Growing Reach, Building & Making Money on Social Media

Many people over the years have asked me about how I have grown my social media following and online presence. I have to admit, a lot of it has been LUCK! PURE ACCIDENT in some sense! However, building on whatever “accidents” have happened or “wheels” that I have been unwittingly added to, my [Instagram] feed @dilanabeya is just me expressing whatever is going on in my life at that point in time, using photography, videography or writing to showcase my thoughts, with my base case to JUST BE MYSELF. I touch on topics and issues that I’m thinking about/feeling at the time, write about trauma that I’ve been through and how I’ve found coping mechanisms to deal with them.

Additionally, given that I like being creative via videography, photography and writing, on the back of that, some brands have then DM’ed me to ask to if I’d represent them, which has been interesting for me to experiment creatively with = more opportunity to grow and get exposure. So, my posts are “just me” being real with my struggles and how I’m constructively trying to tackle them – the key being, to combine creativity and authenticity in what I write, take photos and videos of. In turn, some of that content has won some attention.

To be fair, I’m still fairly new to Instagram and experimenting with all strategies, which are ever-evolving. However, herewith, some tips that I’ve picked-up thus far, that might help you too:

• BE YOU! Don’t be scared to express yourself = BE CREATIVE!
• Take a few risks = express things that are on your mind = shows authenticity = the real you; this is where your power is, so USE IT!
• Experiment with different ideas. Don’t worry if it goes wrong, just try. You’ll either learn if it goes wrong/muted, or it gets some sort of attention = both will teach you something.
• Post regularly = BE CONSISTENT!
• Respond on other people’s feeds i.e. comments, emojis, LIKES = essentially to try and create dialogue and some sort of rapport/relationship with the other person, with the aim of them reciprocating = if they do, great, if not, keep trying or just move on!
• Post on “YOUR STORY/REELS” = helps gets traction on explorer more than posts.
• Make your feed “look good” = presentation is important = immediate IMPACT is KEY!
• If you’re selling products – make it clear where the viewer can buy the goods you’re selling = make it EASY for them to BUY!
• Tag famous people where relevant, sometimes they RESPOND!
• Tag companies and restaurants, bars, clubs, venues etc
• #hashtag everything

IT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE PERFECT. JUST START AND LEARN AS YOU GO ALONG = the only way forward, is to JUST DO IT! Broader thoughts and ideas here:

A “CREATOR” knows how to connect with audience

PERSONAL BRANDING:

• What is your message?
• What do you have to say?
• A personal brand vs. a theme page has unlimited potential because people prefer a “person” vs. a “logo” = TRUST and LIKEABILITY.
• There’s potential to TRUST, LIKE, KNOW a person vs. a theme page that uses keywords, quotes, other popular people and re-purpose other content.
• Either way, all people really care about is how you can help them.

PERSONAL STORY:

• It’s about making videos to sell BUT using your authentic self as the base = GAINS TRUST and makes your story RELATEABLE to beginners vs. very polished “perfect people with perfect lives”.
• Talk about BOTH your successes in life and your failures. Example, for me:
  • Fat to Fit journey.
  • Nutrition turnaround.
  • Mindset change
  • Dealing with emotions: e.g. Rechannelling anger.
  • Start personal life again after divorce.
  • Start professional life again after being made redundant.
  • Start online business vs. being stuck in the matrix of the corporate world = DROP my current career and innovative to something more entrepreneurial and engaging.
  • Faced my failures, mistakes, relationship rejections: wife, child, friends, bosses, to learn lessons to apply on the follow.
  • Taken accountability for my current situation = I’ve created it – the good and bad parts.
  • Aim to help other people from “lessons from my own journey.”
  • = BECOME A ROLE MODEL to HELP PEOPLE = will ATTRACT PEOPLE
  • Being RELATEABLE = SHOW FAILURES = will ATTRACT PEOPLE
  • Additionally, it OK to let people know you are “WINNING” = it’s not bragging, it’s just stating FACTS based on data.

ATTRACTING PEOPLE:

• Be RELATEABLE:
  • Show YOURSELF.
  • People need to TRUST YOU.
  • USE THE POWER OF WHO YOU ARE.
• Have a unique aspect that stands out = AI HELP based on my personal experience.
• Break through the “noise”.
• Soundbites that people like, so that you don’t sound like “sleazy” sales person:
  • “Partner with me” = makes people feel you’re in it with them.
  • “Business built for you” = technical side done for people = positive.
  • You have a MORAL OBLIGATION to SELL SOMETHING THAT IS OF VALUE.
  • Not wasting people’s time.
  • Jump straight to “what works”.
• Visual marketing = short VERTICAL videos = KEY = TikTok reels etc
• Stand out = do opposite of what’s asked?
• Hard sell = won’t work
• K.I.S: Keep It Simple

SPEED:

• Speed is running wealth = fast paced content = KEY:
• Mix capitalism Social Media/YouTube Culture with Tinder Swipe Culture and short attention spans
• Get straight to the point, don’t drag on, never waste time = No.time.to.waste = the need for speed = waste no one’s time.
• Rapid fire style: forces people to go back/look into something they saw = more likely get a sale if they’ve stopped to look back
• Figure out the algorithm

SHOOTING REELS: important points:

• Lighting
• Clean camera lens!
• Two phones.
• Tripod + holder that moves.
• Light ring [LED]
• Back lighting
• Head spacing on screen.
• Shoot, edit, add text to video = make it look professional.
• Add key words to what you’re saying: talk about helping, and training, NOT guaranteeing income, making money, schemes etc.

MAKING VIDEOS:

• Principle:
  • Get into a “routine” = cut out wasting time:
    • Write down what you want to do = make a list.
    • TAKE ACTION.
    • KEEP MOVING FORWARDS regardless of IMPERFECT ACTIONS!
  • Download assets (video/sounds etc)
  • Save them on your Google Drive
  • Overlay assets on top of each other as you see fit = edit via InSHOT / CapCart.
  • Make sure clips/cropped portions look good in portrait mode = important for IG reels/TikTok.
• Portrait mode = 9:16 ratio on Instagram.
• Create High quality raw footage: videos and audio.
• VIDEO CLIP = You only have a FEW SECONDS to capture people’s attention:
  • Need to incorporate whole point in short amount of time = A SKILL!
  • TEXT: add text = important to have subtitles = use TEXT function in CapCart/InShot and EDIT/TRIM where the AI function doesn’t correctly pick-up the words from the video correctly.
  • TIE UP VIDEO and TEXT.
  • Add emoji’s = a picture speaks thousand words. If using multiple emoji’s, make sure to position them consistently throughout the video so that they “line-up”.
  • Add animation as you see fit.
  • Colour / highlight text with various FONT, but COORDINATE = don’t make BUSY!
  • Add overlay shots to a video via Cap Cut/InShot = just download via Google to Google Drive, then upload to APP.
  • = VIDEO + TEXT + EMOJI’s + OTHER VIDEO’S + AUDIO + ANIMATIONS

• Codes to create influence: MODEL WHAT ALREADY WORKS:
  • Video platform
    • People want to connect with a “face”, a “person” not a company = ONE man band.
    • TIKTOK: ONLY Competing with people with the audacity to make a video = small group.
    • Centre your video’s around you.
    • Make quick reels with a question or inspirational comment.
  • Talk on camera:
    • Selfie mode on “My Story”
    • Start with “close friends” on Instagram, practice speaking on camera
    • SMILE = invitation to approach you.
    • Imagine you’re talking to your dream customer in the camera (someone who’s in support of you) = will relax you when you talk.
  • Questions to ASK = example of dialogue:
    • If I told you that investing 5k (don’t use dollar sign as IG bans this) in yourself meant that you could be debt free, would you?
    • Nothing is guaranteed but I spent a fraction of that and was debt free in months.
    • The truth is most people saw “invest” and kept scrolling.
    • If you made it this far, you’re probably pretty serious about making a change.
    • CALL TO ACTION: follow me for a free video, comment, share, or click link in BIO for more information = TELLING PEOPLE WHAT TO DO = THEY ARE MORE LIKELY TO DO IT.
  • Videos:
    • QUANTITY is more important than quality, don’t be a perfectionist
    • Don’t wait too long between taking video and posting
    • Raw footage is OK.
    • Amateur by design = relatable. Too polished isn’t = LESS IS MORE.
    • Mix of well edited and raw = keeps it fresh.
    • Videos get more views vs. text & images combined.
  • Vitality recipe:
    • Major dramatic question? = stakes have to be high! E.g. is he going to get the girl?
    • Familiar / unfamiliar: mid ground = sweet spot
    • Hook line is IMPORTANT
    • Changing narrative from “me” to “you” e.g. “Things I learned” to “5 things YOU need to know”.
    • Every viewer – expects connection with a person vs. a couple.
    • Don’t be afraid.
  • CONTENT categories in buckets:
    • About you
    • Value add: What is your service?
    • Personal & opinions
    • Trends
  • Additional pointers for videos:
    • NO Watermark
    • Short titles
    • Less than 60seconds
    • Not too many collaborations = too promotional
  • Data is your frenemy:
    • Use data to understand what’s working
    • Know your limits
    • Schedule your posts as much as possible
  • CONSISTENCY IS KEY:
    • Stay consistent with creating: COMMIT TO POSTING. 3/week for a year = the commitment to consistency is KEY
    • Make sure not forced = if it feels forced it is NO GOOD.
    • Fake it to make = does not work.
    • Authenticity is KEY.
    • DO WHAT TO YOU LOVE!
    • Should come from a place of joy.
  • Add KEY WORDS, depending on your product/cause. For business:
    • Success
    • Entrepreneur
    • Motivation
    • Billionaire
    • Habits
    • Millionaire Code
  • POINTS to NOTE that IG/TIKTOK don’t like:
    • WORDS THAT CAN GET BANNED:
      • Income, hustle, $, affiliate marketing.
      • Make money online = they don’t want you to be making money on their platforms = they will ban you = instead say, “I can help you” or “offer value” or “see my training”.
      • Don’t fraudulently make people think that you can guarantee them income = algorithms will reject/ban = breeches guidelines = instead say, “I can help you” or “offer value” or “see my training”.
      • Check banned #’s = metahashtags.com
    • TikTok:
      • Don’t like you moving away from their platform = they check if you’re telling people on reels/captions to “go to another platform” and can stop you.
      • To circumvent this, just say “Click LINK in BIO” BUT write “BIO” like this: “B!O” = replace “I” for “!”.
    • RESPECT the RULES of FREE SOCIAL MEDIA or else the algorithm will reject your work.
    • = ADD CALL TO ACTION = ASK THEM TO SEE LINK IN BIO = GETS PEOPLE OUT OF IG/TikTok AND TO YOUR WEBSITE = DRIVE IG AND TIKTOK TRAFFIC TO YOUR WEBSITE.

• LOGO’s:
  • SIMPLE WORKS.
  • Keep clean and simple = not busy.
  • Max three colours.
• BIO:
  • The following should be clear:
    • NAME: simple!
    • WHAT YOU ARE e.g. entrepreneur, coach, etc.
    • WHAT YOU CAN HELP WITH?
      • g. motivation, training etc.
      • Want to help people starting out. In my case, help people transform from “a low place” to a “better place and beyond”.
      • Don’t put “guarantees of making money” = goes against IG guidelines = run the risk of being shut down.
    • CALL TO ACTION: ALWAYS HAVE link to website/ask people to DM you a key word e.g. AI TRANSFORMER = people are more likely to “do what they are told” e.g. “DM me” or “Click the link in BIO”.
    • EPIPHANY BRIDGE = Tips to be relatable to certain people = call on specific groups: dads, mums, students, football, fitness = grabs attention with “niche” groups = FORM AN AUDIENCE.
  • Show that you’re “WINNING” = not bragging = stating FACTS = shows you’re a SUCCESS = ATTRACTS PEOPLE.
  • State that you want to HELP PEOPLE e.g. help you escape the “matrix”.
  • State: you’re “on a mission to help 1000 people” = keep you accountable.
  • DO NOT LIE!

How to make money on social media:

• BUILD A BRAND: people want to connect with a “face”, a “person” not a company.
• Learn how to use your story: it’s UNIQUE but there might be similarities to theirs = this will strike an accord.
• Sell high ticket products that ADD VALUE and HELP.
• Revenue streams:
  • Paid by ad revenue
  • Ambassador brand revenue
  • Merchandise
  • Brand deals:
    • The stats that they look at are the “average views per month”, varies from post-to-post.
    • Don’t get too excited about wins or loses = WIDE RANGE
  • Post on multiple platforms: Instagram, FB, TikTok, YouTube = more traffic.
  • How to convert fans/followers into sales = TEACH THEM SOMETHING.
  • Become an expert = FOCUS ON ONE THING.
  • Be 1% BETTER each day = KEEP THE FOCUS.
  • COMPOUND: ALWAYS RE-INVEST WHAT YOU MAKE, ADD TO THE BASE LINE.

WHY PEOPLE BUY:

Why do people BUY or INVEST? Because they either want “MORE PLEASURE” or want to “MOVE AWAY FROM PAIN”.

TRAFFIC from social media:

• Statistics:
  • Start of YouTube was only 2002
  • YOU TUBE SHORTS: in 2020 copied by TikTok.
  • Most used platform:
    • FB – 3bn users
    • YOU Tube: 2.2bn
    • Instagram: 2bn
    • TikTok: 1bn, 95mins/day
    • Snap [SNAP: have to approve your channel]
  • 4billion actual users of social media pushing 200billion messages/day
• Instagram = views from reels = TRAFFIC
• TikTok = SUPERCHARGES IG = so repost Instagram reels to TikTok = MORE TRAFFIC with the same content.
• REELS = make them 5-15seconds only = MODEL WHAT IS ALREADY PROVEN TO WORK AND ADD YOU’RE UNIQUE SELF TO IT = DIFFERENT FROM STEALING.
• Lots of VIEWS = LOTS of TRAFFIC
• Take traffic from Instagram/TIKTOK:
  • IG + TikTok together = more traffic = more opportunity = potential to make more money.
  • DIRECT to those leads to your WEB SITE = put website link in bio.
  • Get their emails and store in a funnel.
  • From the funnel you make sales by sending emails with your service/product.
  • Post sales, you then generate “influencer marketing” campaigns in your “niche” to make money online.
  • KEEP FUELLING THE SYSTEM WITH TRAFFIC.
  • The more you “REPEAT SHOW” your offer, the more chance they BUY = people BUY after MANY REMINDERS = NEED CONSISTENT LEADS = THE MORE CHANCE THAT SOMEONE BUYS = COMPOUND THE EFFECT.
  • Aim for 70-100 leads/day = even if ONLY 5% BUY, it all adds up over time = keep up the TRAFFIC CONSISTENCY.
• Get additional leads:
  • From going to pages of the same theme as your niche, that have large audiences/millions of views, and targeting those followers.
  • Shout outs: ask them if they would mention your feed on their page? PAY for that.
• MODEL HIGHEST VIEWED REELS ON TIKTOK:
  • To find them, search the subject matter e.g. DFY, business, entrepreneur in GOOGLE Chrome.
  • Sort/Filter for TikTok.
  • Copy that TikTok URL
  • Paste it into Google.
  • It will show you highest views of that person in descending order.
  • Model the highest viewed ones = MODEL WHAT WORKS.

RIGHT MINDSET:

• Not enough people talk about how LIFE CHANGING passive income is. Being able to LIVE A LIFE on your own terms while “money rolls in” is incredible. Not trading hours for dollars and never having to ask someone for time off = FREEDOM.
• So: “If you want something you never had, you have to do something you never did”.
• MASTER ONE THING / BUILD ONE PRODUCT = HAVE A FOCUS = Instagram + TikTok = MAKE REELS each day/three times a week.
• Get systems and process in place:
  • Then put on repeat mode, whilst always building and refining.
  • People need to see your product multiple times before they BUY it.
  • Only 3% conversion rate on first view = keep sending emails from the framework you have set-up = multiple IG/emails/reminders until they click on the link to BUY.
  • Work on your specific path = AIM IS TO DRIVE TRAFFIC from IG/REELS/TIKTOK to your WEBSITE/Opt-in page.
• 80% of success is MINDSET. 20% is ACTION.
• Simple works = K.I.S!
• Model what already works.
• What’s your why? I.AM.DILAN and I want to be of service and value to others.
• JUST KEEP GOING despite any momentary set-backs.
• Streamline what is important.
• Unsubscribe from what isn’t needed.
• TIME IS MONEY
• Everyday do something = BE CONSISTENT = become 1% better each day = COMPOUNDING.

FIX PROBLEMS:

• Fixing problems is what entrepreneurs do.
• Fix NOT complain.
• BE POSITIVE.
• Awards ONLY for winners.
• Find SOLUTIONS: if you have a problem, take ACTION = ASK FOR HELP.
• SHOW-UP consistently = 1% better each day.

MODEL SUCCESS and POSITIVE MINDSET: books to read:

• Relentless – Tim Grover
• Expert Secrets – Russell Brunson
• The 10x Rule – Grant Cardons
• Be Obsessed or be average – Grant Cardons
• Shoot for the moon, and even if you miss, you’re still amongst the stars.
• Become obsessed with one thing.

REEL DOWNLOADER:

• On Google, search for a “reel downloader” platform.
• Copy the URL of the reel you want to download.
• Go to the reel downloader and paste that into it, press “GO”.
• Download to your PC, into your GOOGLE DRIVE = create a folder to organise.
• SAVE VIRAL VIDEOS.

SOUND ONLY DOWNLOAD:

• To create an MP3 = is to create a “SOUND ONLY” file.
• In Google, type in “MP4 to MP3” audio convertor.
• Follow the instructions, for “Best Quality”, “MP3 Version” = sound only.
• SAVE on Google Drive = can then access on phone too.
• Use “INSHOT” editor to:
  • ADD sound to your videos with the “EDIT” options that allow you to “STACK” various files in a project.
  • ADD text where relevant

APPS to use for making content:

• Editing: INSHot or https://www.capcut.com
• Video to text: https://www.veed.io/tools/video-to-text
• AI Voice: https://elevenlabs.io
• Screen recording: https://obsproject.com
• The Bold Font: https://www.dafont.com/the-bold-font.font
• B-Rolls (unwanted footage vs. an “A-ROLL”): https://www.pexels.com

BUSINESS PLATFORMS:

• AWeber is the world’s leading small business email marketing and automation service provider: aweber.com
• CopeCart supports online retailers with payment processing and enables the analysis and monitoring of sales data. https://www.copecart.com/

COOKIE: means that anyone that clicks on your link is attached you – there are various timeframes for this.

USA HACK to get more views:

• USA is the largest market: 87% of everything that is bought online is from the US = therefore need to show to the US market.
• TikTok reads where your sim card is from:
  • So, a UK sim-card will be shown to UK audience and surrounding countries potentially.
  • Similarly, US sim-card will be shown to US audience.
• BUY a US sim-card from AMAZON.COM
• Plug US sim-card into old iPhone – must be same brand phone as your main one.
• Make a video/reel on your main phone/PC.
• Save it to “Google Drive”.
• Then from your US sim-card phone, open that new reel/content via your “Google Drive” on that phone.
• Upload that reel onto Instagram/TikTok via the US sim-card phone = shown to US market too.