Episode 41: How to Make Social Media Fun Again for Your Business With Jayci Trujillo

  📍 Welcome to Creative Minds Smart Money, the podcast where creativity and business smarts collide. I’m your host, Samantha Eck, bookkeeper, business coach, and your go to guide for building the creative business of your dreams. Whether it’s mastering your money, streamlining your systems, or growing your business, I’m here to share insights that empower you to thrive.

Plus, I’ll be bringing in industry experts to dive into all aspects of entrepreneurship, so you can turn your passion into profit without losing your creative spark. Let’s get started

You are listening to the Creative Minds Smart Money Podcast, and today I have special guests Jayci with me. Jayci started Happy Girl Marketing. After noticing how many business owners dreaded posting on social media. She knew social media could be an enjoyable and engaging space if entrepreneurs felt less pressure to constantly promote their businesses.

With a background in business, she earned her bachelor’s degree in 2020 and her MBA in 2021. Passionate about making social media a fun and vibrant place. She helps business owners create a stress-free and enjoyable online presence. How are you doing today, Jayci? It’s so good to have you here.

Thank you. I’m doing really well. I’m excited to be here and talk about social media.

Yes, absolutely. I wanna preface this episode by saying that I personally work with Jay-Z and she’s like an amazing social media manager. I never feel any stress. Her and her team are amazing. So if you guys are looking for someone, I definitely recommend Jayci. But let’s dive in. Tell me a little bit about yourself, what you do, how you got into social media.

And what makes you love it or at least not hate it.

Totally, totally fair. , I got started in social media. Uh, I think just like anybody else, it was new and it was fun and it was coming out right when I was in high school and everybody had an account and posted everything. It was so much fun to post what you were wearing for the day post that you were headed to your next class.

Like I don’t think there was a stone unturned when it came to what people were posting, and so I went to college and I studied business. And kind of always had in the back of my mind that starting a business would be fun or something that at least I was interested in.

Right.

taxes, money, legal was super scary. And I didn’t really have a grasp of what that looked like at 18 years old. So I said, okay, I’ll just get a business degree and I’ll work in marketing and social media for. A corporation or for a business. And so I did that. I got a business degree, I got an MBA, I graduated in the middle of Covid and

Okay.

I got one of the first jobs that I was offered, it was a remote position for an accounting firm, , out of Dallas.

And it was great. I enjoyed the work that I was doing, but I always felt like there could be something more.

Yeah.

I started to freelance on the side just for extra creativity. I was working from home. It was super lonely. And it was also still covid. And so I got a job freelancing on the side and fell in love. I didn’t realize all of the pieces that fell into freelancing and how

Yep.

creative and liberating and fun that it could be, and so I started to freelance more and more and bring on more clients and at that point I had realized I don’t think corporate is for me,

Yep.

have just one of those personalities that working. For the man just wasn’t gonna work. And so I started to build Happy Girl marketing and I had made enough in my business that was equal to what I was bringing home and my salary, I left my job. And so that was about exactly a year ago. so we’ve been full-time for a year, and I love how social media is unique for every single person that uses it. you can truly decide to sell 24 7. You could decide to never sell on your business account. It truly is such a unique experience for everybody involved and the people that you meet and the conversations that you have. So I feel like that’s what really makes me love it and not hate it.

Yeah. No, I love that you, I mean, going back to what you first said about how fun social media used to be, I remember. This is probably dating myself, but I remember being in middle school and every morning I was like, I’m gonna do a 365 day outfit challenge. And like I would post my outfit on like Facebook and be like, look at what I’m wearing today. And like, nobody cared, but it was just like, it was fun to do. Right. Especially back in those days.

was the colored skinny jeans. The boba tea. It was, it was fun. It was. Yeah.

I like, I honestly, I remember when Facebook just started being a thing and I was actually too young to start using it, but I know we all started using it anyways and I don’t know, it was so much fun to just like post and friend people in your school and be like, look at my outfit.

But

I

I feel like that’s what’s missing in social media nowadays and I love that that is really what you like bring to the table.

Thank you. Yeah, I think it’s so much fun.

A lot of people feel like super drained by social media, so how can they shift to that mindset where they actually enjoy it?

Yeah, I think you have to kind of view social media as just one of the outlets for marketing. It shouldn’t be your entire marketing strategy, and so when you realize that and you have other means to bring in leads and make sales, social media can be more fun. can show your personality. You can allow social media to be this connection with people.

That doesn’t have anything to do with sales. It can be about your personality or your interests and your hobbies, while also talking about business, but it doesn’t have to be solely sell. Sell, sell 24 7.

Yeah, and I feel like that’s hard too because I think a lot of days now it is about the personal brand

Mm-hmm.

less so about your business brand.

Yeah.

So a lot of people feel this pressure to like, I guess perform, but it’s like just be yourself and you’re gonna attract the right people. Do the goofy dancing thing. If you wanna do it, be goofy and it’ll bring in the right people. ’cause they’re gonna see you for who you are.

I agree , and I tell people all the time that if you’re. Not happy in social media. I truly believe that you just haven’t found your corner of the internet yet.

That’s.

people are there, the people that have similar interests and hobbies and enjoy the goofiness, those people are there. And if you feel like you’re in more of a, I don’t even know, a good, just like a, an environment that doesn’t feel like you, you just haven’t found your corner yet. And I encourage you to keep searching and posting , and finding those people that are like you.

Yeah, absolutely. And I feel like that’s like a long process. It’s not something that happens instantaneously. What are some ways, practical ways to make social media feel more like a conversation and less like a chore?

Yeah, I think remembering that you’re interacting with people on the other side of your screen. An analogy I like to give is if you’re at the grocery store walking up and down the aisles and you see somebody you know and they wave at you, they’re like, Hey, how are you? You know, you don’t just like, oh my gosh, and turn around and walk. I mean, maybe, maybe you do, but like nine times outta 10, you know, you’re like. Hey, how are you? Good to see

Yeah.

You don’t always stop and have a conversation. Sometimes you do in the aisles, and you catch up about, you know, whatever. and I think social media is the same way. If somebody leaves a comment on your page, like that’s them waving at you at the grocery store and it’s, all you have to do is like, Hey, I see you. Thank you for commenting. Like, you know, maybe a short exchange.

Yes.

Like, just because somebody commented it doesn’t mean you have to then add them to your lead tracker and message them on an, you know, it doesn’t have to be this whole thing. You could

Yes.

back at them at the grocery store.

Yeah, and I love that you say that like it, I feel like we make this huge effort to try and engage with everything and make it so meaningful, but sometimes it’s not like, yes, there are what times where you wanna like engage in a meaningful way,

Right.

sometimes it’s more or less just like a

Hey.

for commenting or connecting or whatever it is.

Because I think if you always try to do this big elaborate thing, one,

Yeah.

to get burnt out, but then people are gonna wanna stop interacting with your content because they feel like, oh, I can’t comment. ’cause then she’s gonna message me and she’s gonna ask me how I’m doing. And I don’t have the energy for that.

Yes.

sometimes it’s just a short, quick interaction and, and it takes the pressure off of it.

Yes. And I love that. So why do so many people you think feel weird about selling on social media and how do they move past that?

I think it’s got a really bad rap.

Yeah.

I think that there are a handful of accounts that are really big on cold pitching and hard selling and really just like the second you. Even watch their story, it’s like, oh my gosh, buy my thing. And it’s like, whoa. I just

Yes.

thought your account was cute

Yeah.

like that. I mean, it turns people off. It just really makes people feel icky and gross. It gives off, door-to-door salesman vibes.

Yes.

And I mean, I know that we’re definitely the age where like somebody would knock on the door and we like hid under the couch. We were like, we’re not answering the door. Like

Yeah.

feels, when somebody’s just like walking in unannounced to your dms trying to sell you. And I think that that’s why people feel so against. Selling and I think it’s hard selling. It’s not actually providing value and sharing what you believe in type of selling. It’s like, buy this now. We have no relationship. I need you to spend this a hundred dollars

Yes.

So.

Yes. And I feel like that’s such a big thing and a big push this year is a lot of people are making more intentional purchasing decisions, so you just shoving it in their face and like I see it all the time and it confuses me. Like LinkedIn or Threads are all like, oh, it works, it works though that, and I’m like, you know, I think it works on like 10% of the population. Like there’s 10% of the population who are like, I was thinking about this, but I didn’t reach out to anybody at Good thing you messaged me. But the other 90% are like, why the heck are you messaging me?

Yeah, and it’s not a personalized experience. Like if

Yeah.

money on something, I wanna know who I’m buying it from and just like get a good vibe from that

Yes.

I don’t think I’ve ever bought anything from somebody just randomly messaging me, telling me I have to have it.

Yeah.

And it kind of makes me think of another point that I talk about a lot, and it’s just selling doesn’t have to be rooted in negativity. You don’t have to cold email me and tell me that my business sucks and that I

Yes.

buy your product like that. Stop doing what you think it’s doing. At least for me, it’s not.

Yes. And and I think that’s so important because like you can be super friendly and supportive and engaging instead of having like, I think what they call it is like the mean girl marketing where you’re like, you’re not doing it right. You’re not doing it right. And I’m like, that doesn’t make anybody feel good in any way.

You shouldn’t have to put people down it. You should be,

Yes,

my opinion, at least, providing enough value that people recognize that they might have a gap in

yes.

in their bus, whatever, and, and see you as a solution. Not, my gosh, she told me I’m awful. Now I have to invest in it like

Yes. Yeah. I feel like you also like in terms of that, if you’re marketing that way, I feel like you also get. Those types of people who are doing the emotional spending, so they’re not going to be your ideal client because they’re gonna reflect on that and say, oh, well I suck, so I’m gonna buy this from you, and they’re gonna get into your program or whatever and not get exactly what they need out of it, because they’re coming in from that emotional state and not coming in from that state of, I actually want to purchase this.

and then it ends in regret.

Yes.

you’re having to issue all of these refunds. It’s just this big cycle and like then you have to start over again. So it like doesn’t actually result in high quality sales.

Yes. So what is your favorite way to sell that feels really natural and engaging and non pushy.

I think always providing more value Putting more emphasis on the value than putting it on the sale. People are gonna work with you if they wanna work with you. It’s not gonna, she should have gave more value or, you know, like, I trying to like phrase this in the best way possible. But if, just like, if I see somebody providing a ton of value, I just recognize that they care about their audience, they care about their offer,

Yes,

that makes me wanna buy more. Versus being super shady and not actually telling me what you’re selling, not providing any value at all, does it make me

yes.

connect with you?

And so I, I love to provide value first. , and really encourage people that, of course there’s going to be things in your brain that people should, should maybe pay to hear, but there’s other ways to say it and frame it and provide perspective for free.

Yeah. Yeah, I, and I think that’s so important too. I feel that way where I’m like, I wanna make sure that I’m providing. The most value possible for like my audience.

Yeah,

of course, yeah, there are certain things where I’m like, I have to draw the line. Like that’s part of what you have to pay. But up to that point, I’m like, I want you to be as informed as I am because

Yeah.

teaches this stuff in school. Like. If you’re a new business owner and you’re going out there, you don’t know the best processes for social media. You don’t know the best processes for bookkeeping or you know, trying to keep things track of things for taxes. So it’s very important that there are people who are resources out there because then that those types of people are gonna be more likely to rely on you and work with you.

I agree and, and I truly think that it’s, it’s like the saying, like, you can lead a horse to water,

Yeah.

can’t make it drink. You know, I could give you everything that you might need or want. To post on your social media, but I can’t make you post. And for service providers, like it’s important, at least for me to remember that is like you can give every piece of information in the book to them, but like ultimately it’s just gonna be easier for them to hire you to do it.

So.

Yes, yes. So personal brands are now more popular than ever. What really makes them so effective in today’s social media landscape?

I think they’re more fun. I think for a long time, corporate brands had to jump through so many hoops to get something posted on social. It had to go through legal, it had to go through however many managers to even get to legal,

Yeah.

legal wants to change it. They don’t understand the audio, so okay. Now you can’t use trending audio. So now it’s like a somewhat trendy video. It was trendy six weeks ago and it doesn’t have the right audio and it like, doesn’t make it fun. They are, I think, social, departments are building in corporations and so it’s getting better. But personal brands are just more fun. They’re more personable. It, more human. I think. We know the saying that people buy from people, and that’s what personal brands allow you to do. It allows you to buy from somebody who has a similar perspective, experience, vibe, even. So I think that’s what makes them just a little bit more popular is they’re more fun and, and they have more connection points than a corporate brand.

Yeah, I feel like it’s also easier to buy from someone when you can relate. To them. Like, you know, when we post about things that we’re reading or things like that, it’s gonna resonate with someone who’s also a reader. So that creates that extra connection point and makes us feel, yeah, more human than just this business that is looking for your money.

It is less transactional at

Yes. Yes. So for someone who’s hesitant to put themselves out there, what’s one small step that they can take to start building their personal brand? I.

I love that. I think starting by posting what’s interesting to you. What, what do you like, what do you enjoy? If that’s books, you know, start sharing on your page what you’re, what you’re reading, what’s on your TBR, and then engaging with accounts that are doing the same. I think you can. Share a lot about your personal life as much as you feel comfortable and not even talk about business, and people are still going to want to buy from you and interact with you and

Yeah.

just be in your, your realm of, of accounts and posts and things like that.

Yes. And I love that because I think that that’s, that is, that’s so important is just talk about what you like

Yeah.

you can even relate it to business. I think so many people think that you can’t relate that kind of stuff to business, but a lot of the stuff that we learn. Personally can be applied to business in different ways, and it’s just a matter of how you like phrase it or how you bring it to the table.

I agree.

There’s a big misconception that hiring social media help means giving up your voice. So how can business owners find support like you without losing the authenticity of their voice?

Yeah, hiring a social media managers is a big step in your business. It’s one that requires relinquishing some percentage of control. And that can be hard for personal brands, and I think one of the biggest pieces that help. You not lose the authenticity of the voice is knowing your business and knowing it well. Are you able to separate your business from yourself, even if it’s a personal brand? You know, can your, business have a voice that is emulated and replicated somebody that’s not you? And if the answer’s no. Outsourcing might not, you know, be the best option for you, but if you feel like, yes, my brand, you know, it has a voice of its own, it has guidelines and tone and and all of these things that makes it its own, then I think you can then feel confident about outsourcing. But if you don’t have those guidelines and the voice work and things like that, if it’s not laid out beforehand, when you hire a social media manager, they don’t have anything to work with, gonna kind of fall into their own. or their own kind of way of saying things if it’s not laid out, kind of be beforehand. Obviously, I think that social media managers, you know, have the opportunity to ask questions and, and even just clarifying voice and the tone, but you have to know it for yourself or else it’s gonna be really hard then to approve content to be okay with content going out, if that, if that makes sense.

Yeah, no, I feel like that’s a hundred percent and I feel like, I really do feel like it should also be a communication thing. Like it’s not a one and done where you’re like, yeah, here’s, here’s how I’m supposed to sound. Like that’s it. Like I feel like I. The more you grow together as you know, a social media manager and a business owner, the more it just gets better because it’s gonna take time for them to, it’s the same thing as me with bookkeeping.

Like I don’t go into someone’s books and I’m instantly like I know exactly what I’m looking at. I know exactly what I’m doing. It takes me two to three months to fully get comfortable in anybody’s set of books, and I’m, I’m sure it’s probably similar. It takes you two to three months to be like, I know what this person is looking for.

I know what they like. Now I can fully like do what’s best for them and their business, while also maintaining their kind of voice, but also what I know is best for them as a business.

Yeah, a hundred percent. And I think, Being able to, your point of communication, being able to communicate what you like and don’t

Yes.

extremely helpful for that service provider. For your social media manager, your copywriter, you know, whatever you’re hiring in that creative space, what you like and what you don’t like.

It. It’s not

Yes,

to just say like, I don’t know, I, I

yes.

like it. And it’s like. not helpful. What don’t you like about it? Is it the tone? Is it the, the voice? What about it? Do we need to change? Because then at least on our end, when we get those revisions, we make a note of that.

And so we

Yes.

client doesn’t like this. Next time we’re gonna try this or alter it a different way. but if we don’t have anything to work with on that other end, it’s kind of just like throwing spaghetti at the wall.

Yes. Yes, absolutely. And, and I think that’s important in any service, provider relationship is communicating that because you are, you’re giving up a part of your business, and it’s not saying like you can’t be involved in that. It’s more just. How do you communicate that? So what are some options for outsourcing social media at different stages of business?

Ooh. I think there’s an option for everyone, and I also think that. There’s a space for everybody on

Yeah.

I just felt like that was a good, a good time to say that, that everybody belongs on social media if you want to be there. But there’s an option for everybody. think a really accessible option is pre-made content ideas, content calendars, something for you to then execute.

It’s. It’s done with you kind of, you can take that. It’s super accessible. It’s at a lower price point, and then you can execute the content ideas, the creation in whatever means you would like. The next would be. Content creation. This is where somebody creates content for you, delivers it to you, and you can kind of decide when do you want it to go out.

It, sometimes people will provide copywriting, sometimes they don’t. so maybe you do the copywriting for that, but it’s a way to get those graphics and, video edits done for you. And then you can finish the other half, which is the posting or the copywriting, things like that. And then the. Final piece would be full social media management, where you have somebody coming up with the ideas, executing them, but then acting and engaging on your behalf for your account.

So they are replying to comments, starting new conversations for you in the dms, and ultimately managing your account. So if you didn’t wanna log in every day, you don’t have to.

So to branch off of that, how can someone decide what parts of social media they actually enjoy and what they should delegate?

Ooh, reflect on what feels sticky and gross.

Yeah.

do you find yourself not wanting to do and what are you a attracted to or drawn to as a part of the process? Realizing like, okay, do you loathe Canva and the IG reels editor?

Yes.

A content creator or content creation package is the best for you, but you,

Yeah.

still enjoy replying to comments, all of that. If you don’t even wanna be on the app, you don’t wanna know what goes out there, but you know, you have to kind of be there. Social media management might be the best option then for you.

you know, truly you’re like, I can’t give out any control it has, I have to have a say. I have to, just be in control of all of it. Awesome. Maybe a strategy would be helpful. Maybe having just a consultation or advisory type service over your content would be helpful to ensure it’s strategic and talking to the right people. So I think

Yeah.

piece for everybody. You just have to recognize in the process, what do you loathe, hate, not want to do? What do you love? And if none of that. You know, find something to outsource completely.

Yes. I love that. Okay, so if someone listening wants to improve their social media experience today, what’s the first thing that they should do?

Have fun. It’s okay to have fun. It’s okay to enjoy to be on the app, and it’s okay to not talk about business.

Yes.

I. also okay to talk about business. Like if that’s what really lights you up and that’s what makes you happy, talk about it. That’s okay. whether you like it or don’t like it, either way, it’s okay to to, to lean into that.

If you, know, I think are having a hard time having fun, and it’s because of the selling piece or the business piece. Don’t do it for a little bit, you know, take a break. You

Yes.

You could just provide value. You can talk about the things that you enjoy in your business, the piece of your offer that you love without dropping a link or telling people to comment a certain word.

You know, like you don’t have to do that if you don’t want to. there’s so many other means to marketing that are successful that if you don’t wanna sell on social, you don’t have to.

Yes. And I love that. And I feel like that’s, that is, it’s so important is just to have fun. So where can my audience connect with you or learn more about how to work with you?

Yes, you can find me on Instagram at Happy Girl Marketing Co. and then I’d love for you to come over and say hi. And wave at me like you’re at the grocery store. I love to, to chat in the dms and, and just talk about anything. I’m always posting things that are business and not business. And yeah, if, if people are interested in working with us, we have a few spots open for Q2 and Q3. We’d love to work with you. Yeah.

Awesome. Well, thank you so much for being on the podcast today, Jayci. I really appreciated it and I look forward to the listeners hearing your story.

Awesome. Thank you so much. 📍

That’s a wrap on today’s conversation. Social media doesn’t have to be overwhelming, and I hope this episode gave you some fresh perspective on how to make it work for you, not drain the life out of you. If you love this episode, make sure to subscribe so you never miss an update. And if you found it helpful, leave a review.

It seriously helps more people find the show like you, and of course, share it with a fellow entrepreneur who could use a little social media sanity in their life. Thanks for hanging out with me and JC today. Farewell Fellow Travelers.