how to create content your audience loves
THE AGE-OLD QUESTION WHEN IT COMES TO PLANNING YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT: “HOW DO I CREATE CONTENT THAT MY AUDIENCE WILL LOVE?”
Actually writing the posts is time consuming enough, but thinking of what is a whole other beast. We-re here to help! If you’re ready to publish in the last seven weeks, follow our tried-and-true methods below for thinking of content that your audience will enjoy.
solve their problems
The content that always performs the best is the content that directly solves a problem or struggle that your audience is facing. If they’re dealing with an issue that you can provide the answer to because it falls within your zone of genius, here’s your opportunity to create really great content that your audience will be glad they came across.
Check out these examples below:
Are you an accountant? Do your clients consistently struggle with knowing how to figure out and then pay their quarterly tax estimates as business owners? Write a social media post that explains how to properly calculate this math, saving them money and headaches.
Are you a business coach? Do your clients often mention that they feel “stuck” or they’re facing a “plateau” in their business that they just can’t seem to get past to keep moving forward and growing? Write a social media post that gives suggestions for getting past that hump and developing your business further.
Are you a photographer? Do your clients never know what to wear to branding sessions that aligns with their style and business? Write a social media post that outlines how to select the perfect outfits.
As you can see here, the topics of these posts may seem “obvious” to you, but that’s because you’re the expert! Something that you think is super simple is really difficult for someone else. Being able to share advice and tips about something you know inside and out is huge for helping your audience.
PRO TIP: EVERY TIME YOU SPEAK TO A CLIENT OR CUSTOMER, WRITE DOWN EVERYTHING THEY SAY THAT THEY STRUGGLE WITH OR DON’T KNOW HOW TO DO. ALL OF THESE LITTLE CONVERSATIONS CAN EASILY TRANSLATE INTO POST IDEAS!
get personal
The content that people are always so hesitant to publish but know performs so well: something about themselves! The thought of posting a selfie within your feed may make you cringe, but if you’ve done testing before, you’ve probably noticed that photos of you almost always outperform other photos, such as stock images, text graphics, etc. This is because people are nosy and they want to know the person behind the business--you!
Find ways that you can show who you are as a person, not just a business owner, through your content. Whether that involves sharing fun facts about yourself, telling your story of how you got started in your business, opening up about something difficult you went through in your business, or something else, people soak this type of content right up. It builds that know / like / trust factor with your audience, and people do business with people that they know / like / trust.
PRO TIP: IF YOU STRUGGLE WITH GETTING ENOUGH PHOTOS OF YOURSELF, GET IN THE HABIT OF SNAPPING A SELFIE EVERY TIME YOU FEEL AT YOUR BEST. YOU’LL END UP WITH AN ENTIRE LIBRARY OF IMAGES THAT YOU CAN PULL FROM AT ANY TIME. AND REMEMBER, YOU ARE YOUR BIGGEST CRITIC. HAVE FUN WITH IT, PERFECTION IS NOT WHAT PEOPLE CONNECT WITH!
give an unpopular opinion
How many times have you seen multiple people share the same opinion about a topic an endless amount of times? It gets old when you hear the same tips, tricks, strategies, suggestions, etc. over and over again. It makes you think to yourself, “Yes, I knew that… how about something else?”
If you’ve thought that way before, chances are your audience has, too. No one wants to hear something that they’ve heard a million times before, so think of something new to share. Maybe you know a different way to edit photos, make a delicious and hearty meal, or increase your open rate on newsletters. Whatever it may be, people want to hear it — especially when they feel as though they’re one of the first to know about this “new” discovery!
PRO TIP: IF YOU ARE HESITANT ABOUT WHAT PEOPLE WILL THINK ABOUT THE POST, THAT’S AN INDICATION THAT IT’S GOING TO PERFORM WELL — AS LONG AS IT’S NOT OFFENSIVE, OF COURSE! THE IDEAS THAT SEEM SO “OUT OF THE ORDINARY” ARE OFTEN THE ONES THAT GET THE MOST TRACTION.
share something relatable
People are more likely to invest in a service or purchase a product when they can relate to the company or individual behind it. Often paired with relatability is shareability — when people read or watch something that they can relate to, they usually feel compelled to share it with their family members and friends. That’s exactly what you want! The more shares your content gets, the more you know how much your audience values it. When your audience reads your posts, you want almost every reaction to be, “YES! That is so true!”
Keeping that in mind, think about what you can create for your audience today that you know they will wholeheartedly relate to.
PRO TIP: WHAT’S TRENDING RIGHT NOW? PAYING ATTENTION TO POPULAR TRENDS OR IDEAS CAN REALLY HELP YOU TO IDENTIFY RELATABLE CONTENT TO CREATE.
As you go through with writing content with the goal of your audience loving it, be sure to consistently check the analytics of your posts — that’s what will really tell you how they feel about it! Once you get into the groove of giving your audience exactly what they need, the content creation process will become that much easier.