Episode Transcript
Teah Hopper 0:04
I heard this a while a long time ago to social media conference I was at and it's really stuck with me. And the tip is to find your 90%. And so instead of trying to do like everything at 100%, and not doing any of it well, to find like your one thing, whether that is like Instagram stories or YouTube shorts, like, what is it that one you really enjoy doing, but also look at the metrics, what's working best for you, and then give that 90% of your time and attention and focus, and still, you know, do some of the other things, but give it your 10 or 20%. Like, don't try to do everything under percent. Because like you said, you're gonna get burnt out, you're gonna be overwhelmed. And I think that's where a lot of people are when they come to me.
Monica Pitts 0:49
You're on a mission, and you just need more people to know about it. And whether you're brand new to marketing or a seasoned pro, we are all looking for answers to make marketing decisions with purpose. I'm Monica Pitts, a techie crafty business owner, mom and aerial dancer who solves communication challenges through technology. This podcast is all about digging in and going digital. I'll share my marketing know how in business experience from almost 20 years of misadventures, I'll be your backup dancer. So you can stop doubting, and get moving towards marketing with purpose. So I have a really special guest with me today. And I know that I say that all of our guests are special. But this one really is because she creates time for me in my universe. I know that a few episodes ago, we talked about hiring virtual assistants and how one of the things that I have been journeying through is finding contractors to help me do things that I don't want to do anymore in my company. And one of those contractors is actually Teah Hopper. Yes, the famous ta be social media human is on this podcast with me right now. And it's very exciting. And so she's going to counsel all of us through ways to find joy in our social media, and not hate it, which is tough, because she knows I'm kind of a tough cookie that way. I'm not like, you know, that girl, which is why I've got her. So yeah, introduce yourself. And tell us a little bit about your business.
Teah Hopper 2:28
Well, that was quite an introduction. Thank you. Yeah, I am a social media strategist. I'm a mom to three littles. I've had my business for six years now. And I just love helping business owners like you who don't find joy in social media, get their joy back and use it in a way that's going to actually help their business grow as well. So they're seeing the results. And so I work, I've had my business, like I said, for six years, I work 15 to 20 hours a week. And that's something that I just am. So probably the most proud of is like scaling my business to where I want it to be. But also doing that in a way where I'm still home with my kids part time and just have the lifestyle that we've dreamed of. And so that's, you know, again, kind of hand in hand where I love to help business owners and businesses of all sizes, use social media, so that they're spending less time on it, and they have more time in life to do all the things they want to do. So they're not on their phone 24/7, which is where a lot of that hate comes from. So help you get more of the love and less of the hate when it comes to social.
Monica Pitts 3:33
Well, I know that one of the things I've felt a lot about our social medias, that we just, we produce a lot of content, as Teah can attest to. And she's like, Oh my gosh, Monica, there's so much good stuff that you guys make in this podcast is one of those things. And then how do we even decide what we're going to put on social media without like overloading people and so we're working that journey, we're going to figure it out, maybe you guys will happen across one of our posts organically soon, right? Instead of just an ad that we're placing, but I really appreciate you walking into our lives and and helping us find that. And I'm excited that you also know you have your business and that your version of success isn't the same as everybody else's because a lot of people they're like, Hey, you just need to get bigger you need to get bigger you need to get bigger, and every time I get bigger, I get angrier and then I have to get smaller again. What did you do before you started your own business?
Teah Hopper 4:31
I love that yeah that's so so much truth in what you just said Yeah, so I worked full time I kind of in just different marketing you know positions and spaces with a marketing specialists and for the Missouri Wine and Graoe Board so I have a history in the wine industry which was super fun right out of college. And I just kind of fell into like the social media person because I was like right time right age, you know thing. And then I went to work for an association for Missouri Realtors. And when I was working there, I always knew I wanted to do my own thing, but I just didn't know how I was gonna get there. I am not a risk taker. So you know, I'm not one of those people that's just like, Yeah, I just quit my job and started my business. And it's like, no, that was not me. And so I had planned when I was, you know, having my my daughter to quit my job and like, do this go all in when she was born. And it ended up being a year later. But what happened was just beautifully worked out that I started to have realtors that were members of the association worked for asking me to help them on the side. And then I had a couple of bosses leave that went on to other businesses that said, Hey, we don't have a social media person, can you help us and so I was able to over you know, two years, build my business, while working full time. And the you know, my boss I worked for what's great about it was I was fully transparent, and knew what I was doing. And so I was finally able to step out and have the business fully grown, and, you know, clients, all the things website, all that stuff. And so yeah, I've been doing it now for six years. You know, I say full time, I don't just said I don't work full time hours, but on my own, and it's been, it's just been so awesome to, to do that and work from anywhere. And, you know, when I went where I want all the things, and then to help help other people find that freedom, too.
Monica Pitts 6:21
Did you know that we actually started may create inside of a real estate office like this company had, they said that they were being held hostage by their web designer, and they had come and they had asked me over and over again, what I please go take care of their website stuff for them. And finally, like, it was the final like, you know, shoe dropped at work. And I was like, I cannot for one more day be in this place. And so I called up this guy, and I was like, Hey, do you still want this person? Here are my terms. I am an independent contractor, I will rent an office just like one of your agents, I will do the services for you and not BS. And so I started mayecreate inside of a real estate office doing work for realtors. And yeah, so I feel a kinship now. I'm like, wow, we came from the trenches.
Teah Hopper 7:10
Mm hmm. Yeah. And I, you know, for a long time was back and forth on do I want to like, niche into Realtors specifically. But I had clients that were in other other, you know, industries, and I really love the challenge of taking my strategy and applying it to different businesses, and it's never failed me. But I think I would be bored if I was, you know, just working with one specific type of business or, or industry. But yeah, it's funny, for some reason, that story reminded me that, you know, when I started, I mean, my dream was really just to, like, be an independent contractor, have a couple clients, or, you know, be able to be a mom. And then it just was like, Oh, you need a you need a business name. And then you need a website. And then you can't tell people to do social media, if you're not doing social media. And it was like, one day, I was like, I have a full like legitimate business. So it's honestly grown, you know, more than I originally set out to do. But it's been really cool to be on the journey.
Monica Pitts 8:10
That's awesome. So social media, I'm tagging us back around. I feel like you're my counselor when it comes to social media. And so I think we should just start with, like, how on earth is someone who doesn't really want to do social media? How are they going to find more joy in it? Like how, like, do you just want to start big picture?
Teah Hopper 8:34
Yeah, absolutely.
Monica Pitts 8:35
Take me through it.
Teah Hopper 8:36
Yeah, the biggest thing, I think, and the first thing that I see you know, is that you have to have a strategy and a plan, or you aren't going to hate it, because it's not going to work. And then you're going to feel like you're spending so much time on it and not getting any results for their time. And I mean, no one is going to doesn't matter what it is, you know, if that's the case, that's not going to be enjoyable for you. And I think that's why so, so many people, you know, don't enjoy it. Or they come to me, they're like, you know, please do it for me, because it's just not working, or I hate it or it feels like a time suck all the things I hear. But because I think the way that it started and you know, even today, it's hard, I think for some businesses to say that, like social media is legitimate, or they have to use it, or they needed it because it came from, you know, it's more of a, you know, the word for it, but, but you know, it is social. And so for a long time, it's like I don't need I don't need social media. And so I think because of that a lot of people just use it randomly, right? They're randomly they're just throwing up stuff, or they're posting at random times random topics, whatever it is. And it doesn't work, it doesn't work and so to really dig into and that's what I love to help my clients. So develop that strategy. It starts with branding, getting really clear on brand and a lot of ways it's similar to a website and I think we've talked about this before, right? I mean, when you have when I work with clients have a really great website, like a lot of the content can come from there we have a similar process. steps that we take our clients do. But when they get clear on their brand, when we really determine who their target audience is, which tells us what channels they should be on. And then, you know, getting clear on their goals, those things help us figure out what they should be posting. And so then they, you know, their their posts start to resonate with their audience. And they're also there when they develop a system, which is kind of, for me, it's like strategy and system, the two things, I really are a part of a part of my process, when they have that system, then they're able to save time, and they're not spending so much time on social media, and then all of a sudden, usually, they're moving closer to love, and having more joy, and not hating it so much. Yeah, so that's kind of big picture.
Monica Pitts 10:45
So we need a strategy and a system. And part of the strategy is our branding, our audience and our goals. And we have to define those things for social media to know everything from where to post, and what we're going to post about. So it's, you know, you got to do some homework first, it sounds a lot like you know, everything else in marketing.
Teah Hopper 11:05
Yeah,
Monica Pitts 11:05
if you're just doing it randomly, and, you know, throwing a pin at the wall to see like, does it stick? Or where does it land? It's not going to land. I mean, I like to think about, like, consistency and marketing as well, like, well, the phone rings, and sometimes I answer it, that's not the best way to grow your business, you need to answer the phone every time. It rings, like it's not rocket science. So we got to be consistent in it. I do have a question, though. Because you mentioned that, you know, some people are still questioning, do you need social media? And I mean, I question it too, sometimes, like, can people just not do it? Like, I'm sure I'm sure that's like a loaded question, but and people just not do it? Or who absolutely needs to do it? Does that make sense?
Teah Hopper 11:57
Yeah, I mean, I think you know, I guess it depends on who your audiences. And so I would say, you know, maybe if your audience isn't on there, maybe you don't. But I would say for most businesses, they do. And I think so often, again, this goes back to your goals, right? Like, why are you doing it? And maybe it's not, you know, you were talking about running ads, like maybe it's not for conversions, maybe it's not necessarily for new clients, it's really just for that, like social proof. Because oftentimes, people you know, they're, they're gonna compare, okay. I need someone help me build my website, right? Like, I'm gonna go, maybe they get a couple referrals. Maybe it's a realtor, maybe they get a couple referrals, they go online, they're gonna look them up and and see, maybe they just do glulam. But when they go, they see LinkedIn, or they see Instagram, or they see YouTube, like, where are they gonna go? And then they're gonna compare you to your competition. And so and that's why I think branding is so important, like, do they're gonna get a feel for, you know, do they have things in common with you? Do they like you eventually, that leads to that whole? Do they trust you? And then they're going to reach out to the person that they feel like it they're going to enjoy working with the most? Or is it going to best represent them. And so that's where I think even just having a presence there. And even if it's posting once a week, like for someone to see like, you're open for business. You got these great testimonials, you know, you just closed a house, in our neighborhood, whatever it is, I do think that it for most people, if you don't have something like that, then you're going to miss out on businesses, and the person who is out there telling their story and showing up is going to get the business. So maybe not in every case. But I would say in most Yes.
Monica Pitts 13:41
I agree with you. I think that in most cases. I mean, what audience isn't on social media. Like I mean, I guess my grandma isn't on social media, but she's 90 and she's had a stroke. So her phone is hard for her to use. So I get that right. But my aunt's the only way I can like communicate with my like 67 year old aunts is literally on social media, like I post something on Facebook just for them. It's like I told my husband the other day that I feel like I just need to make a Facebook group for my aunt's like aunts of Monica Pitts and then I can have and then I can just post up up there all the time just for them instead of because I don't know like, yeah, I don't I don't know that I want to share every part of my story with everyone. But I wouldn't mind just sharing it with my family. But I Okay, so audience and then you said competition, which makes perfect sense because if your competition is doing it and you're not even just a little bit, then it you would be like dropping the ball. People wouldn't be able to compare apples to apples. And I liked what you said too, about that. The messaging that's going out on social media, it feels a lot different than the stuff that you put on your website. Like if you have a blog, then you probably do have some less smart marketing feeling. Copy, write some stuff. If it doesn't feel like you're trying to sell to people, and people want to buy from somebody that they like, and so if they can go to your social media and they see more about you like who you are, and, and what you represent and how you talk about yourself and just more of your personality, I could see that being a real benefit, right? And I think it's funny proof of existence, because there's nothing funnier as a web designer than going up to somebody's website and being like, the last blog was written in 2016. Yeah, that's good. You know, clearly, I should definitely call you like, I don't even know like, is the restaurant still open? I don't know. I can drive three cities away, and we end up like in the middle of nowhere.
Teah Hopper 15:39
Yeah.
Monica Pitts 15:40
So I think the part that I struggle with is just getting, like feedback from my social media audience, right? Because I can see how many hits I have on a blog post, I can see how many times somebody opens an email. But I feel like, I want people to like my post and comment on it. And they just, I don't know, they don't like as a business, they don't care about something. I feel rejected helps me through this.
Teah Hopper 16:13
Oh, man, that's tough. Yeah, because it matters, obviously. Right? And but, man, we get a whole the whole separate conversation about like, and that goes back to like identity. And and of course, when you're when you have a post, I have a real today that's doing really well. So of course, I'm like, Yes, this is fighting, this is fun. But then, you know, is your value. When you when it doesn't do that, well, do you personally like feel? You know, so that's hard in separating yourself and all that. So that could probably be a whole counseling session. But I do think that yes, when your content is, is doing well, you're gonna feel good about it, it's going to kind of motivate you to create more. And that kind of goes back to that joy, like, There is more joy there. And sometimes it just takes a while right to figure out like, what is the right type of content, like you were saying, and what's the best format? And what's the best channel? And but I do think I just remind people to it's so noisy, you know, and also like, how often are you scrolling and not engaging, you know, but you still watch the video, you still read the whole thing post. And so I think this number is like, 80% of people are lurkers like so they're on there. And they are never ever actually taking any action or engaging. And I have this happen to me, you know, where I get on a discovery call, and I'm talking to potential new client, and they're talking about content. And I'm like, I've never seen them on any of my accounts, like anything. Like, where do they come from. And I have a great story. My husband has a business, of course, we do his social media. And he got the most amazing text a few weeks ago, and he is a nurse, and he helps caregivers that are caring for older adults. And it was someone reached out ahead and never engaged with any of their content, but talked about how the tips that they share helped her care for her mom as she was like dying. And it was I mean, can make me cry. Now it was just like, she's that was the first time we've ever heard from her. So your content, even if it's not getting 1000s of you know, it's still impacting people, people are still looking at it. And I think sometimes it takes a long time to see you know, someone actually move through the funnel. But that's why you have to be strategic and not just be posting because if you're just looking at the likes, like that doesn't always mean anything, but are they actually like working their way through your funnel and becoming, you know, buying from you, that's a whole different thing to measure. So that's why it's important to have those goals and to know what you want that to look like beyond social. And that can, it can look really different.
Monica Pitts 18:42
I know that. So 100 years ago, when we did social media in house, and I had to review social metrics for people every month, they would be like, we just need to post more about our events, we need more people to know about our events. And I'm like, Well, here's the deal, like I can do that for you, but they're not going to interact with those posts, they're going to interact with the ones with your face on them. And then, so when we would take their advice and just post about events, which we have to do, because we want people to know about the events, then all of the metrics would go down. And then we would you know, we were at fault, obviously. But I think that's one thing too, that you guys counsel us on is you know, we post pictures of, you know, Ellis hiking and her vintage may create shirt, and that one always gets a great response or like the team working together on something and people like that. But we also need to make sure that we're telling people what we do and our brand story and giving them that help to make sure that they know who we are and that they know what we do. We're not just mayecreate running around in vintage sweatshirts. We're like, people that build websites.
Teah Hopper 19:48
It's a balance, right? Yeah. And it's a human I mean, you have to think about it's a human on the other side of the screen right? So are they more likely to pick like in like the picture of the cute girl like of course we're versus like, Yeah, but they're still maybe they're still seeing your other stuff. But did you tell them to like it? And that's the other thing? What's the call to action? You know, there's, I had a client, you know, once it was like, we're not getting any comments, I'm like, Well, none of your posts are set up, you're not asking questions, you're not actually trying to get people to comment. It's more passive. Maybe they're going to like it. And maybe they're going to click and go read it. But if you want, so you have to think about to overall goal and then like, what's the goal of each actual post? And what action do you want them to take? And then tell them if you want them to do something?
Monica Pitts 20:35
So I saw in one of your recent blog posts that you say that getting clear on your brand and your goals is important. And you and you talked about that some earlier? Are there any, like specific pieces of advice that you want people to think about when they are like crafting this plan? Because crafting the plan is going to make us happy?
Teah Hopper 20:59
And give you more joy? Yes, this, oh, I actually think crafting the plan is like I have to I have to like really dig into some of my clients and be like, listen, I know, the sexy stuff is like, what are you going to post and like, is it what's the format, but like, we have to start here. So this part may actually feel like it's not bringing you as much joy. But if you do it, it will long to bring you more joy. But I think what I found, you know, when I first started out, I didn't I mean, I have a brand new background, but I didn't plan on being using so much branding. And as a part of this, it was like social media. And I would sit down with these business owners and like, okay, you know, try to start to develop their content or content counter plan. And they had no idea how to talk about themselves. I mean, it was just like, this is your business, right? Am I Am I in the wrong place? Like going to the business owner? But you know, we talked about branding, and they're like, Oh, well, here's my logo, my colors. I'm like, Okay, but what are you messaging? You know, what's your story? And I don't know if it's because when it's ours, we're too close to it. And a lot of times, I think we need a mirror, you know, for someone to help us see. But that is one of the things I actually have most joy in with what I get to do now is helping people like I hear their story, and then I'm like, ooh, that's it. Like, that's the thing. You know, like, that's, that's it, but helping them craft their story, because as we just talked about, we're humans, right? So that's the kind of stuff that people connect to. It's not what you do, but it's like, why you do it? And what makes you different from your competitors? What are your values, those type of things, you know, you make great like they people love seeing that you have a retreat or like games in the office. Like that's the type of human connection. So yeah, I think that's where it's so important. And then once we can dig into that, it's also then leads us to okay, what should you be talking about? Like, what are the things that if you were writing a blog, or recording a video you're going to be excited about that you're passionate about, and then that allows you to have more joy in creating that content. Because if you're like just creating content to create content, and you're like, I'm so pissed, I'm writing this blog today, you know, if you're not enjoying grading it, you can guarantee that the person on the other end is not going to have joy, you know, reading it, watching it, listening to it, consuming it. And so that's where I think it's so important to help you figure out what you're going to be excited about, and then help you create content that you're that you're excited about.
Monica Pitts 23:17
I 100% agree with you that there's a lot of new businesses and, and even sometimes, like existing businesses that are in a period of transition nonprofits that are really big. They have a really difficult time talking about themselves, like they have all will sit down with them, and it will be an hour. And then I'll finally figure out what they do. And I I've had like multiple people that have come to me, they're like, hey, I want you to you know, do this consulting with me for my website. And I'm like, okay, that's awesome. And then I listened to them for that hour. And I go, whoa, whoa, whoa, wait, wait, what I need you to do is figure out how to tell me what you do in like, 30 seconds or less. Like, that's what, that's where we're at now, friends, because like, especially for someone who does something really technical, something that other people don't understand about or a new product or service. Like, I mean, I could even use a coach as an example for that. So these people have a problem. They know who they are, and that they have a problem, but they don't know that you solve it or like why your method is best. And then you just go all over them. And it's like, I don't want to listen, it shouldn't take them an hour to figure out what you do. I mean, I feel like they're putting the cart before the horse when they're like, You know what, I need a logo and I'm like, Nope, you need to learn how to talk about yourself. Go make yourself a 60 second infomercial and come back and tell friends if you look for so I went to a sales training class for years. It was Sandler sales training. And I bet that if you Googled like Sandler sales training 60 second infomercial, you would get yourself like our framework to make it and it was great. So anyway, I was totally off subject. But yes. So talk about things that make you joy, learn how to talk about yourself. All these make lots of sense. Okay, so another thing I think that happens. So if you're not talking about stuff that brings you joy, then you're like, obviously not happy talking about it. But also, I feel like people kind of burn themselves out because they are doing too much. And I know that you and I have been like, watching all the mayecreate channels and figuring out which ones we can delete. Like, how do you guard against that? Like, what is your advice for people in like? Not? Like, do they need to do everything? Do they just need to do one? What does that look like?
Teah Hopper 25:44
Yeah, yeah, most people are well, well, okay, let me let me I started to saying like, yeah, historically, yeah, people are on way too many channels, you don't need to be everywhere starting out. Like, especially if you're just starting out, I would say I say one, and then maybe two, right? Like, you really need to pick the one or two that you think your audiences on. And once you have like you're executing there, you're hitting your goals there, you know, you're seeing success, then start to focus on another. Now the only like the asterik. And that's why I kind of hesitated and like did it is talking to ourselves, I do feel like it is getting easier to repurpose with all the platforms moving to favoring the short form video, right? Because it used to be like, they were all so different. They all wanted different things. And while they are different still, and there's nuances that are different about each, I like to think of the different social media channels as like countries, right? Like, they all speak a different language. And so people that are just like putting one thing like and then putting in all the places, it's like, when we see your your posts coming from Instagram, to Facebook, with all the hashtags like, you know, it's like you're not speaking our language. We know that you're, but I do think now that people are that you can repurpose that it is easier to be on multiple platforms, because it's the same piece of content, the same video that you could put in multiple places. So that has changed the game. But you don't need to be in all the places you need to ferret or your audiences. And you need to show up well there before you try to be in all the places. And then also, I think, you know, trying to create all different types of content, like pick the format that you love, going back to, you know, creating content that you enjoy. If you like writing blog, if you like to be on video, do video. And if you like video at all you see video is going to be the best, you know, graphics, graphics are your thing, create amazing graphics, but don't try to at least starting out do all of them. I heard this a while a long time ago to social media conference I was at and it's really stuck with me. And the tip is to find your 90%. And so instead of trying to do like everything at 100% and not doing any of it well, to find like your one thing, whether that is like Instagram stories or YouTube shorts, like what is it that one you really enjoy doing, but also look at the metrics, what's working best for you, and then give that 90% of your time and attention and focus and still, you know, do some of the other things, but give it your 10 or 20%. Like, don't try to do everything 100% Because like you said, you're gonna get burnt out, you're gonna be overwhelmed. And I think that's where a lot of people are, when they come to me is they're overwhelmed. And even when I'm creating strategies and plans with people, like I am constantly taking their polls and like, Okay, this is overwhelming for you, we will go and we will do like phase one. And we will move to phase two. Because if you get overwhelmed with anything in life, you're just gonna stop doing it. And that's what I'm trying to get you to do, you know, from from getting to, and that looks different for everybody. Like some people are like, Yeah, I want to post five, five days a week, great, I can help you that some people, that's too much. And so we're gonna start with two, and we'll work our way up to five. But doing posting twice a week, but doing it consistently is so much better than like posting five days a week for two months, and then not posting for five months, you know? So it's about finding that and then being consistent with whatever is is your and again looking at your goals, what's going to help you reach those goals. But what is actually doable for you.
Monica Pitts 29:09
So I have another crazy curveball question for you. We've been talking Okay, not just we not just the marketing with purpose, audience, but everyone is talking about AI and chat GPT. And so I would love to hear your opinion as a social media expert at what you would advise people do or don't do with it in relativity to their social media, if you have an opinion about it.
Teah Hopper 29:38
Just made a list actually yesterday. Yeah, I'm really digging into it right now. Because I do see the value in it. And I do think that there's a way to make it work for you. My fear, as I think a lot of people are is that, you know, it's just all of our everything's going to just start looking the same. I mean, if everybody just starts using it, like is it so I think you can use it but then that's where that brand becomes so important, you have to then put it into your own words. So I had a client the other day, and he's been using us for video production. And I think he will continue to do that. But he just got into, you know, got in there and put in. I don't remember what he input, but it is shout out some tips. But then he, he then recorded a video, in his own words, like using those tips as ideas, but putting his own, you know, ideas, opinions, and I think that's going to be where you can use it in a winning way. Because if you're if it's simply like, generic, yeah, here's my new blog I got off of, you know, that's, I think it's not going to be effective. So let me find my list because I do think there's things you can use it for, again, for more idea generation, but then you need to insert yourself into it. So hashtags, I love this, this idea of like using it to come up with hashtags again, you putting in your business, your brand, you know all of those things, but having it spit back some hashtag ideas, captions, if you put in, you know, what your posts are, I think it could help you generate some captions, you would then obviously need to reword them and make it sounds like you. ADs is a big opportunity, I think. So whether that's ad copy, but you know, using it for ads, my husband's actually been looking into it, because, as you said, like we're doing his organic, but he was finding that he could take all of our current social media, like post, and then use that to help them generate ads. So it's still going to be on brand. But it's going to be more with the ad format. Blogs, I do think, again, you can you know, use it to get the basis of a blog within you need to rewrite it, put it in your words, personalize it for your clients, email newsletters, and then again, like I just mentioned, like client video content. So it could be ideas for videos, it could be taking your ideas and putting them into a script. But different lots of different ways around video content. Also love this idea of subject lines, because I don't know about you, but like, I really struggle. So you can actually put the email in there and have it spit out some subject lines for you.
Monica Pitts 32:13
I have actually started playing with it. Yeah. And so my emails are just kind of crazy, right? You get them. And I, I actually think it's better at writing subject lines than anything else. And you know, like, give me a subject line and they'll come back and they'll be like, nope, make it weirder. It'll do it or I'll say make it more fun or make it more conversational. I was ill to oral tell it give me five more options. And I think it does a great job of subject lines myself. They're short snippy little things, but when I use it to generate like, oh, upload a transcript from a, from a podcast, and I'll be like, Hey, give me a two paragraph with you know, bullet points in a conversational fun tone. It'll give it to me. And then I'll be like, Okay, now make it more fun. And then I'll be like, Okay, now make it witty. And then and then I'll be like, Oh, this is pretty good. And then I totally spend at least 15 to 20 minutes, like rewriting the entire thing. And it looks nothing. Like it came out of it. But it gave me some great ideas of how to like, format it and phrase it. Does that make sense? Okay. And then I deleted all that like line by line. But anyway, but it gets you started. Okay. Yeah, it helps. It helps. That's when Sorry, I interrupted you at subject lines.
Teah Hopper 33:36
You say it's very on topic. It's just a podcast. It could be Yeah, Episode topics, or like you said, Yeah, giving the summary of them or whatever that is, but I think there's with podcast a whole other, you know, a lot of them that you could that you could use. But yeah, I'm kind of the same way as sometimes like, like, when I take something and try to edit it, it's almost harder than coming up with it from scratch. So it'll be a learning process on how to use it.
Monica Pitts 34:01
I like editing more than I like starting from scratch. So I feel like I like it as part of my process. But one thing I did find the other day, which I hadn't ever thought about this the other day, I downloaded this freebie, which I'm trying not to do as much, because then I just get overwhelmed with information, right? But this lady had prompts for it for your writing. And I thought okay, well what's this going to be? And there was a whole set of prompts that you could ask it to help you better understand your target market, which I thought was really cool. So like they were fill in the blank prompts, and it would be like, write a journal entry. From this person's perspective, they feel like this. They are, you know, describe that person. And then and this is what they're working on. And then it like, gave me a journal entry from them. My thought, oh my gosh, and I literally had not thought about some of the perspectives that it gave me about My target audience in that journal entry, and I'm not saying that they're concrete, right, but just the fact that it made me think about it. I was like, Um, wow, I had never thought about using it for that. So I guess at the beginning of your planning, you could use it to gather like some audience advice if
Teah Hopper 35:15
I love that somewhere in perspective. Yeah. Yeah. Well, and one of the things too, that I tell my clients is, you know, you we have, we need to know our audience, and then we need to write in a way that sounds like them, you know, not you. But you need to write like they would talk. And so that might also be a way to get at that. Because it's hard when you when you're not, then, you know, that could be a really great way to kind of generate that.
Monica Pitts 35:42
Yeah. Especially if you're selling to a different demographic than you are. Mm hmm. I wonder too, like with the liking of posts, like my kids, every time that they'll scroll through, scroll through Instagram with me, because sometimes we all like pull it up. I use Instagram. It is extremely curated. I tell my husband's like, I hate social media. And I'm like, Yeah, but you don't understand the only things on my Instagram feed. Other than like ads, obviously, are aerialists, plants. And puppies. That's it. So it's amazing. Sometimes, like every like, once or twice a month, I'll sit down on the couch with my kids. And I'm like scrolling. And they're like, oh, like it mom. Like it like that one like it. Did you like that one? And like they like it because I forget, you know, an acro? There's a lot of like, accurate people on my Instagram feed too. Anyway. So I wonder if younger people are more likely to like your posts. And then maybe older people because they're used to it. And that's how they show each other appreciation? Maybe? I don't know.
Teah Hopper 36:48
Yeah. And then why are we less likely to like it? Like that's a whole psychology thing? You know,
Monica Pitts 36:54
We're jaded
Teah Hopper 36:56
Yeah, yeah. We had a
Monica Pitts 36:59
We're busy.
Teah Hopper 37:01
Yeah, I don't know. We're just more just don't give out our likes so easily.
Monica Pitts 37:08
We just hold on to them.
Teah Hopper 37:10
Yeah.
Monica Pitts 37:11
Okay, so, um, is there anything else you can think of that you really feel like people should think about so that they can get more joy out of their social media? And the last piece of advice you want to give people before we leave them?
Teah Hopper 37:24
Yeah. So there's a whole this could be probably a whole nother episode. But I think the other thing similar, do you talk about curating your feed, it's like, I think so often, you know, we end up not liking social media, because of the whole digital disruption and how much we feel like, you know, just torn between our digital life and real life and how often we're getting disrupted day to day because of our phone and our accounts and notifications. And so something that I've tried to be really intentional on. And I've and I, honestly, there's a whole topic around like digital wellness, that tried to share is, you know, goes back to that whole time thing. But it's, when you're on social media, you are using it purposefully. And then when you're not actually using it for your business, like you're off of it. And so you're not wasting so much time just being on there mindlessly. And I think there's a lot of ways that we can, we can, we can do that. And I have a list of 11. And I don't know if we want to go through all of them. Now, maybe I can pick my favorites. Link to more, but it's just ideas of like putting your dang phone on silence. I think most of us do that now. But I don't know, when I'm around people that don't have their phone silence. I'm just constantly like, thing, you know, and even my kids I noticed are constantly disrupted by it. So turning off, you know, turning it off getting rid of external distraction. I know like people now right, put on their Do Not Disturb and so they're not being disrupted. Also, I think identifying like your triggers or like, why you're why you're getting on your phone. This was huge for me when I dug into this a few years ago. And so you know, are you getting on there out of habit? Are you getting out there? Because you're bored? Because you're having a not so pleasant thought. And so you're numbing, you know, why are you getting on your phone. That is something that I think is helpful to just simple as like clearing off your homescreen and organizing it so that when you get on your phone, I need to do this again. But at one point I was really good about this. It's not just like throw up of notifications and apps and you know, clearing it off and having a beautiful picture that makes you feel good because think about how many times you see your phone, like and if it is just like overwhelming. That's, that's something in itself. And so there's there's others, one of my biggest thing now and that I've used for years that just saves me is airplane mode. So I put my phone on airplane mode usually about you know, 7:30-8 o'clock at night. And I try not to sometimes I'll check it after my kids are in bed but you know, wait until the morning when I am like ready to turn on. So that doesn't mean first thing in the morning. I'm looking at my phone and I'm looking at all the things I miss and immediately feeling overwhelmed. I'm waiting and when I'm ready to turn on I Take it off airplane mode. And there's a lot of different ways you can do that now, but I'm just used to using airplane mode, but things like that that can keep, you know, keep it. It's usually social media and the things happening on there are non emergency, they're not life or death. So we don't need to check it 10 20 30 50 times a day, you know, and just that could I think, help you create more joy, by not feeling like you're getting sucked into it, and that you need to be on it all the time. And I tell people, if I, as a social media strategist can have these boundaries, then you absolutely can to like if I can find a way to not be on it all the time and for just, you know, to still be successful, then then you can too, it's just a matter of getting control and not letting it run you but you running it.
Monica Pitts 40:45
I do like what you said, though, like identifying why you're getting on your phone, and like, figuring out why it makes you feel that way. Because then you could decide which one of the methods that you just suggested would be the best one to make you maybe not feel that way, because you're not telling them that they need to go run a marathon, you're telling them that they need to, like take the first step, like figure out, like, how to walk and like, turn off a couple of little things there. Because it can be scary when when you're on your phone all the time. And it's like an extension of your body. Mine is not, but I I see a lot of people who it is. And they just, it would be like removing an appendage for them. And so I think that your comment about identifying why you're getting on there. And I think even just having an awareness of how you feel while you're in there, and what's going on, that could be a huge step in the right direction to using those other pieces of advice to like, clean up your digital clutter and then allow you to do social media as a company that knows that they need to do it and maybe not hate it so much. You're smart.
Teah Hopper 41:57
Thank you
Monica Pitts 41:57
You need to do my social media.
Teah Hopper 42:03
It's, you know, it's what someone said the other day. It's simple, but it's not easy. Yeah, I agree.
Monica Pitts 42:09
Okay, so where can people find you and learn more and read more of your tips? I know you got a blog. I was just on it the other day?
Teah Hopper 42:17
Yeah, yeah. Yep, I would say I'm most often on Instagram. So in all all of my stuff, very simple. It's just my name Teah Hopper. It's T E A H, H O P P E R, but I'm also on Facebook and LinkedIn. And yes, my website is Teahhopper.com. I've got a blog and got some free resources there. content calendar freebie and a posting plan kind of blueprint. So if you're like really new to this, I take you through my strategy to you know, figuring out what you should be posting, and helping you kind of have have a blueprint for your for your posts or content map. So those are on there as well. You can go grab them,
Monica Pitts 42:55
yay, well head on over to Teahhopper.com. and download those fun things. Because like she said, part of feeling more joy is making sure that you do the homework. And you know, homework isn't always fun. It's going to help you out in the long run. So thank you so much for joining us, Teah. And until next time, you guys know what to do. Go forth and mark it repurposed. To get a copy of the show notes. And all those links that we just heard from our guests, head on over to mayevreate.com mayecreate.com. And of course, I have to tell you the things that all podcasters are supposed to tell you at the end of your episode, like if you thought this was awesome, you could subscribe. And then I would like get to tell you when I have new stuff for you to learn and new episodes and new people to meet new stories to tell. And of course, I would really love it if you left a review. So head on over to Mayecreate.com for those show notes Mayecreate.com or maybe even contacted my team about building that next website. We can do it for you. And we even have our better than DIY website program that teaches you to plan and build your own website. So head on over to mayecreate.com ma yecreat.com I'll meet you over there
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
