Taylor Harrington Takes Us on Seth Godin’s Social Media Journey
Seth Godin has one of the biggest email newsletters in the world. However, Seth Godin doesn’t have much of a social media presence. What social networking activity he does has seemed to be mostly automated, reposting directly from his blog, and there wasn’t much custom content for social media platforms. Until one day, there was. And how we met Taylor.
The Social Media Journey
When Taylor joined the team less than six months ago, Seth Godin’s social media presence was minimal. There was a bit of a Facebook presence, which the blog reposted to automatically, and a few Facebook Live’s most of which represented the altMBA. Seth had an Instagram account but it had been inactive for around 3 years.
Seth’s brand already had a strong tribe that was willing to meet him where he was—listening to podcasts, reading his books, and visiting the blog. To Taylor, the challenge was to “meet [the audience] where they already are” on social media. They’re already scrolling through a feed for an average of more than 30 minutes a day, “how do we interact with them during that time?” Taylor’s efforts also jumpstarted things on LinkedIn with platforms for their courses.
Contrary to Popular Belief
Ramon asks Taylor if it’s possible in this day-in-age to be successful without social media. She responded that even though they could’ve kept going without social media, incorporating it more was just another way for them to grow.
Taylor says it really comes down to:
- Who is the person you’re trying to reach?
- Where are they?
- How do they interact with the world?
There are people who you want to reach who may not be on social media, or they might be on there but you’re choosing not to meet them there. Taylor says that it also comes down to what you want to communicate on that platform. For Seth’s team it comes down to wanting “someone to learn something and to build trust.” Figuring out what it is that you want to achieve through reaching your tribe, and then figuring out the best way to do that, is the key.
It also comes down to what you’re trying to sell. Taylor gives the example that it’s unlikely that anyone would make the decision to sign up for their $4,000 altMBA course while scrolling their Instagram feed. But, they might go for a $100 coaching workshop or a $20 water bottle.
Repurposing to Reach People
A large part of their social media strategy is repurposing material they already have to reach their audience where they want to be reached. An hour-long clip isn’t going to do well on Instagram. No one reads a book on Instagram. So, Seth started creating “mini-books” specifically for Instagram. They start with a picture that looks like a real book cover and then as you flip through they share tidbits of information.
What Taylor’s found about posting on Instagram is that people were commenting on the posts. This was something that was lacking on other platforms such as Seth’s blog or reading a book. By including a question on everything they post on Instagram, Seth’s team was able to cultivate conversations among the audience.
Taylor’s Toolkit
Make it personal
Your followers want to be seen by you. Taylor shares that Instagram’s direct messaging feature has been great for this. She gives an example that one of their followers might share and tag a vacation picture reading one of Seth’s books at the beach. Taylor sees that, takes a quick look at their profile, and responds with something a bit more personal to make the person feel seen. To get even more personal, Taylor says they sometimes opt for audio messages. It makes them feel like part of the tribe.
Build trust
When you offer products or services with a big price tag, it’s critical to build trust, again and again, to entice your customers to make the leap. “No one is 100% percent ready for anything, but you have to build enough trust that they’re like ‘I’m going to leap anyway.’”
Status
Leverage your education and your experience to create status. Put your certificate in your bio. It shows that you’re legitimate and that you’ve spent time, effort, and money on your credibility.
Tension
“I might be on Instagram every day, but it’s not the only thing I do.” If you’re on social media too much, people will start to wonder what it is you actually do all day. Create time constraints. Do a live Q&A for an hour, but stick to the time.
Go where your tribe is
Use the social media platform that is going to find your tribe. Utilize the ways different platforms allow you to interact with your tribe and if you’re not connecting well on one, try another one.