Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:00:08] Speaker B: Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Amer Life Marketing Mentors Podcast. My name is David Belleville.
[00:00:13] Speaker A: And I'm Jo Barker.
[00:00:14] Speaker B: And today we are talking about social media marketing, the role that it plays within your strategy, how you can get the most out of it and ensure that you're actually getting business results, and how you can post consistently without the overwhelm. And Jo, as we start this conversation, I think that social media is one of the most misunderstood parts of marketing because it's the goals that you can set with social media is not necessarily clear depending on who you're talking to. So we're going to clear all of that up today. But Jo just a level set, what do you think that those agents and advisors out there should be using social media for in 2026?
[00:00:53] Speaker A: Well, I think it's important to understand why we should be using it. So think about all of our consumers and all of our target audiences. Even if we're recru. Think about where all of those people are spending their time in an average day. So the fact is, is that everybody spends hours every single day across the various social media channels. And it really depends on who your target audience is. But it's up to three hours a day that they're sending on one channel. So why would you not meet them where they're already spending their time and try to engage with them on those social media channels for that? But that's where it becomes really, really vital is you know, they're there.
So how can you provide value and how can you educate?
And it should be natural. It shouldn't feel forced. It should really feel like, hey, I'm a part of this social network and I'm trying to provide value and I'm trying to reach my target audience.
[00:01:40] Speaker B: Yeah, it really does provide that direct line of connection that you can have with your audience and prospects, future clients of yours out there.
It should also, though, compliment your other marketing efforts. Social media can be so beneficial to you and your business, but it shouldn't be where you're putting, you know, all your eggs in one basket. It should be a tool that you use to garner that connection, to garner trust. But it's not a place that you want to do a lot of selling.
So, Jo, you mentioned that you can. That's where your audience is spending their time. Correct. What type of content should you be sharing to connect with your audience, knowing that this isn't necessarily a platform that where, like I said, you want to do a lot of selling.
[00:02:27] Speaker A: Yeah, I think we're going to you know, we, we kind of need to break it down by platform.
A good gauge that I always go off of is if you do 70% of your posts that are true social post and then have 30% of the post be about your business or about those selling tactics that you, you know, that you want to deploy.
But it's just, it's really important to, to understand what platform are you on, how is everybody talking and how is everybody interacting on those platforms? And that's how you decide how, how you're going to present.
[00:02:54] Speaker B: Right?
[00:02:55] Speaker A: You don't want to go out there and just sales message after sales message after. They're going to block you and they're or not want to be friends with you, because all you're on there for is to try to get something from them. So you got to like, switch that narrative of not what can I get from you, but what can I provide to you that will, that will help you make those informed decisions or help you get to the next level or where, wherever it is that you're trying
[00:03:15] Speaker B: to go, always be providing value.
That, that's really the underlying point. There's so many opportunities to be providing value, to position yourself as an, and a source of trust for your audience. And Jo, you said we really should break it down platform by platform to determine what you should be posting and how you should be interacting with your audience. So why don't we go ahead and do that? Because each social media platform really does have its own benefits and audiences. So let's talk about the big one that most people are familiar with, and that's Facebook.
[00:03:46] Speaker A: Yeah, so Facebook. And that is where the majority of our target audience is spending their time. So I think the last I saw it was two to three hours every single day. Our target audience is hanging out over there. Um, and so think about why they're there. So people go onto Facebook to connect with their friends, family. They're there to get news. They're there to be entertained. And so I, I try to tell everybody. When you're thinking about Facebook, picture yourself sitting at the kitchen table with your friends and family and think about those conversations that you have. You talk about work around the kitchen table, you talk about different topics, and then just keep it to whatever. And that's the, like, that's how the tone you should keep though, is you're connecting with your friends and family and you're sharing information and, and you're being social. So that's the kind of the setting to picture with every post that you're doing. And really, the one secret thing that I think makes it a lot easier for people is instead of going after social media and getting intimidated, I think by talking to 500 people, always with every single platform, picture one person. Great point. And keep that person in mind with every single post that you do. So if I'm on. If I'm on Facebook, I. I'm going to pick a, you know, I'm only talking to Sally, and Sally is the only person I speak to on every single post. And that way I keep myself focused of who is Sally, what is it that she needs? And then all of my posts come behind it just to help that one person.
[00:05:06] Speaker B: That reminds me of the saying, when you're speaking to everyone, you're really speaking to no one. So having that one Persona that you're always speaking to on the platform does matter.
I would say that there's a perception that Facebook is a declining platform, and in some ways the user base has plateaued over. Over the years. But to say that it's not a valuable platform for your business would be incorrect. One thing that I love most about Facebook is your ability to connect with your local audience. So many other platforms out there are great for educational purposes and for garnering attention, but the likes of YouTube and TikTok, you're really looking at a national to an international audience where you don't necessarily have those direct lines of communication with your local audiences. Some of those platforms are gearing more towards local connections, But Facebook has been and continues to be the dominant platform for growing your local audience. And there are so many opportunities for you to do that on Facebook.
Facebook groups are a really great source of local connection and can allow you deeper insights into your audience and the challenges that they face.
[00:06:15] Speaker A: Yeah, there's new platforms all the time, social media platforms that are going to come into play and people are going to dabble in them. So you have, you know, content, you have substack. Who's now in play with those. Yeah, so there's all these different type of platforms that always come in, but what we have to look at is we have to look at who is our target audience. Or. Or everyone should look at that. Who is your target audience? Look at where the majority of them are spending their time, and that's where you really want to focus your efforts. Because we can't be everywhere.
[00:06:40] Speaker B: Right?
[00:06:40] Speaker A: Can't you. It's. It's not realistic to say, hey, you need to be across 15 of the top social media platforms. It's just not. But if you know your audience. And that, that's what I think is key. You have to know who you are talking to. And as soon as you know that, it's very easy to find out. If it's that 65 plus, we know where they are. If they're on social media, they're on YouTube and they're on Facebook, we know that's where they hang out. If you're going after the 55 plus, we still know they're on Facebook and they're on YouTube. But now, depending on their career, you might want to pepper in LinkedIn from there. So that's where I think it's. That's where that becomes vital, is just focus on who your target audience is and don't worry about all the other platforms and then watch the engagement and watch the type of feedback you're getting and make sure that you're engaging. Also, don't just go on there to post. Actually go to groups and go listen to what people are saying. Reddit, Reddit's another good one. We may talk about that one, but Reddit's a good one. Go to Reddit and actually go into, you know, your topic area and go read what people are saying. That gives you the content to go post on Facebook and gives you those, you know, those speaking points of, hey, this is real stuff that people are talking about.
[00:07:48] Speaker B: Reddit is such an exciting platform that we could talk about all day. There is so much opportunity, especially with the rise of AI and how content is distributed and presented. It's changing rapidly. I do want to highlight a couple of points that you made though, because you can't really leverage social media and get the most out of it without getting very clear on who your audience is. So I just want to revisit that quickly, ensure that you have a very, very clear idea of who you're trying to connect with and then niche down. We. One of my favorite phrases that we've been hearing a lot of is the riches are in the niches. So identify your target audience and then find out ways that you can even get more granular and specific until the point you have that buyer Persona where you're just speaking to Sally. So I just wanted to make sure that that is a big takeaway for our audience today that will guide you into determine what social media platforms you should be on.
So you just mentioned YouTube. That's another big one that has a lot of potential to help you grow your business and your client base. What are some of the biggest benefits that our audience today can get out of YouTube?
[00:08:58] Speaker A: Well, YouTube, you know, it's a little bit harder for people to get started because they have to be comfortable speaking in front of a camera. They have to be comfortable and willing to do that and dedicate the time to it. It is, it's probably the number one platform right now, social media platform.
If you're able to do it, it is highly recommended that um, you start getting your channel together, get comfortable with it. You got to start somewhere, just start doing that. Um, when you're looking at our target audience, especially when you start breaking it down to male and female, males tend to, to spend more time on YouTube than they do on Facebook. That is really good information to know. Um, and I would say with YouTube, don't try to, you know, don't try to get 10 videos together before you launch your page. Just get your page going, create one intro video saying who you are, what you do, who you help, those speak, you know, those top talking points that you have, and then take that video and start creating shorts out of it. It doesn't, you don't have to overthink it, but you gotta start somewhere. And the hardest part usually is just starting. The good thing is, is when you start making videos, the first ones are usually the toughest and you, you critique yourself as you get going, but you don't have the viewership. So it's okay, like just start putting the videos out there. You'll get better and better and better with everyone. Then by the time you actually get some viewership, hopefully by then you're, you're more comfortable being in front of a camera.
[00:10:17] Speaker B: And that is where the trend of social media has been going for years is, is video.
[00:10:23] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:10:24] Speaker B: And YouTube is obviously the, the place to be for video content. But now we do have reels on Facebook and Instagram, YouTube Shorts is, is their version of short form video. And then Obviously you have TikTok. But what I' from you is that video on social media is, it kind of goes hand in hand at this point. You need one to have the other. And you mentioned that just getting started is the hardest part. Guys, if you just record that first video, you'll get the first one out of the way and like you said, you'll get more and more comfortable. But that kind of gets us into how you can create a posting strategy without the overwhelm. Because if you can get yourself to record a 10 to 15 minute video on a topic that you are an expert in, that you talk about all the time anyways, then you can get derivative content from that and have a whole month's worth of social media content across platforms without having to think about it until the following month.
[00:11:23] Speaker A: Yeah, we've talked about that a lot. And, and I can't remember if we've actually created the video yet or if we're, if it's in the works to create it. But it, you said it. If you create one 10 to 15 minute video, take that one 10 to 15 minute video, you can break it into a blog, you can break it into multiple posts, you can take that video, you can upload it and you can break it into multiple shorts, you can do that 15 minute video into five three minute videos, and then you can take it down to minute videos of whatever talking points it is that you have during that.
But then you, you just make little tweaks to it for each channel of how you're speaking and who the audience is. And then that one piece turned into 35 pieces. And that's honestly what we do. So we create these podcasts, we create webinars, we take those and we start breaking them down. And that's where, see our blogs and our posts and our shorts, everything comes from that content. And we're, you know, we're, we're proof of, of how that can be done every single week without overwhelming you.
[00:12:19] Speaker B: Right. And different people connect with and resonate with different types of content.
So while you might have a lot of long form video coming across your feeds because that's what you engage with more often, maybe another person has a lot of photo posts or graphics that they engage with or carousels. So the point being is that one anchor piece of content that you're getting derivative content from is also diversifying your content so that your audience has multiple ways to engage with you and connect with you. I think that's great advice.
Let's talk a little bit about LinkedIn because it, it is its own unique audience that doesn't have too, too many overlap with the likes of like TikTok or Instagram or how would you describe LinkedIn to somebody who hasn't explored using it for their business?
[00:13:14] Speaker A: So LinkedIn is interesting. So there's a lot of people on LinkedIn. It is a wealth of knowledge. They have, they have great platforms on there to be able to connect with people. What I find interesting about LinkedIn is how many people are on there and don't post.
So they did this like review at the end of the year and I got like in the top five of posting and I'm like, that's really bad. If I'm in the top now. I do post a lot, but I'm in the top five of posting for all of LinkedIn. That's pretty crazy. It says a lot, but it does say a lot. Because I'm like, everybody else has got to start posting. So I go out and I talk to people and they'll be like, oh, I see you all the time on LinkedIn and I need to do it. I just don't know what to post. And it's like, just quit overthinking and just post. I think the problem is, is everybody knows that it's their professional partners.
It's there. It's a. It's a very wide range of audience in the professional world. And I think sometimes that intimidates people of, oh, well, this person may see it or this company may see it, or I think they feel like there's more judgment. But I think you just kind of have to put that aside and realize LinkedIn, to get going on it. You should be posting probably three times a week. The major part about LinkedIn is the engagement, though. Commenting on other people's posts and making sure that you always respond back when people comment to yours. That's how the posts get get into the algorithm and get served up even more.
It should be a networking event, so you should picture like, hey, we're at a networking event. The whole point of those is to get to know people.
So get to know people, go out and see and introduce yourself to people. And you shouldn't be afraid of it. You're gonna get those people who don't wanna be friends. It's okay. Like, there's a lot more people out there, it's fine. But you'll find the people that connect to you and as long again that you're providing value. So make it a point to. You know, I try really hard every week to share something that's new in digital or new in marketing. Every week I try to do that because I'm learning. So let me share with everybody what I'm learning.
And I think as long as you don't overthink it and just be real for. For the work atmosphere.
[00:15:12] Speaker B: Right. You being in the top 5% of LinkedIn posters, very well deserved, of course, because of your knowledge and your sad
[00:15:20] Speaker A: experience, because it's not that much, but.
[00:15:21] Speaker B: Right. That. That shows me that those people that are afraid of being judged or being afraid of not being perfect, there's. They're the vast majority. And it's the ones that just take the plunge and take that leap of faith that are gonna have a far greater chance at success because now they're in the minority of those that are actually posting. Yeah. And, and so that's gonna allow you to get in front of new people.
It can be a great source of recruitment. So NETWORKING is for LinkedIn long form video, short form video. Education is great on Facebook and YouTube. Let's just quickly address Instagram and TikTok. Those are two platforms that are great if you can incorporate it, but it's not necessarily two platforms that we focus a lot on given our target audiences.
[00:16:09] Speaker A: Yep. So I have one more point about LinkedIn is keep in mind the amount of time that people spend on there. It's not a lot. So where you have a couple hours on other platforms, you're talking less, well, under less, if not 15, 30 minutes that they spend on LinkedIn. Huge difference in the amount of time that people spend there. So keep that in mind too, as you're figuring it out. Instagram, I always say, like it's connected. It's the meta, it's the meta suite. It's connected to your Facebook. Just connect it up, let it run.
Instagram is a valid platform for our target audience.
They tend to stay more on the Facebook side just because we're the 65 plus for a lot of people, but you might as well have it, it's not going to hurt you. And then TikTok, that one, that one's a tough one. You got to dedicate yourself to that one. You got to be willing to actually put yourself out there. And our target audience, for a lot of our target audience, they're just not there. And they're, if they are there, they're just watching for entertainment. They're, they're not necessarily. Now don't get me wrong, there are people who, they make it their niche and they, they do very, very well on that platform. But for the majority, if you're getting started out, which is who we're speaking to today or sharing information about, if you're just getting started out, stick to the basics. Get Facebook up and running first or start with the one that you're most comfortable with. If you're Most comfortable with TikTok, hey, go for it. Like, more power to you, you know, like, I think you're gonna do great. But if you're looking for which one should I be on? Brand new starting out and I'd never done social media, go to Facebook.
[00:17:33] Speaker B: And that brings us to a great final point that we can land on. How do you know how Much to be posting on social media. You might be really ambitious and want to post every single day.
Others might, you know, have a jammed packed schedule and they just feel like they don't have the time to post on social media.
So one thing that we often recommend to those that we work with is give yourself grace, just get started. And if that means one post a week, absolutely. Or one post bi weekly, then that's fine, you can always scale up from there. But what you want to avoid is telling yourself you're going to post every single day of the week and then realize by week two that this isn't sustainable. You get burnt out and then you quit. Is there anything that you'd like to add to that?
[00:18:20] Speaker A: No, I mean, I think that's the way to do it. Anybody can look up, you know, what's the average post per week by platform that they recommend. But the fact is, is do what works best for you. If you know you want to get started on social media, if you know that's a goal of yours, start with baby steps, don't try to take on the world. I really do like the idea of creating one long form content and then breaking it down. I think that's the easiest way to do it because then you, you're just creating one piece and then you're utilizing tools to help you the rest of the way and it helps you do a lot more.
So. But I 100% agree. Just start wherever you're comfortable. Start with the basics and just get yourself out there and get comfortable being on the platform first and let the
[00:18:56] Speaker B: data and analytics tell you over time how much you should be posting on social media.
Try to avoid the vanity metrics and only focus on those that will actually drive business outcomes and lead you to conversions and the ability to connect with, with your audience. So, you know, we could dive into data and analytics all day. We do have content on our YouTube channel and we'll be coming out with more podcasts about data and analytics and what you should be tracking. But staying focused on social media. Jo, do you have any final thoughts for our audience out there or what you believe they should know that we haven't talked about?
[00:19:33] Speaker A: Just, just pick your platform, be real, be yourself and provide value. And you can't, you can't lose.
[00:19:38] Speaker B: That's a great final point. Be yourself, be authentic and you'll find it easier to make content that way as well. So if you need any help setting up your social media platforms or creating a strategy that you can actually stick with, please let us know we are here for you. We are the Amerilife marketing mentors. You can find us on all social media channels, you can head over to our website and book a consultation. But we're here for you and we want to help you grow. So please take advantage of that and we'll see you next time.
[00:20:07] Speaker A: Thanks, everyone.
