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In this post, I lay out a powerful, 3-step process to help you build a million-dollar social media marketing plan…from scratch.
You’ll walk away with a true-to-you plan that DOESN’T have you twerking on Instagram, going live 24/7, or otherwise feeling like social media platforms are stealing the best hours of your life.
The best part is…
We won’t be talking about algorithms. Nor will we be talking about “what’s hot right now.”
Not that those things aren’t important. They do have their place.
But when it comes to building a 7-figure social media marketing plan – they are the icing, not the cake.
Instead, I’ll share a powerful approach that leverages timeless marketing principles and deep personal leadership…
To create a focused social media marketing plan that can, over time, generate millions in revenue for your business.
Let’s go.
For many of us, social media feels like this:
At best, it’s fun, social, and high-energy.
But at its worst, it’s crowded, loud, and overwhelming.
As a result, even the most brilliant and experienced women leaders struggle to figure out how to use social media to drive business results.
Teresa Vozza is a great example of this. Today, she’s the founder of a coaching startup that supports high-performing women leaders through 1:1 and group programs. Up until a few months ago, she was the Chief Human Resource Officer for the Canadian division of a global insurer with 16k employees and 200M customers worldwide.
In other words, this is a woman with some serious business chops. And even SHE struggled to figure out how to use social media effectively.
“Prior to becoming a coach, I wasn’t on social media a lot. I wasn’t on Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn. I kept it very private, very insular, and had a clear demarcation between work and personal life.”
Once Teresa decided to make the leap, she quickly learned that she had to be visible. But she wasn’t sure how to do it. She found social media overwhelming. She had concerns over what channel she should be on and what she was supposed to say.
You’ll hear more from Teresa as she shares how she fought through the confusion and eventually developed a social media marketing plan that worked for her business goals.
What IS a million-dollar social media marketing plan?
For the purposes of our work here today, I’m going to define it very specifically.
It is a clear, doable, and intentional plan that lays out the specific way you will approach social media in order to build your 7-figure business.
I’m going to repeat that last part.
A million-dollar social media marketing plan is a clear, doable, and intentional plan that lays out the specific way you will approach social media in order to build your 7-figure business.
This plan comprises 3 parts.
Part 1 is Niche Clarity. This includes who you are talking to, the problem you help them solve, and where they hang out. When you have NICHE CLARITY you will know which social platform you need to focus on and what you need to talk about when you’re on that platform.
Part 2 is INTENTION CLARITY. This includes WHAT YOU WANT TO ACHIEVE and HOW YOU WILL SHOW UP with your social media marketing.
Part 3 is SALES CLARITY. This includes how you will use social media to invite people to work with you. When you have SALES CLARITY, you will know exactly how you will use social media to make money.
It’s my belief that if you’re going to spend any amount of time on social media for your business, you NEED a 7-figure social media marketing plan.
Why? Because if YOU don’t approach social media with a clear, principled plan for how you will use it to generate 7 figures in income for you and your business…
You can bet your bottom dollar that the big social platforms have a plan for how they are going to make 7- figures off YOU.
The average person spends 4 hours per day on their phones, and the majority of this time is spent surfing social media.
That’s 61 full days A YEAR on social media.
Now imagine what would happen if you had a clear focused plan to use those 61 days a year to drive 7 figure growth in your business.
It would be LIFE CHANGING.
Now here’s the thing – you are an intelligent person. It’s not that you haven’t thought about this before. I haven’t met a female founder yet who doesn’t think she could be using social media better.
But because social platforms are designed to suck up our focus, keep us distracted, and monetize our attention…when you USE social media WITHOUT a clear plan, the result is ALWAYS overwhelm.
Teresa Vozza – the founder we heard from earlier, shared that she experienced that overwhelm when she was just starting her business and still speaking to a small audience.
But that overwhelm will hit you EVEN if you have a BIG audience.
Just ask Jasmine Parent, who was overwhelmed when one of her photos went viral… and people started pouring in.
“There were hundreds and hundreds of people. And then it was thousands of people asking me questions and how I did it.”
What you MUST know is that Jasmine and I are friends and used to play on the same basketball team.
Other useful facts: She’s a former social worker turned founder of health firm I Am Worthy Wellness. She’s the creator of the wildly popular Instagram page, Jasmine Losing It which has about 175k followers, and has been featured in People Magazine.
Now, that’s how it’s going….but not how it started.
After losing her father, Jasmine put on a lot of weight and didn’t feel like herself. In 2018 Jasmine made a New Year’s Resolution
“I kind of social worked myself and said, how can I improve my mental wellbeing and what do I need to do? And it was about taking care of myself from the inside out. So once I was at a place where the inner felt good, I physically wanted to make some changes. So I made a New Year’s resolution.”
She didn’t plan on sharing this online. But 3 months in she shared a progress pic on her personal Instagram and Facebook that ended up going viral.
“I started having people requesting my personal page, and I remember saying to Jeremy, my partner, I can’t have strangers on my personal Instagram seeing like what I do, right? The irony of that now.”
So, Jasmine decided to create an additional Instagram page where she could share her fitness journey, without people following her personal page. Jasmine Losing It was born.
For both Jasmine Parent AND Teresa Vozza, social media started out a little confusing, and a lot overwhelming.
In time, both women devised social media strategies that would ultimately generate enough revenue to quit their jobs and go all-in on their dream companies.
They each show up on social media completely differently.
But the foundational marketing strategies that drive their social media presence have a lot in common. And in the next section, we’ll break down the steps and use their stories to show YOU how to make your very own 7-figure social media marketing plan.
A Social Media Marketing Plan STEP 1: Get Niche Clarity.
The first step to developing a 7-figure social media marketing plan is to get niche clarity.
NICHE clarity is nothing short of the most important organizing principle in scaling a business. You don’t need a niche to START a business, but you do need one to scale it.
In a world where digital marketing has never been more saturated…and social media users have never been more overwhelmed and distracted…
You must focus if you want to stand out
500 million people share stories on Instagram daily.
Billions of social posts are created every day.
If you hope to make any money from your social media strategy you have to focus and become known for something specific.
When you have niche clarity, you know who you are, what you stand for, and the practical problem you address for people.
And when you know THESE things, you get really clear on which social media channels to use AND what your content and messaging should say.
And clarity on these two things – which social channel to use AND what to say on this channel – is the foundation of a 7 figure strategy.
Because without clarity on these two things, any viral success you have on social media is simply speeding up the rate at which you confuse people.
Money and attention flow to the place of highest clarity.
Teresa Vozza is a fantastic example of how niche clarity can help you create a money-making social media strategy.
In the beginning of her business, when she was first figuring out social, she was showing up on pretty much every platform. But that was exhausting and she wasn’t seeing any ROI. So she decided to focus on the places where her potential clients were hanging out.
“That took a lot of trial and error. I got very crisp as to where I was going to spend most of my time, and what kind of message I was going to create when I’m on it. In my business, that’s LinkedIn.”
After trying to be everywhere, Teresa felt sweet relief, as she puts it. She knew how to focus her time and energy.
But something else happened too. The types of people who were contacting her were highly motivated and were looking to solve a problem that she could help them with.
By focusing on the right platform for her, her business, and her clients, Teresa was able to craft a message that was clear, concise, and attracted the right kind of clients, while disqualifying those who weren’t.
I love how Teresa describes niche clarity – she calls it “getting really crisp.”
As Teresa got CRISP about her niche, she uncovered 4 powerful insights about HER audience that would form the basis of her social media marketing plan.
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Insight 1. She worked with highly motivated professional women
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Insight 2. These women had big jobs and big careers. They did not have time for fluff and they valued direct communication
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Insight 3. These women had specific questions about how to land big corporate roles and lead in complex corporations without compromising their femininity or sacrificing their health and relationships.
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Insight 4. When it came to these specific questions, these women were looking for answers on Instagram or Facebook. They weren’t looking on LinkedIn.
BOOM. Now Teresa knew exactly what to talk about…and where to show up. Her social media presence became a lot more focused, efficient, and lucrative.
“I’m at a point in my business where the people that come to me are highly motivated. I make it very clear that I work with a specific type of woman with a specific type of problem. And so that has allowed me to focus on a solid number of women instead of a high volume that are not necessarily looking to use my services.”
Did you notice the confidence with which Teresa speaks about her social media approach? She’s clear and purposeful. She knows where to show up and what to say. That’s the power of niche clarity.
She also made a super important point about building your million-dollar social media marketing plan.
It’s not necessarily about building a massive audience with hundreds of thousands of followers.
That kind of reach is great.
But for you, it could be unnecessary. What really matters is that you’re talking to the RIGHT people and sharing the RIGHT message.
A 7-figure audience looks different depending on your specific business. And the place to start is to get niche clarity. Get as specific as you can about who you serve, what you stand for, and the practical problem you solve for them.
Uncovering a lucrative niche on your own can be challenging. Join us for a free educational webinar on how to do this. Our simple, 3-part process helps you create a rock-solid niche, where you’ll increase sales, get more leads, and grow revenue… without overwork or overwhelm!
A Social Media Marketing Plan STEP 2: Intention Clarity
Now, niche clarity is going to help you get a lot more focused and strategic in your social media plan.
Intention and clarity will save your sanity AND your soul.
Intention clarity happens when you create a clear set of guidelines about how you’ll show up on social media.
There are 3 main categories of intention you are going to set.
What’s the nature of your relationship with your audience?
Are you their teacher? Are you their sage – a wise, experienced leader? Are you a no BS truth-teller? Are you a fellow seeker on the path with them?
Examples:
Brene Brown and Gary Vee: man and woman of the people, discovering insights and sharing their journeys
Glennon Doyle: fellow struggler trying to make it through life, just like you
Rachel Rodgers: million-dollar badass
Me: a wise teacher offering practical insight
What do you want them to experience when they come to your channel?
Valuable strategies? Inspiration? Laughter?
Examples:
Brene Brown: shared learnings in the human condition
Glennon Doyle: deep connectivity to the messiness of life
Rachel Rodgers: insight into what’s possible when you’re a millionaire
Me: Practical insight to help you change the world
What boundaries govern how YOU will show up?
Are you a 15 stories a day kind of woman? Or are you more boundaried than that?
Examples:
Amanda Tress: document her day to day life
Brene Brown: a couple of posts per week
Answering these questions is essential when it comes to having a healthy, productive, and sustainable relationship with social media.
Jasmine is a GREAT EXAMPLE OF the power of INTENTION CLARITY. Throughout our interview, she talked a lot about her audience: men and women who are at the beginnings of their health awakening.
She talked about how, when she was in their shoes, support, encouragement, and 100% acceptance of who you are NOW were key.
Her relationship with her audience is as a fellow traveller on the path who is a few steps ahead.
What they experience when they come to her page is practical support and cheerleading to stay on the path no matter what’s going on around them.
And her boundaries are that she’ll show up multiple times per day, no matter whether she feels motivated to be on social or not. And THIS COMMITMENT – and the self-acceptance required to show up with this level of commitment are what has helped her build an audience of 175k followers.
“My number one piece of advice for females online is to be yourself. And I know that everyone says that and it might feel a little bit played out, but it needs to be said. We talk about social media as being a highlight reel, you need to get rid of that. Show all of it. Show the good days, show the not-so-good days. And if you’re having a full-on breakdown and you feel comfortable sharing that, share that with people too, because it makes you relatable and people don’t look at you as somebody up on a pedestal. You’re right there with them and you are the same. We are the same and we’re all in this and it makes people feel closer to you and it really draws people in. And that’s what keeps people coming back and telling their friends about you and sharing your story with others.”
Now what Jasmine just shared is fascinating. I know that for many of you, the idea of showing up multiple times per day, whether you feel like it or not, would be exhausting. But it works for Jasmine BECAUSE she has intention clarity.
She is 100% clear on her relationship with her audience, what she wants them to experience AND the boundaries she has in place around how she’ll show up. Her boundary is “show up as I am, no putting on a show required.” Therefore, she’s able to make social a part of her everyday life.
Teresa Vozza on the other hand posts 3 times per week, and that’s it.
In both cases, the women’s social media posting habits are congruent with their business intentions…this is what makes the whole thing work.
And that brings me to a critical point.
Your intention clarity trumps social media algorithms.
The reason social media is so ineffective for so many founders is that you haven’t taken the time to establish your intention clarity. So there’s a vacuum in your leadership. And that makes you and your business incredibly vulnerable to the ineffective, time-wasting habit that is “posting with no purpose.”
You know, Jasmine shared that she really hasn’t paid much attention to algorithms at all.
LET ME REPEAT – a woman with 175K Instagram followers shared she barely pays attention to algorithms and basically just started making consistent reels within the last couple of months.
Jasmine’s example points out why having niche clarity and intention clarity are such critical components of a million-dollar social media marketing plan.
Over to you: ask yourself these 3 questions to get Intention clarity for YOUR million-dollar social media marketing plan.
Q1: What is my relationship with my audience?
Q2: What do I want people to experience when they come to my channel?
Q3: What boundaries will govern how and when I show up?
Clarity on these 3 components helps anchor HOW you use social media on YOUR INTENTION versus getting sucked up in the scrolling vortex that social media giants create and monetize on the back of your attention.
If you desire and are ready to build a marketing ecosystem that truly positions you in a Category of One, grab our free resource, Nail Your Platform.
A Social Media Marketing Plan Step 3: Sales Clarity
The final piece of the puzzle when it comes to building your 7-figure social media marketing plan is….SALES CLARITY.
How do you actually use social media to make money?
There are two parts to this. One is foreshadowing and the other is seeding.
The term “Foreshadowing” is most often used to describe a storytelling technique in which you indicate that a future event is going to happen.
But you do it in an artful way. When you’re foreshadowing, you aren’t just announcing that something big is coming.
You are getting creative and building some curiosity and intrigue in your audience. In marketing, we call this cultivating desire.
Jasmine uses fun, creating foreshadowing to sell out her wellness programs. She says it’s the best way she’s promoted anything she’s done. First, she does the program herself – without even saying it will be available at a later date – incorporates it into her daily life, and shares what she’s doing in her IG stories. This gets her audience excited and builds hella anticipation…
“And then, boom. You guys remember last month when I was doing THIS and now you guys want to do it with me, let’s get that rolling.”
Such a smart, simple and powerful idea.
Here’s a challenge for you – how can you employ foreshadowing in your social media marketing plan? How can you demonstrate yourself eating your own dog food as it were? You could showcase yourself using your own tools. Or create a case study of a client using your tools. Incorporate your offers into YOUR daily life so that you have a basis of trust for when you move on to step 2 of Sales Clarity, which is SEEDING.
Now seeding is super easy. This is where you simply mention what you offer and what next step someone should take to work with you.
You don’t need to complicate it. Just plant the seed.
For example, Teresa Vozza creates her great content 3 times a week on LinkedIn and will invite people to set up a consult to explore how they can work together.
Here are other ways you can seed on social:
- Invite people who are curious about working together to DM you
- Tell people specifically how you help them
- Invite people to join a webinar
- Send a message to someone who has been engaging on your content regularly to set up a get to know you call.
- Invite people to download a free resource or tool.
Super, super simple.
AND YET – for some odd reason, it’s so easy for entrepreneurs to forget to plant seeds.
Why? Because seeds don’t produce fruit immediately.
So many founders never have a million-dollar social media marketing plan because they never give their seeds time to take root.
They are so busy looking for quick results and falling prey to every new tactic out there that they exhaust themselves or turn social media into an unsustainable practice…
So they never end up seeing results.
You have to be willing to play the long game.
Last year we implemented a strategy for LinkedIn and when we rolled it out, I knew the biggest results would come a year later. I followed the 3 steps I outline here. And a year later, I can proudly say the results worked brilliantly AND they are totally sustainable for me and my team.
You CAN create a 7 figure social media marketing strategy from scratch and without overwhelm.
You just have to get clear, be patient, and stay on track.
Recap
OK, so let’s wrap up with a recap of the 3 steps required to build a million dollar social media marketing plan.
Step 1: Get niche clarity.
Step 2: Get intention clarity.
Step 3: Get sales clarity.
You may want to re-read this post and create some action steps for yourself.
Once you have clarity on these 3 things, it will amplify the impact of any extras you add-in.
There are so many social media consultants I have hired and admire because they really know their stuff. Folks like Margo Mulvihill, Angelique Binet, Online Drea, and Josh Ubaldi. What I teach in this episode isn’t meant to replace the wisdom of the best social media consultants. It’s to anchor that wisdom in a strong growth strategy.
When you have niche clarity, intention clarity, and sales clarity, you can keep your sovereignty as CEO of your company when you hire social media marketing consultants to advise you.
It will help you stay grounded, centered, and SOLVENT while you navigate social media updates and algorithm changes.
Without these 3 foundational steps, you don’t have a million-dollar social media marketing plan.
You have a series of disconnected tactics and a recipe for overwhelm. This is super common and the reason so many founders are losing their minds, and their money, posting without purpose.
How can you take what I have shared in this post and create lasting change in your company? Learn more about how to share your unique message and brand voice on Social Media in this free guide.
Thanks for reading. If you know a female founder who would benefit from this post, please share it with them!
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