028: Exploring Social Media Minimalism: Building a Business Without the Scroll

In this episode, Jules White dives into the complex relationship between social media and entrepreneurship, exploring the allure of "social media minimalism" and the possibilities of building a business without relying on social media platforms.

Jules shares a recent encounter where she was questioned about the viability of running a business without Instagram, highlighting the contrasting perspectives between generations and the evolving landscape of digital marketing.

Key Takeaways:

• • The Social Media Conundrum: Explore the pros and cons of social media for businesses, from instant validation to the potential for wasted time and energy.
  • Social Media Minimalism: Discover a more balanced approach to social media, focusing on intentionality and sustainability over constant engagement.
  • Alternative Marketing Strategies: Learn about the power of podcasting and other sustainable marketing methods that can yield long-term results.
  • Building Community Offline: Consider the benefits of engaging with communities outside of social media platforms, fostering deeper connections and intentional interactions.

If you’ve been thinking about shifting your marketing strategy to rely less on social media, this episode is for you!

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Off the Grid Podcast by Amelia Hruby: Explore the idea of running a business without social media.
• Beauty Business Secrets Podcast: Where Jules' guest appearance still brings traffic to her website.
• Female Entrepreneur Association: Join a wonderful community of women building businesses to change the world.

Don't forget to join the conversation send us a message and share your thoughts on building a business with or without social media!

Transcript

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AI-GENERATED TRANSCRIPT - MAY CONTAIN ERRORS

Good morning. . Hope you've all had a good week.  This week's been quite busy for me.

Discussing Business Strategies

I was in the pub the other night. I went out with some local friends and a friend a friend, we got talking about business and she was,  I was saying that I'm still, still sort of building my business.

And she said, um, so he went on Instagram and that was like the first.  and  she's a  cake maker. So her business is very visual and obviously she shares pictures of her cakes and things that she makes. But I sort of said, Oh, you know, I'm,  I am, I have got an Instagram account, but I, I'm at the point where I've kind of realized that the amount of time that I'm spending on social media is not necessarily, Oh, it's not, not even not necessarily is not giving me a good return on that investment in terms of even like getting any clients coming through that.

Social Media Minimalism

So I. I'm still thinking that I want to be heading in that way of  just moving away from it, not, rather than, rather than it being a complete, like getting completely off the social media, maybe just,    I was talking to a friend, the other day and she used, she came up with the phrase of social media minimalism and I really like the sound of that.

That sounds like a much more doable thing where maybe you've got a bit of a presence there, but you're not relying on it. That's, that's the big thing is not, not wanting to rely on it as my main marketing channel and actually doing things that are going to have more effect. And it might not be an instant effect.

Sustainable Marketing Approaches

I think that's the other thing about the marketing and about SEO and,  If you are on podcasts and things like that, that it's not, you don't get that instant validation or, or not as you do with social media, whether a post gets some likes or it doesn't get some views, which are just really the vanity metrics and don't necessarily translate into clients.

It's more something that it's actually a sustainable marketing thing. So you might get somebody coming in from a podcast.  When I was on the beauty business secrets podcast,  I'm still getting traffic to my website from that.     it was  months ago now, but it's, I'm still noticing that people are coming through through that to my website and they tend to be more engaged as well.

So they stay on the website for longer. And. So I think just, just bearing that in mind, keeping it more, more of a sustainable and just slowing things down. So you're not getting that sort of dopamine hit from the, from the social media, which is, is just not good for us, I think, really. So, um, yeah, but it was interesting to have that conversation of, well, how can you possibly build a business without Instagram?

I think she was genuinely shocked that you, that it was even  an option. She's, she's, I think, I don't know, she's probably  at least 15, 20 years younger than me, but it was like, Well, how, how, how, I think she was actually, well, how else would you build your business? And it's, I think just realizing that there are other ways out there as well of building your business is, is just quite freeing, really.

I think it's given me a lot of, a lot more hope for not being stuck in the hamster wheel of content creation forever, really. So yeah, that's, it's a good thing.   

Podcast Insights and Reflections

I listened to a podcast on Friday. It's called the off the grid podcast by Amelia Harubi.   It's basically about  getting off social media.,  I'd love to know what your thoughts on trying to run a business or running a business without social media, or at least drastically reducing your usage of social media

   um, I'd love to know, what does the thought of building a business uses either very little or  no social media, how does that feel to you?

Does it feel like it's something that you would be good to do? Like for me personally, it feels like   trying to promote myself  entirely off of social media, um, is is pretty scary. But it also is, I think the amount of time that I spend in, on social media where I kind of feel like I'm working because I'm doing stuff, but I'm not.

I'm not really actually doing work. I'm not doing anything that's necessarily bringing tangible results.  You kind of, I think it almost gives you this impression that you're going to get some, some instant results and that, yes, I'm doing something and people are seeing it. And, but it doesn't necessarily  mean that you are getting clients coming in from that.

So it's, it's really tricky, but I feel like it, By not having that and not having almost that crutch of social media there, it might make it easier to then be more creative about  making a more sustainable marketing plan  And just  think of other creative ideas of how to get out there.

So yeah, let me know in the comments what you'll, what feelings and what thoughts it brings up.

for you  to actually think about  of running a business where you're not using social media.

Community and Social Media Groups

And I understand the irony of being on my Facebook group, talking about not  running social media. And actually, that's the only area, like I feel like with Facebook, the only area that I would miss is the groups that I'm in, because I feel like I'm part of the community.

But some of those groups, like I'm a member of the Female Entrepreneur Association, and they have a community off of Facebook. I just forget to go in there. And that's probably, I think, the big issue that people have  of running. Groups are outside of Facebook is people forget to go in there. But what it does mean then is You intentionally go in there.

So you're not just interrupting people's scrolls. You're not just like, butting into people's lives, trying to interrupt what they're, what they were planning to do or what they were trying to do. People are going there with a purpose and they're going there to actually interact with that content.

Exploring Alternatives and Conclusion

So it's, um, there's definitely things to consider and I haven't made any sort of firm decisions on, on what way I'm going to go, and I'm certainly not going to do anything in that direction.

Anytime soon in terms of ditching Facebook or anything, but it's good to know that there are other options out there. And, um, yeah, I definitely recommend having a listen to that  off the grid podcast. As I say, it's Amelia Ruby with a H at the end, Ruby with a H at the end at the beginning. Um, but yeah, have a little listen to that as well and let me know what you think and have a great week and I'll see you soon.