14 Ways To Grow Your Business Without Social Media in 2023
Small business owners have a wide variety of tasks to juggle on a daily basis, and social media can be a major time suck. If you’re looking for ways to delete social media from your day-to-day (and still grow your business), here are alternative forms of marketing to get you started!
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I have to confess something to you.
I’m an online business owner who dreams of the day that she can delete all of her social media marketing apps, even though that’s how I grew my business and connected with an amazing community.
14 Ways To Grow Your Business Without Social Media in 2023 | Kelsey Reidl, Marketing Consultant
There’s just something so enticing about the thought of one day unlocking my iPhone on a workday and being faced with zero temptation to get sucked into the social media vortex – because I am no longer ON social media!
Don’t get me wrong, I still love creating content on Instagram and making new connections on LinkedIn, but there’s also a side of me that craves real, face-to-face conversation and genuine interaction.
Of course it’s possible to have all of that through social media, but it seems to be less and less that people actually use these apps to be social (& more to sell you things you don’t need).
At the time of me writing this blog (November 2022), I still rely on social media apps (mainly Instagram) to generate leads for my Marketing Coaching Business and to build relationships with potential clients.
There’s a folder on my iPhone titled ‘social apps’ which houses 10 social media marketing apps that I check and create content on frequently.
Each week I share relevant content on each app and by doing so, I am able to make valuable connections, book discovery calls and ultimately convert clients. It’s truly incredible that it’s possible to build a business like this!
But ‘finding clients on social media’ is not always as easy as it’s cracked up to be.
I’m hearing more and more from my own Marketing Coaching Clients that they feel like no matter how much they post and how great they believe their content is, they feel like nobody is paying attention and that organic social content is not an income generating task in their business.
My response is that we need to experiment with alternative forms of marketing that have the ability to connect you with the right people.
Sometimes my clients look at me with a puzzled look when I mention that There are other forms of marketing besides creating Instagram Content– but they trust that I will steer them in the right direction.
If you’ve decided that it might be time to take a break from social media marketing and get back to other forms of marketing that could offer a way higher return on investment, then you’re reading the right blog.
Are you Ready to Grow Your Business & Make (Real) Connections with Paid Clients without Social Media?
Here are 14 ways!
Book 15-Minute Connection Calls with Interesting People & Qualified Leads (2-5 per week)
If you’re not actively growing your network, making new introductions and building community, you’reprobably our of touch and missing out on a lot of opportunity.
Building community is extremely important for expanding your reach and creating new opportunities, and should be a priority in your workweek.
In fact, many start up companies now have full time ‘rainmakers’ (I learned this from Jake Karls of Midday Squares) whose sole responsibility is to build rosters and databases of contacts, so that when they need investment or connection to an expert, they have people to call on.
My guess is that if you’re reading this blog, you haven’t quite mastered the art of growing your network?
Here’s a tip…
Start by joining a mastermind and being super engaged in it, or start even smaller by searching through your LinkedIn connections and prioritizing conversation with a few new people this month.
When the conversation progresses and you identify that there is a synergy or shared interest at hand, ask them to book in a quick 15 minute ‘connection call’ and start building your own roster of strategic partners, valuable business acquaintances or possible paid clients.
I realize this sounds tedious, but there is so much truth in the phrase ‘your network is your net-worth’ so I want to make sure that you prioritize this and that it becomes a non-negotiable part of your work week.
You can also leverage your existing social media platforms (like Instagram Stories) to share content related to the problem you solve (your PAS statement from The Visionary Method), and then share a call to action to ‘reach out if you want to hear my top 3 solutions to this problem’. This involves being on social media, but the idea is to move the conversation to Zoom quickly after.
To make this process quicker and to hold myself accountable to 3 connection calls per week, I have a 15 minute calendar slot on my Calendly Booking Link with my up to date availability set. When I want to connect with someone, I just type the short key ‘Calendly 15’ and my phone auto generates this message.
I would love to chat and learn more about your business and marketing goals for the coming 4 months! Go ahead and use this link to find a time for us to chat 👉👉 www.calendly.com/kelseyreidl/15 Here is a screenshot of this process in action.
I book about 3 discovery calls per week using this method.
2. Cull Your Contacts
Use the ‘Cull Your Contacts’ tab in your Visionary Method Marketing Playbook to go through your contacts one by one, from all areas of your life. This is going to help you make your warm leads more visible to you.
If you’re selling your first course or you’re in the early stages of building your online business, you’re going to want to focus your time, energy and attention on warm leads and people who are already in your network rather than going straight to the global marketplace.
This includes people in your phone address book, from social clubs, past colleagues, people on your personal email list, and those who already follow you on social media and therefore know, like and trust you.
Identify which ones are potential leads, eliminate the rest, and prioritize connections with the identified leads. Try to write a list of 100 people.
This will help you focus your energy on building relationships that matter. Plus, it’s important to remember that the people who are most likely to work with you in the next 30 days are already in your Warm Market (they’re not cold leads!)
We study this process inside of our private coaching packages.
3. Lead With Gratitude
Gratitude is one of the most underrated marketing strategies that there is.
Gratitude is often seen as a personal virtue, something that we should cultivate in our own lives regardless of its benefits to others. However, gratitude can also be a powerful marketing tool.
When people feel appreciated, they are more likely to remain loyal to a brand and to tell others about their positive experiences. In addition, expressing gratitude makes people feel good, which can help create a positive feedback loop that encourages a sale.
By making it a priority to practice gratitude in your workday, you can actually grow your business exponentially. We have a full training on this topic inside of The Visionary Method hosted by my friend Blake Fly called "How To Create More Connections, Clients, and Cash, with Scrap Paper, Cereal Boxes, and Road Signs."
You can spark conversation ANYWHERE and ANYTIME by leading with gratitude, and because few business owners are doing it you can immediately become Top Of Mind to your potential clients. Start by sending 5 messages per day saying “thank you for…” or “just wanted to let you know that I really appreciate when you…”
The Law of Reciprocity states that when people receive something, they often feel compelled to return the favor source)
Although I don’t encourage you to give gratitude with the expectation to receive anything back, there is a high probability of some form of ROI through these sparked conversations.
And while I have your attention, thank YOU for taking time out of your busy day to read this blog and to trust that I have something valuable to share with you!
To learn more about how I can support your Business & Marketing Growth Goals, click here.
*p.s. If you tell me ‘the blog sent you’ I’ll share a special discount code with you for 15% off any coaching package.
4. Build your ‘Strategic People Pod’
Do you recognize these 4 people?
It’s Gabby Bernstein, Marie Forleo, Danielle Laporte and Kris Carr. If you aren’t familiar with their work, they’re all in the personal growth space and are published authors and creators.
All 4 of them started building their brands around the same time almost 2 decades ago, and at the time of writing this (2023) they have a combined following of tens of millions of people.
Is it a coincidence that these 4 friends have been on a rocketship together for the past 10 years?
Nope, at least I don’t think so.
From the moment they all began their businesses and met one another, they have been supporting each other and strategically promoting– accelerating their own rocket ships in addition to their friends.
I call this a strategic-people-pod.
Inside of a strategic-people-pod, collaboration and partnerships are the norm and not just reserved for a book launch.
This type of collaborative strategy can skyrocket your business success in a fraction of the usual time, because it leverages existing audiences for promotion, rather than solely relying on building and monetizing your own.
If you haven’t got industry peers or business besties or strategic connections in place – make this your priority over the coming weeks (& if you need help, consider joining a mastermind like The Visionary Method where you’ll be immediately connected with 100’s of other entrepreneurs like you)
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5. Leverage Blogging and SEO As Your Long-Game Strategy
If you dream of deleting all social media, consider getting your blog started and publishing content that is optimized for search engines like Google and that includes important (long tail and short tail) keywords.
Not familiar with how you can leverage Google to grow your business? Learn more inside of The Visionary Method™
Blogging is not an overnight strategy, but according to Jack Butcher of Visualize Value this is where hockey stick growth is possible.
He says “The longer you spend building a business on social media, the more you realize you are fighting an uphill battle. Trying to grab people's attention and make them care, vs. catering to what people already care about. (to be clear, both are good)” (Source)
Jack is right and I couldn’t agree more.
I work with about 30 private clients per year at $7000 per client, and right now I land 50% of my paid clients through Google when they search for a ‘Marketing Coach’ or ‘Business Coach in Toronto’ or ‘Canadian Marketing and Business Coach’.
That means that without SEO working in my favour I would be missing out on $105,000.00 in annual revenue. Ouch.
It took me about 5 years to build my SEO (I have done it all myself) but I’m so glad that I am here.
I believe that one of the best ways for me to leave social media forever is to ensure that I continue to grow the percentage of leads that I acquire through Google.
6. Give What You Want To Receive
If you want more compliments, give more compliments.
If you want more referrals, give more referrals.
If you want more love, give more love.
If you want to receive kindness, give kindness. It's really that simple.
What we put out into the world is what comes back to us.
When we do good deeds for others, we boost our own mood and self-esteem and that translates into business growth.
Here’s a story to illustrate this concept:
I was shooting a wedding video with my husband (he’s a wedding videographer) this past summer in Muskoka and the wedding was on an island, so we took a boat to get there.
The boat drivers were friendly and we struck up a brief conversation on the 10 minute ride over to the island.
Later in the night, we enjoyed dinner beside the boat drivers and I took it upon myself to ask them questions about their life, their family, their work, their goals, etc.
They commented on my curiosity and loved sharing stories, and eventually asked what I did for work.
We exchanged numbers and I sent a follow-up email to David on Monday Morning to say ‘nice to meet you’.
Weeks later my friend randomly asked me if I knew any executive coaches.
I do! David the boat driver! (the boat driver from the Muskoka Wedding!)
I made the referral, and asked for nothing in return (nor did I expect anything).
Law of reciprocity must have kicked in because weeks later, David referred me to a $7,000 client. I sent him a referral gift, as a token of my appreciation and as a way to say ‘thanks, keep the referrals coming!’
So the next time you're feeling down, try brightening someone else's day or connecting 2 people. You just might end up making your own day a little brighter and your bank account a little bit happier, in the process.
7. Use Voice & Video to Spark Connection
My favorite way to meaningfully connect with people is to send voice notes, video messages and still photos (see image) to spark a conversation.
This technique works when you’re making a connection with someone awesome, someone you see is engaging with your content, or someone you want to build a relationship with. Actually, it works with ANYONE because there’s no way you can NOT respond to a personalized message like this.
In fact, I’ve used this technique to connect with world-class thought leaders, authors, NHL players, and successful CEO’s.
I also use this strategy after hosting masterclasses and anti-webinars (The Visionary Method’s take on a traditional webinar) to thank people for joining, and to solidify my intentions to support them in growing their business.
Last time I paired a masterclass with 1:1 personal follow ups, I signed 2 x $3,000 coaching clients within 7 days and I’d love to help you do the same!
8. Stop posting, start creating conversation.
How would you like to scrap mass-marketing (pouring money into Facebook Ads) in favor of relationship-based marketing (using thoughtful content to spark conversation)?
If you feel like you’re posting content that simply isn’t generating comments, likes or shares you’re probably frustrated with the 1 way conversation that you feel like you’re having with your clients.
And one way conversations don’t generally lead sales 🙁
Instead, turn your focus away from mass marketing and shouting at clients in favour of doing whatever you can to create a 2 way conversation between you and your dream client. Not only will you feel better about your marketing efforts, but you’ll also learn so much by getting into meaningful discussion with the people who are buying (or aren’t buying) your product.
Treat all marketing as a chance to create thoughtful content and to ALSO engage in thoughtful conversation. Without the conversation, you’re missing a key opportunity.
If you’re not sure how to spark conversation, try sharing something that you’re genuinely excited about or that is of interest to you right now or as of lately. Chances are that if you’re interested in something, you’ll find others who also find the same topic interesting– even if it’s super niche!
In addition, you should also be prioritizing 30 minutes per day to engage with other people’s posts and to like and comment and share on their remarkable content. We call this Social Listening in the Marketing World.
Not only does this help you gain more awareness, but it also helps you build your network and befriend some really epic humans.
When we take the time to engage, we show people that we’re paying attention and that we really SEE our dream clients and to LISTEN to what they want.
You can take this further by booking market research calls with a few people per week, asking a series of questions that help you solidify your products-market-fit.
As an example,
Before launching The Personal Training Development Center and growing it into a 7 figure online empire, Jonathan Goodman scheduled 150+ market research calls so that he could truly understand the struggles of online personal trainers and to ensure that his product market fit was perfect.
Even though he has the same hours in a day as every other entrepreneur, he decided to prioritize conversation in order to launch a platform that was truly life-changing…. And it worked!
If this process intrigues you, you can listen to an episode of Visionary Life where he breaks down his process.
9. Make a difference, don’t make noise. - Seth Godin.
When I swipe through social media I feel like I’m inundated with noise.
In the literal sense, there are songs and sounds and stories.
In another sense, the content that comes at me feels like noise that goes in one ear and out the other. There seems to be a lack of substance in 99% of the content that is being shared.
I don’t see a lot of content that actually makes a difference or at least, it’s hard to find those who are truly adding value and focusing on quality.
And that’s because it’s tough to make a real difference in someone’s life with a 15 second video.
What can you do to make a difference then?
Well, that’s up to you.
Ask yourself what really matters to you about doing the work you do, and go do that on a local level.
Donate time to a struggling some business,
Organize a meetup for stay at home moms,
Host a garbage cleanup for your community.
These difference-making efforts can go a long way in encouraging word of mouth marketing.
10. Get Social and Attend Conferences an Industry Events
Let me make one thing clear. When I suggest doing some form of networking I’m not talking about traditional networking events where you wear business casual clothing. I would never make you go to those (because I certainly don’t!)
I’m talking about events where you’ll meet people with a shared interest, who are playing on a similar level, or who have connections and knowledge that you may not.
I can confidently say that by flying across the country for a 2 day conference, attending industry events in the USA, showing up to trade shows, joining masterminds, and putting myself in rooms with visionary entrepreneurs and potential clients has been the biggest driver of revenue and growth for me.
The people who invest in these types of events are also most likely to invest in coaches, consultants and services - so there’s a high probability that you’re going to land new clients.
If you’d rather stay local, see if your town has a BIA that you could join. This is a great starting point and a trusted way to meet business owners in your area.
However, this can also take shape by becoming more social and involved in your own community in whatever way lights you up.
Consider joining a local gym, attending events at a coworking space (or working from a coworking space) or even signing up for virtual meetups and masterminds.
Many of you who are reading this probably started your online business because you dreamed of never having to leave your home or talk to another human being, but you’re likely going to fail if that’s your idea of a successful workday.
If you never want to leave your home, build your network, or focus on relationship-building I would recommend that you become a Programmer, not a course creator or online coach or entrepreneur!
High performing business owners and successful entrepreneurs are constantly prioritizing connections, building their network, attending conferences, and investing in masterminds that get them in front of the right people and audiences. At every level, this should take up a minimum of 25% of your workweek.
11. Podcasting is STILL a growing medium, and it’s NOT too late to start yours!
Starting a podcast is one of the sneakiest opportunities for you to grow your business.
When I started my show (Visionary Life Podcast) back in 2018 I knew that it would not only be a great marketing tool, but it would also hold me accountable to booking a conversation and making a connection with one successful entrepreneur per week.
Over 250 episodes later, and I can tell you with confidence that the ROI of my podcast has been vast.
Is there a direct and measurable ROI on podcasting? It’s hard to say but the short answer is yes.
You can run your own ads on your show, you can learn from the best of your industry, you can generate leads and build trust - but not all branding efforts are truly quantifiable because some of them involve creating trust, and making people feel like ‘they know you’ which accelerates their consumer purchasing journey.
What’s been surprising is that many of my past podcast guests (who I have looked up to) ended up becoming paid clients and have invited me to speak to their audiences or on their stages.
12. Start a (kick-ass) Email Newsletter and grow your subscribers
If social media isn’t working for you, perhaps it’s because you feel like you’re not able to create enough ‘substance’ in 15 seconds using TikTok or Instagram.
And perhaps you’re not seeing a lot of ROI because nobody is clicking through from TikTok to your website (because TikTok favours videos without calls to action because they want to keep people on their platform).
This is where I would suggest building your email list and creating a weekly newsletter of substance and value that niches down on a certain topic (ex: 5 Star Customer Service, Facebook Ad Updates, Unconventional health tips for the holistically minded, etc.)
I won't dwell on email conversion rates and the likelihood of sending traffic to your website when you compare social media content to sending email campaigns, but I think you can guess where I am going with this.
Build your email list starting today, if you’re not doing so already, and send consistent newsletter (weekly, bi-weekly or monthly) to add value. Don’t just show up when you have something to sell or when you’re about to launch something. That doesn’t work!
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13. What’s Your Referral Strategy?
If you’re really great at what you do (and you consistently deliver a 5 or 6 star experience for your clients) then it’s likely that you’re getting between 20% and 50% of your business by referral.
This could be indirect referrals like someone sharing your Instagram Post, or direct referrals where someone intros you to a hot lead.
Regardless, the opportunity to build a successful business by referral is vast, but you need to begin with having a remarkable product and even more remarkable (and memorable) delivery of those servives.
Clients feel compelled to talk about remarkable experiences, not average experiences!
So, the question becomes— who’s talking about you when you’re not around? And do people know HOW to refer you (as in, are they clear on the problem that you solve for your clients?
I like to boil this down to having Trigger Words that spark someone to think about your business.
In my case, when someone says “I need help with MARKETING (where marketing acts as the trigger word)” I hope that my business or my name is immediately brought up, since that’s the problem that I solve!
Becoming more referable starts by identifying your trigger words, helping clients and getting them great results, and getting into enough conversations that allow you to introduce your services.
You should also ensure that you are referring out business to others, and building a strategic referral network!
14. Get Results In Your Community, First
Before you go GLOBAL with your business, try to be successful locally.
This might involve community mentorship, teaching workshops or seeking out more ways to get involved on a micro level.
After all, if you can’t make a true connection with 1 or 2 people in your community, you’re really going to struggle to reach millions of people using online marketing.
Prove that you can build relationships with the people in need within your community, and begin scaling up from that point on.
Going global right away can be a tempting proposition. After all, there’s a whole world of potential customers out there.
However, before you expand your operations to a new continent, it’s important to make sure that you’ve first conquered your local market.
Not only will this help to build your brand awareness, but it will also give you a chance to refine your products and processes. Once you’ve established yourself locally, then you can start thinking about taking your business global.
Conclusion…
Living in the land of social media is confusing and oftentimes does not provide the best ROI for online business owners who are just starting out.
However, it can also be a joyful place and a Mecca of connection. Therefore, it’s important to decide how you want to consciously move forward with using Social Media to Grow Your Business.
If you choose to start leveraging other Business Growth Strategies like the one outlined in this blog, you can be confident that you won’t need to rely on Social Media forever in order to grow your business.
As I mentioned previously, it is my hope that I will one day take a social media hiatus (whether it be brief or extended) and be able to truly experiment with how I might continue to connect with dream clients in a way that honours my lifestyle and digital boundaries.
Everyday it becomes more and more possible with the work that I am putting in, and I hope that I’ve shared with you enough methods for moving forward if you do choose to go offline.
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🚨 Before You Go!
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