*writes one post & expects clients to come rolling in*

I hear / see this *all* the time…

Social media is a long term game.

• • Success comes from putting in the effort to create content…even when you don’t feel like it.
  • Success comes from interacting & engaging…even when you’re busy.
  • Success comes from consistently sharing your core message, over & over again.
     

Let me put it another way:

If you don’t expect your clients to become healthy by only eating healthy 1, 2, or even 3 days / week WHY oh WHY do you expect instantaneous success on social media with occasional effort?

So cliche, but so true!

It doesn’t take new visitors (aka potential clients) long to notice the inconsistency and judge you and your business based off of that.

You want to be someone that they can trust, and posting inconsistently subconsciously sends the message that they can’t trust you to “show up.” (Harsh, but true)

So the one’s I see rockin’ it on social media, you know what I see them doing?

1. 1. Consistently taking courses / learning behind the scenes on how to become a better copywriter, better at sales, better at design.
   2. Consistently making the effort to hop on stories and share real VALUE…on a consistent basis.
   3. Consistently interacting, engaging, and communicating with their audience & other potential followers.
      Consistently sharing the same core message.
      And even just consistently spending time on social media.
       

Moral of the story? Success on social media is a consistent effort over time…not instantaneous.

I know that so many in the online world talk about how consistency is one of the KEYS to success, but there’s a reason that they do…because it’s true.

Being consistent will get you in front of your dream clients more often. On average, people need to see you 7 times before they start to trust you (and eventually want to open their wallets to you).

In addition, it will signal to the algorithms that you’re *important* and have something to say. It will increase the amount of people who *see* your post (among several other factors).

That’s why I want to share with you the TOP 3 things you need to be consistent with, in order to have success on social media.

Introducing the triangle of consistency.
 

In order to see the most success you must make sure that you are being consistent in ALL 3 of these categories.

POSTING
ENGAGING
MESSAGING

POSTING

Feed posts

For best results, aim for at least 4 posts on your feed / week, 7 posts / week. As a side note, 4 high quality posts is always going to be better than 7 mediocre posts. So if you feel like you can only do 4 within your time limits, stick with that.

BONUS TIP: Writing content daily can be draining. I suggest either planning / writing content out on a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly basis.

Stories

Honestly, the more you show up on stories, the better. While there is an entire strategy on how to do this in the most effective way, daily stories are the way to go.

BONUS TIP: Show your face! Your audience NEEDS to connect with you as a person, especially if they are potentially thinking about working with you

ENGAGEMENT

Now more than ever on social media, you can’t have the mindset of “build it and they will come.” Simply posting consistently will not yield the results you are looking for. When it comes to engagement, the more the better.

If you’re looking for a concrete number to know how much interaction you should be doing on a daily basis, start with at least 30 minutes / day.

BONUS TIP: Create yourself a custom built engagement strategy so that you can engage with intention (so that you don’t waste your precious time!) You can learn how to do this, by checking out this FREE guide.

MESSAGE

Oh, where to begin on having a consistent message. Above all else, you must have this consistent. And the thing is, you don’t need 10K followers on IG to get your first client…or clients consistently — you just need to refine your voice & messaging so that you’re speaking straight to the soul of your ideal client.

Because a lack of a clear message can lead to:

• • Confusion within your audience (they don’t know what you do, how you work with people, etc)
•  
  • Lack of intimate connection between you & your audience (HINT: this is what sells)
•  
  • Looking like everyone else in your respective field / niche
     

When planning content to post, be sure to post with intention. Make sure your content ideas check the following boxes:

Helpful: keep your readers looking forward to your next post by providing informative, genuine content that solves their problems.

Relevant: if your audience can’t see how your content relates to them, it won’t be long until they tap the “Unfollow” button.

Entertaining: when we have an emotional reaction to something, we’re more likely to remember it. Entertaining content engages your audience and helps them remember you.
 

BONUS TIP: Ask your current patients or your current followers what topics they would like to see more of.

However, I also know that it’s not as simple as just telling you to be more consistent in these 3 areas. There are real BARRIERS that you may be holding you back.

I recently asked my followers on Instagram about WHAT was their biggest challenge to consistency on social media

PS

in case you missed the consistency challenge, you can download the post & story prompts here.

Do you identify with any of these top barriers?

You struggle to find the time to create content while also running a busy practice, being present for your family, and maintaining your own health.

You feel like you don’t have any ideas or that you’ve already wrote about the same thing over and over again.

You feel stuck in perfectionism mode.

You deal with analysis paralysis or having too many ideas and not knowing which one to execute.

You don’t know what your ideal clients / followers want to read about.

You feel disappointed with the numbers: posts are performing below average OR lead generation is currently non-existent.
You feel like your message is inconsistent.
You don’t know how to stand out in the over saturated health industry.
 

How many of these did you say “YES, that’s me!” to?
 

I totally get it. Your background and training didn’t prepare you for the world of social media.

Depending on which barrier(s) you are struggling with, read below to find tips on how to help you overcome each barrier.

Barrier 1

You struggle to find the time to create content while also running a busy practice, being present for your family, and maintaining your own health.
Batch your work and put it into your calendar. I usually plan at least 2-3 weeks of content at at time so I don’t have to worry about it on a day-to-day basis. Because I don’t need or want that stress of struggling to write a post when there’s absolutely no inspiration. (we all have those days!)

Barrier 2

You feel like you don’t have any ideas or that you’ve already wrote about the same thing over and over again.

Start a new note on your phone and jot down ideas when inspiration strikes. This often happens to me when I’m chatting with friends (and they mention a health struggle), browsing through my FB or IG feed, or simply walking down the street. This way when you go to write out your posts for the month, you already have several leads to go off of.

Barrier 3

You feel stuck in perfectionism mode.
Often whenever we get stuck in perfectionism mode, there’s often a deeper underlying limiting belief that’s holding us back from hitting publish. Of course, it’s always better to identify those limiting beliefs, but if you aren’t sure of WHY, here’s an exercise for you to try:

Set a time limit / post and be okay with “good enough.” Often those last few tweaks that we spend the most amount of time on, rarely make a difference.

Barrier 4

You deal with analysis paralysis or having too many ideas and not knowing which one to execute.

If you find yourself with so many ideas — that’s an amazing problem to have ;) However, I know that it can get overwhelming on knowing where to start. First, I recommend writing down or keeping track of these ideas somewhere so that you can always return to them later. This helps ease the feeling of having to write about it NOW.

Next, I suggest either creating a weekly or monthly theme for yourself to help narrow down which topics you should share about.

Barrier 5

You don’t know what your ideal clients / followers want to read about.
Write a sketch of your prospect. I like to take my top 3-4 clients that I really love and list out what I love about them, the questions that they ask me, AND the problems that they had before coming to me and the new problems that spring up while working with me.

Barrier 6

You feel disappointed with the numbers: posts are performing below average OR lead generation is currently non-existent.
The hard truth: not every post you create will perform well. Nor will each new post, out perform the last post that you created.

In addition, some of the types of posts that you must have (like the salesy) posts, will simply almost always have analytics that don’t look that great. BUT those types of posts are still necessary. Analytics only tell one side of the story.

If you aren’t getting new leads, it might be time to either dive analyse your feed or have an expert take a look to see why things aren’t moving the way they should.

Barrier 7

You feel like your message is inconsistent.

Something I like to do with my management clients is, The Map of Influence, to help bypass the frustration of a. running out of post ideas, and b. being inconsistent with your message.

The Map Of Influence is built off the idea of narrowing your focus rather than expanding your focus of topics. Counterintuitive, I know, but it works!

(I SHARE A MORE IN DEPTH GUIDE ON HOW TO DO THIS IN THE SOCIAL ACADEMY MEMBERSHIP)

Barrier 8

You don’t know how to stand out in the over saturated health industry.

Identify your special authority makeup by answering the below quesitons:

How are you different in your market?
Look at your entire past history?
What’s your employment history? Has it always been in the health field? Or a different sector of the health field?
What are your passions not related to health?

Now mix and match these in unlimited ways to see what you come up with! You don’t have to be normal — use your entire colorful history to identify your voice!

If you’re ready to take that extra step in becoming consistent on social media sign up for, The Social Academy, where you will find an even more in depth training on the above content.