Some people are just born to do what they do, and Shannon McKinstrie is no exception...and she has the thriving businesses to prove it!
Navigating Instagram can be daunting, but creating content that truly resonates doesn't have to be overwhelming. Shannon and I break down the essentials of striking the right balance in your content, emphasizing authenticity and simplicity. Not to mention making content creation fun again!
Forget the pressure to constantly innovate; sometimes, your most powerful tool is repetition, and understanding that your followers don't need you to reinvent the wheel – they just need you to show up in a way that feels real and relatable.
By bringing it back to the basics, we uncover why a personal touch can go a long way in growing not just a following, but a community.
Learn more about Shannon, her services and the Social Squad Society:
Instagram: @shannonmckinstrie
Website: www.shannonmckinstrie.com - for all services, including The Reels Lab
Social Squad Society: https://socialsquadsociety.com/
SHAUNA GREY
www.simplifiedsavvy.com/
Instagram: @simplifiedsavvy & @thesavvyscooppod
YouTube: Simplified Savvy - The Savvy Scoop Podcast
Some people are just born to do what they do, and Shannon McKinstrie is no exception...and she has the thriving businesses to prove it!
Navigating Instagram can be daunting, but creating content that truly resonates doesn't have to be overwhelming. Shannon and I break down the essentials of striking the right balance in your content, emphasizing authenticity and simplicity. Not to mention making content creation fun again!
Forget the pressure to constantly innovate; sometimes, your most powerful tool is repetition, and understanding that your followers don't need you to reinvent the wheel – they just need you to show up in a way that feels real and relatable.
By bringing it back to the basics, we uncover why a personal touch can go a long way in growing not just a following, but a community.
Learn more about Shannon, her services and the Social Squad Society:
Instagram: @shannonmckinstrie
Website: www.shannonmckinstrie.com - for all services, including The Reels Lab
Social Squad Society: https://socialsquadsociety.com/
SHAUNA GREY
www.simplifiedsavvy.com/
Instagram: @simplifiedsavvy & @thesavvyscooppod
YouTube: Simplified Savvy - The Savvy Scoop Podcast
Welcome back to the Savvy Scoop podcast, where we give you the full scoop on all things living your best life. So if that's your jam, you're in the right place. New episodes drop every Wednesday for you to enjoy. As always, I'm your host, shawna Gray. If you're a fan of the show, I would so appreciate you rating and giving it a review wherever you listen, or you can also watch the show on YouTube Maybe you already are and you can subscribe there too, so you never miss an episode.
Speaker 1:Okay, on today's show, we have a very special guest, somebody that I have had the privilege of being mentored by for years Shannon McKinstry. She is a social media mentor and strategist on a mission to eliminate the never-ending content creation guesswork and overwhelm so business owners can actually enjoy promoting their businesses and engaging with their audience on social platforms without burning out. Wouldn't that be amazing? She's a mom of two beautiful girls, calls Carrie, north Carolina home, loves a good oat milk latte, spending time with her family and enjoying a date night with her hubby, particularly at any restaurant that's serving up salt-rimmed margaritas, chips and queso. Shannon, thank you so much for being here.
Speaker 1:As I already said, like you uh, I mean I started following you years ago and then you I took your social biz system course, been in the social squad society. You have been a mentor of mine for years and you are just like one, even though you have this massive following. You are so grounded, you are so humble, you are so kind, you are so giving of your time, so humble, you are so kind, you are so giving of your time for being even on my podcast, which I so appreciate, and you're just all around amazing. So I'm so happy to have you here. But let's start with how the heck did you get here? What were you doing before this? What led you to start this now? Successful business, businesses. You've got a lot going on.
Speaker 2:Yeah, a lot. Well, thank you for the most lovely intro ever. I'm just so grateful to know you and grateful to be here. How do I start? Okay, so the condensed version, because I've always been really into media marketing. I studied it in college. Even high school I studied TV production. So I've always been like had a camcorder in my hand. I was always went back in the VHS days and was always documenting everything and driving my siblings crazy.
Speaker 1:I love seeing all your, when you show them on Instagram stories, when you go back and visit family and you find all your old like tapes and stuff. It's just so funny.
Speaker 2:Everyone's like, oh gosh, thank God social media was not around and I'm like same thank God, because I would have had everything up there. Yeah, I have just ridiculous like a whole closet full of VHS tapes. It's ridiculous. But yeah, I'm just one of those people that love documenting things, and just love documenting things for other people too, Not just me. I would make videos for my family. We'd go on vacation, I would go to the editing bay at high school and like spend hours editing one stupid little five minute video which now you can do on InShot oh my God Right. But it's always been a passion of mine.
Speaker 2:So I went into CNN, was like my dream job and realized it was not my dream job very quickly. I was there a few years and I was just like this is not healthy for my mindset. My anxiety, I was just like this is too much. Was it a lot of hours or what was the Overnights? Yeah, I worked overnights for a good year and then I worked like 3am to you know, just crazy hours. But also I was there during Katrina and I was there during the tsunami and the things I saw I was like I nope, I I I mean panic attacks, the whole, the whole deal.
Speaker 2:So I ended up moving back home to DC and then I was like what the heck am I supposed to do with my life? Like, no one would hire me for anything marketing. I wanted to stay out, still be in marketing and media and no one would. No one would hire me. So I took sales jobs. I bounced around here and there and pretty much hated every job and then I finally found a job I liked at a nine to five and it was in the education space, and they were like we need someone to manage our Facebook page and I was like, oh, I'll do it, like that's great and like not extra pay, but just like can someone just do this?
Speaker 2:Like most companies do, they go, they throw it at someone, just put some stuff up. And I was like, oh my gosh, I became obsessed. I was like obsessed with coming up with the wittiest captions, obsessed with coming up with memes, like we're talking 2013. And that's when I was pregnant with Cam, my oldest, and then I was loving it. I was morphing more into a marketing role there. So I was like I'm happy.
Speaker 2:And then I had a really traumatic birth and I was like I don't want to go back to work and Ryan's like well, you have to because we're broke. It's like. I was like, well, childcare is expensive. What if I could just get a few people to pay me like some money every month to at least help with groceries and rent? And I remember the little goodness phase and he was like you know, he held it in. But he was like, okay, I mean cause he knew if I dropped cam off at daycare I was going to lose it because of the birth and everything. So, anyway, long story short, quit.
Speaker 2:My job started this business got like a few people who paid me like 50 bucks, 100 bucks, 200 bucks and I was like I am rich, this is amazing, I'm killing it. I was like someone actually paid me to manage their Facebook page. They like trust me to write words for them. It was the coolest thing ever. And then I just started showing up on Instagram not until 2018. So there was like three years that I was just kind of like doing lots of local networking and that's how I was getting my clients, and then I was blowing my clients' pages up. I was like wait a minute, I could do this for myself and maybe I could work outside of DC, maybe I could reach more people. So then in like 2018 is when I started posting consistently on Instagram and yeah, the rest is history. And then it just it's crazy. Like I still can't believe I get to do what I do, that people pay me for it. Just it's crazy.
Speaker 1:Well, and now you have I mean, you have your own, and then you also have the Social Squad Society. Yes, so, multiple businesses, multiple things going on, and you are, I mean, definitely one of the most sought after people for all kinds of social media marketing advice, but Instagram specifically, which actually gets into my next question. You have a genius brain when it comes to marketing. Just watching you when you talk on stories, I'm like you know. I I do this, but I don't think that same way. You know, and particularly social media marketing and specifically Instagram. What is it about this platform that you love so much, and how can fellow business owners really fall in love with it too, so that creating content becomes something that they find fun, like a fun part of their day rather?
Speaker 1:than like oh my God, I've got to put up a post because I haven't posted in three weeks.
Speaker 2:I know, and that's the thing, like you said it perfectly because I get excited to hit posts, I'm so stoked and that's why I can't batch, because I get too excited.
Speaker 2:I'm like think it's got to go up right now. I'm like I don't care what time it is, I don't care, all those rules are made up anyway. But yeah, I think, when you think of it more, if you ignore the numbers, ignore that. I mean, obviously we have to look at data, but if you ignore the pressure and the whatever, there's so many rules, there's so many tactics and it's funny, some of the reels that go viral they didn't do anything right, quote, unquote, right. So it's like, stop putting all that pressure on yourself. But my favorite thing to tell people and I don't want this to scare anyone is that if you ask any of the, especially the OG influencers, right, that blew up an Instagram years ago the reason they blew up, if you ask them, they're like we just started documenting our journey of, like, diy stuff or documenting my journey. I'm becoming a this and that's it. That's all they did, was they documented, and that's what Instagram still is.
Speaker 2:We're watching each other's journeys Like, and I love watching your journey, right, I've, we've known each other for years and it's like I love watching where people's lives take them and where they're going on vacation and you know what lessons they've learned and what experiences they've had, and like that's what Instagram still is. And it's funny because during COVID it was very different. We were heavy educational content. Heavy like deep, whatever. Now it's like content. Heavy like deep, whatever. Now it's like hey guys, I like this coffee, do you too? It's almost like we're going back and it's so refreshing and it's so much better.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:It's so much better and I think a lot of people I'm hoping you're going to start liking Instagram again because we are kind of going back to just like basic helpful info, funny stuff, you know everyone's, I tell everyone.
Speaker 2:I think what makes me a little bit different than a lot is I focus more on just creating good content, and that's what it comes down to. Good content is going to perform well if and you know good content is relative, like you know I. I also like to say like, just cause I like a movie doesn't mean you're going to like the movie. Your content is not going to be for everyone, but if it's, it's good, if it resonates, if it helps people, if it makes them laugh, whatever. But yeah, that's. I just focus on creating good content that, like, people will want to see when they open their phone. So if you're struggling with what to post and you're like I don't know what to post and I this isn't, this feels like a chore, then literally just ask yourself what's something helpful I can share and make it like so dumb.
Speaker 1:Yeah, like so basic, yes, so basic, and it's not dumb, like that's the thing.
Speaker 2:It's not dumb and we think we have to be these Einsteins. I'm like, I'm far from that and I've been okay. So, yeah, I think taking the pressure away is really easy to say, but it usually requires muting some accounts, unfollowing some accounts that are making you feel the pressure to post too much or do things the wrong way. But, yeah, most people I talk to who are growing like crazy are sharing content because they wanted to share it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's so interesting. I was listening to a podcast with Jenna Kutcher on somebody else's podcast and she said something that really struck me. That was like we don't want to. Actually, you think you need to be this huge genius to share things, but actually we don't want to learn from somebody who seems so far away from us, who seems so far removed from us. Like she used the example of like I'm not going to go to the founder of like Spanx or something like that because she said she's in like a whole other league than me. I want to learn from somebody who's like maybe two years, three years ahead of me, who has a little bit more knowledge they need to have more knowledge than you but that you don't need to have so much more knowledge to talk about what you do.
Speaker 1:So I think people make it. They see, like what maybe some huge guru is talking about, and they're like oh, I can't do that. Like you know, post every day, post stories, like go crazy and post every day, multiple times a day on all these different platforms, and it's like that's way too far. I need something more manageable. And I think that's what you, the gift that you give to people, is like don't put so much pressure on yourself. Like post some good content three times a week, show up, show up in your stories and keep it simple. And like take all that other shit your stories and keep it simple. And like take all that other shit away. Seriously, just keep it simple. And actually that's like you said and that's actually what is resonating right now the simplest thing, the simplest thing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I love Jenna's point because it's like none of us as humans, we never want to feel dumb Like that's. You know, we don't want to feel dumb. So create content that just makes them feel capable. I mean, that's the best thing you could do for anyone. And yeah, and when I show people in their industry, like when I do an audit, I'm like this is what's working right now, they're like, oh my gosh, I'm like, yeah, you guys like it's not that deep, you know.
Speaker 1:It's not that deep. I say that all the time. It's not that deep. Yeah, it's so true, and like you said, but good content can be something that makes someone smile. Yeah, because it evokes a reaction. That's still considered good content. So, yeah, I think, and I even was. I was watching the ultimatum on Netflix and the one girl was talking to to another girl and she said, yeah, but he's never like had anything happen or he has had stuff happen but he doesn't talk about it, so it's very unrelatable and I was like that's just it right, Like if you could find the point that relates and then double down on it once you find that it's
Speaker 2:relatable that's you know. Yeah, I repeat myself all the time. That's. Another thing is we're allowed to repeat ourselves. Marketing, we want familiarity, we want repetition. So that's a good thing for you. You know, I tell people I'm like let's see what worked well recently, let's just do it in a different way, you just say it in a different way.
Speaker 1:Well, I think you've said before you have like three messages, basically that you rinse and repeat every month kind of thing, and every time it works because, people, it's the same version or it's a different version of the same story, but just tweaked a little bit, but just tweak it a little bit Again.
Speaker 2:It's. It's like if it worked before, it'll work again, um, but you do have to keep the. I think what scares people so much on Instagram, though, is that, say, a reel they did a couple of years ago did really well. If they reshare that reel, it might not do as well, but that's because the I'm trying to still find like the perfect word for this, it's formula format. However, you want to say it Right, yeah, um, is is different, but that's. But that's so cool, cause then you take what you did, but then you just tweak it to fit in today's. What people are consuming, Um, and that's. That's forever changing, and I think that's why people get scared. But if it's just a simple observing what reels are doing, well, why I tell people all the time when you see a reel, I don't care if it's not in your industry, if it's going crazy, figure out why.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's what I was going to ask you, so how can? People. So if they just scroll the reels tab, do that you recommend, and just see what's popping off and then be like, okay, how can I take my stuff and work with the same kind of concept? I?
Speaker 2:guess what was it that grabbed? My favorite thing is look at the comments because like then, because sometimes you're like, oh, this took off for the wrong reason, yeah yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:That's maybe not Lots of that too. Yeah, I saw that this morning. I was like, oh no, this poor person is getting eaten alive. But yeah, if you see everyone's like commenting, the trigger word for many shot and it's like, well, if you're trying to make sales, let's see, let's figure out that formula. I mean, I call them recipes but, um, but most of these people creating on didn't know it was a quote, unquote recipe. They just threw it up but it worked. So you just kind of got to look at what's working, the way people are enjoying content right now and I tell people all the time, like we're all human, like what's going on in our lives right now, right, it's winter, we're in our houses. Right, summer it's going to be different. Probably the content will shift because seasonally right, it's just, it's interesting to watch.
Speaker 2:It's all trends that go up and down and things come back around, and that's where you do have to be observant. But if you have your messaging lockdown and those core values and those things that you want to talk about all the time, you take those and then you put it into the recipes that work right now. That's it.
Speaker 1:You know. That actually leads perfectly into what I was going to ask you, um cause you. One thing you do stress a lot before even creating content is knowing your audience, because nothing's going to resonate if you don't know your audience. So how can, how can people get to know their audience and what they want? What do you recommend that they do so that they can know their audience better and start creating better content for them?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think the major things, um, if okay, cause a lot of people are like I don't even have a client yet. I'm like, well, cool, interview some prospective clients. I've gotten on the phone with so many people over the years, like accountants that just DM me and they're like can I just do a 10 minute interview? I'll give you a $10 gift card to Starbucks. I just want to ask you questions. And I'd get on Zoom and they'd be like all right, what would you be looking for in an account? What would you be looking for? What are your pain points? And I already had an account at the time, but I was like sure I'll help you, right, so you can interview people that you would potentially want to work with, offer them like a $5 gift card and just say can I ask you a few questions? Or, if they don't have a time, send them a survey. What are their pain points, what confuses them, what frustrates them? And then you use those words in your content.
Speaker 1:That's the key right. It's getting the actual words not what you think their pain point is.
Speaker 2:It's getting the words from them, yep, and even social business system. The course you took when I first launched it, I thought I knew why people were going to buy it. After it launched, we interviewed people. I did testimonials I think you even did one for me too and I was like that's why people are buying my course. I had no idea so, and again, as a marketer, I knew the second that course went out, I was like I got to start getting testimonials and asking people why the heck this? Or you know, I would get um DMs being like, oh my gosh, shannon, this da, da, da, da. I'm like, okay, why did that help you? What? What was the you know? Um, you want to get it first before they start being successful, cause then we sometimes forget why we need it. Yeah, when they're struggling or when they're first having their aha moments. So that's a big thing. Interviews, interview current people when they're first having their aha moments. So that's a big thing. Interviews, interview current people. Interview people you would like to be a you know, a magnet for.
Speaker 2:Then another thing is look at testimonials from other people in your niche that you look up to, not necessarily competitors that you're like, oh, like. Look at people that you're like oh, look at me, well that. You're like oh my gosh, I want to be her one day or him one day and I want a successful business like this. And look at what their testimonials say on their website. They're right there. And again, you're not stealing this, you're just grabbing the words. What are the words they use and what are the things they say? Hey, before finding so-and-so, I felt X Y Z. So then you can create a reel feeling X Y Z about blank, and then you give your tip. So you do not want to use your own jargon. I tell people all the time, right, I'm like if I just sat around and talked about insights and B-roll, which I do, but I explain what that is People are like what's B-roll?
Speaker 2:And I'm like oh, I learned that in high school because of TV production, but it's not common. So I use my account not just to say B-roll but like what is B-roll. And I wouldn't have known that until I started posting about B-roll and then people started commenting what the heck is B-roll? Okay, there's another content idea what the heck is B-roll? So look at the comments regularly. Ask your people. Look at the comments of your competitors, quote unquote. Look at their websites. For again, we're not stealing content, we're doing market research, and that takes time. No one wants to hear that. Yeah, it's the same as like oh, I want to lose weight or oh, I want to get really good at sewing. Okay, well, you can't just like throw, you know, do a couple taps on Instagram and get a thousand followers. You got to do the work. So I always say messaging first, social second.
Speaker 1:So yeah yeah, the messaging is so huge and even you know, I was a copywriter before I did social and it was the same thing Like I would be like. I need to know all this stuff about the audience of yours that I'm writing for before I can write for you. Because otherwise who are we talking to?
Speaker 2:And they don't even know this too, and they don't know.
Speaker 1:Nope, like, I think it's like a yeah, it would be like a guy or a girl, maybe like 25 to 75, you know, and you're like, okay, no, we got to narrow this down so much more. So, like, and people are afraid, I think, to get too narrow because I think they're afraid that they'll, you know, be excluding people. Yeah, but you have to be excluding people. Yeah, but you have to be a little bit specific.
Speaker 2:You don't have to put yourself in a box and only share one thing, but you do need to know who you're trying to attract, and oftentimes it's people similar to us or your niche. Quote unquote is the problem that you're solving. Um, but again, you want to be known for something. What is it you want to be known for? And I love looking at the comment section of big time creators accounts and I've you've probably seen me share it before.
Speaker 2:There's one creator I love and someone wrote on her TikTok. Someone said this account is my comfort. I can't explain it, and I was. I screenshot that I put on like so many masterclass slides of mine, and I feel the same way. When I go to hers, I feel my entire nervous system. It's interesting. We all follow people, for your account is someone's comic relief, someone's sigh of relief, someone's's. Oh, I feel better, I feel, I feel um, inspired, I feel motivated. What is your account? So, while you don't have to necessarily be like a niche, you, you are pumping out a feeling yeah, you got to know that too, there's a lot that you need to do, but don't let that, you know, don't let that stop you, or um, because also, just posting is gonna is what you need to start doing also to learn your audience, and they're going to tell you if they like it or not.
Speaker 1:Yeah, like I said, it's not that deep. So if something goes up and it doesn't land, okay, then move on. Some people want to delete it. It's like just let it ride and see what happens. Okay, so it didn't land, okay.
Speaker 2:So, moving on to the next thing, you won't know until you test, like everything I love. I don't know. I love when something doesn't do well, and there was something I shared a couple, I think a couple of weeks ago and I was like, hmm, I thought that was going to do a lot better. And then I just figure out why I don't get mad at anyone but myself. I'm like, obviously I missed the mark and we're literally one or two words away sometimes from absolutely grabbing.
Speaker 1:Yes, it's, yes, it's worse Even the little tweaks that I've seen you guys be able to do in a social squad society with people's like hooks or something like that, and then I'll be like oh, yeah, just that little like switcheroo of that and wow, now we've got magic. You know it's so.
Speaker 2:I love that stuff, so interesting nerd out over it. But yeah, so you know, people are like I need to start over my account. It's dead. I'm like you can absolutely revive a dead account. Yes, it's the work you do off Instagram. Yeah, you do really well on Instagram.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely, yes, totally. Um okay, so to finish us off, I do like to go over some quick answer questions that I like to ask every guest. So I mean, you have so much going on, I literally don't know how you do it all.
Speaker 2:It's crazy.
Speaker 1:So what's something that you do every day, or most days, that helps you to live your best life?
Speaker 2:Oh gosh, that's a good one. Well, I will say and this is probably not what you hear from most people but, like, honestly, creating content does bring me joy, like, like. So I have to create something every day. Yeah, even if I'm not posting, I will be working on an email or brainstorming some ideas For me. That is what lights me up. So, to live my best life, I pretty much, first thing in the morning, I try to get up before the girls, so I have at least, even if it's 10 minutes and it's like my little quiet time and I will in my brains like fresh and going. Sometimes my brain wakes me up at 5am and I just start blasting out ideas. But that's, I think that's one thing and it's something I do not only for my self, but obviously my business.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So it's not something, and I think everyone should find something in their business that's not like oh, I have to do this, Like I want to do this.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's so true. And like, I think people feel like, um, if they're working, quote unquote, outside of their hours they've set for themselves, they need to feel bad or feel guilty. But like, if it's something like you said, that's really let's the part that lights you up, that's the part you want to do. It's okay If it comes at 5am on Sunday morning. You know what I mean.
Speaker 2:Like it, doesn't it?
Speaker 1:doesn't have to be in the confines of you know, nine to three, Monday to Friday.
Speaker 2:I remember my mentor, sarah, while she was like you need to start honoring the fact that you love to create, and I was like you're right. And that was like three, and that's when I really started pumping out content more and really narrowing my message, because I still create content for so many people. But I was like I need to make sure I set time aside for myself and I started, you know, doing that Like first thing in the morning is when I come up with my ideas for the day. I don't have time to batch and I actually prefer not to batch. I batch video. But like the ideas, I'm like what am I in? Like today I know exactly what I would post Cause I had. I had my doctor's appointment this morning. I was in the car by myself and I was like got it, like I. So whatever it, honor that, even if it is work. I think yeah, because I know I would not be able to go about my day if I didn't get my ideas out.
Speaker 1:So yeah, and I've seen that about you. I know you've been like, okay, I'm coming, I just I'm got to do this thing, and then I'm getting once you've done that, but once you've gotten the creation done and out, I get. I see, see it in your stories how much calmer you seem after that.
Speaker 1:Because it is like it's not because you feel like a an obligation. You're not doing it because you feel like I have to post it. You're doing it because, like, okay, I got that idea out and I really needed to be cut, like for your own self or your own sense of like satisfaction Cause you love it so much.
Speaker 2:That's so funny. You noticed that Cause, yeah, I'm like, and then I told my husband I was like maybe I do need to start posting in the morning so I can just you get it out there In the mornings. Once I get the ideas out, we're getting lunches together, we're getting the girls at the door and then I'm doing client calls, so I usually don't get to post till later. Again, there's no magic time to post, so I post when it's convenient for me, but I'm on the edge of my seat to put it out. But that's how I want my clients to feel about their content, even if five people like it. Obviously, if five people like it and they want huge growth, we'll figure that out. But I'm like were you excited? Did it make you happy and do you know that it helps someone today?
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's what I've said to clients in the past too. How can I help or how can I make someone like feel something? Feel something, yes.
Speaker 2:Even if it's the littlest thing, if it's just a giggle that they get to say. I mean my husband and I, you know, I always ask people like, how do you use social media?
Speaker 1:They're like I'm usually yeah Well, I love the series that you do with him and that's such a good I meant to mention that earlier like such a good way to to get figure out. Like what your people don't know is like ask your spouse, cause they probably don't know, and then that gives you good ideas. You're like oh, the rest of the world probably doesn't know that either. That's a really good, simple tip that I could give.
Speaker 2:Ryan sits next to me all the time and I'm like how do you not know how to do that?
Speaker 1:So it just shows like you have to share the tips again and again, and that's okay. Yeah, people aren't always listening.
Speaker 2:Even if they're right next to you, they're not listening, and even if they saved it, they never went back to look at it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think people do get afraid to repeat themselves. They think that every new message or every new post has to be a brand new message and something they've never said before. Something that's never been shared before on the internet ever, and it's like it does not. Every post is going to be a masterpiece, and it also should be something you've said before. So that again, like you said earlier, what do you want to be known for?
Speaker 1:You got to keep repeating what you want to be known for. If you want to be known for it, or you're never going to be known for it if you're not repeating yourself.
Speaker 2:Seriously. And I know people say oh, you need to follow my friend Shauna because X, oh, you need to follow, like what is that? You need to know that, and if I can't tell you how many times I've worked with people, they're like I don't know why people would follow me valuable. It's just like you know what and how much stuff have I thrown out? That's gone. People are like Shannon absolutely not. We do not care about that. You know, you don't know until you do it, and then you can joke about it.
Speaker 2:And I just joke about it. I'm like well, that didn't go.
Speaker 1:Well, yeah, I remember it was like you're like, so now I know that nobody likes my LinkedIn posts on Instagram.
Speaker 2:So we're doing away with that. I was like, wow, y'all were really. Uh, told me how you feel about that. Like it was like crap engagement. I thought it was so funny, you had to be okay with it. You're like, well, all right, that sucked Um, but then you just repurposed it for LinkedIn, yeah.
Speaker 1:Oh my God, that's so funny. Okay, best advice you've ever been given, or advice you would give to your younger self.
Speaker 2:Ooh, I think the best advice I was ever given was very early in my, when I was not taking myself seriously because I didn't think anyone would take myself seriously. And it was just a friend of mine and she was like Shannon, are you self-employed or no, are you shoot? How'd she say it? I think she said are you a freelancer or a business owner? It was something like that. Like like you need to start taking yourself seriously. You are a business owner Cause I always shied away If people were like, what do you do? I'm like, oh, I just do social media, and then I would just kind of walk away.
Speaker 1:Oh, I just yeah. Oh, I just is like a term, I'm the same. I say just, I have to take it out of all of my stuff that I just was checking. I just get this word out of here.
Speaker 2:It's not helping anything. It's the people pleaser in us. We're like, we're just be humble, you know, but it's like no. And she was like no, you are not just some freelancing which is fine too. I did start as freelancing but she's like you are a business owner and you need to start acting as such.
Speaker 1:Basically, she was like you need to take yourself seriously if you want other people to.
Speaker 2:Yes, exactly, and um, I still shy away and get all clammed up and red when people, when I meet people in person, they're like oh, but it's like you know, I, I. It's hard for me to wrap my head around the growth that I've had and the success my business has had and cause I never thought anyone would take me Cause again. No one would hire me and every boardroom I was in I would sit in the back and be like please, no one look at me, no eye contact, um, so I think that's the best advice I ever got was like no, like you're you're allowed to to be successful, like you're allowed to do this.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, you're allowed to take up space. Yeah, you're allowed to take up.
Speaker 2:I remember we were in Nashville for our retreat and I was trying to get a picture in front of Dierks Bentley's, like bar and Emily, we were cracking up. She was trying to take a picture of me and then all of a sudden, out of nowhere, this whole crowd of people comes in and I'm like I'm trying to take up space. So I was like it's okay, everyone. And then finally I was like I want to take up space, I'm trying to. It was so funny. It was like this moment where I was like, darn it.
Speaker 1:I'm doing it, taking my own advice. That's so funny. And do you have a favorite quote?
Speaker 2:oh my gosh, you know what I don't, but I do. I am a believer. So um live by faith, not by sight, is always something I've loved, it's like what I wrote in my yearbook. It's what.
Speaker 1:I right, it's like that. I love that.
Speaker 2:Faith not by sight, just like knowing, and you know it goes beyond just you know, being a Christian. It's like no, like know that you can do this and stop looking at everything else. Like just.
Speaker 1:Yes, stop looking at everyone else. I say this to my clients all the time Put your eyes on your own paper.
Speaker 2:Stop looking at everything and even if you think your content's crap, it might not be to your people, right? Like don't. That's another thing. People are like oh well, their camera's better, they're this, I do not care, do you like? Do you see all my grainy reels? Like, yeah, no one cares about that anymore?
Speaker 1:no one freaking cares, so yeah that can't be that like just trust yourself and your gut and yeah that's a really good one for a lot of the creatives, a lot of the creatives out here, we're like you know, and then you know the other people are like are the analytical?
Speaker 1:people in our lives are like where's the data, where's the numbers, where's the facts? And we're like but I feel it, I feel it and I really, but you should, if you feel it, I believe there's something to that A thousand percent and it's like again we don't want to follow accounts that all look the same.
Speaker 2:So stop looking at everything and just do what feels true to you.
Speaker 1:Oh, I love that. Yeah, carbon copies of other people is boring and people will see through it.
Speaker 2:It's a lot of that right now. So that's a good way to stick out right now. Yeah, that's a good way to stick out right now, yeah.
Speaker 1:A little different, yeah, okay. Well, thank you so much. I'm like, so like. I know you don't like to take these compliments, but I'm so honored, honestly, that you like again. I've you've been my mentor for years, and not that I've never spoken to you Obviously we have, but not like this. I just appreciate your time so much. I know you're so busy. On that note, how can people work with you, right?
Speaker 2:now, where can they find you? Yeah, I'm on Instagram a lot. Obviously. You can DM me, um, and my website is just my namecom, and the best way to work with me is social squad society, uh Society and the Reels Lab.
Speaker 1:Right now, those are the next two. Yeah, the Reels Lab is blowing up. Tell them all about the Reels Lab because I really think a lot of people would love this service. It's incredible.
Speaker 2:I honestly thought maybe 20 people would join, and I was like and how many do you have now?
Speaker 2:Like 220. It's insane. No, it's insane and I'm like this is just silly. So, again, listening to people knowing what they needed, and you launch that offer and it goes bananas. Um, so, yeah, what it is is every week, every Monday, I do a content drop, uh, for reels for you to create that week.
Speaker 2:But what's cool is every industry has its own prompts. So if you're a wedding photographer, there's something for you. If you're a realtor, if you're a maker, if you're a construction, in construction or plumbing even has a category. So there's audios. And then I also conclude a video every week where I'm kind of giving you instruction of what to do, cause I know like I'm very visual. So the video is there too, so that you can really see how I want you to film it.
Speaker 2:But the reason I love it is because, real, the way even the reels that I shared in the Reels Lab five months ago look different than the ones today, because I'm watching what's working. So it's very based on what's actually working. And then there's also a script every week, too, to help you with your talk to cameras, and then there's a live Q&A to ask your questions every week. So it's basically like what I tell people. It's like me being your social media manager and me saying this is the content I would create for you if I was your social media manager. So go do it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and you are nothing if not like an over-deliverer. So I mean, I think I said in one of your posts recently, you guys want some hooks. Okay, here's 15. Like, you're just always providing so much value, even like you know social business and we all still we still get a monthly call and I did this course like three years ago. I mean, you are such an over deliverer of your time and your genius brain and you like just think in ways that most people can't. So, honestly, if you need social media help, you need to get in the reals lab, because this thing is incredible and the fact that you give like you're not just like giving audios and going go have fun, like you're telling people exactly how to use it and like prompts for every niche. It's wild. Like that is just like it's unlike anything else that's out there.
Speaker 1:So, yes, and I'll have everything in the show notes. So I mean I I hope so many people are sure already following you, but if you're not, I mean you'll want to. So thank you again. So much, shannon, I so so appreciate you.