Note: at this time transcripts are automated and unedited, which means errors may occur. But we hope you find them helpful!

[00:00:00] Viv: Welcome back to another episode of Marketing Without Social Media. Now, before we dive in, I wanted to let you know that if you are a service based business, thank coaches, consultants, therapists, who wants to get to $7,000 plus recurring months, yes, every month, but needs help with growing your audience, maybe with generating regular leads or landing paying clients, then I’d like to invite you to a free.

[00:00:26] 15 minute leads. Game plan call. Yes, just 15 minutes to work on your marketing plan. This is a super fast pace call and in this call we are gonna take a look at your current situation to see what is and isn’t working for you right now in your business. We’re gonna figure out and identify what’s possible for you and your business in the next six months and beyond.

[00:00:48] We’re gonna uncover the number one. That is restricting your growth and holding you back right now. And finally, we are gonna develop a three step action plan. [00:01:00] Yes, three step action plan that will get you results in your business. A s p. Now the session is, Free. It’s 15 minutes and all you have to do is head on over to viv guy.com/game plan.

[00:01:15] Yes, that’s viv guy.com/game plan right now. Pick a day, pick a time that suits you, and let’s chat a year without social media. Wow. Like that time has just. Flow. I was just looking at my journal that I kept dedicated to marketing and life without social media, which is supposedly a year long journal and didn’t quite last that long, but my goodness, it was so interesting looking at like what the emotions were at that time.

[00:01:47] So I wanted to bring this episode to you. You know, a lot of people when I said I was leaving social media, were interested and were watching with [00:02:00] like eager anticipation to see what happened and to kind of see if they wanted to follow in my footsteps. So it’s only fair that I share what that journey has been like.

[00:02:12] Instead of doing this as a solo episode, I decided I’d bring in my friend Colette to interview me and ask those questions that you guys submitted that you were interested in finding out about my year without social media. We go deep in this episode and I really share openly and honestly like what that that journey has been like for me.

[00:02:38] So if you are curious, sell down and enjoy.

[00:02:48] You’re listening to Marketing Without Social Media with me, Viv Guy, the podcast for people who want more clarity, connections, and cash in their business. I’ll be sharing with [00:03:00] you proven techniques from leading entrepreneurs and experts from across the. To help you to market without social media and to grow your business in a way that actually feels good to you.

[00:03:22] Well, hello. This is the one year without social media anniversary podcast show where I am actually switching seats today. And I have my wonderful friend, um, and colleague collect b head with me, who is a business coach for introverts. And she’s my go-to person, my sounding board, and, you know, my, my sanity really with your business.

[00:03:47] So we exchange a lot of messages through the week. Chatting things through and just having that sounding board. So Colette has obviously, you know, seen me kind of through this journey. She’s seen like, you [00:04:00] know, since the time I left Autisms before I left, you kind of knew me a little bit back then, and obviously our, our, uh, friendship has grown since then.

[00:04:09] So I thought, what better person to come and interview me and ask me some of the questions you, you guys in my audience have submitted. Like that, you wanted to know like what happened in a year without social media and whether, whether I’m gonna kinda stick at this and all these questions. So I’m gonna throw it over to you.

[00:04:29] Colette, welcome and hello. Hello.

[00:04:32] Colette: I’m really looking forward to this. I have so many questions myself.

[00:04:38] Viv: Yeah.

[00:04:38] Colette: I’m really looking forward to, uh, as someone who, who is on social and, and yeah, the idea of coming off social feels. Pretty scary. I, I, I can’t wait to, uh,

[00:04:49] Viv: probe you love that phrase, the probe. So, yeah, I,

[00:04:56] Colette: The first question I have to ask is, [00:05:00] what made you make this decision?

[00:05:02] What, what was it that made you think, Do you know what? It’s time I come

[00:05:05] Viv: off social. Okay. There is emotion and there is logic. There are two different kind of parts that played into this for me. Um, The emotional side was, I fucking hated social media from the day I started using it, I only ever got a social media account cause my sisters moved to Australia and I was like, Ah, better be on Facebook cuz that’s how they were kind of connecting at that time.

[00:05:30] Um, and yeah, I, my first business never had any social media. Facebook did not exist back then. That’s how old I am, obviously. Um, So I, when I start my second business in photography, I was like, like everyone was saying, you have to go to social media, blah, blah, blah. And I was like, Okay. But I never loved it.

[00:05:47] And Mondays were always my day of dread where I was gonna batch create content, But always this feeling of like having to. Post about my life and da da da and I was just reading an extract from, from my journal that I [00:06:00] kept at the time before, and I wrote like the day or two afterwards. I was like, Oh, I’m having it.

[00:06:05] I’m doing something that I never do, which is I’m sitting in the bath and I spent two and a half hours sitting on the bed drinking some scotch and reading my book, which is Pure Bliss. And you know, historically, what would you do? Freaking took an Instagram like a picture and posted on Instagram telling like everyone what you’re doing for your story.

[00:06:21] And it was so nice, like just not having that pressure, you know? So that was, for me, it was always that like guilt that I should be posting even when I wasn’t posting to kind of share with people and da da da. And I was like, Yeah, I don’t wanna do that. I don’t want this kind of guilt that I’m not posting.

[00:06:37] And then the feeling that I’m. You know, ignoring my family and my kids and stuff when I am posting and trying to share all this stuff that just didn’t feel good to me. So that was like the, the emotional side. Also, I suffer with anxiety and I really knew it was kind of having a big impact on my mental health and I’d really seen it.

[00:06:56] So, yeah, so that was one of the big reasons. So, [00:07:00] 10 months before I left social media, I was saying to my coach, then Greg Rason, like, I wanna be off social media. I wanna be off social media. And so it was something that from the start, you know, really early on came out in that, that relationship. And I, you know, so we started kind of working towards doing that.

[00:07:16] Um, but then the, the logical side is, you know, strategic. When I looked, I was like, ah, I get a shit return on investment for this, for the amount of time. You know? And I always said it’s a, you know, a 20 hour business. But if you then start adding up, actually what am I doing outside of my actual 20 hours at my desk?

[00:07:34] Well, I’m trying to post stories and I’m checking my dms and I’m, you know, engaging, even if it’s not. Focused work. You’re still on there with a work brain switched on, you know, scrolling and things. So, you know, when I looked at it, I was like, the numbers don’t add up for me here. This is not the best use of my time.

[00:07:52] I don’t like it. So let’s do something else. So that was, So there are two different sort of sides working in harmony. Harmony, I guess [00:08:00] logic and emotion. And

[00:08:02] Colette: did you, so when you made that decision, At that point, you were obviously, as you said, spending quite a bit of time on social for your business. Did you, was that something you also used socially and you were like when you came off social, was that a case of I’m like, like you don’t use it at all for like personal

[00:08:19] Viv: or business?

[00:08:20] No, nothing. So, yeah, so I did use it socially. So, you know, you put the post stub happy birthday to the kids and, and we’re going out for an anniversary dinner. I, I mean, not like some people, not like 2010 kind of personal posts a day. Yeah. Um, but I did use it personally. I’d reduced the amount, I used it for business over like the months leading up to my departure and like that final decision of going, I’m, I’m going, I’m not just reducing, I am fully coming off here.

[00:08:48] Yeah. Um, yeah. So, uh, So I decided to come off and I, I was just saying before we started recording, wasn’t I that my sister got married? My, both my sisters live in Australia, opposite side [00:09:00] of the world. How inconsiderate. And with Covid, you know, my sister’s wedding had been postponed it, so they were getting married on New Year’s Eve.

[00:09:08] 2021 and we couldn’t go cause of covid, obviously they weren’t opening, they didn’t open their borders in Australia till like the end of February. So she set up a, a private Facebook group where they were gonna live stream, like the video of, of the wedding. And I was like, but I’m not on social media. I don’t want to go on social media.

[00:09:29] And they were like, Well that’s how you’re gonna see the wedding. There is no other way. And I was like, Oh. And it was like, oh, this feels like difficult. Cause I’ve said I’m off, but now I’m gonna have to go on anyway. So like I tested it like the night before to make sure, like I was like, I’m gonna have to go on then.

[00:09:44] And I went on and made sure I could like get into this private group of hers and everything. And I got fucking stuck in the scroll hole for a good hour or so. But you know what was great? Yeah. I looked and I. Nothing’s freaking changed. Eh, The messages, everything’s, everyone’s still [00:10:00] saying the same shit.

[00:10:01] Like there’s nothing original. There’s nothing that’s gone. Wow. This is like, I’ve missed some really important content here or something. There’s none of that like that. Yeah, it’s still a pile of crap . Um, you know, and I’m not tingling like what people are posting and the stuff that’s coming up and, you know, even the BI stuff that was in there, but I was like, nothing’s changed.

[00:10:22] Like, it’s no different. I’m not mi I don’t feel like I’m missing anything. So I did that. I went on for her wedding. Um, and then the only other way I use Facebook now is marketplace to sell stuff when we’re decluttering. So I will go on to sell stuff, but that. I don’t even go into the newsfeed or anything like that.

[00:10:39] Um, I post my thing and get out and I don’t have it installed. So it’s a bit of a polar to kind of go on and put something on. But yeah, it’s a great way for us locally to kind of be able to give things away or sell things on marketplace.

[00:10:52] Colette: Yeah. So tell me, so before you went off then, what, what platforms were you on and how were you

[00:10:58] Viv: using it for your business?[00:11:00]

[00:11:00] Okay, so, um, because I had been a photographer, um, even though I’d pivoted at that point and was, was coaching, um, I was using Instagram because I loved how visual it was, you know, as a photographer. Yeah. Um, you know, grids and things. But obviously they’d stopped performing well at that point on Facebook.

[00:11:18] So they were the two places that that I was, I had no interest in in anything else, like TikTok and reels had just come in and I was trying to kind of do reels and I was like, Don’t love these. This is not for me. Um, I do lives. I, I did have a Facebook group for a little time, uh, but hated that. I just, yeah, I just didn’t like it at all.

[00:11:39] And everyone was like, But you know, you are a, a salesperson or persuader architect, you should be look, video and things. And I was like, I just don’t, I don’t like speaking to nobody. And of course there are people chatting, but I like to actually connect with people, see faces, and feel like I’m having a real conversation with people.

[00:11:59] And that just [00:12:00] never felt like that’s what I was getting, even on things like Facebook Lives and things like that. So yeah, I found that really difficult for me. Just didn’t feel great. So yeah, they were the two platforms I was on, so I was kind of posting stories and um, the odd reel. To Instagram and then grid posts were my biggies.

[00:12:18] Um, and so I could sort of schedule things like that, but I still felt preoccupied and like stories. Even they could schedule some of those having to do lives. I just, I just didn’t like it. I felt like I was just having to create content for the sake of content, not because it felt valuable and purposeful.

[00:12:34] It was just like, you gotta keep posting three times day da da for the algorithm to compete with it. And I was like, But I would rather post once a week with something really epically valuable. Yeah. And just all this stuff where it was like just posting stuff and, you know, I, I, I’d been on a course and they gave you like a calendar, like post about this and do a real about that.

[00:12:51] And I was like, I still don’t love it. Doesn’t, doesn’t make it any better for me. And it didn’t feel like it was valuable content for people out there. [00:13:00] Yeah. So presumably then you

[00:13:03] Colette: had. An alternative plan or did you just like dive headlong in and just

[00:13:08] Viv: go right or make it work? I did, and as I said, you know, the, the sort of nine, 10 months before I came off, I had been reduced in the amount of time I was on social media.

[00:13:18] I had been, you know, looking at other ways I wanted to, to market my business and was, and I was really helping a lot of my clients, which was really interesting, you know, in those like months before I ever made a peep about coming off social media, I. Attracting, you know, the law of attraction if you wanna go with that.

[00:13:36] Clients who are like, I don’t love social media, find it really difficult to be consistent. I wanna market that with social media. And my message was not at all interesting do without social media. My message was always find an aligned way to market. Your business. So even with that sort of more vague messaging of finding an aligned way, I was really still attracting people who were like, This is not for me, which I thought was really interesting.

[00:13:59] So I was sort [00:14:00] of working with clients and helping them. Yeah. So yeah, it was really interesting, you know, um, being able to do that work before I came off and going, Oh, actually, There’s something in this people don’t wanna be on. So I’m not the only one who doesn’t wanna be on social media. Um, a lot of people are struggling with it, so, yeah, so I, I started to look, but I wouldn’t say I had like amazing, um, sort of structures and processes and systems and, and strategies in place.

[00:14:26] But I was really open to kind of experimenting and testing the waters with different things. And I knew it was always around connection and my. This year it was being connection because I knew that’s what I wanted more of in my life and business on a personal level and on a, a professional level. So yeah, it was connection and I knew that the way that was gonna be more personable connections with people.

[00:14:49] Isn’t that interesting

[00:14:50] Colette: though, because when we think about social media and, and it certainly, if you listen to the kind of social media heads, like what they’re telling you is that [00:15:00] social media is all about connection and yet for you, Coming off social media

[00:15:06] Viv: felt like more connection. Yeah. Because as I said, you know, I just, for me, I don’t think they’re real meaningful connections.

[00:15:16] Yeah. And in, in the book, you’re invited by John Levy, they talk about like the, the, the like generations Gen X or Gen Z, and how they can have hundreds and thousands of. Friends, and I say this, you know, Bonnie is here, um, on social media, but they’re actually the loneliest and most depressed generation because these aren’t real connections.

[00:15:39] They are connections. Yes. It’s a way to kinda just keep in touch, but it’s not, it’s not real, is it? You’re not having real meaningful conversations, like two-way conversations. You are posting someone’s commenting, but you’re not actually like we’re doing now, conversing and chatting, which is a different level of convers.

[00:15:56] A connection. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:15:58] Colette: And so would you say that since you’ve [00:16:00] made that move, you have made

[00:16:02] Viv: deeper connections? For sure. Yeah. You know, and the like, the connections there. Are like sustainable connections. They are people that will be, you know, in my world and are there like we, we collaborate. We connect because they are, you know, it’s not just a, Hey, I’ve kind of come across you on social media.

[00:16:24] We’ve connected, we’ve spoken, we’ve found our common ground and where we feel aligned, you know, within business and things, and therefore, It’s a much deeper connection where you go this, like, this work, Like we can see a really great, strong working, um, sort of partnership in here, or collaboration and that’s something that then, you know, if it’s benefiting both parties, you’re just gonna keep doing, you know, and, and being able, you know, and it was great.

[00:16:48] Like one of, one of one of my biz buddies, um, who was someone I met, we. Podcast guesting swaps. I think she approached me and then I was like, Vice versa. And I, yeah. And then she said, Let’s [00:17:00] do a swap series. We’ll just, and so recorded them on the same day. And then she said, Let’s do a, like I’m doing a workshop.

[00:17:05] Will you come and be part of it? And I was like, Of course I will. Um, and then like when I ran mine, she posted it and shared it with her audience, which was awesome. She’s got like an amaz, she does the humane marketing, uh, podcast and has a humane marketing community. So we are really on the same wavelength about.

[00:17:20] How marketing should feel. Yeah. Um, but you know, she checks in as well. So it’s that connection where someone’s going, Hey, how did your workshop go? You know, and like, just wishing you happy BUN days. And it’s those kind of connections where you’re like, it’s, it’s such a different relationship. Yeah.

[00:17:35] Colette: And actually when you say that, I have to say that, you know, you’re saying at the start how, you know, we’ve become like really close friends over the last year or so.

[00:17:43] And actually I think that’s because like we voice know each other, don’t we? And, and. I don’t do that with many other people because I’m on social media and so I’ll just,

[00:17:54] Viv: Cause I was in your group. Yeah. And we were in each other’s spheres for a [00:18:00] year or two at least before we kind of, you know, before I left social media, so for a long time, but we didn’t have any real connection.

[00:18:07] No, you’re absolutely right. Yeah. So a different level. Interesting. Yeah. Really interesting. Talk to me then

[00:18:14] Colette: about how you felt leading up to once you made that decision and the kind of date was drawing close

[00:18:20] Viv: or you were talking about the journal that you were

[00:18:23] Colette: writing, Like what were the emotions going on?

[00:18:26] Cause it must have felt probably partly

[00:18:28] Viv: exciting, but it must have felt a bit scary. Oh yeah. I mean I just picked this journal, didn’t Anne, and I was like, Oh actually I’m really glad I wrote this and it was supposed to be a journal over a year. Guys, I’ll I pick this, But it was. It went till about the end of November, from October’s early October.

[00:18:44] And then I was like, I don’t think I’ve got anything else to say about this now. , I’m, you know, the, I’m passed all the emotional turmoil that it brought up and it did bring up a lot of turmoil and that was a lot of anxiety for me. Yeah. Um, cuz I was already anxious, so it was [00:19:00] like exacerbating the anxiety.

[00:19:02] Um, like all I, I kind of flipped, you know, from one extreme to this, like anxious, excited, and then I was also. Annoyed. Like I just read something to you going, I’m so fucking annoyed by this, like, comment someone’s made or this thing. Um, and I’m just gonna read this thing here that I, I read cuz it made me laugh when I read it out loud.

[00:19:23] I have this feeling. This was, this was on my departure day . Um, so I’ll, I’ll, I’ll just go back. I got triggered by someone’s, uh, comment, uh, on a post wishing me look. It’s like, Look, why do I fucking need, Look , this feels like I’m doing something risky. Which, It is in a way, but then it totally isn’t if we think about it logically.

[00:19:45] Yeah. And this is, this is right, like my thinking. And then I, I had said, I have this feeling I want to shake people and say, Come with me. You don’t stay in the movies where everyone’s like being brainwashed and turning into like some like, Weird [00:20:00] alien, and then there’s like this one person saying no, like the hero of the film.

[00:20:03] Me, obviously I saw myself as the hero and there’s one person saying, No, there’s a really another way. And people are looking at you thinking you’re fucking insane, . That’s how I felt. So I felt like anxious, gray, annoyed, frustrated, and so it was such a mixed bag of emotions that was going on for me because I started the journal a few days before I left, um, and then continued it obviously through that process.

[00:20:27] So yeah. I, there was a fear, even though I was like, you know, cuz I’m logical and I’m very strategic and I was like, Of course there’s a better way of marketing your business. And I’d grown a seven figure business built and grown a seven figure business in my twenties without social media, without a website.

[00:20:44] So I had, And you know what? I think I’d forgotten about that. Yeah. And I remember saying to the hospital at the time when I was in this leisure press, like, You know what? This isn’t something new to me. I’ve done this, I mean, I haven’t done the leaving part, but I was like, I’ve built [00:21:00] a business before.

[00:21:01] I’ve fucking seven bigger, you know, business with out social media. It’s totally possible. Um, so yeah, and I, Leone, Dawson had come into my, my onto my radar and you can look back guys see as on one of our, our episodes, which we’ll link in the show notes and. Seen her at a summit speaking and it just, you know, when you kind of go, I’m not alone here.

[00:21:23] I’m not the only person doing this mad thing, , um, that’s not really mad, but kind of you doubt yourself because the rest of the world is like banging on about how social media is the most amazing thing. Yeah. So you question your. Sanity to a degree, even though you’re like, I think the rest of the world is a bit insane.

[00:21:40] by being on it. Yeah. Um, and yeah, so it was really great to actually, you know, to sort of explore who else was off social media, you know, smaller businesses and like global businesses, you know, and to talk about Launch and Tesla and Apple and all these businesses, you know, that. Use social media, like posting on it daily and stuff like that.

[00:21:59] Yeah, so you [00:22:00] know it, I think it’s really good. I like data to back up the things I’m doing, so for me it was about collecting the data to go to just make me feel more confident in my decision. Mm. I think

[00:22:12] Colette: it’s an echo chamber, isn’t it? Social media and. when you are in it and you’re just hearing the same kind of messages over and over again.

[00:22:21] And that becomes almost like your reality, doesn’t it? Yeah. And then you forget. I think, um, I’d sort of equate it to, I remember when I first left corporate. Mm. And realizing that like my entire life up to that point where I was, what, 36 or something? Um, I had, you know, been following this path. I’d been sort of programmed to follow of, you know, you go to school, you go to university, you get a good job, you work your way up the career ladder and that’s what makes you a success.

[00:22:48] And I had never questioned that there were other ways to do that. And I think it’s the same on in social, isn’t it? We just sort of blindly kind of follow this sort of

[00:22:58] Viv: Yeah, and I read the [00:23:00] Way of Integrity by Martha Beck before I left social media, and I suspect that was one of the. Big kind of motivators for me.

[00:23:08] Cause I was, She talks in like the first like three pages and I remember highlighting it, thinking, Oh my God, this is what I’ve been saying for so long. You know, about this aligned marketing message. And obviously it wasn’t specifically about marketing, but she talks about, you know, how we are programmed from the day we are born to do, like follow a certain path, behave in a certain way.

[00:23:25] Yeah. And actually, yeah, apart from obviously like becoming a criminal, which is not good, you know. This conforming to our societal models and our cultures and things, it’s not always right for us. And actually we, we don’t listen to our intuition. And actually, what my gut was telling me, and I always, I’ve always said to myself in business, Listen to your gut.

[00:23:44] And I wasn’t, and my gut was saying, This feels horrible. And Mark Beck talks about people who have chronic illnesses because they’re doing things that start out of alignment. You know, they’re, you know, they’re, they’re lawyers, but they actually wanna be artists and things, but they’ve been forced down this path that is, you must do this.

[00:23:59] [00:24:00] That is the sign of success. But it feels wrong to them, and they’re, you know, as soon as they give themselves the opportunity to become free and do the thing that they’re passionate about or that feels in alignment to them. Chronic illness disappears or all of those kind of things, you know, and it, it varies the extent, you know, it can just be, I feel anxious like I was, Yeah.

[00:24:16] But it was my body’s way of saying, this isn’t good for. That, that

[00:24:20] Colette: point you made about intuition though, do you think, Because that’s, that’s another really interesting one, is I think like with social media, you almost lose that because your, your go to then becomes asking, asking, you know, strangers on the internet, you know, what should I do?

[00:24:36] And have you found that coming away from that has made you tap into your own intuition

[00:24:41] Viv: more? Yeah. I, You tap into intuition more, I think You feel more confident. Speaking the truth because you know what it’s like on social media, you worry about, you kind of check everything. Am I gonna get trolled by this or da da da.

[00:24:57] And I think this is the problem. There’s a lot of vanilla [00:25:00] content out there. People afraid to really say what they think. Yeah. And the messaging’s pretty like weak for a lot of people out there because again, not, you know, not wanting to stand out and be trolled or like, you know, they just wanna get the likes and.

[00:25:17] All of that stuff, you know, it’s so focused on the, like the, the vanity metrics versus like really, you know, I wanna be maite, you know, I wanna be Marmite to attract the people. I wanna attract propels that are never gonna wanna work with me. And I think you’d become bolder cuz you’re not seeing like this other like, ooh, I don’t say that because, you know, and, and filtering, It’s like social media is almost creating this filter on our messaging.

[00:25:39] And I think we would take that away. Your messaging becomes so much strong. That’s really

[00:25:43] Colette: interesting. And I think the other thing I wanted to ask you about that’s sort of, I guess, related is comparison. Cuz I think one thing with social media is you can’t help compare yourself, look at, you know, look at peers, look at other people and like what they’re doing, how they’re doing it, the [00:26:00] success that they’re seemingly having, you know, and, and, and it can’t help but, you know, get into your sort of your head.

[00:26:07] Um, have you found that’s improved? Coming away from that?

[00:26:11] Viv: Is it. . Yeah. Like, massively, massively. Um, I mean, and you know me, you’ve seen like the transformation in my business since I came off social media. Yeah. And like, the journey I, I’ve been on, um, and, and not comparing myself and just kind of going, I’m gonna do this thing.

[00:26:29] You know, like I create this whole, I was going down, you know, I created a group program and then I was like, I don’t wanna do that. I wanna do a hybrid. You know? And I think if I’d looked online, I’d have been like, No, you’ve either gotta do one to one, or. You know, and I was like that I’m doing my own thing because this feels right to me and I’m not comparing myself to other people.

[00:26:45] So I would say I don’t feel like I have that comparison thing going on at all. Or to the same extent. I mean, there’s still people around you that you, like, I wish I had her body and we, we compare by nature. And as women, don’t we? . Yeah. Kids do [00:27:00] Depend than my kids. Oh my God. . Uh, and in business, you know, Yeah, I just think that, I just don’t look at people anymore.

[00:27:08] And I know Leon Dawson’s freaking awesome at this cuz I, when I interviewed her, she was like, Yeah, I just don’t got other people doing. I give was shit. Um, and there is still an extent where I, Cause I’m nosy, I’m like, I wonder what they’re doing. But without social media, you know, I’m not doing it and I’m not spending that time and mental energy and worrying about what the people are doing.

[00:27:27] That energy is now totally like streamlined and focused into my own. That’s

[00:27:33] Colette: brilliant. So the one thing I’m very curious about, and I’m sure, um, your listeners will be as well, is like, what are you doing instead? Like,

[00:27:43] Viv: How, if you’re not using social, what are you doing? Well, I know everyone wants to hear me say, Well, I just sit back and people come to me, they flock to me.

[00:27:52] And that’s the beauty, you know, I’m like a magnet. Um, but guys, the reality is that’s never gonna be what, That’s not marketing. That’s not what happens. [00:28:00] Okay? But the beauty is the connections I’ve made over this last year. I do actually get people now, You know, and has, that’s been happening for several months, approaching me to say like, I’m really interested in working with you or come and do this collaboration with us, or, which is such a nice position to be in, you know, where you’re not seeking things all the time, but you know, I’ve still gotta do my work and get out there.

[00:28:22] So what do I do? Um, I’ve got a workshop coming out, actually, which has probably happened by the time this, this podcast airs, but the art of collaboration, and that’s what I do. I, I make pro I call profitable partnerships. So, you know, benefits both parties. It’s gotta be an equal ex exchange, um, you know, collaborations with people.

[00:28:40] So what does that look like? It could be, you know, doing a, uh, you promote my workshop, I’ll promote yours. Let’s do a podcast like swap season on podcast. Let’s share a freebie. You know, whatever it is, let’s come in and guess, like, come in and guest speak. Can you come in and do a masterclass? You know, something that adds value to one another’s audiences.

[00:28:57] So it’s beneficial for both parties, and that’s [00:29:00] what I do and that’s what I really help my clients do. So it’s around, you know, you’ve gotta like making connections. If you don’t like making connections, that’s not really the way you know for you. But I, I still believe it can work. Like you could say to people, right?

[00:29:12] I don’t wanna go and speak, but I’m really happy to share my blog. My, like lead magnet and things like that with people, make connections like, like that. But as I’ve talked about today, actually interacting with people, having conversations, doing a Zoom call or a chat, you know, really does make such a difference in terms of building lasting relationships and connections.

[00:29:32] Yeah. And do so

[00:29:33] Colette: do you think like, I, I almost, it feels like the social media is like the easy option. It’s almost like the cop out, it feels like of connection. It’s. Well, I, I’ll just do it on social cuz that feels a bit easier, um, than, you know, jumping on a zoom call with someone or you know, like making the effort really to, to have a real connection and actually coming off social has not forced you cuz you [00:30:00] wanted to do it, but like, made you kind of make those more genuine connections, which ultimately has actually had a

[00:30:06] Viv: big benefit on your, on your business.

[00:30:08] Yeah. So here’s the thing. Social media is not the easy option because how much time do you have to sp like spend creating content? Yeah, but nobody’s fucking seen these days because of the algorithm. So you have to create like a mass multitude of content. You know, for it to ever have any chance of appear it in somebody’s feed.

[00:30:30] You know, so that’s things, it’s not, you know, what I do is a whole lot fucking easier than social media. And then you’ve gotta be stuck in the scroll hole, you know? And then you’ve also gotta be doing the interacting and engaging with people. So I think it’s, I think for me, social media is so hard and that’s why I hear from everyone coming to me.

[00:30:45] It’s so hard, you know, for a lot of people. And this like hams the wheel of like content creation. So actually, do you know what, like if you think how many. How much content would you have to create organically on social media to get like a hundred new leads? [00:31:00] Oh, I mean, loads. Yeah. loads. Load hours. An hour pieces.

[00:31:05] Colette: Organic social right now feels like almost

[00:31:09] Viv: impossible. . What if you actually connected with somebody who has a thousand people in their a. Yeah, and you go and speak, or they share something on their email list to those people. What if 10% of those people say, Oh, this is really interesting and relevant for me.

[00:31:28] That’s a hundred people like that. And what if you had, all right, say you only got 1%, so 10 people, but what if you made connections with 10 people and they all shared that one same resource or workshop or whatever it is. Yeah, that’s a hundred leads. That’s a lot Flipping easier. You’re only creating one piece of content.

[00:31:46] You’re reaching out on emails, and then you’re having a conversation with people and it all feels nice. And actually it’s sustainable because those relationships will serve you time and time again. So for me, I’m just like, it’s strategically. It’s such a time. Save. Yeah. [00:32:00] And, but I

[00:32:00] Colette: wonder what it is because what you’ve just said makes absolute sense.

[00:32:05] And yes, like everywhere on social, you won’t know this Viv cuz you’re not there anymore. But

[00:32:09] Viv: on social, everywhere people are complaining about

[00:32:12] Colette: the algorithm, you know, not getting results. It’s so difficult right now to, you know, see any growth. So

[00:32:18] Viv: do something different. There was this

[00:32:21] Colette: reluctance and I’m speaking, you know, from personal experience to, to do anything different.

[00:32:26] It still feels, it’s like, you know, I, um, yeah. It still feels like, Is it, is it a fear

[00:32:33] Viv: of change, do you think? I dunno. I, I, you know, we’re, we’re addicts, you know, and I am a addict in recovery. Um, For sure. Um, because it’s all around like, you know that, that, that the brain hacking technology is there. That’s what, you know, there are Silicon Valley billion dollar companies designed to, whose job is solely to create ba brain hacking technology that is part of all of the social media apps cuz they wanna keep you on longer.

[00:32:59] [00:33:00] So all of that and that dopamine response pre like, makes us addicted. You know, to think maybe it’s gonna get better tomorrow, you know, or we have to be here, You know, and I, I, I wrote in my journal, I can’t quite find the page right now, but I’ll, I’ll put this quote in when I, when I share this on a blog, which was, you know, what has Mark Zuckerberg done to the entrepreneurial world?

[00:33:20] And this it, what has he done? Because I think social media, This is my TEDx talk, by the way, if you ever want to know. I, I had came with this title a long time, long while ago, which was, um, how social media, um, is, I can’t quite remember how I worded it, is how, um, destroying startup businesses and the small businesses.

[00:33:42] Oh, because I believe it is because actually if you got, if all those people that’s there that still stuck on social media, still posting, but not getting results, people that are there complaining, going, Oh, the algorithms really. Fucked up my group engagement or da da da. My reach. Yeah. What if those people got off there and actually spent that time and [00:34:00] energy and mentor like an emotional energy on some, a different strategy?

[00:34:05] Doesn’t have to be what I do. There are other ways of doing things. Yeah. Imagine if you did that, those businesses would be flying so much sooner. Yeah, I,

[00:34:14] Colette: I think, and something that you said, I think hit a nail on the head, which is this round of, it might get better tomorrow

[00:34:22] Viv: maybe. And I think there’s something, cuz I, I mean

[00:34:25] Colette: personally, like, I wouldn’t say I use social a lot, massively socially.

[00:34:29] Like if I’m on social, it’s, it’s nine times out of 10 for my business.

[00:34:34] Viv: Um,

[00:34:35] Colette: but like, there’s this idea, I think it’s this, you see other people having real. And you think that could

[00:34:42] Viv: be me? But they are the exception to the rule, and we have to remember there’s a lot of big people out there. You know, Huge respect.

[00:34:50] Amy Porterfield, Tim Ferris, You know, there are a lot of Jen and ku, all those people. Yeah. He started on social media. When social media was first created. Leon, only Dawson was [00:35:00] on social, you know, Facebook and stuff. Then she talks about it. She’s like, Oh fuck. One post. 90% reach and engagement, you know, so you could post once a week, once a day, and hello, everyone’s seeing it.

[00:35:10] And they built their businesses back then. They built their businesses before the iOS changes, where then they were paying for ads and they were like, you know, they were building their list by like tens of thousands of people. You know, it was. So, so different. And they are all now, you know, share. Yes, they still pay for us cuz they’ve got like multimillion billion dollar businesses so they can afford to, you know, invest and not, and it costs more lead yet than it used to do and not have the same reach because they’re known, you know, figures, but they’re using other ways like affiliates, you know, um, and partnerships.

[00:35:43] And they, they, they all, you know, you see them don’t, you’re guessing on each other’s shows and things and sharing their audiences. Um, So we, we see a lot of people, but there’s not, How many like new businesses, like can you think that you’ve seen in the last two years who have literally appeared on social media, [00:36:00] you know, marketed on social media only?

[00:36:03] And have grown like a multi six or seven figure business. I, I can’t, you know, obviously I’m on social media, but there’s not me. They are the exception to the rule. Yeah. You think about most people who’ve got a Facebook group, they’re small numbers. They’re not bringing in leads, they’re not bringing in consistent clients through that.

[00:36:20] Yeah. No,

[00:36:21] Colette: that, I mean, I think, and, and I think, um, What you’re saying is true, like if you look at the, the difference in impact social had to businesses, you know, five, 10 years ago to to, to what it is now. Um, and yet we still are kind of clinging onto social as as a core strategy. Um, I wanna go back to what you said, what you were saying about ads, cuz that’s a really interesting question as well.

[00:36:44] Um, and I know we’ve kind of sort of chatted about it before , but I wanna get your take. Like, do you see yourself using ads as a future? Cause in theory it’s on social, but also it’s where your ideal clients are. If they’re people

[00:36:59] Viv: who [00:37:00] wanna come off social, then surely you need to be there. To attract them.

[00:37:05] Yeah. So this is back to my movie thing, isn’t it? Saying Come with me, I can save you that whole like, Oh my gosh. I love, I love my brain sometimes when I read my journals. Um, yeah. And there is that sense of me wanting to go and rescue people who aren’t aware because so many people who do find discover me and you know, when I go in and speak and things, they’re like, I just never thought there was another.

[00:37:27] You know, just, yeah, it wasn’t on my, in my sphere because all we have ever known, you know, if you think about when you leave a job like you left corporate, yeah, you may have been on social media already, so what did you know? You suddenly were in this world. Then you start looking at business stuff, so you start getting business ads and things coming into your feed.

[00:37:43] And these are people that obviously really believe in use of social media for, for building businesses. So everything in your world is saying like, you need to be on social media. You need to be on social media. And that’s the only thing you’ve really exposed yourself to. Yeah. You know, when you’ve kind of come into that, and that’s because obviously social media was something you already used and you’re like, Well, I know how to use this.

[00:37:59] I’m gonna use this for [00:38:00] marketing my business. So people never looked beyond that. And I think. Still happens where people say, We just need to get your social media accounts settle. And that’s how we start a business, which is not the case at all. Yeah. So obviously that digress slightly what we’re talking about.

[00:38:17] So in there is a part of that kind wants, I wanna use ads and we’ve talked about this. So I am there for those people that are only on like social media, but I also, people aren’t only on social media and this is the. People, you know, you think about your life, you don’t on social media 24 7. Mm-hmm. , you go to school to pick up your kids.

[00:38:37] You go maybe networking events. You go, you’re in other communities. Potentially. You might go to the gym or whatever else. You know those kind in the, probably in Oxy on here.

[00:38:52] That’s true. But anyway. Yeah. My Apologi friend. Um, It’s true. Yeah. [00:39:00] But, you know, people are engaging in communities and groups and communities with similar like-minded people with similar interests, and that’s where you wanna connect with people. So, so yeah. So, um, the, the way I work is, you know, getting people to eight to 10 k months through like creating partnerships, which is totally fine, but if you wanna kind of grow beyond that, you know, there comes a point where, You’re gonna have to invest, you’re gonna have to either invest in an assistant to do more reach outs, but you still gotta show up and like do your thing.

[00:39:27] You know, speak on a, on a podcast or guest, you know, speak in somebody’s community or create that resource. Well, potentially I could have someone come in and create the resources for me if I wanted to, but I’m a bit the control freak and I like to create, create the stuff myself. So, you know, it’s kind of thinking, well, if I wanna grow beyond that sort of 10 K organically, what are my options?

[00:39:47] Because I offer high ticket. Now, if you offer low ticket, Like someone like Dawson, so her, you know, prices much, much lower. You know, like couple hundred dollars maybe, or under a hundred dollars for her [00:40:00] courses. Then she can kind of go to it through a lot of like bundles and summits because a lot of those people startups and early on in their business.

[00:40:06] So really benefit from like, Low ticket offers, whereas I’m like a high ticket and work with people further on in their journey. So, you know, a lot of bundles and summits aren’t appropriate for me cuz they’re not the right audience. They’re too early on in their business. So there comes a point where like, okay, so how do I scale this?

[00:40:24] I can’t do more bundles and summits because they’re not the right audience. I can do some, I’m very selective by what I do. Yeah. But. But what is that next thing? And this is where the ads things come up for me recently, isn’t it? Like what? Yeah, Without trading more time, which I don’t wanna do, cuz that’s the thing I protect.

[00:40:41] 20 hours is my max. I’m not doing anymore. I’d like to reduce it to 15. So what are my options? And that’s where it starts getting into, is it paid ads? And it doesn’t have to be Facebook, could be Google, you know, paid ads potentially. It could be, you know, Uh, Pinterest still social media, but you know, . Yeah, it could, it could be [00:41:00] those kind of platforms.

[00:41:01] So, you know. In sense of that’s where my people are. Yes, I They are, but they’re everywhere. Yeah. So I’m not kind of sold on that argument if that’s why I use ads. But you know, for me, I am at that point in my business where I need to look at something else and I’m not sure what that is. And that’s something I’m still deliberating.

[00:41:18] So I don’t have an answer. I will get back to you when I do have an answer. It’s an interesting conversation. It’s a real one. And you know me, I kind of have a real moral and ethical dilemma because I have a lot of issues. Certainly Facebook and obviously Instagram and things about the brain hacking technology, about how they’re keeping people like addicts, you know, on there, you know?

[00:41:40] And then it’s actually, as I said, it’s, it’s, it’s destroying a lot of really great businesses and a lot of people who’ve got a lot of great stuff to offer because they can’t make their businesses thrive or even survive. So they end up having to, you know, go back into the, you know, Paid employment again.

[00:41:58] And I think it’s really [00:42:00] sad. And so because of like the way I feel about, you know, the impact on health and business and everything, it feels hypocritical for me. And this is something I’m really like. Working through like Yeah. At the moment. But don’t, you know, And then the other argument is, but don’t you wanna go and help your, your, your people by kids getting them off there?

[00:42:18] But maybe, you know, I do reach those people because I connect with them already. Yeah. But what is that? What is that scalable way so I can grow beyond 10 K months. Yeah.

[00:42:28] Colette: Yeah. Absolutely. Well, I should be interested

[00:42:31] Viv: to, Yeah, watch this space. You know, maybe, maybe I need to get this journal out and start working through this again.

[00:42:39] You know, and, and like really kind of reflecting on what this bringings up for me and stuff, so, Yeah. Yeah. Um,

[00:42:45] Colette: so I have to

[00:42:46] Viv: ask then, now that you’ve,

[00:42:48] Colette: you know, it’s been a year, what, what would you say are the kind of biggest changes both in your business but in your life as well? Cause obviously social media, when you’re on it, it, you

[00:42:57] Viv: know, is.

[00:42:59] Part of life, isn’t [00:43:00] it? Yeah. Um, number one is I feel I have more freedom. Even, like I said, you know, I, I was working 20 hours a week, but I still, I didn’t feel free. I felt like I was always kind of, it was like a ball and chain around my uncle, even when I was like, Outside of work, it still felt like this big burden for me.

[00:43:18] So freedom, like emotional freedom, like mental health, like so much free in that sense, you know that I’m a healthier person as a result of being off, off social media. Um, Confidence, which I know is a thing that I’m always like, you can’t measure confidence. It’s not tangible. Um, you know, , all my clients out there, they’re going, You can’t say confidence, but you know, confidence in the sense of, I feel I have more.

[00:43:48] Trust in myself to make the decisions that previously I probably would’ve gone on social media and sought like validation for, or looked at what other people were doing. And I’m like, like I said, the hybrid one to [00:44:00] one group thing. I was like, Oh, just do it. Cause it feels right to me and I think it’s really valuable for my clients.

[00:44:05] So, yeah, so, so the freedom is, is the big one for me. And the freedom to be creative, I always say to people was the biggest thing that I didn’t know was gonna be a thing. Mm. As soon as I came off social media, well it was in six weeks later, I’d launched a number one podcast. You know, the marketing charts.

[00:44:23] I had launched my first group program and had my biggest revenue earning month at that point in my business, in my coaching business. Um, and I just think that’s because I had the brain bandwidth. You know, to, to focus and, and do sort of more focused work and not be looking for that validation and things from, from social media.

[00:44:44] So that was a big one. So freedom to be creative, which is something I say so essential as entrepreneurs to give ourselves that space to, to be creative. Um, So those were the, those were like the big things and obviously financially it’s been a huge benefit for me. You know, coming off social media. Um, I [00:45:00] did have it in lull for a while, but that’s because I was developing a group program and totally took my foot off the lead generation.

[00:45:06] Um, Pedal, I know talk about this a lot. Don’t ever take your foot off it. But I did. I got totally into the whole, you know, being of service. Um, so I had a quiet three months at one point. But other than that, you know, consistent revenue, consistent leads, um, great leads as well, like people that are, are awesome clients.

[00:45:25] So that’s been been amazing, um, for me. And then on a personal level, just more presence with, with my family, myself. You know, not being so distracted. I did say I became addicted to the Weather and News channel because I was, We, because we’re so used to picking up our phones. Cause I didn’t have the apps on there for social media.

[00:45:44] I was like, Oh, that, That addiction. Yeah. You know, which again, I read Catherine Price, which was coincidental. The, I was leaving social media. I read Catherine Prices, How to Break up with your phone, which is a brilliant book. And she’s not saying don’t have a phone, but she talks about our relationship with [00:46:00] our phone.

[00:46:00] Yeah. And I was like, it’s so fitting to be reading it that time. Cause I was like, yeah, definitely one addiction for another. How many times day do you need to check the weather, babe? Um, and it just goes to show the extent of our addiction with our phones and things. So, yeah. So this is a very long answer, isn’t it?

[00:46:16] So freedom. Across the board. I think for me and connection has just been so. Sounds cheesy, joyous for me. You know, it can, you know, this is why I wanna start the podcast. I wanted to do a lot of interview based stuff because I love connecting with people and it energizes me. And actually, I was on a call with somebody yesterday on a game plan call with somebody.

[00:46:39] Um, I was paid the most lovely compliment, which was that, um, my energy is hugely attractive, you know, in. In a non like flirtatious kind of way , uh, but yeah, how attractive it was and like such an awesome characteristic. Um, yeah. And I was like, that’s such a nice thing. And I think that for me, that [00:47:00] energy comes out when I speak to people and have that connection.

[00:47:03] And it sure as hell wasn’t there when I was set up my desk on my own weeping. Cause I had to post, create more social media posts, . Um, so yeah, so free freedom. Finances. Um, and yeah, just confidence and trust in myself, more belief and, you know, I’m just gonna say I’m fucking like, you know, perfect, perfect person here.

[00:47:23] There’s always work to be done. You know, my, my mind is, you know, an absolute like jumble at times and needs a lot of like constant mindset work on it, but I am definitely helping myself. Yeah. Be a healthier sort of person, more balanced person as a result of being away from social media, and I just think being able to really support other people.

[00:47:51] Because there’s a whole host of entrepreneurs and business owners out there who are like, I wanna be off. I wanna be off And mm-hmm. , you know, it feels great to be [00:48:00] that person that’s like, Yeah, you can, you can be off. It’s okay. You know, And I’ll show you the way. And you don’t have to make a ton of mistakes in the process, cuz I’ve done them myself,

[00:48:13] So I have, I have two more questions. Sure. One, um,

[00:48:18] Colette: is around introverts and extroverts, cuz this really interests me. Um, like you, you’ve sort of said a couple of things during. Our chat Where, uh, one was that when you were on social, one of the things you hated was the kind of talk, feeling like you were talking to yourself and that actually, and you’ve just been talking now about how you are energized by having those kind of more kind of one-to-one connections and actually talking to people, which to me kind of screams extrovert, now as an introvert.

[00:48:46] Yeah, I know that one of the things I love about social is the kind of like, I’m totally cool going and doing alive because I’m just talking at people. And, um, while I love like one to one interaction, like for me, I find it quite [00:49:00] draining. Yeah. And I have to like space out my calls and all of that kind of stuff.

[00:49:04] So do

[00:49:04] Viv: you feel like.

[00:49:07] Colette: What you are currently doing is better suited to extroverts or is that, or or do you think it can work for introverts

[00:49:14] Viv: as well? The way I have done, you know, built my business and done my marketing Yes. Is, is very much an extrovert way. Yeah. Interestingly, I, I appeal to and attract a lot of people with a connector archetype, which is interesting.

[00:49:34] So they love that connection. Um, so obviously, so like that, that again, that law of attraction, then you kind of bringing those people in. But the thing is, as an introvert, social media is not working. So it doesn’t matter whether you love it or not, you need to find another way. Yeah. And you know, there are ways.

[00:49:53] To potentially create partnerships without it having to be like this face to face. You know, there are other [00:50:00] introverts out there, like when I, I, I had, um, uh, a guest be coming to, to my community in my group to talk about neurodiversity, you know, and it’s talk about other people that are neurodiversity.

[00:50:11] So imagine if you had a network of other introvert. Guest speakers. I know Ruth Pound Wrights doing her introvert kind of, um, summit this week. If you just, were in a community of those people who all want to market in the same way, imagine what, how powerful that would be, where you all got together and mind.

[00:50:27] What feels good for us as introverts, We don’t wanna guest speak to each other. What, what actually feels good? Yeah. There is a way. So you can still partner and have connections, but doing it in a way that feels good. As we talked about when I had like neurodiverse, you know, workshop in my, my community, which is.

[00:50:42] There are so many variations. So, you know, I talk about, um, the three different archetypes. You could have a podcast as each archetype. Yeah. But the way you do your podcast would be different for sort of each archetype. And the same, I think, goes for being an introvert and an extrovert. Yeah. [00:51:00] You know, what, how you approach that, that tactical strategy.

[00:51:05] There’s still opportunity there because we, and as I said, we know that obviously social media’s not working, so what is that right way? And maybe it is that you wanna go, I’m gonna go down a paid ADSD route. I just don’t wanna have to think about or connect. But connection is still so powerful. I think relying on paid ads because as soon as you switch them off, it stops working.

[00:51:22] Whereas if you’ve got connections, switch them off. You can still go, Hey, I’m running a workshop, can you promote it? Oh look, 300 more people on my email list, or 300 people have come to see my, my work. So, yeah. Does that answer that question? Yeah, it does. And

[00:51:33] Colette: I think, I think the, the point that you made around connection is so key because I think you’re right.

[00:51:38] Connection is vital whether you are an introvert or an extrovert. So it’s not about avoiding connection altogether as an introvert, it’s how do I create those connections in a way that feels

[00:51:49] Viv: okay? , I, I think there’s a podcast episode coming. And I think I’m gonna do a bit of a round table with introverts and maybe another [00:52:00] extrovert or ambivert, you know?

[00:52:02] Yeah. Which we, we know one of those within our, our world. And just have this conversation because I think it’s so interesting. And if you’ve got a few introverts around the table to talk about actually, how could we do this partnership work in a way that feels good. And it, and this is what, you know, I, I don’t do cookie cutter approaches to anything.

[00:52:21] I say This is what works for me, but actually, let’s find what feels good to you. And that’s the way I’ve always worked with clients and the way I will, cuz that was the thing I felt was missing when I came into the online world with my photographer business. No one said there. What feels good to you.

[00:52:35] Yeah. And nobody starts like that, you know? And that should be the first thing that we, we say to people what feels good? And if people don’t know, like, Well, okay, what doesn’t feel good? First and foremost, like you’ve said, as an introvert, I know this doesn’t feel good. Okay, Yeah. So let’s find a way that we can like go down a pathway like this, but that feels good to you.

[00:52:54] How can we make that work for you? Yeah. And

[00:52:58] Colette: I, I would love that, that what an [00:53:00] interesting conversation that would be, I think to sort of, Discuss those differences? I think so. Absolutely. Um, okay, so final question. I think I already know the answer to this question. , would you ever go

[00:53:14] Viv: back,

[00:53:17] No, absolutely not. Never. Uh, no of God. You know, like the communities I’m in and I’m hearing everyone going, Oh my God. Like where groups had better engagements all going. It’s bombed in the last few weeks, you know? September, October, 2022, like Anya Reach and Engagement is now like just appall. I’m like, Why would you ever want to go back to somewhere that’s got like 0.07% engagement?

[00:53:44] You know, versus like email and partnerships and collaborations and so many different sort of ways of marketing your business. It’s, it’s. Did you ever have a moment,

[00:53:54] Colette: did you ever in that, in this last year since that, that first day where you were like, Right, this is it, and you [00:54:00] deleted your apps, did you ever have a moment where you were like, Oh crap, I’ve made a mistake.

[00:54:04] Maybe

[00:54:04] Viv: I should go back. There was never, I want to go back. Yeah. Never did I say I wanna go back. But I definitely still have moments of like, Am I insane? ? Like, am I insane? Like, and that’s where it was so great to have a community of. Business peers around me who were off social media. So I was like, like, you know what Viv, you are doing, You are marketing in a different way to them.

[00:54:30] Your, your strategy’s different, but there are social media and it totally works. And so, yeah, so there were times where I was like that maybe I should still be there for some reason, but I was like, I dunno what I do there. But yeah. And it’s the addict though, isn’t it, as we’ve talked about. It’s the addiction.

[00:54:44] You know, they say like, once you’ve been a smoke, Even though you can be quick for years, it’s so easy to go back cuz you kind of think, Oh I’ll just have one or I’ll just go back. Or maybe it’d be alright. Yeah. You know, gamblers, drinkers who drug addicts. It’s always there. And I think that’s the thing.[00:55:00]

[00:55:00] There was no part of me that wanted to do it, which, you know, I’m guessing as a drinker you’re like, I don’t want to like become an alcoholic again or a smoker again or any of that thing. But you still have that desire sometimes to, to be part of. It’s a weird, it’s a weird, it’s a weird thing, you know, And I’d love a psychologist to come and talk more about that, but that’s not my bag.

[00:55:21] That’s my mom, not my job. There were times where I was like, I don’t wanna go back, but maybe, maybe I should. Was it fomo? Do you

[00:55:27] Colette: think it was like, you know, Oh, I wonder if I, you know, missing out on opportunities

[00:55:32] Viv: or, Yeah, and the being times, I’m just gonna finish with this actually, because it’s interesting.

[00:55:37] So you know where people are promoting on Facebook about their summer or about. Um, bundle or interestingly like speaker opportunities or um, PR opportunities. So I was like, am I missing out on finding stuff like that? But what’s been absolutely beautiful and I am sending thanks and [00:56:00] gratitude out like genuine, heartfelt thanks and gratitude to all these people out there who have sent me an email or a message.

[00:56:07] With a screenshot of this thing and the person to contact directly so I don’t have to be on social media, you know, And I never asked anyone to do that, but they’ve gone, Oh, they’re looking for this. They would be a great fit. I’m gonna send it to Viv. And like, you know, they’ve tagged me cuz I still have a profile, but obviously I’ve never seen it.

[00:56:22] Um, and they’ve just sent me that screenshot and I’m like, that’s, you know, that’s really wonderful. And people are very generous, you know. If you think about, you know, people don’t believe that. I was chatting to one of my clients yesterday in our group. She was sort of sharing that she was surprised by how generous people are with their support and like, you know, connecting you to other people and people will do it.

[00:56:43] So yeah. So I think that was the FOMO that I had. But again, you know, there are ways of finding and connecting and looking for opportunities without social media. So no going back? No going back. No. I’m gone for good and I feel a [00:57:00] fucking hypocrite if I went back given I teach people how to, you know, market organically, you know, without having to post on social media.

[00:57:06] Um, for sure I did toy with like, should I use it as a research tool? But I think it’s so you can back in the scroll hole in the addiction and that’s the place I don’t wanna go back to. Yeah, there you. Exciting times ahead. Thank you. Well, thank you Colette. Is that everything? Am I, am I well and truly grilled?

[00:57:26] This is a long episode, isn’t me ? I think so. I feel like I’ve got the answers I need . Thank you. Yes, , thank you so much, um, for coming in and putting me in the hot seat. And obviously you will be back when we have the introvert round table, uh, podcast episode cuz I think that’s something that is needed because it’s been coming up, hasn’t it?

[00:57:45] Like in a, in. Group that we are part of. Yeah. This whole thing of, you know, what about what this, what have you got for us introverts in terms of marketing without social media. Uh, and that’s something, you know, I need to develop and build in, because a lot of the stuff I teach [00:58:00] is for those that like to connect and like that, you know?

[00:58:03] Uh, yeah. That level. So yeah, for sure. There’s more coming. Um, so thank you for being here today and thank you for being always on the end of a voice note for me to sound out what’s going on in my crazy little mind. Oh, it’s a pleasure. It’s been brilliant, . Thank you. So there you have it, folks. I hope you’ve enjoyed this episode of marketing.

[00:58:25] Social media today and feel inspired to take action in your business, whatever that looks like for you. And as always, thank you. Thank you. Thank you for tuning into another episode of this podcast. And if you haven’t done so already, please do subscribe to the podcast. So you don’t miss an episode. Speak to you soon.