60 \\ Connection-Based Business Growth! How to Build Clients and Community That Last (Without Chasing the Next Trend)

I am all about strategic numbers. If you've been listening to this podcast for some time, you know that I've talked about how much analytics matter, because it really is like a microscope that you can dive into what you're doing and finally see up close what's working and what's not. Because we all know that social media can feel like a second job, and so the best way you can do that is look at your analytics and double down on what's working and let's not fall to the side.
Tired of showing up online, posting your heart out and still hearing crickets? Are you doing all the right things, but wondering why your content isn't converting, your DMs are dry, and your audience isn't buying?
You're not alone, and this podcast is exactly for you.
Welcome to Social Media Marketing for Small Businesses, where strategy meets soul and connection. Well, that's the secret sauce. Hi. I'm Cheyanne Cleyman, a wife, proud mama of three, former actress and fitness trainer turned serial entrepreneur and online relationship expert.
Over the last decade, I've built my own brands, helped dozens of others grow theirs, and discovered one powerful truth: connection is the real currency.
If you're a service-based business or high-ticket brand that wants more leads, trust, and sales from social media without the burnout or fake hype, you're in the right place. Each week, I'm bringing you short, powerful, and packed episodes that feel like a coffee date with a best friend and biz coach all in one. Let's turn your followers into clients and content into connection.
This is Social Media Marketing for Small Businesses, and it's about to change how you show up online. Let's dive in.
Boss, hey. Boss, welcome back, or welcome for the first time, to Social Media Marketing for Small Businesses, the podcast for service providers and high-trust brands who are done chasing vanity metrics and ready to actually convert followers into paying clients.
I'm Cheyanne Clayman, founder of Kuleana Connect, where we do one thing really well: we turn your social media into a relationship-building machine through intentional engagement and lead generation.
If you've ever asked yourself, "Why isn't anyone reaching out after all this dang posting I'm doing?" you're gonna love today's episode. Let's dive in.
But first, let me ask you something real quick. Have you been told that engagement just means responding to comments? Or maybe you're trying to "show up more," but it feels like you're just shouting into the void? Or maybe you feel like you're doing everything right, but it's still crickets out there?
Well, I hear you, I see you, and most of all, I want to give you a better definition of online engagement today, because engagement is not just a metric, it's the start of a relationship.
So somewhere along the way, marketers turned engagement into a numbers game. How many likes did I get? How many people replied to my poll? How fast did I respond to that comment? And while that data can be helpful, it's not where the magic happens.
I am all about strategic numbers, and I think it's really important. If you've been listening to this podcast for some time, you know that I've talked about how much analytics matter, because it really is like a microscope that you can dive into what you're doing and finally see up close what's working and what's not.
Because we all know that social media can feel like a second job, and we know that you didn't get into your business, you didn't follow your pursuit and your passion to work two jobs. And so the best way you can do that is look at your analytics and double down on what's working. And let's not fall to the side.
Now, engagement itself is the key to that. And why? It's because it's about being intentional. When you think about social media, the first word is social, right?
And I think we often forget that, that it's meant to be social. Because as much as it's been around now for, gosh, I think without looking it up, at least 20 years, the social part has really ebbed and flowed. I think there are some seasons, some years, where it's gotten more social, and then it gets less social.
And I think we all can say in 2025 that it just feels like it's constantly swarmed with marketers and people trying to sell you something, or people trying to get something from you.
And that's really hard. Because if you're listening to my podcast, if you hear my voice right now, you probably are one of those that maybe use social media personally, but also professionally. And trying to figure out how to do that well professionally is not something that comes easy.
But that's why I created this podcast and this episode.
At my company, at Kuleana Connect, we first think about social media, and ultimately engagement, like this: we think it's you going first to start real conversations with your ideal clients.
So you're not waiting, you're not lurking, you're not hoping, but you will show up with purpose.
Funny enough, if any of you have heard of BODi (or it used to be known as Beachbody), I learned this about 10 years ago, when I first was a Beachbody coach. I had a really great mentor, really great upline coach that taught me how to do this in a non-salesy and, quite honestly, non-sleazy way, to really help connect with people off of their public feeds and in the DMs, because that's where the magic really happens.
You know, it's like, if you think about it, when you're out in public, think back to when you first became friends with one of your best friends, or how you met your spouse, right? You didn't have that first connection probably out in the public, out and open, or just with a glance. It was when you had that first conversation, especially that first intimate conversation.
And that's the same that we have to bring to the online space.
As we often forget, it is about relationships, and if you're in a service-based business, you get that. And that's why you're here.
So, back to engagement. When you think about showing up with purpose, well, the one thing that no one really tells you about engagement is that engagement is joining conversations your ideal clients are already having.
So it's not just about you going out there and creating this great post and creating engagement. It's more finding your clients and go figure out: where are they already talking about the things that you help, the problems that your services help solve or provide, or the transformation that you offer?
Engagement is also getting curious. Getting curious about who they are and not just what they do.
Sometimes that can be really hard, because you can see only what people want you to see on their profile page, right? It is a huge blessing for us because we do get a glimpse, but I think most of us have probably heard now that what you see on people's profiles is probably 99% of their highlight reel.
So if you're, say, a life coach or a health and wellness expert or a chiropractor or someone that helps someone grow spiritually, we know that it's not those surface-level things that we need to know about someone. So in order to do that, we have to remain curious. And that's not just when they become a client, but it starts way at the beginning.
And engagement is also building trust over time. So when they're ready to buy, they're gonna think of you first.
In fact, most of the time when people come to us saying, "I'm getting views but no conversions," it's because they've skipped the engagement strategy entirely.
And if you're a service provider, coach, consultant, realtor, or any high-trust kind of a brand, I promise you, memorize this today: engagement is your conversion strategy.
And I know, I know, I know that this takes time, but it is so much more worth your energy and your time to spend more time engaging, more time connecting with your ideal clients online, than trying to procure the perfect post and the most fun, hoping, crossing-your-fingers Reel that you hope will go viral, that will basically get you a lot of vanity metrics but not add to your bottom line, not give you clients.
So you want to know the quiet, the sneaky reasons your content still isn't converting?
Well, I have good news for you.
We at Kuleana Connect made a free guide for you. You can go ahead, run to our show notes and grab our new freebie: Five Quiet Reasons Your Content Isn't Converting (And What to Do Instead). It's short, it's powerful, and it's full of things you've probably just overlooked.
So go ahead, go grab it, and there's a lot of tangible things that you can work on right away that's going to make a huge impact on your ROI.
And if you're sitting there thinking, listening to me through your headphones, and you're like, “Okay, I feel like I'm doing all this alone, and I know I need better engagement, but I just don't know where to start,” or maybe you know, but you just feel overwhelmed by the commitments with your business already, and you just are like, “I don't have time to do this.”
Well, let's talk.
My team and I, we offer a free, no-pressure connection call. We look at your audience, your niche, your offer, and we'll talk about how you can build real relationships online that actually turn into business.
If this has intrigued you, the link to book that is also in the show notes.