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Authentic vs fake – why you need to build a real social media following

authentic vs fake social media

Building an authentic social media following is hard, isn’t it? You have to keep showing up, creating content, engaging… the list goes on. But is there an easier way? A fake way?! That’s what we explore in ‘authentic vs fake’…

Authentic vs fake – why you need to build a real social media following

In this episode of the Small & Supercharged Podcast, I talk (at length!) about the value of authentic vs fake when it comes to your social media following…

As you’ll probably know, you can buy followers and likes on the different platforms, but in this podcast I use this as an example of why a fake following is worth very very little, and why it’s SO much better to seek those genuine connections, those actual people who care about you and your business, and to put the time into engaging with your people- your tribe.

There are lots of reasons why growing a fake following is a waste of your time and, actually, could hurt your account too, as you’ll find out about in this podcast.

And I also chat about a few things you really need to do, yes you, to help grow your account with the right people…

Small & Supercharged Extra

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Horses, family, battle reenactments and a lot of action with Ben Atkinson aka Atkinson Action Horses

Ben Atkinson is part of Atkinson Action Horses, a family business that is known for the most incredible range of highly trained horses and ponies that are used for film, TV and live events. As the business name suggests, Ben’s horses and his training focuses on action… and if you’ve seen a display or follow Ben on Instagram (and if you don’t, you should!), you’ll have seen Ben doing… well… what hasn’t he done with his horses!

Horses, family, battle reenactments and a lot of action with Ben Atkinson aka Atkinson Action Horses

In addition to building a fabulous and diverse business with the most incredible array of around 55-60 horses(!) doing a lot of different jobs, Ben has also grown a sizeable social media following with 192k followers on Instagram, 55k on Facebook and more on other platforms.

In this episode, Ben talks about stunt riding, how he’s grown his business, his work with horses, and a good dose of social media tips and tricks too. He talks about how he trains horses and why he feels a good brain beats good breeding every time, the range of horses that they have and train, some of the incredible jobs he’s done, colic surgery, dealing with haters so much more more. It’s a great episode.

In the podcast, Ben also talks about his documentary which I have on good authority (someone DM’d me saying that they had downloaded it after listening to the podcast!) is fab – if you want to find out more about this, just pop on over to this website to find out more.

To find out more about Ben, you can find him in all the places below:

Atkinson Action Horses website

Instagram

Facebook

Small & Supercharged Extra

 

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Rhea Freeman becomes accredited #SheMeansBusiness trainer

Well, this is rather exciting, I’m an accredited #SheMeansBusiness trainer… and more than being the trainer for Worcestershire, Shropshire and Herefordshire, I’m also the equestrian trainer, which is pretty darn exciting!

What is #SheMeansBusiness?

I’m an accredited #SheMeansBusiness trainer, a programme run by Enterprise Nation and powered by Facebook to help educate and inspire female entrepreneurs to grow their digital skills, particularly on social media.

The national programme is run by Enterprise Nation, a community of small businesses and advisors that run events both online and offline all over the UK. The programme is powered and supported by Facebook, ensuring that accredited trainers are up to date with the latest news and training which they can then pass onto people who attend the events they run.

What does it mean to be a #SheMeansBusiness accredited trainer?

I’m so delighted to have been selected to become and accredited #SheMeansBusiness trainer. The initiative is one I’m hugely passionate about as I spend a lot of time helping small businesses, particularly in the equestrian and country space, understand and utilise their social media better, whether this is through my free or membership groups, or my weekly podcast. Being able to now go and help people in my area and wider online with their digital skills as part of the team is brilliant.

How does it work?

All #SheMeansBusiness trainers have geographical regions where they hold in person events – mine is Worcestershire, Shropshire and Herefordshire. However, Rhea is also the equestrian #SheMeansBusiness trainer due to her experience in the area. I have a Facebook group set up for my region and one set up for equestrians that they can join for free.

At the current time there’s a lot of online activity on the Enterprise Nation Facebook page, through specific meetings that people can attend online for free, and through discussion panels too. So far, I have been involved in all three and there are some exciting plans in the pipeline for the not too distant future too, with Enterprise Nation’s audiences, my geographical audiences, and the equestrian sector too.

“We are very excited to welcome Rhea onboard as an accredited She Means Business trainer. Her wealth of knowledge around social media, in particular helping small business owners grow online will be invaluable to our community,” said Lauren Malone, She Means Business Campaign Manager, Enterprise Nation

To find out more about Enterprise Nation and the #SheMeansBusiness initiative, see https://www.enterprisenation.com/campaigns/she-means-business/

If you’d like to get involved with either/both Facebook groups, the links are above.

All online trainings will be promoted inside the group and when we can do in person events, they will also be promoted inside the group.

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Hashtags and tagging

hashtags and tagging

Hashtags and tags can be a great way to get your content discovered, find new likeminded people, help small businesses you love, be part of a movement… and even find the solution to a problem! But how do you use them? Today’s podcast is a speedy guide to hashtags and tagging, to help you use them well for maximum benefit.

Hashtags and tagging


In this episode we go into detail on hashtags and tagging brands – because both can hold huge value for you, for the businesses you love and tag, and even other users of social media too as they will be able to find your amazing content a whole lot easier if you’re allowing it to be discovered when they search!

Hashtags

We talk all about hashtags – from their function on the different platforms to how they work, how to pick your hashtags and why relevancy really matters.

Hashtags work the best on Twitter – which is where the humble hashtag started in my world, but is now also seen a lot on Instagram too. We talk about how these work on both of these platforms, and I share a working example of how spending a little time on the #journorequest hashtag on Twitter got me on the radio. True story!

Tagging brands

We also chat about tagging brands – why it can be a great idea, when to do it, when not to do it, and how to do it for maximum benefit too.

Tagging your favourite brand in a post you’ve taken that showcases them in some real way can be hugely valuable to them and to you too. We talk about tagging the image and adding them in the caption in addition to why it’s so SO important to declare any relationships with brands and, if the product has been gifted, why it’s important to declare that too.

Let’s get tagging…

Small & Supercharged Extra

In the podcast I talk about the Small & Supercharged Extra group, which is my marketing and social media membership for small businesses. Last month, our focus was hashtags (each month there’s a cheat sheet, a challenge, a live Q and A and lots more too), so I wanted to give that an extra shout out here, because if you want to deepen your learning on the humble hashtag, it’s a great place to be!

Small & Supercharged Extra

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Typos, mental health and social media with Kate Lewis aka Blob The Cob

Kate Lewis Blob The Cob

Kate Lewis, who you may know better as Blob The Cob on Instagram, has a huge social media following on Instagram and YouTube, showjumps, coaches and produces horses… and on this podcast she tells us all about, well, everything.

Typos, mental health and social media with Kate Lewis aka Blob The Cob


We talk about why her account is Blob The Cob, growing a social media following, how it all started, and what she shares on social media. But one HUGE topic we discuss is mental health. And on listening to this again, I want to say a HUGE thank you to Kate for being so incredibly honest because I know this will help people.

Kate talks about confidence, how she shared her mental health struggles online, and how she deals with this on a day to day basis. We also talk about the impact this had on her work, and why social media is so, so important.

We discuss the amazing highs that Kate has experienced in her career, her favourite platform, tips for people looking to grow their account. Honestly – it’s superb!

Mental health helplines

Just to be clear, I am not an expert on mental health at all. However, as I said on the podcast (and as Kate said too), it is SO important to reach out to a professional or a dedicated helpline where experts are available to help you. Because you are not alone and there is so much that can be done to help you. I have done a little research and think these resources might help you – in addition to your own GP.

NHS/Every Mind Matters

Samaritans

Shout (which can all be done through text)

(Samaritans and Shout are suggested on the NHS website if you need urgent support)

To find out about Kate and make sure you keep up with her in all the places:

Blob the Cob on Instagram

Blob the Cob on YouTube

 

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