37 \\ Social Proof vs. Vanity Metrics: Which One Truly Drives Online Business Growth?

Whether it is something in an industry that almost requires you or encourages you to post daily or to post consistently, or if you're more in an industry that you still need some sort of social proof online. Ultimately, the algorithm can feel like slavery. It can feel like no matter what you do, you're always going to be chasing this. Well, I want to encourage you instead, if you're going to chase anything, if you're going to strive for anything, if you're going to work on anything honestly in life with your business, but especially online, I would encourage you to focus on trust. Because even though your views may go down, your vanity metrics that don't really matter may not win any awards, your trust will. Trust always prevails.
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 Cleymann, 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. I'm Cheyanne from Kuleana Connect, and if you've ever felt like you're playing catch up with, yes, social media's biggest swear word, the algorithm, well, this one's for you. Because let's just keep it real, the algorithm literally changes every other week, right? I don't know about you, but sometimes it can feel exhausting trying to keep up with it. But trust, trust always converts. I want to say that again, trust always converts. In today's episode, we're unpacking why trust is the only metric that really matters, no matter if you're running your business on a brick and mortar or online. And ultimately, we're going to talk about how to build more of it without burning yourself out.
To launch things off, I'm gonna tell you guys a really quick story. A few months ago, we started working with one of our clients named Juliana. She's a podcast SEO expert and stay-at-home, homeschooling mom of three. She's brilliant, literally, her content, her podcast episodes are spot on. But she told us, guys, like, I just don't have time to chase down leads. I want people who already trust me by the time they get into my world. So our team and I did something simple. We started building her a quiet army of aligned leads, I like to call them. They're not just numbers, but real relationships, people she was excited to help and people who already knew what she stood for. No convincing, just connecting. So now she's getting 8 to 10 warm leads a week from us, and we did it without cold DMs, no gimmicks, just trust built through connection.
So one amazing thing about the word and just concept of trust is that it's not a trend. It's not something that's going to go away, right? And trust is something that is not just something to be trendy. It's the strategy. Because here's the truth, you cannot game your way into someone's heart, inbox or bank account, but you can earn it. Again, relationship goals. I feel like I'm part social media building businesses, online coach, slash relationship coach, because so much of what I share with you guys on this podcast, you really can use in your everyday relationships, because I really believe the same principles count. And whether or not you're a spiritual person or not, I really do believe that so many of just these concepts, whether they're relationships or business, they come from God and the way that he created humans to connect. And the beautiful thing is that when you submit and you surrender, and you learn how to do it well and right, you're going to be able to stop chasing and you're going to be able to start converting, right?
So today we are going to talk about three trust building strategies that outperform any algorithm. Before we dive in, I want you to just to take a deep breath with me, right? Can we just do it? Can we just bring, like, a little meditation, a little yoga here? Let's take a deep breath in, right? Let it out, let it out, let it out. Oh, that feels so good. Let's do one more deep breath in and deep breath out. And why am I doing that? Because I talk to so many business owners weekly, so many people, especially in the entrepreneur space, that just feel burnt out and exhausted from trying to keep up with the algorithm.
Chances are if you clicked on this episode, again, whether you're a devoted audience member of mine, or you just found this episode and you were like, I need to hear this, I need to learn about this. It is inevitable nowadays, no matter what business that you do, that you're gonna have to have some sort of social media presence. Whether it is something in an industry that almost requires you or encourages you to post daily or to post consistently, or if you're more in an industry that you still need some sort of social proof online, ultimately, the algorithm can feel like slavery. It can feel like no matter what you do, you're always going to be chasing this. Well, I want to encourage you instead, if you're going to chase anything, if you're going to strive for anything, if you're going to work on anything, honestly in life, with your business, but especially online, I would encourage you to focus on trust. Because even though your views may go down, your vanity metrics that don't really matter may not win any awards, your trust will. Trust always prevails.
So first and foremost, let's focus on the first strategy. The first strategy is what I like to call clarity over cleverness, right? Honestly, this is your like, total permission slip to stop trying to be impressive. Just be clear. Make it obvious who you help, how and why it matters, right? Confused people don't convert. I had to learn this the hard way. I think sometimes when we're too close to what we do, we don't realize how simple and easy it comes to us, but how it doesn't come to other people. So really, sometimes you have to really spell it out. And sometimes what this looks like on social is, if you have Instagram or Facebook or YouTube shorts or whatever social, TikTok that you use, create some pinned posts. So those posts that are at the very top of your social that answer some really basic questions, like, who do you help, describe them, share a client's story, like, who have you helped, and how do you do it? You don't have to go through your full five step process, but give them a little bit of an overview, so people can really see who you are, and that will help you either stand apart for your competition or someone who's actually not an ideal client, they can see right away, instead of wasting their time and your time. Oh, they're not aligned. They're not my people, because you really want your people to come to you, right? So first and foremost, when building trust, make sure that you're clear. Cleverness can come later, but make sure first and foremost, you are clear.
Second, show up even when you're not launching, right? So trust is built in the quiet seasons, right? It's when you're just being consistent, being real, being present. I like to say that at this point of this podcast, I am 37 and I really feel like, you know how Taylor Swift had her big Eras Tour? Well, I feel like I've lived a lot of eras in my life, and in one of my previous eras, I was an online health and fitness coach, and I had done this online for probably about eight to almost 10 years. And I had people that would sign up with me that would finally take me on as a coach, not after a year, two years, three years, four years. Sometimes people would watch me for four years. And the biggest thing they said that convinced them that when they were ready, that I was the person that they wanted to work with was because I was consistent, because I didn't give up, because I was real, right? So I want to encourage you in that to know that your future clients are watching you right now, and they're watching how you show up when you're not selling, right?
So in this what do you do when you're not launching? Sometimes that's a big question I get in my inbox, like, especially brands that are, say, not super people focused. Or, like, I recently had a realtor reach out to me when she's like, Well, my social right now is basically all the homes I'm selling like I'm a realtor. What am I supposed to talk about, right? What am I supposed to show? So people love nowadays, even if you're in an industry like realty or, say, a dietitian, you may think it's just about the topic, but so often now it's about you. It's about who you are. It's about who do these people want to buy a house from or through? Or who does someone want to be guided, like the dietitian advice? Dietary advice may be the same across the board or across a couple people, but who do they want to get advice from? Who are you? What are your values? How do you create your program? Show some behind the scenes. Show how you use your products, or how you got to your offer. Maybe you're a little bit ahead of your offer. Maybe you developed your offer after going through a transformation yourself. Show your story, show how you've helped people. These are all things you can do in between launches and in between new offers, right?
So make sure that you show up number three, and this is where we're landing the plane, okay? Your third and final trust building strategy from me today is let people see your values in action. Don't just talk about them. Show them, right? Whether it's how you talk about your family, your boundaries, your client wins, or even what you say no to, your values make you trustworthy, right? So you can implement this into your content, but you can also show it in the way you show up. So meaning, if someone DMs you, if someone emails, you get back to them and get back within 24 hours, 48 hours tops, because in my previous episode, in Episode 36, I talk all about why it's important that you respond in a timely matter and that you have a strategy in place. So if that's also something that you're struggling with, how to keep up with it all, make sure after this episode, don't leave me just yet, make sure you go and listen to Episode 36. But I just want to make sure that you are focusing on what really matters, because the algorithm is going to change, but the trust that you are building with your audience should never change, except that you just continue focusing on that trust and building it and keeping it the focus.
So if you are an avid lover of this podcast, you know that every podcast, I end with an action step, because I am about action as much as I think it's important to to meditate and spend some time actually, not always in movement and slowing down and letting things marinate. And it is so much of life is about mindset shift. So I hope that you had a little bit of that today, or something that I said resonated with you. If it did, or even if it didn't, if you're like, hey, I want to know more about this, or Cheyanne, I don't really agree. Like, do you know that? I want that exchange. I want that conversation. But please reach out. Go ahead and DM me, or email me in the show notes. You can get links to all the ways to find me, because I would love to hear your struggles, or your triumphs, or what you're battling with. But I do also want to make sure that you guys invested, you know, 10 to 15 minutes with me today. I want to make sure you guys have an actionable step to move forward.
So here's a shift you can make right now today in your business. Instead of asking when it comes to your social, how can I get more eyes on this post? I want you to instead, to ask the question, how can I build more trust with the people already watching? Again, I'm going to repeat that. How can I build more trust with the people that are already watching? That one simple shift is a game changer. And do you want help doing this in your business? Well, I have two ways that you can go deeper, first and foremost. Again, head to our show notes and download our free guide. My husband and our team, we developed a freebie called "Five quiet reasons your content isn't converting," and we specifically put the word quiet in there because it's often the things that go unnoticed. This guide will be your shortcut to building trust that turns into sales. You can find the link in the show notes below, or you can always just DM us on our Instagram. Just DM us quiet and we'll send it straight to you.
Secondly, you can book a connection call with us if you're ready to have aligned leads finding you because they already know you, they like you and they trust you. Let's get on the phone and let's talk. It's not a sales call. That's why we don't call it a sales call. We don't even call it a discovery call. We call it connection call because we really want to make sure that we help connect, that we connect with you first, right? And that we ultimately help you walk away feeling like you have some strategy to implement yourself, or one that we can help implement you forward. So it's the first step toward doing things differently. Well, friends and fellow bosses, that's it for today. I'm Cheyanne, and I'm going to see you in the next episode. Right in Episode 38, we're going to break down exactly what to do, to post to start more real conversations online. But until then, get working on your action step. Reach out if you'd like some help tweaking it, and say just goodbye, surrender that algorithm fear away and focus on trust today and watch your business grow and flow. Thank you for listening. Please share this with a fellow business owner that you know and love so that they can also, you, begin focusing on trust and building that online above all else. I'll see you guys on the next episode. God bless.
All right, my friend, that's it for today. But let me leave you with this. If your content is not converting, it's not your fault. Chances are you've been taught to prioritize the algorithm instead of the actual humans reading your words and that that ends right here. Go ahead and grab my free guide, "Five quiet reasons your content isn't converting, and what to do instead". It's packed with real talk, practical shifts and quick, immediate wins. Link is in the show notes below. And if you're ready to stop guessing and start connecting with ideal clients who actually buy from you, book a free connection call with our team at Kuleana Connect. We don't do content. We do connection that converts because at the end of the day, it's not about going viral, it's about being valuable. Thanks for hanging out with me again. I'm Cheyanne Cleymann and I'll see you on next week's episode. See you later, boss.