Your social media is failing because you’re not showing yourself doing the thing you actually do.
If you’re a garage door technician, show yourself working on a garage door.
If you’re a health and wellness practitioner, show yourself treating patients.
You can certainly have talking-head videos as voiceovers on top of the actual doing.
Use “Authenticity” to Succeed on Social Media
Recipe to Succeed on Social Media
Showing what you’re doing is trickier for digital marketing agencies. Because who wants to see Zoom calls and emails?
So my agency friends do the following things:
Show high-authority content on social media. Show yourself hanging out with leaders that people in your industry respect.
Publish a book, interview people on your podcast, and then turn it into a book.
People fear that AI will ruin marketing, but only for those who write generic articles that a robot can write.
Therefore, show real stories of what you do with your clients on social media.
AI uses a sample of the world’s collective knowledge to create content. I learned from interviewing top AI SaaS founders that AI is not fundamentally designed to map relationships and events.
Facebook is closest to this approach, but they are trying to beat TikTok by showing users the ‘best’ content instead of just what your friends are doing.
I believe that Facebook will continue to outperform TikTok in generating local leads because it lets friends and neighbors know what other people are up to.
Let’s talk about the power of niching down and how that drives referrals.
Dennis Yu and Gavin Lira
Niching down helps in referrals.
When you choose a niche and you’re known for something, let’s say one of my friends is a world-class PR, and I’m pretty good at VAs and locals. So, any lead you get will always be worthwhile because if he receives a lead for hiring VAs, he’ll send it to me. And if I get a lead in PR, I will send it to him.
So it is worth talking to any person who is a customer, even if you can’t service them directly, because either they are your client or they become a referral you can give to somebody else.
You may try to do everything for everybody and keep happy big-ticket clients, but it will not work as there are many moving parts if you do everything.
I would loop in an expert with his skills, as that might complement my skills and would benefit a client in a package. That way, you can confidently take on any particular client because anything you can’t do, you can form a partnership with others, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with partnering.
If you are a potential client, it’s better to go through a referral than to go through direct, as you will have someone else’s relationship and trust in that.
Getting referred by others
So, not to say the other vendor or the agency will not take good care of you, but for example, if it’s coming through my friend, then I know that whoever he is referring to me is going to take care of me. Because his reputation is on the line, so they must do good.
It is nice to work with people you trust and know are good at what they do. You don’t have to micromanage them as they are great at what they do. There will be a sense of ownership as their establishments are hard, and they can step in.
Think about what you want to be known for
So, consider your niche and what you want to be known for.
And when you’re known for that, you will be a source of referrals for all other people. Your business will grow without lots of salespeople and cold calling.
It’s a lot easier to close a referral, especially when it’s a higher ticket package and doing a lot of work for the client to get excellent results, than trying to get all these little deals to add it all.
Have the right client
Having the right client is more important if you’re a service business.
But many agencies or service providers waste a lot of time talking to people who are nightmare clients.
When it’s a referral, it’s more likely to be a high-quality client.
For example, if we do PR for a small e-commerce site, they will not get nearly the same ROI as a big eCommerce client.
If you get a 5% increase on a company doing $10,000 a month versus doing $10 million a month, you’re still doing 5%, but your value is way higher, and you get a longer runway.
When you provide more value, you can also charge more for that. So it’s a win-win all around.
It would be best if you had the higher authority to increase your brand and to be better known in a particular niche instead of you talking about yourself. You will reciprocate when you honour other people, and more will speak well of you.
So if you want better word of mouth and more referrals, start by talking well about other people you respect. And that is a huge personal brand authority hack. Almost nobody does it.
You should ensure you’re edifying good people at work because otherwise, it can have adverse effects.
It’s 1:26 am and I’ve just gotten through my email and messages– over 600 per day.
Now, to re-film a presentation I gave at CEO Lawyer Summit. Believe it or not, someone ran off with the camera equipment that had the recordings.
So, I won’t be done until about 3 am– but there are deadlines to hit, and the buck stops with me.
It may look like I live the “4-hour workweek” life– if you see only the highlights on social media.
People want overnight success.
The reality is that I’ve been at this for over 30 years. When I started, I ate off the dollar menu at Mcdonald’s to save money.
I stayed in fleabag motels because I couldn’t afford a nice conference hotel. I stuffed food in my pockets to eat later.
I borrowed money from friends to help me make payroll.
And I still don’t believe I’m “successful” as an internet, digital, or social media marketer.
Entrepreneurship looks easy until you factor in the unexpected problems that always come up.
Hidden Secrets behind Overnight Success
Secrets behind Overnight Success
Yesterday, I interviewed someone who made $87 million as an “overnight success”.
And by overnight success, we mean 8 years of credit card debt up to his eyeballs, which he paid off just last month.
Don’t be discouraged if you haven’t “made it” with overnight success as quickly as some of the people you see on the internet.
They either aren’t telling you the whole story, or you might not realize it’s taken them 10 years to get to that point.
We are all so unique that it’s important to take notes on what we need and want.
It’s also important to remember some of those people who “made it” bought their following, PR, verifications, etc.
Never compare yourself to others getting overnight success, especially on social media, where so much of it is artificial.
So many people get discouraged and quit so early. Get good at one thing and stop it with shiny object syndrome.
You might be thinking, at what point do you consider someone “made it”? 1M per year, 10M, 100M? Being fulfilled with what they do?
It depends on the person but rarely is it monetary.
This year one of my friends marks his 16th year working. I couldn’t tell you how many years were 80-hour workweeks to get to the 5 or 6-Figure workweeks.
If you’re not willing or able to work for what you want, then entrepreneurship isn’t for you.
The vision is larger and much more desirable than the work it takes to get there.
Also, one of my friends used to stay up 24hrs every Sunday to blast 20,000 email addresses because they couldn’t afford the few hundred dollars for a legit mailing system.
“Persistence is key. Read the success stories but let them inspire you rather than define you“
Keep going. Keep trying. Remember you are doing this so you can serve the people you need to serve. You might consider closing your doors many times over the years.
The best tip for struggling entrepreneurs is to think about the consequences of stopping.
People want overnight success, but what would life look like if you shut down the business and got a job?
Would you be ok?
Could you rebuild the business on the side of the job?
It’s about understanding opportunity cost. Not everybody is meant to be an entrepreneur, and that’s ok.
But many hold themselves back unnecessarily. Sometimes you lose money and lose sleep to handle that emergency, even if out of scope.
The best tip is to understand that this is your journey. Stop comparing with others, just like Tony Robbins says
“Energy flows where attention goes”
People will remember you for your character, generosity, and integrity in the long run on this long journey of entrepreneurship, as you exemplify.
So, even if someone is struggling as an entrepreneur, I’d say just trust that the goodwill and relationships you have planted and nurtured by doing the “right” thing will come to fruition one day, and you will receive many times over what you’ve given.
This too shall pass, but the relationships will last.
Here is some wise advice;
Doing the right thing always pays off eventually– call it “karma”, the law of reciprocity, or whatever.
The good guys win in the end.
The best tip I have – only two things will keep you from achieving success
If you quit trying to be successful and give up on your dream
You die before you become successful
The first one you control, and if you quit, you’ll never know how close you were to being successful.
The second one won’t matter because you won’t know you failed.
You need to focus. Sometimes you’re the windshield, sometimes you’re the bug.
Most days, I’m doing what I choose…even though it might feel like hell at that moment. You’ve got to be able to play the long game. It’s not for everybody, but it is for anyone that wants it.
Overnight successes average 10-20 years.
My advice is to know what you want. Aspiring to achieve that. Others shouldn’t have to be your driver. If you have a strong vision of what you want and the why behind it, you will have the motivation and perseverance to overcome challenges. One of my old time partners Slotogate is a perfect example for this, as it is a site for those who love playing diverse games as there are different themes, top providers, the best payment methods like https://slotogate.com/deposits-method/paypal/ and all of this for you to have the most exciting experience while playing!
If you’re reading this, perhaps this message was meant for you — to give you that little bit of encouragement you need.
I’d love to hear your best tip for struggling entrepreneurs on the journey upward to overnight success.
