Getting outside of my comfort zone with RCC Social.

Okay, so I'm a little delayed in writing this one but actually I'm glad it's turned out that way, because it means I can give you the results.

When I launched my business in January I had all good intention of managing my own social media content, taking pictures that matched my branding and posting multiple times a week. By March, I'd realised that was never going to happen. I knew what I wanted my socials to look like, but I just couldn't get it right. Plus I already felt the images on my website were outdated and didn't feel like me.

I then saw a reel on Instagram by @thediaryofnatasha_ of the best beauty salons in Leeds to visit. I clicked on her profile and realised she owned a social media management company here in Leeds (RCC Social) and that she offered content shoots. I sent her a quick DM with a couple of photos from Pinterest. We had a call to discuss my vision, and she went away and put together a plan.

From there we arranged a further call, and Natasha presented me with a TWENTY-SEVEN page pitch deck. When I tell you I felt like this girl was inside my brain. She had perfectly understood the type of founder content I wanted. I didn't want a "stuffy" photoshoot, it needed to be relaxed but also professional. Every single slide went into detail with the locations we'd shoot at, what type of clothing I should wear, what props and accessories I should bring and exactly how many stills and videos she would take. Plus she'd mapped out three talking reels (founder introduction, why to work with me and my top tips for a website), all of which she would edit ready for me to post.

I immediately booked a six hour shoot for Thursday 14th May.

Now I should explain that being in front of the camera is not for me, I take selfies with the camera in front of my face and would never dream of posting a talking story. So whilst I had 100% confidence in what I'd booked, I really wasn't sure how the day would go. Spoiler: I had nothing to worry about.

The day was so much fun. I met Natasha and her assistant Em and we went through the plan for the day and recapping the brief. Then we headed off to our first location. We shot images at Maya's, Made, Blank Street, Sonder and then outside in various places across Leeds City Centre. There were definitely moments where I was outside my comfort zone, and I tripped over my words a thousand times filming myself talking, but I genuinely loved the overall experience - it was like having two supportive friends hyping you up. Not only were they supporting my business, but they were helping me feel at ease.

Fast forward to one week later, and I received hundreds of images and B-roll footage from Natasha - as well as the three fully edited and ready to post reels. The turnaround time for the volume of content was unbelievable. She'd captured everything she promised and more. Her eye for detail, and ability to get clear shots is second to none. She thinks of everything - blank space in the background so you can add titles, photos taken of me working naturally so I don't look staged or posed. And b-roll that I can apply to almost any trending audio and create a reel that looks intentional.

Since 21st May when I got the images back I've been able to post:

• 12 carousels

• 9 single image posts

• 5 reels

• + too many stories to count!

And for all of these all I've needed to do is chose the photo or clip, upload it onto Canva and then add my titles, little graphics and maybe make an edit or two. For the last few weeks, I've been spending a couple of hours putting together my content for the week and scheduling it - so it literally happens each day without me having to find the time. My feed is cohesive, and it's obvious it's a post from me without "me" even being in the shot. And the best part? it's been almost three months, and I'm no where near running out of content to use.

The results speak for themselves...

+13.9% followers

+41.4% profile views

+49% views from non-followers

+426% interactions

Don't get me wrong, I'm no expert and eventually I'd LOVE to be able to have my socials professionally managed so I can have those viral moments and have a really far reach - but for now, I'm thrilled with what I've been able to achieve purely through investing in one content shoot.  I've even had a couple of messages from people asking who's designing my templates and managing my content.

The one thing I've not done yet is shared any of the post-ready reels, the edits are genuinely amazing (especially when I know how much rambling I did!),

I just haven't had the confidence yet. But as I've typed this I've realised how silly that is, and I've scheduled the founder reel to go live on Monday (according to my insights my audience are most engaged on this day!).

I cannot thank Natasha enough, I'm already looking forward to working with her again later this year. If you are in need of a social media manager or want to arrange a content shoot for you to improve your own socials then please get in touch with RCC Social - you won't be disappointed.

Instagram: @rccsocial

Email Address: rcc.eventsinfo@gmail.com