#096 - How to Boost Social Visibility for Your Small Business with Leilani Wells

Show Notes

Your products and services may be incredible, but that doesn’t guarantee success and sales growth.That’s why it is so important that your business be visible online, so your ideal customers can find you. In fact, prospective buyers learn about local businesses online more than anywhere else.To find out how you can raise your brand’s awareness and get seen, co-hosts Nola Boea and Lori Vajda talked to visibility expert Leilani Wells where she shared her top insights and tips.

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In This Episode You’ll Learn 

• Why it’s important to know how your customers feel and what they think about your brand.
• How targeting the wrong audience can breakdown trust with customers.
• Why an increase in exposure doesn’t mean an increase in sales.  
• What is the right number of hashtags to use when posting on social platforms.

​Key points Lori and Nola are sharing in this episode:

(05:50:43) Visibility is less about the number of posts your brand has on social platforms and more of this key ingredient. 
(8:38.51) Anyone can post, not everyone can engage. What makes a post engaging are these three things.
(12:12:62) The three biggest mistakes many solopreneurs make when creating posts for social platforms.
(16:05:29) These are the social platform that are more likely to help with SEO and to let brands get seen in search engines better.
(20:02:08) When it comes to hashtags, search engine optimization is the key.

Connect with Leilani Wells

• https://www.leilaniwells.com
• https://www.facebook.com/lani.m.wells
• https://www.pinterest.com/leilanimedia/_created
• Instagram, Twitter and TikTok: @LeilaniMWells

Resources 
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Transcript

[00:00:00] Lori: Is your business on social media? Have you considered how your post looked prospective customers? Do you struggle with increasing your business' visibility? If you are an entrepreneur who wants to raise awareness about your company products and services? Without sounding salesy or worse, boring on social platforms, then this episode's for you. Stay tuned friends because we are talking to a visibility expert and brand manager who specializes in helping solopreneurs and small business owners create social posts that get seen and raise your visibility.
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[00:00:35] Announcer: You're listening to the Sticky Brand Lab podcast. Where time strapped professionals like you learn how to create a business you love in as little as three hours a week.

[00:00:47] Nola: The goal of social media posts, regardless of the platform is to produce content that sparks conversation, not comments, conversations are what increases your brand's visibility and engagement with current and prospective buyers. And when you think about it, Content that gets people to stop and read should really be the goal for any piece of content that represents your business. Well, friends, our guest today is here to share her wisdom, experience and expertise in that meet Leilani Wells, a visibility coach with a passion for helping entrepreneurs get seen.

[00:01:23] Lori: Known for her unique ability to tap into the talents and strengths of her clients, Leilani Wells' passion is helping purpose driven entrepreneurs, combining her social media, business and intuitive skills, Leilani masterfully identifies an individual's potential and then guides them to fulfill it by showing them how to amplify and share their unique talents within the world of social media and online marketing. Leilani is a mom, author, business owner, coach, and philanthropist. Welcome, Leilani!

[00:01:56] Leilani: Hi. Hi, I'm so excited, you guys.

[00:02:01] Lori: Well, just as a side note, people should know that she had a really big trip that she did, and we are fortunate that she finished her trip just in time to appear here. So thank you for doing that as well.

[00:02:13] Nola: Yes.

[00:02:14] Leilani: No, this is the best. Just for like your audience to really understand the type of trip I was on, it was a V I P cruise with my business coach and I had the opportunity to take my son with me as well, who's 10, and it was his first cruise. So, coming off the cruise from that experience to this is just momentum to me and exciting, you know, things to come and I'm really happy. So thank you for having me.

[00:02:38] Lori: Now you flattered us. So thank you for being here. So to get started, when people typically think about social media, they think either about the time suck of coming up with posts first for the platforms, or they feel the only way to get in front of people is that kind of pay to play model, which is always just very frustrating and costly. Your belief is that it's the wrong way to think about social platforms. In fact, you believe when entrepreneurs use their gifts and talents to get seen, they get to enjoy a more fulfilling business experience. But before we explore the ways brands can increase their visibility, can you tell us, how did you get into this field?

[00:03:24] Leilani: Mm. Okay. Whenever I'm asked that, I'm like, which story should I tell? Cause there's so many things that lead up to it, but to keep it on the shorter end of the story, I'll say that there were a lot of things that led up to make this make sense for me and. Two of the things. One of it was that I have a long history in sales. So, I have about 20 years of sales experience. I used to run call centers and door knocking crews.
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[00:03:51] Lori: Wow.

[00:03:51] Leilani: I started working at the age of 14. When you start that young and you have life experiences that have you starting to understand people and human psychology and the way people move, it starts to be really an easy thing to understand what social media is, which is really communication. And I'll delve more into that later. Right. But yeah, so I understood that this was another opportunity to get in front of people. And at the time when social media started being a thing, I was a single mother living in a state where I had no family. I had moved outta state and then gotten pregnant at that time when nobody was there to be like my tribe, right, to help raise my son. So when I say single parent, like I literally paid two babysitters to round the clock, watch my son while I was working, running businesses, doing all these things. And for about four and a half years, I slept like four hours at night. So, it got to a point where this could no longer go on. How do I change this? And at my desk when everyone else was at break and having their smokes or whatever, I was, friend someone on Facebook, right? Cause it all started with Facebook. And I realized that I understood social media in a way that experienced business owners, that ran their business through referrals and other forms of marketing, didn't. So then they started noticing what I was doing and coming to me, and I started learning business through helping them with social media. And so that's how I first became a social media expert and then it then transitioned into visibility. And I became a visibility coach because of the fact that I have so much sales experience and so much just love for helping people understand how to express themselves and draw in their ideal client, that I wanted people to stop asking me, well, how do I open my TikTok account and my Instagram and these techy things that they can get the answer for on YouTube? Like, let's go a little deeper. There's a reason why you're not looking that up. And so that's a snippet of how I, I started becoming a visibility coach and doing what I do.

[00:05:49] Nola: That's very cool. Well, and now you take a little bit different approach to entrepreneurs who are posting on social media platforms. You just said, it's not just about how to open an account. You focus on visibility rather than just posting, posting, posting. So this is a two-part question. First, in what ways do social media posts help a brand, like a solopreneur's brand, with its online visibility? And, how do you define an engaging presence on social media?

[00:06:23] Leilani: So, as far as that question, it's interesting. Because a lot of times clients come to me or potential clients come to me and they say, Hey, Leilani, I wanna have this many followers or this many clients. And they go into, well, how many posts does it take? And what's like the formula for it? And what they're surprised to find out is that exposure online is not a guarantee that everyone's just gonna come knocking on your door. Right? So I have a very different approach because like I shared, I did run call centers for quite a long time. So I am happy to initiate and I feel that the post itself, even though we do the call to action in all the posts, the thing is, is that everyone's not gonna reach out to you. Some people do like to be sold. Because they are confident in themselves to just say, no, thank you, if they don't want something. And they don't take it personal. They're excited to be wanted. Especially if you look at human design, the Projectors, they really want you to come and ask them, right? And so there's this misconception out there of what these posts do and how you're supposed to draw people in. when you go and you interact in person at an event, or you interact over the phone or Zoom, people are looking at you afterwards. You're LinkedIn page, for example. That's like your resume. So, I tell people all the time, don't think that these posts are gonna get you business. It is going to get you business in a different way than you thought. And you have to do the whole package, and that means visibility. Being visible means sometimes pick up the phone and ask someone or do they need anything right.

[00:08:01] Nola: That makes sense. It's like each one is almost like a bread crumb, not, necessarily a hook.

[00:08:08] Leilani: Exactly, exactly. And, and one more thing. With social media, the fear that some people I won't say all, have attached to that is because they're not recognizing that it's a form of communication, and that they can communicate on social in the way that they love. If they don't like Instagram, don't go on Instagram. You go and you focus on what makes you happy and you build your crowd, your environment, your tribe there, and you will see progress.

[00:08:33] Nola: How do you define an engaging presence on social media? Because everybody can post. What makes it engaging?

[00:08:41] Leilani: I love this question. Thank you so much. Okay. So. The great thing about social media it's as with anything, if you understand that you're not just looking at a computer screen or some device, and you understand that there's a human being on the other side, that's where it all begins. For example, I have clients that come to me and they have 200 followers that are like, well, I just have 200 followers. I need 200,000. I'm like, okay, so if you had 200 people sitting in front of you, would you just ignore them? No. So if we wanna know how to be engaging, we just think about how we would be with someone in our own home, or if we went to the grocery store or whatever, like, are you gonna wanna make them laugh or smile or shake their hand? What would engage if you were in person with them, cuz you actually can be in person with someone through that device. They can feel you if you let them.

[00:09:38] Nola: That's profound.

[00:09:39] Lori: I'm reframing what you said in my head to think about it from the perspective of, if I had somebody in front of me, I would be sharing some parts of myself as well as inquiring more about them. And I think if that's the case, one of the mistakes is we are posting as though we're telling people rather than talking to people.

[00:10:04] Leilani: Love that. You're spot on. And I don't know when we air, but I will say today, I made a post very similar about, Hey, like we've all had enough of the serious stuff. Cuz I don't know, you know, if you ladies have seen my Facebook lately, but it's been meme and meme after meme and just people are just cracking up. And that's my intention. Like, why is everyone showing that they're such a serious business professional? Let's be real here. We've had a rough few years, every single person has. And so why not laugh? Why not bring something fresh and new and allow people to want to be around you? Not just to think you are on some pedestal so they can hire you. You know what I mean?

[00:10:49] Nola: I love it.

[00:10:50] Lori: If being funny is not natural to you, I was gonna say, because you have a very engaging personality. So to me it wouldn't be surprising that you would have some fun things as your posts. But if that's not part of your personality, is there another way that you can share some parts of yourself? Not just be serious?

[00:11:10] Leilani: Yeah. Yeah. I understand what you're saying about my personality is like bigger than life. I know that about myself and I know that's not everybody, but here's what I love to share with people who express that to me. Everybody has a thing. Everyone has more than one thing. It's not about looking at how, like big my thing is. It's like, if you take yourself a little bit further than you do, as far as self-expression, cuz it's all about self-expression. That's all it is. Then people will notice the difference and it'll capture them. You don't have to be the biggest, baldest or whatever. We just have to be the biggest, baddest us. For example, I was hanging out with you and you were already amazing. And then all of a sudden you announced, and I was like, whoa. I wish I had that voice. Like, like, I mean, okay. So everybody has a thing. Everyone has multiple things.

[00:12:03] Lori: That's a really good point. And I think very helpful. So switching gears just a little bit, can you share what you see as the three biggest mistakes many solopreneurs make, when on social platforms?

[00:12:19] Leilani: One big mistake is they are focused on the attention being on themselves, like what they want to get out of the post. And that's great. But when I say that, I say that to express that that's all they're focused on. They're not understanding that everything they get is by understanding what the person on the other end wants to receive.
[00:12:41] Lori: That's a really important point.

[00:12:44] Nola: Mm-hmm.

[00:12:45] Leilani: Yeah. For example, let me ask you ladies this. So when you open up your phone to look at it, like on social media, why are you doing that? What are you trying to do?

[00:12:57] Nola: I'm seeking information or entertainment.

[00:12:59] Leilani: Exactly. Bingo. Bingo. And with social media, which of the two, are you usually wanting more than other? Information or entertainment?

[00:13:10] Nola: Usually, well it depends.

[00:13:13] Leilani: Okay. That's fair. Fair, fair.

[00:13:14] Nola: I want information about other people or I want other people to entertain me with their information.

[00:13:19] Leilani: Yeah, exactly. Right. OK. Love it. Love it. OK. So. I guarantee you. Nobody wants to hear your 10 page thesis and theories and all these things. If they do, then they need to be entertained to get that far. Right. They didn't open up a book for that reason. So all these people trying to slam you with all this stuff they know, it's like stressing you out. It's like how many hours are there in the day? Right. And that's why these videos have all these jump cuts now by the professionals who get this. Jump cuts are when you edit so fast, you're like chopping all over the place. Right. But that's what we need to do to keep people engaged. And it is just like, if we just understand that, then we'll stop boring people and like getting on our pedestal, telling them all our accolades. Like they don't care. If they like you, they wanna work with you. Right. So entertain them. And I don't mean you have to be funny. I mean, bring some value that's lighthearted in any way, shape or form. And that's the one thing.

The second biggest mistake people make about social media is that they overthink things and they just don't show up. If you had, just going back to someone coming over, if you have somebody coming over, you're not gonna say, well, I don't have a five-star chef here, so I can't feed you. Okay. My couch, I didn't buy it brand new and other people sat on it. So you gotta stand while you're over here. You know, I haven't optimized this couch yet.

[00:14:47] Nola: Just do it. In other words, What is our saying?

[00:14:50] Lori: Say yes to the mess.

[00:14:51] Leilani: I love that. I love that. And I'll take it a step further. It's not always gonna be messy when it's not perfect. It's actually gonna make your ideal clients understand that you are human and more relatable and they can work with you because if you show up so perfect, they're gonna feel like they can never attain that. They can't get to that goal. I can never be perfect. So let me go look for someone I can see myself being like. Because I can't get there. You're gonna put them off if you don't have some semblance of a way they can relate to you or be human.

The third thing. I would say, they miss opportunities to collaborate. Cuz they're so concerned with selling, which I love, but I think not recognizing an opportunity to partner up with someone and add value in partnerships and collaborations is, is something that people missed out on with social media, I think.

[00:15:47] Nola: That sounds like really good advice, especially for business owners. Definitely. So if a business owner wants to achieve better online visibility, what social media platforms are best for, I'm gonna say SEO, search engine optimization? So which social platform will let people get seen in search engines better?

[00:16:09] Leilani: For search engines, I think what still is king & queen are, LinkedIn and YouTube. So here's what I'll say. I'll start with YouTube. Google and YouTube is owned by the same they're intertwined. And also, when you are searching for something in YouTube, that is its own search engine tied to YouTube and all of that. So you get a video answer. So a lot of people are in there looking for answers all the time. So they're just linked up. So YouTube, very important. Secondly, LinkedIn. LinkedIn is like your resume. Years ago, I wasn't even focused on growing my LinkedIn and I had made sure that my bio was optimized. Basically, somebody found me on LinkedIn and it became a years-long relationship. I coach her on occasion. She immediately asked me to speak at an event, had me on a podcast, all kinds of things that we've done together based off of finding me on LinkedIn.

[00:17:04] Nola: What are the best ways to optimize those posts for SEO?

[00:17:09] Leilani: I would not necessarily, when we talk about optimization, just say the posts for those platforms. I would say, if you wanna optimize your LinkedIn, understanding what's at the top of LinkedIn at the beginning first. Meaning your cover photo, your banner, and your picture being positioned properly. Your face should be in there. It should be high def. When you put a picture that's a profile pic, and this is for people who are business owners or entrepreneurs, and looking to be intentional and expand their business. But when I see a photo of someone sitting in their car with their seatbelt over them and just snapping a photo. I'm not going to friend you. I don't think you're a bad person. I think you're probably fun and amazing, but we're not ready to do business here. And I am also looking at the fact, if your picture is like far away, the pixels are all off and you're not really showing me a good clear image. I'm not going to accept that friend request or reach out and friend you. I also feel that if you have no picture or someone that's not you, that you're likely a spam account, maybe you're too insecure to show your face. Something that's weird and freaking me out, I'm not going to accept your friend request. You need to, if you're a business owner, have your face, not your logo either. I wanna know who you are. The owner of the company. That's the way I feel about that. Also, I love a good straight on shot or a cool shot. If you're going like side, I wanna see your eyes. Cause I wanna know your confidence. Okay. I wanna know if you're providing a service that you're confident. For us women, a lot of us have been raised to be cutey and we do this thing like this, like the side cutey tilt, and that is something that's not a business photo to me because it shows that you're great and you're nice, but it doesn't show me that you can get the job done. So that for me is a no-no as well. What is great is something that's centered really well. You don't have to be made up or you can be made up. It's who you are. But the pixilation should be clear. It should be an intentional photo.

[00:19:20] Lori: Well, one of the things in optimization that we've been trained to think about is hashtags. And I see hashtags used everywhere, and I really recently found that less hashtags actually got more business than more hashtags. So I wanna know your opinion here. First, how important is it to incorporate hashtags on posts? Every post? Some post? What's your thought?

[00:19:50] Leilani: This is the way I see hashtags, okay? I see hashtags as an ebb and flowing thing and something to use, but it is ebb and flowing when it matters, how it matters, all of that. I put hashtags in places and amounts where it's advised and not advised. I mix it up because it changes so much, what you're supposed to do, and the way I see it is search engine optimization is what it is. Number one, it's another form of optimization because each of these platforms have their own search engine. Right? That's what a hashtag is.

Just to give you what may work for your audience, is, for instance, TikTok, I use one to three hashtags. Instagram it varies. I can use five hashtags, two hashtags, it varies all over the place. LinkedIn, I use around three to eight hashtags, even which some people may think is crazy, but I love it because they're not heavily used there so it puts me in places. And Facebook, I just use hashtags really for fun. Usually like to say something funny in the hashtag.

That being said, these search engines are ever evolving. So, it picks up on a hashtag where you didn't used to have to have one, and now you do, now that post is there. I post hashtags that are relevant. And then I post hashtags that at the moment in time that I feel it's an amount for that platform that works, then that's what I go with at that moment in time. And then I move on with my life. Cause really, if you create great content, quality content, it doesn't matter.

[00:21:22] Lori: That's a good point. Especially that whole relevance. Do what you are doing because there is that ebb and flow and you just never know when that's going to be. As a business owner, how do you figure out what's the best hashtag to use in relation to your post, your target audience and your business?

[00:21:40] Leilani: I love that. The hashtags that I use, that are for my business. So when people follow me regularly, if you wanna have your own hashtag that you're known for, especially on LinkedIn, people can look at the whole thread. Like my signature program, Get Seen. I have #GetSeen, I have a Facebook group, that's Passionate Profits. So I have a #P2P and #PassionateProfits that I use a lot. But as far as how I choose my hashtags, I choose it with relevancy to what I'm posting, number one.

Number two, I choose it where it's not overused. Like if, for example, you are an account that just has a few hundred followers and your hashtag has 10 million people using it, why are you even putting that hashtag cause no one's ever gonna see it. But if it has like 50,000 people that have used it or a hundred thousand people that have used it, that means that's a lot of people looking at it, and you can get seen cuz it's low enough. So that's how I pick my actual hashtags.

[00:22:36] Nola: That is good advice. Now I gotta go back and, and edit all my posts. I'm kidding. I'm saying yes to mess. But that's why you're here, Leilani. I mean, this has really been an info-packed discussion. And I know we've just skipped over the surface and I'm talking and skipped kinda like one of those stones you call it stones. Yes. Yeah. And being that our audience is made up of aspiring entrepreneurs who are ready to start their side businesses. We would love it. If you would come back and do another episode, this time focused specifically on increasing your visibility on LinkedIn. Because I know we scratched the surface. I would so love to take a deep dive in that. Would you be willing to do that?

[00:23:30] Leilani: Yes. Thank you. Yes, you guys are fun. Very cool. thank you.

[00:23:38] Lori: But before we go, can you tell us what is one thing listeners who are just tuning in and learned a whole lot today? What is one thing they can do to improve their visibility as a business on Facebook?

[00:23:53] Leilani: I would say, start having fun again. And while you're having fun, do calls to action. Because I talked about a lot of stuff here today, and it's great. But if you guys just follow me, you can learn all that stuff over time. I just want you guys to start and not get overwhelmed. Cuz social media gets to be fun. It is communication. And if you guys are like me working a business that you love, that you're passionate about, then let's not lose our joy. Let's have some fun with it. Let's just focus on the joy.

[00:24:29] Lori: To clarify. When you talk about calls to action, are you suggesting that people should put calls to action on every post, on some posts, is there method that you were thinking of?

[00:24:42] Leilani: Well, I put calls to action daily. If I feel like putting on, on every post I will, but I basically feel that if you aren't selling, then you're not in business. Because there's no money coming in. Right. And especially, but this is my personal opinion. Okay. But I feel that as women, we have been raised to be nice and not be pushy, not, you know, ruffle anyone's feathers. And somehow we've thought that sales aren't good. And it's interesting because when I feel like when women sell, we're selling to raise up communities. And we're selling to make change and shifts and change the world and be like a light for people and do big, amazing things, donate to charities. I mean, change the world, take care of our families, all this stuff. And then the men I've worked with who, I'm not making a gender statement to say that all of guys are doing this, but it is a very let's cut and dry. What are the numbers? So I sell as much as I feel like I have something amazing to offer. I'm gonna do a call to action and say, Hey, come buy this and let's change the world together.

[00:25:53] Lori: I love that.

[00:25:54] Leilani: Thank you. And by the way, a call to action is getting them to do something. It's not always buy my stuff. It's saying, Hey, comment in the post, or gimme a thumbs up, or what do you think about this, share with me, or whatever the case may be.

[00:26:10] Lori: That's really important. I think a lot of times when we think of calls to action, we do think of selling, but you're saying no. Tell people what you want them to do. Engage with me. Talk to me, let me know your thoughts. And periodically, Hey, I've got a course starting or talk to me about more information about my class. Absolutely.

Thank you. Leilani for being our guest. If someone wants to learn more about you, your programs, especially how to be more visible on social media platforms or a particular social media platform, where should they go and how can they connect with you?

[00:26:46] Leilani: Right now, at the moment of this recording, I keep saying, my website is under construction, but it is however accessible. so don't judge me, but you can find me there. It's LeilaniWells.com and you can find what you need on how to reach me on all the social media platforms as well as a great place to find all my links, get a free Visibility Cheat Sheet from me, you can go to my Instagram and click the link. I mean, really any place you go find me, you're gonna see a clickable to get the cheat sheet and all of my links, but my Instagram and all of my Instagram, Twitter and TikTok, all of them are the same. It's @LeilaniMWells, L E I L A N I, M for my middle initial, Wells. And that's my handle for all three of those platforms. And there's a clickable link you can get stuff. Um, hit me up, all that.

[00:27:39] Lori: That's great. Well friends, thank you so much for listening to this episode. We hope it makes all the difference in you getting started on your business so you can create your best and most exciting life. If you found the information shared here today helpful, let us know by posting where you're listening or on our Facebook page.

[00:27:59] Nola: Not sure how to turn your idea into a profitable side business? Contact us at stickybrandlab.com/contact. We'd be happy to help you.

[00:28:07] Lori: Be sure to come back next Tuesday and every Tuesday for another informative, inspiring and motivating episode. And remember. Actions create results. So tap into your desire to create a business and brand you love by taking 1% action every day. Small steps, big effects.

[OUT-TAKE]

[00:28:28] Nola: So, that brings us to if a person, if stick to the script, Nola. So that brings us

[00:28:37] Leilani: It's difficult for people to stick to the script. My bad.
[00:28:44] Nola: No, this is good.