26: Crafting Social Content That Connects And Drives Real Results

The best way to gain exposure for your business is through content. But the question is – do you see yourself as a content creator?

In my latest episode of Shop Talk, “Mastering the Art of Social Media: 7 Steps to Crafting Your Winning Strategy,” I explain why content creation is so critical to your business and give you super simple solutions to creating a strategy that will make content creation a breeze!

No matter what you tell yourself, you ARE a content creator! So, listen to this episode to get a clear picture on how to make these strategies work for you!

Summary of this episode:

• 1:00 – The Content Creator Within
• 4:51 – Create Your Key Content Pillars
• 10:27 – Identifying Topics To Talk About
• 13:25 – Sourcing Topic Ideas
• 23:25 – Scaling Your Content Creation

Listen, I know social media isn’t necessarily your favorite activity in your business. I get it. But you and I both know it’s one of the most effective ways for you to reach your audience.

Let me ask you, are you struggling to connect with your audience through social media to drive real results? Crafting types of social media content that resonate with your target audience can be a daunting task. Still, it’s essential to your success in the digital world today. 

The Content Creator Within

Do you see yourself as a “content creator”? If not, you should – because you are! Content is simple; it’s anything you share that is consumable by your target audience. So…

• If you write and share messages on social platforms like Instagram, Facebook, or LinkedIn
• If you write emails to send to prospects or customers
• If you create free resources that you give away to capture leads or provide to your customers

Then you, my friend, are a content creator!

When I started Your Marketing Coach, it took me less than 5 months to acquire 59 coaching clients. How’d I do it? I offered a free weekly webinar for the first 2 1/2 years.

Creating content for your target audience is the key to:

• Educating them on your expertise
• Building trust and rapport
• And inspiring them to take action when the time is right

Creating content consistently (every single week) has been the fuel to grow my multi-million dollar coaching agency. And it will be the fuel that will drive your growth as well!

That said, I know how tough it can be to find a balance between creating content that will resonate with your audience, being authentic enough so that it will stand out in the crowded marketplace, and finding time to create different types of social media content consistently.

And that’s what I want to help you with today.

I’ll show you how to:

• Discover the key content pillars that will help you build your brand and get you known in your industry.
• Create a master list of ideas you can use to create your social marketing calendar (months in advance so that you can essentially set it and forget it – if you want to).
• And the easiest way I’ve found to scale content creation.

Create Your Key Content Pillars

When it comes to creating content, it’s easy to become overwhelmed. One of two things typically happens.

1: You have so many topic ideas you find it difficult to organize them, and you find yourself jumping on the content creation hampster wheel that keeps you busy but doesn’t drive results.

Or…

2: You have so many things you could talk about that you find it difficult to even start.

Regardless of why you are feeling stuck, this first exercise will help.

Identifying your pillars

The first thing you should do is identify 4 – 6 key content pillars. These pillars should include your foundational interests and things you are passionate about, excited to share, or want to be known for.

Your pillars will definitely include your expertise, but they will often expand beyond what you sell. You will become known for more than a product. More than a service. This will help people view you as a brand and, more importantly, the person behind the brand.

The benefit of your pillars

When you identify your content pillars, they will:

• Give you more to talk about.
• Allow you to connect with your audience more deeply.
• And, if one topic doesn’t resonate with someone, they might connect with you on another. So they give you multiple approaches to connect with your ideal audience.

Let me give you an example. My 4 key content pillars are:

• Inspiration
• Business Coaching
• Marketing And Sales
• Personal (lumped into one pillar) is Relationships, Travel, Food, and Health – aka my personal life

These are things that I love to talk about. They allow me to connect with people on a deeper level than if I only talked about business and marketing all the time.

Identifying Topics To Talk About

Once you’ve decided on your content pillars, you can dive deep into the specific topics you want to share. Here are a few examples of things I might talk about…

• Inspiration Topic Example: What To Do When You Feel Like You’re “Not Enough”
• Business Coaching Example: 5 Business Mistakes I Made That Cost Me Millions Of Dollars In Revenue
• Marketing & Sales Example: What To Do When Your Lead Magnet Isn’t Converting
• Personal Example: The 3 Secrets To Staying Madly In Love After 30 Years

Can you see how easy it would be to organize all the ideas you have rolling around in your head when you give yourself a little organization?

I actually have a Google Doc that I created in landscape form. I have 4 columns, and whenever I have an idea for content I’d like to share, I open that document and jot down the topic in the appropriate column. I would highly recommend that you do the same!

Sourcing Topic Ideas

Now, if you are struggling with specific topics to talk about, I’ve got a few tips for that as well.

Common Questions

Make a list of all the common questions you get while working with clients. If you have coaching sessions, you’re likely answering a lot of questions during your time with them. So think about some of the questions you receive frequently that could be turned into content. This is a great way to kickstart your idea list.

Send An Email

The best way to find out what your audience wants to know is simply to ask them. Send an email and say, “I hope everything’s going well. I wanted to check in and see if there’s anything you need help with. What are you struggling with lately? Let me know so I can shoot you some resources.” Answer any questions they have, but also add their responses to your idea bucket.

Post A Message On Social Media

This goes hand-in-hand with sending an email. Post a message or poll on your social media profiles to ask your community what they’d like to hear from you. Not only will you generate ideas, but you will also encourage engagement on social media!

Groups

This is an exercise I often do with clients if they feel stuck in this area. I have them log into an online group where their target audience is hanging out. Together, we scroll through the questions and comments in the group. When I see a question about their business or industry, I ask them, “How would you respond to this?” In 30 minutes or so, we’ll come up with tons of topics they can discuss.

ChatGPT

ChatGPT is a fantastic tool that you can use to discover ideas as well. I actually asked ChatGPT how you can use it to come up with content ideas, and here’s what it said…

As an AI language model, I can suggest a few ways to use ChatGPT to come up with content ideas for Facebook Live calls:

1. Brainstorming session: You can start a conversation with me and have a brainstorming session to generate ideas for your Facebook Live call. I can suggest topics related to your niche or industry, current events, or trending topics.
2. Keyword research: You can provide me with some keywords related to your niche or industry, and I can come up with content ideas that are relevant to those keywords. For example, if you are a fitness coach, you can give me keywords like “healthy eating,” “exercise,” or “weight loss,” and I can suggest topics related to those keywords.
3. Ask questions: You can ask me questions related to your niche or industry, and I can provide you with answers that can be used as content ideas for your Facebook Live calls. For instance, if you are a business coach, you can ask me questions like “what are some ways to increase sales?” or “how to build a successful business?”
4. Analyze audience feedback: You can use me to analyze your audience’s feedback and come up with content ideas that are relevant to their interests. For example, if you have a Facebook group or page, you can give me access to the comments and questions posted by your audience, and I can analyze them to identify the topics they are interested in.
5. Use existing content: You can also use me to analyze your existing content, such as blog posts, videos, or podcasts, and come up with content ideas for your Facebook Live calls. I can suggest topics that are related to your existing content or expand on the topics you have already covered.

This is a game-changer in content curation!

The truth is you have more ideas for content than you think you do. You either…

• Haven’t set time aside to think of topics, or
• You are overthinking the topics.

One point I want to make here is that you don’t need to overthink things. Deliver the information to the best of your ability; some topics will land and get great results and engagement. Others will not. 

It might surprise you to know that quantity of content will consistently outperform quality. One-hit viral wonders are rare. If your primary focus is quality over quantity, you’ll likely miss opportunities to connect with your audience and grow your following – and learn from them. Don’t be afraid to experiment and try new things. The more content you create, the more chances you have to reach and engage with your audience.

Scaling Your Content Creation

Now let’s talk about the 2 easiest ways to create different types of social media content in the least amount of time.

Repurposing content

The first one is a strategy I talk about all the time. This is hosting a live call each week inside a private Facebook Group where you have invited your audience to connect. The live call should be about 30 minutes long and deliver value on topics falling within your key content pillars.

I’d like to say that I know how scary it can be getting used to being on video. In fact, this is the main reason many of my clients are resistant to starting their weekly calls. But let me tell you, if you allow yourself to focus on your goal, it will become bigger than your fear!

Once you have the call recording, you create your “core content” by:

• Editing the video so that it can be posted to YouTube.
• Extracting the transcript and “massage” the copy into an SEO blog article that can be posted to your website.
• You can also extract the audio and use it as a podcast episode if you have one, or simply share the audio file on your blog along with your article.

Next, take your video and find key highlights that can be shared on social media. From your video, you can create “micro-content” such as:

• Quote images
• Audiograms
• YouTube Shorts
• Reels
• Stories
• And so much more!

And then lastly, there are times when the topic you shared in the live call makes for a valuable lead magnet. You can create:

• An audio playlist
• Checklist
• eBook
• Templates
• Organize the videos inside a free resource vault (or even a paid membership)
• And more!

Setting aside a few hours a week allows you to create content that…

• Provides your brand with awareness and exposure.
• Helps you bring visitors to your website.
• Nurtures your community and email subscribers.
• Delivers additional value to existing customers.
• Builds your trust and authority.
• And so much more!!

Content is essential to your business if you are looking to grow your business through digital marketing.

Batching content

The second way you can create this type of content at scale is through batching.

Batching is a productivity technique that involves grouping similar tasks together and completing them in a focused, uninterrupted block of time. 

In the context of content creation, batching involves setting aside a specific block of time (such as a few hours or a full day) to complete multiple pieces of content at once. This could involve writing several blog posts, filming multiple videos, or creating a batch of social media posts all in one sitting. 

By focusing on one type of content at a time and eliminating distractions, batching can help you streamline your workflow, increase efficiency, and produce high-quality content at scale.

And some business owners like to use a hybrid system of content creation. This means they use the repurposing method by creating their weekly video, then batch their content in one sitting. This is effective because it helps generate massive exposure for the business while also giving you a chance to create a unique message that resonates with your audience.

Maximizing Your Content Creation

Whether you consider yourself a content creator or not, if you are writing and sharing messages on social media, emails, or creating free resources, you are creating content.

Creating content consistently is the key to you growing your business in our online environment. 

To create content at scale, you can start by:

1. Identifying the key content pillars that you want to talk about and be known for.
2. Creating a master list of ideas and source topics from common questions, email outreach, social media polls, or in groups where your audience is hanging out.
3. Scale your content creation by repurposing your weekly live calls or batching your content creation. 

Email Broadcast:

Subject line: Boost Your Business’s Exposure with these Winning Content Creation Strategies

Hi [First name],

As a business owner, you’re always looking for ways to get your brand out there and gain more exposure. One of the most effective ways to do that is through content creation!

But I know that not everyone sees themselves as a content creator. That’s why in my latest episode of Shop Talk, “Mastering the Art of Social Media: 7 Steps to Crafting Your Winning Strategy,” I help you unlock the power of content creation for your business with super simple strategies that make it a breeze!

In this article, you’ll learn:

• Why content creation is so critical to your business
• How to create a content strategy that works for you
• Super simple solutions to creating great content

I believe that every business owner is a content creator, and I want to show you how. So, take a few minutes to listen to this episode and discover how you can boost your exposure and gain more customers!

LinkedIn Article:

Listen, I know social media isn’t necessarily your favorite activity in your business. I get it. But you and I both know it’s one of the most effective ways for you to reach your audience.

Let me ask you, are you struggling to connect with your audience through social media to drive real results? Crafting types of social media content that resonate with your target audience can be a daunting task. Still, it’s essential to your success in the digital world today. 

The Content Creator Within

Do you see yourself as a “content creator”? If not, you should – because you are! Content is simple; it’s anything you share that is consumable by your target audience. So…

• If you write and share messages on social platforms like Instagram, Facebook, or LinkedIn
• If you write emails to send to prospects or customers
• If you create free resources that you give away to capture leads or provide to your customers

Then you, my friend, are a content creator!

When I started Your Marketing Coach, it took me less than 5 months to acquire 59 coaching clients. How’d I do it? I offered a free weekly webinar for the first 2 1/2 years.

Creating content for your target audience is the key to:

• Educating them on your expertise
• Building trust and rapport
• And inspiring them to take action when the time is right

Creating content consistently (every single week) has been the fuel to grow my multi-million dollar coaching agency. And it will be the fuel that will drive your growth as well!

That said, I know how tough it can be to find a balance between creating content that will resonate with your audience, being authentic enough so that it will stand out in the crowded marketplace, and finding time to create different types of social media content consistently.

And that’s what I want to help you with today.

I’ll show you how to:

• Discover the key content pillars that will help you build your brand and get you known in your industry.
• Create a master list of ideas you can use to create your social marketing calendar (months in advance so that you can essentially set it and forget it – if you want to).
• And the easiest way I’ve found to scale content creation.

Create Your Key Content Pillars

When it comes to creating content, it’s easy to become overwhelmed. One of two things typically happens.

1: You have so many topic ideas you find it difficult to organize them, and you find yourself jumping on the content creation hampster wheel that keeps you busy but doesn’t drive results.

Or…

2: You have so many things you could talk about that you find it difficult to even start.

Regardless of why you are feeling stuck, this first exercise will help.

Identifying your pillars

The first thing you should do is identify 4 – 6 key content pillars. These pillars should include your foundational interests and things you are passionate about, excited to share, or want to be known for.

Your pillars will definitely include your expertise, but they will often expand beyond what you sell. You will become known for more than a product. More than a service. This will help people view you as a brand and, more importantly, the person behind the brand.

The benefit of your pillars

When you identify your content pillars, they will:

• Give you more to talk about.
• Allow you to connect with your audience more deeply.
• And, if one topic doesn’t resonate with someone, they might connect with you on another. So they give you multiple approaches to connect with your ideal audience.

Let me give you an example. My 4 key content pillars are:

• Inspiration
• Business Coaching
• Marketing And Sales
• Personal (lumped into one pillar) is Relationships, Travel, Food, and Health – aka my personal life

These are things that I love to talk about. They allow me to connect with people on a deeper level than if I only talked about business and marketing all the time.

Identifying Topics To Talk About

Once you’ve decided on your content pillars, you can dive deep into the specific topics you want to share. Here are a few examples of things I might talk about…

• Inspiration Topic Example: What To Do When You Feel Like You’re “Not Enough”
• Business Coaching Example: 5 Business Mistakes I Made That Cost Me Millions Of Dollars In Revenue
• Marketing & Sales Example: What To Do When Your Lead Magnet Isn’t Converting
• Personal Example: The 3 Secrets To Staying Madly In Love After 30 Years

Can you see how easy it would be to organize all the ideas you have rolling around in your head when you give yourself a little organization?

I actually have a Google Doc that I created in landscape form. I have 4 columns, and whenever I have an idea for content I’d like to share, I open that document and jot down the topic in the appropriate column. I would highly recommend that you do the same!

Sourcing Topic Ideas

Now, if you are struggling with specific topics to talk about, I’ve got a few tips for that as well.

Common Questions

Make a list of all the common questions you get while working with clients. If you have coaching sessions, you’re likely answering a lot of questions during your time with them. So think about some of the questions you receive frequently that could be turned into content. This is a great way to kickstart your idea list.

Send An Email

The best way to find out what your audience wants to know is simply to ask them. Send an email and say, “I hope everything’s going well. I wanted to check in and see if there’s anything you need help with. What are you struggling with lately? Let me know so I can shoot you some resources.” Answer any questions they have, but also add their responses to your idea bucket.

Post A Message On Social Media

This goes hand-in-hand with sending an email. Post a message or poll on your social media profiles to ask your community what they’d like to hear from you. Not only will you generate ideas, but you will also encourage engagement on social media!

Groups

This is an exercise I often do with clients if they feel stuck in this area. I have them log into an online group where their target audience is hanging out. Together, we scroll through the questions and comments in the group. When I see a question about their business or industry, I ask them, “How would you respond to this?” In 30 minutes or so, we’ll come up with tons of topics they can discuss.

ChatGPT

ChatGPT is a fantastic tool that you can use to discover ideas as well. I actually asked ChatGPT how you can use it to come up with content ideas, and here’s what it said…

As an AI language model, I can suggest a few ways to use ChatGPT to come up with content ideas for Facebook Live calls:

6. Brainstorming session: You can start a conversation with me and have a brainstorming session to generate ideas for your Facebook Live call. I can suggest topics related to your niche or industry, current events, or trending topics.
7. Keyword research: You can provide me with some keywords related to your niche or industry, and I can come up with content ideas that are relevant to those keywords. For example, if you are a fitness coach, you can give me keywords like “healthy eating,” “exercise,” or “weight loss,” and I can suggest topics related to those keywords.
8. Ask questions: You can ask me questions related to your niche or industry, and I can provide you with answers that can be used as content ideas for your Facebook Live calls. For instance, if you are a business coach, you can ask me questions like “what are some ways to increase sales?” or “how to build a successful business?”
9. Analyze audience feedback: You can use me to analyze your audience’s feedback and come up with content ideas that are relevant to their interests. For example, if you have a Facebook group or page, you can give me access to the comments and questions posted by your audience, and I can analyze them to identify the topics they are interested in.
10. Use existing content: You can also use me to analyze your existing content, such as blog posts, videos, or podcasts, and come up with content ideas for your Facebook Live calls. I can suggest topics that are related to your existing content or expand on the topics you have already covered.

This is a game-changer in content curation!

The truth is you have more ideas for content than you think you do. You either…

• Haven’t set time aside to think of topics, or
• You are overthinking the topics.

One point I want to make here is that you don’t need to overthink things. Deliver the information to the best of your ability; some topics will land and get great results and engagement. Others will not. 

It might surprise you to know that quantity of content will consistently outperform quality. One-hit viral wonders are rare. If your primary focus is quality over quantity, you’ll likely miss opportunities to connect with your audience and grow your following – and learn from them. Don’t be afraid to experiment and try new things. The more content you create, the more chances you have to reach and engage with your audience.

Scaling Your Content Creation

Now let’s talk about the 2 easiest ways to create different types of social media content in the least amount of time.

Repurposing content

The first one is a strategy I talk about all the time. This is hosting a live call each week inside a private Facebook Group where you have invited your audience to connect. The live call should be about 30 minutes long and deliver value on topics falling within your key content pillars.

I’d like to say that I know how scary it can be getting used to being on video. In fact, this is the main reason many of my clients are resistant to starting their weekly calls. But let me tell you, if you allow yourself to focus on your goal, it will become bigger than your fear!

Once you have the call recording, you create your “core content” by:

• Editing the video so that it can be posted to YouTube.
• Extracting the transcript and “massage” the copy into an SEO blog article that can be posted to your website.
• You can also extract the audio and use it as a podcast episode if you have one, or simply share the audio file on your blog along with your article.

Next, take your video and find key highlights that can be shared on social media. From your video, you can create “micro-content” such as:

• Quote images
• Audiograms
• YouTube Shorts
• Reels
• Stories
• And so much more!

And then lastly, there are times when the topic you shared in the live call makes for a valuable lead magnet. You can create:

• An audio playlist
• Checklist
• eBook
• Templates
• Organize the videos inside a free resource vault (or even a paid membership)
• And more!

Setting aside a few hours a week allows you to create content that…

• Provides your brand with awareness and exposure.
• Helps you bring visitors to your website.
• Nurtures your community and email subscribers.
• Delivers additional value to existing customers.
• Builds your trust and authority.
• And so much more!!

Content is essential to your business if you are looking to grow your business through digital marketing.

Batching content

The second way you can create this type of content at scale is through batching.

Batching is a productivity technique that involves grouping similar tasks together and completing them in a focused, uninterrupted block of time. 

In the context of content creation, batching involves setting aside a specific block of time (such as a few hours or a full day) to complete multiple pieces of content at once. This could involve writing several blog posts, filming multiple videos, or creating a batch of social media posts all in one sitting. 

By focusing on one type of content at a time and eliminating distractions, batching can help you streamline your workflow, increase efficiency, and produce high-quality content at scale.

And some business owners like to use a hybrid system of content creation. This means they use the repurposing method by creating their weekly video, then batch their content in one sitting. This is effective because it helps generate massive exposure for the business while also giving you a chance to create a unique message that resonates with your audience.

Maximizing Your Content Creation

Whether you consider yourself a content creator or not, if you are writing and sharing messages on social media, emails, or creating free resources, you are creating content.

Creating content consistently is the key to you growing your business in our online environment. 

To create content at scale, you can start by:

4. Identifying the key content pillars that you want to talk about and be known for.
5. Creating a master list of ideas and source topics from common questions, email outreach, social media polls, or in groups where your audience is hanging out.
6. Scale your content creation by repurposing your weekly live calls or batching your content creation.