not something that you're just giving away. It's an actual sales tool.  Yes, if you've created a freebie, you are selling baby.  and even when people say I don't like selling Maree, don't be in business, then, baby, don't be in business. If you don't want to serve people because sales equals serving.  And if you're not moving people toward people buying from you.  then it's just not working. And we need to look at what you need to do to create more sales from those freebies that you're creating.  So how do we actually create an opt-in that converts? Let's fix this if you want to. If you want your freebie to actually turn into sales. Here's what you need to do.

Step one. Pick a micro problem that you can solve fast, not one, not  all the problems all in one that people look at and go. This is really overwhelming. I'll do it later.  Right. No, we want them to move forward. We want them to have a quick win.  Your audience doesn't need anything. They need one quick win. They don't need everything. One quick win. Think how to write a sales page that converts instead of everything you need to know about copywriting.  See the difference there? It's like, yes, I need to understand how I make that sales page convert rather than everything. I need to know about copywriting, because I'm telling you that that opt in for everything you need to know about copywriting. If it says everything you need to know that's going to be a big ass document.  and no one is going to sit there and read through a big document that they are not naturally invested in  right. They're going to look at that and go or look at it later or come back to it, or they'll be overwhelmed and they'll do nothing.

Okay, so step one. Pick a micro problem that you can solve fast  step 2 is, make sure that it leads naturally into your paid offer.  Okay, it's not something that is completely different to what it is that you do. Your Freebie needs to teach them what to do, and your paid offer should teach them how to do it.  Okay.  Freely teaches what to do.  Paid offer teaches them how to do it really clear and simple. and then step 3 is, have a follow up email sequence that sells have a sales process. After that opt-in. So a freebie alone won't do anything you need to actually nurture those leads into buyers with a strategic process. Okay, strategic process follow up emails. Follow up messages.  follow up phone calls, whatever that looks like for you and your business. Whichever way that you want to do it.  you need to make sure that you have that process that is actually selling for you.

Okay, this got a little bit ranty for a change. No. I feel like all my podcasts and all my presentations that I do. I get Ranty.  But let's recap. Let's stop treating social media like it's a diary. Let's start treating it like it's an actual sales machine. It's a sales tool. Okay, we want to stop creating content just for engagement. And we want to create content that converts  in her sales club. We talk about using the serve process across our social media.  So we want to make sure we're getting engagement. We want to make sure that we're building relationships.  It's a whole acronym of things right. But we want to make sure that we're creating content. That converts not just looks pretty, not just fun. You can have some of that sprinkled in there  from an engagement point of view and relationship building. But we actually want to make sure that it's doing something.  Time is money in business.

Social media can be a huge black hole, or it can be a well-oiled machine. Okay? And then what you want to do is you want to stop giving away random freebies.  start using your opt-ins to actually drive your sales. So here's your action. Step for today.  Go look at your last 5 posts on either Instagram, Facebook. If you're an overachiever, look at both, or Linkedin, whichever social media platform you play with.  a if you if you're a smart little cookie, whichever social media platform your ideal clients are on most.  Okay, where are they looking for answers to the challenges that that they've got Instagram, Facebook.  Linkedin, where tick, tock wherever that is for you.  Go and look at your last 5 posts and ask yourself these 3 questions. Would this actually make someone buy from me?  If it's not a hell? Yes, then it's a no.  okay, if it's like, Oh, maybe no.

When I did the sales sprint? When I ran the 4 day sales sprint, we actually brought up  someone's Instagram. And I was like, Let's go through here. Okay, that looks nice. Yep, that looks great. Don't know what you do. No calls to action. I'm not really clear on what it is that you do.  Does this actually make someone want to buy from me.  The second thing that I want you to ask yourself is, does this post have a clear next step?  Does it? Are people clear on what they need to be doing?  If the answer's no change it?

And then the 3rd thing is, does this permission position me  as the go-to person in my industry.  Does this make people go? She knows exactly what she's talking about. She holds her space beautifully. She is a person I will go to for Xyz.  Okay?  And so if the answer is no to any of those, or it's not a hell. Yes, it's time to actually start looking at the way you create your content  start creating content. That actually makes you money. I said. The dirty word money. Yes, sales is also a dirty word for some people.  but it's not because if they're not buying from you, they're going to be buying from someone else.  and if you're not helping them, they'll find someone else that will  serve your clients. Serve your ideal customers.  Show them why you started your business in the 1st place, because a lot of the time we start our business, because we know we can help people.  Okay.  that is all from me. In this episode. Today, I would love if you are listening to this, take a cheeky, screenshot, tag me in it at Maree Kirkpatrick, and I would love to always as always, know your biggest takeaway, because I'm sitting here talking to my little light  and wondering whether what I'm trying to get across is actually being put down. I want to know what you're getting out of it.

So there you go, fix your messaging, start creating content that actually converts. And I will see you on the next episode of the sales show have an amazing day.