Each month I interview inspiring lady bosses about the social media strategies used to grow their business. This month I’m excited to introduce you to Mary Beth Storjohann of Workable Wealth and author of the personal finance book, Work Your Wealth. She is a certified financial planner with over 12 years of experience in industry. Mary Beth teaches her clients how to approach money in an organized and stress-free way.
Tell us about your business, Workable Wealth.
Workable Wealth is a virtual financial planning and coaching company that makes money fun, engaging and relatable for women in their 20s-40s. I do one-on-one coaching, put out bi-weekly educational content and speak to groups all around the country about how to make smarter choices with their money.
What 3 words would you use to describe your business?
Fun. Educational. Empowering.
What social media accounts do you use for business and what are your favorites platforms?
I have my Facebook Group and also leverage Instagram. I also have a company Facebook page and have the most followers on Twitter.
Honestly, I love them all. Facebook I love because it allows me to host a group and also allows me to connect with others in different groups. Twitter has been phenomenal in helping me to build media exposure and connect with other industry professionals. Instagram is just plain fun in terms of photos and letting your brand and personality shine through.
Mary Beth’s book Work Your Wealth
What is your social media strategy? How do you use social media?
My strategy is to be authentic. I leverage Twitter to connect with industry professionals, editors, reporters and more and engage in conversations around millennials, women and money. I leverage Twitter to establish myself as an expert.
I understand that I may not find clients via Twitter. That’s just not where a lot of them are hanging out. What I do know, however, is that it’s where other personal finance gurus, reporters and industry experts are talking. By engaging in conversation with other industry professionals, I’m able to establish myself as a member of the financial planning field, while simultaneously setting myself apart with a unique niche that focuses on a younger demographic. Over time, I’ve connected with news anchors, reporters, magazine editors, and more. This has proven invaluable; by merely having a presence and engaging, I can now be a resource when an article or story comes up regarding Millennials and money. And those articles and stories are in front of my target audience and prospective clients.
I utilize Facebook to share my knowledge and expertise with those in my Facebook groups and in other groups. I also love to ask questions and start conversations on things related to finances to get people thinking about what they want in their own lives.
What social media accounts do you love?
I think I really just keep an eye out for accounts that have unique features. Everything is so filtered, designed and photo-shopped these days, that I tend to gravitate towards accounts with personality. Accounts that are authentic and aren’t afraid to show some of the mess behind the scenes. Those are the accounts I love. Authenticity is huge for me. We can all put our best selves forward and I’m definitely inspired by the amazing rockstar women and people that I already follow, but my favorites are the images with the stories. The vulnerability and the differentiators. Those are the people who I admire and strive to learn from.
For Facebook groups: I love Reina’s Heart Centered Biz Bosses group because she’s building such an amazing and connected community. I also love Heather Crabtree’s Savvy Business Owner’s group. It’s evolved into such a movement and it’s been amazing to watch it grow from the early days.
What are you proud of? Where do you feel you have room for improvement?
I’m super proud of the media exposure and opportunities that have resulted from being active on Twitter. I love that I’m the go-to money expert in some of the Facebook groups I’m in and that people feel comfortable enough to tag me in to answer questions or assist others. It’s an amazing feeling to know that others trust you enough to recommend or refer to you.
I have room for improvement on Instagram and in marketing my own Facebook group. Right now my Instagram is a mix of me and business tips. I’ve toyed with the idea of a Workable Wealth only Instagram, but since I’m such a big part of the brand right now I feel like that may leave something missing. Sooo… it’s a work in progress.
What tools do you use to help schedule and plan social media?
I use Hootsuite to schedule out Facebook, Twitter and Linked In posts. Well, actually my Marketing Director schedules them for me.
We have a running Google doc for prompts to post into the Facebook group with has a daily them like Money Tip Monday, Investment Tuesday and Real Talk Thursday.
Instagram is the only platform that I don’t plan ahead on right now (but I definitely should).
What advice would you share with other lady bosses?
When it comes to social media: Get Clear on your Three C’s: Clients or Customers, Competitors and Collaborators). You have to know:
- What type of service or product do you provide?
- Who is your target market or niche?
- What does your business stand for (in other words, what is your mission)?
- Where are your clients and customers hanging out online and which websites are they going to for information?
- How is your product, service, message going to rock the socks off of your clients and customers?
- Who are your competitors?
- How are you different from your competition?
- Where are your competitors and potential industry collaborators hanging out online?
- What are the popular blogs, magazines, websites, and publications in your industry?
- What types of businesses do you work well with?
- What types of services or products complement yours?
Engage in conversation: Refrain from instantly pushing out your own content and services. Begin by seeking out your competitors and potential collaborators and following them. Engage in the conversations they’re having and comment with your opinions and thoughts. You can build awareness around who you are and what you do by simply having a presence on certain platform and being actively involved over time. You can even segment the people and companies you’re following into lists on Twitter so that you can check in on them separately each day and skim for relevant articles and comments. From there, begin to share your original content and more about how you work with clients or the product you provide to customers.
Take a break from business: While I totally appreciate the great content that you’re creating and the services you provide, I don’t want to hear about it all of the time – and neither do your clients and customers.
Don’t be afraid to be you. Be your authentic self. You can’t be all business all the time, because it’s hard for people to connect to a venture. People would rather connect with the face behind the scenes; your personality and your experiences will build your tribe of followers much faster than putting up an all-business-all-the-time front.
How amazing is all of her advice? I’m going to take some time to get clear on my 3 C’s this week. Thanks so much for sharing, Mary Beth!
This week Mary Beth and I are at The Savvy Experience. I can’t wait to meet her and listen to her speak on small business finance! Follow all the fun on Instagram using the hashtag #thesavvyexperience.