The Dark Side of the Social Media Marketing Industry

On most days, the social media marketing industry is dangerous. In my personal life, I see restaurants filled with tables of people looking at their phones instead of each other. We know that the addictive nature of social media is only just beginning to emerge in scientific studies. On a professional level, I see influencers peddling one-size-fits-all social media counsel that works for a certain type of company — for example, one that has a super savvy content creator for a founder, or one that can afford thousands of dollars of ad spend every single month — but isn’t well-suited for most independent brands.

I say this as someone who has managed social media for many global brands with millions of followers across the action sports, fashion, beauty, food, and beverage industries over the past 11 years, plus thousands of small businesses between $0 and $1m of revenue. I know social media. Specifically, how your program needs to differ according to your industry and brand size. 

• Are you aware that a business with revenue between $0-$100k should not have the same social media marketing strategy as a business with revenue between $100-500k? 
• That there are key pieces of your strategy that should shift as your brand reaches the $500k-$1m mark, and then again between $1m-$5m and beyond? 
• That if you’re selling a product for $50 your business goals and associated strategy for social media should be different than if you’re selling a product for $500 or $5k?
• That you should deploy social media marketing differently, depending on whether or not you’re a product-based or service-based brand?
• And finally, that the right strategy for your small brand is conceived at the intersection of your unique value proposition, competitive landscape, and customer mindset? 

This is why for some of you, following the recommendations of influencers and experts has blown up your brand’s social media accounts, and why others of you continue to struggle to drive any meaningful return from the hours you invest in your content and social media marketing.

It’s also why, no matter how many consultants tell me that I should create more “scalability” into my offers, I refuse to stop including 1:1 attention as a part of our process for content and social media strategy development. Because bootstrapping small businesses have precious finite resources, and to waste them is not just a bummer — it’s a threat to the longevity, success, and future viability of your brand.

What Your Small Biz Can Do About It

On its best days, social media can connect great people to important ideas and build community around commerce that makes the world a better place. As small business owners, it gives us the chance to grow our business by community building. I’m here for that part. To get there, nothing’s more important than customizing your strategy to your unique brand and community. 

That’s why, since we launched the Content Strategy Accelerator in May 2020, we’ve always had a 1:1 support piece. We invite you into a private online community where you can ask me questions as you go and expect a same-day response so we can keep you moving forward in between calls.

For our next cohort that’s kicking off on Aug 23, 2021, we are making another huge upgrade: Offering different editions for small independent brands and marketing service providers. 

What’s the Difference Between the Two Editions?

• THE STANDARD EDITION is ideal for small independent brand owners that want to confidently create their strategy and learn how to lead their own marketing program. For leaders that know a framework can only get you so far, and that being able to discuss your unique goals, resources, and customer mindset with an expert will ensure that you can set yourself up for real success. 
• THE AGENCY EDITION is perfect for service providers that want to go beyond learning the content strategy project scope to leverage this offer internally to grow your marketing business. I’ll teach you everything you need to know about providing customized high-performance social strategy to your clients and show you how I used this exact scope to grow my agency to $1m annual revenue in just four years. I’ll show you how to generate leads, train you on my exact sales script, give you my best proposals, and ensure you know how to fulfill this work with excellence. 

Lock in your spot now!

In your corner,

Katie

PS: Check out some of the things previous students have said about the experience in this video and keep in mind, this was before we made these upgrades to the experience!