Digital Queens

In the 111th episode of "The Social Circus," host Sarah Thomson delves into the intricacies of video marketing for businesses. As video content continues to dominate social media platforms, Sarah emphasises its crucial role in building trust, establishing connections, and ultimately driving business growth. She shares invaluable tips and strategies to help entrepreneurs and business owners overcome common fears associated with creating video content, such as discomfort with appearance and voice.

Throughout the episode, Sarah underlines the immense potential of video marketing, mentioning how platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels have revolutionised the way businesses interact with their audiences. She provides practical advice on how to ease into video creation, from utilising stories for short video content to creating stock footage and using B-roll shots. Sarah also explores the concept of "anchor videos," which can help even the most camera-shy individuals get comfortable with talking on camera. This episode is a must-listen for anyone looking to enhance their social media strategy and engage their audience through authentic video content.

Key Takeaways:

Starting Small: Begin with Instagram Stories to get comfortable with video content. Stories are less permanent and can help ease the fear of being on camera.

Creating Voiceovers: Start with voiceovers on stock or self-created video footage to get accustomed to hearing your own voice.

Utilising B-Roll: Generate B-roll footage to have a library of stock videos that show different aspects of your business without needing to speak directly to the camera.

Anchor Videos: Use anchor videos where you perform everyday tasks while speaking to the camera to make the experience more natural and less intimidating.

Authenticity Over Perfection: Focus on delivering valuable content and building connections rather than striving for perfection in appearance or production quality.

Notable Quotes:

"At some point in your business, you are going to have to show up and be visible."

"It is not about me, it is about my message, and it's about delivering value to you as my audience."

"Stories on Instagram are a great way to kind of dip your toe into creating video content."

"Nothing is wasted in this world of video content."

In this episode of "The Social Circus," host Sarah Thomson welcomes Kristy Borbas, an intuitive coach and wise woman, to discuss the profound impact of intuition and feminine cycles on personal empowerment and business success. Kristy and Sarah explore the importance of listening to our bodies, understanding our natural rhythms, and integrating these ancient practices into our modern lives to achieve balance and fulfillment.

Kristy shares her journey from feeling trapped in the corporate world to finding her true calling in helping women rediscover their inner wisdom. She emphasizes the significance of recognizing and honoring the different stages of womanhood, using tools like tarot, astrology, and feminine embodiment techniques. This episode is a must-listen for any woman seeking to harmonize her personal and professional life by embracing her natural cycles and intuition.

Understanding Natural Cycles : The importance of tracking menstrual and lunar cycles to optimize energy and productivity.

https://www.instagram.com/kristyborbas/

Calling any woman wanting to reclaim the power in women’s circles and groups. To be the Wise Woman and Goddess.

This group will impact you Deeply from rituals, to intuitive sessions, seasonal offerings and a space to connect to the conscious feminine. We will cover goddess mythology and astrology, tarot, embodiment and self care practises, sound , voice healing and more. We do monthly new moon and full moon circles to share and weave  in the feminine rituals.

The time has come to gather, to remember our truth, to share our wisdom , to create magical kinships and above all feel safe to be who we are. This is for those wanting to journey with me in this beautiful awakening of women , and empower themselves.

https://kristyborbas.com/products/her-tribe-monthly-subscription

Join Sarah Thomson as she chats with Lala Macnab, a dynamic business mentor and serial entrepreneur with two decades of experience. Lala shares her journey of transforming her wedding stationery business amid industry changes and COVID-19, her process in launching new ventures like Good Vibes Scents, and insightful tips on balancing work and personal life. Discover Lala's strategies for resilience, innovation, and maintaining passion in business. Tune in for a wealth of wisdom and practical advice for business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs.

Adaptability and Resilience: Lala emphasizes the importance of adapting to market changes and being resilient in the face of business hardships.

Strategic Planning: Successful business launches require thorough planning and research, as demonstrated by Lala's approach to developing Good Vibe Scent Co.

Value of Mentorship: Offering pro bono mentoring during COVID-19 allowed Lala to help others while keeping her own morale high, showcasing the power of community support and professional guidance.

Balancing Business and Personal Life: Incorporating regular self-care and setting realistic goals are crucial for sustaining long-term business success and personal well-being.

Innovative Solutions: Identifying market gaps and creating superior products can drive business success, as seen with Lala's various ventures.

https://www.instagram.com/lalaforbusiness/

Welcome back to another episode of the Social Circus hosted by Sarah Thomson! This week, we dive deep into the world of virtual assistance and creative design with Marie Fox, the savvy founder of Crafty Fox by Design. Marie brings a wealth of experience to the table, sharing her journey from traditional administrative roles to becoming a Canva guru. Whether you’re a small business owner or an aspiring VA, this episode unveils practical insights on leveraging Canva for professional growth and managing the complex dynamics of work-life balance.

Key Takeaways:

Canva Expertise: Learn Marie’s favorite Canva features, such as the background removal tool and design guides, which help elevate business presentations and social media posts.

Virtual Assistance Evolution: Understand the evolving role of VAs and how specializing in tools like Canva can set you apart in the competitive landscape.

Real-World Applications: Hear real-life scenarios where Marie's Canva skills provided indispensable support for her clients, ranging from document formatting to social media branding.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/Marie-fox/

In this week's episode of the Social Circus, host Sarah Thomson delves into the most common mistakes businesses make with their Meta ads. As a digital marketing coach, Sarah sees these mistakes frequently and offers her expert insight into how they can be avoided, ensuring more effective allocation of advertising budgets.

Sarah starts by explaining the transition from Facebook ads to Meta ads, highlighting the various placement options such as Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and Audience Network. She emphasizes the importance of having a clear advertising strategy and understanding what you are trying to achieve with your ads, especially for solopreneurs and small business owners.

Sarah further discusses the importance of timing and budget. She advises against rushing ads and endorses a planning period of 6 to 8 weeks to allow proper testing and optimization. By discussing the critical metrics such as cost per click (CPC) and cost per conversion (CVR), she stresses the significance of a realistic budget to achieve desired outcomes. Additionally, Sarah emphasizes the necessity of testing different creative aspects of ads to optimize performance, underscoring the unpredictability of user preferences.

Lastly, Sarah highlights the importance of audience targeting. Drawing from her experience, she advocates for using custom audiences and lookalike audiences in Meta's Ads Manager for better ad performance. She advises against generalized targeting and encourages businesses to refine their audience segments to cater to specific demographics effectively.

Meta Ads Transition: Understanding the shift from Facebook ads to Meta ads and the comprehensive placement options.

Importance of Strategy: Why having a clear strategy is crucial for successful ad campaigns.

Effective Timing: The benefits of planning your ad campaigns well in advance.

Budget Considerations: Insights into how budget affects ad performance, including key metrics like CPC and CVR.

In this episode of the Social Circus, host Sarah Thomson welcomes the Search Queen, Sonja, an expert from the Search Republic, for an insightful discussion about SEO and digital marketing. Together, they delve into Sonja's inspiring business journey, her deep understanding of Google search, and the strong ethical convictions that underpin her company's success.

From her roots in traditional advertising to her evolution into a growth catalyst for businesses online, Sonja shares the motivations and experiences that shaped her agency. She articulates the importance of stripping away the industry jargon to connect with her clients and shares candid stories of industry malpractices that compelled her to start her own venture. A strong emphasis is placed on building trust with clients, especially those who have been jaded by past experiences with digital marketing agencies.

Sonja discusses her mission to empower business owners not only in sales but also by giving them the gift of time through her heart-centered business approach.

Sarah and Sonja explore how mindset can significantly impact the success of Google Ads campaigns.

A strong narrative unfolds around the ethics of business practices in digital marketing and the universal need for transparency and honesty.

Sonja touches upon the challenges of owning a business, from managing expectations to spearheading results-driven SEO strategies.

• www.thesearchrepublic.com.au
  

In this episode, we welcome Amanda Louisa, a former corporate lawyer turned sustainability advocate. Amanda shares her inspiring journey from the grind of corporate law to discovering wellness through nervous system regulation and somatic experiencing therapies. Her story is all about resilience, self-discovery, and redefining success, particularly for women stuck in the "good girl" mold.

Amanda and I chat about the often-overlooked concept of feminine energy and how it plays a crucial role in successful entrepreneurship. She delves into her personal struggles and triumphs, emphasizing the need for authentic workplace well-being initiatives and flexible work rhythms that honor our natural energy cycles.

Key Takeaways:

• Amanda's journey from high-stress corporate life to embracing wellness and feminine energy.

Notable Quotes:

• "As soon as I hit the professional world, I kind of abandoned [spiritual practices]." - Amanda Louisa

Resources:

Instagram: Instagram (@theamandalouisa)

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-louisa/

Website: Amanda Louisa Services — Amanda Louisa

Dive into the full episode for an in-depth exploration of these themes with Amanda and me. Stay tuned to the Social Circus for more thought-provoking conversations!

Welcome to an informative episode of the social circus, where host Sarah Thomson celebrates reaching over 100 episodes and two years of sharing valuable social media, mindset, and business insights. Today's focus is a practical guide on effectively growing your Instagram following, a question often posed to Sarah in her capacity as a business coach.

In this episode, Sarah emphasizes the importance of having a cohesive and appealing Instagram profile, likening it to an inviting storefront that captures passersby's attention. Following this, she delves into several growth tactics, including the strategic use of Instagram reels and hashtags, leveraging collaborations and competitions, and engaging directly with the audience through comments and DMs. These practices underscore the necessity of daily, authentic interaction on the platform for optimal growth and audience engagement.

Instagram Profile as Your Storefront: Ensure your Instagram profile is inviting and clearly communicates your business offering to encourage new followers.

Leverage Reels: Utilize Instagram reels to reach a broader audience, as reels are pushed out beyond your existing followers.

Hashtag Strategy: Maximize your content visibility by using up to 30 relevant hashtags on every post.

Collaborations and Competitions: Collaborate with similar non-competing businesses and consider running competitions to attract followers from overlapping audiences.

Engage Authentically: Spend time daily engaging authentically with other accounts through comments and direct messages to increase visibility and grow your following organically.

"Think about your Instagram profile as something similar to having a storefront."

"Reels are the only type of content on Instagram that the algorithm will push out beyond your existing followers."

"Instagram have told us that they consider 30 hashtags to be best practice."

"People who are similar in terms of maybe demographic psychographic information hang out together or know each other."

"There is no express elevator to success. You always have to take the stairs."

The Blooming Bids Academy - Sarah's membership platform for business coaching 

Online Social Butterfly - Sarah's Instagram handle for profile reference

YouTube Channel: Online Social Butterfly - Find free tutorial videos by Sarah Thomson 

Continue your learning journey by tuning in to the full episode to gain more in-depth guidance and actionable strategies to grow your Instagram following. Don't miss out on more episodes filled with insight—subscribe and join us next time at the social circus!

In this episode of the Social Circus, Sarah Thomson talks about the tough times businesses go through when things slow down. She starts by chatting about how comparing yourself to others on social media can mess with your head, and she's all about staying grounded during both personal and business growth. Sarah's got a reassuring and practical tone, offering up a mix of encouragement and advice for entrepreneurs in a slow phase.

She dives into how economic and global events can affect consumer spending and business, leading to big decisions for business owners. Drawing from her own experience, Sarah shares loads of strategies to make the most of quiet times. She highlights the importance of keeping clients happy, organizing your business stuff, and setting up efficient systems. Plus, she sprinkles in real-life examples to make her advice relatable.

The perception of success on social media is not always indicative of reality, and comparing one's journey to others can be detrimental.

Quiet periods in business can be utilized for productive tasks such as nurturing client relationships, organizing files, and systematizing operations.

Implementing systematic approaches to email management, lead tracking, and financial audits can improve business efficiency and prepare one for future growth.

Upskilling through reading, podcasts, online courses, and even revisiting past educational materials can be a valuable use of downtime.

Taking supplementary jobs or alternate income sources during tough times is a pragmatic and jud

In this episode of The Social Circus, host Sarah Thomson sits down with the astute Ee Zen Cha, a meticulous Online Business Manager. They take a deep dive into the intrinsic value of business systems and processes, exploring the challenges and triumphs of building a structured operational model in today's dynamic entrepreneurial environment. Ee Zen's knowledge in creating process efficiencies is a beacon for business owners seeking to streamline their workflow and scale their ventures.

With a background in ISO 9001 internal auditing and a master's degree in engineering, Ee Zen applies her methodical and process-oriented skills to assist business owners in optimizing their operations. As an Online Business Manager, she specializes in executing strategy objectives and systemizing business processes, enabling female entrepreneurs to scale and grow their businesses efficiently. Her insights are born from over 13 years of experience in process improvement, both in the corporate world and the online business landscape.