I woke up to one of the most terrifying messages a business owner can see: my Threads account was banned. Just like that. My heart dropped into my stomach. 

For a moment, I was trying to convince myself it was a mistake and think of something maybe I did wrong.

“Wow, what did I do to cause this to myself?”

I went about my day, trying to be calm, but it was impossible.

My mind was racing.

A couple of days later, the ban was lifted, and I was so relieved.

I posted again, and boom, banned again.

That’s when the real fear set in.

I remember thinking, “This could actually be a ban forever.

What am I going to do?

What does this mean for my business?”

I know what y’all are probably thinking: “Why does it matter so much if you get banned from a social media app?”

Well, let’s be real.

Threads was my top income-driven platform.

I had not only been consistent with posting on it, but I had doubled down.

It was my main stage, my primary source of visibility, and my go-to for client attraction.

I had a 5-minute meltdown on my kitchen floor after a friend asked me how I was really doing, but something incredible happened during that panic.

I noticed that being dependent on a single social media platform was a terrible business strategy.

My entire online presence was a house built on borrowed land.

I had put all my eggs in one basket, a basket I didn’t even own.

This was the moment I realized I needed a simple business strategy that would allow me to be everywhere without being dependent on a single channel.

I knew I had to pivot to a more secure, off-social media approach.

This was the moment that truly took me from the struggles of 2024 into my CEO mindset for 2025.

The Flaw in My Old Social Media Strategy

My old strategy was a simple content creation loop that was entirely dependent on social media:

• I would post on Threads 5-6 times a day.
• I would then turn that Thread into a short TikTok video.
• I would take the TikTok video and turn it into an Instagram Reel.
• Then, I’d share the Reel to my stories with a call to action for my offer or freebie.

The problem with this social media strategy?

It was a content hamster wheel.

I would create content on platforms that weren’t even mine.

I was constantly a risk of losing my audience, my leads, and my business due to an algorithm change or a sudden policy shift.

I learned the hard way that social media is not a business… it’s just a tool for one.

My entire livelihood was at the mercy of another company’s rules, and that’s not a business.

That’s a hobby with a lot of risk.

The New, Aligned Business Strategy

That ban forced me to step into my CEO mindset.

A CEO doesn’t build their company on a platform they don’t own.

A CEO invests in foundations that are secure.

My new strategy is focused on building evergreen content on a platform I own and control: my website.

It’s an online business strategy for business growth and a CEO mindset.

Here’s my new loop:

• I create a blog post on my website first. This is my home base. This is an asset I own forever.
• I turn that blog post into a full video podcast.
• I share the full video podcast to YouTube, another evergreen platform.
• I then cut small, valuable pieces of the video podcast into TikToks and Instagram Reels to share on social media.
• I repeat the old strategy of sharing those short videos to my stories with a call to action.

This is a blog-first content strategy because I always have a secure home base for my best work.

Even if TikTok or Instagram disappears tomorrow, my online business is secure.

My audience can still find my blog, my podcast, and my YouTube channel.

The One-Thing Foundation

Now, let’s be real, this new strategy is a lot.

If you do not have a team or help like I do now, I’d suggest you stick to ONE off-socials platform (like a blog or a podcast) that you can maintain for ONE entire year.

You have to build that solid foundation first before you try to be everywhere.

It’s like trying to build a multi-story house before you’ve even poured the foundation.

You’ll just get stressed out and burn out.

What this social media ban taught me was the most valuable lesson for online business growth.

I needed to get my business off social media, but not entirely.

Social media is an incredible tool for building a beautiful business… you just have to know when it’s time to build your own website so your business can never be taken away from you.

If you’re out there posting every day but still not landing leads and making sales, it’s not because you’re not doing enough.

It’s because you haven’t gone back to the basics and truly defined your target audience and their pain points.

Let’s fix that.

Join my free 5-Day Spark Implementation Challenge over inside my Facebook group, and we’ll help you stop guessing and start building a business that can’t be taken away from you.

Lisbethgraham.co/freechallenge

P.S. Ready to join a program that gets you results by helping you land clients and make sales without guessing what you need to do to make this happen?

Join The Phoenix Arising that focuses on building a simple business strategy to work 2-3 hours a day. 

lisbethgraham.co/alignment