How To Create Valuable Social Content

In 2019 when I found out I was named one of LinkedIn’s Top Voices, I was stunned. While I am no social media novice, I post on my own schedule and when I do, I keep it simple. I strive to post valuable content that people will engage with and share because it makes a positive difference in their lives. Viral doesn’t matter to me—impact does. This approach has helped me reach nearly half a million people on social media and LinkedIn posts with nearly three million views in 2021. Here are my top five tips for creating valuable social media content:

1)Do it yourself.

If you’re trying to establish or advance yourself as a thought leader you’ll need to have...well...thoughts. You can recruit someone to help you develop strategy, organize, edit, and schedule your posts, but ultimately what people consume needs to be sourced from your mind, your heart, and your soul. If it’s not, people can tell; they have a nose for authenticity. Creating your own social media content is a commitment, so you’ll need a bigger motivation than just gaining followers. In my case, my life’s work is advancing women and girls. Everything I write is intended to uplift, offer tools, or increase awareness to help women create a life they’re passionate about. I wake up every morning to fulfill this mission. As you’re considering your own commitment to creating valuable content, ask yourself: What’s my deepest intention? What difference do I want my content to make in the lives of people and in the world? If you are looking for a deeper exploration into your life’s purpose, check out Emily Esfahani Smith's book, The Power of Meaning.

2)Be consistent (but not in the way you think).

Every social media strategist I’ve collaborated with encourages me to post more frequently and on a regular schedule. I had to #droptheball on that years ago. Who can keep up when you’re doing it yourself?! To me, being consistent isn’t about the quantity of the content, it’s about the quality and your ability to stick to a theme or topic. In order to build a brand, people need to know what they can rely on you for. I once saw an interview with Oprah Winfrey where she was asked why she felt she was successful. She answered, “I know what my lane is and I stay in it.” For the past two decades my lane has been women’s advancement and the work/life integration required to achieve it. All of my content touches on this theme in some way. As you’re developing your content strategy ask yourself: What do I want to be a resource on? How can my expertise, gifts or talents help others? If you’re not sure what your lane should be, I highly recommend Rha Goddess's book, The Calling, to help you get clear about where you can achieve the most impact.

3)Pick one platform.

If you can be like Gary Vaynerchuk and produce 64 pieces of content in a day across Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube, more power to you. For those of us who are mere content mortals, I recommend selecting one platform where you’re going to slay. Draft your content for that primary platform and then adapt that same piece of content for 2 to 3 others. To decide your primary platform, ask yourself the following questions:

• What content format highlights my strengths? For example, I’m a writer so my primary platform is LinkedIn where I can upload paragraphs. Twitter isn’t enough word count for my storytelling and Insta prioritizes visual content.
• Where is my audience? I’m largely curating solutions for mid-career women looking for support to advance their personal and professional lives. If they only have time to create one social profile it’s likely to be on LinkedIn.
• What platform brings me the most joy? That’s right. You can Marie Kondo your social platforms. Choose the platform where you get the most energy and/or where you naturally gravitate.

Bottom line: You don’t need to be everywhere all the time. Focus on the one platform that’s right for you.

4)Be timely and fresh.

No matter how brilliant you are, there’s nothing you’re going to say that hasn’t been said before so take the pressure off yourself. As the prolific writer Veronica Chambers taught me: “It’s more important to be fresh than to be original.” It’s good to weigh in on current events so that your content is timely and relevant to your audience. The downside to this strategy is that everyone and their mom is talking about the same thing. This means your subject isn’t unique, but your lens can be. Take this post celebrating Chloé Zhao's historic Academy Award win as Best Director. The next morning, most media coverage focused on China’s censorship of her and the lack of diversity in the entertainment industry. I took a fresh spin by sharing a feature article that had been published two months previously and keeping the spotlight on Zhao where I felt it belonged. The post earned 82k views and 2.5k responses. When drafting content ask yourself: Am I contributing something fresh to the conversation?

5)Balance vulnerability with wisdom.

Perfect lifestyles, images, and stories proliferated on social media mostly inspire people to feel terrible. This is especially true for young people. According to an internal Instagram presentation uncovered by the Wall Street Journal, executives admitted, “We make body issues worse for one in three teenage girls.” Because we tend to compare ourselves to others, if you want to create content that helps people, you’ll need to be honest about your own imperfection so that people can relate to you. But here’s the catch: If you’re vulnerable on social media, especially when sharing personal and professional challenges, you must simultaneously offer grounded insights. If you share too much about your problems but you don’t deliver a new perspective or any advice you’re not a thought leader. My most recent post about my daughter not liking me is a good example of valuable content that keeps it real and asks for help (thank you for all of the pep talks!). At the same time the post offers the reader an alternative perspective on a parenting situation by incorporating the balance between likeability and respect women often face in the workplace. As of the publication of this newsletter the post has generated over one million views. When drafting content ask yourself: Am I being honest about my insecurity, ignorance or weakness? Am I offering guidance, insight or inspiration?

The most critical advice I want to leave you with is this: Creating valuable social media content requires thoughtfulness and effort. If you have to take a break because of other demands in your life, cut yourself some slack. The people who are moved by your message will always welcome you back.

Would you like a group of people to bounce content ideas off of and to create some accountability as you take your thought leadership to the next level? Consider joining The Cru. We match women in accountability circles to meet their life goals. If you apply by 11:59pm ET on October 4th, you’ll qualify to receive an exclusive, private 20-minute one-on-one content coaching session with yours truly. Limited spots available. Apply now.