Welcome to episode 397 of Hit the Mic with The Stacey Harris.
Episode 397, before we jump in, I wanna say I’m so freaking excited for episode 400 in just a few weeks. If you go over to the Facebook page, my Facebook page, The Stacey Harris, obviously, you’ll see an event there. We’re actually going to celebrate the 400th episode of this show by doing a live show over on the Facebook page, which will officially kick-off a new show we’re doing in addition to this show, not to replace but in addition to, called Hit the Mic TV Live. If you’ve been around the community for awhile, you know that a couple of years ago, maybe more than a couple of years ago now, we had a pre-recorded show that went up on YouTube called Hit the Mic TV, where it was sort of quick tips, actionable stuff.
What we’re going to do is sort of evolve that, Hit the Mic TV, into a live show that happens on Facebook. At some point, I hope to simulcast it, but initially it’ll be up on Facebook and then the replay will go out on YouTube. The replay will obviously also be available on Facebook. We’re gonna bring back having the occasional guest, which we don’t do on the show here anymore. It’s gonna be tips and tutorials and really diving into some of the stuff that is hard to show you in audio form. I can’t share my screen right now and literally show you where a button is, which is kind of more of what we do in Backstage. And so, to complement this sort of strategy focus we have here on the show, we’re gonna partner that with some of the implementation and how tos and also a little bit of inspiration and what’s possible via some really cool guests that we’ve got lined up over the first couple of months in cue one.
I’m really excited. I hope you’ll join us for that live episode. On that live episode, we’re going to do some cool things. We’re gonna be giving away some free time in BAM, the mastermind level of Backstage, we’re gonna give away some three month passes to Backstage, and we’re also going to be giving away some gift cards from Amazon ’cause it’s my favorite place to get gift cards from, so that’s what I’m sharing because, you know, do unto others and all that, so that’s coming up. Everything, all the details, RSVPing, all of that is over at Facebook.com/TheStaceyHarris and it’s pinned right at the top of the page.
In addition to that, I do have an ask. I do have a favor I would like to ask for you. We are going on 400 episodes. We launched this show in 2014. Most of my reviews are also from 2014 ’cause I don’t really ask you guys for reviews anymore. It’s not a call to action that I give you, which is intentional, but I’d love to freshen up the reviews. I do wanna say a huge thank you to some of the folks who have left reviews over the last couple of years. We absolutely have some. Pilar, “Thank you,” is the … Thank you, but also she says, “Thank you. Great advice for podcasters and anyone looking to grow their presence online.” I really appreciate that. Stacy shared in 2016, “Actionable,” … not me, somebody else by the way. “Actionable content. Great podcast. Highly relevant and actionable content for online marketers.” We had J. Carbary say, “Recently find. Recently discovered this podcast and it’s definitely a show you wanna keep your eye on. Keep up the great work Stacey.”
We’ve got a ton of great reviews and I so, so appreciate them. We actually launched the show in 2013. I’m looking at the reviews now. So almost five years ago, five years ago in November. I would love to freshen up this review page and really, sort of, explode the amount of reviews because it helps us get in front of new listeners and it helps me help more people and help them get clear. So if this show has ever provided you any kind of value, I’d really appreciate it if you would take the time to head over to iTunes and leave a review, a rating. If the show sucks and you hate it and you don’t wanna ever listen to it again and you feel like people should know that, just stop listening and don’t tell anyone. That would be really … That’s the path for that one, all right? But if you do love the show, then I care. Then I want you to leave reviews.
All right, so that’s my ask. Not super crazy today, but I would really appreciate it ’cause, again, it does help new listeners find this show and it helps me support them in getting the clarity that hopefully, I have been able to give you. Yeah? All right. Let’s get into today’s episode now.
I wanna talk about managing your live social media tasks. This is becoming more and more relevant as we talk about things like Instagram stories and Facebook Lives and Instagram Live and going live on YouTube and we’ve got stories on Facebook, if that’s what you wanna do. It’s becoming more and more common that people are doing this, but not everyone is necessarily feeling like it’s achievable because live does require a certain amount of consistent time commitment. And so, I wanna talk a little bit about how to manage your daily live stuff.
I wanna start off by having a conversation around priorities.
Here is the deal, guys. You will have time for whatever you prioritize. I get it. I have a kid. I have a spouse. I have a house. I have this business. I have clients. I have Backstage members. I have speaking engagements. I have travel. I have the gym. I have all the same things. Not all the same things, we’re each individual people, but I have a lot of the same commitments. We all have time commitments. We all have something that’s saying, “No, why aren’t you paying attention to me right now?” Most of them are child-sized, but some of them are also adult-sized. Where you give your attention and your priorities is what’s going to grow. And so, if growing your business is a priority, then marketing your business has to be a priority. That may very well mean some live time on social.
Set that as a priority, but that doesn’t mean you have to be live in all the places. That doesn’t mean you have to do all the things. A great example of this is you very, very rarely see me go live on Instagram. I’ve tested it a couple of times. There’s not a huge ROI for me. It just doesn’t make sense. I can’t repurpose it, in the same way, I can Facebook Lives, so I prioritize Facebook Lives over Instagram Live. There are some days where I go hog wild in Instagram stories and there are some days where you’re gonna see two, three, or maybe four things from me, which took a total of 90 seconds to put together and get out. Because day-to-day, my priority may not be as high to get up.
A great example of this is you don’t very often see Instagram stories from me on the weekend because that’s not the priority of my time right then. That’s not where I want to invest my time because that, for me, is family time. And if you’ve ever heard me talk about success, I get this question a lot when I’m interviewed on podcasts, success for me is being able to be 100% all in wherever I am in that moment. And so, on the weekends, that’s quite often family time. And so, I’m 100% all in on family time. That means if you see an Instagram story, it’s probably on my personal stuff, which is a bit more locked down than The Stacey Harris is. And so, you don’t see it. That’s okay. That’s allowed. You get to prioritize your life.
Nowhere in this am I saying you have to do this 24/7 reality TV style. This is not Big Brother. This is not required. But make that priority show up somewhere in your schedule and with some kind of consistency. The best way to do that is really gonna lead us to the second thing I wanna talk about.
It’s so important that you’re scheduling this stuff.
Now, this schedule doesn’t have to be known or seen by anyone else, but it actually says on my calendar do an Instagram live or, I’m sorry, do an Instagram story, do a Facebook Live. I have these things, not just in my task list, but on my calendar. There are appointments on my calendar for these things. Now, they may be five minutes, 10 minutes, half an hour, whatever it is needed depending on what the thing I’m doing is. Obviously, I don’t need half an hour for an Instagram story, but I might for a Facebook Live. But I’ve actually scheduled as an appointment, as a meeting, and it carries the same weight as any other appointment or meeting on my calendar does because I’ve made that commitment to myself and to you, whether you know it or not, to show up and be present and do the work. And so, I show up, I’m present, and I do the work.
That’s what I really want this to be about is allowing yourself to create an environment where you can consistently show up and be a value because that’s where you’re gonna yield your results. That’s where you’re going to see a difference in your bottom line. That’s where you’re gonna see a difference in your community growth. That’s where you’re gonna see a difference in the impact you are making is when you show up consistently. So prioritize and then schedule, but also remember that some of this becomes possible when you do that starter work of building your foundation.
Set your foundation.
I’m able to show up on Instagram and do a story because I have already scheduled my Instagram profile. The stuff that’s gonna go out into the news feed on Instagram, that’s already scheduled, that’s already there. I’m able to show up and comment and engage because the content has already been created and scheduled and automated. Don’t forget the importance of setting yourself up for success by setting that really solid foundation. And guess what, guys? Schedule that, too. And if you don’t wanna do it, if you don’t wanna schedule it, you don’t wanna execute it, find someone on your team who can.
Now, they need to have a really good look at what your strategy is, what your intentions are, what your goals are. They need to have an understanding of doing some of this work. If you’re not sure whether they would be a fit, then check out the episode of this show that we talked about social media strategists versus managers. That will help give you some clarity on sort of what you need to ask and who could be a fit for a different kind of role, but figure that out and get the support you need because it doesn’t have to be you that puts that foundation in place, but that foundation does need to be in place to allow you to see some return of your time investment from these live endeavors. That’s what we’re gonna call them right now ’cause that’s what popped into my head.
I really encourage you to look at your foundation, look at your priorities, and look at your schedule and that way you can see where this stuff fits and then make the time for it. Now, if it’s a matter of, “I don’t know what to say,” that’s a whole other episode, but it comes back to your strategy. We’ve talked about this on past episodes, but a lot of the push back on this stuff is, “I don’t have the time. I don’t know when I would do it. I don’t know where I’m gonna find the time to go live for 10 minutes on Instagram or share a story on Instagram or go live on Facebook for 15 minutes.” You can find the time when you make the time and that comes back to that prioritization. Okay? All right.
So that’s our episode, managing the live social media task, the day-to-day stuff that has to happen. What I really encourage you to do is find out what you are going to do and then schedule it. That’s what I want your action step to be for this one. Identify what your priorities are from a marketing perspective, which is who are your ideal clients, things like that, what are your goals, all of that stuff. And then say, “Okay, so I’m gonna commit to these times and this commitment is non-negotiable,” and then execute. All right? That’s your action item for this episode.
All right. That’s it. We’re gonna wrap up. If you have questions about any of this, if you wanna learn more about any of this, if you don’t know how to go live on Facebook, if you don’t know how to do an Instagram story, the best place to go is Hit the Mic Backstage ’cause we have courses on both Instagram and Facebook, coincidentally enough. I know. It’s shocking. You had no idea that was coming, but there it is. So join us right now, hitthemicbackstage.com and you have the opportunity to join us for just $1 and you can check it out for the next seven days. That’s a super, super killer opportunity, so check it out.
Also, also, also I would genuinely and be so grateful and appreciative if you could take the time to head over to iTunes and leave a review for the show. Also, BAM, the price of BAM is going up on Thursday, April 19th. With that, we are seeing some changes to how BAMis structured. Currently, BAM is a one-on-one call with me, Backstage access, and then a private forum access for just you and I for some accountability support questions between our one-on-one calls. We’re increasing the price on Thursday from $350 to $495 and with that we are actually expanding what you get.
You’ll get that one-on-one call with me, but in addition to that you’re gonna get two Backstage memberships and access to the forum for two people. You could have a team member, maybe it’s your social media manager, maybe it’s your VA, whatever, can have access to that call recording, as well as our conversations in the forum. Also, access to all the same trainings you have and all the same forum access you have, so they can ask me questions and things like that, to really empower them to execute on your behalf or alongside you, whatever works for you. We only have a few spots left because we have actually closed my one-off one-on-one calls and my calendar is now filled with BAM. The only people who will be able to book me one-on-one are Backstage members, either for the occasional one-off call or BAM members as part of their mastermind membership or if they want additional calls. We do have some time in my schedule for some additional calls should BAM members need them.
So that’s the big news. Head over to the website, TheStaceyHarris.com/episode397 for all the links I mentioned in this episode. A link to iTunes to leave your review, a link to BAM to check it out, a link to Backstage to join for just a buck; all those things are over at TheStaceyHarris.com/episode397. Thank you so very much for your time. I hope we see you May 8th for episode 400 and the launch of Hit the Mic TV Live. I will see you very, very soon. Have a great day.
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