Crafting Powerful Social Media Content: Connecting with Your Audience and Mastering Business Seasons with Mandy Emerson (of The Fierce Social Podcast)

Sasha: 4:01

Welcome to strategy for creatives business, minus the bullshit. I, of course, am your host, sasha, and today we are taking it back to social media, because y'all know that I just have the biggest love hate relationship with social media. But I really wanted to focus on today's episode about creating content that actually makes a difference in your business and actually will convert in your business, and so to have that conversation with me. Today. I am talking to Mandy Emerson, who is the founder of the fierce social society and she also is host of her own podcast called the fierce social podcast. Her mission is to teach female business owners how to use social media to grow their businesses using effective and efficient strategies, and she has a proven framework that has helped 300 plus clients. So I'm excited to have this conversation today with Mandy. So welcome to the show.

Mandy: 4:47

Yes, thank you so much for having me. I'm excited about this topic. I could probably talk about it for like hours and hours, so I'm excited to be here, thank you.

Sasha: 4:56

So let's just kind of dive right into it. My listeners know that I am. I like being on social media, but from a business aspect it is. It is a very much a love hate relationship. It's challenging to figure out how to create content that gets the engagement and that's going to get people in your dms and shares and saves and likes. So let's just start with the big question like how do we create content that actually converts people into your business and isn't just like the vanity metrics of a like or follow?

Mandy: 5:33

Yeah, right. So really the core of creating the content that's going to convert it all comes down to your messaging, right. If your messaging is not clear, if it's too broad or if it's too vague or if it's just surface level, like if you're not hitting your people, like in their feels, you got to make them feel something, you got to evoke some kind of emotion in order for them to then want to take action. Right, nothing ever comes from like surface level content. Right, it might be nice to look at, it might be like, oh, that's cool. But if it doesn't like get us like a gut reaction, like we're not going to do anything, we're. We're very much at a point where we really need to be pulled to something, to take action, especially if it means going to a different app, right, like, getting people to see, even click the link in your bio is such a task, right. So it really comes down to your messaging. Who are you talking to And I know people this, this topic of niche or your messaging? I know this might seem really boring and mundane, but if you don't have this down, the rest of your content, your offers, your copy, all of that is going to fall flat. So really it starts with having strong messaging, really clear messaging, so you're attracting the right people. First of all, we want the right people. We don't want the wrong, difficult, not good people, but then also people that just keep coming back for more and then just sing your praises. Having that first is really where it has to start.

Sasha: 7:07

I'm glad you touched on the knowing your people piece of it, because this is something I know my listeners probably get tired of me saying it but knowing who your target audience is and really getting clear on what their problem is, how you solve it, why they need someone like you, it helps so much when it comes to everything else in messaging and marketing and social media because you can. It's almost as if you're talking to one person, yeah, like if you can figure out exactly what that person is. And the example that I always give is like you know moms, like I have a business that helps moms. What kind of mom are we talking? to stay at home mom? Are we talking single mom? Are we talking a mom who works from home? Are you know there's different levels of even within that, what most people think is a niche down of moms, and so really, like narrowing in on who you're talking to can kind of create or help you create that better messaging. And I'm really glad to you said it's getting the people in the fields. I struggle with that because I don't like to be super personal, totally.

Mandy: 8:16

And I feel like you can. You can still get people in their feelings, and I don't necessarily mean like crying on camera. I'm gonna be so honest. You will never catch me crying on socials and I'm not trying to bash anybody that does, because like to each their own, like different strokes for different folks, and it's totally fine. That's kind of the beauty of branding social media like you can approach it the way you want to. That's just not my thing And I'm also I wouldn't say like overly private, but you're you're not going to see all aspects of my life either. Because, I do want to keep things for myself. I want to keep things separate enough. So I guess when I say like, get them in the fields, it really comes to painting a picture in their head Like can they envision the story that you're giving? so really comes down to storytelling a little bit too, and you don't have to be a master storyteller but to be able to paint a picture that your ideal client can then picture themselves in. So it is kind of that is getting them in the fields, but it's also getting them in that mental state of picturing themselves going through this process with you or solving their problem, and then what it would be like on the other side when they have their problem solved, like how would they feel, what would they look like, what would their life around them look like? Who would they be surrounded by? Who would they not be surrounded by? Like it's it comes into. Those are all the things that come into play when I say like, hit them in the fields, like, give them a storyline.

Sasha: 9:45

It could sometimes be something so simple. I mean, i did something on my Instagram a couple of weeks ago. Where it was, i think it was a real. I don't know what I was doing in it, but it literally like the text on it was like you know, your business doesn't have to be your full time job, and because a lot of people think that having a business means you do have to do it all in, like you have to be full time in your business And if you have a side hustle, then it's not a real business. And so I like, i talked about that, like on the caption, and and because my business isn't my full time job, i have a full time job And I know a lot of people who feel that way And by far, it was like a seven second real. That literally was like the the cook on the real itself And it got the most comments, the most likes, like people responding to it, and it was because of that. It was something that you know gets people in the fields, because so many people related to that one statement and and felt like you're speaking directly to them.

Mandy: 10:38

Yes, that's. that's what we want at the end of the day. We want our person to be like are you talking to me? And they're almost like hold on, this is like two spots. It's almost like two spot on someone's. like when you go to church and you're like this pastor's talking to him, like does he know what? I'm here, like what's happening, like that's what we want in our messaging is for our people to then go. That's me. It's like that relatability piece, like that's me, she's talking to me. Well, she's not talking to me, but she's talking to me. That's what we want at the end of the day.

Sasha: 11:09

So how do you, what kind of tips do you suggest for creating that type of content? because it can be hard to figure out, like What to say to people. You know we get so caught up on, we want people, you know we want the engagement We want people to like, share, save totally all of that stuff. But how do we really create that content that does speak to, that, that gets people to Engage and makes it feel like we're talking just to you?

Mandy: 11:37

Yeah. So I like to refer to the different seasons of business that you go through, and this is entirely Reliant on your business goals, what you have launching this year or launching this quarter, if you're coming out with a new product or a new asset or your Totally pivoting in your bit, whatever it is for you and your business. That's why it's not cookie-cutter. So when I see these strategies or even content calendars on Pinterest and those were such a big thing and honestly I'll totally call myself out. I used to create those But when I think about creating them for other people like how can I do this when I don't know Your business and your goals and your launches and what things you have coming up in your events and what you're trying to do, it's so hard to cookie-cutter that. So now, when we talk about your business seasons, there's three different ones that I like to refer to is maintenance season, growth season and sales season. Maintenance is probably the one that not a ton of people Hang out in and that's usually when you are good, you are happy with where your business is, you have the most amount of clients that you want to work with and you're just kind of cruising and you really still want to keep An appearance right, like you want to keep up your your appearance on socials. Yeah that's kind of which is very minimal energy, but you're still flipping on the lights, as I, as I call it, like you're still showing people that you're open. But that's not necessarily the majority of where people are. Where they tend to hang out the most and they should be is in the growth and the sales seasons. Growth you're in the most, and then sales is usually when you have something special coming up. You have an event, you have a launch, you have a new product, you have Special sale, whatever it may be. But again, that's so specific to your business. Like, when are you having those types of launches? and maybe it's only twice a year, maybe it's every quarter, maybe it's every month. But in between those sales seasons, when you're really pushing, you know, get into this webinar or get into this Workshop, or this is the opening close for enrollment for a course or something like that. That's when you're really pushing that. But before that you really want to have this time of growth. And I'm not necessarily just saying vanity metrics of like followers on socials. It's how many people you're getting your business in front of. That's networking, that's email subscribers, that's actual in-person events, that is Anything in that space. That's getting your business in front of the most eyeballs, and that's also with your content, and a lot of times That content is gonna look like Very nurture high value based, free content, but also content that just gets people talking. It's it's not even has to, it doesn't have to be click the link in my buyer or link in bio for more. It's more so like was this helpful or what's your experience with this, or do you have any helpful tips? Right, inviting your people to be a part of the conversation So that they feel included. Our audience like us. As humans, we love to give our opinion. We love our two cents. Right, like that's just how we're wired. Use that to your advantage. Use that to Grow your own brand, your own platform. So in that growth time which that's really where you're gonna spend the majority of your time is Is make sure that you're creating content that's actually gonna serve your audience with little wins that they can implement right away, or that just tweaks their way of thinking. Also, inspirational encouragement type of content to that gets them again thinking, hits them in the feels, right, that stuff That makes them go, i feel seen, or just like the content you had made of this is your business does not have to be your full-time Job or however you had put it, but it, whatever you had said, obviously hit them in the feels enough to be like oh, thank you so much. We're saying necessarily lead lead to a sale, but it definitely had an impact on them to be, like Sasha gets me right, and then you can have other content that leads them to a call to action, that gets them on your email list, that Gets them the freebie in their hands again. We're we're building the trust factor in this growth phase so that when you hit him with a sales Season, it's a no-brainer, they're like duh of wherever Sasha goes, i want to go wherever. Whatever she creates, i want it right. So it's. It's catering to those seasons in your business and then creating the content around it. And as far as, like actual, when we're talking about the actual content, as far as reels, carousels, static photos, the great news is Adamasori coming out at the beginning of the year saying like okay, so, maybe, but at the same time, as a business owner, i can understand like you're just wanting to go full throttle and something that people want. People did want Reels, but then people also still wanted static photos and and I wouldn't even say carousels, but they still wanted what the og Instagram had to offer and that was the photos. And it was an interesting stat that he had said was that there wasn't a huge difference between the engagement of reels and Static photos, but what we were seeing all the time was reels. The impression, like I just got to go ham with reels. But I've done comparisons between reels and carousels that I've done on the exact same topic. They were not different. It was like three tips on this. It was in a reel and it was in a carousel. They both had pretty equal reach, which was, yeah, like wild to me. So the great news is is what I'm saying is, now we get to diversify our content, still get the impact that we're looking for And not have to overthink like do I have to dance in this, in this reel? honestly, take all of that out of it. If you want to dance, cool. If you want a point, cool. If you want to talk face to camera, cool. I just make sure that the content you're delivering, it's straight to the point. Cut out the fluff. Let's not do the whole hey, today I'm gonna talk about, no, just let's get to three tips on how to optimize your Instagram bio, the thing that the hook at the very beginning that's gonna keep them interested, and then give them that call to action like was this helpful or What tip is going that you're going to Put into action right away? right, so that that call to action that gets them talking, not like okay, now go grab my My yeah, we're offering that link in the bar and they're like, oh, that feels aggressive, right, so it's, it's, it's, things like that.

Sasha: 18:12

I'm glad one of the things that you didn't you didn't like Overly point it out, but it's subtle and this is what speaks to me. The content should be related to your goals, so the idea that you are just Pushing content for the sake of content.

Mandy: 18:29

Yeah, yeah.

Sasha: 18:32

Work. If you don't know when your launches are or what you're planning for, like right now. We're recording this in April, so it's second quarter. If you don't know what you got coming out third quarter or fourth quarter, you know what your business goals are looking like then and if you want your email list to grow or if you're gonna launch that webinar, then if you have no idea what's coming on in the end of year, it can be hard to create content surrounding that because you don't know what you're doing, whereas if you haven't, okay, i know that this webinar is gonna come out in October. So let me start like slow dripping content about, like what that webinar is gonna be about. Start asking questions. See what people want to know. You know. Create content that's gonna generate interest so that way, when it comes out, people are prepped for it and I'm not just throwing out content.

Mandy: 19:20

Right, exact, oh, i'm so glad that you touched on that too, because having those separate seasons of growth and then sales, you might be in growth. Like I said there's. There's a mentor a past mentor of mine who who sold only twice a year, but she sold so hard and she killed it twice a year. She only had to sell twice a year. Now to me That's like I'm not selling all that. What does that mean? I'm not making? that doesn't mean that she's not making money Any other time of the year, but can you imagine in your business that you have it set up so well that you sell so Great only twice a year? That sounds so much better than having to sell my butt off every single day, which is exhausting being in sales mode is exhausting And it to some people it feels icky and it feels it feels pressurey and sales is actually a really amazing thing And we really got to change the narrative on that. There's nothing wrong with sales. We all know there's nothing wrong with sales, or else We wouldn't be in business. But she has it so well Systematized that the growth season is just like a time of prep, and not even prep, but you know exactly who you're talking to. You got the, the content down for it, you got the market research, you're fine-tuning as you go along And it really just comes down to consistency. I know people really hate that word when it comes to you, like how many times should I post? There is no magic number. Often, as you can be consistent with posting, exactly as often And at the capacity that you have to be consistent if I feel like you know and I, i've been posting more often on my own social media And that's just.

Sasha: 20:55

I've been trying to find what works for me. But The minute you're like I'm gonna post every day, or like I've seen people, i'm gonna do a 30 day, i'm gonna post every day challenge, yeah, you might be able to sustain that for 30 days. Try trying to continue that on. You are going to burn yourself out because it is hard To consistently create good Content that is going to resonate with people. That isn't just like Content for the sake of content, sake for you to be putting out like that. So if you're, if your Life is set up that you post content twice a week, as long as you're still showing up twice a week, and when you're making meaningful content that's connecting with people, that's getting them, as you said, like in the fields, like it's making that connection, that's fine. Like you don't have to post. I saw what I saw one post a couple of months ago And it was like it's not even so much the the number of times that you should be posting every week. It's now gotten that you should be posting like five reels a week to static posts, three stories a day, like if you want to grow, that's what you should be doing, and I'm like that's unsustainable, like no one can do that unless you have a team and somebody else else that's gonna be able to do that, unless you have a team and somebody else is managing it for you.

Mandy: 22:12

Yeah, but I say, unless you have a team, you have the resources. Okay, like power to you, and I think that whole 30 reels in 30 days I run that a lot of people were doing, and when I first got started, i was posting every single day, but I had a plan behind it. It was not just willy nilly, i was also this very beginning. I still have this little content calendar because I framed it, because it's almost like where I came from And I was talking about? I was talking about social media. I was talking about Instagram tips and tricks not even like actual strategy tips and tricks. I was talking about makeup, because I love makeup and beauty. I was talking about newly wed life. I was speaking about things that I had experienced in and I was really just throwing spaghetti at the wall and but all of it was planned out. So then I did that in May of 2020. So then by June, i had a better understanding. by July I had even better, even better understanding. by August, someone and so forth. I was then starting to book clients because by June, i knew Instagram, social media marketing tips was the thing people wanted to hear from me. Yeah, all right, cool, you're gonna hear a lot more of it And then I stopped posting every single day because it wasn't necessary, right? If you want to post, if you want to do that whole 30 day run, whatever you want to call it, understand that the result is most likely not necessarily going to be growth. It might be growth for you as an individual, to see what you're. I always love to do things, to see what I'm capable of Like. what is it like to work at this capacity? Yeah, how did I feel What did I learn? at the end of it? Like, oh, i actually don't have to post every single day. This is the content that tends to work, and this actually didn't work very well. So it can be very revealing And you can learn a lot from it, But don't expect to go viral just because you posted 30 days like good for you, gold star, here you go. But that's. That was the bad messaging of that whole thing. That whole trend back in 2020 and 2021, i feel like And I know people are still kind of pushing it But if you don't have, if you don't have a plan, if you don't have a strategy in place, that 30 days is it might teach you stuff, but it's definitely not going to have the impact that you think it's going to have.

Sasha: 24:25

Yes, i completely agree with that. I just think it's it to me is just all unsustainable. If you're, if you're just trying to push yourself and you don't have a plan, it's like I'm just I create something today because I know I need to post something, so I'm just gonna, you know, create something that that's not going to help, like what I started doing recently. I post around three ish times a week. Sometimes it's a little more, sometimes a little less, but what I started doing to help me figure out better you know what kind of content is, you know, working with my audience. I literally because I'm data driven And this is why I do business strategy I'm just spreadsheet And it was like this is is it a real, a carousel or static post? This is what the topic is about, and then I just kind of like, do the metrics on it, like this was the shares, the likes, the you know, clicks to the website view. So that way I can start to get a better understanding of Okay, when I talk about this, people really like it. When I share this, not so much, and so I can start creating that content, And I think that's one of the ways to how you really narrow in on when we talk about content, creating content that converts. You have to really look at stuff like that to understand what people want to see from you, because sometimes I think we're like I want to put out this stuff because I think it will help people, when really it's the people don't want to see that so I'm just like Oh, you don't, you don't, okay.

Mandy: 25:47

I think the other thing we have, I want business owners to realize, is there is a very specific buyer's journey that happens with our social media And it's not it usually is not directly from a real that. then somebody goes like Oh, i'm going to go buy it. Yeah it definitely depends on the item being sold and being showcased and the price point. So if you were to sell, you know, a beautiful handmade bag, I don't know I'm just looking at my my back that I know that I got from Instagram, so totally using this as an example, But I didn't buy it right away And it was a higher ticket item, like it's more of a luxury item. I didn't buy it right away.

Sasha: 26:33

It definitely took me you save that post and then it kept showing up because now Instagram knows you like it.

Mandy: 26:41

That was in percent, Maybe a couple of weeks. There is a buyer's journey at play here. Now, if it's a lower ticket item like I did this with my $7 workshop that I just had in March I was able to sell directly from the real because it was it was going to be a workshop that touched on what I knew my ideal client customer needed And it was $7. Like $7 is really a no brainer. It's for my ideal client, right. So selling that directly from a real, that does really well. If you're selling a $200 bag from a real, that might take a little bit more time. Now, to some of ideal client customers that are like, Yeah, I'll spend $200 on a bag, It's a no brainer for them. Now, for me that I'm like I really like that bag but $200, like I have to sit with it for a second. I ended up getting the $200 bags like that bag and all the land I love it so much. Right, But there.

Sasha: 27:36

I do that all the time I have. I mean, i follow some people who I don't like to shop that much, but they always have really cute outfits And they're like Oh you know, go to my like it to know it. It took me months to download like it to know it. I followed them And then, like now I like see their stuff pop up And then I just save it to like my Amazon wish list. So I might not get it like right when they post it, but I've saved it and I've right and I'll keep coming back to it and I probably will purchase it, right, that's 1000%, but that's, that's so real.

Mandy: 28:11

And I think people just think like Oh, i'm gonna put up this real And I'm gonna get a whole new customer. The one time when, in actuality, people first of all have to see things between seven and I think it's up to like 15 times, right, like I had to see this bag quite a few times, even though I knew I wanted this bag, but it's still one of those like I gotta go through a. Let me do a little bit of this first let me see, like, what other people are saying about it. Do you even let have it in the colors that I like? it's a whole process. So when you understand, first of all, your ideal client, but then also how they think about their own buyer's journey or how they think about spending money, and maybe you're talking to a client customer that, like a $200 bag is like pennies to them, that's totally fine. You know that about your person. Therefore, the messaging can reflect that. If you know that your ideal client does not spend that much on a bag and they need something more affordable, have that in mind, right, it's again, it goes back to it's not cookie cutter, it's different for everybody. Going back to your messaging your ideal person, but generally there is a process. There's a time in between somebody sees your content and the time that they buy. It's your job to face those objections or talk about those objections, either in your stories, once you get them into your sphere of an email list, of following you on socials. It's your job then to create the content that busts those objections or to put them in your stories to continue nurturing that connection. It can't just be like, oh glad you're here, just sit and wait. It is now your job to continue cultivating and nurturing that connection. So they do take that next step to work.

Sasha: 29:53

I think, for me, social media primarily boils down to like this is the start of our relationship. Social media shouldn't, to me, i don't think it shouldn't be the vehicle for selling And, yes, i have the same as you, i've brought stuff from social media, i've looked at it but it shouldn't be as the primary vehicle of getting sales. It's the let's get to know each other, let's start the conversation, let's warm each other up, show up in my dance if you have questions, and then let's move to another platform, like my website or my email list, and then that's how we get more into the sales piece of it. But it's really relationship building. Well, thank you so much. This has been very helpful. I think one of the best things you did it all relates down to your strategy. Like you have to have a plan when you're creating content, and really creating content that your audience is going to benefit from, that will serve them, and then just really diving deep into making sure that you are speaking to them and engaging in them. I like how you put it is like you're getting them in the fields that that's. That's what creates content that actually will get them into your business. So, yes, 1000%. Thank you so much for that. If you want to learn more about Mandy, you can check her out on her website, it is fiercesocialsocietycom. I will put that in the show notes. But, mandy, thank you so much for being on the show today.

Mandy: 31:22

Thank you so much for having me. It's been a pleasure.

Sasha: 31:23

Thank you Happening next week on the Strategy for Creators podcast. We're on summer break, so that means I will be back in August with brand new episodes giving you all the strategies, tips and tricks that you can use to help grow your business. In the meantime, check out one of our past episodes And if you have a topic that you want to hear the show, be sure to let me know. See you in August. Thanks for tuning into the latest episode of the Strategy for Creators podcast. I hope you enjoyed the insightful discussion and hopefully found valuable tips that you can put in your business today. If you found the podcast helpful, i'd love it if you take a moment to rate and review the show on your favorite podcast platform. Your feedback helps me make a better show and reach more listeners like you. And don't forget to share the podcast with your favorite business owner, who could benefit from the strategies and insights I share on the show. New episodes come out every Tuesday, so make sure to subscribe and stay up to date with the latest trends and techniques for growing your creative business. If you want more, don't forget to join the Strategy for Creative Facebook group Or you can follow me on Instagram at strategybystasha. Have a topic suggestion or a question you want to hear answered? Email me at hello at strategybystashacom. Thanks for listening and I'll see you next week with another episode of the Strategy for Creative Business with the Bullshit podcast, part of the Balas Audio podcast network.