Start simple when it comes to creating content for your brand.
Nikki James Zellner
Helping mighty SMBs and nonprofits tell stronger stories | Brand Advisor | Visual Advisor | Creative Services | Carbon Monoxide in Schools Safety Activist | Milspouse | 2x Founder
“Hey Nikki –?When it comes to creating content on social media for my personal or professional brand, should I post randomly as thoughts come to me or have some kind of system?”
I find where most people get stuck in content –?is that they don't know what to post. So let's address that.
There is no RIGHT way, but I feel that most people work best with some kind of system, especially if content creation isn't their forte.?
Now, I’m going to *guess* that the majority of you reading this have never created any kind of content system.
Odds are, if you're a creative, you might be breaking out into a cold sweat at the sound of the word.
But if you're an engineer, your antenna has popped up and you are fully tuned in because I've just said the word.
Systems don't have to be scary –?or very time consuming.
I’d like to introduce you to two of the easiest content systems today –?just to get you regularly PRACTICING creating content that connects. These systems are meant for social media posting –?not for email marketing, or blogs, etc.
When it comes to content, please remember the golden rule: your content is FOR someone. While you may have your own flair and style of delivery, the content itself isn’t for you. Think about that someone when you’re writing, and talk to THEM.
Okay, back to the two basic, anyone-can-do-this content systems.
SYSTEM 1: GRID OF 9
A ‘Grid of 9’ really comes from the "Instagram" approach (back when IG was all photos), which is – when you look at someone's feed, you see 9 images at once.
If I never made it past those 9 pieces of content, what could I learn from you? What could I learn about you?
A 'Grid of 9' example only:
Day 1 – Introduction post
Day 2 –?FAQ post
Day 3 –?Behind the scenes post
Day 4 –?Fun/Random
Day 5 –?Testimonial post
Day 6 –?Teaching tip post
Day 7 –?Community poll/Data point post
Day 8 –?'Moral of the story' post
Day 9 –?Sales/Ask post
At the end of the 9 days, your cycle starts over, and you use the same prompts all over again but with different content.
Once you get the prompt style under your belt, you can start to mix and match content types to add some variety.
See how the cycle looks now, adding content type mix:
Day 1 – [Direct to camera video] Introduction post
Day 2 –?[Pro photo] FAQ post
Day 3 –?[Candid Photo] Behind the scenes post
Day 4 –?[Photo] Fun/Random
Day 5 –?[Graphic] Testimonial post
Day 6 –?[Branded Video] Teaching tip post
Day 7 –?[Poll] Community poll/Data point post
Day 8 –?[video storytelling] 'Moral of the story' post
Day 9 –?[Landing page link] Sales/Ask post
See how adding different content types adds CONTRAST? Not everyone consumes content the same way, just like everyone who walks into a furniture store doesn't buy the same chair. So, mixing up your content types is IMPORTANT, and ultimately necessary to grow your personal and professional brand.
Wanna try?
Create a Grid of 9 system for yourself and put it into practice here on LinkedIn. After using for 4 cycles, what did you learn?
Stuck for Grid of 9 prompt ideas? Here’s some other options:
The pros of a Grid of 9:
? You can create your own prompts for the days. No hashtags needed. No one even needs to know you’re working from this kind of system, it seems natural in any social media feed (including LinkedIn).
??Candid photography works really well in this style, without the need for a lot of professional photography as its more of an informal approach to content.
? You have the ability to plan ahead, or post on the fly, because you have the ‘days’ to prompt you as to how you need to frame your content.
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The cons of a Grid of 9:
? Sometimes, doing all of your content ahead of time means everything sounds robotic, and less like a conversation.?
? Sticking to a Grid of 9 at all times can lead to tunnel vision –?where you don’t explore new approaches or styles with your content –?and over time this can start to feel stale.
SYSTEM 2: THEMED DAYS
Your ‘content prompt’ is based on what day of the week it is.
Some folks only do Monday –?Friday, some folks do every day of the week. That call is up to you, based on your goals and personal boundaries.
Here’s a series of “themed day” hashtags to get your mind working:
Themed days can literally be ANYTHING –?and often have a hashtag associated with them to increase their reach to those who love exploring and meeting new folks through hashtags.
Remember: Hashtags should be “searchable” –?they’re not for you, they’re for others. Creating a branded hashtag for promotional purposes is one thing, but when it comes to “themed” days –?you’re using hashtags you want to be FOUND with, so they need to be hashtags that EXIST and ARE USED.
Now, here’s the challenge: Tying the Themed Day BACK to your brand/business. What you post on the regular should be creating four things: curiosity, connection, community, and credibility.
If you’re just throwing out random thoughts with no context, or no tie back to what feeling you want to create/what you want people to do, then Themed Days are not going to make much of a difference for you.
Pros of a Themed Days system:
? Great for those who are brand spanking new to creating content, or brand new to using systems to create content.
? Can increase your network and reach when done thoughtfully, as you are more discoverable.
Cons of a themed-day system:
? It can get stale very quickly.
? Can still feel like you’re churning the wheel for content ideas because the prompts go wide, not deep.
??So many people are using them … it may feel {and appear} unoriginal.
So –?I’d like to stop here for today. On the easy systems.
Yes, there are systems I recommend that are more complex, and need a bit of training and prep-work before implementing. This is particularly true if trying to drive sales, leads, etc. These involve creating your content pillars, topics, etc. and in my case use Calendars and Google Sheets!
But these two –?The Grid of 9 and Themed Days … these two are great if you’re just looking for a simple system that holds you ACCOUNTABLE to creating content, and don’t take an incredible amount of bandwidth. They will help paint a clearer picture of your brand, who you are, how you work with folks, and the way you approach problems people are looking to solve.
Feel free to drop comments, thoughts, or answers to the questions below in the comments. The Content Club community would love to hear from you.
Nikki James Zellner is a content strategist, founder and activist. Wanna learn more from her? Freebies always available on LinkedIn (just hit the follow button!) or book her to speak, teach or coach at www.nikkijameszellner.com.
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1 年Thank you very much for the two options above. As a headshot photographer, I obviously have a steady supply of portraits that I can share on IG, but I feel my audience wants to learn more about what they can expect when they work with me. So, I've been injecting my thoughts and ideas on how they too can have a successful portrait session. In addition to this, what else would you think a potential client might want to know or see from me? One takeaway from your post is to shake things up a bit on my IG channel. So, starting Monday, I will do just that. #marketingmonday here I come!