The I Am [Dot. Dot. Dot.] Podcast

Ep#59 TikTok vs. Instagram: Where Authenticity Meets Success for Entrepreneurs

• Kristen Werner & Mia Steel

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Join Mia, a former ambulance officer turned powerhouse content creator, and Kristen, a branding expert with a love for vineyard living, as they share their journey of building a six-figure membership entirely online—without ever meeting in person. Dive into their transition from conventional careers to digital entrepreneurship, packed with raw insights and practical lessons.

Key Highlights:

  • Journey to Online Entrepreneurship: Explore Mia and Kristen’s transformation from traditional job roles to leading a successful digital business, highlighting the strategic decisions and personal growth along the way.
  • Platform Selection: TikTok vs. Instagram: Discover why Mia and Kristen prefer TikTok over Instagram, and how TikTok’s environment fosters authenticity and connection. Learn the advantages of each platform to determine which might best suit your entrepreneurial goals.
  • Realities of Building an Online Business: Get a candid look at the good, the challenging, and the frustrating aspects of online entrepreneurship. Mia and Kristen share unfiltered truths about the digital journey, providing both inspiration and cautionary tales.
  • Navigating Social Media Entrepreneurship: Benefit from Mia and Kristen's combined expertise as they offer advice on how to effectively engage with your audience and build a brand on social media. Their experiences and tips are invaluable for anyone looking to make a mark in the ever-changing digital landscape.

Tune in for an engaging discussion filled with actionable advice and inspiring stories from Mia and Kristen. Whether you’re starting out or looking to refine your digital strategy, this episode is a must-listen for aspiring entrepreneurs seeking to understand the nuances of social media platforms and online business success.

Subscribe now for more insights on building your online presence and thriving in the digital economy with our experienced guides, Mia and Kristen.

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Speaker 1:

I'm Mia, a mum of two, a former burnt out ambo who sold it all to travel Australia in the caravan and turned a single TikTok idea into a six-figure content creation business leveraging UGC. And I'm Kristen, also a mum of two, with over 15 years experience in branded marketing. I went from the corporate world to being made redundant and decided to back my idea of starting a branding business and a successful wedding venue side hustle, generating six figures, all whilst living on the vineyard. One random DM between us sparked more than just a friendship. It ignited a passion to mentor women online around the world. We know what it takes to make it work online and we're here to show you what's possible. In less than 12 months, we built a six-figure membership together. And here's the kicker we have not met in person yet. That is a kicker. We're here to show you the power of reoccurring revenue and how achievable it really is. We don't sugarcoat things around here. We talk about the real shit, the good shit and the bullshit. So buckle up, let's go, let's go, guys, make a special time. Let's go. Okay, let's go. That's go, guys, make a special time. Let's go. Okay, let's go. That's extra.

Speaker 1:

We're going to do a cheeky little bite-sized nuggets of gold. We don't have a name for it yet, but we are coming to you every single Wednesday with little cheeky. We're either answering questions that are in our Facebook group or we are coming to you with a little something-something that might help you as a content creator. So I'm Tristan Werner, joined by Mia. What up, mia? Hey, hey, hey. What are we talking about today? Today, we're going to jump right into it, and we are going to talk about the fact that I think there is a bit of like a oh, should I do TikTok? Should I do Instagram? Oh, I don't know which one to do. And so we wanted to just shine a cheeky light on the platform and why, for one, we're going to talk about TikTok because Mia and I both freaking love TikTok, and give you our little background on why we love that as a platform.

Speaker 1:

So, mia, shall we jump in? Yes, first things first. I must say choose the platform that you feel most comfortable on. Correct, no point shitting, pushing shit up a hill If it just if you're like well, I have to be on this platform to make it work. You have to be comfortable, you have to want to get on it, you have to want to post on it. And for us and yeah, this has been me since the beginning Instagram has just been that platform where I'm just like I just don't feel right there. It's not me. I feel like I have to put on a bit of a show or something, whereas TikTok, I can just sort of pick it up and just go yeah.

Speaker 1:

And I suppose I wanted to have this conversation quickly because, for me personally, I've never had fear of being the face of a brand, never had the confidence issues with showing up on camera, because I've always grown social media and certainly when I started Instagram as a business, I've always started my social media profiles to build a business. That's just how my brain is wired. So every time I've done, I started that obviously with Instagram. Now, that was fine. And then all of a sudden, in like when was it? 2021, which I wish it was 2020, because that's when TikTok blew up but about the end of 2021 or middle of 2021, I just excuse me I decided that I'd try TikTok because no one knew me there and I just I'm also a manifesting generator, so I'm built to break shit, like I'm not meant to do things by the rules, and the rules were starting to annoy me, because there were certain rules about it and you had to do it a certain way and it was very aesthetic and I was like I don't live an aesthetic life and all the things. Anyway, long story short, what I wanted to say today is, if you have any fear around creating content, if you're like I don't know how to be the face of my friend, I don't know how to turn up, I'm not very confident on camera, all the things start a TikTok account Like when I started. Yes, I had confidence behind me, that's fine. I had no idea what the wild wild west of TikTok was, so I just hit record.

Speaker 1:

If I find my first video, it was shit, it was terrible and like you're learning how to move the camera and it's quicker edits and it's all of that. But you know what? I went and I went and I went. I said to myself, if I can get a thousand followers in under 30 days, I will stick with TikTok. Meanwhile, my Instagram account I'd had for two years was still like 800 and something. So I was like, okay, and I did that. In under 30 days I got a thousand followers and it just kept growing and growing. Now TikTok's changed. Yes, algorithms have changed.

Speaker 1:

Yes, but what we're trying to say is if you have any kind of fear, if you want to start as a UGC creator, if you are 40 plus and you're like I can't make it, I don't have a big following, fucking, turn to TikTok. Just hit record. Nobody knows you there. Go for it. It's a messy sandbox. You don't have to put the filters on and be all glammed up, and it's not like Instagram, although I feel like Instagram is slowly starting to turn a little bit messy, like TikTok. Instagram seems to be a little bit behind TikTok with the trends and how everything's going.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, yeah, but yeah, test stuff on tiktok, test it. If it works, if it pops on tiktok, then you know, maybe bring it over to instagram. But yeah, I'm the same. I, you know, started everything on tiktok. It just felt, it just feels like you can be your true self there. Yeah, yeah, and I was exactly the same. But there's trolls on instagram as well, yeah, and you can delete them, you can block them, you can do all the things.

Speaker 1:

But if you're somebody that is seriously wanting to get into content creation, that wants to get paid for their content, that wants to build a personal brand. That's sitting on that sideline of like oh, I don't know what will my friends think, what will my family think, and that was kind of where I was. I got to the point where I wanted to do content that was uniquely me, that you know. No filters applied, just you got me and I just kind of had this like oh, but like my friends follow my family, like old workmates follow me, like, at the end of the day, I don't care, but part of me does like I'm a fucking human. So part of me is like I know that they're going to be like you know, you make the stories up in your head. We talk about that all the time. So I turned to TikTok and, fucking, no one knew me and I went for gold and what happened from that was I had so much fun, gained so much confidence.

Speaker 1:

Now, when I post, the first thing that I think is I'm only helping people, like I'm only helping Yep, go to TikTok to test things, muck around, get confident who cares? Kind of thing. Obviously, there's people that you know find most of their inbounds on Instagram and it works for them. Cool, amazing, but don't, yeah, sort of shy away from TikTok because it just feels like you can just I don't know be yourself there, yeah, and so really, all this is today is just to say, if you are feeling like you want to create content, but it feels hard, it feels overwhelming, what are people going to say All the things in your head? Just create a TikTok account, call it something that people won't find you, and just post for practice, post for like.

Speaker 1:

At the end of the day, you will never be perfect, but the more you practice, the more you grow, the better you get. Every single freaking time you hit record and you'll find that that's going to start to knock down and chip away at that, like imposter syndrome that tells you like you're not good enough, you can't do this, you're not techie, no one's going to want you. And all of a sudden you'll start to like, okay, this is working. Now I'm now it becomes comfortable. So that's all we're saying today is, if you feel that, turn, maybe turn to TikTok and just give it a shot. But yes, like me said, at the end of the day, do the platform that you love. But if you're feeling like you can't create a reel because you've got this fucking thing going in your head telling you you're not good enough.

Speaker 1:

Go to TikTok and be like I'm just going to put my cowgirl boots on, I'm heading out to the wild, wild west. We'll see you over there, yeah, we'll see you then. Those guys are rogue. That is all we have for the 10 minutes. I was going to say 10-minute Tuesday. It's not Tuesday, it's Wednesday, and that's all we got. Okay, bye, check podcast. I'm going to add so many good ones too.