Social Media for Humans

Getting started on TikTok with Clem Holman

September 16, 2022 Alexis Bushnell Season 2 Episode 24
Social Media for Humans
Getting started on TikTok with Clem Holman
Show Notes Transcript

Learn some TikTok tips and automation hacks to make content creation more fun and less time consuming from small business social media expert Clementine Holman (she/her) of Honey Bee Social.
We also treat you to a quick rant about Instagram!

Clem help businesses grow their communities online through actionable strategies and cost effective content creation. I’m here to help small to medium sized business help them make content creation as second nature and give themselves some time back, by taking one idea and showing it many different ways.

Clem's links.
Website: www.honeybeesocial.com.au
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@honeybeesocial
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/honeybeesocial_au/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HoneyBeeSocial
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clementine-holman-small-business-social-media-marketing/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClkKutl955G9BlBQfV8lIgQ

Other things mentioned.
Stephen G Pope: https://www.tiktok.com/@stephengpope
Repurpose dot io: https://repurpose.io/
Zapier: https://zapier.com/

Alexis' links.
I've quit social media for September.
Join the club to learn more about ethical and effective social media marketing: https://socialmediaforhumans.club/

Voice over by Hawke Wood: https://www.spotlight.com/3490-9081-8844

Support the show

Alexis' links.
I hang out on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexisbushnell/​
Find me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SocialMediaForHumans
Join the club to learn more about ethical and effective social media marketing: https://socialmediaforhumans.club/

Voice over by Hawke Wood: https://www.spotlight.com/3490-9081-8844

Hawke:

Hello and welcome to Social Media for Humans,  the podcast that empowers you to do social   differently. Your host, Alexis Bushnell, and her  guests discuss their experience of social media as   business owners, users, and ultimately humans, with  insights and advice to help you find an effective   and ethical strategy that works for you. Grab  yourself a drink and join the conversation.  

Alexis:

Hello hello, I am here with fabulous Clem, do you  introduce yourself, tell us who you are what you do.  

Clem:

Hi, I'm Clem, I am a social media specialist or  social media manager, digital marketing manager.   I am, as I say in my TikTok pitches, I help  small businesses grow their communities online   through actionable strategies and  cost-effective content creation.  

Alexis:

And we are all about that! We are very on the  same page but coming at it from kind of different   angles I think, because we were just chatting about  how you're super big into like automating so that   that content can actually work for you, whereas  I'm much more about let's see how much less we can   just do, let's just take stuff off the to-do list.  Clem: Yeah so you're very much do less and   I guess really just create really what you love,  and I am completely completely in agreement with   that, to me also though it's also make that content work for itself and work for   you, like what is the point of just having it in  one spot when you can recreate it and show that   one idea in multiple different ways, and there's  a lot of different methods you can do that.   Yeah and i actually think this  is something that annoys me about   a lot of the sort of generic marketing advice  is like every single   platform should be unique so that people have a  reason to follow you on every single platform, and   like you shouldn't post stuff to your feed also to  stories it should all be unique, and I'm like okay   A) who has the time and B) that feels kind of  inaccessible because there are a lot of people   who are only using stories, like that's the  format that they prefer to consume content in,   or they only prefer to read a really long caption,  or they only prefer to see video and that's the   way that they best take in information, and to only,  to sort of keep your each piece of content unique   to every single format is basically removing  the opportunity to consume the other content   from people who are much prefer video and that's  how they get it, or they much prefer to read, or   whatever it is, and so I am just like just put  the same content out everywhere, like get the   same message out everywhere then everybody can get  that information of whatever you're talking about.  

Clem:

Exactly, if you are a service-based  business or a product-based business   you want to show your story so what I have said on quite a few of   my TikToks, because that's my jam, that is  where I live and that is where I hang out and   you cannot tell me otherwise that TikTok  is not a powerful channel. What I tell people is   marketing is the story that you're showing your  potential customers, your clients, your audience,   and, you know, you have to you might have  to tell that story a little bit differently to   one person or another, but if you find that you'd  prefer to sit on image posts on Instagram, or you   prefer to do TikTok videos, or you prefer to do  long-form YouTube videos, what is stopping you from   doing it? You don't have to be everywhere all the  time, it's impossible, it is absolutely impossible,   and I think that many of these are content  creators that are saying this, you have to post   multiple times a day, you have to be everywhere  all the time, are not in fact actual full-blown,   they're almost not business owners in a way,  they started as a content creator and   found that they were good at it  and find that their success is   there, but when it comes to everything else that  goes within the universe of a small business   it's like that just seems to fall to the wayside,  and that's not the reality of the situation for   most small business owners at all, there's not  only the operations of the business itself,   there is also creating that content or  trying to help your team create that content,   and then also there's life outside of that too  and, you know, you burn yourself out very   quickly if you are feeling like you need to be  everywhere all the time.

Alexis:

yeah definitely and I think as well it's really easy for people to sort of confuse success as a content creator   and success as a business on social media and  to forget that they're very different jobs.   If your job is a content creator your job is to  create the content, to get content out there, and   largely to grow to a very big audience. If you're  running a business your goals are really more   reaching the exact right people and telling  them why what you do is amazing for them.

Clem:

Yeah exactly, if you asked a content  creator what are the most important   metrics for them, you know, you probably hear  views, followers, you know, possibly engagement, et,c   but for a business owner it's not only the  sales but then also the loyalty to them and the   the engagement from their fans as well, and they  understand, most of them understand that it can   be a very very long game, it's not a short and  fast game. So I don't know if you are, you   might be on a few Facebook groups that are about say TikTok or Instagram, and   have you noticed that nine times out of ten  the majority of the questions during the day   if you scroll through them are "how do I get  this many followers?" "Why are my views down?"   And I've stopped asking why is that so important  to you? Is it because you are trying to make a sale,   or is it because you really like seeing  that view number quite high? And mind you   that's just the algorithm doing its job as  well because especially say on the TikTok algorithm for example. I feel like I'm about  to go into down a rabbit hole for for sure with the TikTok algorithm especially is a great  example of how it can almost be like a gambling   addiction, where from a viewer's point of view you  just get sucked into that feed, and Instagram Reels   can be like that too if you're really an Instagram  person. From a creator point of view you become   addicted to getting those views and getting those  followers, and mind you I'm guilty of it as well   but I also love the community that has been built,  and the questions that have been asked, and people   are trusting the expertise that I'm able to give  them, that they're asking those questions to me   instead of just leaving them unknown. So yes, I feel  like with a with a content creator for them that's   very important is those views and those  followers and such, but from a business owner   perspective is that really what you want? Would  you rather have 10 followers that are buying   and that are there cheering you on, or a  million followers that don't buy at all? That's yeah, I feel like we've gone...  Alexis: Yeah that is a question I ask a lot of people   because it is so so often that is the question,  like you say, people are "why is my reach down?"   "Why am I not getting the views on Reels now?"  "Why am I not getting the engagement?" "Why is my   follower number not growing?" And like there are  a lot of different answers to those questions   but the key thing is like why do you care? Is  it actually important? If those things changed   would your income increase? Like do you know that  would happen, because a lot of the time it doesn't,   and I see, now more than ever I think,  actually business owners focusing on   social media more than making sales as if there  is a direct link between if I reach more people   I will make more sales, and sometimes that's true,  a lot of the time if the content that is reaching   people isn't converting people the problem is the  content, it doesn't matter how many people see it   because the content is not enticing to people, it's  not telling people what they need to know in order   to go "I want to buy that." Clem: Exactly, are a lot of your clients local businesses?   Like they are a geographic specific based business? Alexis: It is a fairly 50 50 mix actually interestingly.   So with like my local businesses, the ones that you know say for example   ones that are in a particular suburb, so most  of their clientele comes from that suburb or   that area, and they start going down the path  of you know why isn't our followers climbing,   why isn't our reach climbing, et cetera, and you  know I ask them the same question, it's well   what is it? Are you trying to get more  foot traffic in the door? Because social   media is not necessarily going to give  that to you, social media is there   to make people aware of your brand, very much so.  With a local business it's then, you really   then do in the end have to leverage Google  My Business and your local community because   when they're going to be searching for someone  like your business, they're not going to go on to   socials most likely, they're going to go straight  to Google or Google Maps or something like that   where they put it in and then they'll find  directions, they'll give you a call, or they'll   head to your shop. An e-commerce store obviously  social media has got a little bit more leverage   I think, but that's where you show why people love  you, you have to show your why on social versus selling selling selling selling selling, trends  trends trends trends trends. Like show the point   of view of you as a company and as your brand,  and TikTok has really flipped that on its head,   you know, we're seeing huge brands up there showing  their lighter side and their personality. I mean   you look at Ryanair, you look at Duolingo, ClickUp, Loom, they're all showing their personality,   and they're showing their teams as well in the  background, they're showing that they're human   and it's it's working for them, you know, they  have now a brand presence and a strength that it   makes you feel like you could actually go and  talk to them versus, you know, Facebook who is a robot at this point. Are we gonna  start trash talking Facebook? Let's do it!

Alexis:

I feel like that is just my life at the moment, it's just me cursing Facebook, I hate it so much!  

Clem:

Mine's the Gram, I can't stand the gram. Alexis: That is really common right now. Which is where we met!

Alexis:

I was saying before before we recorded,  I found you on Instagram and now you're over   on TikTok and I'm like argh! It's much more  difficult for me to just follow everything   you do now because I'm not that big into TikTok.  Clem: But you know what it's, I think you don't spend a whole lot of time on TikTok,  you don't scroll or anything like that do you,   you're there to see what it is like as a tool, as  a potential tool for your clients and such?    Whereas I've used it as a tool for my own  business and it's also helped some of my clients   as well, and I've gained clients from it too,  it's just, it works for me, you know and I've been able to learn so much on there that now  it's also looking expanding at other channels that   are outside of Instagram and outside of Facebook  that I didn't think were necessarily possible, but   also being able to expand the point of  view that social can be for humans and   for small business owners and not be bogged  down by it, so that you can get back into   what's important about your business but also  what's important outside of the office as well.   So the stuff that I've learned on that channel  is insane whereas Instagram it's been, Instagram to me is just now the high maintenance  ex that you dated that you really regret going   out with and that just happens to be there in  the background nagging you and calling your mom   every 15 minutes trying to find out what you're  doing and why aren't you talking to them, that's   what I feel like Instagram is. And they're going  through an identity crisis as well. That is a brilliant explanation. Clem: That's a hill that I will die on and no one can change my mind about that, they really can't, I can't stand that channel, anyways enough with the whinging, I'm sure that  many social media managers that'll be listening   to this will be like "yes! Say it louder!" But  this is not what this interview is about. I am so glad you're all bringing this  back on track because like I am very   easily led into just like let's just rant about how awful   these various social platforms  are and how frustrating they are!  

Clem:

Yeah like that's the latest they were coming out  with. Anyway yeah, anyway let's go, let's keep going!

Alexis:

Talking about sort of getting the most out of  your content and being able to expand across   new platforms, how does that  look for you at the moment?

Clem:

So there's something that's called automation  and I don't want to sound, I guess, patronising   but to explain automation to people that  don't know what it is, essentially if this action happens then this  action will happen. So you can set   up things between platforms that don't talk to  each other to automatically occur. So I learned   and am still learning and really building  off of the skill and it's addictive as well.   I have managed to create a machine essentially  that when I create a TikTok it'll automatically   get downloaded into Google Drive and from there  creates a task for my graphic designer and VA to   create social posts for my other channels, that  TikTok also gets automatically transcribed   so that I have the speech that I have  whatever topic that I've explained ready   to go that I can put in as a blog, I can use it  to create social media captions and text, and I can even then just repost those  TikToks directly onto any channels. Going from working until nine o'clock at night  sometimes, and I have a two-year-old as well   you know, so having to stop to give him  dinner, to spend time with him and everything,   I was really stressing myself out because I  felt like I was just constantly in the weeds   and I've set up this system that has  saved me at least two to three hours a week,   sometimes even more when you start doing all that  batch planning for clients all of that stuff is   already there in the Google Drive folder ready to  go, you just have to go and slot it into a calendar.   Being able to have your content whichever way  you create it, because I'm not saying you   can only start with TikTok, or only start  with Instagram Reels, a blog if you're a   writer and you want to start that way you can set  up a system so that it automatically works for you   instead of you re-hashing that idea and  and burning yourself out, make that idea   and show it in different ways without so much heavy lifting. It's possible, it's absolutely possible.

Alexis:

Yeah this is like taking repurposing to the next level I feel like.  I'm big into like repurposing content but  I do tend to find that I do it manually,   that I will go through a blog post that  I've written and pull out the relevant bits   and then turn them into social posts and  stuff like that, so I am very interested   as to how you have actually managed to automate  some of this if you would be happy to share.  

Clem:

So unfortunately we're going to go back to it all started on TikTok! I crossed paths   on my TikTok feed with a TikToker  called Stephen G Pope and we've become   I guess TikTok colleagues and friends  in the long run and he ended up just   showing like, hey this is how I've automated it,  and he does it in a much much more in-depth way   than I do because he also has a podcast, he  does long-form video for YouTube, etc,   and he uses a lot more tools as  well and he's also a bit more of a, he's more of a data type person, so excel  spreadsheets and everything are his jam,   whereas they're not so much like me, but he opened up a course   on let me show you all the things that you could  possibly do to automate some of your content and   how to actually build a basic machine. I took it  and I went this is... oh my god, this is insane!    And so then I ended up actually  testing it out, trying it out for myself,   broke it a couple of times you know, but I  managed to ask Stephen, he's amazing because   you can ask him questions and he'll go  in and he'll be like yep, that's the   missing bit there, you know, try this, try that, that  community that he's created is fantastic. But   I've taken that and I've, you know, customised  it for some of my clients and now it's so much   less work not only for myself but for them  too that it's just simplified our workflow   to the point that all they have to do is I will  give them a challenge, I'll say for example let's take a hairdresser client, you know, so  tell me what low porosity hair is.   I had no idea what that was but it is  such a thing, and they show me on video,   you know, they're in the salon, I don't  even have to be there and I might tell   them hey, could you mind filming this a little bit  more and like just talk to the camera and,   just as if we're face timing, and what comes out of  that is a video that they've given me that I can   edit and they don't have to worry about anything  else except for going yep, that's exactly the right   answer with the final video, and then that's  it, Bob's your uncle it's going to go off onto   all of their other channels and it's just made  work a lot easier and a lot more fun as well.

Alexis:

I think a big question a lot of people will  have is how long did it take you initially   to get it running?  

Clem:

It is not a one stop thing, it is trial and error and testing it   and you know you, it's not like you can test  it in a test environment and then make it go live   like you do with website pages and stuff, it's not like that so it took me a good I would think   about two months until then I saw another TikTok from, no, I saw  a comment on one of Stephen G Pope's videos   from a guy who, when I looked at his profile,  said he was the CEO of repurpose dot io and   repurpose dot io is, I tried it out and that  was just the game changer for me, it's   made this whole automation machine user-friendly  so someone who's not really that technical   could in fact even try this out for themselves. And when I tried it out I ended up breaking my automation system and rebuilding it a little bit  and tweaking it, and I ended up emailing the CEO and just went "you have built the Henry Cavill of  repurposing platforms!" Henry Cavill's my hall pass, I'm like "you have no idea what you have on  your hands here, like this, what you've done   is just gonna be a game changer for people want  to buy their time back," you know. It's not, I don't   think it's just the last two years that have made  people realise that they want some   of their time to themselves back, and self-care,  and being time with their families. I feel like   without the pandemic we would have come to that  point, it would have taken us a lot longer but   wanting that time back as a small business  owner so that you can spend time with your   family, and spend it out of the office,  this has helped so much creating an   automation system that works for you  and makes your content work for you.  

Alexis:

Yeah, I have not heard of repurpose.io but that  is absolutely where I am going this afternoon.  

Clem:

Oh you will, you might start drooling  when you look at it! Like the stuff that you can do   on there is insane, insane! Alexis: That sounds absolutely fabulous and I think the other thing as well is that like, you were saying, it allows people to focus on creating content, in the format they enjoy, and then make it  easy for themselves to turn into content   that they're not a big fan of creating but that  enables them to get it out elsewhere, because a   lot of the people I work with hate video. I don't  know how I attract all these people who hate video!   A lot of them were like "I don't want  to do video content," but if you've written a blog   post and then you can automatically repurpose that  into various social media posts, and even just like   turn the text into a video that like pops up on  screen or whatever, or you put just your voice over   it, or you hire a very fancy video graphic designer person to make it move and cartoony There's even platforms where you can put in the blog and it'll find   license free images that relate to particular  points in your blog and create the video for you,   and even add in a voiceover over that, you know.  There's even, if you want to try your hand at   facing the camera on your phone for example, there  are even teleprompter apps that you can go and   put in that body of the text and, if you're really  nervous, start practicing by using one of those.   So there are other ways around it. Yes a face is  much more engaging but if you need to, if you   want to start dipping your toes in the water and  being able to repurpose that blog into a video,   there are options out there. Alexis: Yeah and I think actually because like you say absolutely, faces are so much better, if you can be on video with your actual face, do it, but I tend to find   that a lot of the resistance and the  nervousness to people being on video and   being like "I hate video" is that they  they're worried what people will say   and when people start doing it and they get the  feedback that's just like "oh it's so lovely to see   you, oh I can put a face to the name, oh you don't sound like I thought you would sound,"   people suddenly realise like okay, this is like  people on the other end of this, you know? It's not   like the hate mob that I have been told about, it's  actual people who are following my content anyway   and can now get a different view of me. Clem: Even if you do get that,   the trolls out there, sure you might  get a comment or something and I mean I get them, thankfully not that  often, and you might get them as well,   you can always delete their comment, you don't have  to respond. Yes it helps your engagement that   you've gotten a comment and stuff but you know  what, the thing is is that in the comments it's, the comment section is supposed to be a safe  space for people and, you know, I think   I did a video about this recently, it's well  okay, well if your comment section is like that   networking party, because in the end what is  Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook? Social media   networks. They're there, you should be using them  as a networking resource. If each one of   your channels is a networking party and you're  letting a bully in and you're allowing them to sit there and spoil the party, what's going  to happen? You're not going to get other comments,   and you're not going to seem trustworthy, and  you're going to lose potential clients, potential   customers and followers because of it. So yeah you  might be nervous about how you look, the feedback   that you're gonna get, but you know what, you can  always delete the comments, you can always delete   that negativity there, you don't have to look at it,  it's not like you're face to face with them.

Alexis:

Yeah yeah, and I think people seem to be  really really nervous to delete comments, and to   block people on social media, even as businesses,  and I think from a business point of view there   is way less sort of social politics involved  than if it is from your personal account and   you want to block your auntie who said something  racist but your mum will be really mad.   Like you don't have that problem  and, like you say, it is so about   protecting your own community, it's not just about  protecting your own mental health, you know, it's   about saying like this is what I stand for  and I will not allow you to harm in any way the   people who follow me by leaving hateful comments or by  just being mean to people in my comments because   that is not the community that I want to build  and that is not what I stand for and it's not okay.  

Clem:

Yeah exactly, it's don't give them the space, all  they want is to rile you up in the first place so   why are you going to allow them to do that? That's quite simply, it's intolerable.   I do wish that platforms would do more to punish those people that do that because   it seems like they get away with it quite a lot,  but the thing is, is that you have a lot more power   within your own channels anyway, just do not give  them the space to say anything. And you know what   the brilliant thing is, is that if you have built  a strong community, your community is going to go   after them, they are going to defend you as well,  I've had it happen before and people that   I have not even met and I saw one troll  come in and one person fired right back at   them and just went "how bloody dare you say that,"  you know, and what have you, and then another   person came in, and another person, and I just  went "I didn't even ask you guys to say anything   and you've backed me up, like I'm just  like wow, this is amazing, it's it's great!" It's, you just have to shit or get off the pot! That's, I don't know how  else to say it, it's just shit or get off the  pot. Like that really is, I know that some  people are so fearful of doing that video but   at the same time there are other ways around  it where you don't have to show your face, and   yes it is more engaging, and yes you might  get trolls, but there is always an option   or another path that you can do that can get  you to the destination that you need to be at. 

Alexis:

Yeah yeah. Sort of on the topic  of like things people are worried about, things   people are nervous about doing, I think tic-tac...!  TikTok is on that list for a lot of people,   and for the people I work with I think a  lot of it is "I'm too old for TikTok", like   TikTok is for the youth, I don't know what the  trends are.  

Clem:

Absolutely not. I don't remember where I read it but  I saw a stat that said that 35 and up was the  fastest growing age group on TikTok and it's   not just parents that are going on there to go and  look at what their teens are doing on the channel,   it's adults being genuinely interested  and entertained. Yes the parents are on there but   you know what they're also doing? It is an avenue  for them to vent, it's an avenue for them to   vent about their teenage kids just being dumb but realising that that's how they were   when they were their age, you know, that kind of  stuff. Or um it's, yeah so 35 and up was the fastest   growing age group. And then I think if you look at  just the stats alone for the U.S. I think it's   25 to 55 accumulates for the largest percentage of  TikTok users, I think is what I saw as well. So saying that you were too old, no! There  is a community on there for absolutely   everybody, everybody! I mean some of  the things that I've seen, there's   one TikToker on there what  he does is he goes and rescues trolleys   that have been abandoned and he has a huge  following. There's another one, I don't   know if you've heard of him, I forget what his name  is, I think it's Francis, he just he train spots and   he has 2.1 million followers, that's all he does,  that is all his TikToks, he trains spots.  So if you think that you don't belong  on there it's just so you haven't found your   your friends, you haven't found your peeps that  you can hang out with and share stuff with.  

Alexis:

Yeah and I think that's true of any platform  that like, there's so many people who also say to   me like "oh well Instagram is all like people who  are into celebrities and super thin models and   fitness and like lifestyle and stuff," and I'm  like ah, that's not how that is.  

Clem:

No, it's not, not at all. I mean  if you think about it Instagram, I can't believe I'm about to say something  good about Instagram! Instagram is what   TikTok, Instagram when it first started is  what TikTok is now from a photo sense,   where what their mission statement is  about bringing people closer together in   in community or something, you know, like  that's what they were at the core,   you can still find a community  on there through hashtags for example,   I mean supposedly they don't do anything for  for your posts and whatnot but. 

Alexis:

Don't get me started! 

Clem:

Sorry, if the big content creators on  Instagram are still using them then I still have   a feeling that they know that something else is  going on, not to sound like a total conspiracy   theorist but if you can still search hashtags,  those hashtags are little communities   you know, and it's the same thing on TikTok, all of those hashtags are little communities   and the things that you can find on there is  you can find your group, wherever.  

Alexis:

Yeah yeah, that's true, if somebody was  wanting to start and on Instagram...   On TikTok! What would be your sort  of top tips for them if they were like   okay, I believe you Clem, I am gonna  give it a go, where do they start?

Clem:

Okay from a creating point of view on your profile you can pin three TikToks at the top of your   profile, if someone finds one of your random  TikToks and they want to go and figure out   who you are, so they're already interested in  who you are, your bio has got to be complete and   those three pinned TikToks are a visual way of  showing who you are as a business or as a person,   so I suggest one of those videos has to be an  intro, it has to be a "hey I'm Clem, this is what I   do, this is this is what my channel is going to  be about," you know, that that sort of thing. I don't want to toot my own horn, I really don't  want to, but I've just redone my intro video on   there and what I've done is I essentially have  done "hey, I'm Clem, this is what I do,"   but I've also put in this is what I promise  that you're going to get, I promise I'm not   going to say this, I promise I'm not going to  be endorsing one behaviour over another because   everybody works differently, so I'm not going  to say here you need to post three, four times   a day in order to be successful, I don't  agree with that, you know, because   a TikTok video can take anywhere from five  minutes to create to sometimes an hour if   you've got a lengthy piece of information that  you want to describe, then there's the editing   and the captions and stuff. So first pinned video I'd say is an introduction of who you are,   what people expect on your channel, what you  do, a little like mini bio essentially.   And then the next two pins what you want to be known for.   So if you've got a TikTok that's gone viral for  example, you know, or eventually that goes viral, you   can put it up there, or if you are an  e-commerce business like showcasing   a new product, that would be a prime spot to put  it there. So your top three pinned TikToks when you eventually you start building  your videos that's like a mini bio of yourself.   Of course there's also your profile  bio, definitely have that filled out.   You have to have I think a thousand followers  in order to be able to put a link to your website   now, before if you joined TikTok even I think a year ago you were still able to   put a website link on there if you  had less than a thousand followers, so   I always tell my clients we're going  to go the pace that you want but just so you know   the thousand followers is when you're  going to be able to get that website link.   And then the other thing a good profile image.  And then number four, so if you imagine the TikTok profile, you've got your profile image and your bio, at the very top is user one two three   four five six seven, change that to what you want  to be known for so that when people search whatever industry that you're in you should  be within that list, so for example mine is   I think is "small business marketing" and so  when you search small business marketing I'm   on that list, and you know I might be at the top,  it might be in the middle, somewhere like that.   And handy tip, your profile photo, have it match  what you've got on your Instagram and YouTube   as well, that way people can easily recognise  you when they're on those other channels too.  

Alexis:

Yeah that is something a lot of people forget  and when you say it to people and you're   like, you know, it's about like if people want  to then go and find you from like, even   if they found your website and they're like I  want to go and find them on social media, they   need to be able to recognise who you are from the  photo because it's the same photo on your website   as it is on your Instagram, and your Facebook, and  your TikTok, and your Twitter, and everywhere else.

Clem:

Yeah, it's brand recognition.

Alexis:

Exactly, it's just about making  it super easy because I think we've all   been there when we've been like "is this the  brand I want to be...? Is this the right account?   Maybe this is somebody else."  Clem: Yep yep, exactly, exactly. Yeah yeah,    I could keep going with tips but I think we'll  stop there, I don't want to overwhelm anybody.   No let's not overwhelm people sat at home just like "uh wow, that's a big list! Let's uh uh?!" 

Clem:

"This doesn't sound like starting!"  But at the same time I think   the thing if you really are starting to get into TikTok as well is   have fun, test it out, it is all about  trial and error, it really really is. And don't think that you have to be dancing in  front of the camera or anything, you know, you can make something so simple as you  know, typing away on your computer and just   have text in the front if that's easy for you.  Don't do it all the time but test out and see   what works, play around with some features, have  fun, they make some really fun effects on there,   there's some really comedic sounds that you  can try, it's all about just I think   jumping in and having a little fun and a little play, especially from a business point of view,   it's like the fun side I think of social  to me, that's another hill I will die on!

Alexis:

I think it's true, so many people have, especially  like freelancers and solopreneurs, people   working on their own who are like "I am my  business, I represent my business so I have   to be professional." I hate that word! I hate  it so much, I hate it more every time I hear it!  

Clem:

Polished. I think that you hate professional,  I hate polished. Like you've seen my videos, I am   most of the time in my tracky pants, if it's  a really bad day I'm still in my PJs or   in leggings, my hair is in a mum bun, I'm never  wearing makeup because that's just who I am. People have been able to let their hair down on  it, whereas if you have to get polished it's just   are you really being who you in fact are, you  know. And mind you, I'm not in any way   attacking or disagreeing with the the  TikTokers that are in the makeup scene   and etc, I think their content is fabulous and  I love watching it because I look at them like   how can they make, how can they create art  on their face? I could never do that. Like I   half the time poke my eye with the mascara wand  if I'm wearing mascara, but for them   that's, you see their personality shine, whereas  I think on other channels there's still a stigma,   you know, and it's not just Instagram, it's  also LinkedIn big time I think, there's a big   stigma that you have to stay uber professional  and everything, and I've just gone   yeah, we've all been homebound for two years and  I've gotten really comfortable in my leggings, I am   not going to change the way I look and the way I  work for a corporate business networking profile.  

Alexis:

I do, I think it's so true like it's about, I hate  to say it but it's about being authentic. It's   about like the person you put out on social media  is the person your clients meet. So if,   I think if you are somebody who is gonna like  get on a video call with a client or go for   coffee with a client or whatever or they're gonna  come into your shop and they're gonna see you   in a fancy business suit with your hair all done  and fancy makeup, then that's probably how you need   to be showing up on social media because that's  who they're going to meet, but if they're going   to hop on a video call with you and you're going  to have like dogs woofing in the background and,   absolutely happening here, and you're going to  be in your trackies and your hair's going to   be a messy bun and you're going to be sort  of running in sloshing coffee everywhere   because you're running a little bit late,  like maybe that's how you show up on social   media, because it's about building that  accurate representation of who you are   so that the people who would get on with  working with you can find you instead of   finding the professional version of you  and being like "I don't know, we don't really gel."  

Clem:

But I think it goes even deeper than that as well  is that if you are being your authentic self   as people say on the Gram, you know, if  you are being yourself it is so much easier   for you to build trust with someone who you  aren't seeing on the other side of the camera.   When you are creating content for example, so  if you are actually in fact being yourself you're   able to resonate more about who you are, what you  do, why you love what you do and your passion, and as   well as why you know your stuff, versus if you were  putting a face on and creating a persona that   isn't a hundred percent you which is why those  people that are creating those makeup   tutorials and everything, they are in fact they're  not putting on a persona, their persona is who they   are without the makeup and when they put it on  and they're creating that art on their face that's   who they are genuinely, and they've been able to  connect with the community so well because of it.   I think it has been a shift where  it is going let's let our hair down, and   the way we really end up connecting with people  is through being ourselves and creating that trust,   so that that client can trust you and, in the end,  you can have that Zoom call in your pyjamas. Now   mind you, I do actually get into regular  clothes if I go and see a client in person, but you know, I think it's really just about if  you show who you are from the very beginning as a   business owner you're going to get that clientele  that is going to mesh with you better than if   you try and put yourself into a frame and a mould  that might not necessarily really fit you.    Do you see where I'm going with that? Alexis: Yeah and I think as well from a sort of, even   from a human perspective it's that vulnerability,  like if you show your true self that is vulnerable   and being vulnerable with people allows them  to go "wow, you're like a real person, wow,   I can actually see who you are," and from an  even sort of deeper perspective it gives a lot of   other people permission to do the same because  they can see you showing up as who you are and go   "oh it's actually okay to be like publicly a mess,  or publicly whatever it is," you know, it's not   shameful, it's not weird, it's not a bad thing, it's  not unprofessional, it's just    who I am and that's okay, and I think that's  really powerful as well. yeah yeah big time it's   you know, whether your true self is polished or whether it's not,  yeah, showing who you are as a person  and showing your business's personality   you will attract that community that  you need, it's just it's a long game   and that's what many people  forget, is they've become very impatient   and it's just a long game and that that's  the next big thing that people need   to understand as well when they start doing social  media and business and such. So I don't know   about you but whenever I have a discovery call  with a potential client I make them understand   like the only way this is really going to work  is if you understand that this is a long game.   Digital, the digital space and digital  marketing in general has created this idea that   everything's instantaneous, and it doesn't help  when you have creators going, for example I saw   a Facebook group post today where it was  "if you haven't reached 10000 followers   in three months then you just  need to restart your account," and you know, whereas you know at the same time  it's okay, well how do you deem that   success? And yes, it's this idea of  instantaneous gratification where it's   so much harder to get people to convert now that  showing who you are and being true to yourself   is going to actually help you in the long run,  and it's just playing that long game   big time. I saw something I think  it was a few days ago where it was   in Japan there are thousands of small  businesses that are over a hundred years old,   thousands, whereas in the western  world most small businesses don't   last a year, and what it came down to is that  when a small business starts they don't look at a   one-year plan or a few years  plan, they look at a 20-year plan.   What does success look like in 20 years? How  do I get to still be existing and being successful   in 20 years versus most of you know the US and UK and Europe and even here in Australia   the mindset is have a business plan  that's like a five-year plan or a one-year plan   and only work in those increments, versus let's  see how long I can really last. So that mindset of playing that long game has  really helped those businesses in Japan to the   point that you know some of them are still family  owned and still considered a small business and   still around in a hundred years time is huge,  they understand that it is the long game versus   many of us now who think that it's, you know, I  need to just slap a ton of posts three times a day   and put a ton of makeup on and be this personality  that I'm not really and Bob's your   uncle and make a squillion dollars in two hours.  Yeah so it's be your authentic self   but also it's a long play the long game, big time. Alexis: Yeah yeah I think it's interesting   you say about that sort of 20-year plan as well  because I think if you plan for that distance   you are kind of forced to think "how do I make this  business sustainable for me?" Whereas if you're   thinking "I am going to make a one-year plan, I  can totally just work myself into the ground   for a year to build this business," which is, I have  so many thoughts about this attitude! Anyway. It is then so tempting for people to run  themselves into the ground for a year, not   actually get their business off the ground and  be burnt out and then not be able to do anything   because they've run themselves into the ground for a year. Clem: And I mean, mind you, that's what I nearly did.   Like I was really running myself into the ground,  like working until nine o'clock at night, and when   I first started you know, I still had a  full-time job, I was waking up at 4:30, 5 o'clock in   the morning to work on the business and then   working even after work and stuff, and then   once I had my son I was almost doing the  same thing after a couple of months   of kind of taking things a little bit easy  because I felt like I needed to succeed, but   in the end that one year, that five-year plan  just didn't, it was not sustainable whatsoever,   and now thinking of the longevity,  of where do you want to be in   say 10 years time? Instead of where do you want to  be in six months? It's like okay, I think I know   where I want to be and how do I get  there by working my way backwards so that I can be   sustainable, and the big key is not burning  yourself out, which for me, and I mean maybe,   I don't know if you do this is sometimes is  just cutting myself off from and actually   putting in measures to discipline myself so  that I don't burn myself out. So for example   I actually go, we have a property  in rural, out in the bush as we say out here,   where there's no mobile phone reception, there's  no wi-fi, my phone does not work out there and I   actually can shut off and it is the best thing for  me. So my clients know that there there are some   weekends I am not available because I need to have  that disconnect and they appreciate it because I   come back swinging with I've had this idea, I've  had that idea, what do you think about this?    So putting in those disciplinary measures so that you  can be sustainable, so that you don't burn yourself   out, is very handy and sometimes it does mean  shutting off. And I think you had someone on   the podcast that shut off their Instagram,  I think was the last episode that I listened to,   and it worked wonders for her, you know, because in the end what is social   media in the end? It's a social media network in  the end is a business, they are there to make money,   you are essentially doing the work for them   instead of. Flip that, if you think of it  that way instead of "I need to be on there, " need   to be on there at all times, I need to do this  that and the other on these channels," instead   of thinking they're actually using my content so  that other people can spend longer on the channel   so that they can feed ads to them so that they  can make money and keep their shareholders happy,   well hang on, that doesn't really work for me.  Yes I'm being given an audience but is   that really sustainable in the end for myself  and my business and my mental health? No.  

Alexis:

And I think actually the other thing that I  want to say is like that that 20-year plan, that   long-term plan also gives you the ability to  think more strategically about your marketing   and not get hung up on like I have to be on  all these networks, I have to be on the next   upcoming network, I have to change my whole  plan because now there's this new network   or this isn't working or that's not working  because rather than being reactive like that   and every six months, or every three months, having  to change your entire plan, you've got this goal   of like this is how I want to reach people, this  is who my people are, this is where they are, this   is how they communicate with each other, and  you can then adapt much more easily to like   okay, this platform isn't really working for my  audience anymore, cool, but you already know where   they are because you know who they are so you can  just move with them to the platform that they're   actually using rather than jumping on wherever you  think is like cool and trendy right now and trying   to find them all over again.

Clem:

Yeah I mean when was  the last time you heard anything about Clubhouse?!

Alexis:

I know, I know! Clem: A perfect example of what you just said.   when was the last time you heard anything  about Clubhouse? I think I'm pretty sure   it was about a year ago and it was all  because everybody wanted an invitation   and that app is almost dead at this point,  it's people on there wanting to toot   their own horn etc, but no one like, I mean you know  LinkedIn was trying their audio only, twitter has   put up their audio only sort of stuff, but no  one seems to be really chomping at it because   it's not really where people are, but everybody  wanted to be on it and they were all over it   you know, and then before that it was  TikTok as well, but TikTok had that longevity   because it was just, it grabbed all of your senses,  almost all your senses because obviously you   can't smell or taste anything, but I mean I could  practically taste the screen with some of the cooking TikToks that I see but. Yeah,  I mean that, exhibit A what you just said is   you know, Clubhouse is one of those hype things and  wanting to be on there and did that really in the   end work for many people? I don't know, I haven't  heard any amazing success stories out of it.   I think it was for, there were a few people who  got in early and were able to get platformed by   very big people and I would bet the  percentage of people who did well from Clubhouse   was probably less than one percent because,   that was how it really happened.   

Clem:

That would be the argument to jump onto every social channel as soon as it comes out because when you get in early and you get your foot in the door that's it you'll have the biggest piece of real estate,   but at the same time there are over  95 social media channels in the planet.   Like for example Facebook  doesn't exist in China, is it Weibo?   WeChat, I think or something like  that. It doesn't exist in China so   you know, it's okay well that's where you need to  be there but you can't be everywhere at once, so   it comes back to that sustainability, and  if we want to loop back even further into   our conversation that's where that automation  stuff helps you be sustainable as well, where   if you're putting your content out there  and making it work for you that, in the end,   is a digital form of sustainability I think. I  might be stretching it just a little bit but   you know, if you put everything in  place then if you're not able you can take   a step back and it just runs on its own and you  know, I think that's the beauty of the time and the age that we're in, but again I  think what we're coming back to is   how do you become a sustainable business, and you  have to think a lot longer term than five years.  

Alexis:

Yeah definitely. So yeah  coming back to automation then,   what are the first steps before anybody even  thinks about like getting to repurpose dot io or   really digging into the actual tech behind i,t and  building the robots and things that do it, what is   the first step? What do people really  need to be considering to do that?

Clem:

Yeah, if you wanted to start with an automation machine, if you wanted to build something like what I've   described there's two questions that you should  answer, so one what is what is the easiest way   for me to create content? What's the one  that I absolutely love to do? And essentially   my assumption is that if you absolutely love  to do it, it's going to be really easy for you   to create right, so what is the easiest way for  you to create content? Number two is then where   do I want that piece of content to go? How far do  I need to go and what are the steps that I need   to take in order to get it from point A to point  B to point C, channel D, whatever? So essentially   with that question number two you create  that map, so for example with mine   it was okay, I want to start with a TikTok,  I've got Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube,   and you know, let's throw Pinterest in the mix  as well because I had a Pinterest channel and I   wasn't doing anything with it and Pinterest being  not a social media platform but a search engine   I found that I'm like okay, this probably has a  lot more longevity than Facebook and Instagram   which, you know, well I have my opinions of them.  LinkedIn is just to have that presence there,   and YouTube is again a search engine too,  so I'm like okay, all right the channels are   there, if we're going to map this out how do I  get that TikTok or the the content that I   have described or said with that information, how  do I get it into each of those platforms? Oh and   not to forget your website! Your website is the  only piece of digital real estate that you own,   all of your social media channels disappear  tomorrow your website could still exist,   so let's think of that as almost like  that should be your hub, you know, so then   come up with all the steps  that you have to take in order to   land on each one of those channels, and  I guarantee you there is some sort of format or platform or step that you need to take  that can be automated. So if you are constantly say   putting in your project management system  tasks to your graphic designer   about creating an Instagram post about this topic that you   spoke about in a video or something  like that, that could be automated   for sure. I actually have it automated in my  project management system and Click Up so   that when a TikTok goes into Google Drive  there's a platform called Zapier   where you can create it so that it automatically  creates that task and assigns it to that person   so that they know we need to create an Instagram  post about this, we need to create a Pinterest tile,   we need to create a YouTube thumbnail, because  we know that eventually it's all going to go   on those channels for example. I'm not saying it's  just those three but as an example, hypothetically.   So it's creating that map and just breaking down  all the steps so that you know the tasks   that are entailed in that workflow and then even  labeling what platforms you use for each one   and then seeing if there's a way that you can  automate those tasks in particular. Zapier is a   great platform to go and have a look at. What  Zapier is is essentially like a Rosetta stone,   so they make one platform that doesn't necessarily  talk to, so like platform A won't talk to platform B,  Zapier becomes the Rosetta stone between them  to get them to speak to each other. So I get it   so that it's like okay this video is in Google  Drive, Zapier kind of just goes yup, you're going   to go and talk to ClickUp now and we're going to  create that task in ClickUp in the right folder,   for the right client, with the right channels and  requirements, because you can template that task.   I think that makes sense, it makes sense  in my head because I, you know, built it, but!   

Alexis:

Yeah yeah, no, I think that is very clear  and yeah, I think what I would say I think as well   is I sense, knowing some of my clients, I sense  that they're going to hear this and go "I can be   on like every platform, amazing, I just need to  create like one piece of content and then I'm   going to create this automation that's going to  go everywhere."

Clem:

There's one thing that they forget is that it's a  social media network! You have to go and network   on there, you're still gonna have to go on there  and communicate to people and comment and engage,   that's the biggest thing that I think  clients forget that they have to do.   Sorry I didn't mean to interrupt you but that had to be said! Alexis: Yes yeah and I was also   what I was going to say is actually that is a  great way to overwhelm yourself as well, to go   from like I'm only on Instagram and now I'm  going to be on every network because I have   an automation. Don't do that! Like pick one  as a network maybe to start with and be like okay,   get something set up to get stuff over there.  Clem: Because the beauty of something   like this is that if you create that basic machine essentially with say platforms like   repurpose dot io and your project management system, a lot of stuff you can build off   of it, you know. You don't have to have everything,  all of it connected all at once and that   if you have a technical background as well,  I mean I hope that most people agree with me,   if you start small then you're able to build  off of it because the problem is if you build a   huge machine from the get-go and it doesn't  work it can be like finding a needle in the   haystack in order to try to figure out  what that little tweak has to be in order to get everything to work and to function,  because sometimes the error messages that you   get you're like what the hell does that mean?!  Like you know, error token? Like you use tokens?   I don't have any tokens, you know. So for  someone who isn't technical, that's   not used to coding or anything, just be  careful and start very very very basic.  

Alexis:

Yeah yeah and I think as well if you start  small and simple it gives you the practice   as well, so that you can then build on that  knowledge. So you might initially start with just   a thing that's like it saves the original content  to a Google Drive or somewhere and then it copies   the actual text from it to somewhere else and it  sets a notification for me to create an image or   to schedule this post or something,  and then when you've got into the flow of that   you might then think "I wonder if I can add this in,  that would make my life a little bit easier again,"   and then you figure out how to do that little  thing and add that in, and gradually it builds.   And I think this comes back as well to that  like need for instant gratification and   I have to have success right now so I have  to have it all figured out immediately,   actually generally works a lot better if you just  baby step into it and and try things get the first   thing sorted, working for you, and then expand when  you need to.

Clem:

Yeah exactly. The other thing that some   people might think once they build this  machine is you can just set and forget it   but you know, you obviously say with  your social media captions for example you   don't want the exact same thing said across each  channel, so you still are going in the end to have   to go in there and modify text or rewrite a few  sentences, you know. Even like Instagram posts   for example, you're probably gonna end up having  to add hashtags if you're still doing hashtags,   so there still is going to be  some of that manual work involved, but   building something like this takes the heavy  lifting out and a lot of the bulk of the   mundane tasks that take up and chew up time.

Alexis:

yeah, yeah yeah and I think one of the things that sort   of stresses a lot of people I work with out about  repurposing is also this like you have to remember   to go in and like copy the content and save it  somewhere, and it becomes this mountain   job that in your head feels insurmountable, and  then you put it off forever, whereas if you've got   an automation set up that you know is like saving  all the content that's going out as you create it,   if you do find that like you've got   a couple of hours to spare on a day that you   finish all your client work or whatever, or you've  put some time aside to work on your business,   you can just go into that resource and go  "right okay, how do I use this now? Where am I   going to put this? What do I need to do with  this to actually make it usable elsewhere?"  

Clem:

Exactly, exactly, it frees up that  time so that you can go in and do the tasks   that you needed to do, or even start working on  the projects that you wanted to start working on   because I mean like admittedly,   you might understand this, where there   have been times where you're just in the weeds  when it comes to creating that content calendar   for a client and you've got no idea what to put  in, you know, you've looked at Google Trends   and all this stuff and your mind's just going a  blank and having that database just automatically   filled for you it's so much easier to go and be  like "hey we were talking about this four months   ago, it's probably time that we bring that topic  back up in social. Okay let's do it now," and then   that way your calendar gets filled up relatively quickly. It makes it easier in so many different fronts to have  all that stuff automatically done for you.

Alexis:

Yeah definitely. So from an automation  and also from like a simplifying perspective   I do feel like we're very much on the same  page because I think we're both very much like   focus on the content that you actually enjoy  creating and don't push yourself to create   like more and more and more content and set  yourself this goal of like I have to be posting   seven days a week, or three times a day, or whatever  it is. What do you sort of tell clients who   have sort of taken in maybe a little too much  of that Gary Vee advice and are a little bit like   "I need all the content, we need to get loads  of content out there !"

Clem:

I ask them why. And a lot of the time they can't really answer that question and I mean this   is this is where the the discovery calls with  clients before you say yes, I will work with you   really really help to see if you  actually are in fact the right fit.   Because the ones also that I  find that are like that, that have to have   that Gary Vee mentality of you have to be everywhere all the time, it's all about speed, it's not ever about quality, not only are  the ones that seem to burn themselves out a   bit, they're also the ones that have also burnt  through a lot of other freelancers, agencies because they don't necessarily want to understand really   the abyss that is in fact involved in content marketing and digital marketing in general.   It comes back to again to that long game where you know, it's they want to see that ROI that is so   difficult to prove instead of understanding  that, you know, social is very much about   building the community, your website is very  much about bringing in those clients and customers,   so again back to that mindset of  marketing is the story that you show them,   advertising is the message that you're  telling them, so you know "we're the best   at what we do" or what not, but sales are the  actions that are going to close the deal.   They kind of expect the marketing to do all  of that for them, they expect the advertising   to bring in squillions of dollars, but sales no, screw that!   Sales and marketing are one and the same which it's not. So those clients   have a tendency of not being the right  fit for me because they're the   ones that don't necessarily want to build that  community around them and play the long game,   and they also are incredibly much more,  I think, profit driven versus longevity. That is going to piss a lot  of people off but that's,   I think that's the mindset you have, you have the Gary Vee mindset and   punch it all out, do that, do the three to four  posts a day, or churn out that content, you know,   blah blah blah, the thing is though mind you,  is that if you go and churn through content and   stuff like that on particular channels they can in  fact shut your page down because they'll deem you   as a spam or a bot, so then what is it in the end?  Quantity just actually does not work, you look like   crap and if it does that, is that how you want your  brand to look, is just you know a spam, a bot to   to the algorithm that you have zero control  over? No, no, so that's kind of,   that's in my experience what I've noticed  is that people that have that mindset they're   the ones that end up churning through agencies and freelancers and consultants and such because   they don't understand that long game and  it doesn't really work with, I think, with a lot of digital marketers in general. Alexis: Yeah, I completely agree.  I do think that focus on profit and, not that there's anything wrong with profit, we like profit,   I just don't think it is the be all and  end all, and I think it is important to also have   that sustainability and other things in your  life as well that are important to you.   Yeah and I think it's also  if we looked at say if you're churning out content that's not  really informative and it's not really   helpful to your target audience, they're  not going to read it in the end, right?   And you're going to end up spending a lot more  on advertising dollars sending them to a page   that they're going to deem as a dud and it's not  really going to help them, so what you are really   in the end doing if you're thinking of that  mindset is you're spending more money on ads   and advertising than you are about making  your shop front, your digital shop front,   which is your SEO, and your website is your  digital office, as a really solid foundation to what you are and what you are about  and you're not spending the time on creating   your social media as that digital version of your  business card, or the digital version of the flyer   that is whizzing through in traffic, you know, that  people will suddenly notice, you know what I mean.   Like it's that you end up spending more money  that you wanted to keep in your pocket versus   creating a solid office shop front space  and personality in a way, and a community.  

Alexis:

Yeah, so if people want to find your digital  office space and your digital community where   can they do that?   

Clem:

Well you can find me on TikTok, so my my TikTok handle is HoneyBeeSocial and then I'm also on Instagram as  HoneyBeeSocial_AU then my website   is HoneyBeeSocial.com and I'm on a few other  channels but TikTok all the way, that's my jam if you want to if you want to see me on  there as my very true self, yeah that's where I live.  

Alexis:

Fabulous, fabulous! All of those links will of  course be in the show notes so people can find you   super easily yeah and honestly it has been  such a pleasure to actually chat to you in   person, well digitally. Clem: Exactly and like we were saying off air before we started   recording, this has been like a few years coming  like, I think you were one, I think   you're one of my first like Instagram colleagues  I think from when I started my Instagram page   and stuff, I don't quite remember how we met but it  was the stars aligned on the Gram and you know, we   started chatting and stuff, and connecting,  and commenting, and networking essentially,   and here we are! Alexis: Here we are, yes, and it has been really lovely.

Hawke:

If you want more regular   reminders to find your own way to use social media,  follow Alexis on your social platform of choice,   all the links will be in the show  notes. Until next time, be a human.