IAM468- Social Media Strategist Helps Clients Engage with their Target Markets

Leanna DeBellevue is a global marketing agency owner, social media strategist and co-author of the Amazon International bestseller Light At The End Of The Funnel, a practical guide for business owners who are ready to step into success. She has helped clients from over 19 countries generate millions of dollars in sales using social media to connect and engage with their target markets.

Leanna has spoken in front of thousands of entrepreneurs, business leaders and decision-makers from over 13 countries on topics ranging from overcoming success blockers to implementing social media strategies and business growth hacks. She has written for several publications and been a guest on podcasts all over the world.

• CEO Hack: Daily gratitude and a mindset for success
• CEO Nugget: Go all in and understand it's a process
• CEO Defined: Trailblazer who dreams the biggest dreams and motivates the team

Website: https://www.debellevueglobal.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DeBellevueGlobal

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Transcription

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Intro 0:02

Do you want to learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales, and grow your business from successful entrepreneurs, startups, and CEOs without listening to a long, long, long interview? If so, you've come to the right place, Gresham Harkless values your time and is ready to share with you precisely the information you're in search of. This is the I AM CEO podcast.

Gresham Harkless 0:29

Hello, this is Gresh from the I AM CEO podcast, and have a very special guest on the show today. I've Leanna DeBellevue of DeBellevue Global. Leanna, it's awesome to have you on the show.

Leanna DeBellevue 0:39

Thank you for having me. Appreciate your time.

Gresham Harkless 0:41
No problem. Appreciate you for taking some time to chat with us. And what I wanted to do was just read a little bit more about Leanna so you can hear about all the awesome things that she's doing. Leanna is a global marketing agency owner, social media strategist, and co-author of the Amazon international bestseller, Light At The End of the Funnel, a practical guide for business owners who are ready to step into success. She has helped clients from over 19 countries generate millions of dollars in sales using social media to connect and engage with their target markets. Leanna has spoken in front of 1000s of entrepreneurs, business leaders, and decision-makers from over 13 countries on topics ranging from overcoming success blockers to implementing social media strategies and Business Growth hacks. She has written for several publications and has been a guest on podcasts all over the world. Leanna, Are you ready to speak to the I AM CEO Community?

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Leanna DeBellevue 1:29

I am ready.

Gresham Harkless 1:30

Let's do it. So they kick everything off, I want to hear a little bit more about what I call your CEO story. And what led you to get started with your business?

Leanna DeBellevue 1:37

Absolutely. So we own a global marketing agency. We handle social media for companies all over the world, we help them get in front of their target market. So often we find that people have the best services or the best products, they just don't know how to get that message out there. So that is what we do and who we are. We started in 2011. And it was just my side hustle, my sidekick. I had been doing it for a doctor's office for some time and had exponential growth there. And then more and more people started coming to me and asking me to do it for them. So that's when we decided to turn it into an actual company. Fast forward eight years, we're now an agency so…

Gresham Harkless 2:25

Awesome. Well, I appreciate that. And a lot of times I say the name of the game is being found. And I think just like you said, there are a lot of great entrepreneurs and business owners that are doing some remarkable things. But if no one knows about you, then that's usually a hard way to reach success.

Leanna DeBellevue 2:41

Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. So…

Gresham Harkless 2:44

Good!

Leanna DeBellevue 2:45

No, go ahead. Sorry.

Gresham Harkless 2:46

No, I was just gonna say I wanted to hear a little bit more about how you're working with your clients. So can you tell us a little bit more and take us through how you work with clients?

Leanna DeBellevue 2:53

Absolutely. So most of our clients come to us. And they know that they need to be on social media, they just have no idea how to go about that. Or they've tried it on their own, and they just hear crickets, right? They're wondering, how the algorithms affect me, algorithms can be a very scary word for people. And they don't know what to do. And they come to us. We create a strategy around when to post how to post, what type of content to post, how to create hashtags, and how to create events.

And then we manage all of that for them. We do the complete monitoring, and posting scheduling of all of their content. We check the algorithms, we check their progress, we set goals, we meet goals, and we do ads. So we do that entire functionality of social media, as a third party for our clients. So now they don't have to worry about whether or not social media is working for them. They have the proof that it is and they can start doing what they're great at. Right? They can spend time in their brilliance, knowing that this one component of their marketing is completely handled by them.

Gresham Harkless 4:08

Yeah, absolutely. And I'm glad you touched on that. And I was going to ask that just because I like your touch on understanding what that brilliance is and understanding, that zone of genius, so to speak and what makes you successful. I was going to ask you, do you find that that's something that's a benefit to clients, where they're able to work on the things that they and the reasons why they started the business so that they're able to handle that or have that off their plate so that you guys can work on that?

Leanna DeBellevue 4:35

Absolutely. And I think so many times people know that they need to do it, to be on social media and to get in front of their audience, but they don't know how. So they just ignore it. And then they find that the other aspects of their marketing start failing, and then they start doubting, should I even be doing what I know I meant to do, and that's a huge problem that we help solve for people.

Gresham Harkless 4:59

Yeah absolutely. And I'm glad you brought that up. Because I think a lot of times, you're right people question whether or not I should be doing this because maybe people aren't necessarily, I guess blowing up the phone line, so to speak. But a lot of times, it may not necessarily be that you're not doing the right thing. It might be like a visibility or awareness issue that you have to work on.

Leanna DeBellevue 5:21

Right. And the other thing, I think the biggest thing that we noticed when we're looking at how people put out content, is a lot of times people are talking about why they're passionate about their business, or why their customers should use their services, they're not talking about the customer's pain points, and they're not talking about the solution they provide. They're telling their potential customers what they think they want to hear. And that's not always the case.

Gresham Harkless 5:50

Yeah, that makes perfect sense. And a lot of times, you have to communicate from the perspective of your client or your customers. And I think so many times, we're constantly speaking from our perspective, but you have to put yourself in the shoes of your clients. I think that's what you're saying, correct me if I'm wrong.

Leanna DeBellevue 6:09

Absolutely. That's just 100%. It's, it's not that difficult. Yes, algorithms can be overwhelming. But sometimes if you listen to what your clients are telling you as feedback, that's what other potential clients want to hear.

Gresham Harkless 6:27

Yeah, absolutely. So being able to be aware, and listening is a huge thing. So now, I wanted to ask you for what I call your secret sauce. And it could be for you or your agency. But what do you feel sets you apart and makes you unique?

Leanna DeBellevue 6:41

I think it is in the development of the strategy and setting goals, we set goals that are measurable, so many people, if you ask them. Are you on social media? They'll say yes, but we have no idea how it's going, or Yes, I think the phone sometimes rings because of social media, they don't understand how to measure that. And we find ways to create content that becomes engaging, so that we can easily provide that data and that feedback, and provide confidence for our clients that what they're doing is working.

Gresham Harkless 7:16

Yeah, that makes perfect sense. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I  feel like a lot of times, the beauty of being able to leverage all these digital tools, and platforms that we have at our disposal is that you can track it, you can measure it, you can see how effective it is. And I think that if you're not taking advantage of it, you're probably missing sometimes the most advantageous thing of using these platforms.

Leanna DeBellevue 7:42

Absolutely. And I think, a lot of times people don't even really understand what additional benefits that their product provides for people. So allowing people to their clients to tell them helps create that content and that strategy, and then provides an easy mile marker to meet goals.

Gresham Harkless 8:08

Absolutely. So I appreciate you for sharing that with us. And what I wanted to do was switch gears a little bit. And I wanted to ask you for what I call a CEO hack. So this could be like an app or a book or a habit that you have. But what's something that makes you more effective and efficient?

Leanna DeBellevue 8:24

I think something that's been transformational in our business is daily gratitude. The first thing I do every morning when I wake up is a list of five to 10 things that I'm grateful for. They don't have to be huge milestones. Like this morning, I was super grateful for coffee. But if you start your day with a mindset, and focus on looking for things to be grateful for more and more opportunities show up. I think 90% of business success or any type of success, in all honesty, is mindset. So I try and just make sure that every morning my mind is prepared for success.

Gresham Harkless 9:03

Yeah, absolutely. And I think the practice of, writing and being, appreciative of things that we have already, from my understanding also helps to attract even more of those things. So if we are appreciative of coffee, we sometimes get even more coffee, or we get other things that can help us out just as much as that is better.

Leanna DeBellevue 9:21

Exactly, exactly. They don't always have to be big things. And when you pinpoint the small things, it just all day long, you just find all kinds of little things to be grateful for you walk outside and you see the leaves changing colors, and you're like, Oh, I'm grateful for that. And it just builds that momentum throughout the day.

Gresham Harkless 9:39

Yeah, absolutely. And for lots of people that are listening to this podcast they are driven individuals and maybe even type A individuals and probably speaking more about myself than anything else. But a lot of times we have to appreciate all those things. We need to remember to do that so that we can understand not only the beauty of what we have in this world and the things that we have achieved but also be able to appreciate all those small things that we sometimes take for granted.

Leanna DeBellevue 10:03

Absolutely, yep.

Gresham Harkless 10:05

And so now I wanted to ask you for what I call a CEO nugget. So this could be a word of wisdom or a piece of advice. Or if you can hop into a time machine, what would you tell your younger business self?

Leanna DeBellevue 10:17

Great question. I think what I would tell my younger self is to go all in, to not have a plan B, a Plan C, A Plan D? Well, that's important. In some cases, when it comes to just starting, I think it divided my thoughts, it divided my time that I dedicated to doing what I knew that I was meant to do. Just go all in and understand that it's a process and a journey. And it's not always going to be perfect. So many times, I would stop myself because it wasn't the perfect solution. When in reality, there is never a perfect solution. Go all in and see what happens and have a good time with it.

Gresham Harkless 11:02

Yeah, absolutely. There's never a perfect time or like you say a perfect solution. And I think a lot of times, we're always looking for that. And it holds us up as far as getting to where we need to be. But I think it just like you said, there's a limited amount of time and resources and money that sometimes we can put towards, certain things that we're working on that we can use, they have a bigger impact.

We go all in if we put everything into whatever it is we're hoping to build and not half do something or have to do something else. Because we can use all our energy time or resources towards whatever it is that we're hoping to accomplish.

Leanna DeBellevue 11:37

Exactly. Perfect.

Gresham Harkless 11:38

Awesome. So now I wanted to ask you my absolute favorite question, which is the definition of what it means to be a CEO. And we're hoping to have different quote unquote, CEOs on the show. So Leanna, what does being a CEO mean to you?

Leanna DeBellevue 11:50

To me being a CEO means being a trailblazer. It means being someone willing to dream, the biggest dream and motivate you, your employees, your contractors, and whoever is included in that vision with you to help lead them down a path that just is fulfilling to everyone involved. It means being a leader in the good times and the bad. Making sure that you are looking at all aspects of your business, and not alienating yourself to sit at a big desk in a big office. It means being in the know about all aspects of your business and owning all of it, taking full ownership good, bad, and indifferent.

Gresham Harkless 12:41

Absolutely, yes, truly a great definition of leadership. And like you said, a lot of times when you are that Trailblazer can sometimes be scary, to go down a path that doesn't even exist, and you have to create that path and blaze that trail. And when you do that, you have to be able to also, as you said, have that vision and have that vision and have that belief in those people that are on your team as well to be able to reach their potential. And I think that's a phenomenal definition of what it means to be a CEO.

Leanna DeBellevue 13:09

Thank you. Thank you.

Gresham Harkless 13:11

You're very welcome. And I appreciate that. And I appreciate your time even more. But what I want to do is pass you the mic, so to speak, just to see if there's anything additional, you can let our readers and listeners know. And then of course, how best they can get a hold of you and find out about all the awesome things you guys are working on.

Leanna DeBellevue 13:24

Oh, absolutely. So thank you for your time, and thank you for allowing me to speak to your listeners. I don't think I have anything additional at the time at this time. And we have a lot of great things happening. I am evolving more into the speaking realm which we are speaking to entrepreneurs and businesses, about having the courage to fail, and what that looks like to be a trailblazer. How to pursue going through the scary stuff, the fear, walking through all that walking through and confidence without dealing with things like impostor syndrome and other mindsets that can prevent you from growth.

So that's fun, that's new within our company, a way that we're expanding, and how people can get in touch with us. We offer everyone, every business, a free social media evaluation, we'll look at your platforms, and we'll give you some ideas as to what you can do, maybe more effectively what you're already crushing it at. And some pointers again, that's free of charge. You can find this on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and all the different platforms under DeBellevue Global or you can visit our website, debellevueglobal.com

Gresham Harkless 14:40

Well, I appreciate all the awesome things you're doing especially the mindset work that you're speaking about and, and talking about because it's a huge thing to increase the likelihood of success and we will make sure to also have those links and information in the show notes as well so that everybody can follow up with you get a copy of your book and see all the awesome things you're doing and take advantage of course of that consultation that you provided. So thank you so much again Leanna and I hope you have a phenomenal rest of the day.

Leanna DeBellevue 15:06

Thank you. You too. Bye bye.

Outro 15:08

Thank you for listening to the I AM CEO podcast powered by Blue 16 Media. Tune in next time and visit us at iamceo.co I AM CEO is not just a phrase, it's a community. Be sure to follow us on social media and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes, Google Play and everywhere you listen to podcasts, SUBSCRIBE, And leave us a five-star rating. Grab CEO gear at www.ceogear.co. This has been the IAMCEO podcast with Gresham Harkless Thank you for listening.

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