The Mindset Shift & Content Management Tips You Need to Make Social Media Less Stressful
When you are building your own brand it’s easy to fall into a creative rut. You’re so busy managing the operations and logistics of your business that churning out new content ideas and posting to social media can feel overwhelming – we get it!
We’re here to remind you that creating purposeful content doesn’t have to be so hard. Sure, it will take time, but the “what do I post today?” cycle can be broken if you have a system in place and shift your mindset to: “How can I service or inspire my target audience?”
It’s not about promoting your business over and over again. That won’t move the needle. It’s about building trust and connecting with your ideal customers, and letting them get to know you - the real person behind your brand - so they are excited to support you and your business.
Here are 5 tips to take you from feeling stuck with your content to inspired and organized.
Build your Brand
Your brand is more than the product or service you’re selling – it’s an intangible feeling or “image” that people have about your business. Building your brand has the power to turn dream customers into super fans. It can help build an emotional connection with your customers and establish credibility and trust.
Have you taken the time to clearly map out your mission, founding story, values, and brand aesthetic? Do you have clear messaging? Can you articulate what makes you different from the competition? Are you showing up online in a way that represents the vision you have for your brand? Can you succinctly explain what your brand does and for whom you do it? Are you consistently communicating all of the above?
These are elements of a brand foundation, which is step #1 to unlocking easy content creation.
If you would like step by step guidance on how to build your brand foundation, or even how to refresh your current brand, our online course The Brand Starter Kit is a great starting point. Through video lessons and worksheets, we walk you through the essential steps to establish a strong brand foundation and give you the guidance to bring your vision to life.
2. Know Your Dream Customers
As a small business owner, the primary purpose of your content is to build an authentic connection with your customers. Bring them along on your journey!
Through your content, you have an exciting opportunity to connect with your dream customers in real time, and to present your brand in exactly the way you want to be perceived. In order for content to work its magic, you have to *really* know who you are building your business for.
You may have a hunch of who your target audience is – for example, someone like you, moms, parents, single professionals, home owners, etc. That’s a great starting point, but have you gone deeper? Do you know where they shop, what their pain points are, what they are interested in, what magazines do they read? what social media channels are they using? Knowing these specific details will allow you to create content that will inspire, educate, and/or entertain your followers.
Our online course The Brand Starter Kit teaches you how to create 3 target audience personas and reference them in all of your business decisions, including content creation.
Once you *really* know who you are building your business for, it will impact multiple aspects of your content, including:
Tone – The tone of voice in your social media posts, blog, and newsletter should speak directly to your target audience
Visuals – Choosing images that speak to your target audience will increase engagement and attachment with your brand
Digital strategy - knowing which social media channels and platforms your audience most enjoys using, and what times of day they are most active, will inform how you spend your limited time
Content categories - the subject matter and series you create and post consistently should service your dream customers - read on below!
3. Create Content Series
Once you have built your brand and have a clear idea of who your target audience is, you are ready to create content series that marry the two. A content series is content that you create and post routinely. Series give you a creative break and can also be very purposeful to your audience. Having consistent graphics and templates that represent your brand aesthetic will also help alleviate your creativity work load. Canva is our favorite tool for templates.
Your content series should reflect your brand foundation and speak to your mission, values, founding story, and areas of expertise. They should also be in service of your target audience.
Here are some examples of content series you can try:
Inspirational quotes
Testimonials
Behind the scenes
Customer spotlights – Highlight customers who have had success with your product or service. This adds brand credibility and brings your business to life
Monthly newsletter - Creating a monthly newsletter with a recurring template is a great way to connect with your audience and also sell your product without coming across too sales-y.
Below are specific examples of content series you could create if you are an interior designer who focuses on homes for young families. You can publish these content series on your Instagram, blog and newsletter.
Behind the scenes of your projects with notes on how they are family friendly
Tips for moms with young kids on how to create family-friendly yet elevated spaces
Brand recommendations of toys and baby gear that are also stylish
We dive into this in way more detail in The Brand Starter Kit.
4. Get a System In Place
Posting content consistently is key to building your following and momentum, but it can also be a grind. Having a content creation system allows you to prep in advance so you don’t have to stress about what you’re posting each week.
We recommend working a month in advance and organizing your ideas into a monthly content calendar. We always start with monthly themes based on seasonality and the needs/interests of our target audience. For example, our July theme is holiday gift guide outreach.
Once we have our monthly theme, we draft our long-form content, like our monthly blog post and “Monthly Check In” newsletter. From there, we break up the long-form content into short social media posts that tie back to our content series. We slate these in each month and always use the same cadence.
For example, your monthly content calendar might include:
1 inspirational quote
1 testimonial
2 Reels with tips
2 behind the scenes photos
1 guest interview
5. Give Yourself a Break
You don’t need to feel pressure to post content every day. It’s not realistic, especially when you don’t have a team behind you. Find a cadence that works for you and build from there. It’s better to post intentional, purposeful content that services your target audience than post for the sake of posting. Try not to play the comparison game! (Easier said than done, we know).
To take some content creation off of your plate, we recommend giving ChatGPT a try. It can help you come up with a content calendar and can also draft and edit content for you. Check out last month’s blog post here for tips on how to utilize ChatGPT for your content.
We hope that these tips have been helpful and will give you the mindset shift you need to tackle content creation with confidence! If you still feel like you need more guidance, we recommend checking out The Brand Starter Kit, which includes a monthly content calendar and dives deeper into all of the steps we went through above.
-Carla & Kathryn
