Ep 27 - How to Know It's Time to Quit Social Media

Episode Show Notes

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Hi, I'm Sarah Almond Bushell, and welcome along to another episode of Beyond the Clinic! Today, we're diving into a topic that might stir up some strong feelings, "How to Know When it's Time to Quit Social Media". If you're a dietitian or healthcare professional running your own business, and social media feels like a necessary evil, this episode is for you. 

Episode Summary: In this episode, Sarah explores the emotional and practical challenges of maintaining a social media presence as a healthcare professional. She addresses the pressures of staying visible, creating engaging content, and keeping up with constant changes in social media algorithms. Through the story of her client "Emily," a dietitian who was overwhelmed by social media demands, Sarah highlights the realisation that social media might not be the best strategy for everyone.

Sarah shares Emily's journey from feeling exhausted by the constant pressure to quitting Instagram entirely, which led to unexpected growth for her business. The episode covers alternative strategies for lead generation, such as SEO and blogging, podcasting, and guest appearances, which can help build a successful business without relying on social media. Sarah encourages listeners to reflect on whether their social media efforts are truly serving their business goals and provides actionable steps to focus on strategies that align with their strengths and values.

Key Takeaways:

1. Re-evaluate Your Social Media Presence: Assess whether social media is genuinely helping your business or just consuming your time. If it's not generating leads, it might be time to rethink your strategy.
2. Focus on Alternative Lead Generation: Explore other channels such as SEO, blogging, podcasting, and Pinterest to drive traffic and attract potential clients.
3. Use Social Media as a 'Shop Window': Maintain a minimal presence that clearly communicates your brand and directs people to other, more effective platforms.
4. Build a Strategy That Works for You: You don’t have to follow the crowd. Choose marketing strategies that align with your values and enjoyability.
5. Take Control of Your Business: As the boss, you have the freedom to design a business that suits your lifestyle, even if that means stepping back from social media.

Thank you so much for tuning in to this episode of Beyond the Clinic! If you found our discussion helpful, please share it with a fellow healthcare professional who might also be struggling with social media. And don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode. Next week, we'll be talking all about money—how much you need to grow a business and why it’s not the be-all and end-all for everyone.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on what you'd like me to cover next. Send me an email at [email protected]

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Episode transcription:

Beyond the Clinic EP27

[00:00:00] Sarah Almond Bushell: Welcome along to episode number 27. This one is called how to know it's time to quit social media and I've chosen this bit of a clickbaity title because I've got something really crucial I want to share with you in this episode, but before we dive into that, the first thing I want to say is thank you so much for all the lovely messages that I received after last week's episode aired.

[00:00:29] Sarah Almond Bushell: That was episode number 26 called How to Shift Your Mindset and Break Free from Overwhelm. And I wanted to record this episode because I had this feeling deep down that people were really struggling. Despite me helping with tricks and tactics and productivity hacks, people were still feeling really like they were overwhelmed, that they were just burnt out essentially with running their business, and I knew it was deeper than the surface level stuff. I knew we had to go deeper into mindset and I've had some amazing comments. One person actually cried, after talking to me about the episode and another said, I feel like you've just written this for me, so that makes me feel absolutely amazing and I'm so pleased that it resonated.

[00:01:21] Sarah Almond Bushell: But anyway, back to today. Episode 27, how to know it's time to quit social media. So, I'm really excited about today's episode because we are going to dive into a topic that I think is going to stir up some quite strong feelings with people. It's essentially how to know when it's time to quit social media.

[00:01:42] Sarah Almond Bushell: So if you're a dietician like me or a healthcare professional and you're running your own business and you feel like social media is a necessary evil, you are definitely going to want to listen in to what I have to say today. I think for so many of us, social media feels like a box that we are forced to tick in order to get clients, in order to make sales. in order to make a brand for our businesses. But what if it's not actually helping your business? What if it's actually sucking your time and your energy and holding you back from growing? And there are ways that could be potentially much more aligned with your strengths and your values. that you could be utilizing instead.

[00:02:32] Sarah Almond Bushell: So in this episode, I'm going to show you how to figure out if social media is working for you and if it's not, how you can grow your business without it. We'll talk about the ways that you can still attract clients, you can still build an audience and still grow your revenue, all while doing less on social media or even quitting it altogether.

[00:02:53] Sarah Almond Bushell: So for those of you who've been around for a little while, you will know that I don't love social media. In fact, I am one of those people who will hold my hands up and say it is a necessary evil. I use it because it works for my business, but it certainly isn't the be all and end all for me. And in today's episode, I'm going to share the story of a client who also felt this way and what we did together in her business that led to her ultimate decision to quitting Instagram for good.

[00:03:26] Sarah Almond Bushell: So with that said, let's get started. So first of all, let's address the elephant in the room. Social media, it can be exhausting. Can't it? I hear from so many of my clients that they hate it. That they hate the pressure to constantly having to post. To maintaining a consistent posting schedule, whether that's three times a week or three times a day.

[00:03:56] Sarah Almond Bushell: They hate the anxiety of keeping up with trends or new features and the feeling that if they're not visible on Instagram or Facebook or whichever platform, their businesses are invisible altogether. So you might be feeling like you're stuck on this never ending treadmill of content creation, of constantly chasing likes and comments and followers, without actually seeing any real return on your efforts.

[00:04:24] Sarah Almond Bushell: For me, I struggled to get engagement on my content and for a while I thought it was just crap content, which led me to second guess exactly how thoroughly I knew my ideal client. It's crazy, isn't it? I do marketing for a living and I was questioning whether I'd got it so wrong. And at one point I brought in a social media marketing team for six months, but that didn't work either.

[00:04:50] Sarah Almond Bushell: And so then I blamed the algorithm, which nobody really understands. You can hear about my social media experiment that I conducted earlier this year, where I tested the algorithm and I got proof that it wasn't me, or my content, or my lack of understanding of my ideal client. That's back in episode 20.

[00:05:11] Sarah Almond Bushell: That's on https://www.sarahalmondbushell.com/blog/020 you want to listen in to that experiment there. But most of you don't have the luxury of a social media management team and so you likely will have been putting in hours of content creation and you may have only got a handful of likes or follows as a result and actually perhaps some of those don't turn into actual paying clients.

[00:05:41] Sarah Almond Bushell: If that sounds familiar, I want you to know that I hear you. It can feel totally overwhelming. It can feel discouraging when you spend so much time and effort on something that doesn't really seem to be moving the needle in your business, and yet everyone tells you that you have to be on social media to succeed.

[00:06:02] Sarah Almond Bushell: But is that really true? Well, I want you to Take a step back and ask yourself, is social media really serving my business or is it just draining my time and my energy? So I'm going to share with you the story of a client of mine. Her name is Emily or let's call her that anyway. And her experience might sound really familiar to many of you.

[00:06:31] Sarah Almond Bushell: So Emily is a dietitian. She started her nutrition practice with these really, really big dreams. She had a very values based business. She was her ideal client and she imagined being able to help people to transform lives, to create a business that allowed her to have more flexibility with her family and.

[00:06:54] Sarah Almond Bushell: stay true to her beliefs and her values. But, like many of us, she quickly got swept up in the pressure to be visible. And where did she turn to do this? Social media. Instagram, specifically. So, every morning, after the school run, Emily would sit down in her kitchen with a cup of coffee. She'd have a laptop open and she'd have her phone next to her.

[00:07:17] Sarah Almond Bushell: And she'd start her day scrolling through Instagram. comparing herself to other dietitians who were really Insta famous, who seemed to have it all together. Their beautifully curated feeds, their growing follower count, their tons of engagements and comments and likes on their posts. And she'd spend hours afterwards thinking up the perfect post that she could create, picking the right image, writing the perfect caption, and still When she hit the publish button, there'd be this sinking feeling in her stomach.

[00:07:53] Sarah Almond Bushell: She was worried that no one was even going to see it, and even if they did, would they even care? So her days started to revolve around this cycle. She was trying to come up with content that could compete with the flood of information out there about food and nutrition, whilst keeping up with the algorithm that seemed to be changing by the minute She would try posting at peak times.

[00:08:19] Sarah Almond Bushell: She would research hashtags. She would use the platform's newest features and trending dances or audios. And yet, despite all of her efforts, she'd only get a handful of likes, a couple of comments, and actually they were mainly from other dietitians and absolutely no new clients. whatsoever at all. She told me that she actually felt exhausted.

[00:08:44] Sarah Almond Bushell: She was disappointed. She couldn't work out why this wasn't working for her and to be honest she was a bit bewildered. She just couldn't see what she was doing wrong. And actually I think the pivotal moment came for her where in a desperation attempt, she screenshotted a graphic from a super popular dietician on Instagram.

[00:09:06] Sarah Almond Bushell: She shared it, giving full credit to that dietician. She typed up exactly the same caption, posted it and waited. And what happened? Crickets. No likes, no comments, even the dietitian she'd copied and tagged into this post didn't acknowledge her post. And what was worse was, in the back of her mind, she knew She was being a slave to social media and it wasn't how she pictured running her business.

[00:09:38] Sarah Almond Bushell: She didn't leave her stable NHS job to spend her time glued to her phone and stressing about her follower count. She wanted to build real, lasting relationships with clients, not chase the next like or the next share. But everywhere she looked, people told her that social media was the way to grow. So she felt trapped.

[00:10:02] Sarah Almond Bushell: So Emily started working with me at a point where she felt completely drained. She said, I'm doing everything right on social media. I am posting regularly. I am engaging with my audience. I'm using all of the right hashtags. So why am I just not seeing the results? I feel like I'm missing something. Am I doing something wrong?

[00:10:24] Sarah Almond Bushell: Why is this just not working for me? So we dug a bit deeper into her business and I highlighted something really important. Her goal in her business wasn't to be Insta famous. It was actually to build a list of potential clients, a community of leads, the kind of people who she could truly help with her expertise.

[00:10:50] Sarah Almond Bushell: And the truth was, social media just wasn't getting her there. So imagine this, Emily, like so many of you, she was just juggling the day to day realities of running her business. She was checking in with her clients, she was managing her email inbox, she was trying to stay on top of all of her admin, all while feeling this constant tug of social media.

[00:11:15] Sarah Almond Bushell: She felt like she was Always on. She couldn't even enjoy her evenings with her partner after the kids went to bed because she'd be on her phone whilst Netflix played in the background. Because she was engaging in other Instagram accounts, she was replying to comments, she was checking her analytics. She just couldn't switch off.

[00:11:38] Sarah Almond Bushell: And worst of all, she felt like her business was a failure because she wasn't seeing the results. She saw these other dietitians and nutritionists hitting their 10k and above followers. They were booking clients

[00:11:53] Sarah Almond Bushell: and she couldn't work out what she was doing wrong. So maybe you're in a similar place right now. When you wake up, the first thing you do is grab your phone before you've even had breakfast sometimes. You are already scrolling, you're gathering ideas and you're stressing about what to post that day. You maybe are spending days tied to your phone without actually seeing that return on investment and you're wondering whether it's really worth it.

[00:12:19] Sarah Almond Bushell: And you might even be feeling guilty because everyone tells you that social media is the way to grow your business. But you know what? It really doesn't have to be. So, going back to Emily, after she and I sat down to reframe her strategy, we decided to do an experiment. She created three unique landing pages for her lead magnet.

[00:12:46] Sarah Almond Bushell: One specifically for social media, one for her blog, And one for her podcast. She was a podcaster as well. And this was going to be her way of seeing once and for all where her leads or her potential clients were really coming from. So she did agree to do a 30 day experiment here, where she posted diligently on Instagram, directing her followers to her lead magnet.

[00:13:12] Sarah Almond Bushell: via the landing page that she'd created specifically for them. And at the same time, she continued sharing valuable content on her blog and recording her weekly podcast and sharing the landing pages for the lead magnets that were specifically created for them. And then at the end of the 30 days, we looked at her numbers and the results were crystal clear.

[00:13:37] Sarah Almond Bushell: The lead magnet landing pages. The one that was connected to her blog and the one that was connected to her podcast were generating far more conversions than the one that was connected to her social media. In fact, the social media pages barely registered any new subscribers. Over that 30 day period, it was fewer than 10.

[00:14:03] Sarah Almond Bushell: So this made Emily realize that her true audience, the people who valued her work, who were engaged with her contact, who were considering asking for her help, weren't actually on social media. They were finding her through her other channels, they were listening to her podcast, they were reading her blogs, and they were opting into her email list that way.

[00:14:26] Sarah Almond Bushell: And social media? Well, actually, it was simply a distraction, fueled by well meaning colleagues and business coaches, but distracting her from what really mattered to her unique business. So what happened? Well, she made a very bold decision. She decided to quit social media. And you know what? Nothing fell apart.

[00:14:48] Sarah Almond Bushell: In fact, her business continued to grow because she focused her newfound time and energy on the platforms where she knew her ideal clients were already engaging with her. So I hope that story resonated. It is such a powerful one, which is why I knew I needed to create an entire podcast episode. About it for you.

[00:15:12] Sarah Almond Bushell: And so now I want to turn the spotlight onto your business. I want you to ask yourself, what are you really using social media for?

[00:15:23] Sarah Almond Bushell: Are you trying to build brand awareness? Or generate leads. And more importantly, is it working for you? If it's for brand awareness, I want you to check your analytics. How aware is your brand? How many people are finding it? Whichever platform you use, whether it's Instagram or Facebook, you want to know how many people those platforms are putting your content in front of.

[00:15:50] Sarah Almond Bushell: So this is your reach number. So say you've got. If your post gets in front of 500, that's brilliant. That's 50 percent of your audience. But when you look at the stats, the reach on the average post for people in our industry is around 6%. That's not so many. Now, if you've got an influencer business model, you really do need to ensure that you've got a large reach and a large audience and actually lots of engagement.

[00:16:23] Sarah Almond Bushell: And the reason for that is because influencers make their money by being paid by other brands and businesses to create content to share with their large and engaged audiences. You won't find influencers selling one to ones consultations or courses or ebooks. Now and again you do see them try it and it flops because their audience are not buyers.

[00:16:47] Sarah Almond Bushell: They are not primed to buy from them. They are consumers of free content. So influencers have very different styles of content and this is sometimes where I see other healthcare professionals go wrong because they seek inspiration from these insta famous professionals and they try and emulate what they're doing.

[00:17:11] Sarah Almond Bushell: But if you're a healthcare professional who sells consultations or packages of consultations or you have courses or group programs or hybrids of these. Or you sell e books and guides or other digital products or even physical books. Your use of social media is all about generating leads. Every action you take on social media should be for the purpose of generating leads.

[00:17:40] Sarah Almond Bushell: So talking about your lead magnets and directing people to the landing pages so that they can download them is what you want to be doing. And guess what? Social media platforms don't like this because you are actively sending people away from their platforms and they want to keep people on their platforms and so the algorithm won't favor your posts.

[00:18:02] Sarah Almond Bushell: That's why our reach is much lower. So, if you sell consultations or courses or digital products and social isn't generating leads for you, you're not doing anything wrong, but it might be time to consider the other strategies that do work for you. But that doesn't necessarily mean that your profile on social media should disappear altogether.

[00:18:26] Sarah Almond Bushell: Here's what I would suggest you do instead. I want you to think of your social media profile like a shop window. If a potential client has found you via your website or even from a directory listing, they may well go over to Instagram or Facebook to check you out to make sure that you're legit and your profile should give them everything that they need to know.

[00:18:51] Sarah Almond Bushell: So I would use your bio and if you're on Instagram, the nine squares that are visible straight away to clearly communicate who you are, what your business does, how you help people, and most importantly what's in it for them if they choose to work with you. And don't forget to include a link to your lead magnets and how they can get in touch with you as well.

[00:19:15] Sarah Almond Bushell: Be really clear here that social media isn't where you spend most of your time but this shop window is available for them to take a quick glance at what it is you do and how you can help them. So now let's talk about how you can grow your business without relying on social media. Now, I went into a lot of detail about this in episode one.

[00:19:39] Sarah Almond Bushell: So if you want to dive deeper, I highly suggest checking that one out. You can find it at https://www.sarahalmondbushell.com/blog/001 so the key, as I've already alluded to, is to have an alternative lead generation strategy. So here are a few options for you. SEO and blogging.

[00:20:02] Sarah Almond Bushell: So this is where you create high quality content, content that, you know, people are actively searching for, and you post it on an SEO optimized website. So the intention is to rank really well in search engine results, as this helps potential clients find you organically. But it doesn't stop there.

[00:20:22] Sarah Almond Bushell: You need to get a way to get people off your blog and onto your email list. And so you're going to be looking at conversion optimization too, with strategically placed opt in forms and lead magnets. The second one is Pinterest. Now it's often overlooked and actually it might be considered a little bit old school, but Pinterest is a hugely powerful search engine.

[00:20:48] Sarah Almond Bushell: That's, I utilize quite a lot in my early days in the Children's Nutritionist. So this is where you can create pins that drive traffic to your blog or even the landing pages for your lead magnets. And it works really, really well if you are in the food niche and have recipes, for example. Next up is YouTube and podcasting.

[00:21:11] Sarah Almond Bushell: Now, these platforms allow you to provide valuable content, but in a different format, either video or audio, and they also position you as an authority. So, video and podcasting are extremely powerful, more so than blogging or the written word as your audience connect with you more deeply.

[00:21:32] Sarah Almond Bushell: Since I started this podcast, I've had so many discovery calls with people who say, Sarah, I feel like I already know you. How amazing is that? Now with YouTube and podcasts, you can link out to your website, your lead magnet landing pages, but you can actually go one step further and create an SEO optimized blog post to go alongside your video or your podcast episode.

[00:21:57] Sarah Almond Bushell: And you would host this on your website. And SEO optimize that as well so that you'll get Google traffic coming to it as well. And then last but not least is guest speaking and expert appearances. So this is where you pitch yourself to be a guest on other people's podcasts or volunteer to be an expert speaker in their programs or their events.

[00:22:20] Sarah Almond Bushell: Or even responding to journalist requests, taking full advantage of press and PR. This is a fantastic way to grow your visibility in front of audiences and establish your credibility.

[00:22:34] Sarah Almond Bushell: Now, all of these strategies can be optimized to convert visitors into email subscribers, which I'm sure you know by now are your most valuable asset in your business. So now you might be thinking, but don't I have to be on social media? Won't my clients wonder why I'm not there? Well, here's the thing.

[00:22:54] Sarah Almond Bushell: You're the boss. You likely started this business to have more freedom and to design a life and business that suits you. So if you don't love social media and it's not bringing in the leads, do not do it. There is no one size fits all approach to business. I am. Super skeptical of those business coaches who tell you their way to grow a business because what worked for them might not work for you even if you are in the same niche.

[00:23:25] Sarah Almond Bushell: There are literally hundreds of ways to build a business and tons of strategies you can use. You get to choose the strategy that works best for you, that you enjoy, that aligns with your values as a human. You don't have to do it somebody else's way. It's all about designing the right strategy for you.

[00:23:48] Sarah Almond Bushell: So let's wrap up what we've covered today. We've talked about the emotional and practical toll that underperforming social media accounts can take on your business and how it can feel exhausting. draining and often totally unrewarding. I shared with you Emily's journey, which might have felt familiar to you and how we worked together to discover that her ideal clients were finding her through other channels, not social media.

[00:24:18] Sarah Almond Bushell: She made the brave decision to quit Instagram and guess what? Her business thrived without it. What I didn't say was she found that it actually freed up so much more time and headspace in her working week as a result of not being on social. We explored alternative lead generation strategies that can help you grow your business without having to rely on social media like SEO, blogging, Pinterest, YouTube, podcasting and guest expert appearances.

[00:24:51] Sarah Almond Bushell: These strategies allow you to reach your audience in a way that might feel more aligned with your values and your strengths. And it gives you the space to focus on what truly matters when you're a clinician, helping people. But the key takeaway is this. You are the boss of your business and your life if social media is draining your energy and you are not generating many leads from it, it's totally okay to step back or even quit.

[00:25:20] Sarah Almond Bushell: Your business doesn't have to follow the same path as everyone else's. You get to create the strategy that works for you. There's no one, single, right way. So my action step for you today is a simple one. Here's what I want you to do next. Just take 10 minutes today and have a look at your social media.

[00:25:42] Sarah Almond Bushell: Ask yourself, is this really working for me? Is it bringing in leads? And if not, Consider stepping back. And hopefully you should already be creating regular weekly or fortnightly content. So if you are, I encourage you to just choose one, whether it's SEO and blogging or video or podcasting or guest appearances, just choose one and go all in on it.

[00:26:07] Sarah Almond Bushell: Learn everything there is to know about it and optimize it as much as you can. Focus your energy there. And that is when your business will see growth. Remember, you don't have to do it all. And you certainly don't have to rely on social media to have a successful business. The right strategy is the one that feels good for you and actually works for you and your business.

[00:26:33] Sarah Almond Bushell: So thank you so much for tuning in today. If you found this episode helpful, I'd love it if you could share it with a fellow healthcare professional who might also be feeling overwhelmed by social media too. And don't forget to subscribe so you don't miss out on our next episode, where we are going to be talking all about money, how much you need to grow a business, and why for some it's not the be all and end all.

[00:26:57] Sarah Almond Bushell: But why I love it so much. So that's it for another week. I would love to know what you would love me to talk about next. Do you want more guests? Do you want more behind the scenes of how my business runs? Do you want more marketing strategy? More about what it takes inside and out to be a successful business owner?

 What's the one thing you need help with the most right now as it relates to building your business? Let me know via email on [email protected] and leave the word podcast in the subject line. Bye for now.