Day 11 Transcript
NOTE: Today’s transcript is followed by an AI prompt that can be used with your AI provider of choice. Just copy and paste it into ChatGPT or Perplexity and it will help you answer today’s questions for your specific side hustle… the way a human teaching assistant would help you in an Ivy League university. If you’re eager for more on today’s topic, I’ve included a Secret Dessert Course at the very end — a bonus section that isn’t directly covered in today’s video but has a lot of value practical, hands-on value. That dessert also comes with its own AI prompt.
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Part 1: Use Social Media as a Sales Funnel
Don't be an ad.
Don't chase followers.
Don't mistake attention for trust.
Don't change for the algo.
Be original, even if that means being boring.
Live in your DMs, building relationships.
Do what you say you're going to do.
Be the algo.
Welcome to week 2, Day 11 of starting your side hustle! We’re taking 28 Days-- 28 small steps-- to build a business that’s meaningful, impactful, and profitable. Today’s focus is on the proper use of social media… which isn’t doom scrolling… It’s treating those platforms as sales funnels– getting your followership to follow you off those platforms onto something you own. That’s the proper use of engagement.
A little aside: The word engagement is itself engineered to distract you from what social media really is. It’s a sales machine. It's more personalized television. And its impact– like TV– is overwhelmingly negative. TV at least had PBS– like Bert and Ernie– and because there were only 3 or 4 channels, you could shape a national discussion– like getting an entire country to change its views on gay marriage because they’re all watching Will and Grace. Social media killed what little good TV was doing. The game is now entirely about advertising– monetizing engagement.
Anywho… let’s talk about how to turn your social media presence into a finely tuned sales funnel. If you’re unfamiliar with the idea of a sales funnel– I’ll put a picture up right here. We briefly touched on it last week– Day 3– when we were talking about competitive analysis. But basically, a sales funnel is the journey your audience takes from discovering you– your brand, your hustle– to becoming loyal customers. It’s about moving people from “Who are you?” to “Take my money!” to “Keep taking my money!”
Three quick real life examples of influencers who are using their social media to drive their followers to their hustles: Huda Kattan, MrBeast and Emma Chamberlain.
Huda started as a beauty blogger and she realized that her audience trusted her recommendations so she launched Huda Beauty. Her first product sold out almost instantly. Today, she is a global cosmetics powerhouse, and her social media remains the company’s primary sales engine.
Example two: Jimmy Donaldson– MrBeast– who… still… combines viral stunts and philanthropy. He launched Feastables, his chocolate and snack brand and turned his massive subscriber base into millions of dollars worth of chocolate bar sales.
And example 3: Emma Chamberlain: the YouTuber behind Chamberlain Coffee. I’ll stop. You don’t need more examples but there are a ton.
So let’s move on and take a shot at answering today’s two critical questions:
1. What role does each social media platform play in your funnel? And
2. How do you create content that meets your audience where they are in their journey?
That first question is important because not all social media platforms are created equal, and trying to use them all the same way is a noob mistake. It’s a mistake I make it all the time… because I refuse to dance. TikTok might be perfect for top-of-funnel awareness, while YouTube or Instagram could shine in the consideration phase, and LinkedIn might close the deal. The question forces you to map each platform’s strengths to specific stages of your funnel, reminding you that every post has a purpose.
The second question is important because it starts from the idea that your audience isn’t monolithic—they’re at different stages of knowing your brand. Some are just discovering you (awareness and interest), others are weighing their options (evaluation and engagement), and a few are ready to throw money at you (action). The question reminds you that you should be crafting content tailored to each stage– not simply for each platform– but for each stage of your audience’s journey… making it easier for your audience to move down the funnel.
Working through these questions matters… because you’re exercising your focus muscle, your prioritization muscle. The first question makes sure you’re not wasting time or resources on platforms that don’t align with your goals. You’re being strategic—like using TikTok for virality, YouTube for storytelling, LinkedIn for the trust-based nurturing of leads. And the second question makes sure that your content doesn’t just entertain but actively drives people closer to conversion.
I always thought that the term “customer journey” was cheesy– but it's delicious in its cheesiness – knowing… crafting… shaping… your customer’s journey is how you turn followers into revolutionaries– people who will– to quote my landing page– Join the Uprising.
Ok. Take a moment and try to answer the Day 11 questions for your hustle without AI and before you listen to the next section-- the 28-Day Ivy League MBA. I personally think it's useful to try to answer questions without AI first, but if you'd rather do that: The AI teaching assistant prompt will drop with today's case study... in a couple of hours. If you don't know what I'm talking about, check out Lunch Break Millionaire Day Zero... or go over to superserious.com where I’m posting daily transcripts. The AI prompts are there too. That's it. Hustle smarter.
Part 2: 💼 Optimize Your Social Funnel: Today's Ivy League MBA Skill
Day 11, Part 2 of Lunch Break Millionaire– where we turn whatever you're eating for lunch into an Ivy League MBA degree. Since we’re talking about funnels, I was going to suggest sushi: the cone-shaped gift from God: open-style temaki– Japan’s answer to tacos! And the MBA skill we’re going to pick up today is social media funnel optimization.
That’s a mouthful of jargon but I’ll explain it all. Social media isn’t just for scrolling, liking, or posting random stuff and hoping for the best. If you want your hustle to grow, you’ve got to treat every platform like a piece of a sales machine—a finely tuned funnel that moves people from “never heard of you” to “take my money” to “I can’t live without this.” That’s what the pros do. They don’t just post for engagement. They design every step of the journey, and they measure what actually works.
Here’s how it breaks down. Every social platform plays a different role in your funnel.
TikTok, Reels and Shorts are where people first discover you—awareness– top of the funnel, all about grabbing attention and getting people curious. Long form YouTube could be where you build trust, show behind-the-scenes stuff, and get people to care about your story. Maybe LinkedIn is where you prove your credibility and where you connect with partners. Your job is to figure out what role each platform plays for your hustle, and then use it on purpose– intentionality(!).
But it doesn’t stop there. Once you know what each platform is for, you’ve got to create content that meets people where they are in their journey. Someone who just found you on TikTok isn’t ready to buy—they need quick hits, big hooks, something that makes them stop scrolling.
Someone who’s been following you on Instagram for a while? Well, they want to see what makes you different, why they should trust you, maybe that’s why you’re posting the behind-the-scenes stuff or a story that makes them feel like they’re part of your world.
And when they’re finally ready to buy, you need to make it dead simple for them to take action—maybe that’s a link in your bio, a DM, or a call to action in your stories.
Now, let’s get to the really fancy MBA part: attribution modeling. That’s just an expensive way of saying, “How do I know what’s actually working?” If you’re posting on five platforms, running ads, sending emails—how do you know which one is bringing in the sales? That’s attribution. The basics are simple: use unique links (UTMs), track where your clicks and signups are coming from, and pay attention to the numbers. If you see that most of your sales are coming from Instagram stories, double down there. If TikTok is getting you tons of views but nobody’s buying, maybe you need to tweak your content or your call to action.
Let’s tie this back to today’s questions. When you’re asking, “What role does each social media platform play in your funnel?” you’re really mapping out your customer’s journey from stranger to superfan. And when you ask, “How do you create content that meets your audience where they are?” you’re thinking like a strategist. You’re building a system that moves people step by step, and you’re using real data to make every post, every story, every DM count.
Take a sec and sketch out your own funnel. It can look exactly like mine if you want. Write down each platform you use, and next to it, what stage of the journey it’s best for—awareness, trust, conversion, loyalty.
Then, whenever you’re looking at your content, you’ll know the answer to: Where did people actually engage? Where did you get clicks, signups, sales? If you don’t know, start tracking. Use link trackers, ask people where they found you, or just pay attention to your analytics. The goal isn’t to be everywhere—it’s to be intentional, to know what’s working, and to keep improving.
Keep telling yourself, the hustlers who win aren’t the ones who post the most—they’re the ones who know how to turn attention into action, and action into loyalty. That’s how you hustle smarter.
Part 3: Laugh at My Lame Social Funnel (Part 1): The 28-Day Case Study
This is week 2, day 11, part 3 of Lunch Break Millionaire. This is the segment where we #BuildinPublic– where I answer the daily questions every hustle should– using the MBA skills we just learned– and showing my work– sharing how I’m building my hustle from scratch-no filters, just the real journey. You don't need to actually like or subscribe. I'm not doing this for the clicks. But if you’re leveling up from other creators you follow or know, introduce us. I want to learn from them and help them level up, too. We all deserve better than just making rich people richer.
Ok. A little rant while you check out these stats
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I learned a long time– like 5 hustles back– that not all platforms are equally valuable for every stage of the client journey. Ten years ago, I started to write blogs about banking and banking tech on LinkedIn and racked up about 10K followers. Wasn’t trying to sell anything. It was mostly to mentor folks from my day job. About 2 years ago I started a YouTube channel where I posted longer form content– these hour-long walks through the woods where I’d explain in detail the different aspects of banking and tech. Again, wasn’t trying to sell anything. It was mostly to help young people land jobs in banking without having to pay for an online class. And then last year, I started a Tiktok. Not for money but to guide mid-career professionals into c-suite roles. If *I* can land into a CIO, you can land into a CIO role. That kind of thing.
I learned– by accident– not because I’m a genius– I learned that people who watch short posts on TikTok look for ways to get more of that content off-platform. My TikTok profile pointed to my YouTube and I went from a handful of subscribers to– as of last month– 20K hours of watch time. My YouTube profile links to my LinkedIn… So I constantly get invites from people that start with “I just watched you on YouTube and your voice is irritating.”
That flow– Tiktok/InstagramReel/YouTubeShort to YouTube proper to LinkedIn– is a sales funnel… It takes the interest generated by short posts and turns them into a longer evaluation on YouTube proper… which turns into curiosity about me… which turns into engagement on LinkedIn.
I’ll be following that same playbook for metatorial and superserious. Tiktok/InstagramReels/YouTubeShorts is where creators will discover the idea of “Be the Algo.” It’s the perfect platform for awareness—short, punchy videos that challenge the status quo of social media platforms and get people thinking about owning their audience.
YouTube is where I deepen the interest with longer content– with posts that explain how the platform works—how it integrates creators’ content into their followers’ digital lives seamlessly. You get the picture. This is where I focus on the evaluation step in a sales funnel: showing creators why this tool solves their problems better than anything else out there.
You’d think I’d use LinkedIn as my closer. But it’s more of a credibility builder. A way to see that I’m not some 12 years old looking to scam you. I mean I am 12 up here but you’re not going to get that by looking at my LinkedIn. It’s also a different way to engage me… which I encourage by the way. Reach out if you want to talk about your hustle.
Part 4: Laugh at My Lame Social Funnel (Part 2): The 28-Day Case Study
Day 11, Part 4. Ok… As much as I rely on Tiktok, InstagramReels, YouTubeShorts, YouTube proper and LinkedIn, my real closer are the sites I built this week– metatorial.com for companies and superserious.com for independent creators. I close when someone hits my call to action button– where it says Join the Uprising. My site– the end of the digital journey– is where I expect to find professional creators—people who already understand the value of owning their audience and their revenue streams– and who are just looking to connect with someone who cares about what they care about.
There’s a real insight hiding in here somewhere about how your social media strategy isn’t just about weaponizing platforms—it’s about radicalizing mindsets. And you see that in the content. On TikTok, my tone is rebellious and fun (“Stop living in Zuck’s basement”). On YouTube, it’s educational but still playful (“Here’s how your content can follow your audience”). On LinkedIn, it’s professional and mentorly (if that’s a word). Because context matters as much as content.
Today’s exercise forced me to think deeply about my potential audience—where they hang out online, what they care about when they’re on one platform versus another– at each stage of their journey, and how I can meet them there with content that resonates.
Today, I essentially did for my product what my product does for content creators.
We’ll talk more about this tomorrow when we get into content strategy.
Prompt #1 - Turn Your Socials Into a Sales Funnel
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Prompt #1 - Turn Your Socials Into a Sales Funnel ○
Today, you’ll learn how to use social media as more than just a place to post-you’ll turn it into a real sales funnel that attracts, engages, and converts your audience. You’ll be guided by the writings and frameworks of Ivy League faculty whose research is foundational in digital marketing, social commerce, and behavioral science:
- **Professor David Bell, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania:** Expert in digital marketing and online consumer behavior.
- **Professor Sunil Gupta, Harvard Business School:** Specialist in digital strategy and social selling.
- **Professor Sheena Iyengar, Columbia Business School:** Authority on choice architecture and persuasive communication.
**What Today’s Coaching Will Help You With:**
You’ll map out your customer’s journey from first scroll to paying customer, clarify what content belongs at each stage, and design your social profiles so every post nudges people closer to your call-to-action.
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### Step 1: Reflection Questions
Please answer these questions in a few sentences each:
1. **Which social platform(s) do your ideal customers use most, and why?**
- Think about where your audience spends time and what kind of content they engage with.
2. **What is the single action you want your followers to take after seeing your posts?**
- Is it to visit your website, join your email list, DM you, or buy directly?
3. **What is one piece of content you could create this week for each stage of the funnel?**
- Awareness (who are you?), Interest (why should they care?), Decision (why now?), Action (how to buy/contact you).
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### Step 2: MBA Skill – Social Funnel Mapping
Today’s MBA lesson is the Social Funnel:
> Move your audience from “just browsing” to “ready to buy” by matching your content to each stage of their journey.
- **Top of Funnel (Awareness):** Entertaining, shareable, or educational posts that get attention.
- **Middle of Funnel (Interest/Consideration):** Stories, testimonials, or behind-the-scenes content that build trust and curiosity.
- **Bottom of Funnel (Decision/Action):** Clear calls-to-action, offers, or demos that make it easy to take the next step.
Map out your next week of posts so each one has a clear purpose in your funnel.
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### Step 3: Coaching & Optimization
After you reply, I will use the writings of Professors Bell, Gupta, and Iyengar to:
- Help you clarify your funnel’s stages and the best content for each.
- Guide you in optimizing your social profiles and bios for conversion.
- Suggest ways to track what’s working (engagement, clicks, DMs) and quickly adjust.
- Offer examples of real businesses turning social followers into loyal customers with smart funnel design.
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**How to use this prompt:**
- Respond with your answers to the reflection questions and your draft content ideas for each funnel stage.
- I’ll help you refine your funnel, content plan, and profile setup for maximum impact.
- Remember: Social media isn’t just for scrolling-it’s your launchpad for real sales and growth.
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Ready? Share your answers and ideas below. Let’s hustle smarter, one lunch break at a time!
Secret Dessert Course
If you’ve ever felt lost staring at your social media stats, the following prompt breaks down the numbers that actually matter— like reach, engagement, and click-throughs— into plain English, so you can finally see what’s working and what’s just noise. Instead of guessing which posts are connecting or wondering why your follower count isn’t growing, you can work with the AI to figure out how to spot real trends and make smarter decisions with every post.
This is an exercise you should revisit again and again so you can flex your focus muscles on the data that drives real results… so you can tweak, improve, and actually turn your social media into a sales funnel.
Just copy and paste it into your favorite AI assistant to enjoy Day 11’s dessert course.
Prompt #2 - Analyze Social Media Performance
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Prompt #2 - Analyze Social Media Performance ○
Today’s focus: understanding and improving your social media analytics-so you can stop guessing, start measuring, and actually grow your audience and results. You’ll be coached by Ivy League experts in digital marketing, analytics, and behavioral science:
- **Professor David Bell, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania:** Specialist in digital marketing metrics and online consumer behavior.
- **Professor Sunil Gupta, Harvard Business School:** Expert in digital strategy, analytics, and optimizing for engagement and conversion.
- **Professor Sheena Iyengar, Columbia Business School:** Authority on choice architecture and persuasive communication.
**What Today’s Coaching Will Help You With:**
You’ll learn the basics of social media analytics (reach, impressions, engagement, and conversion), how to track them, and how to use the numbers to make smarter content and strategy decisions. By the end, you’ll know exactly what to measure and how to improve your results.
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### Step 1: Tell Us About Your Social Media
Please answer:
1. What is your primary social media platform (Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, etc.)?
2. What is your main goal (e.g., grow followers, drive website traffic, generate leads, boost sales)?
3. Who is your target audience?
4. What type of content do you post most (videos, images, stories, text, etc.)?
5. (Optional) What’s one number you wish you could improve right now?
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### Step 2: Social Media Analytics & Coaching
After you reply, I will use the writings of your Ivy League coaching panel to:
- Explain the key metrics for your platform (reach, impressions, engagement rate, click-through, conversion).
- Show you where to find these numbers in your platform’s analytics dashboard.
- Help you interpret what the numbers mean for your goals (Bell).
- Recommend 2–3 actionable ways to improve your weakest metric (Gupta).
- Suggest simple experiments (like A/B testing content, changing posting times, or tweaking CTAs) to boost results (Iyengar).
- Offer tips for tracking progress and adjusting your strategy over time.
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**How to use this prompt:**
- Respond with your social media details above.
- Your coaching panel will return a step-by-step analytics primer and personalized improvement plan.
- You’ll leave with a clear, actionable roadmap to measure what matters and make your social media work harder for your business.