Ep. 37: Crafting a stellar social media strategy (Andréa Jones, OnlineDrea Inc.)

Social media is one of the most vital ways to connect with your audience. But, why is it so important to have a social media strategy for your online business? Where do you even begin when it comes to creating engaging social media content? We’re answering those questions and more in this episode of Everything is Teachable. Let’s say hello to social media expert, Andrea Jones.

Where to find Andréa

Andréa’s website: https://onlinedrea.com/
Andréa’s Teachable school: https://savvysocialschool.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onlinedrea/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OnlineDrea/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/onlinedrea
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/onlinedrea/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/onlinedrea
Free Social Media Rockstar Framework course: https://onlinedrea.com/free/

Read the full transcript below.

AJ: Ultimately, going really deep and being consistent on a specific thing is what gets a lot of businesses farther faster. And then you can always broad now and add more things later but it’s really going in like videos your thing and you love going live streaming for instance, do that connect with your people and then you can you know, hire the team or, or expand into other methods of communication as your business grows. Hello again, friends,

HF: It’s Haleigh from Team Teachable. Today we’re diving into all things social media, it’s one of the most vital ways to connect with your audience. But why is it so important to even have a social media strategy for your online business? Where do you even begin when it comes to creating engaging social media content? we’re answering those questions and more in this episode of everything is teachable. Let’s say hello to social media expert Andrea Jones.

Welcome to everything is teachable. The podcast that takes you behind the scenes to learn how everyday creators have transformed their skills and passions into online courses and businesses. Andrea Jones has built an online business committed to empowering other businesses to utilize the power of social media in a positive and impactful way without being overwhelmed and drained by it. With over seven years experience in the game, Andrea hosts the acclaimed podcast, the savvy social podcast, leads a team providing done for you services inside of her marketing agency that was named a top digital marketing agency in 2021, and serves over 200 students in her membership, the savvy social school. Hi, Andrea, I’m so happy that you’re here today. How are you?

AJ: Great, thank you so much for having me on the show. Of course,

HF: It is an absolute pleasure. I love the work that you do. And I’m just really, really excited to talk to you today. I guess we can go ahead and start things off by you telling all of us in the listeners about yourself.

AJ: Yes, so I am a social media strategist. I own an agency where we offer done for you services for thought leaders and coaches and course creators. And then I also teach social media on my podcast, a savvy social podcast, and in my program, the savvy social school. Basically, I live sleep, Dream social media. It is like my entire life.

HF: Right up my alley, this is gonna be a good conversation for sure. So I want to know more about your agency online. draya. That is your online social media, business and agency. How did you get started with this business?

AJ: Yeah, so I started the business in 2014. So prior to that, I, when I graduated from university had a degree in English literature, I had a lot I could do. So I started working in hospitality, I ended up working front desk at a spa worked my way up to be the assistant manager, and then kind of translated to different locations. And so I worked in the spa world for a while. And being the youngest person on the team got put in charge of social media, which I had a lot of fun with. I actually remember going to a leadership course that my general manager put me in, and they asked me what I wanted to do in five years. And I said, If I could just do the social media part of this, and like forget everything else, that would be amazing. And this was 2011. And they were like, that’s not a real job. So Oh, no. So I was like, I want to do this, but I couldn’t figure it out. And then a couple years later, I met my husband on YouTube. I was doing like you do.

HF: That’s amazing. We might have to dive into that a little bit later.

AJ: I mean, the story’s not long, it’s just I was recording my life on YouTube talking about things that I thought were interesting in the world. He was doing the same thing like a ranty comedy show. We collaborated kind of like a podcast like this. And then we just kept talking. And he lived in Canada, I lived in Atlanta, and decided to, like move to be with him. And that’s when I launched the business. So kind of moved for love and was like, What am I gonna do for like work and money? Then I started freelancing, and the rest is history.

HF: Oh my god, that is incredible. Like, what a great story that is. So that’s so awesome. I had this listed out later on, but I think that this could be a really great question to bring up now. So you have a full team of account managers, content creators. I’d love to kind of dive into that whole process and how you really started to scale your business when you realize, okay, experiencing some growing pains here I need to expand I need to get help and delegate. What was kind of the turning point for you and what was the process be Find that.

AJ: Yes. And you know, I wanted to freelance for years I actually didn’t even use the word agency until about two years ago. So for the first five years, I was like I’m a freelancer. And I just happened to have some team members who helped me. But I really resisted growing a team for the longest time. And I always blame my very first team member who’s still with me today, her name is Leanne. I hired her she was amazing. And I hired her in 2016. So about two years in, and I just wanted some help with like coming up with content ideas, because social media never stops. And I needed help with like, Okay, if we have an idea, can you put it in a graphic? Can you write a caption for it, like those sorts of things. So I hired her, she was amazing, and is amazing. And I tried to hire more people just like her and I could not find anyone. So I spent pretty much all of the next couple of years trying to figure out how can I find more amazing people, I just hired and fired a lot of people to figure it out. don’t recommend that method, because it’s very expensive. But I learned by doing and a lot of it was really being specific about what the job actually is. Because a lot of people think they know what social media is. But it’s really it’s like part marketing, and data and part creative and like to find that person who’s okay with that, and you’re working from home. And you’re probably not talking to anyone all day, like, I started putting, like layering those things into my job descriptions. And that’s how I can like my job description now is because for five years, I couldn’t find the right people. And now I have an amazing team. But a lot of it is being really upfront about that interview process. So I do two interviews, and then a test project and then like a paid trial period, just to kind of see if it’s a good personality fit because it the job itself is just, it’s challenging. So yes, we have a team of 15 now, and they handle a lot of the day to day work for our clients. And I still consider myself this strategically, but I honestly could not do it without them.

HF: Definitely. And I really appreciate you sharing that. And, you know, I know, every business is different. Everyone’s needs are different in terms of determining, okay, like it’s time to grow a little bit, but are there any general tips that you may have for other business owners as kind of a key indicator of when it’s time to start hiring?

AJ: Yes, so one of the things that I ran into with hiring is being able to afford to hire someone. So there’s this moment in your business where you know, you need help, but you can’t quite figure out how to add someone else’s cost to your payroll. And so for me, that’s really the moment to raise your prices. And a lot of business owners get scared at this point or hesitate at this point. But that’s the point where like, if you have business coming in more than you can serve, and you need the support, you raise your price. And even if you don’t end up hiring someone, you are now saving money essentially to hire someone. So save that money away so that you can bring someone else in. The other thing for me was I wanted to, like take some time off. That’s originally why I hired me and my, my Ogt member, because I was I had done on one vacation at that point. So two years in one vacation, and it was so stressful. Social media never sleeps,

HF: And never sleeps.

AJ: So having that person where you can take some time off is helpful. So just think like my advice would be to think about how you want to work your business. If you want to take time off, give yourself time to like bringing someone on board, train them. Hiring contractors first is a really great way to get started. And then you can always hire employees in the in the future. And just give yourself time to actually train that person so that they can do it the way that you you’d prefer for it to be done. And then you can take that vacation. Yes,

HF: whatever everyone deserves seriously. And you know, you mentioned talking about raising your prices and that is it 100% is something that I think people are very scared to do. Maybe would you feel comfortable talking about some like techniques about like how to map out your pricing strat like pricing strategy.

AJ: Yeah, absolutely. So amazing. Like, the business that I run is very service base, so it’s intense. So when I price it out, I have to price out hours like literally what I’m going to pay people to do it the work. And so I ran into trouble. This was 2018 to my business because I wasn’t paying attention to this and I had to Let go of part of my team because I could not afford them anymore, because I wasn’t priced appropriately. So it taught me a lot. So one of the things I want I encourage business owners to look at is profit margin. It feels greedy, sometimes I will say this as a business owner to just like save away money for a rainy day, but you’re literally saving it away for I don’t know, a global pandemic, when that may happen. And so, like hat, so for my goal for my business is after I pay myself and my whole team and all of our expenses, I want 30% profitability, that’s really high. I’m almost there someone some months, I’m not that close. But at least if I’m profitable, there’s money left in the business, then I’m, I’m golden. And so when you think about your pricing, if everything you make is either your paycheck or paying expenses, then then it’s tough to like have a business that survives, you’re always going to be waiting for the next client, and the next person to come through the door. So if you can give yourself that buffer, it’s a lot easier to manage.

HF: Yeah, definitely. And, you know, it’s, pricing is not the most glamorous part of a business, that’s for sure. But it is probably one of the most important things because, like you said, it’s important to be able to manage all your finances correctly with things that come up and saving for a rainy day and saving for, you know, a world event. But it’s also worthwhile because you want to charge what you’re worth. And most of the time people are not charging what they’re worth. And that’s something that we we sell a statement that we wholeheartedly stand by teachable is charge what you’re worth 100% all day, every day.

AJ: Yeah, and I do think it comes from a little bit of the conversation that’s happening right now on social media, with the way of the world and we’ve got, you know, people who are big deals like Jeff Bezos, and you know, the conversation around how much is enough. And I think we’re comparing ourselves to the wrong people. And you know, there is this idea of providing yourself a livable income and having money saved away for that rainy day. And so I do encourage people to think about that sort of thing when you’re when you’re pricing out your products or your services.

HF: Definitely I that was so valuable, I really appreciate your insights on that. So I’m really excited to dive in to all things social media. As you may know, if the listeners remember, I am the senior social media strategist at teachable. So this is also something I’m so passionate about. And another reason why I’m so excited to have you on. So I really want to dive in to the topic of social media strategy, because that is truly your expertise. Why is it so important for any business or brand to have?

AJ: This strategy is like your guiding light. It is your roadmap to understanding exactly where you’re going with this social media thing. Because Listen, it’s very easy to log on to tick tock and scroll for like three hours and then feel like why did I get any work done? Right? I’m 100% that. And so I think as a business owner, it’s really important to have that map. And so you want to have a few things on the map things like, what’s your positioning and your messaging? Who are you talking to? What are you saying, Why are you saying it? Why does it matter to them? Those are really important things to have on the map. Things like what would success look like? So you know, what are you ultimately trying to do? I think, because social media is so public, a lot of people look at things like followers, but followers don’t pay the bills. So you know, really diving into what exactly you want to do on social media and how it plays a role into your business and to actually moving the business forward. And then figuring out how to do all of that. So some people love video some people like writing some people like photography, so it’s you know, figuring out what works for your business and doing that. Ultimately, going really deep and being consistent on a specific thing is what gets a lot of businesses farther faster. And then you can always broad now and add more things later but it’s really going in like videos your thing and you love going live streaming for instance, do that connect with your people and then you can you know, hire the team or, or expand into other methods of communication as your business grows.

HF: Absolutely. And I think something that that is something that is so important to philosophy almost is you don’t have to be everything at once. And it’s so much better to identify the kind of content that you are most comfortable Doing because then it’s going to seem more natural, it’s going to seem more authentic. And you’re going to be able to connect with your audience so much better that way.

AJ: Yeah, exactly. And I think I always use this example. But LinkedIn right now is actually doing hardly well, like a lot of people are finding great connections on that platform. And it’s doing well. But if I told you, you have to be on LinkedIn, and then you log in, and you’re like, I don’t like it here. It wouldn’t work for you, even if even if all the boxes are checked, and it should work for you. If you don’t like it, it’s not going to work for you. So especially if you’re the one doing your own social media, you’ve got to find kind of like that combination of things that you’re going to stick with consistently. And then you can always outsource it later. It’s kind of like bookkeeping, like we do it. Sometimes some of us like it, some of us don’t, that’s okay, you can find someone to help you with it as your business grows. So think of social media the same way you do what you have to do to grow your business to the point where you can always outsource it later. If it’s not your thing.

HF: Definitely, and how like, what kind of tips would you give to creators who are kind of struggling with social media and thinking, you know, there’s, there’s all kinds of tips out there. And some may be a little bit more valid than others. But one tip that I’ve seen kind of circulated around, that you have to be on every single platform to be visible and to make an impact. And I I personally don’t agree with that. And I, I know you don’t either. So what are some tips that you would have for other creators who are kind of kind of stuck in that mode of, okay, where do I even begin? What platform is even best for me?

AJ: Yeah, I think that tip is like, be everywhere. It’s like for the ideal robot, right? It’s like, obviously, if we could be everywhere at once, we would, but we’re humans. So I think a lot of us put a lot of pressure on ourselves. Because we do look at the competitors. You know, we see other people who seem to be everywhere and on all the time. But guess what, they have an agency like mine, making them look like they’re odd and everywhere all the time. And so one of the things I recommend for business owners is to pick one platform, just one, you can have a secondary one, but you’re spending 80% of your time on one platform. And there are so many platforms out there, if you’re a super visual brand, Instagram is great. It’s actually a really great platform for anyone right now. Because you can connect with so many different people. LinkedIn is great if you’re servicing other business owners. So let’s say you created a course specifically to teach yoga instructors how to like market and grow their business. Well, you’re gonna find a lot of people with job titles of yoga instructor on LinkedIn. So there’s so much opportunity there to like, use that platform and leverage it. If you like having dynamic conversations. Or if you have a cultural or political angle. Twitter is amazing for that. If you like creating short form video, tik tok is like on fire right now. So there’s so you could really go to any platform and find a space there for yourself, just pick one. Because as a human being, who is also running a business, there’s only so much time we have any given week to dedicate to social media. And oftentimes, we’re also trying to record the course videos, or have those constant calls with clients or build out our websites. And so social media is just one piece of that puzzle. So I recommend picking one platform, sticking with about three to five hours a week on social media. And that’s it, and you will see growth from that consistent habit. Absolutely, I

HF: completely agree. And on top of all of you know, just choosing the platform to begin with, there’s also the changes to the platforms in terms of updates, algorithm changes, all of that. I’ve noticed that Instagram in particular, is really up there with coming out with consistent updates. And I’m curious to hear from your perspective, what are some trends that you a think will fade away on Instagram and be what are some that you think will pick up more steam over the next few months or so?

AJ: Yes, so I think like Instagram guides, for instance, or even igtv I think those will fade away. Those are things that Instagram introduced prior to reels, which has taken off that a lot of people are kind of backing away from now. No, I GTV started off as this competitor to YouTube. And the point was you’re supposed to discover kind of new videos to watch but the users are only watching videos of the people they already follow with Instagram reels. coming into the picture and trying to be a direct competitor to tik tok, I definitely see what like the things that are going to grow are this this discoverability aspect to Instagram, which is like, Oh gee internet, you log on and you go, I wonder what I’m going to look at today, right? You maybe had a few people, but it was mostly like just wandering around and seeing things, and being delighted by the things that you found. So I think Instagram is going to move that direction. I hope that they do that for other content types, not just Instagram reels. If you think about tic tock, most of the feed is people you do not follow. So most of the feed most of the information you can consume, you don’t follow them. Instagram, most of the feed is people you do follow. So I would love to see more of a mix of content where Instagrams algorithm is serving you content that you didn’t know about, but you’re excited to see, I think that would be amazing for social media. And I’m really hoping that that happens, because I think it will blow up and Instagram will continue to stay an industry leader in the social media space.

HF: Oh, for sure. That would be incredible. That would be so fun. And as it relates to content, what is usually your go to approach, I mean, obviously, when you are in the planning process, you have to always take into consideration any kind of campaigns that you may have going on or, and holidays and all of that great stuff. But usually, what is your approach to content planning for social media? And what kind of tools do you like to use?

AJ: Yes, so I do like to look at the month first and identify any campaigns and holidays and things that I want to acknowledge and kind of earmark those. And then I typically go through different buckets of content. So promotional content, where we’re promoting podcast episode or a lead magnet, or basically we’re asking people to like leave social media and go do something else. Right. So that’s kind of one bucket of content. I also have in content bucket that’s all about engagement. So asking questions, you know, trying to pull in conversation, and then educational content. So positioning myself as an industry expert, or leader or something like that. And then we have the fun content. So things like entertaining content, the Jeff’s the means the things that people like, My dog is popular on social media, everyone loves him. He’s a rock star. Yes. So making sure he’s in there. And so just kind of rotating through some of those content pillars, and making sure they’re evenly dispersed. Specifically, what’s working right now is entertainment content and engaging content. So people want to log on and see something fun or funny, or even dramatic, that they can relate to. And then engaging content, they don’t want to feel like you’re kind of talking at them, but you’re pulling them into a conversation. And then the tools I use, so I like to use air table for content planning. It is like hands down. One of the best planning tools that I’ve used, it just works with my brain, I love it. I’ve made a bunch of videos about it on my YouTube channel. But essentially, I kind of use their calendar view. And I plot out all of my, all of my marketing content, not just social media. So social media is there. But I also do my podcasts, my emails, my YouTube videos, my blog posts, like anything content wise goes in there. And then it doesn’t really auto post for you. So I use a tool called sendible to kind of schedule my content out and use it for reporting and metrics and tracking and all of that as well.

HF: Oh, I love that. Yeah, we use we use air table for some planning things over here as well, it’s so great. And I think it speaks so much to the fact that like your dog is a star on your Instagram. And that’s what people love to see. I think that really speaks to the fact that your audience wants to get an inside, look into your life and get to know you more. But of course, that’s easier said than done. It’s kind of a big deal to lay it all out on the table in a way publicly and kind of open the floor to letting people online get to know you a little bit more. And I do feel like other creators get a little nervous, which is totally understandable to do that. So what what are some things that you’ve done in the past or currently do to make sure that you’re like staying vulnerable and putting yourself out there in that way?

AJ: Yeah, so I am pretty strict actually about my social media usage because I also do it for work.

HF: Right? Yeah, I relate to that very much.

AJ: It’s so easy for it to be too much. It’s kind of like if you went to an ice cream shop and you were like I want to try Whoa, scoop like, like, that’s a lot, right? That’s a lot. So for like, personally, I just create some boundaries. So I actually don’t show off a lot of my personal life. So when I’m out with friends or things like that I don’t really record or take photos or do things like that, if I do, I kind of save them to my camera roll, I’m not posting them right away, right? Like I’m very conscious about not being that girl. But also from a vulnerability perspective, I really make sure that I’ve had time to process before I talk about anything. So an example is I talked about already in 2018, how I went through a rough patch in my business and had to let go of some of my team, I wasn’t on social media talking about that at the time. It took me probably about a year and a half, before I could even share about it on my podcast. And now I talk about it frequently on other podcasts and things like that. So you know, giving myself time to process things that happen and decide kind of where it is in my life and how I want to share it some things the world will never know. And I think it comes from, you know, I i’ve been blogging since 2004. So I’ve been online for a very long time. And I’ve just seen kind of the transition over time and, and nothing is deleted. So being very careful about what I share. And then I also just keep boundaries about like around how long and how much time I’m spending. So when I’m working, I’m very specific about what’s work time and what’s like scrolling through Tick Tock for fun time. And then I turn off all of my notifications. So I literally have to manually go in and check to see if anything is happening, which I do every day anyways. But it’s not like I’m having you know, dinner with my friends and an Instagram message pops up on my screen, I just won’t see it until I go and check it. So that helps me kind of stay focused work is where fun is fun. And then I can feel more competent, sharing some of those things after the time has come.

HF: Absolutely, I think that that is such a vital part of having your own business. And that is also something that has come up multiple times in previous episodes, is taking that time to really set those boundaries for yourself because it can easily get overwhelming if you don’t have those kind of setup for yourself. Now 100%

AJ: and it’s like it’s not your fault. If you do feel like you’re getting pulled in. Because Instagram and Facebook and tik tok literally are trying to make that happen, like they’re designing their apps, their notification to keep you on there as long as literally possible. So exactly know that that’s that’s the goal. Like that’s what they’re trying to get you to do. Yeah,

HF: I really appreciate you sharing that story. I think that is so important for everyone to hear. And also to know that everyone approaches it differently, whatever it’s really like, at the end of the day, whatever you feel that is appropriate and comfortable to share about yourself. Go for it, you know, so I, it’s always so good to hear other people’s perspective and insights related to things like this.

AJ: Yeah, yeah, I’m happy to share them too. Because I do feel like social media is kind of like that polished perspective that everyone puts out there. And it’s not it’s not accurate of what everyday life looks like,

HF: Oh, I could not agree more. That is that is so key, I think tend to always keep that in the back of your mind. I really am super excited to now like transition a little bit into talking about your online courses, which is the savvy social school. When did you start thinking about bringing online courses into your business? Yes. So

AJ: in 2017, I was growing my business, pretty booked out, had a really good couple of years growing the business and I kept getting clients asking me how I did things. And whenever I’d find tutorials online and things, it was always focused on content creators and not business owners. So content creators have like all the time in the world to create content, that’s their whole job. A business owner is also trying to like hire their staff and like manage product flow and all of this. So I started sending my clients videos that I found on YouTube, but like making a denden videos to go with them, just to be like, Well, here’s how someone else explains it. But here’s what I would do instead. And that turned into my very first course which was all about Canva and like kind of using Canva as a tool to create graphics on social media, which at the time Canva had just started. And it was kind of seen as like you’re cheating. Like if you’re not using Adobe, you’re not using anything. Kind of I created the course on Canva to kind of show business owners a short cut, super easy way to do things. And once I created that, first course, it was like a fire lit under me because ever since I was in the second grade, I said I wanted to be a teacher. And I tried student teaching when I was a senior in high school, and they ate me alive, like I survived. I just recently got laughed at. But now I feel like I’m tapping into teaching adults and it there’s something different about they want to be here, they paid to be here. And they’re respectful of what I’m teaching. It’s just like, it’s very exciting for me. So that transitioned me into the teaching world, which I love. So I sell a membership called the savvy social School, where we have classes on all sorts of things Instagram, LinkedIn, Canva, khamba, tick tock clubhouse even. So it’s really this like, gap I saw on the market of a lot of people teach social media to content creators, and I want to teach social media to very busy business owners, which is a totally different thing.

HF: Yeah, I’d love to learn more about the actual membership. Can you talk a little bit more about that?

AJ: Yes. So obviously, we’re hosted on teachable, which has been amazing for the membership process. I actually so my first course I built on teachable, I just loved how easy it was that y’all they didn’t ask me to do this. But I’m saying this anyway, super easy, like literally drag and drop, I sold the foot first course. And then when I moved to the membership model, which I decided to do, because social media changes so fast, that it was almost impossible to keep up with, like creating like redoing all of the courses. So it’s more of a membership like class base model. So that, you know, Instagram class for this year is updated to have reels and things like that. But when I first switched to the membership model, I tried to build my own membership. And huge fail, the checkout didn’t work, which is like the biggest piece of it, you want people to be able to pay you.

HF: Yeah, that’s very important.

AJ: The checkout didn’t work the like I couldn’t figure out how to embed videos into the website. And it was always glitchy I couldn’t do the live classes. And so it started to become a big problem. So I switched back to teachable and I haven’t looked back, because it’s really easy to use. But I like the membership model for my business because social media changes so much. So when you know there’s an update on Instagram reels, it’s as easy as making a class that everyone has access to as long as you remember, instead of trying to resell and market that class every time that there’s an update.

HF: I love that so much. And do you have an a community? Like do your students? Are they able to connect outside of your membership as well?

AJ: Yes, So currently, our community is on Facebook kind of makes sense for the social media side of things, that they can connect to one another, and we support each other. Like at the time of recording this, we’re doing some video challenges. And so some people are live streaming, some people are doing reels. And so we’re just kind of watching their videos and supporting them along the way. And then we also provide like a ton of done for you content. So if for instance, you weren’t sure what to say in your first real, we’ve got a script for that. Or if you needed a carousel post, we’ve got the Canva graphic already designed for you. So we do a lot of things like that for our members as well. It’s really, I like to think of it as like a buffet, all you can eat buffet, you don’t have to eat everything. Like you can pick and choose what you want.

HF: I love that analogy. I love that. Yes. Oh, that’s so cool. And for people who are thinking of kind of having that online community, the private community aspect to accompany either their membership like you have or an online course. What are some tips around like keeping students engaged through the process?

AJ: Yeah. So I think just really having an intention for the community is important. Just kind of creating a community and saying, Well, I hope people talk in here. Is it really that great. So you want to really make that make sure it’s part of the experience. And so one of the things we do in our community is we’re always prompting and asking questions and facilitating conversations. But also in our videos we talk about constantly, hey, go in our community and post like share your staff post this post that because we want to celebrate you and so is really embedded and ingrained into everything we’re doing. And so I would just say make sure your community is a part of the product that you’re selling. And it’s not just an added thing. That’s not really connected to all of the content that you’re sharing. Because that could really, I mean, having a community is really a great space for a lot of people to kind of get the support that they need to be able to actually skip, make progress with the with the offer that you sell.

HF: Definitely. And what would you say, made your life easier as a business owner after launching this membership for your audience and community?

AJ: Yes, so now I have a down sell offer, basically. So my agency is still a large portion of our revenue at the company. But we still get a significant portion from our products that we sell, and they’re evergreen, so and it’s automatic. So if someone said, Well, I’m want to hire you, but it’s not the right time, then I say, Hey, we have everything we do in the agency we teach here. So it’s like a simplified version. So you can get started on this now. And it’s a really easy way for people to kind of leverage the expertise that’s on my team. So it’s made it a lot easier for me to have that sort of offer. Plus, I just like it like I love, I love the teaching aspect of it, it’s just, it makes me so happy. So for me, it’s like a part of the business that I am really passionate about, which like it kind of feeds into each other, like I’m passionate about teaching something and then bringing it to the agency and then teaching it and and so really has like this ecosystem that just really works for the business that we have.

HF: Oh, that’s so great. I’m, it makes me so happy to hear that you getting this teaching aspect, something that you’ve been passionate about for such a long time is now something that’s kind of a cornerstone of your business, and something you get to do all the time. So that’s really great. And I love hearing these little success stories about how it’s made such a difference.

AJ: Yeah, thank you teachable.

HF: So something that I asked every guest that I have is, if you were starting an online business today, what would you do in the first month or two, and I’m talking new entrepreneur,

AJ: oh, I’m in the first month or two of the business, I would really start getting to know the industry, like just study it. Because there’s a lot of nuance to building an online business. And if you’re new to this space, like certain terms like funnel, or landing page or things like that, it’s kind of like it’s a it’s a lot to consume. So I think if I were starting over today, I would spend the first month or two studying, and then really trying to see how I can get some experience under my belt, whether that be interning or getting a low cost client or somewhere where I can put what I’m studying to actually, like put it to practice. Even if I just started my own thing, like, I feel like studying and then doing as you’re studying would be so important in those early days.

HF: Absolutely. Do you do you suggest any really great websites or any resources for finding more information on specific industries?

AJ: Now, you know, what I typically do is I go to Amazon and I just find the like top book in that industry and become best seller, maybe a couple of them. And I’ll read those. Like recently I’ve been studying about leadership because y’all this hiring firing situation was it was a lot. Yeah. And I realized I had skills to brush up on so I just went to Amazon bought the top books and like I already can see like a huge improvement. And those books lead to other books and other podcasts and resources. So that’s typically what

HF: I do. Yeah, what have you been reading lately.

AJ: Um, so I just read culture code, which was amazing for like how to build groups of people and like, bring them together. And then I’m reading dare to lead because I love Bernie Brown. I’ve loved all of our absolutely fantastic about kind of showing up with this vulnerability that is so so important as a leader, because we feel like we have to have this tough exterior and no one can see his crack and actually showing up at that vulnerability creates such a powerful team and you’re actually able to get further faster. And I mean, I’ve just been practicing seeing this for the past four or five months and already can see a major shift in my team and how we’re working together. And it’s just a beautiful thing to see.

HF: If Bernie brown ever listens to this particular episode or this podcast, I just hope that she knows how amazing and wonderful and valuable her wisdom is. She has totally changed my life too. So it’s so I am so not surprised that her book has made such a difference for you, too. Yeah,

AJ: highly recommend it. Yes.

HF: So Andrea, where can people connect with you or learn more about your agency, your podcasts, your membership, all of that? Yeah.

AJ: So I’m obviously on all of the social handles social channels at online draya. But my favorite is Instagram. I love hanging out on Instagram. If you’re listening to this, and you got a question from listening to this episode, just send me a DM, I don’t buy, I’d love to chat with you there. And then you can find out everything on my website online. dryad.com. And I do have a free course. It’s online, Dre comm slash free, kind of is like the sample platter of what’s in our membership. So that’s a really great place to get started.

HF: Hey, thank you so much for sharing. And before we hop off, do you have any last words of wisdom or inspiration for our listeners?

AJ: Hmm, yeah. So when you’re thinking about social media, you really do you want to customize it to your likes, dislikes, habits needs. There’s a lot of people out here telling you what you should do. But really tune into what works for you. And ultimately, that will get you further faster in the long run. The second that you start doing something because someone else told you to do it. Like people can sense that. And it comes across a certain way. So really figure out how you can enjoy yourself and have fun on social media is supposed to be fun. And the rest will kind of work itself out from there.

HF: Thank you so much that that line at the end. It’s supposed to be fun. Social media is supposed to be fun. That is such an important takeaway and something to always remember. So thank you so much, Andrea, it was so amazing to talk to you and hear all of your amazing insights about social media and your business. And I am really excited for this for everyone to hear this. Thank you so much.

AJ: Thanks for having me on the show.