Instagram Community Building Strategies with Deanna Seymour

Andréa Jones (00:00):
I love talking about community because community is the backbone of everything we do in our business and especially on social media. And today I have Deanna Seymour coming on the podcast to talk about how she builds community, her personality attracts the right people to her. She's got such a great, fun, quirky way of looking at things. And, and, and most importantly, she does it in a way that makes sense for her. So we're gonna dive into all the juicy bits. Y'all know I'm gonna get nosy today. Let's get into it.

Intro (00:44):
Welcome to The Savvy Social Podcast, the show that blends stories and strategies to help businesses create engaged and profitable online communities using the unique power of social media. And now, your host, Andréa Jones.

Andréa Jones (01:02):
Deanna, welcome to the show.

Deanna Seymour (01:04):
Thanks for having me. I'm so excited to be here.

Andréa Jones (01:07):
I'm so excited to chat with you. I remember when we first met and I think I did a private podcast series with you. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. Yeah. and I knew right then, I was like, oh, I'm following you on all the socials. I need to like stay in your orbit because I love your energy. So talk to me about how you got started with your business and how you created this world around you. I'm so fascinated by it.

Deanna Seymour (01:34):
This wacky playhouse world, like PeeWee's Playhouse world I have going on. Yes. Yes. Well, let me tell you that when I started my business, it was super boring. I was trying to do everything correctly. Like I had like stock photos on my website, you know, like the white keyboard with the like hot pink nails. Like I've always liked Top pink. So I was like, okay, well this one nails top Pink nails, but I don't, I don't have fancy nails. So it just felt like I was trying to show up in a way that would present as professional cuz like, we wanna make money. And I was just looking to other people to be like, what am I supposed to do? People who are making money tell me what to do? And I wasn't getting clients <laugh> and I felt like nobody understood me. And I was like, I'm like funny in real life and people like me in real life and nobody is like getting that because I wasn't sharing any of that.

(02:21):
So there was one day when I was leaving Target and I had just bought my daughter who was three at the time, a mermaid bathing suit. And I was like, gosh, I wish that these could be my brand colors. It was like every color of the rainbow. And I left Target and I was like, why can't, why can't these be my brand colors? I mean, I have background teaching art and I'm very creative. Like my whole life has been like in, you know, saturated color. And I was like, why am I only doing like black, white and a little pink mine to like keep it safe? So I went home and I pulled up the Target website and I pulled the picture of the bathing suit into Photoshop and literally grabbed my hex codes from that bathing suit. And those have been my colors ever since. And after I just started showing up as my true self, I was like, oh, cool, now people online think I'm funny and like wanna work with me. And now my online life is like feeling like my real life. Cuz it felt like two very separate things in the beginning. So that's how I got started.

Andréa Jones (03:15):
Yeah, I love that because the biggest compliment to me is when someone meets you in real life and they're like, oh, you're exactly like you are on the internet.

Deanna Seymour (03:22):
<Laugh>. Yes. Well I just, it was exhausting trying to like hang up my real self and like get online and be this other self. And if like, I had never done that before in my life, you know, teaching, I mean, I'm not very good at a job interview. Like I'm not really good at like faking it, <laugh> being, being whatever. So I don't know why I was trying to do that. It didn't last very long cuz I, I didn't really like it and it definitely wasn't working for me. So I do try to help business owners feel more comfortable, you know, letting their freak flag fly. Like everybody's flag looks different, but just like showing up as their own selves. And I think it's really fun and I seriously love it when I start to see people sort of like show up a little more. Like I'll watch a reel and be like, oh, I'll look at her. Like, be a little funny. Like, because I feel like you know somebody, you talk to them on Zoom or whatever and then you see their content and sometimes it takes them a while to like open up cuz it's, it's a little scary. Like you're putting yourself out there. So

Andréa Jones (04:17):
Yeah. It is scary. I wanna dive into this because I think there's this perception that especially because social media looks so like effortless that everyone's just casually posting and going about their day. But even though I've been doing this professionally for almost 10 years, I've had a blog since 2004. So like decades of being online, I still get hella nervous, <laugh> doing some things. Like, it's so, it's so nerve wracking. So for yourself, how do you approach creating content? Because I know that you nine graded your Instagram.

Deanna Seymour (04:53):
Yes. Well I technically 12 grided my Instagram because I'm a little extra. That is what I always tell people <laugh>, I'm like, oh, we have a little, that few extras in there. Don't try to put me in nine, nine squares. I can't fit. I need 12. Stretch my bones. So yeah, I do have a static static grid, which I absolutely love. For me personally, being a graphic designer, I was putting a lot of pressure on myself to show up in my graphics, you know, perfectly quote unquote perfectly. But I wanted to showcase what I could do. I wasn't trying to show up sloppy and be like, oh, but yours will look better, just trust me. You know, like I felt like mine needed to really look tight and it was taking a lot of my time. And so I thought, okay, let's put this up.

(05:36):
I can show up on some reels when I want to. And at the time they were talking about like, oh, static poster or like grid poster are over, everybody should do reels. So that was also part of my motivation, which now they're saying something different. So we all know about all that changing, but I still am happy. Like for a second I was like, uh oh, should I not have a static grid? Like what? Now they're changing. Now they like that. But for me personally, I'm like, no, it works. I'm actually working behind the scenes. I'm creating a new one that goes in deeper on some of the stuff and like has a bunch of carousel posts. So I'm like really excited about that. So I'm gonna update that, but I'm still just gonna show up on video. But I don't really press myself to do that either. Like if I do two a week, two videos a week, that's like, I did a good job. For me.

Andréa Jones (06:22):
Oh, I love that. Okay. So did you see any change in your results after you 12 grid static?

Deanna Seymour (06:33):
Well, I have a little love-hate relationship with analytics because I come from a background of like pretty entrenched in diet culture and analytics feel a lot to me like stepping on a scale, which I threw out my scale years ago. But I feel like I would get on the scale and be like, oh, the number's up. Like I suck. You know, I'm not doing, I'm, I'm bad. The scale's like down, like the numbers down, I'm awesome. And I do feel that sometimes for myself when I look at analytics. So I don't really look that hard for me. I just make goals that I can reach. Like I wanna post a one video a week or two videos a week and then I'm like, I did it. I did my goal, I will peak. Because obviously you don't wanna keep creating content that like is not resonating with anyone. And the interesting thing is that since I put up the static grid, I have gotten a lot more followers, which I was worried no one would follow cuz I thought, oh, it's gonna be like, they'll be like, why should I even follow you? You're not posting. But I do the videos and I do show up in stories and I, I'm getting followers and I don't post like a ton of content. I do, I do stories, I don't really pay attention to analytics. <Laugh>

(07:45):
Keep showing up. Like cuz that's what I wanna do. That's, Instagram is my main platform where I hang out and I enjoy it. So I keep saying I'm gonna get better at LinkedIn and I like slow and steady over there, but also I just do what I like. That's kind of how I run my business. So I'm mostly on Instagram.

Andréa Jones (08:02):
Yeah. You know, I think there's a powerful decision here because when we feel like we have to eat our vegetables, <laugh>

(08:12):
Feels like, like you said, like the stepping on the scale moment where you're like, Ugh, I'm not doing enough. Even if you are, even if you're doing everything right, it that moment's like, ugh. And then you, you're creating content from a place of like lack mm-hmm. <Affirmative> and a feeling not enough. And that shows up and yes. And then we don't wanna do it and then it's a chore and then, you know, we go down that rabbit hole. So I think there is something there in energetically if I can be like woowoo for a minute, that's like when we actually like enjoy something. Imagine that will we like to do it, we're more likely to do it. We're more likely to attract people who can see that we're having a good time. Like who wants to work with someone who like, it feels miserable, right? So I love that. And I think it also helps you refocus on the connection piece. Correct. Like now you can spend more time Actually, I don't know, talking to people

Deanna Seymour (09:10):
<Laugh>. I know, I know. Okay. So let me just say also that before I started actually talking to people on social media, I thought it was like a little embarrassed. Like, I'm not a commenter. I don't comment very often. Like when people are like, what do you think about this? I'm like, oh my gosh, I don't even, especially if it's someone I don't know in real life, you know, like it's an influencer or somebody. I'm like, it just wasn't my style to comment. I felt like that was like a little embarrassed. Like, I was like, I'm not gonna comment. This person does not care what I th like, no. And then something switched for me. I think it kind of switched when I started showing up as myself where I was like, you know what, if something pops in my head to comment, I might say it.

(09:51):
Actually I don't, I still don't really comment. What I love to do is, well I'm really active in stories. So for me I feel like there's what I'm interested to know what style you are. I tap through stories. When I go on Instagram, I feel like I go left to like, I go left to right. My husband scrolls like up and down. I'm like, what do you look? I don't scroll up and down very much. If I go through stories and then I'm like, I still wanna keep fiddling around in Instagram, I'll start swiping. Which way do you go first?

Andréa Jones (10:21):
I'm a stories person all the way. Like I will watch stories every day and then sometimes I'll look at the feed if I have extra time. That's me. But I, yeah, I just, I like, I like the stories. Just doesn't feel as like stuffy and polished and it's where I go to connect with like my favorite people. There's some people who like, I won't miss a story. Mm-Hmm <affirmative>, like Myleik Teele who is the founder of curlBOX. I just love how she thinks and I'm like, I wanna see what she's saying today, <laugh>. And I'll just go and look. I don't know why. I just love it.

Deanna Seymour (10:54):
Yeah. Okay. So that's what I guess I was talking about comments and then I was like, wait, I don't really do comments, but I will send a message to people in stories like watch your story, think it's funny and whether it's like a sticker for me to like reply or I just type away down there I'm like, you put up a story, I'm gonna tell you what I think about it. I mean, not in a mean way. I, I never respond to a story like mad. I'm usually happy cuz I'm curated my people. So I'm usually excited to reply. And that for me does not feel the same as commenting on a post. It feels like replying to a human. And then a lot of times, I mean I'm not talking like huge like celebrity entrepreneurs or anybody that I'm replying to, but you know, just the people I follow who have about the same following as me and they're like, I feel like they're real people, you know, whatever. Like they will respond and it's fun and then I feel like, oh that was actually not weird at all. That was just a human to a human through social media. Which can feel very disconnected for me in other ways in the Instagram stories I feel like we're texting or so like I feel like friends we're friends.

Andréa Jones (12:02):
Yeah. Do you, do you consider yourself like introverted or extroverted?

Deanna Seymour (12:06):
I think I'm an extrovert who sometimes is like, okay enough like, you know, like I need a break. I don't know. But I definitely lean more towards extroverted. But sometimes if it's too much I'll need some, I need to unplug, you know what I mean?

Andréa Jones (12:22):
Yeah. So as an extrovert, like how do you, cuz I find it myself. I'm on the line a lot though. I'm more on the introverted side and I know a lot of listeners struggle with this as well. Like let's say you follow someone new on social media and you're watching their stories or you see a pose and like that first initiation of the conversation for me, I'm always like, sometimes I don't know what to say. I tend to go towards compliments. Like, I like your hair, I like your shoes, I like your vibe. But I'm curious about your like approach, like new person, you just connected to them. Like what's your go-to? Is pickup line the right <laugh>? I dunno.

Deanna Seymour (13:05):
Let's, okay, this is something I was thinking about before I came on here and I was like, I think we should talk about the difference in my mind. And you can, you know, I wanna know what you think between a DM and a reply to a story. Cuz even though that's like a message, I feel like it's different because like a straight up, just like I went to your profile and I hit message and I dmd you feels like a lot more like a pickup line than you put out a story and then I replied to it. Does that make sense? Yeah. I think that has to do with my human design. I'm something I, I'm, I like dabble in that. I mean I always forget what I am cuz that's my ADHD brain. But I think I'm, whatever I am, Imma respond.

(13:45):
Like I like to be, I like to respond to people. Okay. And someone listening will can message me on Instagram and tell me what I am. But I'm like the person who wants to respond. I don't think it's called a responder. It sounds like I work for the, like an ambulance or something. I'm not, I'm not a first responder. That's not my human design <laugh>. But I do like, I feel like if you're answering something or replying to something that they put out there for me that feels fun. And what I usually do is just think of like, what would I say to this person? Like if we were at a party or like sitting next to each other at the bar. I remember one time this person actually, I put up a story about deviled eggs. I feel like deviled eggs are very polarizing.

(14:24):
People like love them or hate 'em. And there was only one person who hated them. Like when I checked the like results of my poll and I didn't know that person, but I reached out and I was like, all right, you're the only person who hates 'em something. Some, you know, made a joke about it. And then she wrote back and was like, the funny thing is that I love collecting vintage deviled egg plates, you know? And I was like, well mail them to me love deviled eggs. I love vintage like, you know, housewares. What? And so we just had a fun little back and forth and it was kind of around that time too that I was like, this does feel fun. Like that doesn't feel weird at all. And I am chatty, like I'll chat with the cashier, like sometimes my husband's like, okay, reel it in.

(15:05):
De like, so I guess I am extroverted cause I will chat up somebody. So I just, whatever pops in my head. I love a compli who doesn't love a compliment. Like that's a great way sometimes I'm like, you know what I love about that person? They love me <laugh>. It's like, it's really easy to be like, oh my gosh, thank you. Like compliment is a great way. I think people post in stories about their kids. If you think their kid is cute, like tell them what mom doesn't wanna hear how cute their kid is. No one's gonna be mad about that.

Andréa Jones (15:31):
Yeah. Compliments are my go-to. But I had to train myself cuz I am not a small talker at all. Mm-Hmm <affirmative>. My friends used to tease me cuz I like go straight for the like, so what are you, what is your life goal? And they're like, Andrea, we gotta start light. Like how are you feeling today? Lovely weather. So I had to like train myself to do things like that cause I'm not a big small talker. Yeah. Which is why I like this podcast. Cause I'm like, tell me about your business in depth. <Laugh>. Yeah. I love that. Okay, we're gonna take a quick break. When we come back, I wanna talk about how you manage all of these conversations and how you are working on ways to grow your business now. So we'll talk about that when we get back.

(16:16):
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(17:33):
All right, and we're back. So I wanna talk about managing all of these conversations. Some people use spreadsheets. To me that's overwhelming but no shade. Some people naturally keep up with it, but I struggle with this, especially on days where I feel like I have a lot going on in my life. Low energy days, weeks, months. It feels like this whole quarter has been like a low energy quarter for me. <Laugh>. So asking for a friend how do you manage these conversations that you're starting?

Deanna Seymour (18:04):
Okay, this is not gonna be exciting to anyone. I don't <laugh>, I don't, I don't, I don't manage them. I feel like, like the deviled egg person, if I'm being honest, I don't remember her name. Like we connected a little, but then it just like fizzled. And I feel like it's funny we're talking about like pick up lines, you know, like maybe we had a little baby date, but like nobody, we didn't call each other. But there's other people who have just become what I would consider friends, which still feels a little weird to me. Like I'm like, I've never met you in real life, but you're a friend. I guess like my online business friends at this point, sometimes I feel like understand me more than some of my real life friends like here in Richmond. So I think when, first of all, you don't have to connect with everyone.

(18:52):
You don't have to like seriously connect, connect with everyone. So the idea of like a spreadsheet and keeping track of it that way feels like a little for me. I don't know, robotic or like weird to like, I've never done that with my friends in real life. And I feel like I have, I used to before kids in suburbia, <laugh>, I used to have a lot of friends and do things. So for me I just keep up with those stories and I do feel like sometimes when I'll scroll I'll be like, oh yeah, that person doesn't, maybe someone doesn't show up in stories as much, so maybe I will comment or reply. And I'll guess I've done this in real life too. Like if you've ever been like, I don't know, every once in a while I'll have a rut where I'm like, I don't know how many friends, like I haven't hung out with anybody in forever.

(19:36):
Like what am I doing? And I just like scroll back through my text messages. I'm like, oh yeah, we were supposed to go to lunch. Like let me text her again and be like, okay, we said we're gonna hang out, let's do it. So I think just, I think also the fact that I only stay on one platform keeps it easy cuz it's like we're on Instagram, you could just click on your, who you're following and reconnect with like, oh my gosh, I haven't reached out to them in forever. Like, are they not even on Instagram anymore? Like check in on them, be like, Hey, what's up? What, what's going on? I listen to my friend's podcast, which feels like, you know, you're just listening but you still feel like you're having a conversation with them. But messaging them and saying, oh my gosh, I listened to that episode. Like I loved this or that. And it doesn't have to be a long coffee chat or a hangout, but just sort of pinging around and like checking in on everybody. That's my method. Which is not very helpful probably. But

Andréa Jones (20:29):
<Laugh> no it is, it is helpful because I think sometimes we fall into the trap of like being too strategic. Do you know what I mean? Like not everything has to be, you know, do this then that then this with every single thing you, you know what I mean? Where like sometimes building relationships are imperfect. You talk to someone one month, you don't talk to them for six months and then you go, oh yeah, this person and you talk to them again. I think that if we try to like use a formula every time mm-hmm. <Affirmative>, it comes across that way. Like the people who have like the message that's clearly a template, like we could see that that's a templated message and that you're not actually just sending this to me. Yes. and so there's something too, like approaching this a little bit more organically. I am curious time-wise, like how much time do you think you spend on Instagram any given day?

Deanna Seymour (21:26):
I don't know every, I always say I'm like not that much. I'm a super, I'm a super low screen in my house. I will say that my daughter says, my husband's on his phone more than me <laugh>. So I'm like, let me just put that on the record on a podcast somewhere. Sorry Matt. I mean, I don't know, maybe 30 minutes, an hour, I mean an hour. If it's like a boring day, I, I scroll, so I watch all my housewives on Peacock and I don't pay extra. So I have like commercial breaks every however often and I just feel like I scroll and then sometimes I get lost scrolling and then I'm like, ooh, I'm missing a big fight on the screen. So I have to like rewind. But I mean I just kind of fit it in. I don't necessarily, like in my business say I'm gonna, you know, scroll Instagram. I know there's like engagement things and like do this before you post. And since I have the nine grade, I don't really post, but I don't even have notifications turned on. So I just kind of fitted into pockets where I'm waiting for my kid to come out of ballet. Like, oh, let me just scroll and see. So I don't, I mean I would, I think 30 minutes to an hour, but like I don't want to check my screen time or I'll get, or I'll be like a scale <laugh> I'll be depressed.

Andréa Jones (22:36):
Yeah, that is true. There's the scale again. I find it interesting because I feel like, and correct me if I'm wrong, but I feel like because you've designed your experience to be enjoyable and you've found a way to check in without, you know, spending five hours a day on the app, that the consistency piece is showing up for you more. You actually enjoy the times that you're on Instagram and then when you're not, since you don't have notifications, you just, you know, live your life.

Deanna Seymour (23:10):
Yes. one thing I should also say is that when I wanna take it to the next level, I love moving people to boxer cuz we can send the voice memos and we're not time, like, it's not the one minute thing which I cannot even handle. So I also check in with people in Voxer. That's a really fun tool for me to use. It's kind of like, I guess, I mean these people could turn into clients. So I, I am like not as savvy as with my business. I just meet people and like see where goes. So I'm pretty laid back and I feel like people do turn into clients. But I guess like a customer journey would be in my mind, like on Instagram I wanna get them on my email. And so for like, the friend journey from Instagram is like to Voxer, you know what I mean?

(24:00):
And then we're like friends and I have people, like I have a community that gets boxer access to me and we're taking a break over the summer and I'm sort of changing things. So some people might leave and I just keep telling them like, but you can totally still boxer me. Like we're, we're Voxer friends. Like it's okay. So, and again, I'm sort of new, my business is smaller, it's just me. Like I don't have all the systems that a lot of people have, but for me it's really working for me to build my network and, and my social like reach I think. Yeah. So yeah.

Andréa Jones (24:34):
Okay. I wanna dive into this too because I find it interesting the distinction between like the email list in box. I assume there's some overlap. Oh yeah, I wanna talk about the email list first. So are you, I, I know that's in your, your static Instagram you direct people to your email list, but in your stories, are you talking about your email list as well?

Deanna Seymour (24:56):
Yes. So here's what I started doing with my email list. I was sad cuz I was like, I love my emails. I emailed my list weekly. I, I'm like, I never miss a week but I really, I can't remember last time I missed a week. It's one of my favorite things to do. So I was like, these just get sent and then they go away. And you were saying like you had a blog in 2004. I had a Tumblr blog. Do you remember those? Oh yeah. Like back in the day Deanna does drawing and I would like post a drawing and then it sort of morphed into stories and other crafty things I was making and some online dating mishaps. Like it was, it was a fun little blog. So I missed my Tumblr days. So what I do now is the emails that I write, I put on my blog on my website as essays and they're not SEO friendly.

(25:43):
I mean I like tag my images a certain way. Like a, I get like a, I think I have fake Yoast, it's like I don't pay for it but I get orange sometimes and I'm excited every once in a while I get a grain. I'm like what happened? So I don't stress about it, I just copy and paste my emails over there as essays. And so I link those in my stories each week and they come out on Thursday. So on Friday I usually try to post what the essay is and put the link there and then when they go to that page it's like, hey, get these sent straight to your email box. So all my emails are up there, which some people have been like, well does that encourage people not to sign up for your emails cuz they can just go read them.

(26:20):
And I'm like, I guess, but also if they like them then they're gonna just want to get them because who's gonna like just keep checking my blog every week. So I think it's a pretty good system and it makes me feel like I'm like building a little body of work over there and it's, it's fun for me. So, and it gives me a reason to post a story being like, Hey, here's this fun email I wrote. And they can like try it before they buy it. They can go read some and be like, okay she's funny, I'm gonna join her email list or not. It's up to them.

Andréa Jones (26:47):
I like it, it's content repurposing and as someone who loves email, like I love email. I will never go to your website. Maybe if you, I would see the link in your story and click it, but I wouldn't like go type in your website and go visit it. So for me I'm like yeah if I went to your website and like read all your back catalog and was like, I love this but I'm not gonna come here <laugh> anymore. Yeah, I wanna get my inbox where I read everything. It makes perfect sense to me. I like that. So I also wanna talk about your friends. So I think you have a very unique and wonderful way of building collaboration partners, which are essentially just like people you like in the online space. So talk to me about how you're making new business friends. You're saying you're, you're using Voxer, is that like the continuation of it? Like I'm, I'm being nosy, I want all the details.

Deanna Seymour (27:40):
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well I met you on my private podcast series so I love podcasting. So I have my regular podcast, which up until this year was just solo shows but now this year I'm like, you know what, I actually really like having people on so why don't I have them on my regular show too. Before that I was doing my regular show was solo and then I would do the podcast series. So I did the one with you with about breaking the rules of social media and I did one about breaking the rules of podcasting with some podcasters and for me, and I've done the anti hussle holiday countdown at Christmas. I do like meet with business owners but we don't talk business. We just talk about traditions that they do with their families. And those three sort of series are also great ways for me to connect with other business owners that feel like a fit for me.

(28:32):
So it's really easy to to send them an email and be like, Hey, I'm doing this cool thing, do you wanna be a part of it? And then we get to have a whole conversation which bonus also counts as content <laugh> like and gets people on my email list. Like I love podcasting. I just think podcasting for me, again with my lack of like analytics and whatever, I'm not trying to grow my podcast to be like the number one podcast in the world. I use it as a tool for me to connect with other business owners mostly and to also like share my unique perspectives. And I get a little sassy on my own podcast and stuff. But that has been for me like the number one way to feel really connected to people right away. Cuz I, you know, we get to have a conversation and then, and sometimes you have the conversation and it like, again like the Devil Egg Lady, like it fizzles like you've come on and it was fun but like whatever.

(29:25):
But the people who you like really connect with, especially when you now I really think it's like dating. I'm like when you both know you connected, yeah, then you're like actual friends. You know, I, the podcast thing is like my number one and I think it's funny it has something to do with audio because I think also on boxer, like hearing someone's voice and it doesn't have to be perfect and you know, you can just show up as you are and talk and be like, oh my gosh I'm totally rambling. And that, that's not so much on the podcast, but I think communicating with people, talking to people like old timey, like you're on your phone with your friends, somebody beeped in, you know like it's just fun to talk to other humans and maybe it will relate to something else later and maybe it won't, but just connecting.

Andréa Jones (30:10):
Yeah. Yeah. And I think the beauty of this is I imagine that there are some like ripple effects in your business. Like do you have any stories of someone you connected to and then they referred you to someone or they became a client? Like I'm sure that this has like lifted up your business.

Deanna Seymour (30:29):
Oh yeah. Yeah. I think oftentimes people, I'll go on a podcast and then someone's like, oh I heard you on this podcast or you were on so-and-so's podcast. She said I could should come to you for graphic. You know, it's all, all the time. But you know, I think that's most people we, we talk so much about content and what we need to do. When I do last year I was doing marketing maps with people and sitting down and just getting a feel for what they were doing and then trying to talk to 'em about like, well what do you want to do? Sort of like help them navigate that. And almost everyone I talked to said so many things like, oh I know I should be on Pinterest or I know I should make more blogs or I should be doing this or I should.

(31:09):
And I was like whoa, whoa, whoa. I'm not here to judge you. Like I just, I'm just trying to get a feel for what you're doing. Like it was so they were just like, I know I'm not doing enough. But one of the questions was like, where do most of your clients come from? And it was a lot of like referrals, this that, or like a certain platform and probably the platform they enjoyed the most cuz like you were saying, that's where you show up the best. So I was like, yeah, focus on these things. And for me, I think me talking to a human is like where I shine the most. Connecting with someone. I mean some people are great writers and then maybe like a long blog post is really what pulls people in and they get to share all their tips and people are like, that's where you need to go for the best tips. For me it's more that like one-on-one connection.

Andréa Jones (31:53):
Yeah. Yeah. A hundred percent. Same for me. Talking is where it's at. I mean I can write stuff but I really shouldn't <laugh>, my autocorrect is like, what are you trying to say right now? <Laugh>

Deanna Seymour (32:05):
When when Google doesn't even, like when autocorrect doesn't know there's no, there's no recommendations. I'm like, what? I feel like I'm so close. What do you mean there's no recommendations? Like that is a word I swear. No, same.

Andréa Jones (32:18):
Yeah, yeah. I literally will like copy paste it into Google cause I'm like, Google's gonna get it.

Deanna Seymour (32:23):
Google did you mean I'm like, I always thank you Google. Yes. That is what I meant all the time. Google gets me <laugh>.

Andréa Jones (32:30):
Oh my gosh I, I'm so grateful for my team because they can then take this and like turn it into written content cuz that's just not my strength. And I think there's like one of the underlining themes of today's episode is show up in a way that really feels good for you and take the time to find that and then like triple down on that. Because once you find that way's a lot easier for you to show up that way, it's a lot easier for you to like connect that way. And you can like just go farther faster. I love that. I love that.

Deanna Seymour (33:02):
And be consistent. Everyone's saying be consistent but it's really hard to be consistent with things you do not wanna do. <Laugh>. Like, it's so hard if you wanna do it, it's way easier to be consistent. I know that's like a buzzword. So

Andréa Jones (33:15):
It is. I mean it's just like anything in life. I love, I'm actually really thinking a lot about this scale analogy because I'm a huge like numbers and metrics person, but I'm the only one. And I do think a lot of people, it feels like this hopping on a scale and like most people just don't wanna do that. Like <laugh>. Mm-Hmm <affirmative> just not

Deanna Seymour (33:35):
Fun. Well and if you, if you are good at like disconnecting the two, like it sounds like probably you look at it for what it is. Like I get a little emotional over here about like, oh what does that mean for me? Sounds like, and I think a lot of data people are good at separating the two and just being like, these are the analytics. Like here's what's working, here's what's not, da da da da da. And I'm like crying in the corner being like, why is that not working? I worked so hard on that thing. Like, you know, so I think if you can separate it, I totally see the value in all the data. I just emotionally can't handle it all the time.

Andréa Jones (34:09):
Yeah. And so I'm thinking aloud about this. Y'all may hear an episode coming out later about this cuz it's like been in the back of my mind. I love that I, I am curious what's next for you? Like are you gonna try anything different on social media? You mentioned dabbling with LinkedIn.

Deanna Seymour (34:25):
Yeah, I'm dabbling with LinkedIn. I tried to dabble little on TikTok earlier this year and I still just really feel called back to Instagram. I mean a couple years ago, like right when I was really starting to try to start my business and I was not gonna go back to teaching like my husband and I had figured it out and I was like, I'm not going back. I got off all social media for six weeks and I was like I’m not doing any of it. And he was like, wait, what? How you, what you gotta grow this business girl? What are you doing? And Instagram was the one that pulled me back in and then it's like I can slowly feel myself getting like, well maybe I should be on link, like those people in the marketing map, like maybe I should be on, I could just repurpose this to TikTok.

(35:01):
But it's starting to feel a little overwhelming so I think I'm just going back to my roots, maybe still dabble in LinkedIn cuz I am intrigued by it. And a lot of people who I talk to on Instagram are also on LinkedIn. Some people are only on LinkedIn. So I'm like, okay, there's some overlap here. I'm gonna try that out. Yeah. Other than that, I mean I'm probably gonna put out some more podcast series and I'm taking the summer off, well, a month, a big month of the summer, like off all my retainer clients are probably like what, what <laugh> like coming out to the summer so they'll be okay. <Laugh>, yes, they'll know in advance. But yeah, I'm really ready to like coast a little bit and just chill and like, you know, hang out with all my online business friends and just keep showing up in ways that.

Andréa Jones (35:44):
Yes, I love it. And if y'all haven't already handed over to Deanna's Instagram at the Deanna Seymour and I'll put that link in the show notes and you can grab all of Deanna's links. This was such a great episode. Thank you for being on the show today.

Deanna Seymour (35:58):
Thanks for having me. This is like so fun.

Andréa Jones (36:01):
Yay. And thank you dear listener for tuning into another episode of The Savvy Social Podcast. Make sure you give us a five star review on Apple Podcasts or on Spotify. Now you can do that as well. Helps keep us in the top 100 marketing shows. I'll see y'all next week with another episode. Bye for now.