Are you ticking the boxes with content?
When I started creating content for my business, ‘random’ was an understatement!
What I was posting and what the core of my business actually stood for were two completely different things, the photos I was posting were simply there just to get content out and THAT'S IT!
While being consistent is key in running an online business, the content I was posting asking “how was your weekend?” was not providing any value whatsoever. So why was I doing this? Because I was ticking the box.
Okay, it’s time to put together a picture and caption and hit post: DONE - tick! It happens to the best of us, we get busy and know we have to post so we just put out content for the sake of putting out content, right? Then it can start to show that what we are posting isn't our best work and that’s okay BUT I’m here to question that and to explore with you what we can do to make it better and take that post to the NEXT LEVEL!
Now we’re diving into all things about staying consistent, ticking the boxes of content, and what you can do to create content with PASSION but not spend hours doing so.
It is time to stop just ticking the boxes.
The types of content I created that DIDN’T work
I think I can speak for everyone when I say we all post things that we look back on down the track and think “WHY??”
And yep, even I’m guilty of this!
Starting my content writing wasn't always the sunshine and rainbows that it can look online. As a young 20 something year old, I thought that forcing myself to show up online and just posting pretty photos with pretty quotes to go with it would do, but man was I wrong!
ZERO clients and ZERO sales from social media were what I got.
All of my clients were coming from the same freelancing platform that I was using, but that wasn't doing it for me, I needed to find more aligned targets. I really didn't think strategy or any sort of method to my madness was needed, but boy was I wrong!
I would post photos of some beautiful flowers I saw on my daily walk, an inspirational quote I saw on a calendar, more flowers, a cute puppy with a smiling face, oh yeah, and more flowers (I’m not kidding)! All of these with a generic caption that was talking about what I was up to that week and maybe a couple of hashtags - but that’s it!
Nothing with value for my business or real substance for my target audience, and while posting a pretty nature photo or a cute puppy pic is wholesome to look at, what is it really doing for your business?
And when I realised that this type of content wasn’t bringing in the clients I wanted for Content Queen, that’s when I decided to make a big change and implement a content strategy! The saving grace and the thing that changed my business forever!
While it took me ages to perfect, I finally have a strategy that I absolutely LOVE and that has changed my business and my mindset forever - if you wanna check out the Content Queen content strategy template that I LIVE by just click here and download it for FREE.
Now, the majority of my clients come through social media. I am adding more platforms to my business because I have more time to show up! AND of course, I've started a new business venture with a new Instagram and business strategy, how exciting!
Even though now I have an amazing strategy, content flow, and the opportunity to grow my business and team, it didn't all start out that easy. Sometimes you have to remember that simply ticking the boxes and 'winging it' (although I am still guilty of that sometimes) won't help you see progress, it's all in the strategy baby!
Even the most beautiful flowers need a little rain to grow, just like you and your content!
Why you need to have quality content
You might be thinking “well I get I need to have content with substance, but how is it gonna benefit me and my business?”
I’m so glad you asked, the benefits of quality content and the improvement in your statistics you’ll see are CRAZY but let me break it down for you.
1. It drives results
Before you start generating ideas and creating the content, you should always outline specific goals that you want to accomplish.
WHY are you making these choices?
WHAT is going to show you that you’re pushing the best content?
HOW are you going to know what’s working and what isn't?
WHAT logistics do you want to improve on?
Keep the results you want in mind and come up with Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) that will help you see and evaluate the success of your content!
2. It is getting traffic to your website
Google Analytics is a BLESSING when it comes to tracking the traffic around each of your sites and pages. Use this to your advantage and see what posts do well and what ones aren't as successful, it will really help you evaluate what to keep pushing and what to change to improve your ratings.
But traffic is not the only important thing to check in on, you also have to keep an eye on the relevancy of your content to your target audience and if it is fulfilling their needs as consumers, I know it sounds a little dry but it’s super important if you want to see SUCCESS.
3. It shows the benefits
Yes, relevant content with substance is essential but that doesn't mean it has to be boring!
As the business owner, it’s your job to be your number one advocate so start framing your stories in the most enticing way possible. Engage with people and let them know how it helps educate, improve their lives, or solve their problems.
Keep your content focussed on WHY people need it in their lives!
4. It tells those stories that work
The sweet spot is what you should aim for! It is the content that perfectly overlaps between what your brand is all about (and of course the stories you tell) and what your target audience wants to absorb.
Your sweet spot stories are those that:
Your brand can tell well.
Your customers want (or need) to hear.
If you stray outside this zone, your content may be too broad or too uninteresting. So once you find hat perfect rhythm, stick to it and move as your target audience does.
5. It creates a good experience
A picture says a thousand words and can really tell a story before the audience even reads what it’s about, so remember that!
Visuals are super important to hook in the audience and to get some emotion across that will make them read the caption below, make sure any infographic, picture, design, or even thumbnail you post is on brand and purposely targeted.
6. It is about the people, it is made up of people
Remember that you’re marketing towards people, not companies or brands. Your target audience wants to know that you have their best interest at heart, they don’t care that you’re selling/marketing to them!
Constantly make sure you’re reviewing your strategy and ask yourself why you are creating the content you’re creating. Your target audience wants you to communicate with them directly, so whether it’s through posts, live videos, captions, blogs, or podcasts - make it for THEM.
Here are some things to assess your content moving forward
Don’t sit around judging yourself and your content, instead ask yourself “is this content adding value or is there an objective”
Do I have relevant Call To Actions (CTA’s)?
Am I measuring those CTA’s?
Do you market the content you create?
Are you engaging with others and using social media as an actual social media platform?
Are you collaborating with others?
Are you being vulnerable?
Are you sharing stories?
Are you being authentic?
Does your content reflect your values?
Is your content targeting your audience?
Are you REPURPOSING? By focussing on ONE channel and using content from there?
Final thoughts
At the end of the day, switching up your content and changing the way you post is all a part of being in the online world, so don’t be too hard on yourself and just be aware of the content you’re posting in the future.
Remember to always be curious about the content you create and ask yourself am I just ticking the content boxes? If you are struggling to push past posting for the sake of posting, check out our Content Queen content strategy template! An amazing tool to get your strategy going from us to you (psst and it’s for free)! Click the link here to get your hands on it!
Download the template!
