How to make your business stand out on social media?

All right, I'm so excited about this episode because our guest is Kenzie. She is a social media marketer based out of Colorado, and she's kind of like my business doppelgänger. I don't even know what— kind of like my twinsie, but not so twinsie because we do not look anything alike. But we do very much do believe that having your business grow based on your story and being authentic and tying your audience into it is really the best way to grow your business. And she does such an amazing job at doing this. And I thought, hey, why not have her on the show for her to share her story as well as to teach us a little bit how to take the crunchy parts of social media and flip them on their head and how to use what I call your superpowers for good when it comes to social media. So if you are interested in this, I cannot wait for you to tune in because we're sharing tips, tricks, and stories, of course, about how to make a social media plan work really well for you while tapping into your stories and what makes you, you. All right, stay tuned. Welcome to She's Crafted to Thrive. I'm your host, Nikita Williams, and this show is for all the ladies who are making and creating things that they love. You will hear conversations about the real everyday struggles of juggling life and business while trying to maintain passion and harmony as women We have the skill of getting things done, but sometimes we get in our own way. It's here where you'll see that you're not alone. You'll discover that success does not mean perfection. Fear and negative thoughts and challenges are all a part of the journey. And on this podcast, you'll find the inspiration and tools you need to have a life and business that thrives. All right. So this featured review I love. Thank you, Sabada, for leaving this. She says, this is such a great podcast if you're trying to balance life and a business. It's so refreshing to listen to content that factors in all the obstacles that women have to get around to be successful. Such a motivational boost to keep me focused and help me keep on keeping on. I love this. Thank you so much. I'm so excited that this is connecting with you. I hope this is connecting to everyone that's listening, that this show is really about helping you find the tools and the inspiration to build a life and a business that fits your world, fits your life. If you would like to be a part of a community that's talking about this and figuring out how to actually implement this even more so in their life, in their business, check out sheescraftedinsiders.com and check out our membership where you will get support and accountability as well as masterclasses from experts in different parts of the industries as well as one-on-one coaching. If you would like to join us inside of this beautiful membership, just visit us like I mentioned at sheescraftedinsiders.com and use the coupon code PODCAST to get 15% off. All right, ladies, let's hop in this conversation with Kenzie. Oh my goodness, I'm so excited to have Kenzie on the show. We have done some cool stuff together on Instagram. I've been on her podcast, and she is an amazing— I feel like you're a coach. I don't think you consider yourself a coach, but I feel like you're a, like, a branding, like, how to tell your story branding coach.

Yeah.

I don't know how you describe yourself.

Transitioning into that for sure. I feel like it's so funny. We've had this conversation multiple times where it's like, oh, what should I call myself? You know, am I a social media manager, a business coach that does a little bit of mindset over here or branding or what is it? And I think, yeah, I'm kind of coming into my role as maybe more of an educator, you know, teaching people how to use social media in the best way for them. I've been throwing around the word intuitive social media marketing lately.

Oh, I like that.

That might be a new buzzword, you know, but basically I've been transitioning into more coaching, more education when it comes to social media for sure.

I love it. So how did you like start this? Like how did the world of social media become your world? Like how did you transition into this world?

Oh, that's a good question and a good story. It's kind of funny. A lot of social media managers, maybe I'm generalizing a little bit, but they've always kind of enjoyed social media. They've spent a lot of time on it, whatnot. And I kind of was the opposite. I don't necessarily like social media. I haven't used it a lot and a lot and a lot. But we started back in 2017. I started dating a dude and we decided to do the whole quit your job, travel through Asia for 6 months thing. And I was like, oh, we should start a blog. You know, we should become Instagram influencers. I've been seeing these people pop on Instagram as influencers, you know, travel the world for free. And I was like, okay, let's start a blog. And I'm going to start putting posts on Instagram and all these things. Spoiler alert. I, Quit the blog about halfway through our trip because I was like, this is taking up way too much of my time and energy. I'm not even enjoying myself, but it did kind of spark my interest in social media. And I realized that it could be used for marketing and it could be used in kind of a strategic way. And it was also, it felt like a creative outlet for me more so than kind of just a noisy world where everyone was coming to shout about things. And so whenever we moved back to Colorado, I started working at a restaurant. You know, we just spent like, a bunch of money traveling Asia for 6 months. I was like, I need cash fast. And so I was working at this restaurant and the owner was actually like, hey, I saw that you do a blog and you do social media, you should do ours. And so I took over her social media. I started like learning all of the things, all of the techniques, and I started gaining more and more clients. And then I was kind of like, I'll make a business out of this. And since then it's kind of snowballed into this bigger idea, I guess. And I truly do enjoy social media and certain aspects of it now. But yeah, it was kind of a backwards way of me starting my business in a space that I really didn't know much about or didn't even really truly enjoy for a long time of my life.

Wow. Yeah, that is a very different, a very different lane for social media managers. Yes, you were generalizing, but it's true. Like I've had a lot of people who are like, in the social media world on the show, and they totally love social media. Like, they love it. Like, even photographers are like, yeah, so it's the way I learned how to use, you know, social media was because I was watching all these people on social media and I loved it. And now I teach photographers how to use social media. Like, they've always kind of had that thing that they love about social media. So that's pretty cool that you were like, yeah, I didn't know— that wasn't like where I wanted to be.

Yeah, it was kind of, it's so funny. Sometimes I still, I'm like on the phone with my mom, you know, my, my other therapist complaining, but they're like, why did I start a business about something that I don't necessarily enjoy? But it's not quite the truth. You know, it's been a journey of really kind of learning, learning what I do love about social media and leaning into that. And also trying to shift those ideas that I don't necessarily like. About social media, you know? And so now I've created this business around like a bigger purpose more so. And so I feel, I do feel more aligned with my brand, even though I'm not necessarily super gung-ho about it.

Well, you know, it's kind of like one of those things I think we all know, we, it's kind of like back in the day. I don't, I always wonder what people actually did back in the day. Like I know what they did. They put ads in magazines and billboards and all those things and like cost them so much money and printed flyers and all those different things. And like, you know, now, I mean, it's just easy as like logging on to social media and broadcasting whatever it is that you are trying to get people to use and use the perfect hashtag, right? Yeah, I can totally get that feeling of what— like, I feel like that sometimes. I don't want to always be on social media, but that's where my business is, right? Like, that's where I find my business and our clients for my business. But it's also a really great way to connect with people and share stories and get to know different— I think this helps a lot of people who have been like stuck in one place, like in their life, and get a different perspective, even though it is probably skewed because of social media, but like some other perspective to life other than their own. So I think there's some positive obviously to social media. Of course, there's some really crappy things about social media that nobody wants. To deal with, but it has its really great tools and resources for us as business owners. So how have you figured out how to embrace what you love about it and like turn that into something to help other people learn how to use it for their business and, you know, transition into like, oh, I don't hate social media so much. And I guess I don't have to be on it all the time. Like how, how has that worked for you?

Yeah.

Oh man.

See, this is where I like light up and I get super excited, nerding out of about this sort of stuff, because I know, I think that especially, and I'm so lucky to have my one, it's not really luck, I guess, but to have my ideal audience and my audience members that I've grown feel the same way as me. Most of my audience is kind of like, ugh, when it comes to social media, it's like time-consuming, it's confusing, it's always changing, it's sucking the life out of me. It makes me feel like I'm going insane. You know, like that's kind of the sentiment. And so, how I approach social media is firstly, what do you love about social media and lean into that? And what do you not like about social media and how can we shift that or kind of combat that? Right. So for me personally, you know, I love like it being a creative outlet for me through both visuals, like designing graphics and taking photos and editing photos, and then also writing the captions. Like I love doing all of that stuff. It's like a form of self-expression. Expression for me. And so it feels creative and not like a time suck, you know. And I also really believe in making genuine connections and using social media to do that because I truly believe, like you said, it's, it's a tool that can be used for good. Like, who would have— our parents never would have known that we would be, you know, connecting with people on the other side of the globe so easily, or The entire world could be our oyster as a business, but it can be with social media. But a lot of that, you know, disconnection can be created through social media. It can be addicting. You can spend way too much time on the platform. So how can we combat that or shift that? And so whenever it comes to teaching social media, I usually tell people to do it in that super intuitive way, lean into what is easiest first when it comes to creating content and stuff like that. Start big picture and zoom in when you're planning your content. And then when it comes to using the platform, Set boundaries for yourself, man. Take over your life for sure without you even realizing it. And then you can be really hard on yourself for that.

Yeah, totally. Like, yeah, there are so many things. I think it's— I think one thing you just said, which is like just leaning into what you're good at, I think, or what you enjoy, always makes like everything so much better. You know, it makes the hard things that you must do feel less like horrible. Like, you, because you've done some beautiful things before that, you know, you're like, okay, this is the little thing I have to do that I don't really enjoy, but I got to do all this other awesome stuff. It's so funny. The things that you love about social media are the things that I absolutely get annoyed with. The caption making and the pictures. And I, I hate that part of social media. Like, I hate coming up with captions. I know how to do them because I've learned over time to figure out my brand voice and figure out how to share things. But The reason why I started a podcast is so that I didn't have to start writing stuff, which, Nikita, you have to write stuff.

In your business, you gotta have to write stuff.

Exactly. So those are things that I do. But the things that I enjoy the most is like the stories, like Instagram stories and doing lives and doing video, because obviously I'm not writing anything. I'm just freely expressing myself and sharing my, you know, sharing who I am and what I do. And I think everybody is either either on either side of that. Some people are like, I hate video. I'm scared to death of video. I have no desire to do it. And people will gravitate to me because that's something that I do freely without any nerves. And I think that's why you get a lot of clients who come to you who like are like, I'm really bad at caption making and stuff like that because it scares me and I don't know what I'm supposed to say or what I'm supposed to do. And so That's the beauty of having a business where you do a business where you are really good at something and you can attract people who feel like you're really good and you make it seem so easy and you can teach them.

Yeah, yeah, for sure. And I want to say like, good for you for being comfortable on video. Oh man, those things that— yeah, I get like nervous. I still do. I've been forcing myself to practice and do more lives and keep showing up because I did that before when I started showing up on lives a lot and I was like, I'm doing great at lives. And then, you know, I stopped for like a week, 2 weeks and coming back to do a live again, it was like, oh God, I'm shaking again. You know, keep, keep your voice still, you know. But, but yeah, video is so awesome. But exactly like for you, probably starting with a podcast, starting with an Instagram Live and then maybe you could create a caption, create a post kind of from that content. But for me, I start with a caption and then once I write the caption, I go live because it's like fresh and I'm excited about it, you know?

Yeah. Yeah. That is so cool. So what inspires you like in your business? What inspires you to do what you do?

Oh, you know, so many things. I feel like what really inspires me, well, what excites me a lot of times is that this whole concept of doing social media your way, you know, I really value authenticity online. I value being real with people, showing up, telling your story, all of those things. I truly believe that that is actually the best way to market as well. Right. This is when social media really started clicking for me because I was like, okay, I can show up, I can do the strategy of social media, whatever, how people were teaching it. But I feel like especially over the past 4 years-ish, you know, there's been kind of this shift happening from people showing up in the shiniest moments of their lives. And yes, we'll still do that on social media, but there has been this shift to being more real, transparent, showing the more nitty-gritty parts of your lives, being vulnerable, right? Telling your stories in that personal way. And I think that that is actually the best way to market your business. And that's what I believe in as like humans, we should be doing too. And so that's what really kind of inspires me and lights me up when I'm doing this work is like, not only do I feel good about this in my soul, but also this is how you should market your business in the best way. I truly believe that.

So I think that's why we align so much. I think that's why me and you click, because I feel the same way. I think— I mean, they call it social selling, but I'm like, it's called being a human. It's called being a person. Like, people respond better when you feel connected and you feel like there's no fluff, there's no fakeness there. People just feel better. And if— I mean, honestly, we go back to the fundamentals of selling or whatever, people have to like, know, and trust you. And if they feel like that's not real and authentic, it gets played out, boring. And that's what's happened on social media when it first came out. You had all these— I hate to say it because it's true, but it's sad truth— that, you know, a whole bunch of marketers took on to Facebook and Instagram and went like crazy with these like, oh, I'm like living my best life with all these cam— like with all these, you know, places, like renting a sports car, $1 million, and the cars and the bins. And, you know, they just went to the car dealership and took a picture. Like, you know, it's not real. Like, it's just not real. And it got to a point where people started, like, not being on social media. And even so much so that Instagram or Facebook decided, like, we need to change how this algorithm works to be more engaging for people. So let's get rid of this fluff crap and, like, do stuff that really matters. And so what you're saying, I totally agree with you. And I think like, if, if our clients were all to work together, it'd be like, geez, Kenzie, Nikita, I get it. I get it. Like, be yourself.

Knocking them on the head with a hammer. Be yourself.

Exactly. So I love that. That's what inspires you. You know, that's like a big thing for me too. I just really love to hear people's stories and like to hear, you know, the things that are, real. I mean, to me, that's the easiest way to share and to serve somebody, is to share your story.

And if it's not real, it's kind of hard to do that, and it's stressful, you know. I mean, this is something I went through when I first started my business. When we moved back to Colorado from Asia, we moved to like one county over. So I live in a ski town in Colorado, and there are a lot of very professional wealthy people here. And so I started my business and I was kind of trying to fit into this mold of, oh, I need to buy more black clothes and to curl my hair every day, you know, and I make a joke about wearing nylons, but I don't wear nylons, but you know what I mean? It was like trying to fit myself into this, into this mold. And It was working. And honestly, from the outside, I don't think anyone else could really tell. But on my inside soul, like, I talk about this story to like people in my community and they're like, I don't think you were coming across that way still, Kints. And I'm like, well, you know, it felt like this disconnection for me and it was stressful for me because I just felt it wasn't true and genuine. And so once I finally kind of made the shift to showing up as a nerd that I am, you know, and admitting that I don't get my nails done and there's always going to be like dirt on my face, usually in the summertime.

Stuff like that.

It's like once I made that shift, it was just so much easier and it clicked together. And then I was attracting the people that I wanted to attract, right? The people who wanted help from someone that felt the same way as them, that, you know, not everyone is wearing nylons out there.

Yeah. No. Oh my goodness. I mean, when I was growing up— so completely side note story, guys— when I was growing up, my grandmother lived with us. And so one of the things that she was like, Till this day, and it ingrains in me, and I probably feel so old saying this, and she probably felt older when she was telling me this, it was like, when you go out and wear a dress, you better wear some nylons and a slip. And I still wear a slip because I do truly believe that I do not want to see all the stuff underneath the dress. I'm sorry. But like stockings, I just can't. Like, I mean, unless it's cold outside, I will wear tights. But outside of that, No.

Oh my gosh. Can I tell you a funny nylon story? Oh, like there's no point to it, but it's, I think it's hilarious. When my mom was like little or whatever, her grandma, so my great-grandma and her had to go to a funeral or maybe it was a wedding. It was some sort of event. And so she was like drying or washing her nylons, I guess, and took them out of the wash and like didn't have time to dry them. So on the way to the event, she hung her nylons out the window. By the time they got there, they were like 20 feet long, my mom said. And she's like, I didn't have my nylons. But yeah, I just thought that was amazing.

Oh my goodness. Too funny. Too funny. We are weird. We're weird, guys. So when it comes to life, has there been anything that you've experience? Like, I know a lot of people are like caregivers. Some people deal with like care, taking care of people who haven't felt that, you know, have been going through chronic stuff, or they themselves are living with chronic illness, or even just mental health, like where it comes from being depressed or, you know, really overly anxious. You know, a lot of people when they're growing their business or something like that, they like find all these things about their body that they didn't know about because now they're so with their body, if that makes any sense, all the time. Is there anything that you've had to experience or you have experienced through this journey of starting your own business?

You know, I have actually, and it's not necessarily chronic illness, but I've had to take care of my dad a lot through this time of starting my business. And it has, it's been hard because he does take up a good amount of like my time and energy. And then you also have to deal with learning how to run a freaking business. Of those things. And so I, well, it's not like a chronic illness that he deals with. It's, I think that I relate to like having to balance two different parts of your life that can be really, really stressful and having to like prioritize, you know, different parts and stuff like that. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Taking care of parents or anybody that's, you know, just getting older, that in itself is a really challenging thing. I know the girls who are listening to this episode know that both my grandparents, like I said, lived with us. And I think it was when I was in my teenage years, both my grandparents got cancer. And so I could see from a physical place, like how hard that was for my whole family to manage. But my parents, my grandparents had a janitorial business. So they were also dealing with that, you know, As a family, we would cut, you know, come in and pick up the slack and help them. And I mean, I just remember, I remember as a kid going and cleaning and like being excited about cleaning. Oh my gosh, I hate cleaning to this day. Like maybe that's probably why I hate it, but going and cleaning and doing all those kinds of things. And I learned a lot from them, but I do also know that they had to deal with a lot. And then my mom and our, you know, our whole family taking care of someone that in itself is a big challenge and then nevertheless trying to run your own business and your own body. It's a lot of juggling things.

Yeah. And like the caregiver— and I think that this could be applied to if you are having to take care of someone else or if you're just trying to take care of yourself. It's this kind of disconnection guilt on either side of the equation almost where it's like, I'm not taking care of you enough or You're taking over too much of my time. I need to prioritize my own time and my sleep. And figuring out like, what's the balancing act between that, it can cause a lot of confusing emotions, I think, on top of everything that you're trying to do.

Totally and completely agree with you. Totally. Have you found some ways to deal with that? Like, have you personally found some ways to give yourself some grace when trying to balance the two?

Yeah, I mean, I hired a mindset coach, so every week I have someone to rant, to cry to, to give me an outside perspective, to just tell me, you know what, you're doing a great job. Like, that is worth all of the money that I'm paying my mindset coach, for sure. And then also, I think that exactly what you said, it's like learning to accept that you're human and that you can only do what you can do. And I think honestly, getting to know yourself better and your values, setting your boundaries, and then also realizing what is my body telling me? Do I need to push through this and get it done because I'm procrastinating because I'm scared or whatever reason, or is my body telling me that I need to slow down and take a break and just be gentle with myself because I kind of run the line between both of those.

I think we all want to do it. Yeah.

I'm like, no, Kenzie, you need to stop go, go, going all the time.

Yeah. I think we all run that line pretty close. Yeah, totally. Yeah, totally. So are there like, so when you're working with clients and juggling life and all those kinds of different things, like what are some common fears that you hear your clients tell you about like showing up online and being like, sharing their story, because I know I personally get a lot of things and half the time I'm like, nobody's thinking that except you. I promise you nobody is thinking that. But I wonder if you have gotten some things commonly from other people that you're like, mm, yeah, that's not a real thing. That's just in your head.

Yeah. Yeah. Oh, for sure. All the time on social media. Right. So it's like a lot of times I think it's I have to question, why are you afraid right now? You know, because you don't want to show yourself, you don't want to be vulnerable, or you're just like scared because you think that you're going to post on social media and everyone is seeing it. That's when I do a lot of reality checks with my people where I'm like, because they think that they'll post on social media and everyone in their life will see it. And it's like, no, that's not going to happen. Not immediately, especially. It's like very, very few people see your post anyway. And then those who do, even less of them remember it. And honestly, the reason that you feel like you're in the spotlight when you're posting on social media is because we're all the stars of our own lives. You are, I am, everyone is. And so the people who see your post, they're thinking about themselves still. You're small beans. So that's the reality check I need to give them. I give them that.

I love that. I give them that too. But I feel like you give it way more unsugarcoated.

I know. Well, that's kind of why I vet people to see, okay, what are you struggling with? Is this what you need to hear or is this what you need to hear? You know, cause some people, that's what they're afraid of. Some people are afraid of, they have like perfectionism in them. They're afraid of discounting their credibility. They're afraid of doing something wrong. Right. And so I kind of give them that same, I guess that same thing, but maybe like from a different lens or something, you know.

Yeah, no, that's a real thing. I mean, we do think that everyone is going to see all of our stuff. There is a common thought, like for— I've had clients who are like, yeah, but I keep saying the same thing over. I'm like, I promise you, nobody even realizes that you are saying the same thing over again. I mean, even if you write a script and you repeat the same script over and over again, I promise you, nobody remembers you said the same thing. And if there is somebody, it's one person. It's probably that really creepy stalker that keeps stalking you on Instagram or Facebook that probably will be like, did she say that the other day? That's it. Nobody is— like, everybody is totally involved in their own life. They're being bombarded just like we are with so much information, so much information. That's why we have to repeat ourselves. That's why we have to keep saying something. Maybe for your own sake, say it differently with a different picture or whatever, but they are not remembering everything that you say, and it's not It's not crazy. It's not like you're crazy. It's just how social media works. In order for you to get found, in order for people to make a decision, they have to say yes to you so many times because the last time they don't remember that they said yes.

Yeah, yeah. And okay, so even if you are that crazy stalker person, which I am for some people, I'm like, oh yeah, like, let me I just eat up everything that you're putting out there, you know, cause it's just so helpful to me. And do I hear the same thing again and again? Yes. Do I eat it up every time? Yes. Because I need to hear it again and again and again, even if I realize that's happening. But I love what you said about repeating yourself. I teach that when it comes to social media, like we kind of need to do that or else our brand will become a little bit confusing and our message won't get across to people.

Yeah. And people forget. I'm like, I feel like we just don't really give that thought enough. We are so stuck. Maybe it's the creative in us. We think like perfection and everybody's so perfect in thinking. And it's like on their, I don't know, top game of a brain and remember this stuff. I'm like, no. Like when people are usually on social media, they're doing something else. They're in the middle of doing something else. They are looking for something else and they get distracted. There are so many other things that are happening when they're seeing you is that they're not likely like really appreciating what you are giving them. And if they did appreciate it in that moment, they're going to turn to the next thing, get fully involved in that and be like, oh wait, what was it that I just saw? It's just how we work as humans. There's no, that's why you have to keep doing it. That's why you have to keep showing up. That's why you have to keep saying it. I used to feel that same fear when I first started online. I used to be like, oh my gosh, how are you going to make make content over and over and over again. And then what I started to do is pay attention to like really big, amazing brands that are doing things. And of course I'm going to talk about Jasmine Star because, oh my goodness, if y'all don't know this, I love me some Jasmine Star. But she literally is a— she is a repeat machine. Like, you think like when she comes out with a new challenge, it's not new. She just made it look a little different. It is not new, people. I promise you, it's not new. It might have some little more bonuses or thing. She might've changed the name, but it's still the same thing. Like it's the same thing. And she has a multimillion dollar company and she's selling one thing. And so I feel like we get so stuck in thinking like we have to have all the things and do all the things and create all these different captions and all these different pictures. I'm like, you can use the same caption that you just used last month. It's okay.

Yeah. I love it. That's my favorite thing. To do with like my students and my one-on-one clients. I will kind of go into their captions and look at their calendars and tweak them here and there and stuff. And I love going in and firstly being like, okay, this is two captions. We can cut this in half. You know, this is two different ideas, but I love this. Let's save this. Let's use it again. Or saying, okay, this is an amazing caption. Let's go ahead and reverse it pretty much. Like, let's take this thing that you ended with, throw it at the top. Go through it again and repost it next week. And it's just getting the message across again and again. And like, exactly, it takes so many times for people to hear something to remember it, and it takes even more times for people to take action on it. And so you need to— and my, actually, my business coach gave me a mindset shift when it came to being annoying with hitting people with the same thing again and again. And she was like, you know, it's one of those things, like, think about Okay, you send, you put out a social post and then someone sees that and then you send them an email about it and they're like, oh, okay, she's talking about this again. I'm interested. But then they forget to take action. So then they see your Facebook ad and then they're like, oh right, I need to take action on this right now. It was like during my launch when I was like, I'm sending out way too many emails right now. She's like, no, you're reminding people that they're interested in it and that they need to take action. Action on it.

So yeah, that was going to be my next question for you. What has been some of your biggest mindset shifts in business and just doing what you do?

Oh, I feel like there's once again, just been so many. I feel like the toughest thing for me in business has been mindset, right? And I think the biggest thing I struggle with a lot is that confidence to sell almost for whatever reason. And I think a lot of people have struggled. Like, I show up, I write social media posts all day, and it's super awesome, and I have a great time. And then as soon as it comes time to actually write a sales post or directly offer someone my thing, I freeze up. I'm like, I don't know what to do with my hands. Like, Talita, no, I can't. And then it sounds really weird. And then obviously people don't respond to it because it doesn't sound like me. And I truly believe the energy comes through whatever you create, you know. And so if I create from a place of awkwardness, like, yeah, do you want this? In a weird way, then it's like people don't respond to it because they can tell, you know.

Yeah, totally. I, you know, so you know how they tell you you should have case studies and stuff like that, but that's not how my brain works. So I just let people listen to like testimonies and stuff. I have a client that literally, that's her, like before we start working, she's like, I don't know why it's not working. I'm like, I think it's because you're scared. People can feel it. People can feel this timid, like, I don't know what I'm saying. I have, I'm confident, but I'm not really confident. You can feel it. People can feel that, especially if it's video. We can tell the awkward. I know it's on social media, but we can totally feel it. And so I, You know, for, for her, I told her, I'm like, just start doing stuff that has nothing to do with business. And then when you start just sharing pieces of your life, maybe you'll start feeling more comfortable. And then you're like, hey, this is fun. I think that's the other thing we forget to do when it comes to social media is to have some fun with it because it's not all about, you know, selling and getting people to click a button. Like, people like to be entertained. So just be yourself. Yourself and your people will come, if that makes any sense.

But yeah, that was the best piece of advice that I've received during my launches. Well, one was to trust the process because always in like the very middle that I start out my launches of like my course, whatever I'm offering, like I'm so excited, this is amazing. And then the like smack dab in the middle, I'm always messaging my mindset coach or my business coaching, Oh my gosh, I'm freaking out. Like, this isn't working. Everybody hates me. You know? And then my mindset coach is like, girl, trust the process. You've been through this before. You know that this is how things go and stuff. And no one hates you. It's that voice in your head telling you that and all these things. And then that, so that was kind of like a different piece of advice, but she also said, have fun with it. And that's honestly, I think what attracts people to me a lot of times is that I'm always like laughing and just enjoying myself. And it's— I think it is, you know, what's the word I'm looking for? People like pick up on that.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. People do pick up on, on the vibes, if you will. Like they pick up on you being nervous, you being scared, you just having fun, just being real. I think, I think that's part of the reason why I love my podcast. And probably if there's anything that I would just keep doing and not get paid for it would be podcasting because it's just, it's an easy way for people to connect with you and they can hear the intonations in your voice and the emotion without physically seeing you and they can, you know, all that kind of stuff. So yeah.

Mindset coaches, I love podcasts so much. Like I know I just started listening to I don't know if this is up your alley, but I just— and I don't even really like true crime.

I don't.

Okay. I'm not like a huge— like, I'm kind of just like, whatever for the true crime. I love these ladies. I think it's called My Favorite Murder, and they just come up, they like come on their podcast, they talk about like movies on Netflix for like 50 minutes, and then they get into like a true crime story or something.

Okay.

I listen to the podcast because I just love their personality, and they show up, they're real, they talk about their issues. With mindset a lot. They're very open about therapy and stuff like that. And it's just like normalizing and it feels just like a best friend in your ear. And I feel like what podcasts do so well, and that's what I love about podcasts, is like the host's personality, you know?

Yeah, no. Yeah, yeah. It's one of those phenomenons that I didn't know existed until I started doing it. And I tell people all the time, I'm like, if you can't afford a therapist, just start your own podcast because it's something else about hearing your own voice And if you edit your own stuff, you start like realizing some things that you're thinking. And it totally makes sense even from a scientific standpoint. And that's why having a coach is amazing because you become more aware of your thoughts and what you're saying to yourself. And that's literally what coaches are doing. Like coaches are trying to help you become aware of your thought patterns and your decisions and external things that you may not have even seen because you've been so stuck in this one lane of whatever it is that you're stuck in, and someone is pulling you out and helping you see this mirror and being like, oh snap, right? And I feel like podcasts do that. Like podcast hosts totally have to, especially when it's business or personal development, you cannot listen to this stuff and not think back because it's your voice. Like, and not think back, oh, why did I say that? Or what am I really feeling about that? You know? So yeah, So if you ladies are listening and you're thinking I should start a podcast, then you should definitely do it.

Do it.

Yeah. And Kenzie has an amazing podcast too called Feeling Good Social, right? Feeling Good Social.

Feel Good Social.

Feel Good Social.

I feel like if you Googled Feeling Good Social podcast, it'd probably show up too. I don't know. I'm like so impressed every time I find myself in a search result on like the internet or the podcast. I, for the first time, A couple of weeks ago, my boyfriend's parents have an Alexa.

Oh, yeah.

And I asked Alexa to play my podcast and I was just like, is this happening right now?

I know. I think my mom texted me a couple of months ago. She's like, did you know that you're on Spotify? I'm like, yes, Mom, I know I'm on Spotify. And I don't think people realize how it works. It's syndicated, so it just goes to all these different places. But it was just so funny because she was like, oh my gosh, you're on You're famous! I was like, yeah, yeah. And I'm like, yeah, that's cool. I felt the same way when the Alexa thing, I was like, hey, that's so cool.

Alexa is saying my name right now.

What?

I know it was so, it was like the nerdiest, but I feel that's kind of funny. I hope it's like part of my charm some ways when it comes to social media is that I'm right there with you sometimes in like the Diane's area. The dinosaur zone where it's like, how do you do this? Well, let me figure it out. Okay. I just figured it out last week. Now I'll tell you, it's fresh on my mind. It's really easy to explain, you know?

Yeah, totally. So with that, what are some tips and tricks that you have really discovered to help people like with social media to help them? I know you have an amazing course. I don't know if it's open or anything like that, but tell us first, like some cool, easy things. I think one of the main things that people are like, like, what do I post about? Why do I post a story and all that kind of stuff? Does the picture matter? Does the picture have to match the caption? When you say be authentic, what does that mean? That question always cracks me up. I'm like, what, what, what is authentic? It means being you or real. But, you know, I don't know, maybe that's uncommon. Anyway, so tell us some tricks and tools.

Oh, I know there are so many. And yeah, I run into that a lot too, where people are like, I don't know what to post about. So I guess usually I start by, let's figure out, once again, remember we are going to be posting about the same thing over and over for your business, right? So what are some key pillars for your business that your audience wants to learn from you on social media? So that those are the two main things is like, what information do you want to put out there? That could be brand values, that could be like your brand's story behind the scenes of that. That could be your offers, but not only your offers, looking at it from the lens of the pain points and like, why does my audience want this? All of those sort of things. But I like to tell my, my students to pick their content pillars based on how they can give their audience value as well. And a lot of times we forget on social media, like you have to firstly be posting for a reason with your person who you are speaking to in mind, right? No one's going to pay attention to a post that doesn't— isn't going to give them value in some way. No time for that, you know? So, but on social media, value could be education. That's kind of like the normal go-to, like how-to tips, you know, a list of something, of things that are helpful or whatever it is. But it could also be entertainment, right? There's a reason that we all go on Netflix and binge everything. So dramatic story or something that'll make someone laugh. And it could also be inspiration as well. That's another reason that people go on social media. So when it comes to choosing those main topics that you post about, keep in mind like your goals as a brand and what you want to accomplish, but then also keep in mind your audience and like, how do these things come together? Does that make sense?

Oh yeah, it totally does. That's exactly what I teach too. Like what I'm talking to my clients, I also tell them to figure out a way to put their story into it. Like, don't tell the story without relating it back to those 3 or those different pillars in your business. Like, don't just, oh, today I had yada yada yada and that's it. Like, like, what does that have to— like, you always have to tell people, think about what's in it for me. We are always saying that for ourselves. What is in this post for me and what's in it for your ideal client? So Besides the education, besides, you know, showing all those different things, also put your little personality in there or your story so that people can relate to you because that's building on the trust and the know. And then give them those pieces of value, entertainment or, you know, education or, you know, all that jazz. So totally think those are great.

Yeah, yeah. When it comes to like telling stories, I geek out about this so much because it is, it's difficult to comprehend. And so I've found teaching storytelling on social media to be kind of a challenge for me. Like, how can I explain this to someone and make it easier on them? And so what I'll have my audience do is kind of create content pillars for their business, right? These are my products, right? And then kind of break that down into pain points and why your audience buy them and all that stuff. Behind the scenes, your values and your why and all of those things in your business, these are all content pillars. And then we create like a story bank. And so we just like brain dump a bunch of stories, everyday moments, or like bigger moments that you've experienced in your life and your business that somehow could relate to this or the message that you're trying to get across. Right. But I always have my people look at the universal elements of their story. And I used to classify it as universal emotions because emotions are something that everyone feels, right? We all feel anger, we all feel frustration, we all feel joy, we all feel whatever. And so that could be a universal element, but it could also be kind of like a general element or a general point of your story, right? So I, when I was younger, moved from Montana to Indiana in middle school. And it was this feeling of being like ripped out of this life that I love and moved into the middle of a cornfield. I went from the beautiful mountains and they plopped me down in the middle of a cornfield. And but not very many people have had that specific experience.

Right.

I can relate it to this idea of being forced to do something that you don't necessarily want to do, or even moving when you were young and feeling like a weird, awkward kid being plopped into a new school or anything like that. Those are universal elements that more people have experienced. And that's kind of how I help people realize how to be more relatable, I guess.

Yeah, totally. Yep. 100%. I have a workshop around that too. Totally. Yeah. Because that's— yeah. I mean, I don't know how else to say it to you guys. Like, I don't know how else to say it.

Yeah.

Except that, you know, social— so when you're not just social media, like content, even blog posts, even podcasts, even YouTube channel stuff. People don't want to feel they're being lectured per se. Like they want to feel they're getting education, but they're also getting a piece of who you are. And I feel like because we all have those universal feelings about different things, then we can relate any story back to an emotion, back to something that we have all experienced, you know, all of it. Somehow we can do it because we're human. That's what makes us human. We're all linked by some kind of emotion that we've all experienced. And so it might look different for you than the other person, but we all can kind of put ourselves in each other's shoes by imagining, you know, those feelings, you know. So there is a— I can't remember her name right now— Lisa Nicole. She is a, like, motivation speaker, but she is a storyteller. Like, you will always remember any story that she tells because she puts you in, literally, into her story, and then she yanks you back out so that you can imagine your situation and then leaves you at this high of whatever, you know, the main emotion she wants you to feel. And she's so good at it. And, you know, I feel like if you want to be on social media, like, to grow and to connect with your people, we have to be really good storytellers. We have to be really good at— sharing our story, but including our audience into that so that they can see themselves in it. And I think you do a really good job with that too. Like how you teach people and how you have a client right now that we kind of mutual know, Tanya or Tanya, Tanya. And I'm like, she's doing such a good job. I could tell how she's taking everything you're learning. I'm like, I love it. And it's just because she's embracing that kind of that thought process. And I think it just makes it so much easier when you can put yourself into something versus trying to just, you know, write a script. I don't know, it just feels a lot easier when you are putting a little piece of yourself into something.

Yeah. And like, oh man, this is one of my favorite tips when it comes to social media too. Don't write the way that you were taught in school, right? Everyone wants to come on social media and be like, okay, I'm writing my term paper. No, please use emoji— emojis to express your emotions. I will add ums, and I'll say ahem sometimes, or I'll do in like parentheses like cough and say my— what I'm really thinking or something.

I love that.

And yeah, it's— oh my gosh, I could geek out about this, but in theater it's called breaking the fourth wall. I don't know if you've heard of that, when like in a play someone speaks to the audience, they're like breaking the fourth wall. And it's also considered that in writing when you kind of are writing something and then in parentheses you put what you're really thinking or you put like a little extra something. It's called break the fourth wall. And I think I geek out about it. I think it's so cool.

Oh, that's so cool. I think I do that sometimes, but I do that with— I didn't know that's what you called it.

Yeah, I didn't either until I interviewed this other lady for my podcast. I was listening to a different podcast interview with her and she was talking about this. I was like, oh girl, I gotta bring you on my podcast. So I did. But yeah, it's so interesting. But whenever you're writing your captions, write as if you were speaking, you know, sometimes I'll put in there to like break up the thought process to make my, me seem more human and more approachable and relatable through my writing. Even I think that that's super, super helpful. It's easier to read on social media. Like no one wants to be exactly like you said, lectured to. That's not my thing personally. It's gonna come across.

Yeah, totally, totally. Well, this was awesome. I love this conversation. I know me and you can literally talk about this like all day long. Like we've had so many, like we've already had like 3 other conversations that were probably longer and we probably could have just kept going. So thank you so much for being on. So tell us how we can find you and what's coming up for you in 2021 if you have a plan.

Yeah, yes. Oh my gosh, well, thank you so much for bringing me on here for sure. Like I could talk talk to you forever and probably will want to like schedule something again in the future and be like, all right, come on. My name is Kinsey. I am the owner of Feel Good Social. I don't know if I actually said that.

Oh my gosh, did you not say that?

I don't know.

How did we get to a full episode and we did not do that?

Oh my gosh, girl. I am like, I interview people left and right for my podcast. Like, you know this. And I don't know if you ever feel this. I mean, you did a great job when I you for my podcast, but I'm so bad at introducing myself.

Someone asks me, I'm like, honestly, Kinsey, this is the first time that has ever happened to me that I did not say, hey, why don't you introduce yourself? I think we literally just started into a conversation.

No, you are all good. That's always— I would rather do that, actually. I think I've said this to you before where we just dive right in, you know? But okay, let me real quick. My name is Kinsey. I'm the head honcho at Feel Good Social, and I help entrepreneurs down-to-earth entrepreneurs use social media in a way that's not going to take over your life and that will actually work. That's my elevator pitch and I change it like every week.

So I love it. I love it.

But you could find me at, on Instagram @feelgoodsocial. I have the Feel Good Social podcast and let's see, 2021, girl, I'm trying to write a book. I'm really excited. We will see if I finish it. My goal is to finish it by January, but I don't know if that's going to happen with this year. Oh wow.

You're start— what is the book about?

It's going to be about brand vibe and like finding your brand vibe for social media through like your story, your voice, and your visuals and like bringing that together so you can show up consistently in like an authentic way. You know what I mean?

Wow. I am like, that's awesome. I can't, I don't think I say this. I don't think I'll ever write a book cause I'm not a writer, but, and I need to stop saying that. That's what my coach which would tell me, "Steph, see, you're not a writer." But I think that's awesome. And I do think we need books like that for more people. And in a totally, completely not fluff way. And I know that's not, that's literally, I can totally tell that you're not gonna make it fluffy, you're gonna make it real.

Oh yeah, no sugarcoating. But yeah, I'm really excited about it. It's really fun. And I have most of the content planned out already. I actually did like a live challenge leading into my course in the last time. And so I already know pretty much what I'm going to say. I just need to get it, get it down on paper and then figure out all the logistics of actually publishing a book.

You know, that is so cool. Well, if you need someone to help you with publishing or like editing and stuff, I have a couple of people that I know. So just let me know.

Oh, I would love that. Yeah. Send me their way. Send them my way. And yeah, and, and my online course is going to reopen in March. I'm going to open the doors actually in February. So that's what's coming up for me. That's the plan for 2021 right now. But you know, I'm just letting it happen. I'm being gentle with myself and we'll see, we'll see what happens come 2021 for sure.

Well, thank you. Thank you so much. I'm so glad that you came on. I had tons of fun talking about all the things.

All the things. Thank you so much for having me, lady. I love chatting with you.

All right, ladies, that's a wrap. I am so excited that we had Kenzie on the show. We are so much alike when it comes to our intention on social media. I hope you found some takeaways and found some gems and practical tips on how to approach this in your business about having a better mindset around social media and how to use it to connect with your audience and also how to have fun with it. If you want to learn more about Kenzie and connect with her, go ahead and visit us at sheescrafted.com for our show notes to connect with her outside of this podcast. And as always, and as you know, you, my friend, are crafted to thrive.