The Founder Visibility Gap: Real Talk on Growing an Audience, Getting Press, and Showing Up for Your Personal Brand

Hi everyone, welcome back to Dear Fountain or if you're new here welcome. I'm Lindsay Pinchak and before we dive into today's episode I want to share something that I think is going to have you really thinking about marketing for your small business. This week I'm replaying some of my favorite episodes from the show, from the last 325 episodes. All built around the sweep framework, my sweep framework. Sweep stands for social media, website, email events, partnerships and publicity and it's the same system that I use to build my first company, taking it from a $500 investment to a seven figure brand, reaching 3 million people every month. Also what I teach inside everything we do here at Dear Fountain, from the podcast to the newsletter, our social media, our networking community, the forum and my mentorship and mastermind, marketing made simple for small business. But here's what I want you to hear. The biggest, most successful female founded brands that you know and love didn't build their businesses with massive budgets or fancy agencies. They built them with simple and intentional community driven strategies, the same strategies that sweep embodies. And whether they knew it had a name or not, you're going to hear it in action in today's episode. Today's episode is Sweeps S for Social Media in Action and it is one of my all time favorite conversations where I sit down with my friend, Peloton's Jen Sherman, for a real time honest master class on why showing up consistently on social media is non-negotiable for building your brand and your community. If you have ever felt paralyzed by social media, embarrassed that you don't know what you're doing or convinced that it's too late to start, this episode is going to feel like it was made specifically for you. Because Jen Sherman, one of the most beloved figures in the Peloton community, admitted that she had never made a real up until this conversation. And together we fix that. I walk Jen through the exact tactics that make social media work, posting consistently, engaging authentically, sharing community content and using partnerships and tags to expand your reach. Because social media isn't about going viral. It's about building relationships and showing up on repeat. And you are going to walk away from this episode with the same five steps that I gave Jen, means that you can implement right now today in your own business. If Jen can do it and if the women inside the dear founder community can do it and if I can do it, so can you. I also want to let you know that on April 9th, I'm doing a free live sweep workshop where I will break down this framework and help you build a simple marketing plan for your own business. And if you can't make it live, you should register anyway. I'll send you the replay. I want you to click the link in the show notes, grab your spot. And now I want you to take the next half hour, 45 minutes and listen to today's episode. Welcome to Dear Founder. I'm Lindsay Pinchak, founder, acquired entrepreneur and part of the less than 1% of female founders who have led a company through acquisition. I built my first business from just $500 to seven figures without a marketing budget, simply using community, smart publicity, partnerships and clear messaging. Now I host this show for women over 40 stepping into their next chapter, whether that's launching, pivoting or scaling. Each week you'll hear real founder stories about growing an audience, getting press, leading teams, navigating, scaling challenges and becoming more visible in the right ways. No fluff, no gatekeeping, just what works. Around here we build businesses that actually work with strategy, visibility and each other. What is up everybody? Hi, Liz. Hi, Jen. I'm so good to see you. Me too, because I'm going to kick it off by just saying the struggle is beyond real. And look at that, it's a little beyond real. No pun intended. I am so glad that you and I stumbled upon this topic because I have never. I've been very open with about the fact that I need so much help on social. I just didn't really go for it and find the help. And this sort of just happened with you and I in conversation, something you're really good at and it's something that you know how to do really well. And I am so glad that we brought up the conversation that day because I am, I'm in it now. I'm trying. You're doing a great job and I'm really proud of you. And I actually met you and saved before we started recording. And I hope you don't find it so annoying when I text you and I'm like, share this post this. Okay, because I have been doing that to Jen a lot lately. I've been like popping up saying where the fuck is your real or like what's going on? Or you need to post this or share this tag these people. And I want to ask you before we kind of get into the meat and bones of this is like, what made you say that to me that day? Like what was it that you were like, you were like, we're a little embarrassed to say I've never made a real. Like what was it? Why did you bring it up? Why did you say it? Well, first of all, because I've become so fond of you and your podcast and it's you are just so comfortable. It's what you know that you know the ins and outs of this. And so I knew I was speaking to someone who knows how to do all this and do it the right way. And I knew that I could tell you and that you possibly be there to help. And I knew that you would start out simple with me, which is what I need it as a 53 year old woman who is not social media savvy at all. You didn't make it overwhelming and you broke it down for me and you kind of held my hand. I mean, there's so much more to learn. But that's why I brought up to you. I just had such a feeling that you would be able to give me some insight and I needed that. And quick comment on what you just said about the reminders. Maybe not everybody needs that. I need that. I need that. So I am thrilled that you're actually saying you didn't post today or you did this at Peloton today, put some of that up. Like what are you doing? Stay out, stay with it. Great job. I actually need the encouragement. Good. Okay. I'm glad I'm not annoying. So before I move forward, I also just want to give everyone a little bit of an introduction. I don't you don't need to share your whole story. Anyone who wants your whole story can go back and listen to our amazing first podcast that has been listened to so many thousands of times. But I would like for you to share kind of where you are in Peloton because you came to Peloton during the time when social media wasn't what it is now. So I'd like for you to kind of paint the picture of where you are Jen Sherman at Peloton and how it relates to your social media. Okay. So 10 years in coming up on my 10 year anniversary and you are absolutely right when I joined Peloton and we were a little brass roots movement. If you want to call it start up social existed, but obviously not the way it does now. It doesn't drive business and branding and all of those things the way that it does now. So when I got to Peloton, I was already I was a little bit at a disadvantage just because as Peloton members know, a lot of my all of my teammates are younger than me. And in general that younger that younger demographic is just so much more adept at social media. But I didn't feel the pressure in the first year, two or three kind of thing to really figure it out. But then it just started to bombard me. I was seeing what everyone else was doing. Peloton was certainly encouraging us all. We would have weekly meetings about it. And I would just say guys like I'm helpless. Like I don't know how to do this. This is actually hard for me. Like it was hard for me as silly as it sounds. And I needed the hand holding. I needed the help. But also you need to be motivated to want to figure it out. And it took me this long. It took me this long. People can try to walk you through it and help you and encourage you and give you advice on what your social media landscape should look like. But until you're ready to really open up your brain and say like I'm going to give this a real shot. It's not going to be perfect. But that's probably what they're going to love about it. I don't know why it took you and I and our conversation for that to finally click. And I don't know where I'm going with it, but I'm diving in and I'm having a lot of fun with it. Hi guys. It's me, Lindsay Pinchuck. A lot of you have reached out to share your own social media struggle with me, whether you're overwhelmed by all the features, can't handle the technical options or just don't know where to start for your business, you're paralyzed. And I totally, totally get it. I don't want you to spend another minute stuck in the social media closet, embarrassed that you can't figure it out. Let's fix it. Later this spring, I'm going to hold your hand and walk you step by step through my signature class social media for small business boot camp with five live lessons over five days will get you set up, running and understanding how to apply social media basics for business growth. And we're going to be doing it together. You'll learn what to post where when and why we'll make reels and you'll learn some of my favorite and easy strategies for growth. And the best part, you're going to get to meet and interact with many other small business owners just like you. Does this sound like something you could get on board with? Let me know, click the link in my show notes, get on the wait list, you're going to be the first to know and registration is live in just a couple of weeks. Let me know if you have any questions. I told you from the beginning, it has to be fun. It can't feel like work. It can't feel like something you have to do because then we'll see through that as well. And one of the things though that I want to point out about it. about you that is different from many of your coworkers, is that you had community first. You had and have community, whereas a lot of your co-instructors have yes built a community, but they've come in and kind of had to just start from ground zero and build that up. You have people following you, like end of story. And so now for you, it's harnessing that community a little bit better on social media. And that's kind of, it's not that you've done a crap job. You haven't, you have a social media presence, but it's really kind of taking it to the next level. So what happened since you made those first few reels? Like what's kind of happened? Like if you notice changes on your social media, and it has blown up as they say. Listen, I don't know what it's done yet. It's what, we're two weeks into this little, this little, I don't even want to call it a project because I really do plan on moving forward and making this a regular part of something that I do. It's part of my job, it's part, I mean, that's the way I'm looking at it now. I should know, I mean, it's not that I didn't look at it that way all the time, but I think I was just shutting down because I really just didn't know what I was doing. I don't know what it's done in terms of analytics, and maybe we'll talk about analytics 'cause that's a whole other piece of social media that scares some of my gentlemen, like the analytics. I'm starting to now understand a little bit more and dive into that a little bit more, but I just know that the response has been incredible. Oh my God, me too. I have a small business, I'm 55. I don't know how to do a damn thing. I can't get my teenage son or daughter to help me. I'm trying to teach myself, but I'm struggling. You're doing great. Can you teach me what you've learned? I don't even know what button to press to make the most basic real. That's what's sort of been going on for the last two weeks, I've said. - That makes me so happy, and I actually, I don't know if you remember, but I said to you, when we first started talking about this, I said you were going to visit Carly, and I said, can't you ask Carly to help you? But then I did kind of put my foot in my mouth because I have asked my 12 year old to help me with TikTok many times and she rolls her eyes, just like Carly rolls her eyes at you. So I get it, I get it. - Well, listen, someone might have a kid out there who's so willing to help their mom. Carly doesn't even want me on social media. So getting her to help me is, you know, she's got better things to do. What have your colleagues said? Oh my gosh, I'm loving, it's so fun at work. Listen, if you ride with me, if you know anything about me, it's just innate for me to make fun of myself. It's something that I've always done, and I can make fun of myself all day and day long. And this little, this social media situation has been something that I've been openly making fun of myself about to my co-workers, with my co-workers, whenever we're in team meetings and it's a social media discussion going on, like what's TikTok? Like I'm that one in the background. And so everybody knows that it's been such a struggle for me, they are so encouraging. Everybody is sending me messages, cheering me on. I put a few of those up where I've, you know, captured some fun content with my co-instructors and they have been awesome. And everyone has said to me, I will sit down with you, I will help you to learn how to do this. Now you have to start doing this. Now you have to, you know, kick it up a notch. And I'm gonna do that. I'm gonna get, I'm gonna start to learn how to do all those things. Do you find that it's easier now that you've kind of taken that first step to now take like the second step and the third step and to do those different things? Like I know you and I have talked a couple of times and I've said, well, now that you did like a face to camera real, I think that you should go into the studio and film your co-workers and do this and do that. Like do you find it easier to do it now that you've kind of like one made the commitment and two, taken the step to like do a little bit? - Not only is it easier and do I feel more comfortable, I'm like looking forward to it. Like when I know I'm about to capture a moment, like when I was teaching yesterday and that moment with Maddie Majakamo and Ash Fryer came up, you know, that just was happening and I grabbed my phone and there's moments like that all the time people wanna see what's going on in the instructor dream room. That's really fun content. - So I wanna, well I wanna tell you this, like the reason I knew that that was posted was something you didn't see because it was in your Facebook group. Someone posted it and said, oh my God, I love the gens getting in on the Palatine shenanigans. - Yes. - And they're gonna link in. And so that goes back to what I've been saying to you for the last couple months, even like people just wanna see more of you. - Right, and so. - And so. - And of course, I am not recreating the wheel here. My teammates have been capturing all this ridiculously fun content forever. I just was never in on it. You know, I'd be in the background of someone else's video perhaps, but now I'm kind of like, I'm excited to, I was excited to get to work yesterday to be like, I'm filming something. I don't know what I'm filming, but I'm filming something. - And I told you your next challenge is to do one of those tic tac dances with the girls who are, you gotta really get them to instruct you on that. I mean, just do it. - That would be a moment. And I listen, I'm not, I have no shame. I'm not in the, that's the one thing that I can have fun with this. I don't care if I look like a total dope in the background. I think that's what makes the content so fun. But I still am feeling, I'm still in that place where I feel overwhelmed by all the different things that you can do and how to do them, but I do feel that if someone shows me, teaches me, you talk, once you know how to do it, you know how to do it. And it's really not as complicated as I thought. - And it's building upon those basics, right? - Yep. - Because you said to me in a text the other day, and you like left me hanging, you were like, you said, I have so many questions. And I said, great, I'm like stuck in my kids bed right now, fire away and then Jen disappeared. So I did. So what are your questions? 'Cause I wanna answer some of your questions. And then I'm going to challenge you. - Okay, so two questions is right off the bat. When it, talk to me about, reels in general and why, what's going on with Instagram? That's what they, that's how they, that's the content that they want. That's the content that they're favoring. I think I even saw, did I see come across my phone that if you post a video to Instagram now, not a story of video in your feed, that is automatically gonna turn into a real, does that make any sense? - So yeah, you are making sense. - You've seen that or heard that. - So it does, so Instagram used to have two different video. Instagram had one video for them at first. It was a video and you could put up to, it was like three minutes and then 10 minutes it's changed over time. And that was like, when I would do a TV segment, I would upload a video and it would come in my feed and it would be, you know, just video content. Then they added reels. So reels were separate. So it was like a totally separate like function when you opened up like what to post and it says, you know, post story, real, real, it says post story, real video. So it was different. We were gonna post something that was longer than at first reels were 60 seconds and then they went to 90 seconds. So we did. - So we were gonna post something that was longer than that amount of time. It was like a video. - Okay. - However, now they kind of lumped them in one in the same. So. - It's always like they're just encouraging you to only make reels and, right? - Correct. - Well, I know you have to do a little of everything. You have to do a little of everything, right? - You do have to do a little bit of everything. You know, when you're on Instagram, you have to have a strategy for stories. You have to have a strategy for engagement. You have to have a strategy for posts, for reels, et cetera. Now, what if you have a strategy for anything? - You don't have zero strategy. You just think you have a strategy. - Okay. - But okay. But what I want to answer your question and by saying to you, so this week, this was actually very interesting. This happened to me this week. I did a TV segment. And I went to share it on Instagram. And when I went to share it, it did turn, it automatically turned it into a reel. But it cut my segment to 90 seconds. And I didn't want to share 90 seconds of my segment. I wanted to share the full eight minutes. It was an amazing segment. It highlighted a lot of awesome women. So I ended up going and putting it as a post because I wanted the full eight minutes and you could do up to 10. So I wanted the full eight minutes. So I did it as a post. - Okay. - That makes sense. And that's just kind of one of those under the radar things that like Instagram has done. So like if you would have gone on and posted a, a reel or a video, it might have turned it into a reel. And so I saw that. - Okay. - So because they took that function away. Does it answer your question? - It does. And here's another question for you. So let's say I'm in the locker room at Peloton, or I'm, I don't know. I'm with Carly, you know, doing something that might seem interesting to people. What happens if you're feeling something that's 25 minutes, or 30 minutes? Do you, are you supposed to do that live and then save that and then you post that? - So it's really kind of your process and what you decide your process is gonna be. And a lot of what I share in my class, classes and a lot of what I share on Instagram is it's like 30% what you post in like 70% what your process is and a lot of people are very overwhelmed by the process of social media because you know they feel like they have to check and tick all these boxes right. So you really want to get into a place where you have a process which is why I said to you last week Jen capture as much video content as possible because you can use it later. So thank you all right and thank you all like if you first of all for someone like you live in the public eye I would not you know say in the moment post something like that you know take something that's 25 minutes and post it like you want to think about what you're going to post anyway and it's not no harm no foul to take a day or two or even a week you know no one needs to know where you are what you're doing at every minute. So if you do have a video that's 10 15 20 minutes you can go into your phone and in the like you can pull it up in your camera roll and you can edit it down you can turn it down to like in trim it down. So like last night you made a comment on the concert videos that I posted one of the clips that I posted in my stories I think the clip was 10 seconds but it was like actually a minute long clip and I just got a little piece of it and I posted it this morning or late last night when I got home. So that's what I would recommend like I would really recommend banking your content and then kind of going back and scheduling it out and posting it and you know and I know that I feel like that probably feels like far off to you I don't think that it is very far off I just I think that we will get you to a place where you can think about it a little bit more holistically so you're not just posting off the cuff but part of it is collecting the content so that you can do something with the content. And collecting the ideas right because I thought of like some fun cool ideas and maybe I'm not in the moment able to capture that content but I'm keeping a little file in my nose of great things to sort of great ideas great fun ideas. And that's one of the things that we're going to talk about when I challenge you because I know we talked about that last week as well. So and exactly that's exactly the point is that you want to have ideas and a list of things that you could get content for and then you also you naturally start thinking like you naturally start you'll be like you know app halton or in New York or at home or wherever you are and you'll be like oh that would be great content and you'll just grab a video you know like I am constantly like if I'm walking taking videos when I'm on a plane I take videos outside the window I take videos when I'm downtown in the city and I actually had taken a video just of me walking on the river walk last summer and I realized that the building where I was supposed to work like right out of college was in that video and then later on I made a tip talk about it and I made a tip talk about never actually working there but I was post 11 but but so but I had that content so I just am constantly trying to grab content wherever I am because you just don't know when you're going to you when you're going to want to use it and it goes back to what I was saying you want to be doing it consistently. Is there a way to do you have a process where you organize your content or it's just everything sitting in your camera roll and you literally have to I guess you can make folders right is that like is that a smart way to do it because I've been I had a really cool concept of thought which I'll discuss with you like off camera and I had to I knew I know that I have the video and I but I had to scroll back to like the earliest days of halton and I'm scrolling back to 2014 2013 was taking me forever I still haven't found it it's there but should content create I'm not a content creator I can't call myself that not even close but is that the smart thing to do to try to hold this stuff and keep it in one spot. Today's episode is brought to you by Hivecast an amazing agency providing high quality podcast production made simple and affordable. I hit the jackpot when I came across high cast as I piece together services from contractors all over the web initially to help me with my podcast. 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So it's interesting that you say that because I too found myself like scrolling back to 2013, 2014 quite recently looking for old videos from my first company and I ended up sitting down one day and I went through my whole camera roll and I made a folder of all the pictures and videos from my first company so that when I am making content I have a good one place. I am one of these people that like I have a photographic memory so I can be like okay I know this took place in October of 2017 but I will say as time goes on I'm getting like worse and worse at that. So it has been helpful for me to have all of those in one place. I think it really is dependent on if you want to put the time into doing that and getting that. I think it actually might be helpful for me now that I have so much time on my hands but if I could pull go through my camera roll and start and put everything in a place all my palatine footage whether it's me hugging Cody on his birthday and to still photo or it's like me and Emma love well in a video clip from like homecoming from four years ago. I need to get that organized because that's part of the struggle for me maybe not for someone else but for me my camera roll is a mess and so that's going to be one of the side projects. So just so you know all you have to do is when you go into your photos you can make a folder right. You go to albums and then you click the plus sign and you would make a new album and or a new folder. You have to have your role. Okay, I'm just for people. I appreciate it. So you can make a new album or a new folder honestly either one it doesn't really matter and when you're like in the car going to the city tape you know take that time instead of scrolling on Instagram take that time and just like to do it. I'm going to do years 2013 to 2015 and I'm going to and I'll take you 10 15 minutes to do it and just kind of put in that time up front and a lot of what I tell my students all the time is just putting the time in front like we build full content strategies together and I say when you have a full strategy it's a lot easier to know what to post because you have created a strategy of what you're going to post and so it's very easy to sit down and say okay this week I'm going to create five posts and these are the things I'm going to talk about. So you know it's it I don't want to get ahead of ourselves but like it is a lot of just putting that time in for your business and your personal brand and really just making the process that works for you and I do think especially as you start making more reels and we start putting posts up to like homecoming's coming up for Peloton you're going to want to refer back you know maybe on Thursdays you'll do a carousel of throwback pictures from homecoming to promote homecoming I mean that's just you know it's a great idea so I love that. Adding that to my okay. You know like just different things like that so I think that having the content in one place for you will be a lot easier to access as you're kind of trying to pull things together. And then you know something that I've been thinking about also as I'm sort of diving into this new territory I am not ashamed to admit that I love consuming content I love consuming content I love watching people put up things that I'm interested in and so I don't know it's just it would be one thing if I wasn't a person who ever scrolled on my phone and in my I in my in some of in my downtime I spent a lot of time on this phone looking at people that I admire and or think are hilarious or funny or talented or whatever it might be and so it just it brings it all full circle I love to see really fun you know content and so watch it and I try to be sure some of that out but you are you're doing a great job. You you will get there you will get there you know one is a process say about that too and I don't know if this is something that you do but you know I know you and I have had some conversations about sharing other people's content too and not just peloton content but you know content of things that you like things that you think are funny and you don't have to like overdo it but you know if there is a day that like you really aren't posting or sharing much I do think it's best practice for you to share a couple things in your stories and tag those people because that's how you grow like if you Jen Sherman see like a great podcast or a funny real or like just anything you know and you share it to your story and and you make a little comment about it and you tag, you know, they're the poster or the people in it, there's a chance that they are good chance, especially because it's you and you have a big following and people know who you are that they will share it. And that's how you get new followers. So it's okay to share other people's stuff, especially people who you like, who you believe in, who you think are funny, like, I don't know what you're talking about. - So I'm a bit of an earth-fig, let me ask you, is this, would this have been a perfect moment? So Rob Lowe, who I adore and love and I'm still obsessed with, he's coming out, there's a new show coming out with him and his son that I am so excited for. He posted about it, and that's how I found out about it. I went to take a screenshot to post it, tag him, and I would have said something like, oh my God, like counting the moments for this new TV show. Something like that would be a perfect slow day, like, throw that up. - Yes. - Okay, didn't do it without you. - I'm gonna go back and do it. - And you might have a post that you can share if it's something in his feed and you can click the little share button and share it. - I tried. - That's why it didn't happen. I did click that little button and I tried to actually share his, but even if I take a screenshot, I'll do that. - And now you can take a screenshot too, which is great. I mean, it's very similar, yes, I don't know if you saw it. Yesterday, Jamie LeCourtis said something about having matinee concerts. And she talked to me, she was doing it, and I saw it. - Well, I shared it, and I said, - I'm like, "Ruse, I saw it." - Yeah, and you said, in the thing, "Where are my concert people? What do you guys think of this?" And I tagged you, I tagged Carrie Sokol, I tagged my best friend Samantha, and you were all the people I know who love live music as much as me. And so that's why I should have repurposed that and reposed it. - You could have shared something. - Or you could have shared the original, but you'd say it would have shared it. - You should have tagged Jamie LeCourtis in it and been like, "Yes, Jamie LeCourtis." - Yes. - Yeah. - So that kind of stuff, I think it's really important to be social on social media. So. - Okay. - Which kind of leads me into like, where I want to go with this conversation in terms of like, what's next for you, Jen Sherman? So, you know, we have talked a lot about, like ideas and reels and, you know, just kind of creation and things that you could be doing. And we've talked about this both here in the last few minutes and, well, we've had these discussions. But I really would like to, if you're a game, to sort of formalize a little challenge for you and give you five easy things that you can be doing on social media to up your game. And then maybe have a little check in with you. Doesn't have to be on the podcast, you know, maybe we could do a little video or a live or something, but I want to hold you accountable, because that is how you're going to grow. And as I'm sharing this with you, I'm hoping that the listeners that are sharing, especially those listeners who are like, I don't know what the fuck I'm doing either, I hope that they will take a note and they will follow along with it as well. So Lindsey, you don't scare me. Bring it on. Bring it on. - Here's what I want you to do. So the first thing is consistency. And that's something we've talked a lot about. You have to be consistent on social media. If you're not consistent, it's just not gonna work. - You know, I have to say, seriously, I'm taking this, I'm taking notes. - And Anne, we're recording. So you're really taking it seriously, because I'll give you the word. - I can too. - No, I want to add my phone. - Great. - Great. So consistency is key, because as you've seen, and I know just from following you for as long as I have, there are times when you, like fucking disappear. - I disappear for weeks. - For weeks to come. - Like I'll tell you, for example, when you had the flu, I knew you had the flu. And you're like, tried was going bananas. Everyone was wondering where the fuck you were. And I'm like, in my head, I'm like, Jen is the flu. Why isn't she just posting on social media that I have the flu? So like, you have to be like consistent in what you're doing. You can't disappear for weeks at end. So my first thing is, I do want you to post at least two to three reels per week. And this is something that we've discussed previously. I'm not even gonna get into posts right now. I really just want you to stick with the reels and use the reels to start generating more engagement and more awareness. So that's the first thing, okay? - Okay. - Love it. Got it. At least two to three, at least. So like, that means. - Now I'm at least, I'm gonna, I'm typing the words at least before the two to three. Go on. - And so this is the second thing is something that I think is also very important. And it's not, you can't post in ghost, okay? And that is something you can't. You have like social media is called social media because social, it's a two way street. Do you have to like and comment on everything? No, you do not. You have a very big following that's impossible unless you have a virtual assistant helping you. And I know you don't right now and I know that maybe we will, maybe we will get there because I've been urging you to do that. But I do think it's important for you to go on and for you to comment on some things and like some of the things because I've been better. - I've been better. - You have been better. But when you do that and you engage, you're showing Instagram that you're actually there. And then they will share your stuff with more and more people. - Okay. - So you don't, do you have to respond to every DM? No, if you were a smaller business, if you were a small business, and I'm saying this for the small businesses listening, I would say yes, you need to respond to every DM. You, Jen Sherman, you are a public figure. You don't need to, what's your question? - I will tell you that in the early days of Peloton, when I was able, when it was manageable and sustainable, I responded to everything. - I know you would be there. - I really did. That was part of, before I went to bed at night, that was the last thing again. I considered it as part of my job. I enjoyed doing it. It was doable back then, not quite as doable now, but you're, but you know, I would say to small businesses and when you're trying to really build your brand, it's, I know that, I know that reaching back out to those people that message me meant so much to them. And I really got to know in the early days, I got to know my community. I really did get to know it through those DMs. - And that's a really important point to bring up to people who are starting out, who are trying to build a community. We set at the top of this, Jen Sherman has a big community. So, you know, and that's why you have a community. If you don't have a community, because you sat back and did nothing, you have a community because you cared and you engaged. And it's not that you don't anymore. It's that you have grown so much. It really is not feasible when you have 200,000 something followers to be responding. And also a lot of people's comments go into your other folder. I don't even know if you know that exists, I do. - I do. - Yep. - Okay. - You have another folder. And if you're not following those people, it goes into your other follower. And your other folder. - That's correct. - And it's just too hard to manage. But it's not hard for you to like comments and for you to, you know, drop some emojis back or say thank you for following. Or, you know, I do think that that gesture is normal. - Especially when a comment, especially when a comment catches my eye, like something like really I have been like, writing back, we're keeping it short and sweet. Does harming a comment do anything for you? - Well, that's liking a comment. So like-- - That's the like, okay. - You can like the comment, but like, I think it's good to have a little bit of a mix. And again, if you're a small business listening, you should be responding to every comment, you should be liking every comment and you should be replying to every DM. That's for small businesses. - Yeah. - So that's that. Okay, my third thing is, I want you to make it a goal to share some content from your community. And I think that, you know-- - That's what I'm talking about. - Hosting? - Yes. You and I talked about that the other day. After you have rides, whether they're, you know, live, not in there's no one in the studio or you're in the studio with people and people are posting, you don't have to or want to really reshare everything. But I do think that it's so fun for your community when you share a few different posts that go up and tab them and say thanks for writing. It's so easy for you. And it makes people want to share and share their experience with you. And then what ends up happening is they see it and then they reshare it. Ah, Jen Sherman shared, you asked me before we got on this. You said, is Matt Nathanson your friend? He shared your video. And I said no, but he, you know, it has a manageable number of followers. And so that's not the first time he's shared my videos. He's very gracious after a concert. He shares all the videos. So, you know, I think that it's a really nice thing for you to do, especially because you're so focused on community and it's easy. I used to be very good at that. That was one thing because it was so simple to do. And I fell off a little bit, but now it's, that is just, there's just no excuse to not do that. You know, it's very easy as a business when someone tags you to say thank you by sharing back. And you don't even have to make a comment. You can just share like that's okay. Okay. The fourth thing that I want you to do and this a little more involved, we haven't talked about this yet. I do want you to start asking polls in your, in your stories. And I can show you how to do that. So you can, I do know how to, I actually know how to do it. So, okay, I do. So whether it's about TV shows in pop culture, which you love, or whether it's about what ride people are gonna take on the weekends, or whether it's about maybe you say, which song would you want to hear on a playlist this weekend? And you do a poll, you know, that's a way for you to kind of control the narrative. And ask a question and get engagement. Okay. Got it. So like, and also when people do a poll, they're likely to advance to the next slide. So like a trick that I use is like, if I have something very important that I want to post on Instagram and my stories, I might tee it up by doing like, like a random like three slide pole of like nothing that has to do with business, you know, something fun, maybe pop culture, whatever, knowing that people will click through and vote. And then on that fourth slide, I make mention of like something that I want people to see. Does that make sense? - It does. What's your feeling on something I don't do ever? Should I be incorporating like the ask me questions or like that where you are posting the answers that everyone's like, you know, that kind of thing? - So I think that that is, you know, I didn't include that in your challenge, but I think, and maybe we can, you can give it a whirl we can say for another day. But I do think that that's a good idea. People have questions for you and you know that. And, you know, I think that's a great way too to engage with your community as well. Now, I think one of the greatest things about, one of the greatest things about the ask me question is that like if you know you're going to be traveling and you're going to be bored, you can put that up like 12 hours before, let the questions come into your feed and then like when you're in the airport, you can go through it and answer the ones that. - And you don't even have to go on camera. Like sometimes you can or you, you know, or you type it. - Type it out. You know, and I think, do you want to know the crazy thing about that is that that feature is what landed Bobby Brown on this podcast? - 'Cause she answered. - No, she didn't. - No, 'cause she's someone asked me. - Someone asked me. - Who do you want on your podcast and answer? - And you answered. - And she saw her. - And she saw her. - Okay. - Wow. - Okay. - But I think that that's an easy way also for you to control your own narrative and for you to make sure that you're sharing content that you want to share with your community. And like letting, you know, letting people behind the curtain a little bit, but you control it. You don't have to answer questions. You don't want to answer. Which is the best way to. - Is that a real no? That's in stories. - That's a story's feature. - Okay, got it. Got it, got it, got it. Okay. - And then the last thing is that this is something we talked about previously and I know you're doing, but is to keep a running list of ideas where you can tag other people in content like podcasts, like authors, TV shows, famous people, bits of pop culture, people who ride with you, who are potentially famous that you know that you can share that tag you. Just like really people that you can engage with and share content and tag them so that you can one, like, pay it forward and let them know that you love them too. And two, they will share it as well. And that helps you to expand your reach and that reach number will continue to go up when people share your content. - Okay. And then how do you get more followers to just beg? Do you pay them? Do you send them gifts? - No, I do. - I will tell you, Instagram has become a really tough place to gain followers. When you talk to anyone in the social media arena right now, they will all say, we will all say, really it's TikTok right now that is the growth vehicle. Okay. That's not to say that you cannot grow on Instagram. And I do think that for you who you really haven't done any of these things, I think that by really starting off and sharing consistently and tagging people, and those are, that's how you grow on Instagram. You go live with people, you tag people in content, that's how you grow. I mean, partnerships are everything and it's really being a good social citizen. So, I have seen a lot of growth for myself. My account is minuscule compared to yours, but I have seen a lot of growth in the last year when I've done things like go live with people, sharing content. I do have a strategy where I boost some of my, like very well received posts. And when I say boost, I mean like $25. And when I have boosted posts out there and I'm controlling who they're served to through the communities on Instagram, I do see an increase of followers. And that just goes back to meta wanting you to pay, right? And like, you know, so, but it's my business. And so for me, it is a good investment. And it's better for me to invest there than other places of advertising because I do see traction. So for a small business owner who's listening, you know, I would say if you have a post that does really well, and I'm going to give this example, because I think it's important. Like, I had a nine figure apparel brand that I was working for. They were sold at Target. And we shared a funny quote from Scary Mommy. It was like, it was a dumb quote. I mean, it was a dumb quote that would resonate with any mom. And right off the bat, it started getting crazy amounts of likes and comments. And people, it was resonating with the community. And we said, OK, let's boost it. And we boosted it for $30. You know, this brand maybe had $80,000 followers. We boosted it for $30. By the end of the boost, this one asset that we shared had gotten them 500 new followers. It had been shared 1,200 times. And it was by far their most well-received post that they've ever shared more than any piece of clothing of their own. And that just really goes to show that one, we need to be connecting with your community. And when you do connect with your community, that's how you grow. Even if you put a little money behind it. But that's the most important part of social media. And then here's just one other question, big overarching question. What do you say to someone like me who-- I do feel like I know my demographic really well. What do you say to me? I'm aware that Instagram is dying. I'm now in this enough to know that it's all about TikTok. I don't care what you tell me. And I'm not ready to make that jump and that leap. But I'm starting to take this time to invest in doing all this. And will it be for naught? Because if you listen to anyone that knows anything about social media landscape, you don't have to listen very long to know Instagram's over. I mean, I don't know if it's over. You don't even need my-- I'm going to say Instagram's over. I really wouldn't. I mean, people-- businesses rely on Instagram. OK. Instagram isn't that going by the wayside. And aren't we going to see that it's already starting to move over to TikTok? And it's just going to go that way. So should I be learning how to go on TikTok? Maybe eventually. OK. I would say it's a little bit of both. But I have to be honest. So I am just starting to dabble in TikTok as well. It is not my favorite thing in the world. And part of why I don't do it a lot-- it's not because I'm not insecure about it. I just don't find it fun. I find it annoying. And so that's part of it. The second thing for me is like-- and I would say this probably for you a little as well. My demographic isn't really-- like my ideal client is not yet on TikTok. Maybe a little. And maybe starting. But when I share things on TikTok, I have to share things differently in order for them to resonate with people because it's a younger demographic. Now-- Correct. OK. So I mean-- It's getting into a whole new territory, I guess, is. And the reason why I even brought it up is because I am not ashamed to admit I love TikTok. I am on TikTok more than I ever thought I would be. I didn't understand a thing about it. And now I am going and viewing TikTok. Of course, I spend my due diligence on Instagram. I have to. But when I just want to chill out, I follow certain people that I love so much. And I am loving TikTok. You actually said you think it's-- we all have different feelings about it. So-- No, I don't think it's annoying to watch. I think it's annoying to create content for for me. Right now. OK. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. But I will say, there's this woman who I interviewed on the podcast. Her name is Betty Keowett. She actually got a book deal this week. And she's young. She's in her 20s. And she became a rising star on TikTok as a book expert, a book reviewer. She's a book influencer. She's a genius. What she did is genius. Like, she really started sharing books all over TikTok. And then the publishing houses started asking her to share their books and promote their books. She has like 300,000 followers on TikTok. And then she now is like in bed with all of the book publishers. And guess what? She got a book deal this week for the novel she's been writing. Wow. Talk about genius, right? Wow. But she has an Instagram account, too. Her Instagram is not as big as TikTok, but she services it just as much as she does TikTok. So she knows she has to be both places for what she wants to do. So I don't think-- I'm not saying count it out. I think for-- I would tell you-- and I would tell any business owner-- you have to master one before you master the other. Absolutely. You don't want to buy that more than you can show. Which I've already done. But I hear you. I just want to give you a thought. Jen, do you feel that these five things that I just gave you are manageable for you to do within the next month? Absolutely positively. I do. I'm holding you to it. And so are the many people who are going to hear this when this drops next week. This is doable. This is a doable list. OK. Very doable. And I'm hoping that it sort of creates a rhythm and something that just becomes natural. I'm not saying every week will look identical, but I know the point is you have to try. I understand. I've always understood the consistency on social is important. I just didn't do a damn thing about. Knowing that that's how you had to work it and maneuver it. But now I'm going to really try. Because I'm having fun. If I was like miserable doing it, and maybe I'll feel differently in six months from now, I don't know. But it's actually fun. I'm finding it to be fun right now. And I am actually going to put these five things into it. document and I'm going to allow people to grab them and we're going to challenge together. You're not going to see in this alone. Okay. And I want people out there to not feel alone because I, you know, I'm telling you the feedback that I got over the last two weeks and what you've been, you know, what's been pouring in for you. I am so not alone. I am so not alone. There are so many founders, you know, people that are trying to elevate their brand, people that just don't even know where to begin. And I'm here to say you can take baby steps and I'm doing that right now and I'm really proud of myself. I'm very proud of you too. And I just want to say thank you so much for being so open to this and receptive and being so supportive of me and what I do. I mean, you, I don't even think you realize like how supportive you've been and just you were, you have been such a great guest to the show and friend to me and I so appreciate it and I appreciate your willingness to be open and honest about all of this because that is what I preach all the time. Like you have to share these things or else we don't grow and by you doing this, I do think you're opening the door for a lot of other people. So thank you. You're welcome and did it all of that. What you just said, right back at you girl, because I do appreciate all of your support as well. But you've been so helpful and I really appreciate it. And that is the thing about the founders you hear on this show. The biggest, most successful female founded brands that you know and love started with the simplest of strategies, ideas and practices that anyone can implement, including you. If today's episode inspired you, I want to invite you to take the next step. Join me on April 9th for my free live sweep workshop where I will show you exactly how to take these tactics and apply them to your own business. Simply, consistently and in a way that actually works. Register for free at your founder.com/springworkshop. The link is also in the show notes. I cannot wait to see you there. Thank you again for joining us today and we will see you soon.