We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Aliyah Nicole a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Aliyah, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?
How did its start…
It went a little like this and before we get into how let’s talk about why. It started in 2017, as a freshman in college. I was fascinated with beauty and fashion. I would get asked all the time how did I get my hair in a specific hairstyle. Where do I shop because I rarely wore sweats on campus. I decided that I want to share my tips and tricks to the world and I started a blog called LifeofLiyah in June 2018. This is where I started my social media journey and built a really loyal following of 1000+ people who were interested in reading my blog post every week, looking forward to content I shared on Instagram, and conversations that we would have weekly as a community.
In college, I pursued a degree in marketing and with having this blog platform I would begin to get noticed for my feed aesthetic on social media and how I was able to get people to engaged. I enjoyed answering questions that people had and ultimately helping them make their next move in the digital space. I gained the interest of my first client as a freelance social media manager in 2020. From the internships I completed and taking on freelance clients I learned a lot about developing a business.
After graduating in May 2021, and after receiving job offers and some declined job opportunities I decided that I wanted to start my own business in the year 2022. The first thing I did in embarking on this journey was consult with God on where should I take this vision. After getting confirmation that this was my journey to pursue I wrote out a business plan; something that we heavily talked about in class. After creating this business plan, I started to create a brand identity, which includes my brands personality, the visual components, target audience, and identifying pain points that my services would offer the solution to.
This was not an easy process. I created so many mood boards, went through many profiles as inspiration for my brand, and a little self doubt that I was not taking the traditional route that most college students do when they graduate. Not to mention that I had the full support of my family and friends but it was a little nerve wrecking. This process took about 7-8 months to bring to fruition. I had all the documentation I needed to have a legit business legally, did the backend work while executing what I learned in school, and the last thing on my list was to solidify my services and create my website.
When you first start a venture you typically do everything yourself and that’s exactly what I did. I created my own website, I did my own marketing and brand development, and directed my own brand shoot. Before I launched I decided that I wanted to take my personal Instagram page and turn it into my business page. I set the date for my launch to be January 11, 2022 and I created content in the form of a campaign to usher in this new wave in December 2021.
The first year was pretty rough but also a blessing. In the first month of launch, I lost a very close family member of mine, by quarter two clients fell off and I had to start over in a sense. I thought I was missing something because I was working so hard no brakes and I wasn’t fully seeing the return. I’m happy to express that as of January 11, 2023 I’ve made it a full year in business. All of the work I did for 7-8 months prepared me for that accomplishment.
If you are someone who wants to start a business or build a brand my advice to you is to do the work. You will have the time to build a team, you will feel like some days you want to give up, you’ll look for instant gratification because you know you want it so bad, but you have to do the work and trust the process. It might take you a year. It might take you 2 to 3 years. But trust in the fact that you were called to this journey and it’s not just an idea but it’s a vision and that’s what I always keep with me.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Hey, my name is Aliyah Nicole and I am a social media strategist/manager and brand manager. I create digital solutions for brands to leverage social media outlets to grow their businesses. Helping business owners show up authentically and confidently online using unique strategies and curating content aligned with their brand. I received a Bachelor’s in Business Administration with an emphasis in Marketing. Throughout my collegiate experience, I developed a solid skill set and learned the fundamentals of marketing research, strategic marketing, business analytics, advertising, and branding.
I offer services which include social media and brand management, social media coaching, and VIP Content experiences. These services are packed with continuous support and relevant and impactful information. Working in this industry for going on 4 years, I’ve had the pleasure of working with business owners who have great products in the beauty, fashion, tech, and other industries. Most importantly focusing on brand and social media development post pandemic.
Together, we’ve grown social media platforms to 2,000+ followers, reached social media accounts at a 500% success rate, converting followers into customers, and much more. I not only offer my support but teach clients how to be creative in their own right to attract their ideal audience through strategy and consistency.
I am very proud of what I have accomplished in only the first year of being a full-time entrepreneur. To help others grow fuels my passion to continue to do what I do.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
This is my favorite topic to discuss, growing a community on social media. When I started my social media journey it was prior to Covid and in developing that community my ultimate goal was direct impact. I took myself out of the equation and put my audience in. Meaning my content was not geared towards what I liked but what they wanted to see from me. So I did a lot of Q&A‘s, collaborations, live videos via Instagram, and more.
Building an audience I would compare it to dating. I use this analogy all the time because it’s an easy way to explain how your relationship with an audience should be. In order to grow a Social Media Following you have to court those who are interested in you and take them through the entire process. Take them on a first date, after the first date propose a second date, then a third date, and before you know it you guys are a thing. Now it won’t be that easy but the mindset of continuing to show interest, that you care, in return will make them trust you, care, take action.
Now post Covid, social media is no longer a popularity contest, what I mean by that is having 10,000 followers is not impressive. As people we are drawn to what’s relevant, popular, and what we see. In today’s time a strong community is more impactful then vanity metrics. No longer strong in numbers but strong in impact.
If you were trying to grow a following in 2023, here’s what you do. With clarity identify who you want to serve and who you want to be in your audience. Find out what they like and what they don’t like, find out what they resonate with and what they don’t care for, have conversations, answer questions, respond to comments, and don’t be afraid to collaborate. Focus on the process and the growth will come. There’s no “hacks” to growing a Following in a short amount of time that will remain sustainable.
We’re in the era of going viral but viral is a not sustainable.
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
This may be a very simple answer but being authentically me has been the most effective strategy for growing my clientele. A lot of people would get technical about the marketing channels that they use for outreach, what their branding looks like, and what makes them the best choice. But what I found in speaking with my clients is that outside of my expertise they can feel the passion I have for my business through our weekly calls, they appreciate how transparent I am in what is needed in order to get where their trying to go, and that no matter what happens I will always show up for them.
It’s not the service or product that will draw people to you but the experience they get when working with you. I cold heartily believe that my clientele flocks to my personality before they recognize what I do. Being genuine in my approach to everything continues to attract the clientele that I have .
Contact Info:
- Website: https://aliyahnicole.com/
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/imaliyahnicole
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/liyah.glass.1
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aliyah-glass
Image Credits
Davion Sanderson – Facebook