IAM2815 – Social Media Strategist Helps Clients Engage with their Target Markets

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Transcription:

Leanna Debellevue 00:00
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. While that's kind of important in some cases when it comes to just starting out, I think it divided my thought, 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 gonna be perfect.

Gresham Harkless 00:57
Hello, hello, hello, this is Gresh from the I Am CEO Podcast, and I have a very special guest on the show today. I have Leanna Debellevue of debellevue Global. Leanna, it's awesome to have you on the show.

Leanna Debellevue 01:06
Thank you for having me. I appreciate your time.

Gresham Harkless 01:08
No problem. Appreciate you for taking out 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 and. 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 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 has been a guest on podcasts all over the world. Leanna, are you ready to speak to the I Am CEO community?

Leanna Debellevue 01:56
I am ready.

Gresham Harkless 01:57
Let's do it. So they kick everything off. I wanted 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 02:04
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 kind of my. My side hustle, my side gig. I had been doing it for a doctor's office for some time, 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 02:50
Awesome. Well, I definitely appreciate that. And a lot of times I say the name of the game is being found. And I think, just like you said, you know, there's 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. A hard way to reach success.

Leanna Debellevue 03:06
Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah.

Gresham Harkless 03:08
So go ahead.

Leanna Debellevue 03:10
No, go ahead. Sorry.

Gresham Harkless 03:11
No, I was just gonna say I wanted to hear a little bit more about how you're working with your clients. So could you tell us a little bit more and take us through how you work with clients?

Leanna Debellevue 03:18
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, you know, how do the algorithms affect me? Algorithms can be a very scary word for people. Yes. And they don't know what to do. And they come to us and we create a strategy around when to post, how to post, what type of content to post, how to create hashtags, how to create events, and then we manage all of that for them. We do the complete monitoring, posting, scheduling of all of their content. We check the algorithms, we check their progress, we set goals, we meet goals, 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 for them.

Gresham Harkless 04:31
Yeah, absolutely. I'm glad you touched on that. And I was actually going to ask that just because, like, you kind of touched on understanding what that brilliance is and understanding, you know, 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 really a benefit to clients, where they're able to kind of work on the things that they. And the reasons why they started the business so that they're able to kind of handle that or kind of have that off their plate so that you guys can work on that.

Leanna Debellevue 04:58
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'm meant to do? And that's a huge problem that we help solve for people.

Gresham Harkless 05:21
Yeah, absolutely. And I'm glad you brought that up, because I think a lot of times you're absolutely right. People question, you know, whether or not I should be doing this, because maybe people aren't necessarily, you know, 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 kind of have to work on.

Leanna Debellevue 05:43
Right. And the other thing, I think the biggest thing that we notice 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 you. 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 06:09
Yeah, that makes perfect sense. And a lot of times, you know, you have to communicate from the perspective of your client or your customers. And I think so many times, you know, we're constantly kind of speaking from our perspective, but you have to put yourself in the shoes of your clients. It's kind of. I think that's what you're saying. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Leanna Debellevue 06:27
Absolutely. That's 100%. That's just 100%. It. 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 06:43
Yeah, absolutely. So being able to be aware and listening is definitely 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 kind of sets you apart and makes you unique?

Leanna Debellevue 06:56
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 really 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 actually working.

Gresham Harkless 07:30
Yeah, that makes perfect sense. And definitely correct me if I'm wrong, I kind of feel like a lot of times the beauty of being able to leverage all these digital tools and, and, and kind of platforms that we have at our disposal is that you can track, you can measure, 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 07:54
Absolutely, absolutely. And I think, you know, understanding a lot of times people don't even really understand what additional benefits that their product provides for people. So allowing people to the clients to tell them that really helps create that content and that strategy and then provides it an easy mile marker to meet goals.

Gresham Harkless 08:18
Absolutely. So I appreciate you for sharing that with us. And what I wanted to do was I switched gears a little bit, and I wanted to ask you for what I call a CEO hack. So this could be like an app, a book, or a habit that you have, but what's something that makes you more effective and efficient?

Leanna Debellevue 08:34
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 list 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, you know, but if you start your day with a mindset, 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. Is prepared for success.

Gresham Harkless 09:11
Yeah, absolutely. And I think the practice of, you know, writing and being, you know, 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 kind of help us out as. Just as much as not better.

Leanna Debellevue 09:29
Exactly, exactly. And 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 09:46
Yeah, absolutely. For. For lots of, you know, people that are listening to this podcast that are driven individuals and. 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, and we need to remember to do that so that we can understand not only the beautifulness of what we have in this world and things that we have achieved, but also be able to kind of appreciate all those small things that we sometimes take for granted.

Leanna Debellevue 10:10
Absolutely. Yep.

Gresham Harkless 10:12
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 10:22
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. While that's kind of important in some cases, when it comes to just starting out, I think it divided my thought, 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, 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 kind of looking for that and kind of holds us up as far as, like, getting to where we need to be. But I think, just like you said, you know, there's a limited amount of time and resources and money that sometimes we could put towards, you know, certain things that we're working on that we can usually have a bigger impact. We go all in if we, you know, put, you know, everything into whatever it is we're hoping to build and not kind of half do something or half do something else, because we can use all our energy, time and resources towards whatever it is that we're hoping to accomplish.

Leanna Debellevue 11:37
Exactly. Perfect.

Gresham Harkless 11:39
Awesome. Awesome, 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 who is willing to dream the biggest dream and motivate your. Your employees, your contractors, 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. Definitely 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. You know, it means being in. In the know with all aspects of your business and owning all of it. Taking full ownership, good, bad, indifferent.

Gresham Harkless 12:36
Absolutely. And that's truly a great definition of leadership. And like you said, a lot of times, when you are that trailblazer, it can sometimes be scary, you know, to go down a path that doesn't even exist. And you have to kind of create that path and blaze that trail. And when you do that, you have to be able to also, you know, like 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. To reach their potential as well. And I think that's definitely a phenomenal definition of what it means to be a CEO.

Leanna Debellevue 13:05
Thank you. Thank you.

Gresham Harkless 13:06
You're very welcome. And I appreciate that and I appreciate your time even more. And 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 the awesome things you guys are working on.

Leanna Debellevue 13:20
Absolutely. So thank you for your time. Thank you for allowing me to speak to your listeners. I don't think I have anything additional at the time. At this time, we have a lot of great things happening. I'm evolving more into the speaking realm, which we are speaking to entrepreneurs and businesses about having the courage to fail, what that looks like to be a trailblazer, and how to kind of pursue going through the scary stuff, the fear, walking through all that, walking through that in confidence without dealing with things like imposter syndrome and other mindsets that can prevent you from growth. So that's something that's really 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, 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 us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, all the different platforms under Debelleview Global. Or you can visit our website debelleviewglobal.com Absolutely.

Gresham Harkless 14:32
Why I definitely appreciate all the awesome things you're doing, especially the mindset work that you're, you guys are, 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, Liana and I hope you have a phenomenal rest of the day.

Leanna Debellevue 14:58
Thank you. You too. Bye bye.