You Don’t Need To Be Visible Across All Platforms

[00:00:00.190] – Laura Burnett

Welcome to the Nine To Thrive Podcast, brought to you by Nicky Williams and Laura Burnett. And we are continuing on the journey of uncovering the seven biggest lies that people don’t want business owners to know. So we started off talking about the ideal client. We’ve talked about the tech, and I honestly cannot remember what the second episode was. I did this last time.

[00:00:25.490] – Nicky Williams

So the first one was Ideal Client. The second one was No Winning Formula and the third one was No Flashy Tech.

[00:00:33.180] – Laura Burnett

That was it. That was it. Someone remembers. So this episode is going to be You Don’t Have To Be Visible Across All The Platforms. So when we’re talking about this, we mean social media. So we’re talking about platforms, as in, Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, Pinterest. The list could continue on. I am quite certain, oh, Twitter. We missed Twitter out there.

[00:00:58.950] – Laura Burnett

So we’re talking about that, and how you don’t actually have to be visible on them all, which a lot of people are telling you that you must be everywhere. You must be present on Facebook, you must be present on Instagram, you must be present on TikTok. You’ve got to be everywhere so that your audience can see you. And you probably have heard this before. We’re here to explain to you why you don’t have to be visible on all the platforms. What do you think, Nicky?

[00:01:29.060] – Nicky Williams

Well, I think that basically you’re going to be setting yourself up to fail if you try to master two, three, four platforms straight away. The proviso there, though, is if you’ve got a massive budget or a team, then obviously you can do all of those things because you’ve got the team and the finance behind you. If you are like ourselves, you’re one person within your business, you might have a VA, but you’re still trying to manage more than one platforms, it’s going to cause overwhelm, burnout, confusion. All of your platforms will suffer because you’re not giving your full connection time and effort into one.

[00:02:10.580] – Nicky Williams

So we truly believe you need to master and nail one platform. And then when you are absolutely fully nailed, then you can move on, but only then. I think that the leaders in the industry, obviously are pulling you from pillar to post, whether they’re trying to get you to, because their courses about Facebook groups, or it’s going to be about Instagram for Success or TikTok or Reelsou, you get pulled every which way. And it’s very much like we were saying before on our previous episode. It’s like going into a sweetie shop and you’re like, I want that, that and that, but you cannot have it all.

[00:02:54.590] – Laura Burnett

No. And you see at the minute, a lot of people say you need to be doing TikTok. TikTok is a big one now isn’t it. You’ve got to be doing TikTok. TikTok, TikTok, TikTok. So there’s a lot of TikTok courses out in the world as well. So obviously a lot of leaders are saying TikTok TikTok TikTok as well, but you don’t have to. And what Nicky was saying about other platforms will get harmed is because with social media, it’s no longer like many moons ago, you would be able to just stick a post up and leave it off you go. Now, the algorithms require you to spend time on that platform. That’s how they work. So if you want to get your social media seen, you have to spend time on that platform, which if you’re spending half an hour on LinkedIn, then you’ve got to spend half an hour on Instagram, half an hour on TikTok, half an hour on Facebook. You’ve just gone 2 hours in your day. And can you afford them 2 hours in your day? Unless obviously you’ve got a team.

[00:03:53.060] – Laura Burnett

So I have a team on my IT Moon business, so obviously I do go on one platform, so I’ve got help. But before that, I didn’t. I just stuck to LinkedIn. LinkedIn was what I stuck to. Stuck to LinkedIn made sure that was absolutely amazing and then I could go on to other platforms when I had a team to support me in it. And it’s one of the biggest things when we get a bit shiny object syndrome, we want to go everywhere because someone else has had success on another platform. Oh, I want that. So then we tend to jump over to that one, don’t we?

[00:04:23.710] – Nicky Williams

Yeah. And I think you really dilute your messaging as well. I think that as soon as you’re spread thinly, then you’re not putting that concentrated effort, whether that is putting the content out there or engaging with your audience. And it’s about building relationships. It really is as straightforward as we’re saying it. And I think that with all of this shiny object, with all of these gurus telling you you should be doing this, that and the other, it makes us feel like we are inadequate if we are not doing all of those things, we feel like we’re doing something wrong.

[00:05:02.470] – Nicky Williams

But what we’re saying is, just like Laura was saying on LinkedIn, she maximised LinkedIn that she became full. She expanded her team into a team, okay? And that’s how it happens. You don’t just master one, drop it and then go onto another. You master one, keep it going whilst building another. Okay? But you really want to just make the most of the platform because you want to grow your audience, okay? And if you are here, there and everywhere, you won’t get known as a go to expert because you’re diluted. You won’t grow your relationships because it’s diluted.

[00:05:47.660] – Nicky Williams

So it’s hard for us to face something that looks so easy sometimes. I think we think it should be complicated, but it’s not complicated. Stick to one platform, okay? Set your profile up for success. Be there as your niche, your expertise. Claim that expertise, okay? And stick to the categories that you talk about. Make sure that you’re posting consistently, make sure you’re engaging consistently. And that involves a marketing plan, a content plan. It’s a plan about how you’re going to be visible, a commitment to your audience, to that social media platform. Okay? Create engagement! And building those relationships takes time.

[00:06:38.510] – Nicky Williams

If you’re sticking to one platform and you’re after three months, you’re like, oh no, this isn’t working for me. I don’t like Instagram anymore because it’s just too much like hard work. Well, I’m here to tell you, it’s not hard work, it’s consistent work. We’re so used to people saying that you’re going to get instant results. It does not happen. Do you agree, Laura?

[00:07:01.100] – Laura Burnett

I agree. It does not happen instantly at all. And as an example, I do run a service, where I do people’s social media. Well, not me, my team do. And we do have a few people will come to us and say, but I’m not getting results. So the first thing we’ll do, we’ll look into their accounts. Well, yeah, we’ve got amazing post going out for you. It looks fantastic, but you’re not engaging, you’re not actually logging in yourself, spending time on that platform and engaging with your audience, finding new connections. And that’s why your post aren’t getting seen, because you can make the best post in the world, the best video to put out as a Reel or as a TikTok. But if you’re not active on the platforms, you’re not getting seen at all, at all. So that’s why you’ve got to just stick to one and nail its, as Nicky would usually say, stick to one and nail it.

[00:07:53.300] – Nicky Williams

And it’s really like immersing yourself in that platform as well. You know, and that’s why I say – before we’ve always said, like, find where your audience hang out. Well, actually, I think you should hang out where you really enjoy it because it makes the process so much easier. If you’re really good with video, we’ll go and find a platform that really is supporting video. If not, if you’re better at networking, then go to LinkedIn. If that’s where your professional, you feel more comfortable, do that. It really is essential that you enjoy it. Okay?

[00:08:30.010] – Nicky Williams

Now you have to, like anything, like, we talk about exercise and health and wellness, don’t we, quite a lot Laura? And you have to get past that really hard period before actually you’re like seeing the results, you’re getting those leads or you’re losing those pounds. You’re seeing the transformation in your inbox. So you have to go through that first hard yard to see and get the rewards of your labour as such, is what I think. And I think so many people give up too soon where they’re just near the point of seeing their results.

[00:09:08.270] – Nicky Williams

And some people do get results. I started on LinkedIn and I got results incredibly quickly over six weeks, but I put my all into it. I absolutely love the platform. I posted, I engaged, I connected every single day. I really enjoyed the relationships I made and I got booked up incredibly quickly. So if you really dive in with a real sort of like, this is going to be transformational to my business, it’s going to make all the difference. But if you’re saying, I want to be across five platforms or four platforms, it’s going to be exhausting. You’ll get burnt out, you’ll get exhausted and then you’ll lose the love for what you do.

[00:09:47.570] – Laura Burnett

Exactly. We don’t want that. Because if your love comes across then it’s easier to make sales, isn’t it?

[00:09:52.390] – Nicky Williams

It is. It’s all in the energy. And if you’re feeling good, if you’re feeling the passion for it all, people will know it. If you’re drained, if you’re exhausted, you’ll see that the connections go down, your engagement goes down, everything goes down. So we’ve got to enjoy it. And that’s the whole point. If you love what you do, if you enjoy working with the people you do, it should come across on social media naturally.

[00:10:15.110] – Laura Burnett

It doesn’t indeed! So that is lie number three? I had to think then. So the lie number three, is you don’t have to be visible across – is it four?

[00:10:25.660] – Nicky Williams

It is.

[00:10:26.490] – Laura Burnett

It’s lie number four! Ignore me.

[00:10:27.930] – Nicky Williams

Yes!

[00:10:28.220] – Laura Burnett

You don’t have to be visible across all platforms, just stick to one and nail it. Unless you have a team, that’s the side note. So, unless you have a team and of course you’ve got more time then to be able to do it, otherwise, just stick to one, the one you enjoy the most. Not the one where your audience is, and then actually just stick to it, no matter what, be consistent on it and that will get you the results.

[00:10:54.020] – Laura Burnett

So do not forget, you can watch this on YouTube or your favourite podcast platform, to leave us a lovely review, or even subscribe and follow, depending on what platform you’re watching on.

[00:11:06.010] – Laura Burnett

But also, if you want to join us for our Masterclass about The Seven Biggest Lies That Business Owners Aren’t Being Told, then make sure to go to www.thethrivebusinessacademy.com/masterclass.

[00:11:21.830] – Laura Burnett

And no matter when you’re listening to this, even if it’s after this Masterclass date, which is on the 9th of September, there will be another Masterclass there for you to sign up to, so do not panic.

[00:11:31.370] – Laura Burnett

So we would love to see you over there. And also, when you do join it, you will get a link to join our free Facebook group as well, and we’d love to see you over there as well. So that’s it from me and Nicky.