Why Social Media is NOT a Marketing Strategy (with Ruthie Sterrett)

Angela Frank: 00:00:00

Welcome to The Growth Pod.

Today on The Growth Pod, we have Ruthie Sterrett, who is the founder and CEO of the Consistency Corner, a full service marketing agency that provides strategy and implementation for service based businesses.

With over 15 years of experience, Ruthie is uniquely qualified to help CEOs take off the marketing hat and get back to leading their company and serving their clients. Ruthie, welcome to the podcast.

Ruthie Sterrett: 00:00:24

Yes, thank you so much for having me. I'm excited for our conversation today.

Angela Frank: 00:00:28

I'm very excited. I think you are going to help us better understand marketing strategy and you're going to share why social media is not a marketing strategy.

Ruthie Sterrett: 00:00:40

This is a hill that like I will die on that. Social media alone is not a strategy. Just like a coffee cup isn't coffee, it's a container.

And yes, we need to fill that container, but we also need to fill other containers because social media is so noisy and it's such a big part of our lives. I think people can get really stuck focusing too much effort on that and then not enough effort on the other things.

But the secret is for the people, for most people, if social media is working for them, it's because they're also doing other things.

Angela Frank: 00:01:17

I love that. So when you are working with your clients, what is the channel mix that you recommend?

Obviously social media you've mentioned is an important part of that, but what are those other cups that, that you need to fill in your marketing strategy?

Ruthie Sterrett: 00:01:29

Yeah, the two other kind of non negotiables for me with my clients are email marketing and long form content. So email marketing, obviously we all know that social media, you do not own your audience.

Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, somebody else owns that audience and it can go away at any time. So your email list, you actually own those contacts.

And I'm not saying you have to be Bath and Body Works and email your list every day, three times a day. But you want to make sure that you are keeping in contact with them on a pretty consistent basis.

That could be once a month, that could be once a quarter depending upon your business. But making sure that you have that email list and you are communicating and nurturing your audience through email.

The second one is long form content. And this can look different for different businesses.

But typically what that is going to be is a podcast, a YouTube channel with longer videos, or a blog with like articles or long form content. And like I said, this can look different for different businesses.

For some businesses, long form content might be a private video channel where you're only showing it to clients or if you're like, okay, yes, I want to start a blog someday, but I'm not ready just yet. It's substack or it's longer emails or LinkedIn newsletters.

But the thing about long form content that I think people don't quite realize is it compounds and you can use long form content over and over and over again to a create social media, but B, nurture the relationship with your audience.

And once you've created it, you can keep referring back to it and so you're not having to constantly answer the same question, say the same thing, and you can send people back to those pieces of content you've already created to help establish that relationship.

Angela Frank: 00:03:15

Yeah, I love what you were saying about being able to refer back to the piece of content.

At one point I was working with a consultant consultant and she was training me on this really unique email service provider that I didn't have any experience with for like huge enterprise clients.

Anyway, a lot of what she was doing just in her consulting is, you know, I have a blog post on this topic and I'll send it to you after we get off the call. So it recaps everything that we went over.

So not only was it a great marketing tool, but it was a piece of legacy knowledge that she was able to continue to refer her clients back to over and over again. But one of the things that you talk a lot about is reducing the overwhelm of content creation.

Can you share a little bit more about your strategy for reducing the overwhelm and making sure that you're having the highest impact possible in your socials without like living in social land all day, every day, constantly scrolling.

Ruthie Sterrett: 00:04:11

Well, the first thing that I want to remind everybody of is that consistent does not equal constant. So we can be consistent on social media without showing up 24, 7.

That might be one post a week, that might be one time in stories a week, that might be one reel a month. It doesn't matter what it is, as long as we're consistent.

Now, depending upon your business goals and how social media fits into your overall marketing strategy, the level of consistency or intensity you're going to want to be putting in is going to be different, but it doesn't have to be.

And for a lot of business owners, if you're using email marketing, if you're using long form content, if you're driving people to your website through SEO or referrals or trade shows or networking events or so many other things, social media just kind of becomes like a little tiny piece of the puzzle.

And then you can actually implement a strategy called the Instagram 9 grid, or some people might call it a static grid or Instagram puzzle, where you set it and forget it and you don't have to post at all. And we can talk a little bit more about the nuance of a 9 grid and what it is and who it's for.

But even if you don't do a nine grid and you're like, I want to post, but I don't know when I want to post or how often, I don't know what I can commit to.

A three grid which puts the three posts at the top of your profile pinned there so you have that consistent messaging no matter when someone lands on your profile. So that's one of the things that I recommend with social media.

I also want to touch on with long form content, since we were just kind of chatting about that in the beginning of creating long form content, it can feel like, oh my gosh, this is going to take 100 years and I can't record all these videos and I can't write all these blogs. And what I typically ask my clients to commit to is let's do two pieces of long form content a month. That's not a ton.

I know it's probably more than they've been doing, but it's not a ton. So let's do two a month and then after the first year, let's go down to one a month and then go back and edit or refresh the older piece of content.

So that way we make sure it stays relevant to what's happening in the market, what's happening for your current service office offerings and in your business. But you're not having to reinvent the wheel every single time. And for product based businesses, you know this is so true.

You're typically going to have content around how your products fit in in different seasons, different holidays, different types of, you know, things that people are thinking about throughout the year and then you just go back and refresh them. But it's that like initial effort of getting it out there that can feel daunting. So just know that that level of effort isn't forever.

Angela Frank: 00:06:55

I love what you were saying. Well, two things I really loved. One is the difference between consistency and intensity and really differentiating that.

Just because you are being consistent doesn't mean you have to have this super high intensity where your pulse posting multiple times per day per platform.

But the other thing that you were mentioning, which I think is so important is the concept of repurposing your content, but you're not just copy and pasting it, you are updating it, but you're not reinventing the wheel. And I think a lot of people, when they work on repurposing their content or repurposing strategy, they're like, great, I'll just post the same thing.

But I love how you're like, no, make sure that you update it and keep it fresh.

And then that way you're still providing value to the people who are are connecting with you online, but you're also reducing the amount of time commitment.

Ruthie Sterrett: 00:07:47

Yeah, for sure.

Angela Frank: 00:07:49

So when you are setting out to improve a marketing strategy for a brand, where should you start?

Ruthie Sterrett: 00:07:55

Wow, that's a great question. And depending upon where the brand is in their business journey, the the first thing that I probably want to look at is brand clarity and messaging.

And you might think like, oh, well, this is only for brands who have been in business a short amount of time. Like we want to go back and look at their brand messaging.

But it can also be for a brand who's been in business for a long time because the market has evolved, their customers have evolved, their service offering has evolved, Things change.

You know, I worked for a brand that had been in business for 15 years and was an eight figure brand and their messaging strategy was not working anymore. So we had to make some shifts and some pivots. So the first thing when I work with a client is a brand audit.

We make sure we're super clear on your mission, vision, values.

We make sure we're super clear on your ideal client and the problems that you solve for them, what those problems are, how you solve them, how those problems make them feel. Because if you're a product based business, let's say people can buy stuff anywhere.

So it's not about the stuff, it's about so much more than the stuff. And if you're a service based business, chances are you're not the only one who does what you do.

So you've got to get really clear on what makes you different, your unique point of view and how that relates to your individual ideal client.

So once we've done that kind of overall brand and messaging audit, the next step is to look at our marketing roadmap and say, okay, what are our business goals and what do we need to do to reach them? And we have to be realistic about time.

And I regularly say that the marketing industry is like the diet industry where everybody wants a diet pill, everybody wants Ozempic, but like that's not real life.

And we have to be realistic about what your budget is, about what your bandwidth is, and about what your business goals are and craft a strategy that can get us there without like lying to ourselves that, oh, hey, if I post once a week and send one email a month and I currently have like 10 website visitors a month, I'm suddenly going to sell a million dollars worth of services like that. That's not real. But if we get, look at the data, we work backwards.

We create those kind of pathways and stops along the way, those mile markers along the way. We can create a marketing map that you can stick to, that you can be consistent with, that is intense enough to move the needle if we give it time.

Angela Frank: 00:10:35

I love that. When you are seeing somebody who has set out to create a marketing strategy, let's talk about content, a content marketing strategy.

What are some of the biggest mistakes and missteps that you see brands making as it relates to the content strategy that they're creating?

Ruthie Sterrett: 00:10:52

The first one that I think of off the top of my head is I see people leverage SEO keyword research, which is great. It's very important and very helpful. But sometimes the keyword research is giving them keywords that is not aligned with their brand.

And I'll give you an example, somebody who sells luxury home goods and sells, let's say like really high end serveware. You know, there might be trending questions around like how to clean my countertops, which is fine. That's a trending topic.

You might be able to rank for it because of the keyword difficulty and the volume. But is your customer who's willing to spend $700 on a plate cleaning their own countertops? Like, probably not.

They probably have someone else cleaning their countertops.

are wrapping up the summer of: 2024

It was like the brat summer. And then it was, everything is very demure and these, these trends come and go. That was the Barbie trend last summer.

Knowing whether or not that makes sense for your brand. If your brand is, you know, Gen Alpha and Gen Z, yes, those trends make sense.

If your brand is baby Boomers, you don't have to talk about demure and brat. They don't know what it is. So don't waste Your time, you know?

Angela Frank: 00:12:28

Yeah, I love that, really knowing the audience. And I will also add an example of misaligned content.

There was an energy company that I had consulted for and they did like B2B, so you can get energy contracts for your enterprise level business. And I was looking through their content and they had a How to decorate for Halloween blog post.

Ruthie Sterrett: 00:12:50

Oh, no, no.

Angela Frank: 00:12:52

And I'm like, it's a little misaligned, so people do it. And the real life examples are quite extreme. So if you're like, who would do that? Well, people do.

Ruthie Sterrett: 00:13:03

And, you know, there's a way to. That made me think of an example of. So I live in Florida, the Tampa Airport. They have great content.

Like, it's funny, it's culturally relevant, it's on trend. And you might think like, well, why the heck does that matter for an airport? But they've positioned themselves as a destination.

Florida's a destination, Tampa's a destination. People are looking at that airport versus the Sarasota airport or the Clearwater airport.

And so it's all again, in that knowing and that nuance of who are you selling to? What do they care about? And how have you positioned yourself? And then creating content that supports that.

Angela Frank: 00:13:48

Yeah, I think that's so important.

And it goes back to what you were saying too, about, like, being super clear on your brand identity, voice and goals and then bringing that through your content.

What are some of the social media trends that you're keeping an eye on and how are you helping your clients prepare for any upcoming changes that you see in the social media landscape? Trends or just things that you're trying to keep abreast of?

Ruthie Sterrett: 00:14:12

Yeah, that's a great question. One reminder that I will give everybody, is that Instagram in and of itself, which is my primary platform? It's typically where I hang out.

I support clients there. I also support clients on X, LinkedIn, Facebook. Although to be honest, nobody's really using Facebook for business anymore, at least in my world.

Threads a little bit. But Instagram in general, let's kind of start there. What we need to realize is that Instagram in and of itself is three platforms.

So Reels is a platform, the Feed is a platform, and Stories is a platform. And so we really have to think about that as three platforms and give ourselves grace in how much bandwidth and time all of that takes.

Because it's like saying you have to be TikTok, Facebook and Threads all in one. Because it really is three. And so when people think about Instagram as part of their strategy, if that's your primary platform. That's totally okay.

But I would not layer in another platform until you feel really good and really consistent with your Instagram strategy. And that's one thing that people think, like you said about repurposing, oh, I'll just repurpose. I'll just be everywhere all at once.

It doesn't always work because the platforms are nuanced. There's a little bit different vibe in each one. You, you know, people go to these platforms for different things.

And also let's remind everyone that social media, the first word in social media is social. So if you're not engaging with the community because you don't hang out there, you're just pumping out content like it's not going to do any good.

So when you're going to choose your primary platform, choose the one where you hang out so you can engage with the community and be a part of like the social network that's been being built.

Angela Frank: 00:16:04

I love that.

I think that one of the things that you said during our conversation today was really leveraging your Instagram feed in either a three grid or a nine grid. If somebody is listening and they're like, wow, this is me. I don't have any pinned posts. What would you recommend for those first three pinned posts?

I know that your profile is a perfect example of the 9 grid.

I was doing some little recon on you last night, but if somebody's looking to just do a quick win right now on their social, what would you recommend?

Ruthie Sterrett: 00:16:36

Yeah, so a three grid. There's kind of five key reasons that I would use a three grid and depending upon the reason, I'm going to put different things in them.

But those reasons are typically like, I don't know what my posting schedule is going to be, so I don't know how regularly I'm going to be able to post. It might even be like, I'm taking a break from Instagram and I'm going somewhere else.

I, maybe I'm heading over to LinkedIn, maybe I'm taking a social media hiatus.

Whatever it is, it could be that you're launching something and you really want to make sure you've got a big presence at that top of the grid for whatever it is you're launching. Or maybe you run multiple social media profiles. You know, I see this a lot for some of my clients who are multi passionate entrepreneurs.

They have a couple different companies.

So in that three grid, we might be introducing them and pointing over to the profile for one of their companies or more than one of their companies, or from the company profile, we might be pointing back to them as the founder.

And then if you have something that's really time sensitive, whether it's like an event or a collaboration or a free resource, that is like truly time sensitive, a 3 grid can be great to make sure that that stuff doesn't get lost in the feed.

But with all five of those scenarios to break it down and make it a little bit simpler, you're going to want to have like an introduction post, like, who am I? Who is the brand? What do we do? You're going to want to have a post that is like, who are we for? What problem do we solve?

And if you have a free resource, that's a great place to, you know, point to that. And then in the third post, it's really about, like, how do we solve this problem? What are our offers?

And what is maybe some of the authority we have in terms of credentials, experience, testimonials.

So that, that way again, when somebody lands on your profile, they've heard about you from somebody else or they came across one of your reels and they went to check you out or whatever, they're like, oh, this is who they are. This is who they're for. This is what they do. And that's all right there at the top.

Angela Frank: 00:18:42

I love that. I think that's such a powerful way to give someone a crash course in how you can help them, who you are and your credentials.

And it's definitely something that I'm gonna do on my profile.

Ruthie Sterrett: 00:18:55

Yeah.

You know, I hear from some business owners, a lot of times from service providers, I'll hear this, they'll say, well, we don't really get clients from Instagram. Okay, I hear you people are not discovering you on Instagram, but that doesn't mean they're not looking at you on Instagram.

Because if you're doing the great work that I know you're doing, people are referring you, they're talking about you to their friends, their family, their colleagues, their network.

And those people are doing what we do as we go look people up on the Internet and we look to your social media profile to figure out if, like, you're our vibe, if you're for us, what you do, and if you've kind of ignored your social media and the last post is of your cat or your vacation or your Christmas tree three years ago, people are like, oh, never mind. I'm like, they're not really for me.

And you might be missing out on an opportunity to nurture that relationship with just like three little pieces of real estate. That could make a big difference.

Angela Frank: 00:19:55

Yeah, 100%. I think that you don't realize the research that goes on when somebody's looking.

And something that I talk a lot about is this concept of creating psychological safety around your brand. Making sure that anywhere somebody encounters you online reinforces that image.

And so I loved your example of somebody going to an Instagram profile and your most recent picture is like Christmas and of your cat. That does not reinforce their image of you or your brand.

Ruthie Sterrett: 00:20:25

Yeah. And that's not to say that like a photo from back to school and your dog and your vacation, like doesn't fit. It absolutely can fit.

But if that's all people are seeing, then they're like, oh, I don't really get what this person is about. I don't know who they're for, what they do or how they can help me.

So we've got to make sure that those little personal moments are sprinkled in strategically versus like the last thing someone sees.

Angela Frank: 00:20:50

Ruthie, you are a CEO. You help other CEOs improve their marketing strategy. And you've been doing this for over 15 years. I'm sure it keeps you very busy.

But I'm curious to know what's next for you.

Ruthie Sterrett: 00:21:02

Yeah.

So, you know, it's interesting when you introduced me and kind of looked from my bio what some of the language was and you talked about helping service providers, I am in the middle of a kind of pivot and shift in my business.

And I will tell you that the messaging, the understanding your ideal audience, your ideal client, like it doesn't ever stop because it's always evolving.

And I have a 20 year corporate career in retail and so I am kind of pivoting my business back to the retail space and focusing on product based businesses. So right now we're realigning some of our packages the way we support people. Absolutely.

We'll still do nine grid support for service based businesses who I think can totally benefit from that content strategy. But working more on social media support. Social media marketing for retailers right now, I love that.

Angela Frank: 00:21:54

I think that's so exciting.

If someone is listening and they're interested in getting in touch with you either for the 9 grid or because they want to keep abreast of when you are rolling out those product based business offerings, where's the best place for them to do that?

Ruthie Sterrett: 00:22:07

Yeah, I hang out on Instagram. That's my platform of choice.

So at the consistency corner and then you can always learn all about our offerings and what we're doing at the consistency corner.com.

Angela Frank: 00:22:16

On our website and that will be linked in the description.

If you are interested at all about learning more about ruthie services, her 9 grid is amazing and a perfect example of the type of work that she's able to produce for clients, so I highly recommend checking that out. Ruthie, thank you so much for joining us today. I really appreciated all the insights you shared with our audience.

Ruthie Sterrett: 00:22:36

Yes, thank you so much for having me.