Is Facebook Stealing Your Clients & Personal Value?
Is Facebook Stealing Your Clients AND
Your Personal Value?
by Shana Lynn Yao
Facebook. Is it stealing from you?
As an online business owner, social media — particularly Facebook — has been programmed into most entrepreneur’s minds, to be the place where you find answers, build a network, gain visibility, and ultimately, get clients. After all, it’s a free platform that allows you to join large groups where free information is readily shared, like-minded people are in abundance, and even advertising can be placed for as little as a dollar a day. What could be better, right?
THE HIDDEN TRUTH
The truth for many entrepreneurs, unfortunately, is that being on Facebook as a business owner, is very different than just “being on Facebook”. No longer is meeting people “just for fun” and no longer is it ok for you to get sucked into wasting time unconsciously.
When you have a business and your income depends on your efficiency, TIME becomes your most precious commodity.
Research shows that over 90% of all new businesses fail within the first year. That’s alarming when you consider that there are thousands of new, hopeful entrepreneurs who are starting businesses everyday, but even more alarming for the herds of existing business owners who spend their days trying to “get clients’ and “make money”.
Ultimately, creating a successful business is not just about obtaining some “laptop luxury” or “work from anywhere” invisible medal, but it’s about understanding HOW to define what success is to you, what the hidden blocks are, and how to then determine the right path for you.
THE FACEBOOK FLU — IT’S VIRAL
There is a new bug spreading across the internet that is contributing to the high rate of failed businesses every year, and it’s VIRAL. Chances are you’ve probably gotten it before, and this virus is one of the biggest blocks that not only can affect your bank account but your overall health and self esteem.
The symptoms can range from moderate to quite severe. They can include (but are not limited to):
- Shiny object syndrome
- Lack of self confidence
- An empty bank account
- An outbreak of CRICKETS
- Over-learning
- Spending a lot of money on random coaches and courses
- Following other people’s successes instead of working towards you own
- Insomnia from worry
- Weight gain
- Lack of priorities and seemingly NO TIME
…and so much more
Yes, you guessed it. This unconscious virus is what I call the “Facebook Flu” AKA “The Facebook Black Hole”.
The reality is, Facebook is a great platform to connect you to your potential clients, and as an entrepreneur, it is essential to have some presence on it. But how you use it can be the difference between connecting to your potential clients and standing out as a unique voice, to getting lost in the noise online and losing yourself amongst the crowds.
Facebook was designed as a habit forming product. It in itself is a business — and it makes money when people use it, depend on it, and spend time on it. . And while you may or may not love it, the reality is, alone, Facebook will not pay your bills. It CAN bring you clients, but it can also cause you to be distracted, to lose your unique value and positioning (your strong beliefs that are essential to standing out to your ideal clients), and it can cause you to believe things about what is really required to create a successful business you love.
NEW BUSINESS RULES
What really is the answer then? If you know that time is of high value, you know you need to make money and get clients, and yet when there is seemingly so much to learn to “grow and scale”, so many people to meet, so many things to do — how do you determine what matters, when to do it, and IF you really need to do it?
Making money is a self determined truth. Yes, it’s true. While it may seem like what everyone is teaching is the only way a business can become successful, the truth is, at the end of the day, YOU decide how you will make money, if you get clients, or if you ultimately need to get a job.
The reality is, there are very few rules in business as you know it. Especially as an online entrepreneur, you don’t have to stick to city codes and restrictions. That means that “freedom” is just that — freedom to make choices and decisions that either lead you to your goals or lead you down a rabbit hole of failure. So let’s get clear on a few business truths and UNtruths that can help you create the success you deserve in your business.
RULE OR BELIEF?
Ultimately, your belief in what works and what doesn’t, will determine what works and what doesn’t :o Yes — as previously stated, there are very few business rules — if the goal is to attract someone who needs what you sell, have them see the value, and then take out their wallet — HOW you do that is how you decide you will do that.
Here are a few areas that many entrepreneurs struggle with. Remember, knowing it is one thing and doing it is the actual action necessary to change it so that it works for you.
First, let’s define the core terms of any successful business model.
MARKETING — is the act of doing things to bring awareness to your business.Things like Facebook, Instagram, blogging — those are promotional activities to bring awareness of your business to your ideal clients.
STRATEGY — is the process of understanding how your marketing activities can communicate the value of your product or service, and how those activities can POSITION you for the value and integrity that you are.
POSITIONING — The place you occupy in the minds of the consumer — in reference to your competition. Positioning is the SINGLE FACTOR that determines how you STAND OUT to your ideal clients.
SELLING — the act of making offers that will involve the exchange of money for value — whether it is a product or service. In order to “sell” something, you have to MAKE AN OFFER.
To find out what you need to do, you need to understand what you are doing NOW that is NOT getting you the results you want. Here are some questions to ask yourself:
- What do you do in your business?
- With the current marketing activities you are doing — are your clients there or are you just doing it because you think you’re supposed to?
- If they are there, why are they not interested in you? What is not working in your marketing strategy? What needs to change?
- Are you trying to get “likes” or trying to get clients? (two VERY different things)
- What can you do to change that?
- Are you making offers? Why or why not?
- What was the last thing you invited people to? Are you trying to help them make steps towards you? Or just throwing articles, images, and Facebook posts in their face?
The bottom line is, do you have a marketing strategy that works?
A MARKETING STRATEGY THAT WORKS
If what you are doing is not working for you — NOT bringing in the results you want — then it actually is NOT working for you.
The reasons why can vary, but one of the main reasons it doesn’t work for many people is that it’s probably based on TACTICS — marketing vehicles like Facebook, Instagram, email, etc, instead of strategy — the solid plan that creates sales from your marketing.
With the growing influence of the Web, people have changed in the way they buy, communicate, and seek out information. This constantly changing world is also changing for entrepreneurs.
Everyday, social media tools and options are changing. The algorithms, the outlets, and the users (potential clients) are a tidal wave of change. And that means that without a solid plan of action, you will be caught in this wave.
This means your success depends on you creating a solid strategic plan of action, based on understanding what your highest, and greatest value is in your business. Remember your goal is:
- You do what you do best and sell it in a well positioned business
- It solves an urgent problem for someone
- You know where they are and when they see it, they know they need it from you
- They decide because your marketing and positioning is so strong, they buy from you
- Repeat step one and wallah — success is born.
“Understanding your highest value is found in a combination of your expertise and life experience that, when positioned correctly in your business, empowers you, the business owner with a purpose that solves an urgent problem for a specific niche. You become the self-empowered leader for your tribe of clients, and what you sell creates massive value for the people you serve, giving you the trust in yourself as you move forward.”
This is the job of your marketing strategy — to know your highest value and communicate it. It’s not just to “be visible”. You don’t find it on Facebook. It’s your own unique solid strategy must position you for the value that you are in such a way, that others recognize it and want to buy from you.
HOW TO MAKE FACEBOOK WORK FOR YOU
The reality is, Facebook can be great at helping you achieve success. But how you use it will either lead you forward or tear you down.
Many highly successful business owners don’t spend ANY time on Facebook. Or they use it only to advertise on. They don’t belong to groups. And they focus their efforts on other platforms.
Your success is your own success. DECIDE what is right for you and then that will be the path you take. Analyze the results, your own internal guide, and your mental state at the beginning and end of each day. Because how you make your business "work" cannot be found in a cookie cutter plan, instead it is found in the decision you make about how you spend your days.
“Make your business work for you and your business will work for you.”
Here are a few ideas on where to start when making your plan:
- START YOUR DAY OFF ON YOUR TERMS doing something GOOD for yourself.
- CREATE THE HABIT OF SUCCESS (schedule your Facebook time so you do the work to be seen and stay regular, while eliminating the distraction)
- ELIMINATE DISTRACTION — Turn OFF Facebook when you are working. Yes, shut down the app. Willpower is limited and any possible distraction that would steal from your willpower should be avoided.
- CREATE DELIBERATE & FOCUSED ENGAGEMENT — When you are doing your networking on Facebook, be on Facebook. Focus on the people you are meeting and be genuinely interested in them. Then get off. “Connecting” means actually getting connected. “Likes” on posts, on the other hand, is nice, but it isn’t going to be the thing to pay your bills.
- LIVE A LIFE — Get off of Facebook. Get off of Social media. Love what you do in your business so much that you find Facebook a distraction rather than a temptation because you’d rather be working!
Use Facebook as the powerful platform it is. Connect to people around the world. Share your genius. Then get off. Get off and live your life. Work in your business.
Focus on your side of the street. Use Facebook as the tool it was designed to be and then be your own boss in a business you love.
If you need help, let's talk. Your time is limited but your personal value should not be.
Shana Lynn Yao is Your Marketing Mastermind® and a Brand Story Curator at Total Genius®.
Shana is a rare combination of unparalleled life experience and award winning business expertise. With over 28 years of experience managing multimillion dollar retail and shopping center locations, including the famed Rodeo Drive, winning awards by the International Council of Shopping Centers for marketing innovation, she now works with creative entrepreneurs to empower them to own their expertise so they can make a bigger impact in the world, with a signature business that reflects their personal style.
She is host of the Marketing Made Meaningful podcast on ITunes, dog mom, and creative visionary.
Driven by purpose, Shana found her calling to help holistic business owners when over the past few years was struck by a severe autoimmune disorder, that left her relentlessly seeking answers to find the cure to her own heath condition. Living a holistic and organic lifestyle, she was determined to dig deeper to find real solutions to this seemingly sudden condition. This caused her to learn about human psychology, emotional and positive intelligence, neurology, the science of flow, how food and our own minds impact not only our health but our overall success in life.
Now with this empowered knowledge, Shana leads her business with a new determination to help others overcome their business, life and personal challenges that hold them back. In her signature program Own Your Expertise, Shana works with clients that, despite years of expertise and great talent, are unable to empower their business to the success they want. They drown in creative ideas and often lose their focus and high value in an effort to create their success.
Through neurolinguistic programming, solid business strategies, and the science of the mind and biology, Shana helps them discover their E2 Personal Blueprint, where their unique life purpose lives inside their own life stories. Together they create a business based on their greatest strengths, talents and life experience, and a solid strategic business and marketing plan to create the success they desire.
If you're ready to build a business you love on your terms, own your expertise and high value, schedule a free consultation and get on your road to success!