This is a novel concept to a lot of people, which is funny to me because it's always just seemed like an obvious approach to business marketing in my mind. But you should be treating yourself as a small business even if you aren't. Think: dentists and doctors with their own practice, salesmen, realtors, insurance agents, etc. This is how you set yourself apart from all the others in your industry even if you aren't technically a small business. 

Create business accounts on social media for yourself, spend time engaging with your ICA, create behind the scenes videos, go live, post entertaining, thoughtful content, develop a loyal following, and the in-person business will come easily. 

Hardly anyone in any of the industries that aren't conventionally considered small businesses are marketing in this way. Get started and get ahead of the game before everyone else catches up and the return on investment will be tenfold. Even small businesses in the trades such as plumbers and electricia...

How do you know what words and phrasing you should be using in your content? Let me let you in on a little secret. The language you should be using is the exact language that your audience uses. For instance, if you hear them complaining over and over again about needing help meal planning, or not being able to find the motivation to turn off Netflix and get off the couch, create content that not only revolves around those topics, but uses those exact words. Maybe you create a freebie that is titled "Motivate Yourself To Get Off The Couch in 3 Easy Steps." See? In this way, you don't need to come up with your own content! Your ICA will tell you exactly what they want from you without even knowing it. And by using their actual words, you ensure your content will resonate with them too. You could create the same freebie with the title "How To Exercise in 3 Easy Steps" and even though it might contain the exact same content, chances are it won't get nearly as many clicks in the first plac...

If you're not converting at the rate you'd like to be, take a closer look at your brand. I can say right now, with confidence, that your brand isn't strong enough. It might be enough to gain a decent following, maybe, but it's not quite strong enough to convert followers to paying clients. 

So how do we fix that? Let's first see where we're at now and then we'll identify where we need to get to. If you asked one of your followers what you're known for, what would they say? Would they be able to come up with anything at all? Or whatever they do come up with, is it in alignment with how you want to be known? If it is, you're off to a great start. If it's not, we can fix it but you've got some work to do. 

From now on, before you post any piece of content, ask yourself if you want to be known for that particular thing? If not, if it does't align with your brand, don't post it. Ask my audience, and I'm known for digital marketing, minimalism, my love of hats, tiny houses, and animals. Th...

The way entrepreneurs hashtag these days literally defies logic. Seriously. It makes no damn sense. For instance, I came across a wedding photographer and along with a bunch of other tags, they had hashtagged "she said yes." Wut. 

Why do they do this? Because all their competitors and their mother are doing it. So I'm not calling out or making fun of this specific photographer...they're far from alone. But what kind of bride is searching for vendors to hire when she gets engaged and searches "she said yes." Not only is it not specific to anyone like caterers or florists or photographers, but it's not even location-specific. What good does searching "she said yes" do? Absolutely none. Hashtagging instead something like "Minnesota wedding photographers" that is location-specific and search friendly makes a whole lot more sense. What I mean by "search friendly" is that it's much more likely that a bride would go on Instagram and search her location along with "wedding photographers" as o...

You've probably heard that you should be doing live videos. They're great for engagement, give your audience a chance to get to know you, and increase your visibility. I agree with all of that. But what if you want to take it one step further?

This is where we get into the nitty gritty of video creation. Thought reversal videos will take your lives to a whole new level. I'm talking:

• even greater engagement
• brand growth
• higher conversion rates from viewers to customers

Brandon Lucero is the pioneer of thought reversals, so I highly suggest you check him out, but let me give you the basics. Thought reversals challenge a widely held thought or belief. This will create polarity in your audience which is actually a good thing. It's a "if you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything" kinda thing. To get your gears turning, a few thought reversal videos I've done are "Millennials Make The Best Entrepreneurs," "Working Hard Won't Make You Successful," and "Algorithms Actual...

There's a very common misconception out there among business owners that you need thousands of followers in order to be successful. I often hear "When I have tons of followers like __________, then I'll be making sales left and right." It's like they're waiting for followers to "happen" to them. You think you know what's coming right, what I'm going to advise you to do? I'm not going to suggest the solution is to go out and make a bunch of followers happen, that "you're in control of your destiny" kinda thing. Nope.  

Here's the deal: a small targeted niche audience gives you an advantage over those with tons of followers. Why? Two words. Customer experience. Even if they're not your customers yet, you can give your followers more of a personalized experience that just isn't possible when you have thousands upon thousands of followers. Use this to your advantage! Here are some ideas you can implement into your follower experience when you're "small:"

1. Start genuinely thoughtful con...

Here's the scoop: 

If you're attempting to market your business across all the platforms out there, there's no way you can do so effectively, rendering all your time completely wasted. Trying to be everywhere will mean you're effectively showing up nowhere. Unless you're a large corporation, with a huge team, you simply cannot be everywhere well. But maybe of more interest to you? 

There's no need. It's highly unlikely your target demographic is on every platform. I have yet to meet a business owner that has an ICA that justifies them being on all the social media platforms available. My clients will tell me they set up accounts on all the social media sites almost like it's a badge of honor. Following this exclamation, I ask: 

But are you posting consistently on every single account? The answer always to follow is "no."

Are you spending time to intentionally engage and build relationships on every single account every day? "Well...no." 

Did you set up your profile in a purposeful...