When we started our Dream BIG TV Show, we were eager to get eyeballs.
We had less than a shoestring budget so marketing, for us, seemed way out of reach. When someone approached us saying they could get us a whopping 5000 Likes, for just R1000 every month, we jumped at the opportunity. We didn’t know better.
We paid our R1000. The following day we had an extra 1000 likes on our page- we were besides ourselves! Could this be! It felt too good to be true. It was!
I begun to look into who had “Liked” our page. Something struck me as odd. The names were all foreign. And they all came from Turkey!
I begun contacting the people who’d “Liked” our page- hardly any of them spoke English. The ones that could said they didn’t know who I was or what our Page was about. We’d been scammed!
I told the person we’d bought the “marketing” package from to stop the campaign immediately- We’d been duped!
We lost our R1000 on “Likes” that essentially meant nothing.
I contacted Facebook and told them what’d happened.
I also spent hours trying to delete each fake like- it was affecting the legitimate advertising we were doing on Facebook.
Here’s what we learned from that ordeal: legitimate Facebook advertising i.e. ads bought through Facebook, work. Anything else is a scam.
The point of “Likes” on your Facebook Page is not how many Likes you’ve got- it’s the engagement you get from people who like your Page. The goal is getting people who are genuinely interested in your product or service offering Liking your page and ultimately buying from you. Fake Likes will never get you that.
In short, when someone tells you then can get you an X number of Likes on Facebook- RUN!
Learn how to grow your numbers genuinely on Facebook and how to convert Likes to actual clients who’ll buy from you. Then and only then will you see the results you want.
If I could describe my stand out theme for this year in ONE Word it would be: Learning.
My goodness have I learned a LOT this year!
Last week I was ecstatic because we reached 5000 Likes on our Facebook Page– it took us OVER a year to reach a couple hundred people- RIDICULOUS! Because I had no clue how to grow a Facebook Audience. But after learning from my mentor, various other experts in the field and figuring out Loads of stuff on my own- we got 3000 New Likes in just over a week!
[These are not “fake” Likes. These are real likes from real people who are engaging with us and our content- we are OVER THE MOON! Please, I urge you to never fall for that “fake” Facebook Likes scam because it does nothing to build the community and client following You want.]
This year I experienced how Incredible the The POWER of learning is!
Last year, at this time, our Dream BIG TV Show was just starting out. We’d never had a TV Show of our own that we had to produce from scratch- a year later our show airs on Cape Town TV- we’ve been approached by a new DSTV Channel which wants to buy Dream BIG Episodes from us… I’ve also been asked to host a brand new Talk Show that starts on DSTV from early December…
A short while ago I hosted our first ever Dream BIG Charity Event.
Going into it we had no budget to host the function. I personally invited about 29 people to come- I was expecting about 20 people to attend- at most… but by the time of the event we had more than triple that amount! And most of the people who attended the event I didn’t even know!
Some I’d only known from social media interactions, others came because their friends or family members had invited them- ultimately though I knew only a handful of the people who attended.
We’d asked guests to bring items they could donate to Educational Outreach Program, MasQ, as well as Gemstones Teen Pregnancy Crisis Centre- PLUS we requested guests to bring a plate of eats… talk about asking too much… And yet by the end of the event we had received more gifts for each organisation than I’d dared imagined we would. We had SO much food left over it was insane how generous the women who attended the event were.
To top it all, despite having Zero budget to hire a venue, we managed to secure a cosy setting in upmarket Sandton- without paying a single cent for it!
Dream BIG Charity Event 2014: Top Left to Right: Meriam Ntsewa (compiled this collage), Meriam and Queenie Capers. Bottom Left to Right: Meriam with Yours Truly (Me 🙂 ), some of the Guests and Speakers.
I look back at what we’ve been blessed with as we come to the end of this year and two things stand out for me- the fact that two years ago I quit my job to “find myself”. It was a crazy notion to many- but I knew it was time to really figure out who I was and what I needed to do with my life. The second is I’ve learned to build relationships with people- that has been so crucial to the fruit we’re enjoying now.
If I could share one valuable tip with start-up entrepreneurs it would be this: If You want your business to grow seek to connect with people. Care deeply for the people who come across your path- you’ll be amazed how valuing relationships more than making money will bless your business. I dare say you’ll actually make more money this way!
I’m super excited about 2015 because for us it’ll be a year we hope to truly delve into helping people who have dreams they want to see happen.
Constant Learning is Essential
Had I not committed to learning new things this year- we would not be where we are right now.
Even just what I’ve learned about social media, I know, will reap huge benefits for us going forward. I cannot share enough here how this amazing platform is propelling us into realms that would’ve been impossible to operate in with the limited resources we had starting out.
For years I’d had a huge desire to help people achieve their dreams. Now as I see my own dreams coming to pass I’m excited that I’m helping other do the same. This is what I was created for. It’s exciting to know!
The Glue that holds it All Together
What I must say is none of this would be possible without God’s Love for me.
The number one thing I’ve learned this year (and continue to learn) is how to trust and utterly depend on God.
Our lives are not just about the gifts God has given each one of us. That’s only a part.
Which is why I urge you to put people ahead of money.
No matter what your gifting is- through it God will raise opportunities every day for you to bless others through your work.
Our lives are about His Kingdom and each one of us is called to share the Good News of what Jesus did for us.
I have learned that without that aspect being grafted into everything I do- it’s all pointless.
For some people there’s a lot of anxiety about what the new year will bring. Our confidence must lie first and foremost in the God who is unshakable and Loves us beyond measure.
The second is that we need to realise that a new year means we will need to move to another level of growth- expect Big things. Believe in Yourself. And if you struggle with confidence (as I do a lot of the time) ask God to help You believe in who He created You to be.
Make the time to learn as much as you can about becoming awesome at what You know you’re called to do. Your confidence will grow as you absorb knowledge and understanding about your particular field of work.
Declare victory and abundance like You’ve never experienced before for 2015.
No matter what you see right now, no matter what seems to come against You begin to move in victory- begin to see yourself operating in a whole new level of Awesome!
I don’t think 2015’s going to be an easy year because for most of us we’ll be moving into what God has for us and that never comes without opposition.
But dear friends Be of Good Cheer- our Lord and Saviour Jesus has Overcome the World.
May He teach us each moment of every day how to live and thrive in that victory.
People the world is waiting for us to release our gift and to show them the Love of our Father, Daddy God.
We are not alone in our quest.
We have each other and we have our God who is with us all the way.
Now that’s cause for Excitement!
Hannah Viviers is the Creator and Host of the Dream BIG TV Show. You can reach out to Hannah on her Facebook Page here where she posts inspiring content and reads messages daily.
