In this episode, Jan Touchberry discusses the challenges of using social media for business growth, emphasizing the need for a clear strategy that focuses on visibility and conversion rather than mere presence. She explores alternatives to social media, such as email marketing and search-based platforms, and introduces the 'nine grid strategy' as a balanced approach to maintaining an online presence without overwhelming oneself. The conversation encourages listeners to seek clarity in their marketing efforts and to prioritize effective strategies over the pressure to constantly engage on social media.

TAKEAWAYS

You are allowed to question the narrative around social media.

You do not need social media to grow your business.

The goal is predictable visibility that leads to consistent income.

Visibility without a conversion pathway is just performing.

An email list of engaged people is more valuable than a large social media following.

Intent over attention is crucial for growth.

Collaborations can significantly enhance your reach and trust.

The nine grid strategy offers a sustainable approach to social media.

Clarity in strategy is essential for effective marketing.

You are not called to be everywhere; focus on what works.

SOUND BITES

"You are allowed to question the narrative."

"Collaborations are huge."

"You need clarity, not performance."

CHAPTERS

00:00 The Social Media Dilemma

02:50 Visibility vs. Conversion

08:26 Alternatives to Social Media

12:38 The Nine Grid Strategy

17:29 Finding Clarity and Strategy

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Be honest. Have you ever thought to yourself, if I have to post one more reel, I might lose my salvation? I have said that. You've been consistent, you've tried all the strategies, you've shown up, and yet no income is anywhere in sight. Or if you are getting income, it's not consistent. So you're wondering to yourself, what the heck is social media actually doing for my business other than making me crazy?

In this episode, we're going to talk about what you really need to grow and what might just be noise. We're going to unpack visibility versus conversion, pressure versus discernment, and how to build predictable income without burning yourself out and trying to keep up. Listen, if you're one of those people who love social, awesome. I'm going to be honest and say that this episode is probably not for you, but that's OK. However,

If you are one of the people who are tired of the hamster wheel and you're ready for fewer moving parts and better ROI, that's really hard to say, better ROI, this one is for you.

But if you're tired of the hamster wheel and you're ready for fewer moving parts and better ROI, this one is for you. So let's go.

Hey there, friend. All right, I wanna ask you a question, and I need you to answer it as honestly as you possibly can, okay? On a scale of one to 10, how effective is your social media for your business? Yeah, good question, right? Okay, like, are you having conversations that lead to conversions in your DMs? At all? Or...

Do you find yourself doing all the social media things and you're not really getting anything out of it other than feeling exhausted by it all? Because here's what I'm seeing over and over again. I'm having these conversations. I'm hearing them in rooms that I'm in. I'm seeing brilliant, capable, called women spending hours creating content, trying to keep up with the latest trend on social media, trying to be consistent.

trying to stay visible and still not seeing consistent income. So I want to talk about it today because that shouldn't be how it is, okay? I'm going to say the quiet part out loud. You are allowed to question the narrative. You are allowed to ask, can I actually grow a business without social media? You are allowed to feel tired of the hamster wheel.

You are allowed to admit that maybe, just maybe, posting every day is not producing the ROI you were promised. And I want to answer you clearly. You do not need social media to grow your business. But you do need a few things. You need visibility. You gotta have trust. You need to build relationship. And you have to have a distribution outlet.

That's it. Social media is just one way to distribute your message. It is not the only way. It is not mandatory. The goal is not posting. The goal is predictable visibility that leads to consistent income. I'm going to say that one more time. The goal is predictable visibility that leads to consistent income.

So I wanna anchor there for a minute, okay? I'm gonna unpack just a little bit why social media feels non-negotiable. First, it's loud. You can't scroll for five minutes without seeing somebody, at least in my algorithm, say you have to show up every day. Consistency is everything. You gotta post three reels a day. If you're not growing, it's because you're not visible. When you hear something enough times,

you're gonna start to believe it. right? And second, social media gives you instant feedback. You get the like, you get the comment, you get the DM, you get the dopamine hit. And that feels like movement. But movement and momentum friends are not the same thing. And then third, social media feels free. You know, we don't pay for it, it's free.

I am telling you it is not free. It is definitely not free. It costs you time. It costs you creativity. It costs your peace. It costs your comparison meter going into overdrive, which can cost you your mental health. And I want you to think about this, okay? If social media was truly working for you, you wouldn't even be asking the question. You would just be managing social.

not resenting it. So I want to zoom out, zoom out from this spot, okay? Because while I believe all of that, like firmly believe all of that, most of the time the issue is not the platform. The problem isn't Instagram. The problem, friend, is the lack of a defined strategy. Yes? Can we all agree on that? All right? There is no clear revenue driver. There's no defined pathway.

There's no conversion plan. So what happens? You post, you hope, you wait, you refresh, you question yourself, and then you call it marketing. Friend, that is not strategy. It's just another stressor. Strategy answers questions, okay? What is my primary revenue source? Do you know the answer to that? If you don't, you better find out.

It answers the question where your buyers are more likely to convert. If the answer is not social media, you probably should not be placing as much importance on it as you are. It answers the question what channel supports long-term ROI. Do you even know what that means?

It answers the question, what platform aligns with my capacity? Do you have time to be consistent on social media with all the reels and all the stories and all the posts and all the things? Okay. You got to get clear on all that friend because without clarity, every platform feels necessary, but every platform for you is not necessary. And with clarity, you get to choose hallelujah. Hallelujah. It feels so good to have choices.

and not feel like everything is the choice because everything does not have to be the choice. right? I want to talk about ROI, return on investment in case that term is new to you. What are you getting back for the amount of time, effort, and energy and money that you're putting into this, okay? Now, I hear this in my business when I'm talking to women. They've told me that they want fewer moving parts.

More consistent income. Well, posting daily is not fewer moving parts. Chasing trends is not fewer moving parts. Building on rented land without a conversion plan, which is exactly what social media is, is not consistent income. And here is a little bit of hard but very freeing truth. Visibility without a conversion pathway is just...

performing. It's just performing, friend. And performing is exhausting. So if not social media, then what? That is a really great question. Now again, if you have a solid social media strategy and you're getting conversions, by all means, keep going, sister.

You don't have to break what's working, but you do have to fix what's not working, okay? So right now I'm gonna talk to those of you who don't or aren't getting regular conversions, okay? I wanna talk about some real alternatives.

First, email marketing. While I wouldn't absolutely put that in an alternative category because in my mind it's more of a non-negotiable, you have to have an email list. Okay, if you have a business, you have to have an email list. But I wanna tell you, an email list of 500 engaged people will out-earn 10,000 distracted followers every dang day. Why? Because email is owned, it's direct,

It's intimate, people are opting in to hear what you have to say, not just scrolling by. It converts at a higher rate and it compounds over time. Your email list is gonna grow and the more people hear from you, the more trust they have in you and the more likely they are to buy. Your email list doesn't change the rules overnight. It doesn't hide your message. It doesn't throttle your reach. It rewards consistency. Now.

If you're one of those people with an inconsistent email list and you're thinking, well, mine doesn't work, OK, that really is not fair. It's not proof that it's ineffective. It's proof that you need a strategy. And yeah, we're back to the strategy piece, right? So C point A. Strategy on any platform is king, and it is a non-negotiable. All right, second thing, search-based platforms.

but search captures intent. Well, what do you mean by that, Jan? Okay, so when somebody types into any of those things, podcasting, blogging, Pinterest, YouTube, when somebody types in, I need social media to grow my business? They are actively seeking a solution. That is an intent. And intent is gonna convert better than passive scrolling and hoping.

They find a reel that captures your attention every day. Search content works long after you log off. I can post a blog today and it can still be getting searches, coming up in search engines, coming up in ChatGPT four years from now. All right, now that friend is ROI. All right, and then we've talked about email, we talked about search.

and I wanna talk about partnerships that borrow trust, okay? How do you do that? Guest on podcasts, speaking to groups, collaborations, referral ecosystems. When somebody who is trusted introduces you,

This has been a lot. So I want to talk to you, to the woman who's thinking, okay, but I feel like I should have a social media presence. I feel like I have to be on Instagram. Maybe your clients check there before they buy. Maybe potential partners look you up.

Maybe you just want the credibility of having a social media profile. That's fair. All right, but I believe there is a balanced approach. You do not have to choose between posting daily or disappearing completely. All right, there is a middle ground. And I like to think that the middle ground...

is what I call the nine grid strategy, okay? Instead of living on Instagram, you build a strong nine grid. You can think of a nine grid as your digital storefront. It's not your daily diary, right? So what the heck is a nine grid? It's your top nine posts that you can curate. They should be clear and they should answer these questions. Who you are, who you help.

What problem do you solve? What makes you different? And what's the next step for somebody coming onto Instagram and seeing this nine grid, okay? So these posts can be batched. You post them all at the same time. And then when they go together, they look like one cohesive story, if you will, that tells people about who you are and what you do and why they should be in your ecosystem.

You want to design them very intentionally. And Canva has a bunch of beautiful nine grid templates that allow you to design nine posts that create that beautiful cohesive space for people to land that are checking you out. And then once they're posted, you just let them sit. They are clear, and clarity is going to convert more than frequency of a non-clear message. All right?

And then, if you still want to, you can show up in your stories a few times a week.

you can let that be organic. And then I suggest if you're gonna do this method, you're gonna do the nine grid and then you're gonna show up in stories, file your stories in your highlights so that people can go back and see what you're all about, right? I would say have your main things, your pillars in the highlights so that it's easy to put those stories in categories that people can then thumb through. And that's it. You share.

What do you share? You collect client wins, right? Share a client win.

lessons that you've learned. Maybe behind the scenes moments. I have a friend who's getting ready to have a mastermind, not a mastermind, a retreat, sorry. And so she can share behind the scenes of her retreat. It's going to be great content and it's easy because it's happening in the moment. You can share reminders about your offers, right? You got clarity in the nine grid and then connection in the stories. And that friend for most people is going to feel a whole lot more sustainable than the hamster wheel that we've been

sold that we have to have, right? So there's a couple of filter questions. Number one, is Instagram driving any email signups? Is it warming up your buyers? Is it producing any real leads? If the answer is yes, then keep it because it's strategically working for you. If the answer is no, it's either time to get a strategy,

or it's time to let it go. But if your heart just said hallelujah when I said it's time to let it go, then I think you've made up your mind, you've made your decision. But if the answer is no, it's not producing any of those things, but your gut just tightened wondering if you're gonna make the wrong decision.

It's fair, but I think it's also fear. fear is not from the Lord. So what are you going to do? You're going to go to him and you're going to ask him. The Lord will give you your strategy. You just got to go sit with him.

Ask the question and then be willing to listen. I was just talking to somebody the other day and I asked if she is a journaler. And she said, well, I used to journal with the Lord all the time, but I don't anymore. And so I would suggest you start journaling with the Lord and you go to him with questions like this, God, can I get off of social media? I hate it. And then see what he says, right?

If the answer is no, you need to be there, then ask him for the strategy. He's gonna give you clarity on it, I promise. Okay, so before you make any decision, again, one more time, does this platform bring in consistent leads? Is it sustainable? Does it align with your strengths? And are you seeing an actual ROI? If three or more of those are no, friend, that is not quitting, it is pivoting distribution. And it's also wise.

You are not called to be everywhere, but you are called to steward wisely your time, your effort, your energy, right? Parable of the talents. You don't have to have more platforms. You just need clarity. You don't need to perform. You need to convert. You don't need to chase attention. You need to build trust. And you do a solid strategy no matter which side of the social coin you land on. That's the mic drop moment, okay?

If you're tired of guessing where your visibility should live, if you're tired of spinning your wheels, if you are one of the people who want fewer moving parts and more consistent income and something that will work.

I would love to help you look at that strategically. And so I've opened up just a few spots for a free 20 minute funnel audit. You can find that at jantouchbury.com slash funnel. And I'll also drop the link in the show notes. And.

We're gonna, you're gonna give me your links and I'm gonna do an assessment and then we're gonna hop on a quick 20 minute zoom. We're gonna dig into where you are, where you feel like you should be, what's working, what's not working, and hopefully at the end of that 20 minutes, you've got some clarity, okay? Because clarity, again, changes everything. All right, friend, if this episode rang true with you today and you know somebody that could benefit from it, would you please hit the share button? Send them the link.

That is one of the best ways that you can help this podcast grow and you're doing a sister, a solid, because whoever you send it to is gonna get some great content as well. So go simplify, go breathe, and I will see you next week. and if you have missed it on Mondays.

I'm doing a little Monday Devo, they're not long, but I've gotten a lot of great feedback on the two Monday Devos that I've done. remember, new episode coming out on Monday, that's the Devo, and Wednesday, that's your Practical Business Strategy. See you next week.