SPEAKER_01 0:00

And you just give yourself permission to be a beginner. Just know that you're gonna suck and that's okay. And just keep going. And every video gets better. You know, you just get better than yesterday.

SPEAKER_00 0:14

All right, welcome to another episode of Connections That Matter, where we highlight Colorado's best networkers and what they're doing to make connections that help them grow their business. And today I have uh, you probably have seen her on social media. She's one of Colorado's best. We have Jen Peterson from Soleil Social with Jen. Welcome, Jen.

SPEAKER_01 0:32

Hey, thanks for having me.

SPEAKER_00 0:33

Awesome. Well, uh, I've known you a long time, Jen. We went to high school together, but to watch your career really take off with this business has been awesome. Um, so the people who haven't met you though, share a little bit more about what you do.

SPEAKER_01 0:46

So I help business owners specifically figure out what kind of content to post to bring in clients and visibility to their business. So social media is really different for business owners. For personal, you're not sharing your dinner pictures and your kid pictures, but when you're marketing a business, it takes some thought and some intentionality.

SPEAKER_00 1:06

So well, and what's been cool about watching you is you are really showcasing how it's done because um you're in my algorithm, I'm I'm following uh what you're doing, but it's it's so engaging. And then I've just seen the quality of your production really, really go up there. But um, I talk with a lot of entrepreneurs and they're just they love their what they do, but they're overwhelmed by all that goes into being with being a business owner and handling their social media, handling their bookkeeping, handling everything else. Um, so what tips would you have for a business owner uh with their social media? Maybe they're not hiring you yet, but what is something that quick tips they can do to make an impact in their presence?

SPEAKER_01 1:46

Really just get in front of the camera yourself. And I know that's hard. It was hard for me even. I was really good at telling everyone else what to do, but then when I had to do it myself, it was really tough. So I feel like I can now teach from a different spot now that I've learned how scary that can be. But really, when you're building a business, people just want to know who you are. And then that's what sets you apart. You know, there's lots of other people maybe doing the same thing you are, and no one does it the way that you do it. No one has your personality, you are the uniqueness of your business. And you know, when people feel like they know you, their loyalty is just completely different, you know. Like when you think, oh, I know the owner of that place, so I'm gonna go there because they feel connected in a different way. So the saying goes that people buy people before they buy products, and it's so true. And if they don't have access to get to know you in that way through your social media, then it's sort of just like, oh, a logo and products just doesn't work anymore.

SPEAKER_00 2:41

Right. Well, I'll tell you what I see is people meet somebody or they give a referral, who do you recommend? Oh, I recommend X. What's the first thing they do before they actually call them? Right. They go to their social media, they go to their website, they check them out. And so if the way that I talked about that person and created them is like, oh yeah, this person could absolutely solve their problem, if that doesn't align with what they can research from themselves by social media, there's an incongruency. But you you you talked about picking up the camera.

SPEAKER_01 3:10

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 3:10

Um, and for someone who's not used to doing it, that's a very scary or potentially imitating uh imitating thing. So um, how do you help entrepreneurs just like give themselves freedom to be a beginner?

SPEAKER_01 3:23

So I tell them, you know, the price of entry is just feeling stupid. It really is. Like you have to get through that, and the more you watch yourself, the more you do it, it's just like anything. You start to like desensitize yourself to, oh my gosh, I look so cringy. Like it's all right. We all have to start somewhere. And like I said, honestly, you just get better over time as you learn it, as you feel more comfortable. And you know what I tell people is block your friends and family at first, you know, until you start feeling comfortable and you don't want Aunt Sue seeing what you're doing, or you know, Kathleen from high school or whatever. You if that person that you think of when you're posting that you're nervous about, block them. Get that off your plate and you just just give yourself permission to be a beginner. Just know that you're gonna suck and that's okay, and just keep going. And every video gets better. You know, you just get better than yesterday, a little bit at a time.

SPEAKER_00 4:14

Well, and then you get to the point where you're feeling like you're slaying, right? That's the goal, yeah. So but what does that what does that feel like for like if if I'm doing it right or if I'm making progress? You know, sometimes we compare ourselves to people who have these huge followings. But the way I've seen you coach people, it's you're creating momentum, they're getting better every day. Like um, there's a progression there. So, yeah, how would somebody know if they're on the right track?

SPEAKER_01 4:39

So when you're creating for business, it's a lot different than say a content creator or like a lifestyle person. So, and businesses get stuck on that. They're like, I have no followers. And to me, I'm like, that's not the goal. We want to figure out how to bring people in to make money, to convert them and sell your product or service, right? So honestly, you can have a pretty lucrative business with very few followers. Cause like you said, people use it as a trust building tool, almost like an online business card. So maybe they didn't choose to follow, but you know, they're doing business with you and they're clicking your link and they're buying your service or product. And to me, that's what matters. Yeah. So so letting go of like what they say, the vanity metric, and knowing like if people are landing on your page, they can see what your product is, they can see who you are, then you're going to be making sales. And that's the barometer which you want to go by.

SPEAKER_00 5:29

Sure.

SPEAKER_01 5:30

Is your sales. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:31

And uh there's a lot of people networking on social media, uh like these community groups, little Facebook groups next door where people are asking for referrals, people are tagging businesses. Um, any advice uh that you could get so people can get tagged more or recommended more or be in the right uh, you know, placement of all of these opportunities.

SPEAKER_01 5:53

Yeah, collaboration is is so important. It's the fastest way to build, you know, aside from running ads, it's the fastest way to build an audience. So I always tell my clients, when you're first beginning, go to that coffee shop on the corner in your town, tag them, and usually they'll share. You know, find a couple other business owners that you can maybe do a little live with or just share audiences with because it helps you get in front of people that you might not otherwise just by your own organic following. So I've done collaborations with all kinds of different business owners that you wouldn't even think really went with my business. But we help each other. I have a good friend that's a personal stylist and we share each other's stuff. A couple of boutiques in my town always are, you know, collaborating and sharing, and just having that partnership where you can share the audiences is so important. So just go, go do things and then tag the people that you're with and the places that you've gone.

SPEAKER_00 6:48

I think that's such good advice. It's so simple to do too. It's like I think Jim Room said it, like the things that are easy to do are also easy not to do. And it's so easy to go to the coffee shop and then just order coffee and leave. Yeah. But it's also super easy to check in. Hey, it was really good, give them a shout out. Exactly. You want somebody to reciprocate, um, stand out that way is is awesome.

SPEAKER_01 7:08

And you don't have to be a videographer, just like a quick scan around the room and then you know, a picture of your coffee. It's it doesn't have to be anything. In fact, I think it's better if it's not perfect.

SPEAKER_00 7:18

Sure. Well, and I I was shocked, like, um, definitely not a photographer or anything like that. But uh one of my favorite little lunch spaces is Sando's in in Loveland, and uh just really love the the owner of Sando's, took a bad photo of the sandwich, uh, gave her a five-star Google review, but I got an email the other day that says, Congratulations, your picture has been viewed 70,000 times.

SPEAKER_01 7:43

Holy cow.

SPEAKER_00 7:44

I was like, it wasn't one, it was not that good of a picture, but two, it it didn't take much of my effort to do that, but um, it's something that helped the business.

SPEAKER_01 7:53

Right. And people want to hear from real people. Like it's one thing for the business owner themselves to like talk about how great they are. But if their peers or other people who have used the product or service are saying things about it, I feel like it builds even more trust for you know, looking at a consumer point of view. So people want real reviews, you know, stuff they can tell that's that's real. And the the crappy picture of the sandwich feels a lot more real than some, you know, overproduced, sure, sort of like ad-looking, you know, people are pretty smart to that stuff now.

SPEAKER_00 8:24

Yeah. Well, and then if you can cultivate a fan base that's doing that stuff for you and celebrate that, I think that that is huge. Um, so a lot of the people, maybe they're not a famous videographer, but if they got a cell phone and they wanted to start, what's what's some quick tips for them to be maybe two steps better if they just got a cell phone and no training?

SPEAKER_01 8:46

Sure. You don't need a lot of equipment. First of all, clean your lens. That's like the biggest thing. It seems so simple, but so many yeah, so many videos where I'm like, that's somebody's fingerprint. What's happening here that can really change the quality? And then a little, those little Amazon mics, they're like 20 bucks. Sure. You plug one into your phone, one end on you, and it just changes your audio in that in a really nice way and helps your video just up level that little bit where the audio is really crisp and good and people can hear you. And I feel like it's just a simple thing, but it really does help help people consume your videos.

SPEAKER_00 9:21

I like how you highlighted too, like, hey, get a get some besties that can hold you accountable. You share their stuff, they share your stuff. Exactly. I would imagine creating content's one thing, but having the accountability to do it consistently is another thing, right? So, how do you help your clients stay consistent in their social media efforts? So it's not just a week of a big flurry and then they got busy and it falls off.

SPEAKER_01 9:44

Because that's what happens, right? Like when you first start a business, you have more time than anything else. So you're creating and you're you're excited and you want to get out there, and then you start actually getting business, and then you're so busy you don't have time to do that. So, my number one tip is just to film throughout the day. People want to see what you're doing, invite people into the behind the scenes of you as a business owner and you as a person. You're already doing that stuff. Scan around the room, you met up with someone for whatever coffee, you know, put that on there just throughout your day. It's not like you're having to like set aside time to create content. You're just kind of documenting the process and super easy for you. Get home, edit your video, get it up there, and you're not having to, you know, take that extra time because if it's hard and clunky, you're not gonna do it. As a business owner, like you said, we're so busy, we have so much going on. If it's hard, you're just not gonna do it. So we set them up with a uh content calendar so they know what kinds of content they need to get. I teach them to try to post things from you know, all four all places of the the funnel, which means, you know, content for people who have never seen you before. If if someone landed on your page, what would what do you sell? What are you about? Make some content that would help that person. And then maybe there's some people that have been following you for a while but haven't really bought anything. So maybe some nurture content to bring them even closer to that conversion. And then straight promotion content, you know, um, offers. Are you having a special, you know, and that can all look all kinds of different ways, but having content from each place where a customer in the customer journey really helps kind of bring them along and have your social media be doing a job for you instead of you, you know, it's just a job that you do.

SPEAKER_00 11:22

Sure. Well, uh great insight. Um, how would you advise somebody to get more eyeballs on their content? Um, I I love the the tip of hey, share audiences, tag someone else. Any other tips that you have to get more eyeballs as you're growing an audience?

SPEAKER_01 11:37

A lot of it's just posting, you know, getting on there. It doesn't have to be every single day, but you know, three, four times a week, even if it's just in stories at first, making sure it's just it's the pure numbers. You know, the more you post, the more reach you get, and the better you get, right? Because you're practicing, you're lowering your sensitivity to your cringiness. You know, like it's all just building on itself. And, you know, you can also you can pay to play too. You can get a meta ad going and that helps sort of speed up the process, like organic content building, it takes time. It's the long game for sure. So there are there are pay paid ways to play and to make it a little faster. But if you're just, you know, you're not there yet, it's simply just showing up.

SPEAKER_00 12:21

And when would you advise somebody either pay to get a faster start or to pay to have someone like you or a content creator on staff where maybe they're not doing it all themselves, but they have somebody that's picking up that part of their business.

SPEAKER_01 12:37

Yeah, I feel like it's a little bit into the journey where you want to do that. When you're very, very beginning, yes, it's it's hard because you don't always have the capital to hire someone. But I find my process works best for those that have been doing this for a little while. They know the value of hiring someone to help them do this because it's it is hard. It is a heavy lift. So, um, so they really appreciate and value having you in their corner. Um, so maybe, you know, a couple of years in, after you've had a little bit of time to get used to it, you also know who you are as a business owner. You've figured out what your offers are, you've kind of gotten through the weeds of that first couple of years and you're really clear on where you're going. Then that's when when us working together works the best and you get the most value out of it.

SPEAKER_00 13:22

Yeah. The other thing I hear, Jen, is uh AI is so exciting but like overwhelming for some, you know, it's like which platforms do I use? Like in a lot of ways, it's making people so much more efficient. You could do stuff quicker, but other times it's like, where do I spend my energy and learning? How has AI helped you and your business the way you're creating content? And then uh is there any specific apps or resources you would recommend people check out?

SPEAKER_01 13:46

So I use AI for everything. Yeah, I feel like if we don't, we're gonna be, you know, left at the station. What, you know, so they say all these businesses are using it and leveraging it, and now you're competing against them, and they're able to just put out so much more using AI. And so they can write all of their copy that way. Um, now there's there's softwares that cut videos that are amazing. Like Opus Clip is is so cool. Um, I use that, and honestly, just Chat GPT is great. Sure. You have to train it. You can't just, you know, it's your it's all about your prompting. You have to get sort of like really good at prompting it and telling it who you are as a business owner. So that's that's the caveat. And then um, Claude AI is for marketing, it's the best. The way that it's trained in the background is is really great for marketing language and marketing strategy. So you definitely, if you're if you're using it for content and for, you know, even sales pages, website content, all of that, Claude is the way to go.

SPEAKER_00 14:45

Very cool. Well, as somebody who's so awesome on social media, a lot of you can get the word out, but you're also building a networking group, it sounds like. So uh how are you how do you balance the like in-person or the networking or the face-to-face belly-to-belly stuff versus your online presence?

SPEAKER_01 15:00

So honestly, I love the in-person connection. It's my favorite part of being a business owner. I love, you know, helping people on the journey and then learning from others too. I've learned the most from business owners that are just ahead of me and then reaching down for the ones just behind you. It's just, I don't know, it just makes it so much more like connected and intrinsically valuable. Um, but as far as balance, it's been, it's been, you know, I have seasons where I do really well with my social media. And then I have seasons where I'm really focused on my clients and mine sort of, you know, it takes the back seat. Um, but honestly, you know, after you've spent some time building it, you can put an ad up, let it do the job of your reach. It makes it to where you don't have to post as much, you know, organically to kind of leverage your tools. But um, in person is is my favorite part of this whole entrepreneurial journey, honestly. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:53

Very cool. Well, uh, who are the people you collaborate with to uh um either refer out to or clients you've worked with that you just want to like celebrate them because they've been such good clients? Is there any specific connections that you want to highlight?

SPEAKER_01 16:07

So, on top of in-person networking group I'm launching, I'm also launching a membership. So it's gonna be on school, and I'm doing it um with my partner, Patrick Mirakami. He is the AI wizard. He's just so smart with business systems and process. And so we have come together. I'm doing the social media part, and he's doing all of the systems and AI and just general business. And we're gonna have a school platform and just help business owners that maybe aren't to the point where they can afford to hire someone, but they can pay, you know, a membership fee, a monthly fee, and just listen to lives and courses and have a community of other entrepreneurs with them. Cause sometimes you can't get out to personal, you know, in-person networking. And so it's nice to have that as a as a backup. So I'm really excited to see what value this can bring to to entrepreneurs everywhere, you know, outside of our local area, even.

SPEAKER_00 17:01

Yeah. And um, what are your goals, Jen? I mean, where are you going? Right. Because as you're you, I mean, you you're working with people's social media, you're listening to their goals, you're watching them grow. Um, but what are your what are your goals? Where are you going?

SPEAKER_01 17:13

You know what? I'd like to get to the point where I am only doing consultation and not so much of the actual work. And I'm almost there. I have slowed down taking actual management clients where I'm making the content and more and more um just consulting on strategy and fractional CMO work. So kind of being more zoomed out and at the top of okay, we need ads here, we need organic content here, we need a funnel here, and just looking at the whole digital marketing landscape. Um, you just you learn that stuff as you bring social media into the to the strategy. And so now I'm looking more at like funnels and the whole picture and automations and all of that fun stuff. So I'd like to get there.

SPEAKER_00 17:56

Very cool. And then there might be somebody watching this uh podcast, be like, oh, I would love to network with Jen. Uh, is there any specific types of connections that you're looking either uh to network with in person or to collaborate with on social media?

SPEAKER_01 18:10

I'm always looking to collaborate with videographers. Okay. Um I can I can do enough to get through, but I love um helping videographers because they will give people their videos. And then some people are like, what do I do with these? Well, how do I use these? I have these amazing videos, but I don't know where and how to use them. So we can collaborate together really well. So I'm always looking for videographers in my in my network.

SPEAKER_00 18:32

Awesome. Well, if you need a social media tune up, uh maybe an audit, or uh you're looking to scale and reach out to Jen, or if you're a videographer or another entrepreneur that would love to do a one-to-one, how can people get a hold of you to learn more about you?

SPEAKER_01 18:46

You can check out my Instagram, of course, Slay Social with Jen, and then my website is Slay Social with Gen.com.

SPEAKER_00 18:52

Right on, Jen. Well, thanks so much for coming on, Connections That Matter. Great chat. Hey all, thanks for watching. I love networking and building relationships with other Northern Colorado business leaders. So if you want to come meet some of these podcast guests, meet me, or meet some other amazing entrepreneurs in Northern Colorado. I would love to have you attend one of our next events. Uh go in the podcast description. There's a way so you can see our upcoming schedule. And maybe you could be a future podcast guest as well. Thanks.