Can You Successfully Grow Your Business Without Social Media? Discover 10 Powerful Strategies That Work!

There are times when I tell myself  “I am caught up in the social media web. f**k it social media!” “ I wish I could distance myself from this mostly banal, productivity killer.”

I have to find time for everything – managing 14 different accounts, doing content research, creating so much content, organically engaging with so many people, juggling multiple guidelines, voices, and so on every day.

That’s not all, catch up with the latest trends, trying to learn them, and implement them. OMG!

I’m not enjoying that.

The content has to resonate with my nature.

I cannot dance, scrawl, or swim for social media!

It was carousels yesterday, then came TikTok vids, stories, and reels,…

Tomorrow, it might be something else.

These are just trends….

They come and go.

I know I’m not the only person feeling like this.

Social media has exhausted so many people. They don’t know what to say, are constantly tethered to their desk or phone, and wish things were different.

Is this something you’ve heard before?

Do you wish to take a significant break from social media?

Well, I’m here to tell you that it IS possible!

Now, please don’t think I’m against social media!

Nope!

We cannot think of a world without social media, right?

You may need social media to grow your business

Social media is good.

Social media allows every member of society to stay in touch with one another and make new friends from all over the world.

People also use various networking sites to get daily news updates and current social media in place for all activities such as communication, business promotion, advertising, product campaign, getting news updates, sharing an opinion, blogging, music sharing, and so on.

Social media has so many positive aspects that positively impact people’s lives.

It has numerous disadvantages too, and most people are unaware of the issue caused by social media.

But, I’m here to discuss how to grow your business without social media.

Though I take some time off from social media once in a while, the very thought of moving away from social media seemed impossible.

Especially considering the fact that I depend on social media for growing my own coaching and consulting business.

And I teach my clients to use social media to get clients.

This is quite ironic, right?

But when my mentor suggested growing my business using my own platforms, that prompted me to think deeply about this.

Isn’t it a stupid decision to build our house on somebody else’s land?

That is exactly what we are doing when we spend our time and money, and share our knowledge (content) on these platforms, where we do not have any control.

How much effort have you put into building your social media?

Alexandra Frazen’s calculation of the time she spends on social media is very interesting. She calculated how much time the average user spends on social media across all platforms and discovered that the average user could spend up to 6 years of their life on social media.

"The average human lifespan is 39,420,000 minutes if you are lucky. How are you currently spending your life minutes? Where are they going? Are you OK with that?”  -  Alexandra Frazen

Do this math on how much time you spend on social media in your lifetime. And do tell me in the comments.

And what can social media do to you?

Andrew Tate, a four-time World kickboxing champion has been banned by social media giants like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok days after he was banned on Twitter. He had 4.7 million followers on Instagram, 12.7 billion views on Tiktok, and millions of followers on Facebook and Twitter.

Alex Jones, Rihanna, Courtney Love, Rose McGowan, Donald Trump, 50 Cent, Clint Eastwood, Adele, Azealia Banks, Roger Stone, Sidney Powell, … The list of people with huge followers getting banned by social media is very long.

Back in India, the media barred actor Amitabh Bachchan (31.1 M followers) for nearly a decade. Musician Abhijeet Bhattacharya (140k followers), actress Kangana Ranaut (9.6 M followers), and filmmaker Kamaal R Khan are just a few names that I’ve mentioned here.

Yes, you and I spend years and years building followers and creating content, and one fine morning, BOOM!

Everything’s gone!

You can get banned.

Your account can get suspended.

You can get blocked from posting or DMing.

Anything can happen.

You cannot do anything.

You do not have any control over such events.

It’s just a vanity metric…

I used to spend 11+ hours on social media trying to build my following.

I was initially obsessed with gaining the most followers. But later understood that it’s got nothing to do with getting customers for your business.

Let me tell you, my friend, followers are meaningless unless they are genuine people who are interested in what you do.

Growing over 100k followers will not benefit any personal brand or business if those 100k followers do not care about what you do, what you have to say, or what you share.

It’s far preferable to have 1,000 people eager to discover our content every day than 50,000 people who don’t give a damn and are just playing the follow/unfollow game or cyberstalking.

Ghost followers and inactive and fake accounts trigger Facebook and Instagram’s algorithm against you.

Instagram and Facebook think that your content sucks, even if it’s great because no one actually engaged with it.

Let’s be honest: having more followers is all about ego, even if you know they aren’t real people who care about what you post. In any case, the number of followers is merely a vanity metric.

The social media game is about finding the right followers and providing them with the right content so they will engage with it, share it, and continue to give you their attention and time.

I use an app to clean up my followers on Facebook at regular intervals. It helps me know inactive accounts, unengaged followers, and so on.

Just last week, I posted on my Facebook profile and it got just 4 likes. But I got 1 call booked from that post, which brought me a content writing assignment + a collaboration for doing marketing consultancy for their clients.

And there are posts with 200+ comments with zero sales.

A lot of people give up social media or even delete their accounts, including politicians, leaders, celebrities, entrepreneurs, and influencers.

How will our lives be without social media?

Read: The 15 Best Tactics To Get Buyers For Your Products

Making that decision is hard

For the last 4-5 months, I have been considering whether to close my groups or not.

But I was getting my clients through social media. So, I feared that the client flow might stop.

I wanted to take control of my time.

But, when I reduced my time on social media, including the groups, I got time to write blogs, so I could spend more time with my family. I could start my digital marketing agency (it’s not yet launched officially, though).

Now, I do not post daily.

I’ve not quit social media.

But I’ve set clear boundaries.

You too can!

But Kavitha, what can we do without social media?

Here are 9 ways to grow your business without social media:

1. Build your own property

Facebook, Instagram, Google, and Twitter’s algorithms are constantly changing, and you may end up with a penalty without even knowing what you did wrong. In that case, your own assets are your only real line of defense. Yes, you read it right- YOUR OWN! How many ever followers you gain on these channels, you do not own it. These social media channels own them.

In a brick-and-mortar business, your assets can be anything owned by a company They can be physical, tangible items like cars, real estate, computers, office furniture, and other fixtures, or intangible items like intellectual property.

In the online business world, your assets are different. They can include your domain, website hosting, website (CMS) access, email accounts, advertising & social media (Google AdWords, Facebook, Linkedin) accounts, customer relationship management (CRM), and customer database.

Am I making it complex for you to understand?

Okay, in simpler terms, these assets can be your website, blog, eCommerce store, email list, network, vlog – anything you own and have control over.

You’re not just a status update that comes and goes; you’re not just a platform where they can use your own content (you worked on it!) and benefit.

The truth is that people use social media to find content (this can be text, images, video, etc). Whose content, is it?

There are billions of people like you.

Who makes the rules?

They.

Who gets to decide what your content should look like?

They.

Can you reach out to your audience whenever you want to in ways you prefer to?

No.

Who is working?

You.

And, Who is profiting?

The Social Media.

2. Network, network, and network

Being visible and being seen by the right people is a networking benefit that is critical in building and growing your business. “It’s not what you know, but who you know,” as the saying goes in business.

Networking can help you establish a reputation as a knowledgeable, dependable, and supportive individual who can provide useful information and connections to those in need.

 You will also get more leads and referrals because you will be the first person that comes to mind when they need what you offer.

Strong networks imply a strong position and business opportunities.

In today’s business world, leaders increasingly prefer to be involved in important transactions with people they trust. Relationships build and strengthen trust.

That is why entrepreneurs, influencers, deal makers, and project participants seek out exclusive business networking opportunities.

Networking is an excellent way to obtain advice and expertise that you would not otherwise have access to.

The people you associate with and spend time with have an impact on who you are and what you become.

3. Build your website

One appealing feature of a business website is the ease with which you can communicate with your customers.

Customers can sign up for a newsletter, and you can collect emails from anyone interested in receiving updates, or you can highlight new releases or additional information in a blog post.

A blog keeps your audience informed, and it’s what you’re reading right now:)

You have a lot of control over the content you present to the consumer when you have a website. Describing what you do in your own words can be a powerful marketing tool as well as provide the consumer with much greater clarity. We’ve all seen two similar businesses take vastly different approaches to the same service.

A website directs your ideal clientele to you, which improves your ability to satisfy them. This level of control over your content and manner of expression may be impossible to achieve on social media. Furthermore, your content will be pushed back after a few hours or days on social media.

Customers can easily contact you through your website and learn more about your products, services, and company.

It is a highly effective method of promoting your product.

It is a low-cost method of advertising.

A company’s website can serve as a means of communication. Most business websites now allow potential customers and clients to ask questions via online chat. As a business, you must establish credibility online. And, a website demonstrates your credibility.

4. Start blogging

My mentor always says that blogging is the best way to grow a business.

Blogging, whether on your own blog or as a guest blogger, is an excellent way to showcase your expertise. One of the best ways to connect with your audience is through a blog. It is also critical for long-term growth.

When your customers are looking to buy from you, having a successful blog will help you rank higher in search results.

The time and effort required for blogging are worthwhile.

Post on a regular basis, and you’ll expand your customer base while engaging with your current customers, thereby strengthening the all-important brand-buyer bond.

Businesses that blog on a regular basis benefit from:

• Increased web traffic
• Leads of higher quality
• Brand credibility and thought leadership
• Extremely engaged customers

Not only that but if you don’t include blogging in your marketing strategy, you’re effectively handing all of the benefits to your competitors.

You will be able to sustain this growth. The thing is, the time and effort you put in now will pay off in the long run. This is because the blogs you publish today will continue to attract traffic for years to come.

According to HubSpot, one out of every ten blog posts is a compounding post. These are your old evergreen posts that continue to gain popularity over time.

5. Build your email list

Email list building has historically been one of the most successful and proven methods for growing small businesses. This is due to the numerous benefits of having a high-quality email list.

An email list provides you with direct access to people who want to hear from your company, as well as the ability to: Inform your audience, convert prospects, deliver updates, conduct surveys/polls, deliver targeted messages, drive revenue, and sell products/ services.

Email allows us to engage our audience in ways that blog posts and tweets cannot.

Email provides marketers and business owners with a creative outlet to demonstrate that we understand a prospect’s problem, that we can provide a solution, and that we can do so in a delightful manner.

You can’t build your content on rented land, so you need an email list.

Many brands and businesses build their audiences on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Tiktok, which is fine, but we don’t own those names – they belong to media companies.

If we think like these media companies, you will understand that our audience is our asset. Obtaining an email address is the first critical step in determining who my reader is and, hopefully, who my customer will be in the future.

If we want to increase sales or keep customers happy, we must first include them in our audience.

If I have one regret as an entrepreneur, it is that I did not focus on building my email list sooner.

6. Create vlogs

Vlogging has taken the world by storm over the past few years. It’s just a form of blogging, using videos instead of text to reach out, build an audience and share information. Many businesses today are creating video blogs to reach new customers and build deeper relationships with them.

Vlogs are the best way to demonstrate your expertise to your audience and build trust.

Vlog marketing is the most effective marketing strategy today. Vlogs account for more than half of all Google searches.

According to research, 2.6 billion internet users worldwide watch vlogs every month, and video accounts for 82% of internet traffic.

Some of the advantages of vlogging are:

• It puts a face on the audience and a face on the company. Customers believe they are interacting with a person rather than a brand or a website.
• Vlogs are the best way to demonstrate your expertise to your audience and build trust.
• It’s a great way to build relationships with your audience and other influencers.
• Vlogging is an effective way to build your brand by providing an inside look into your business and life.
• It’s a highly personalized form of content creation that many fans enjoy.
• Fans who enjoy your vlog content will naturally look into everything else you have to offer, such as your podcast, social media profiles, products, services, and courses/memberships.

True, YouTube, Vimeo, and other similar platforms are great for increasing the visibility of your videos, but you should also have an owned medium to house your videos.

Related Post: How To Grow Your Business Through Video Marketing?

7. Work on your SEO

Today, you can reach an average of 1-2% of your Facebook Fans, similar to how a very small percentage of your Twitter following sees a single Tweet.

Having a website is not enough. When there is a playing field as large as the internet, you can’t wait for people to find it. You must persuade people to see it. This is where search engine optimization (SEO) comes into play.

SEO is an important aspect of blogging and vlogging.

SEO empowers you to be the go-to person for potential customers’ questions.

SEO contributes to your authoritative voice in your field, in addition to increasing visibility and traffic. Brand authority leads to brand trust, which leads to brand loyalty.

Visibility attracts clientele.

It helps build up engagement and conversion rates.

It increases lead generation.

Increases brand value.

It is cost-effective.

And, produces long-lasting results.

Working on your SEO will take time, patience, and hard work. It may not produce immediate results, but when done correctly, it will do wonders for your website and your business over time.

8. Recruit an “A” class salesman

You might be wondering how to get an “A” class salesman! Are you?

Your “A” class salesman would work 24/7.

Does not even take a sick leave.

Always work as per your instructions.

Never ask for a raise or bonus.

Already started liking him?

I’m talking about your SALES FUNNEL!

Yes, your honest, sincere, ever-obedient, industrious, loyal salesman!

A sales funnel can assist you in understanding what potential customers are thinking and doing at each stage of the purchasing process.

These insights enable you to invest in the most appropriate marketing activities and channels, develop the most relevant messaging at each stage and convert more prospects into paying customers.

A sales funnel directs a company’s attention to a specific group of prospects. This makes it easier to reach out to and convert target audience members into customers once they reach the bottom of the funnel.

A sales funnel can also assist businesses in weeding out unqualified prospects by requiring potential customers to go through a series of steps before making a purchase.

An evergreen funnel is a type of automated sales funnel that will facilitate sales without you having to be actively involved. Once you’ve set it up, it should be able to run on its own with little oversight from you.

9. Start your Podcast

Podcasts have been around for a while, but their popularity is on the rise. Podcasts have become a popular and effective means of communication for businesses, particularly in recent years.

People are using them to get information on the go, so they’re becoming more popular.

Podcasts are an excellent way to increase customer trust because they allow you to share your expertise and knowledge.

Podcasts can also help you gather feedback from your audience and demonstrate that you are concerned about their needs.

There are 4 key areas where podcasting can help your business grow:

• Increasing the number of listeners (potential customers)
• Using the podcast to help you grow in other areas
• Directly expanding your brand
• Customer conversion from listeners

Podcasting is an excellent marketing strategy for all types of businesses. It can be used to generate leads, acquire customers, or simply raise brand awareness. It is the ideal marketing strategy for any business looking to create high-quality content in a more personalized way.

The advantages of podcasting are numerous — it is interactive, entertaining, and allows you to connect with your customers on a much more personal level than any other form of marketing.

This platform is an excellent tool for you to begin building an audience around your message, develop relationships, acquire clients, and grow your following by creating content that your network will find useful. Begin assembling an audience for your message.

10. Collaborations and Partnerships

Building strong relationships through collaborations, JVs, and partnerships can significantly impact your business growth. Attending industry events, joining professional organizations, and collaborating with other businesses can open doors to new opportunities, referrals, and valuable connections.

Conclusion

If there is one thing that business owners, content, and sales experts all agree on, it is the importance of building your own assets. Don’t be the business owner who misses out on engaging with your audience, driving new business, and safeguarding against changes in search and social algorithms. Be the business owner who employs effective business growth strategies so that you do not have to regret not building your assets sooner.

Above all, do not let social media have a negative impact on your health. Instead, develop a more positive relationship with social media and technology.

While social media can provide significant benefits for business growth, it is not the only path to success. Growing your business without social media is not only possible but can also be highly effective. So, if social media isn’t your thing or you’re looking to diversify your marketing efforts, don’t worry. There are plenty of other avenues to explore that can lead to business success and growth.

Set up a quick consultation, and walk away with Proven Growth Strategies for Your Small and Medium Business. Get started today – and generate more traffic, leads, and customers for your business.

Note: I’m not advocating that you don’t have to use social media. What I am saying, is that you should be mindful of using social media and what you are doing with your content and audience.  Of course, you may use social media and grow your business completely. It’s entirely your choice.