Tips to help you stay on top of you social media content.

Hello, and welcome to the 7th Edition of 'Social for Growth' - my almost weekly article to help you create and social media strategy and plan. 

Sadly, I missed sending this last week due to being super busy with Christmas and then going down with a bug. 

Over the last few weeks, I have been sharing some of the key things you need to think about to help you build a winning social media strategy that doesn't feel overwhelming, enables you to achieve your goals and is structured and measurable!!

This week I wanted to focus on helping you plan your day-to-day social media posts. This is just one of the elements of social media, but it is essential to your success on social. And the great news is that you don't need to create brand-new content every time you post. 

Why do I need a plan?

Firstly, there is no right or wrong way to plan your content. It's all about finding a system and process that works for you. Having a plan to follow will help you to:

??Stay on top of your ideas and create a posting cycle. 

??Monitor and measure what works for you and ditch what doesn't.

??Know what you need to say to promote your business.

??Build 'know, like and trust amongst your audience.

In order to do this you will need to factor in the following:

What formats are appropriate for the networks you have chosen?

Your content should include a mix of text, images, videos and static posts. Instagram and Facebook are currently prioritising short-form videos, and Tik Tok is all short-form video! But if your target audience prefers to engage with photos or watch a live Q&A, that's where you should focus your efforts. 

Getting more reach and pleasing the algorithm is all very well, but if it's not right for your audience, they won't want to take the next step towards interacting, collaborating or working with you. 

How much time can you dedicate to your social media?

It's essential to be realistic here as content creation is time-consuming, and you probably wear many different hats within your business. 

Consistency is essential, though. So, decide how much time you could dedicate to your social media activities whilst remaining consistent over the next few months. It's all very well for social media strategists and marketers to talk about best practices and optimum posting, but that may be hard for you to maintain.

2-3 good-quality weekly posts will serve you well if you have limited time and resources. It will also be a lot more sustainable and enjoyable than trying to show up every single day.

How will you create and manage that content?

Creation

Creating and sourcing images can seem daunting, especially if you plan to develop and write the content yourself. I recommend investing in some professional photos - 20 can be enough to start with and some consistent social media templates that align with your brand. 

Both will give you the confidence to show up on social media. Help people view you as a professional business and save time by stopping you from endlessly hunting for the same stock images everyone else uses. 

Managing your content 

Something as simple as a folder, spreadsheet or even a google or word doc. Can work well for this. Just make sure you clearly label everything so you can easily find it, reuse and repurpose. 

If you want to use a project management tool and are on a tight budget. Trello is an excellent place to start. A scheduling tool is a brilliant addition to your social media tool kit. 

Using one will enable you to plan and upload your content in advance. Most offer a basic free version which is a great starting point and often gives you enough features if you manage one account. 

I am often asked if you get penalised by the platforms for using a scheduling tool - you don't. Providing your content is good, relevant and shared at the right time.

Day-to-day planning

Some people prefer to write and create posts months in advance. Others (myself included) like to make an overall framework that you can tweak as you go. After all, if something spontaneous and exciting happens, you want to be able to shout about it.

Either way, you should start by thinking about your overall business objectives and what you want/ need to promote in the next quarter. It could be a workshop, a new product launch or simply the fact you have space to take on more clients. 

Planning in this way will help you identify seasonal trends and repurpose some of the content you have used in advance. 

Consider longer-form content.

Producing 1-2 pieces of longer-form content a month or quarter is hugely beneficial when planning your social media. For several reasons:

People often scroll through social media and don't necessarily have the time or inclination to read or click through to a longer article.

You can break that longer content down into a series of short posts, giving you a lot more ideas for things to talk about and making it easy for your audience to digest on the go. 

You'll also have a clear action for people to take as you can prompt them to read the blog, watch the video or even sign up for a download.

Consider Themes:

I know it sounds a little naff, but thinking of a theme may help you achieve your goals and refine your planning process. 

For example, suppose you are a business focused on reducing waste. In that case, you could concentrate your December content on being a more compassionate consumer by providing tips for a more eco-friendly and sustainable Christmas. 

Themes can also be linked to days of the week. You might share a how-to tip on a Monday and something fun on a Friday. The key here is to be consistent and test and measure what works for you. 

Answer Questions

Your audience will have many questions about your business and how you can solve their problem. Creating posts that answer the questions you regularly ask about your business or your profession. Will help to position you as the expert, and build trust.

Checking your emails, looking at what people ask on social media and referring back to the questions you get asked on client calls and networking will help uncover the questions you get asked!!

I did this exercise with a client a little while ago, and we came up with 200 post ideas about mortgages!!

Get personal 

How much personal information you want to share is entirely up to you. Storytelling is an excellent way for people to get to know you. We are all wired for storytelling, and stories are what we remember.

Storytelling isn't necessarily about sharing pictures of your kids, your dog or your personal struggles. It could be about a challenge you have overcome in your business or why you get out of bed in the morning. 

It could also be about sharing a book you love or championing a cause you are passionate about. These posts work well for engagement and help people get to know you.

Collaborations

Collaborating with other people and businesses is a great way to create content. It could be a guest post, blog, interview, live Q&A or even as simple as sharing someone else's content with your unique take on it. 

Over time this will give you a lot of content to repurpose and enable you to tap into someone else audience. 

Don't forget to sell!!

Most business owners sit in 2 camps—those who sell all the time on social media or those that don't sell at all. Generally speaking, around 20% of your content should be sales focussed - if people don't know you are available or have something to sell, you won't prompt them to buy.

Quite often, when we see people being busy on social media, we assume they are super busy in their business, but it is often the opposite.

Remember to test and regularly measure to see what's working for you.

I hope you found these tips helpful.

If you are trying to figure out what's working and develop a social media strategy and plan, I would love to hear from you. So do pop me a DM, email me: [email protected] or book a free no-obligation call here. 

As my kids are breaking up from school this week, this may well be my last article before Christmas. So do let me know how you get on with your planning and, most importantly, enjoy the festive period. 

See you in 2023.

Mel x

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