What I Learnt In 2018 – PLUS My Little Formula To Help You Be A Social Superstar!

A year in review blog with a difference here guys.  My official first year in business is June 2019 so I’ll be saving all the good juicy details until then because I still have 5 more months to learn and grow!

BUT 2018 has been a huge year of learning for so many reasons and I really want to share that with you all. PLUS I know how many of you are planning for your 2019 now, so I wanted to give you some gold about how to make some clear plans for your socials that will serve you well.

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My 2018 At A Glance

Wow!  This year has been a huge year of learning.  And I know a lot of you all have felt this too.  You know it wasn’t just where you were it was in the stars guys.  If you are into spiritual stuff like I am, I had so many readings this year and did so much personal work so I know that this year was meant to be a year of growth, challenge and learning.  The universe said so!

The good news is next year is all about seeing the fruits of your hard labour so get ready girls it’s gonna be a wild ride!

I started The Social Hub in June, after MANY months of deliberating about whether I should, whether I was good enough, whether I could make it as a newbie in a world with so many other established and amazing women.

I left my 9-5 job in banking in January, went on a family cruise and spent some time on my networking marketing business before I decided to stop fussing around about following this dream.

See after 16 years in finance I was done, I had been for a while, but it had also been good to me over the years.  Gave me my coaching stripes after years in management roles, gave me many valued friends, gave me a steady income while I was a single mum and so much more.  But it was time.

I had my network marketing business that would help pay the bills and I knew I had to find myself again as a business person.  I knew I wasn’t corporate anymore, I knew while I loved the network marketing company I am with that it wasn’t all mine (someone still sets your comp plan & prices, not you) and I knew I was born to do something that would be part of more than just a product or service.

So I bit the bullet took my social marketing training, know-how and total blinding passion and started The Social Hub.

I started with 1 course – that was it, I had no idea what platforms like zapier were, no idea how to build any of what I wanted but just knew I would figure it out.

See that is the thing about me, I am a tenacious bitch and when I set out to do something I make sure I do it.  Yes, I might make some epic mistakes along the way but I also make some epic and awesome things happen.

Now as 2018 ends I have 3 Online Programmes, 3 FREE Courses, 1 Online Coaching Academy and in Feb 2019 I am launching my first premium 12 Week Programme ‘The Social Superstar Formula‘.  I have coached over 30 women individually, I’ve run two 4 Week Group Workshops locally, my first event in August was a sell out, I have spoken at 4 events, I have an Instagram eBook, a Social Media Captions eBook, a 2019 Content Planner and have bought on my first team member.

I built my own website, I built all my courses myself, I created all my imagery, artwork, flyers, eBooks, lead magnets EVERYTHING myself.

PLUS I watched my girls finish years 2 & 4, helped them navigate life, put my first ever pet down in April (I am still crying about that), fell in love with my husband a million times over every day, maintained a house (badly) and had a social life.

I also met so many amazing women on this journey and made new friends. (I realised I need to let go of some too). When you are approaching 40 you sometimes think you don’t have room for more people but the women I have met this year that have become a part of my life made me realise I have plenty of room for more awesome bitches. AND they have given me more gifts in a spiritual, intellectual and emotional sense than I could have ever imagined.

When I read this it sounds CRAZY busy and it was.  But it was a labour of love and I even though that much growth in 7 months was hard as fuck guys I would not have had it any other way.

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What 2018 taught me

In the words of a good, and new friend, of mine, 2018 taught me how to ‘Fuck The How’

I learnt to stop worrying about how things would get done and just remembered that inside me someone who loves to go for it.  I have always been a person that took life by the balls and went for everything in my path.  Somewhere in the midst of adulting, becoming a parent, a divorce and things not always going to plan I forgot who that Stacey was.

Well, she is back and better than ever!

This year also taught, and reinforced, the value of self-worth.  I always have and always will worry about what people think, but I am getting better at worrying more about what I think of myself.

It is hard to love yourself guys!  But when you put yourself first you find respect for yourself that no one else can give you.  There is a saying ‘If you don’t value yourself, then no-one else will’. And it is so god damned true.  Working on yourself is the biggest and most powerful job you can undertake.

2018 taught me that I need a cleaner & a housekeeper.  I don’t want to do those jobs, I don’t like them, I can do much better things with my time and in 2019 I will be hiring these people.

I learnt that the support of a man that loves you is just about the most amazing gift you can have.  Without my husband and his unwavering love and trust in my abilities, I would have given up on myself long ago.

I learnt that your kids grow up too fast.  Ella turned 10 this year and for the first time as a mum felt the pang of she is growing up, in 2 years she will finish Primary school and in 6 years she will get her licence.  My days of being the most important person in her world are numbered, soon it will be fashion, friends and boys. 

If anyone out there my age remembers the book ‘Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret’ where this tween goes through the stage of getting her monthlys.  Well I am about there and I wish I could find that book to give her cause I am not ready to have that talk!

I learnt to stop saying yes to things I don’t want to do.  When you say no to those things you open up space for more of what you want.  That goes for so many things guys.  Social events, friendships, clients….  So many things.

There is way more but you have holidays to get back to so.. yeah that’s the big ones anyway!  I am far from perfect and I will never stop learning but I feel I moved ahead in leaps and bounds this year.

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How You Can Plan For Success In 2019

I don’t tell you all this to impress you, it’s just my story and I am just one person.  I tell you this to impress upon you that anything is possible and you can do anything you put your mind to……. You just have to be prepared to do the work, even when the work stinks like shit and is harder than anything you will ever have to do.

So this final part of the blog is about some tips to help you set up for 2019….and I’ll let you in on a secret this is what I am doing for my business right now too!

So here goes:

1. Review your client profile.

Yep I am banging on about that again.  But now is the best time to do it.  I bet my best hat on the fact you worked with some people you didn’t really want to this year and some you did.  You would have attracted some dream clients and some not so dreamy ones.  At the end of the day YOU attracted them so what does that tell you?  Review the people you worked with/or became your clients and customers last year.  Which ones do you want to keep attracting, which ones do you not want to attract anymore and which ones have you not attracted that are on your dream client profile?
What did this teach you?  Do you need to amend your prices, do you need to put out some new styles of content, do you need to collaborate with different people, do you need to join some new networking groups?
Reviewing who you worked with and comparing it to who you want to is a powerful combination you will learn so much from this process.

2.  What are your business goals for 2019? 

Where do you want your business to be in 12 months?  What are your business objectives?  Where do you want growth and where do you just need to stay on the same path?

For example:  You might want to work on your client retention for 2019, perhaps you have bought on a bunch of new clients and that is your capacity BUT working on your ability to gain some repeat business could mean x amount to you.  This might mean some new processes for following people up, loving on your existing clients and creating repeat business incentives.

I know my follow up processes are something I am fine tuning in 2019, never be ashamed to say you need to improve something.  In growth comes success because most won’t go there.

3. Based on your ideal client profile and your business goals set your social media goals. 

This is different for everyone.  Make sure you social media goals align to what your business goals are.  A lack of congruency will mean a lack of execution of both items.
Do you want to gain more followers, increase engagement, be more of an authority in your field, convert more clients or create more brand awareness?  To name a few.
For example.  Person 1 might have enough existing clients so social media might be more for brand awareness so when you need to have a referral source you have a tribe of followers ready to buy from you.  Person 2 might be in a growth phase so a tight marketing strategy designed for conversion is what would work best.

4. Once you have reviewed all these steps do a mini social audit and compare where you are now against that.    

Facebook: Go to Insights and head to People & Posts to view some insights into your audience and what posts are the most popular

Instagram: You can use an online tool like Phalnx or Triberr to calculate your engagement rate and also check your insights for the most engaging posts.

The content you produced is what attracted your existing follower base.  So how does that compare to where you want to be next year?  What alterations can you make to your content to attract more of those people?  What content do you need to produce more of, what content do you need to give the heave ho? What content do you need to alter or start using to make you more successful?  EG. Blogs or more personal branding.

As a side note.  Sales posts often don’t get the amount of engagement that your other content marketing does.  The reason is that you need to be A) Really selling to your clients’ pain points and how you can solve them. So did you have a structured sales copy in those posts and B) If your followers aren’t ready (yet) then they won’t take immediate action.  There is a space for these posts in your content plan though so don’t be alarmed or disappointed when you see they weren’t as successful. You need them in your marketing just as much as your other add value content.  BUT do a little audit of how many sales posts you had, perhaps you had too many, remember people don’t want to sold to all the time.

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Want A 2019 Roadmap?

I could not possibly give a roadmap that works for every business in one blog BUT I can definitely help each business with a roadmap that will work for you. 

I believe from the bottom of my toes to the top of my ever-expanding catalogue of grey hairs that tailoring a roadmap for each business is what will give you the point of difference.

Yes, I have a few generic 7 Step Processes that can help, but to get real strategies and results that work you need something made just for you.  It would be like making a cake and expecting all the gluten intolerant and nut allergic kids to eat it, there is no one size fits all.

What I CAN offer is a Savvy Social Media Audit where I can take the guessing out of reviewing your socials and hand you on a silver platter what is working and what is not based on all the points above.

I CAN also offer a little sneak peak at The Social Superstar Formula due for release in Feb 2019.  This is your own little Nirvana of specialised roadmap rock n roll.  If you want me to be your social media bestie then this is how you do it.

Not one to love a shameless self promote I will just leave that there and let you decide if you want to check it out or not.

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What did 2018 teach you?

Again, I don’t tell you all this to be someone that is bigger or better than you.  I am learning every day and to be honest I learn something from everyone I meet, I make that a mission actually.

So I would love to hear what 2018 taught you.

Send me a Facebook message, email me, DM me on the gram or send a carrier pigeon.  Doesn’t matter!  But I do know the more us chicks bond and support each other the more we will grow.

Women rule the world so let’s help each other be the best rulers we can be!

Until 2019 babes!
Stace x