Wish you could delete Instagram tomorrow and still make money? Me too. In this episode, I’m getting brutally honest about what happens when you actually stop posting — and why your business doesn’t have to revolve around the content treadmill to keep growing.

Back in 2023, I went completely off-grid for four months. No posts. No stories. No YouTube videos. No emails. Just… nothing. And yet, people still bought from me. People still found me. Sales still came in. How? Because I had created digital assets that kept working even when I wasn’t.

If social media feels gross, overwhelming, or downright exhausting, this episode will give you the permission slip you’ve been craving — and the practical steps to keep growing without needing to be online 24/7.

In this episode, I share:

✨ What actually kept my business going when I quit social for four months

✨ Why YouTube and blog content still bring me sales long after I publish it

✨ What to do instead of trying to “be everywhere” on socials

✨ How to repurpose content across platforms without burning out

✨ The case for creating a minimalist social presence for credibility (without pressure to post)

✨ How to borrow other people’s audiences and still grow

✨ Tools I use to block distractions and stay off the apps during my workday

✨ The surprising reason you might hate social (and how to make it fun again)

This one is part strategy, part mindset shift, and a whole lot of permission to not do the thing that feels gross.

🎧 Listen to the episode:

https://this-is-what-id-do.captivate.fm/listen

📌 Catch future livestreams:

https://www.youtube.com/@suemclachlan

Do you hate social media?

2

Do you live in a world where you're

like, if Instagram and Facebook didn't

3

exist, I'd be a pretty happy camper?

4

Well, me too.

5

I am the world's biggest

not social media fan.

6

However, we are also running

online businesses, so

7

sometimes we just gotta use it.

8

And today I'm gonna be talking

about what do you do if you hate

9

social media and you wanna avoid it?

10

You still want to sell

now, you can still sell.

11

I will 100% get behind that.

12

There are ways you can incorporate social

media, even as a social media hater, but

13

if you still want to keep selling, I am

here to tell you that it is 100% possible.

14

In 2023, I went through burnout,

and for four months I did

15

literally nothing in my business.

16

No social media posts, no emails, no

YouTube videos, no blogs, nothing.

17

I pretty much went completely radio

silent, yet my business still kept going.

18

I still kept people, uh, getting

people sign up to my office.

19

I still had people purchasing.

20

I still had people contacting me

and asking for consulting, and

21

all of that was going on because

of the things that I had created

22

before I took that break away from.

23

Everything and the things

that kept working for me were

24

the long form content pieces.

25

YouTube, it did not grow.

26

Sure, in the time that I was producing

nothing, but it kept constant.

27

People kept watching my videos, going

to my website, signing up for my offers.

28

But do you know what?

29

Died completely?

30

As soon as I went away from it.

31

Social media channels, all of those things

were only working while I was actively

32

posting and it has completely made me stay

away from them for the most part since,

33

because you can put so much work into

it and you know, you feel like you are

34

grinding and hustling to get attention.

35

And if it's not actually leading

anywhere, and if you stop

36

doing it, it stops working.

37

Well, that is not the key for a

sustainable business in my view.

38

I am choosing to focus on content that

is gonna serve me for the long term.

39

The things that are going to

keep working when I'm not.

40

If you know you have something

happen in your life, that means

41

that you can't show up as much to

your business for a week or a month.

42

You do not want to feel like you are

chained to it and you can't step away.

43

That is a horrible way to feel,

and it's the place that a lot

44

of people find themselves in.

45

Sure you'll make sales.

46

If you're hustling and you are posting

multiple stories a day on socials

47

and you're in the dms, and you know

you're doing all the things that

48

absolutely can bring you income.

49

Like the strategy of, you know, being

on Facebook and in all the Facebook

50

groups and commenting on people's posts.

51

It can absolutely work, but when you stop

working the strategy, stop working too.

52

And if you wanna build something

that's sustainable and scalable,

53

you've got to get beyond that.

54

I'm certainly not gonna discount it

though, because when you are starting out

55

and you are trying to get traction, it

can be a fantastic way to get attention.

56

Social media platforms can work to

put you in front of audiences that

57

you may not have already had, but.

58

It is not the easy game that it was.

59

I've been around social media for a while

60

I was there for the beginning of Facebook.

61

I was there for those glorious days when

you could put a post up on a Facebook

62

business page, a business page, the pages

that get pretty much no attention at

63

all anymore and get hundreds of likes.

64

You would get.

65

Lots of new subscribers.

66

I could sit there and Google Analytics

and watch the traffic to the site

67

increase, literally watch sales

come in for my e-commerce store.

68

Back in those good old days before

Facebook was a business and before

69

it pretty much stopped being social

'cause I think that's half the problem.

70

Social media doesn't feel social

anymore, and it just feels like

71

this content grind machine.

72

And if you're not grinding

it out, then you are kind of

73

being ejected from the machine.

74

So my fellow social media haters, let

me know, let me know if that is you.

75

If you were someone who was like,

Ugh, like if I just didn't have to do

76

social media, my life would be better

because I 100% empathize with you.

77

But I want to share some.

78

Things with you that might help you,

maybe reframe it, give you some ideas

79

for how you can potentially make it fun.

80

But most importantly, the other things

that you can do apart from social

81

media, if you're like, no matter

what you say, it is not gonna be fun.

82

Um.

83

To help you have ways to

generate sales and to grow your

84

business outside of social media.

85

So firstly, I think one of the things

that challenges us, um, as digital

86

creators and people who are selling

in the online space is that feeling

87

that you have to be everywhere.

88

It was really perpetuated, um, you

know, pre covid and probably even

89

a little bit during Covid when

people had more time to sort of.

90

Be on all the platforms, but when you

feel like you have to be everywhere,

91

you've gotta be on Instagram and you

know, now you've gotta be on threads

92

and um, YouTube and Pinterest and um,

TikTok and Facebook, and in Facebook

93

groups and LinkedIn and all the

places, it is incredibly overwhelming

94

and it's also like a key to burnout.

95

If you're trying to spread yourself

across all of those places, a you're

96

probably not gonna really have a good

understanding of all the platforms.

97

You're just pretty much doing that

sort of spray and pray approach.

98

And secondly, you're gonna get burnt out.

99

It is hard to create that much

content if you have a way of being

100

able to easily, um, you know,

put content on other platforms.

101

Absolutely.

102

Um, I was watching a

fantastic YouTube yesterday.

103

I was talking a little bit

about this subject and it was

104

saying, get one platform that

you master that's like your home.

105

Like the thing that you, the place you

love being the most, the place that you

106

feel is gonna get you the most return.

107

Then if you want to post on the other

platforms, do it in a maintenance mode.

108

Um, you know, just repost.

109

You can pull clips out and put them in

multiple places, that kind of thing.

110

But temper your expectations accordingly,

because if you really wanna make a

111

social media platform work for you,

then understanding it and trying

112

to, uh, you know, know the best

format, the type of things that that

113

audience will respond to, because it

will be different across platforms.

114

However, in the beginning, we

don't have social media teams to

115

be managing all this stuff for us.

116

So you can absolutely cross post, but

just do it with, um, you know, the,

117

the understanding that it's not some

magic thing that if you cross post

118

it, you're gonna be putting yourself

in front of thousands of people.

119

Because if you're just kind of putting

content on a platform and then not being

120

there to, um, respond to people's comments

and questions and sort of be part of the

121

social, um, aspect of it, it may be a

little bit challenging to get a grade.

122

From it.

123

Um, I think, uh, for me, Instagram has

been like that because I don't really

124

care about Instagram in my personal life.

125

I'm not an Instagram user

for myself, so it's hard to

126

understand the Instagram culture.

127

It's hard to even be like, you know,

to want to make stories for my business

128

'cause I don't do it for me as a person.

129

Yet other channels like threads.

130

I personally love it because that is

how I like communicating like little,

131

you know, short, um, snippets and text

based and having little chats back and

132

forward that feels more natural for me.

133

That's something that I would

do in a more fun perspective.

134

Um.

135

So that can be part of the challenge as

well, because finding the platforms that

136

have that perfect combination of they're

gonna work for your business, that it's

137

something that you actually like doing.

138

Because when you are trying to do

something and you actually don't like

139

doing it, it feels very, very hard.

140

You're gonna have blocks

all over the place.

141

You're gonna resist it.

142

And so getting something that you enjoy.

143

And is somewhere that you know

your audience is gonna be, is

144

fantastic for the rest of them.

145

Sure, you can repost

content and put it there.

146

You might get a little

bit of traction from it.

147

I find that with LinkedIn, I'm not

someone who understands LinkedIn culture.

148

I don't spend a lot of time there.

149

However, through cross-posting and

putting, you know, occasional content

150

on LinkedIn, um, just 'cause of the

nature of the platform, I mean, it almost

151

makes me want to understand it and do

it better because it is really, um, a

152

great way for your content to be found.

153

And if you do comment on people's.

154

Posts, then it's gonna be put in

front of other people's audiences.

155

I find that it's quite

good for discoverability.

156

I've had a lot of clients

that have come to me because

157

they've found me on LinkedIn.

158

I'm like, okay, damn.

159

Like I don't really do

anything there, but woo hoo.

160

Like so, you know, for me, that's a

ticker box to cross post, but I'll still

161

get a little bit of return from it.

162

But I'd probably still do it

anyway just because, you know, it's

163

another platform to put content

out on, but I'm not creating.

164

LinkedIn specific content.

165

I'm not sort of understanding the

platform and going deep into it to

166

really be like, all right, what's

working on LinkedIn right now?

167

And do you know what?

168

That's one of the challenges

as well, because these are.

169

Algorithm driven platforms and people

change the algorithms, not people.

170

The companies change the algorithms

and they're changing the algorithms for

171

what suits them and not what suits you.

172

The social media platforms that are

free for us to use are only free

173

because they're being paid for by

advertisers, and at the end of the

174

day, the platforms are gonna do

what's gonna make them the most money.

175

We are just some byproduct and.

176

Is really, really challenging, putting

all your eggs in these social platforms

177

because you can, you know, start

producing content, do really well with

178

it, and then there'll be some algorithm

change or some trend change and what

179

was working before won't work now.

180

And that's where it can be.

181

Um, I.

182

Tricky to, to keep on top of it and

actually be effective on the platforms

183

unless you are really kind of focusing

on that one kind of core platform and

184

understanding it and, um, you know, being

the person who's also on top of trends or

185

following people who are on top of trends.

186

But to do that across all the platforms,

I mean, that could be your full-time

187

job and you know, it should just be

a little part of what you're doing,

188

not kind of taking over everything.

189

Um, but yes.

190

You don't need to be everywhere.

191

You could, you know, sprinkle yourself

some places if you want, but if you didn't

192

even wanna do that, if you're like, no,

that's even just too hard, just pick.

193

One platform, um, don't get sort of

entrenched into that hustle culture.

194

And also, you know, with that platform,

depending on what it is, depends

195

on how frequently you have to post.

196

So that may be something you might be

like, I could put one thoughtful post a

197

week on LinkedIn and that's gonna get me a

lot more than putting, you know, spending

198

time creating stories and reels and all

that kind of stuff for Instagram, however.

199

If you are someone who it can just

whip out a story in five minutes,

200

then putting lots of stories on may

be easy and makes sense for you.

201

For me, I'd be like, oh, I don't

even know what to put in it.

202

It would just become a big ordeal

and there would just to be too many,

203

um, barriers and sort of friction

with it to make it worth my time.

204

Also, you know, with stories and

things like that, I think it can be

205

more effective when you have a bigger

audience, and again, that's one of the

206

challenges with creating content when

you don't yet have a big audience.

207

The way that YouTube has been able to

work so well for me is that even though

208

I was creating content when I had just

a, you know, a few hundred subscribers,

209

all those videos are getting views now.

210

My most viewed video in the last 28

211

So that long form content is what's

gonna keep working for you, and

212

that's why, um, a big proponent of it.

213

Um, now with long form content, um, I,

I wouldn't even say long form context.

214

It's not even necessarily long

form because short form is now

215

available in Google search.

216

There's a lot of people who use TikTok as

their, you know, search engine almost it.

217

Very audience dependent, so

that's part of it as well.

218

Um, but it's more search based content,

you know, using SEO to your advantage.

219

And even though AI has taken over

the world, um, it still does not

220

negate the incredible benefit.

221

Of search based content, I am a hundred

percent sure that the reason why my

222

YouTube channel, even though it is

very, very ordinary and I don't have

223

a ton of subscribers, does so well

for me and for my business, is because

224

I'm not trying to be a YouTuber.

225

I'm creating content.

226

That lasts most of the content

on my channel is designed to be

227

something that will help someone

today and in, you know, years to come.

228

It's evergreen search based content.

229

I'm very thoughtful with, um, creating

titles that are going to be found,

230

descriptions that are key, you know, have

the right keywords in there, you know,

231

tags and all the things that will help

your content be found in search because.

232

Not only does the videos come up

in YouTube search because Google

233

owns YouTube, the videos come up in

Google search and that is the power.

234

Often, even if I have the same video

where I also create a blog post version,

235

the video will often come up first.

236

Google prioritizes YouTube so often

YouTube videos will come up very

237

high in the search results, and that

is a hundred percent to your favor.

238

And that is something that you

can use for that discoverability

239

aspect of, um, social media that I.

240

You, you may not get elsewhere.

241

You wanna be getting yourself in front

of new audiences and new people, and

242

search is a fantastic way to do it.

243

If you're able to create some of

your content that is around the

244

questions that people are asking

that can introduce them to you,

245

then if you have additional videos,

then they can go on and watch them.

246

Same with blog posts.

247

People still do read blogs.

248

Videos are awesome, but a lot of people

will read written content and blogs are

249

still an absolutely fantastic resource.

250

So it doesn't need to

always be about video.

251

If you can do video, great, it

makes it helpful for repurposing.

252

But blogs are also.

253

Fantastic to be able to repurpose.

254

You can turn them into carousel posts,

you can pull some of the key points out.

255

You can, um, pull little snippets

out for putting onto your socials

256

just as a, a text-based post and

point people back to that blog post.

257

Um, I think blogs in a

way are kind of slightly.

258

Um, more helpful for digital creators

because you can put popups and, um,

259

you know, things right on the page for

people to be able to sign up to your

260

resources or buy, um, low ticket, helpful,

relevant products to the blog post.

261

If you are on another platform like

Pinterest or YouTube, generally someone's

262

gonna have to leave the platform to

come to your site, but when they're

263

already on your site, it's even easier.

264

That is one of the things as well.

265

You do need to make sure that

short form content is selling

266

you and selling your business.

267

Sure, not every time, but being able to

include very helpful and easily accessible

268

links to free resources and making sure

that you have clear calls to action.

269

You tell people what to do next.

270

That is going to be the key

between just creating content.

271

For the sake of creating content and

creating content that is going to grow

272

your audience on your own platform.

273

Even if you are producing something

on YouTube, um, or Pinterest or

274

you know, one of these other search

based platforms, then you still need

275

to get people back into your land.

276

You wanna be growing.

277

In your own world, and that

is where there is a big push.

278

You probably have heard it a bazillion

times about, you know, grow on your

279

land, not on the social media, um,

arenas because you have control.

280

There is no algorithm change in email.

281

Sure there's been little changes to, um,

spam laws and, and things like that with

282

your email, but you own your email list.

283

You are not at risk of your.

284

Uh, your YouTube channel being shut

down, your Instagram account being hacked

285

or, you know, closed or whatever reason

that when you are on someone else's

286

platform, they have all the control.

287

So if you can, you know, help use these,

um, you know, social or you know, this

288

long form type of thing to bring people

into your world, once they're in your

289

world, then that is a lot easier to be

able to nurture them and to be able to

290

keep in contact with people that have

come across you because social media.

291

Even YouTube, all those things can be

really fleeting, especially if someone

292

is just getting introduced to you.

293

They might only watch one video, and if

there's been no way for you to continue to

294

contact them, that could be the end of it.

295

Maybe they'll watch one or

two, then they'll watch.

296

The more people's, if you are contacting,

you know, if they, if they're really

297

into you, they're probably gonna

watch everything and listen to

298

everything if you have a podcast.

299

But if you're new.

300

You know, it could just be some random,

you know, scroll through, kind of look at

301

something and when you, um, have a clear

path to get them back into your own land,

302

then that's gonna be really advantageous.

303

I.

304

Um, borrowing other people's audiences

is something else that you can do with,

305

um, not being on your own socials.

306

There are some people

who love social media.

307

You know, just because you're a social

media hater doesn't mean that there

308

aren't people who love it and have big

audiences and want guests for their

309

YouTube shows, for their podcasts.

310

Maybe even they want guests to create

guest posts for them to come in and be an

311

expert in their communities and they've

done the work of building the audience.

312

And sometimes, you know, when

you do collaborations, you can

313

get in front of those audiences.

314

Um, you know, there's bundles, summits,

those strategies where you are part

315

of a bigger program and everyone

sort of works together to put your

316

offers in front of other people.

317

That can absolutely be

a strategy to work well.

318

But basically, um, you know, in the

beginning when you are, you are.

319

Um, starting out or when you are like,

Hmm, no more social media for me.

320

You've still gotta do stuff

to build your audience.

321

You've still gotta bring

people into your world.

322

So, um, I will say that if you hate

social media to the point that you don't

323

wanna use it at all, it doesn't mean that

you can stop marketing your business.

324

You just need to market

it in a different way.

325

So, um.

326

Um, getting in front of other

people's audiences, most likely, you

327

know, if someone is running a bundle

or a summit and they have a large

328

audience, they're gonna promote that

and you are gonna be part of that.

329

You're gonna have a chance to,

um, to get in front of other,

330

other people, um, without you

necessarily having to, to do all the

331

socialing and, um, be super social.

332

I will say, even if you are going

down that path where you're like,

333

all right, I'm off social media,

like I don't wanna do it at all.

334

Um, if you have been around for a while

and you haven ant established social media

335

profile, this will apply less to you.

336

But if you are newer and you're like,

Ugh, I don't, I just don't wanna do

337

socials, that is not part of my strategy.

338

I still think it's a good idea to build

a basic, um, social media profile for

339

credibility and to show, you know, what

you do, who you are, um, et cetera.

340

Even if you had an Instagram profile

that had like a, a nine grid, um,

341

with some posts about you, it's

going to feel so much stronger.

342

If it's LinkedIn, Facebook, it doesn't

matter, like being somewhere on social,

343

even if you are not active on social.

344

It gives that credibility because

say you wanna be a part of a

345

bundle or on someone's podcast,

probably the first thing they do is

346

they're gonna go and look you up.

347

They're gonna look you up on social media

and see do you have a profile at all.

348

Personally, I think it's a really

good idea to, um, even if you are not

349

posting on social media and you have

no intention to, to at least claim the

350

names for the social media accounts

for your business or your personal name

351

if you haven't already got that, um.

352

So that no one else can, because you

don't want someone else using that name.

353

That would be very uncool if

someone looks you up and then

354

a different business comes up.

355

But even if you're not actively

posting, just paying a little bit of

356

attention to just getting, you know,

like that basic profile created.

357

So that there is a reference so that

someone can come onto your, um, you know,

358

Instagram profile, LinkedIn, whatever

it is, and they're like, okay, cool.

359

Yeah, this is a person, you

know, this, this looks credible.

360

I can see that they, you know, have got

some content created, obviously optional.

361

Um, but I think it can help.

362

Especially if you're wanting

to go down those paths of, um,

363

using other people's audience.

364

Because if you're a ghost, um, and people

look you up and, and there is, you know,

365

you don't have a blog, you don't have a

YouTube channel, there's no Pinterest,

366

there's no Instagram, there's no LinkedIn,

then it might feel a little bit, um.

367

Someone might not have as much confidence

in knowing who you are, feeling like you

368

are putting yourself out there at all.

369

So, um, it could just be written content.

370

It doesn't need to be photos or

video, if that's, um, something,

371

you know, if that's a reason why

you're staying off social media.

372

But definitely have a body of work.

373

That shows what you do.

374

It shows, you know, you're an expert

with what you know, the field that

375

you are in, um, so that you will

have that credibility and it could

376

be potentially for customers as well.

377

Um, think about yourself when you last

purchase something from an online creator.

378

Maybe you just purchase it, especially

if the price was the right point.

379

But if it was a higher ticket program.

380

You probably want to have some kind

of connection with that person.

381

You wanna listen to some podcast

episodes, watch YouTube videos, shorts.

382

If they, you know, TikTok, if, if

they're on TikTok, um, you know,

383

go to the Facebook profile or page

if the, if their profile is public.

384

See what that person is saying so

that you know that you're aligned

385

and that you can trust them.

386

So even if you're like, Hmm, I'm not gonna

post it all, just try and have something

387

there as that, you know, credibility.

388

Um.

389

I will say social media and like I

mentioned at the beginning, I think some

390

of the reason that so much of us hate

social media, definitely for me, is that

391

it just doesn't feel social anymore.

392

And when you see things that people

are doing, you know, you might see

393

trends on social media, sometimes

it can just make you cringe.

394

Like when the, you know,

let's do the dancers trend.

395

I mean, yay for everyone that you

know is into that and can do that.

396

But for me, that was just like.

397

There is no chance that

I'm gonna be doing that.

398

And you know, the cringey pointing at

stuff and, you know, doing the whole, like

399

pointing at stuff come up on the screen.

400

Sure.

401

Maybe it worked for people, but maybe

for you, you're just like, I just don't

402

want to do things just because they

are trendy Right now on Instagram,

403

there is this trend and it annoys the

absolute crap out of me as an Instagram

404

viewer and consumer where there is.

405

Some sort of message, and it's like

a B-roll thing and there's a bit of

406

text on the screen, but then you've

gotta open up the caption to read it.

407

It's really hard to read with stuff moving

in the background and what they're doing.

408

The reason that that's, you know,

so popular is because it feeds

409

the algorithm and it feeds the

algorithm because it keeps, you

410

know, scrolling around and around.

411

So it's sending messages to Instagram

saying, Hey, this is popular.

412

Because every time someone watches

it, they're watching it five

413

times, but they're not watching it.

414

They're going and reading in the caption.

415

And that just, you know,

frustrates me because.

416

I don't enjoy that experience as a

viewer, so I don't want my people

417

to, you know, that are following

me to have that experience.

418

And sure, you can jump on it and see if it

works, but, you know, are you doing things

419

just for the sake of creating content and

doing things to feed algorithms or, you

420

know, maybe you, that's why you hate it.

421

Like, that's annoying for me.

422

Um, so I, I'm trying to make my social

media just feel a bit more fun again.

423

Um.

424

Just doing things that I actually enjoy,

like posting up fun things, um, that I

425

would share, like I share with friends.

426

And who knows?

427

I am not a social media expert as

someone who, you know, has disappeared

428

from social for periods of time.

429

Um, but that's something that I'm

leaning into a bit more like these

430

live streams, you know, I'm not

doing them for a particular purpose.

431

I'm doing them to get my own confidence.

432

Up.

433

Um, and, you know, there's a benefit,

lots of benefits that come out of it as I

434

was talking about yesterday, but in just

general posts, like what if we just took

435

things back to, to being more social,

like the, you know, social media is trying

436

to make it as unsociable as possible.

437

You go through your feed and every third.

438

Post is some crappy content

or, um, you know, an ad.

439

And we very rarely see

stuff from friends anymore.

440

And I feel like it's all just

content, content, content sort

441

of being shoved down our throats.

442

So, um, you know, that's a

possibility as well if you're

443

like, well, I'd like social media.

444

If it was actually social.

445

I could just, you know, have chats

with friends and um, you know, just.

446

Share my thoughts about stuff without

feeling like I have to perform.

447

Um, like we get to make the rules in

this whilst yes, you know, feeding

448

the algorithms probably what's

gonna help you be successful and pop

449

off or all those kinds of things.

450

If you're focusing the majority of

your attention on long form search

451

based content, which I 100% get

behind, then maybe just use the socials

452

just for some fun like, you know, I.

453

If you hate creating graphics,

don't create graphics.

454

Just put some less

polished stuff up there.

455

Um, you know, if you don't

enjoy Instagram, don't use it.

456

Like if you, the thought of

TikTok is just like, no, I can't

457

personally have TikTok on my phone.

458

I am way, have way too much

of an addictive personality.

459

Um, I have to delete it

because I would just scroll.

460

For ages.

461

Um, so you know that

that is a trick as well.

462

Um, I don't think I have that in my notes,

but if you hate social media, get them off

463

your phone, get the apps off your phone.

464

I only use social media on my computer

because I just get sucked into it.

465

Like with threats, I enjoy the.

466

Context and the idea of threads, and

I enjoy posting on threads, but it is

467

like, you know, it is made for addiction.

468

Like you want to see, has someone replied,

like, did I get any likes on that?

469

It's kind of like that validation thing.

470

And then you'll see someone else and

then you'll end up in a conversation and

471

you know, that is the point of social.

472

But if it, if you find that

it's kind of taking over, and

473

that's what I would find with me.

474

I, I checked my phone time and I

was like, oh, I spent two hours

475

on there and what did I like?

476

Do I feel good about that?

477

Maybe a little bit, but not really.

478

If that's your experience,

you know, just delete them.

479

I now, you know, just go on threads a

couple of times a week just to be like,

480

oh, is there anything fun happening?

481

Maybe I'll put a post up.

482

And when I took the pressure off

myself from having to be social and

483

I was just like, just use it like

you would use it in a more fun sense.

484

Then it became a lot easier and I was

more engaged and, you know, likely

485

to actually post something where it's

more like, oh cool, did you see this?

486

Rather than having to script it out and be

more like, what piece of content is this?

487

Where does it fit into my

content plan and calendar?

488

Um, no dissing if that

is where you are at.

489

If that is where you're at, you're

probably not a social media, so it's

490

probably not gonna apply to you.

491

Um, anyway.

492

Also, I think it's important to pick

the type of content that you enjoy.

493

Sure.

494

Maybe you can stretch yourself

out of your comfort zone.

495

Sometimes, you know, a month ago I

would've been like, I'm never doing

496

a video 'cause I frigging hate video.

497

Like I have video anxiety,

so I'm just not doing video.

498

However, this is my 28th

day off live streaming.

499

I'm not feeling quite

so video hazy anymore.

500

In fact, I'm like, you know what?

501

This is cool.

502

I'm glad that I've done this.

503

It's stretched me, it has allowed

me to make content out of the clips.

504

And I'll probably put that, um, you

know, onto channels like Instagram

505

where I can post that because um, you

know, that feels like an easy lift.

506

At the moment, maybe I'll

get some traction from it.

507

Maybe I won't.

508

Who knows?

509

Maybe it'll just have a place where

people can go and see some little short

510

clips of, um, you know, me sharing

stuff that, um, I feel strongly about.

511

Um, but you can choose the

thing that you like best.

512

Just because people are saying

you've gotta use video doesn't

513

mean you have to use video.

514

If you are someone who loves going

into Canva and creating graphics,

515

if you love sharing photos and

writing captions for the photos.

516

Do that.

517

If you are like, I hate photos,

I don't wanna use them, I

518

just wanna write, do that.

519

If you are an audio person, if

you are like writing, typing.

520

Mm-hmm.

521

But if I could just.

522

Talk out my thoughts do that.

523

It's okay.

524

You get to produce in the way that suits

you and in the way that's gonna make you

525

more inclined to do it as well because,

um, there's nothing worse than grinding up

526

against something that doesn't feel good.

527

And for me up until,

you know, a month ago.

528

Creating video felt

like the biggest grind.

529

It felt heavy and hard, and I would

always procrastinate and put it off.

530

So sometimes it can be a case of

why don't I try it for a period

531

of time, then maybe I'll like it.

532

But if you try it and you still don't

like it, then don't do that thing.

533

Like, it's okay.

534

We are the boss of our own businesses.

535

We get to make the rules.

536

This is our.

537

Stuff.

538

No.

539

That, you know, regardless of what social

media algorithms are doing, this is still,

540

at the end of the day, our own business.

541

We created a business, you know, I'm,

I'm saying we as in, I'm sure this

542

would, uh, ring true because you wanted

freedom and you didn't want a boss and

543

you didn't want someone telling you what

to do, and you wanted to be able to be

544

successful on your own and you didn't

wanna feel, you know, like everything was.

545

A grind.

546

So don't make it a grind.

547

You can choose to do the things that

light you up and that you enjoy.

548

Um, another thing that I do to make

social media feel less gross or invasive?

549

No, not gross.

550

Le less invasive because

I have no self-control.

551

Um, I use an app called Freedom

that I have on my computer

552

and on my phone, and I block.

553

I have, what do I have on

my phone at the moment?

554

I think I did.

555

I put ins, I think I put Instagram

back for, for a personal account.

556

Even still that is blocked.

557

Um, I have red it blocked.

558

That is my guilty.

559

That was my.

560

Very bad, guilty pleasure.

561

The am i, the asshole threads that

I go to read for a bit of a wind

562

down, then soon turn into like, I'll

see something political and I'll,

563

you know, get sucked into that.

564

And before I know it, I've spent an

hour just doom scrolling, um, on Reddit.

565

Or if I do ever, you know, look up

YouTube, which I've deleted the app.

566

So then stupidly I'll

use it on the browser.

567

I put an end to that and I actually block

all of those things during my workday.

568

All the messaging apps, like

all the things that can distract

569

me, I just have a blocker.

570

And Freedom lets you do it on your phone,

you can do it on your computer, you can

571

choose how long you wanna block it for.

572

You can set it so it's like

a repeat block every day.

573

And seriously, that has been a savior

from my own lack of self-control.

574

I wish I could be more self

controlling on these things, but

575

remember, the social media apps

are designed to keep you on there.

576

That is their entire purpose.

577

So it's no wonder that you can find

yourself, you know, going for a quick five

578

minutes and then being on there forever.

579

So maybe something like that will make it

feel less heavy where you're like, I don't

580

mind being on social media if I'm only

on it, you know, for like an hour or two.

581

That's cool.

582

Um, or having, you know, set schedules.

583

I tried the set schedule thing, but

I would be like, all right, I'm gonna

584

do 15 minutes max, and then I'm off.

585

No self-control, it would never work.

586

I would always be like, oh,

just another 15 minutes and I

587

would like, snooze the alarm.

588

So, um, you know, you do whatever's gonna

work best for you, but you know, total

589

block might be the thing that you need.

590

Um, if your willpower is not, um, good

enough, um, now with social media, um,

591

and thinking about it for its purpose,

if you do wanna do it a little bit.

592

Think about social media has two purposes

in your business in terms of, um, the

593

create a growth loop that I've talked

about, which is like the three most,

594

um, important values in your business

and the things to keep working on in

595

evenness so that you can continue to

grow for now and forever, but is being

596

seen, creating value and making offers.

597

So being seen is growing your audience.

598

Nurturing your audience, helping

your audience to trust you and social

599

can 100% fall into that category.

600

You can also direct people from social

into your world, onto your land,

601

into, um, an email list that you have.

602

Maybe if you have a community like

that can be a fantastic way to get

603

people off social and into your world.

604

And Kajabi communities means

that you can have a free or paid

605

community, just like you would've

had a Facebook group in the past.

606

That can be fantastic if you're

in the US You can also do things

607

like SMS, so you could create like

SMS lists, um, and communicate.

608

Definitely don't overdo

it if you're doing that.

609

Like you don't wanna be

texting people every day.

610

Um, but that can be another

way where you own that you are,

611

you know, in control of that.

612

And that is that being seen.

613

And often you can get stuck in being seen

and all the work revolves around that,

614

but you are not also away from social

media creating value, creating things

615

to sell, delivering on things that you

have made, um, the, you know, that core

616

pillar of the things that you need.

617

Digital product, business

needs to sell things.

618

So working on those things and then most

importantly, the making offers part.

619

So, um, when you feel like I've gotta

get everyone off social onto my email

620

list, sometimes, not always, but

some, for some people I find that.

621

All the focusing goes on the email list.

622

All the selling is done on the

email list, and the socials

623

are neglected in the selling.

624

But you can actually use socials.

625

That's one of the times because, you

know, one of the problems with social

626

media is it's very ime, immediate,

and um, what you are posting on

627

social doesn't live for very long.

628

So the times when you're making offers,

especially if you're launching or

629

something, as in, you know, an immediate

time, that's a perfect time to be

630

going on social media and, you know,

putting your effort into doing it.

631

So maybe you don't go on socials.

632

You know, all the time and then you put

some extra attention in during the launch

633

periods, is that gonna be as effective as

if you are on social media all the time?

634

Absolutely not, but it doesn't mean

that it isn't going to add some

635

value and connect with some people

who maybe aren't on your email list.

636

So, um, you know, don't be afraid to,

if you don't wanna do social all the

637

time to engage it just during periods

of time when you are launching because,

638

um, you can absolutely sell offers.

639

Through social media, um, even if you

don't have a huge audience, and even

640

if you don't wanna use it all the time.

641

So ideally you will be engaging with

people and creating regular content and,

642

you know, feeding the algorithm gods, but

it doesn't mean that you can't use it,

643

um, to its advantage, um, when you want

to be selling something and make sure

644

that you are connecting social media.

645

To your offers as well, that you've got

a link in bio that goes to somewhere that

646

people can buy from you, whether it's

going to your Kajabi shop, um, page, if

647

you have a shop page set up, whether it's

going to a lead magnet, whether it's going

648

to a newsletter, sign up, something to

get people off and into your world, just

649

don't, um, don't neglect having that.

650

And you know, mostly I would say give

yourself permission to experiment.

651

Like I was dissing on the trends

before, but you know, sometimes maybe

652

it'll be like, eh, I'll give it a go.

653

I tried playing around with carousels.

654

I don't particularly

enjoy creating carousels.

655

I find found that really tedious.

656

But hey, I tried it.

657

I experimented it.

658

I gave it a go.

659

I've played with live streaming.

660

Love it.

661

We'll probably keep doing it.

662

I've played with chopping stuff up.

663

Like there is a hundred things that

you could try and until you actually

664

try them, you won't know A, what works

and B, um, what you'll enjoy producing.

665

And you may just stumble onto

something where you're like,

666

man, that actually doesn't.

667

Feel hard.

668

Actually, I actually don't mind social

if that's all I did, and it's a hundred

669

percent okay to stay in that lane.

670

You do not need to jump on every

trend, but also don't feel like you

671

need to just do one thing because

some, you know, guru on the internet

672

told you, you can only grow if you

do this or you have to do that.

673

Like anytime that someone says

that, like, you know, stop using.

674

I don't know, TikTok, because

reason, reason, reason.

675

Like Instagram isn't gonna work.

676

You've gotta be here.

677

Instead, like, and you might see

someone jump ship and go, alright, I'm

678

putting all my energy into LinkedIn.

679

Or you know, you, you might hear

me saying, I love YouTube and I'm,

680

you know, really gonna be focusing

on YouTube as my main platform.

681

But that's for me because

that suits my business.

682

You gotta find what suits you.

683

And just because it suits someone else

doesn't mean that it's gonna suit you.

684

And that's why I say.

685

Experiment, like have fun with it,

like try some random fun things.

686

Sometimes maybe just try something

for a few weeks or for a month, and

687

maybe it can be the thing where you're

like, all right, I'm gonna try this

688

out, but I'm actually gonna put a bit

of energy into learning the thing.

689

And maybe that is video.

690

Maybe you're like, I'm going to do video,

and as I'm doing the video, I'm going to.

691

Pay more attention to learning how

to light my videos better learning

692

how to talk to the camera better.

693

Um, like learning, you know, positioning

hooks, like to, you know, to start

694

with the strong hook scripting.

695

Like there's a hundred things that you

can learn for every type of content, like,

696

you know, and, and until you try it out,

you won't know if you're gonna try some of

697

these, you know, real concepts and TikTok

concepts and some of these other things.

698

Um, vlogging, like whatever it is,

there's a million things that you

699

can experiment and play around with.

700

Sometimes that you might

start it and be like, Nope.

701

But sometimes it might just be that

you need to push yourself out of your

702

comfort zone and learn a bit, but don't

learn first and then do learn and do.

703

Because it's the implementation and the

doing that helps you put it into action.

704

That's what is going to help you

really figure out if it's something

705

that you like or you don't like.

706

Because potentially if

you're a social media hater.

707

You got mind gremlins, just,

you know, rejecting every idea

708

and going, Nope, can't do that.

709

Can't do that.

710

Nope.

711

Nope.

712

It's too scary, too hard.

713

All the reasons.

714

So, um, I definitely recommend just to

push yourself a little bit sometimes.

715

Um, I.

716

Most importantly, you want to

get people onto your email list.

717

Like your email list I

think is, you know, ground.

718

I don't wanna say ground zero.

719

It is like core, like

strongest, best principle.

720

And whilst it can work with other things,

your email list is your best asset.

721

It's the thing that as you grow

your email list, it is going

722

to help your business grow.

723

Not just now, but.

724

Into the future.

725

It gives you a direct connection

to people who have asked for

726

something that you've given them.

727

If you have a newsletter, they've

asked to get emails from you, and

728

it's such a strong way to continue

to connect with people and get

729

directly into their inboxes.

730

I've heard all the like, oh,

email's dead, email's dead.

731

It is not, think of

your own behavior today.

732

How many times have you checked

your inbox already today?

733

What is the first thing you do when

you wake up in the morning like.

734

There are so many people.

735

I mean, maybe if you are one of those

people who doesn't pick your phone up

736

and check your email, I salute you.

737

Um, but even if you have your phone in

another room, at some point you're like,

738

all right, I'm gonna check my email.

739

Like, it's very unlikely you would

go a day without checking it.

740

And you know, this is a way that

we can communicate with people.

741

You can have conversations and email.

742

It's so powerful.

743

And, um, regardless of what you're

doing on social, get people into that.

744

Um, the email box.

745

Um, but yes, I, I think let's

make social more social, more fun.

746

Like take the stress out of it.

747

You know, avoid things that are cringe.

748

Avoid things that feel hard

for you and do what feels easy.

749

And if all that fails, I.

750

Just say, Nope, no social at

all, and focus on those long-term

751

search orientated pieces of content

that are gonna keep working.

752

The thing is, with those,

it's less sexy than social.

753

Social gets you an immediate impact.

754

Social.

755

You can post something and you'll

see the impact of it straight away.

756

That longer content that takes

time, that is not something that

757

you're gonna be able to post.

758

And then all of a sudden, you know,

in the next week, you're gonna

759

have all this reaction from it.

760

It is a slow buildup, and I think that's.

761

You know, a reason why people

can avoid it and go to social

762

because you do get that shorter.

763

Um, like it's, it's almost like a

dopamine hit from it because you'll see

764

an impact pretty much straight away.

765

But it is a spike, it spikes up, and

then, you know, like the majority of

766

the, the spike is gone in a few days,

whereas the long form content can be that

767

slow burn over time, over a long time,

and it's gonna keep working for you.

768

So, um, you know, that's.

769

Just something to to consider.

770

Um, if you are not doing any long form

content, oh my gosh, please, please do.

771

Search orientated content is like

the most sustainable thing that you

772

can do for your business, and it is

what would allow you to take four

773

months off your social media and not,

um, you know, watch your business.

774

Because it's gonna keep working

even when you are not working.

775

And that is the power

of that type of content.

776

Tell me if you are a

social media hater or not.

777

I would love to know.

778

We can maybe make a little

club on a social channel.

779

That's, that's pretty funny.

780

But anyway, um, tomorrow I'm gonna

be back talking about what to do.

781

If you don't have an audience

and you still want to sell.

782

It is possible.

783

I'm gonna give you some strategies and.

784

Thoughts around that.

785

Um, so I will see you back on another

episode of this is what I'd do if, um, I'm

786

Sue McLachlan from The Unicorn Advisory.

787

I'll talk to you soon.

788

Bye.