From leading and launching digital site Stevie Says Social, to recently creating her own podcast series, Stevie Dillon's career path has definitely been extraordinary. Here, our Intern Gemma Lyndon chats to the #ladyboss herself, to get the low-down on how to lift your social media game, for business.

Your website talks about relevant tips and tricks that empower many startups and entrepreneurs. What was the concept and idea behind Stevie Says Social?

There wasn’t a lot of thought put into it at the very start! I had decided to up-skill in all things social and digital in the job I was in, and I wanted a place to share what I was learning. I started writing epic, 3000 word blog posts documenting my social media and digital growth from the tactics I was applying and people started following along. Less than a year later, I had so many enquiries from businesses wanting me to get the same results for them that I was able to start my own business. The rest is history!

You interview many women of influence for your podcast, what are some key pieces of advice you have taken from women in this industry?

I love how passionate they ALL are about what they do. Honestly, I think that’s the secret sauce when it comes to small business success. Small business isn’t easy – but when you genuinely LOVE what you do, it makes things so much easier. I’m so passionate about people spending their lives doing what lights them up and having the opportunity to interview so many smart, capable ladies doing just that via the podcast is such a pleasure.

As a very influential and sought-after social advice expert how do you stay focused and centered?

I focus on producing GREAT work. There are so many people in my space, the only way to stand out is to focus on being the best. It means working harder than everyone else, coming up with offers and content that are different to what others are doing and always staying a step ahead.

What tips do you have for women getting into this industry?

Just start! So many people spend years following a traditional corporate path and ‘thinking’ about starting a business, doing something more creative or diving into something they are more passionate about. My biggest piece of advice is just to START. Write a single blog post. Build a website. Open an Instagram account and start posting. Just do something - even if you’re not sure whether the ‘thing’ you start with is what you want to continue with forever. Taking action creates momentum, and you never know where it could lead.

What do you do when you are feeling uninspired?

I think it’s important to get inspiration from outside your industry. Social media and online business can be a bit of a fishbowl, with everyone writing about, doing and producing the same ideas and thoughts. Looking to other industries for inspiration is the BEST way to set yourself apart. It gives you unique ideas and perspectives. My Instagram account is full of creatives, businesses and people that aren’t in either social media or digital marketing, and I love it.

Top 3 tips for branding and design for your business:

1: Being professional doesn’t mean lacking personality. Too many businesses end up with a dry, ‘blah’ brand in an effort to be professional. Dry, bland, ‘me too’ brands don’t stand out – on social, or in business! Brainstorm three – five words that sum up the personality you want people to associate with your brand, and then think about ways you can reflect that in your colours, fonts, customer experience and more.

2 Think about what makes you different every other business in your industry, and then TELL people about it consistently. Being a little different or better to your competitors isn’t good enough – you need to know why people should choose YOU over every other [insert what you do here]. If you don’t focus on this, you end up competing on price and it’s a race to the bottom.

3 Design matters. Investing in brand early on allows you to really set yourself apart.

Top 3 tips for social media marketing

1 Tell stories. Small businesses in particular have the luxury of infusing personal stories into the things they post on social. The connection this create with your audience is second to none, and allows you to hold your own against the bigger players.

2 Quality over quantity. It’s no longer necessary to post multiple times a day. The Facebook and Instagram algorithms in particular prioritise relevant, engaging content when deciding what to display in the newsfeed of your followers. Spend your time on producing killer content, even if it’s less often.

3 Pillar content will set you apart. Build an audience by producing killer content, and then taking snippets of it to use on social. Whether it’s podcasts, Youtube videos, killer blog posts or something else, producing ‘pillar’ content is a great way to build your brand and feed your socials at the same time.

Meet Stevie here:

https://steviesayssocial.com/

Follow Stevie Dillon here

https://www.instagram.com/steviesayssocial/

Thanks so much for sharing Stevie, much love xx