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Content Chefs
Think of social media as a vibrant food market where you’re the chef in a pop-up kitchen. This market is bustling with potential customers – your audience. Here, the ingredients are your raw content, and your recipes are your unique creative strategies. While the market brings in the crowd, the appeal of your culinary creations – your posts and interactions – determines your success. This is the heart of mastering social media: delivering standout content in a world overflowing with information.
The Currency of Attention: A Finite Resource
Let’s take a real-world example: Meet Eva Lopez, a recent City Council electee in Salt Lake City, Utah. Eva steered clear of the typical, uninspiring campaign ads. Instead, she chose a different route. She created engaging short-form videos discussing her policy ideas and community concerns and connected with voters through genuine interviews. These videos weren’t just creatively crafted; they were strategically edited for maximum engagement and targeted with custom audiences to reach her specific electorate.
While her opponents used the same tired political ads and door-knocking strategies, Eva created content that would build connections with voters. Where her competition was only having one-to-one conversations, she took the concerns she heard going door-to-door and created content that thousands of people could interact with at once.
Eva’s innovative approach to reaching her voters didn’t just elevate her campaign visibility; it played a pivotal role in her victory against an incumbent, proving the power of authentic and well-crafted content.
This strategy isn’t limited to politicians or international businesses – local businesses, entrepreneurs, and experts take their knowledge, share it, target it to the right people, and build an online presence that drives real-world wins.
It’s Not An Ego Contest
Social media should be seen not as a platform for self-promotion but as a value-driven space. Consider Neil deGrasse Tyson – not a social media influencer in the traditional sense but a respected voice due to his informative and engaging content. Your platform should be a place of learning and connection, a seminar where knowledge and authenticity are paramount.
Back in the early days, Instagram thrived on ‘flex culture’, but today’s audience values substance over show. The real value lies in creating content that educates, entertains, and resonates authentically with your audience.
Take the case of Cardone Ventures, a part of Grant Cardone’s enterprises. Initially, their content revolved around the grandeur of wealth – jets, cars, luxury. However, as this approach began to lose its appeal, we shifted the focus. By prioritizing valuable content and authentic engagement over displays of success, we saw a significant uptick in follower engagement and, more importantly, business growth.
I’ve heard from so many business owners this idea of “I don’t want to seem full of myself”. If you don’t want to be full of yourself, then focus your content on helping your audience rather than looking good for your audience.
What Facebook Says Is Essential To Get Recommended
I had a call with Facebook’s team to go over content strategies that win with their algorithm. The most important factor was content relevance, aka your content speaking to your audience. This is a given. The second factor was consistency. That’s not just a platitude – their algorithm is programmed to reward consistent posting. This consistency shapes your audience’s expectations and builds a level of trust that sporadic posting never will. And statistics back this up: 91% of successful marketers deem consistent content creation crucial.
We did exactly this with Speaker and Author Sylvie di Giusto. Within one month, we had increased the engagement on her content by 1,128%. Later that year, I was invited to be a keynote speaker at the National Speaker Association’s national conference.
For more social media tips for each platform, check out this blog post.
The Risks of a One-Platform Strategy
Putting all your eggs in one basket is risky. It’s like a chef relying solely on one supplier for all their ingredients. What happens if that supplier goes under? Diversifying your platforms is like having multiple suppliers; it ensures you’re not left high and dry if one platform changes its algorithm or policies.
Multi-channel means video first – video content captures your authenticity and is easily repurposed from video to text or audio. And because every platform is currently weighing their recommendation algorithms towards user behaviors of increased video watching, starting with video means you can capitalize on that extra boost in reach.
Millie Adrian, Instagram Coach, grew her following on Instagram through photos and brand shoots. As Instagram started to change its algorithm, Millie felt that being locked into Instagram and subject to the day-to-day changes of the platform’s algorithm shifts put her business at risk. We worked with her to help create more content on YouTube – helping her add 100k new subscribers to her channel over the last year.
For more info on strategy, check out our strategy page.
By focusing on video, Millie was able to create an expansive library of knowledge that she can turn into posts not just on social media, but in paid courses and her website as well.
The Mirage of Virality
You might remember the cinnamon challenge from 10 years ago – people would make videos of them choking on a spoonful of cinnamon they’d dump in their mouth. You don’t remember who started the cinnamon challenge (don’t feel bad; no one does).
Virality doesn’t equal a relationship with your audience. Going viral isn’t the goal. 100 views of the right buyer is more valuable than 100,000 views from the wrong audience.
I had a client who when started working with him would consistently get 300-400 views on videos. He’d only just started on creating content for his coaching business (meaning that the platforms still hadn’t seen consistency). He was frustrated that he hadn’t gone “viral” with his content yet. The conversation then went like this:
“Going viral certainly feels good, but what about leads? Are people messaging you interested in your coaching?”
His reply: “Well yeah. I’ve already closed enough deals to pay for years of your service”.
Virality doesn’t pay the bills. This is a strategy to build a relationship with your audience.
Going viral might feel like hitting the jackpot, but it’s often more like a sugar rush—intense but short-lived. Your content should aim to be a balanced diet, providing the essential nutrients your audience needs to grow and thrive.
No One Says It Like You
Authenticity is your signature dish; it’s what sets you apart in a crowded marketplace. And the numbers don’t lie: 90% of customers state that authenticity is vital in deciding which brands they like, and nearly 89% are willing to reward a brand for its authenticity.
A common thing I see from business owners is trying to rely 100% on external talent for their content. They don’t want to sound silly on camera, or they think their voice sounds weird.
But isn’t it weird that an expert won’t stand behind their knowledge? Isn’t it more silly that the brains of an operation aren’t demonstrating that knowledge to bring in business?
You can certainly delegate creating content to someone in your organization, but there needs to be a face of expertise for your brand. People trust people, not logos. Humanize your information by having a consistent person in the feeds of your audience.
Give Attention To Get Attention
Marketing legend Dennis Yu (Blitzmetrics), a friend and mentor of mine, has repeatedly said that the proof of your work will be found in what your clients & customers say about you. It’s extremely important to remember that an effective social media strategy is to elevate your customers and clients. People share what makes them look good, so if you want to expand your reach, make your clients and customers look good.
Tools for the Modern Content Creator
If these strategies resonate with you and you’re seeking to streamline your content creation process, consider Storyy as your ultimate partner in this journey. Think of Storyy as more than a tool – it’s your sous-chef, prep cook, and dishwasher, all combined. We understand that busy professionals like CEOs don’t have the luxury of time to delve into the intricacies of content tools. Storyy simplifies this process: from generating unique content ideas to expert editing and management, we handle the heavy lifting.
Ready to elevate your content game? Connect with us at Storyy and focus on what you do best – crafting your message. Let us handle the rest.
Parting Thoughts
So, what’s the key takeaway from our pop-up kitchen analogy? Social media platforms are invaluable for bringing in foot traffic, but the success of your ‘kitchen’—your content space—depends on how well you serve your audience. By focusing on value, consistency, and authenticity, you’re not just another vendor; you’re the must-visit spot in the market.
