Social Media Decoded

What happens when a local business stops simply posting on social media and starts using a real visibility strategy?

In this episode of Social Media Decoded, visibility strategist and Thames Media Solutions founder Michelle Thames takes listeners behind the scenes of a real local marketing case study with Honey Bee Gardens in Downers Grove, Illinois.

In roughly 30 days, Michelle and her team helped the farm create a more strategic approach to social media, storytelling, email marketing, calls to action, community marketing, automation, and customer follow-up.

And the results started showing up beyond likes and followers.

The farm reported 180 new customers from social media in one week, Farm-to-Table Dinner registrations grew from approximately 20 to 67, and one promotional Reel generated 800+ comments.

But this episode isn't about chasing viral numbers.

It's about turning visibility into action.

Michelle breaks down the exact strategy behind the results—and the lessons any local business owner can use to make their marketing work harder.

In This Episode, You'll Learn:

Why posting consistently is not the same as having a marketing strategy

How to identify a visibility problem inside a local business

Why businesses should market experiences instead of constantly marketing themselves

How storytelling creates curiosity and gives customers a reason to visit

Why clarity is essential for converting social media followers into customers

How Honey Bee Gardens' Farm-to-Table Dinner grew from approximately 20 registrations to 67

What Michelle's team learned from a Reel that generated more than 800 comments

How automation helped turn social media interest into a clear path to registration

Why engagement means very little without a next step

How Honey Bee Gardens reported 180 new customers coming from social media in one week

How strategic marketing helped rebuild momentum despite weather-related cancellations

Why local businesses need multiple marketing touchpoints instead of relying solely on Instagram

How email, Facebook, social media, websites, events, automation, and word of mouth work together

Why every piece of content needs a specific job

How to use data to adjust your content strategy in real time

Why a strong customer experience has to exist before marketing can amplify it

The difference between a social media problem and a visibility-system problem

The Honey Bee Gardens Results

When Thames Media Solutions began working with Honey Bee Gardens around July 27, one of the immediate goals was increasing awareness and driving more people to the farm's experiences.
One major focus was the Farm-to-Table Dinner.

At the beginning of the partnership, approximately 20 people were registered.

That number grew to approximately 67 registrations.

Content surrounding the dinner also generated significant interest, including one Reel that received 800+ comments.

Instead of allowing that engagement to stop at the comment section, Michelle created an automated follow-up process through Meta's business tools so interested people could receive the registration link.

The strategy connected:

Content → Interest → CTA → Follow-Up → Link → Opportunity to Convert

The farm also reported 180 new customers attributed to social media during one week, based on asking visitors how they discovered the farm.

During the broader campaign period, website sessions also surpassed 8,300, representing an increase of approximately 160% compared with the previous period.

Michelle explains why these numbers should not all be attributed to one Reel or one marketing channel. Social media, email, existing customers, word of mouth, the farm's reputation, repeated promotion, and other touchpoints all worked together.

That's exactly why businesses need a marketing ecosystem.

Stop Selling the Business. Start Selling the Experience.

One of the biggest changes was shifting the messaging away from simply telling people to "visit the farm."
Instead, the strategy answered the question:

Why should someone come?

Family activities.

Adult experiences.

Farm-to-Table dining.

Flowers.

Seasonal activities.

Weekend outings.

Homeschool experiences.

Local events.

The business wasn't simply selling access to a farm.

It was showing potential customers:

"Here's what your Saturday could look like."

That shift makes marketing more relevant to the customer's actual life.

The Visibility System

Michelle shares a six-part framework local businesses can use to evaluate their marketing:
1. Discovery: Can the right people find you?

2. Curiosity: Does your content make them care?

3. Clarity: Do they understand what you're offering?

4. Action: Do they know what to do next?

5. Follow-Up: What happens after someone shows interest?

6. Retention: How are you getting customers to return?

You don't necessarily need 100 more posts.

You need these six pieces working together.

Content Needs a Job

Before creating your next Reel, Facebook post, email, or video, ask:
What is this content supposed to do?

Is it designed to create discovery?

Build trust?

Drive registrations?

Capture leads?

Start conversations?

Bring customers through the door?

When content has a clear job, marketing becomes much more strategic.

Ready to Build Your Visibility Strategy?

If you're posting consistently but aren't sure why that attention isn't turning into customers, clients, registrations, or revenue, Michelle offers 1:1 Visibility Strategy Calls.
During the session, you'll look at your:

Visibility

Messaging

Content

Offers

Customer journey

Follow-up

Marketing ecosystem

The goal isn't another generic social media consultation telling you to post more Reels.
It's identifying where people are dropping off and developing a visibility strategy connected to what your business is actually trying to accomplish.

DM Michelle the word STRATEGY to learn more about booking a 1:1 Visibility Strategy Call.

Join the Conversation

Where is your visibility system breaking down?
Discovery? Curiosity? Clarity? Conversion? Follow-up? Retention?

If you're listening on Spotify, leave your answer in the episode comments.

If you're listening on Apple Podcasts, leave a review and share your biggest takeaway from this case study.

Key Takeaway

The goal of visibility isn't to be seen by everybody.
It's to be seen by the right people—and make it easy for them to take the next step.

Don't just post.

Tell better stories.

Create curiosity.

Give people a clear reason to act.

Follow up.

Watch the data.

Adjust the strategy.

And most importantly:

Know the job of your content.

Because when your content has a job, your marketing gets a whole lot smarter.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What if growing your business doesn’t require creating more content, launching another offer, or spending even more time on social media?

In this episode of Social Media Decoded, marketing strategist and entrepreneur Michelle Thames shares why she’s approaching September differently. Instead of doing more, she’s focusing on making the visibility, content, relationships, and platforms she has already built work harder.

After years of building her personal brand, podcast, email list, local visibility, speaking opportunities, partnerships, events, and community, Michelle is shifting from constant creation to leverage.

She breaks down what has actually moved her business forward—and why relationships, follow-up, community, strategic partnerships, and a connected visibility ecosystem often create more opportunities than simply posting more.

If you're an entrepreneur who feels like you're constantly creating but not getting enough business from your visibility, this episode will help you rethink your strategy.

In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

Why doing more isn't always the answer to business growth

The difference between being busy and building momentum

What has actually created opportunities in Michelle's business

Why relationships are an essential part of a visibility strategy

How Michelle is batching her podcast and content to create more freedom

How to repurpose one idea across multiple marketing channels

Why email marketing needs to do more than promote your offers

How to turn podcasting into a larger authority-building strategy

Why speaking opportunities need a clear next step

How strategic partnerships can expand your reach faster than building alone

Why Michelle is investing more deeply in community

How to create a visibility ecosystem that connects your content, email, podcast, events, offers, and relationships

Why entrepreneurs should focus on leverage instead of constantly adding more

The September Shift: From More to Leverage

Michelle's focus for September is simple:
Stop automatically adding more. Start leveraging what already works.

That means batching content instead of reinventing it every day.

Nurturing an existing email list instead of only chasing new followers.

Following up with relationships instead of constantly looking for new contacts.

Turning podcast episodes into emails, social media content, speaking points, and community conversations.

Being more selective about events, collaborations, and speaking opportunities.

And creating a business that doesn't require the founder to be online every minute for the business to keep growing.

Because sometimes growth isn't addition.

Sometimes growth is leverage.

Join the Conversation

Michelle wants to hear from you.
If you're listening on Spotify, finish this sentence in the episode comments:

“In September, I'm no longer __________.”

What are you simplifying, eliminating, or refusing to force in your business?

If you're listening on Apple Podcasts, leave a review and share your answer there.

Join Connected & Paid

If you're ready to become more intentional about your visibility, relationships, implementation, and business growth without trying to figure everything out alone, join Michelle inside Connected & Paid.
Connected & Paid is a community for ambitious women who want to become more visible, build meaningful relationships, create opportunities, and turn their expertise into a business that works.

DM Michelle the word CONNECTED to learn more.

Key Takeaway

You may not need another platform.
You may not need another offer.

You may not need more content.

You may not even need more followers.

You may need to make what you've already built work harder.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What if growing your business online didn’t require creating brand-new content every single day?

In this episode of Social Media Decoded, Michelle Thames sits down with creator, educator, agency owner, and Call Her Creator podcast host Katelyn Rhoades for a real conversation about visibility, content systems, creator confidence, and building a business that doesn’t depend on one platform or one income stream.

Katelyn shares how she went from working a traditional marketing job to building an online audience, launching a social media agency, growing a podcast, creating digital products, landing brand partnerships, and developing her Visibility Vault.

But the biggest lesson?

You don’t have to constantly reinvent the wheel to stay visible.

Michelle and Katelyn break down how repeatable content frameworks, recognizable branding, strategic repurposing, strong hooks, carousels, email marketing, and documenting your real life can help you become memorable without burning yourself out trying to create something new every day.

In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

How Katelyn used social media visibility to leave her job and build her own business

Why consistently showing up online can create opportunities you never expected

How to stop putting pressure on yourself to create completely new content every day

Why content frameworks and repeatable templates can actually make you more creative

How recognizable branding helps people remember your content

Why your best-performing content should be repurposed instead of abandoned

How Katelyn reviews 30-, 60-, and 90-day content performance to decide what to create next

Why people probably didn’t see your content the first time you posted it

How to use carousels strategically with stronger hooks, value, and calls to action

Why documenting your real life can sometimes connect better than highly polished content

How visibility helped Katelyn land opportunities including Forbes, podcast sponsorships, speaking, and brand work

Why being good at what you do isn’t enough if nobody knows you exist

How showing up online can strengthen your confidence as an entrepreneur

Why follower count shouldn’t determine whether you start pitching yourself or sharing your expertise

How email can create deeper relationships when you stop treating every message like a marketing campaign

Why entrepreneurs should build multiple streams of income

How Katelyn currently monetizes through agency services, creator partnerships, podcasting, digital products, memberships, and the Visibility Vault

Why building an email list, podcast, or other owned audience matters if social media disappears

How authenticity will become even more valuable as AI-generated content becomes more common

Stop Reinventing the Wheel

One of the biggest lessons from this conversation is that consistency doesn’t mean creating something completely different every day.
Look at what’s already working.

Repurpose it.

Turn it into a series.

Update the hook.

Change the example.

Use the same framework again.

Your audience probably hasn’t seen everything you’ve already created—and recognizable content can actually strengthen your personal brand.

The goal isn’t to constantly surprise people with a completely different version of yourself.

The goal is to become recognizable enough that people know your content before they even see your name.

Visibility Creates Opportunities

Katelyn’s story is proof that visibility can open doors you couldn’t have planned for.
Her decision to consistently share what she knew online ultimately helped create opportunities including growing a large audience, launching an agency, starting a podcast, landing media exposure, working with brands, speaking, and creating multiple revenue streams.

Michelle and Katelyn also discuss an important truth for anyone who has been hiding:

Someone with less experience or expertise may be receiving opportunities simply because they are willing to consistently show people what they know.

You don’t want to become your industry’s best-kept secret.

Build Beyond Social Media

Instagram may be an important visibility tool, but it shouldn’t be your entire business.
This episode also explores why creators and entrepreneurs should build an ecosystem that includes channels such as:

Social media

Email

Podcasting

YouTube

PR

Digital products

Services

Brand partnerships

Community

The more ways people can discover, learn from, and stay connected to you, the less dependent your business becomes on any single algorithm.
About Katelyn Rhoades

Katelyn Rhoades is a creator, educator, entrepreneur, social media agency owner, and host of the Call Her Creator podcast.
She also created the Visibility Vault, a collection of tried-and-tested Canva templates, captions, and plug-and-play resources designed to help creators stay visible without starting from scratch every time they post.

Her approach combines content strategy, visibility systems, confidence, authenticity, and practical tools that help entrepreneurs consistently show up online.

Join the Conversation

What part of this conversation hit you the hardest?
Are you putting too much pressure on yourself to create something new every day?

Are you sitting on content you could repurpose?

Are you letting follower count keep you from showing up?

Or do you need to finally start building your email list?

If you’re listening on Spotify, leave a comment and tell us your biggest takeaway.

If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts, leave a review and let Michelle know what you’re changing after listening to this episode.

And if this conversation reminded you of another entrepreneur or creator who needs permission to stop overthinking their content, send this episode to them.

Key Takeaway

Visibility isn’t about doing more just for the sake of doing more.
It’s about doing the right things consistently enough to become recognizable.

Stop trying to recreate the wheel every day.

Show up.

Share what you know.

Repurpose what works.

Build relationships.

Build your email list.

And create a business people can discover in more than one place.

Because the visibility you build today could create opportunities months—or even years—from now.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Getting more views, followers, and attention on social media does not automatically mean you’re building a profitable business.

In this episode of Social Media Decoded, Michelle Thames breaks down the four stages of visibility every entrepreneur, creator, and personal brand needs to understand:

Being seen. Being known. Being trusted. Being paid.

Michelle shares what she has learned firsthand after generating millions of views, creating local content that has reached hundreds of thousands of people, attracting brand opportunities, and watching her content open doors for both her business and the businesses she features.

The biggest lesson?

A viral video is not a business strategy. It’s an attention event.

If your visibility doesn’t lead people somewhere, you may be getting attention without creating revenue.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Why more followers may not be the solution to your business growth problem

The difference between being seen and actually becoming known

How positioning helps people associate your name with a specific problem, solution, or expertise

Why constantly posting random content can actually confuse your audience

How to build trust through consistency, case studies, stories, results, and showing how you think

Why your audience needs proof before they are ready to buy

How to turn social media visibility into clients, partnerships, speaking opportunities, and revenue

Why every piece of attention needs a clear destination

How to create a visibility ecosystem using social media, podcasts, email marketing, events, offers, and community

The four questions you should ask when auditing your current personal brand and content strategy

Michelle also shares how her recent return to content creation has helped her rethink her own business ecosystem and why the ultimate goal is not simply going viral.
The goal is becoming known by the right people, trusted for the right thing, and paid for the value you provide.

The 4 Stages of Visibility

1. Seen: People discover you.
2. Known: People begin associating you with a specific topic, solution, or expertise.

3. Trusted: Your content, experience, results, stories, and consistency give people a reason to believe you can help them.

4. Paid: Your visibility leads to a clear offer, opportunity, client, partnership, product, service, event, or community.

If people are watching your content but you’re struggling to turn that attention into business, this episode will help you identify exactly where the disconnect may be.

Join Connected & Paid

Connected & Paid is where Michelle is helping women actually build this muscle.
Inside the community, women entrepreneurs and professionals are learning how to become more visible, strengthen their positioning, build strategic relationships, create opportunities, follow up, make the ask, and ultimately turn visibility into revenue.

If you’ve been thinking:

“People are watching me, but I’m not making enough money.”

or

“I know I’m good at what I do, but I’m not known for it yet.”

Connected & Paid was created to help you bridge that gap.

Check the links in the show notes to learn more about Connected & Paid and connect with Michelle before joining.

Your Visibility Audit

After listening, ask yourself:
Can people see me?

Do people know me for something specific?

Have I given people enough evidence to trust me?

Is there an obvious way for people to pay me?

Because visibility without a next step is just attention.

Share This Episode

Know an entrepreneur who keeps saying, “I just need more followers”?
Send them this episode.

You may not need a bigger audience.

You may need a better strategy for moving the audience you already have from:

Seen → Known → Trusted → Paid.

If you’re listening on Spotify, answer the episode question:

Which stage are you in right now: seen, known, trusted, or paid?

And if the episode helped you, share it to your Instagram Stories, tag Michelle, and leave a review on Apple Podcasts.

About Social Media Decoded

Social Media Decoded helps entrepreneurs, creators, and business owners understand what it actually takes to build visibility, grow a recognizable brand, create meaningful relationships, and turn their online presence into business opportunities.
Hosted by marketing and visibility strategist Michelle Thames, the show goes beyond simply posting on social media and explores the strategy behind becoming known, trusted, connected, and paid.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What happens when business slows down, clients leave, and you have to figure out how to become visible again?

In this episode of Social Media Decoded, Michelle Thames shares the real story behind her recent business rebuild, her return to content creation, and the visibility strategy that helped create more than 2.1 million video views in roughly 90 days.

Michelle breaks down how going back to being a creator changed everything—from local viral content and increased brand visibility to paid partnerships, sponsorship conversations, brand deals, travel opportunities, and new business opportunities.

This is not an episode about chasing virality.

It is about learning how to become known.

Michelle shares what she learned from losing clients, rebuilding her business, creating content without constantly selling, and using social media visibility to create real-world opportunities.

In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

Why disappearing during a slow business season can hurt your growth

How Michelle generated 2.1M+ video views through organic content

Why shares and saves can matter more than vanity metrics

How local content helped create brand deals and paid opportunities

Why every piece of content does not need to sell an offer

The difference between going viral and becoming known

How strong positioning turns visibility into business opportunities

Why your existing skills may be the key to your next business chapter

How to use social media content to create leverage when pitching brands

What to do when you are rebuilding your business and questioning your next move

Key Takeaway

The strategy is not going viral. The strategy is becoming known.
When people understand who you are, what you do, and what you should be known for, visibility can lead to referrals, brand partnerships, clients, speaking opportunities, collaborations, and revenue.

Mentioned in This Episode

Michelle shares recent social media results including:

2.1M+ video views

28K+ shares

17K+ saves

Multiple videos reaching more than 100K views

Paid brand and business collaborations

Sponsorship opportunities

Travel and hospitality partnerships

Increased local visibility and recognition

Your Visibility Homework

Ask yourself:
What do I want people to know me for?

Then look at your content and ask whether your current social media presence reinforces that message.

If not, that may be the visibility gap holding your brand back.

Work With Michelle

If you are posting consistently but your social media presence is not creating opportunities, Michelle’s Visibility Audit can help you identify what is unclear, what is hurting your positioning, and where you should focus next.
Find the Visibility Audit and additional resources in the links associated with this episode.

Connect With Michelle

Follow Michelle Thames for more on:
Social media marketing

Content creation

Personal branding

Visibility strategy

Brand partnerships

Entrepreneurship

Local marketing

Creator strategy

Building a recognizable brand

Subscribe to Social Media Decoded on Apple Podcasts and Spotify so you never miss an episode.

If this episode resonated with you, leave a review and share it with an entrepreneur who is rebuilding, pivoting, or ready to become more visible.

 

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.