CCW #006: Build LinkedIn Content Templates & Get Attention in 6 Simple Steps

?" Top creators use templates. Be smart, use content templates."

In this issue, we're going to learn how to create better content with less headache, in less time using content templates. Better templates start with better organized content. Today we discuss the six steps to creating the best LinkedIn content templates.

Let's get started!

Step 1: Choose your audience

Create a character to embody your perfect buyer.

• Start by giving your perfect buyer persona a name; for example, Nurse Nancy or Real Estate Rhonda.
• It will help make your persona easy to reference and remember.

Audit your audience

• Dig into your analytics data for a closer look at audience behavior, i.e. which content they consumed most, which path did they take to the content and where they dropped off during their content journey.

Identify Demographics and Psychographics

• List every characteristic and trait your audience share, including demographics and psychographics.
• Demographics help you identify your audience, while psychographics makes it easy for you to understand why they buy your solutions.

Identify Dreams and Goals

• Take a minute and learn what their short-term and long-term goals are.
• Now, make a list of goals that are relevant to what you offer.

Identify Challenges/Pain Points

• Identify the challenges or pain points they face reaching their goals.
• Take a proactive approach to knowing the things that create pain and frustration for your perfect audience.

Identify How Can You Help?

• How can your solutions remove any of their pain? How can you help them reach a goal? Can you give them something they want and enjoy?

Want to learn more about choosing the perfect audience. Get the Step-by-Step Guide to Building Buyer Personas.

Step 2. Choose the content type.

Focus on formats that add value (entertain, educate, inspire) and deeply connect with your audience.

Who's Your Audience

• The perfect content format is the one that best fits your audience. Content creation is all about reaching out to specific persona types - the persona types most likely to buy your solutions.
• Targeting teens with 1,800-word long-posts about how electric cars benefit the environment performs poorly when compared with scroll-stopping Instagram stories. While long-form, technical white papers are more effective convincing executives looking to secure project financing vs hilarious Twitter memes.
• Your perfect buyer profile will tell you what types of content your audience consumes and favors most.

Which Content Speaks Your Brand?

• The perfect type of content puts your products and brand at the top of your audience’s mind.
• If you’re building trust with your audience, pick content types that give you room to explore and deliver content that educates. But, if your goal is spreading awareness, memes and short videos perform better.

Which Content fits your Social Platform?

• Every social platform behaves differently and attracts different audiences; what performs well on one channel may not perform well on another channel.
• For example, if you're branding content solutions via video explainers, YouTube works great. But shorter videos perform better with Facebook and Twitter. And, if you're targeting B2B markets, eBooks are perfect for LinkedIn.

Everything depends on the attention level of your audience. If you’re competing in a low attention/high-turnover setting, simple content works best (i.e., Instagram and memes). If you’re competing in a high engagement/low-turnover setting, complex content forms will be more effective (i.e., LinkedIn and long-posts).

Step 3. Choose the content objective.

The primary objective of your content is creating and distributing valuable, consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience.

And defining specific content objectives helps identify what your audience should know and be able to do after reading/viewing your content.

7 types of content creation objectives:

1. Sales
2. Announcement
3. Engagement
4. Support
5. Outreach
6. Motivation
7. Celebration

Step 4: Choose the discussion topic.

Deciding who your audience is and what they want from you content, determines the topic of your content. Identify the obvious problem in your audience, and create your content around the non-obvious solution.

Ask questions:

• What topics are useful for your audience?
• What questions does your audience repeatedly asks?
• What solutions are your audience looking for?
• Are there topics you've posted about that can be expanded into long form, major pillar content?

Step 5. Audit your content.

Performing a content audit will help you evaluate content elements and information assets you own, helping you shape your future content strategy and develop your content marketing plan.

You may not realize this, but your old blog posts, LinkedIn updates, and podcasts are a goldmine of ideas! Catalog the content you own.

First thing you should do is take a look at your content analytics to discover which posts received the most views, comments and social shares. This will give you an idea of what people are looking for (which keywords lead people to discover you), and what posts have had the most engagement with your audience.

• Analyze your best performing content.
• Categorize your best performing content.
• Templatize your best performing content.

Step 6. Creating your template

Break your content template down into classes.

• THE INQUIRER – the ask (who, what, when, where, why, how)
• THE CATALYST - the trigger (the one thing, the problem, the disruptor, etc.)
• THE CONVINCER - the confidence (the assurance, the guarantee, the promise, etc.)
• THE TRANSFORMER - the new outcome (more and better content, improved health, more money, etc.)

We’ll use an interrogative sales one-liner post as an example:

The Social Media Content Calendar Template Every Creator Needs -> Get Yours Here

TL;DR

1. Choose your audience.

2. Choose the content type.

3. Choose the content objective.

4. Choose the discussion topic.

5. Audit your content.

6. Create your template.

?Start using templates to accelerate your content and your visibility.

See you next week.

When you're ready, I can help you build 3 ways:?

1.The Dynamo Content Engine: When you're ready to start creating more (and better) content in less time with less frustration.??

2.1:1 Content Creation Sessions: Work 1:1 with me to create better content and with less stress. (Sessions Available)?

3.The Essential Content Creation Resource: Join a community of like-minded creators for weekly podcasts, content training and ask-me-anything sessions.