How to grow your business without Facebook and Instagram
I don’t need social media to get leads and clients. Huh? But what about Instagram, Nina? Facebook groups? Tik Tok? LinkedIn? Nope. All of my leads as a business coach for creatives are currently coming from my website. Marketing without social media, it is possible.
I still have my social media, but I mainly use them as a shop window for what I do, and because I like creating content for my followers on there too. But my paying clients do not come from there.
My highest paying clients find me through Google.
So how does that happen? How do people find your website in an ocean of other websites? Content. Lots of content, that is relevant to your customer. You need plenty of content on your website for it to gain traction and bring you traffic. A good, solid home page, about, and services page for a start, but more than anything: you need blog posts if you want people to find your website in the search engines.
Oh, but Nina, I never know what to write. It’s going to be hopeless!
Content marketing and why writer’s block does not exist
Well, here’s some news for you: writer’s block does not exist. Writer’s fear does.
If you find it hard to come up with blog content, it is likely because you are scared to post anything stupid. It’s the old impostor syndrome and fear of judgement that are popping up once again. Right? That, or you simply don’t practice enough. Writing blog posts can be a liberating experience if you just see it as a creative outlet, rather than a chore. Blogs are wonderful empty journaling pages that you can fill with everything that you feel passionate about and that is relevant to your business.
And it doesn’t have to be perfect.
I listened to a podcast interview with marketing guru Seth Godin recently, and he said the same thing: writing is a skill that needs to be practiced. A muscle that needs to be trained. Write something, and then write some more. And detach yourself from the outcome, and whether anyone will read actually it.
Often the posts you bash out in 30 minutes do way better than those you carefully craft over the space of five days. It doesn’t matter. If your posts are mostly of low quality, there will be one that suddenly hits the spot and goes viral. Just keep creating and sharing. It becomes a habit.
How to use SEO in blog posts
And then there is the other reason we create blog posts: SEO. No, nothing techy or scary about that either, just common sense. Figure out what your ideal client types into Google when they try and solve a problem, and use those exact words in your content. In my case, it is ‘creative business coach’. People type this in, and hey presto, I pop up in the search results.
That is how you do marketing without social media. Targeted, and attracting the clients who need exactly what you offer.
Maybe for you it is a specific problem you solve and are an expert in. Vegan recipes, mental health, ancient nutrition, meditation for children, creative retreats, family issues, you name it. Choose your niche, and go all in. The more specific, the easier it gets to beat the competition. (Obviously, don’t go as obscure as ‘underwater basket weaving for beginners’ – that might just be a step too far).
What are people looking for in Google? Write about it, and use the exact keywords your potential client would use in the search engine, and if you have enough blog posts that talk about this topic, then you will appear in the search results. Simple.
So if you do not enjoy social media, and you are not getting any leads from it whatsoever, perhaps it is time to change your tactics. Not everyone is on Facebook, and Instagram changes so often, that posts just get lost in the algorithms. I hope I can take the pressure off a little by saying that you can run a successful business, and do marketing without social media. But you do need to make an effort in becoming visible in other ways.
Content on your website is a great way to do that. And remember, you are trying to serve your ideal client, and whatever other people think of you is none of your business. You are doing just fine. Keep writing.
As a business coach for creatives and other heart-felt entrepreneurs, I work with clients 1-to-1 in different ways. Find out more here, or book a free call.
Also, don’t forget to download this free PDF to get you started on SEO in blog posts:
