Hello fellow small business owner!
Navigating the world of content creation can feel like a whirlwind. With so many platforms and so much advice out there, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. But fear not! Let’s break it down together and craft a strategy that feels authentic, engaging, and, most importantly, doable. 🌟
1. Know Your Audience
Before diving into the content pool, let’s take a moment to think about who we’re talking to. Your audience is your guide. Who are they? What do they love? What are their pain points? How will they feel about your content? Why will they care about your content? Do you want to make them laugh or think?
- Create Personas: Develop detailed profiles of your ideal customers. Give them names, jobs, hobbies, and challenges. This makes it easier to tailor your content to their needs.
- Engage and Listen: Use social media polls, Q&A sessions, and feedback forms to gather insights directly from your audience.
- Need Help Creating Your Audiences? We can help you conquer this with just a few hours of strategic consulting time. Connect with us to get it on the calendar.
2. Define Your Brand Voice
Your brand voice is your unique way of communicating with your audience. It’s what sets you apart and makes you memorable. If you are just starting out with your new business, you may find this workflow to be a helpful guide in establishing more than just your voice in the beginning of content creation.
- Authenticity is Key: Speak from the heart. Whether your tone is playful, professional, or somewhere in between, make sure it feels true to you and your brand.
- Consistency Matters: Use the same tone across all platforms. This builds trust and recognition with your audience. Brand impressions will begin to resonate.
3. Set Clear Goals
What do you want to achieve with your content? Setting clear, measurable goals helps you stay focused and track your progress.
- SMART Goals: Ensure your goals are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. For example, “Increase Instagram followers by 15% in the next three months” is a SMART goal.
- Track Your Success: Use analytics tools to monitor your progress and adjust your strategy as needed.
- Be Consistent: Content goals are not met overnight, let alone a few months, we recommend at least six (6) months for any social media strategy to flourish and show accurate results to help determine its effectiveness. We would be happy to take over the strategy, content creation, and execution of your social media campaign. More details can be found here.
4. Create a Content Calendar
A well-planned content calendar is your best friend. It helps you stay organized and ensures a steady stream of content.
- Plan Ahead: Outline your content for the next month or quarter. Include key dates, themes, and any special promotions. We like to use themed days to keep it simple. For example, Meet Me Mondays where you introduce yourself and other team members to connect on a more personal level with your followers.
- Mix It Up: Diversify your content types—blog posts, videos, infographics, and social media updates. This keeps your audience engaged and interested. You may also mix up the type of content you’re sharing, like educational mixed with promotional, mixed with personal/connecting, mixed with other small businesses you want to support with promotion.
5. Tell Your Story
People connect with stories. Share your journey, your successes, and your challenges. This makes your brand relatable and human. Many small businesses have difficulty identifying and telling their story. This is done in the initial brand identity/formation phase, but can be skipped if budget or resources were lacking in the start-up phase. We thrive on doing this exact thing and would love to help you identify your brand. It’s never too late to do this kind of strategic work. Read more about our brand identity work here.
- Behind-the-scenes: Give your audience a glimpse behind the curtain. Share how your products are made, introduce your team, or show a day in your life.
- Customer Stories: Highlight testimonials and success stories from your customers. This builds social proof and trust.
- Personal Videos and Memories: Don’t forget that business people are also just… people. When you share more of yourself and the founders/leadership of the business, your audience will begin to develop more of a bond with you as humans. If you’re feeling stuck in creating and producing meaningful impact videos, we would LOVE to help you with this strategy and execution. Check out our unique video production service, truly customized to meet your needs.
6. Leverage Visual Content
We live in a visual world. Beautiful, eye-catching visuals can make your content stand out and grab attention. Don’t want to pick up a Canva account? Or perhaps you did but it’s been left dusting in the corner of your computer since last spring… that’s ok. We can help with this one, too. We offer customized graphic design services for sharing on social media, newsletters, blogs, and more that need your unique brand identity while also being eye-catching and impactful. Our Fix & Form subscription services would best work to get you ongoing visual content to be used across many marketing campaigns and initiatives.
- Invest in Quality: Good visuals don’t have to be expensive. Use your smartphone’s camera, and free editing tools, and take advantage of natural light.
- Brand Aesthetic: Develop a consistent visual style. Use the same color palette, fonts, and imagery style to create a cohesive look. We love using Canva for a beginner’s guide to design elements.
7. Engage, Don’t Just Broadcast
Content creation isn’t a one-way street. It’s about building a community and fostering engagement. Remember to turn on notifications for your social media platforms, and engage and reply to comments and questions on posts after you’ve left your mark. Your audience loves to hear from you!
- Respond and Interact: Reply to comments, thank your followers, and participate in conversations. Show that there’s a real person behind your brand.
- User-Generated Content: Encourage your customers to share their experiences with your products. Repost their content and celebrate their stories.
8. Stay Updated and Adaptable
The digital world is always evolving. Stay on top of trends and be ready to adapt your strategy. A helpful tip from us to you, after a consistent three (3) months of content creation and sharing on your social media platforms, take a deep dive into the results and make changes to the content you’re sharing.
You could try posting on different days and times, and finally, adjust your content calendar. Think through what isn’t working and what needs to continue. Don’t be afraid to try new things. Experiment with different content types and formats, and learn from what works and what doesn’t.
Don’t Be Afraid To Just…. Start!
Remember, smarties, content creation is a journey. It’s about building relationships, sharing your perspectives and lessons learned, and connecting with your audience in a meaningful way. Embrace the process, stay true to your brand, and watch your business evolve. We are always here to help you along the way. Meet more of our team at Fix & Form | Strategic Branding Agency in Denver, Colorado, serving clients nationwide.
Happy creating!
Anne Gillaspie
Owner & Master Strategist
Fix & Form | Strategic Branding Agency
Denver, CO | 303-204-6870
