If You Struggle With Content Creation For Your Business, Read This
A few weeks ago, I asked my Instagram followers to tell me what they want in 2023 as far as content from me - they filled out this survey (feel free to go ahead and do it too!) and almost every single person said their #1 challenge in business was that they didn't know what type of content to create.
And I get it - if you're going to put your time and energy into your content creation, you want to know that it's valuable for your audience and you want it to perform well.
Not to mention, as a business owner, you have thousands of other things that need your attention, so it’s easy to overlook the content creation piece and focus on other things instead.
But here’s why creating content for your business is so crucial…
Did you know that 47% of people consume 3-5 pieces of content before purchasing from you?
This means that when someone finds you, whether that be through Instagram, TikTok, your podcast, your email list or they just randomly stumble upon your website, a majority of people will continue to look through your content before they take the next step.
Of course, some people are quick buyers and they don’t need as much information as others, but you want to make sure that the content is there for the people who do.
If that slow buyer can’t easily find those 3-5 pieces of content that they need to feel confident buying from you, they’ll continue their search and find someone else who DOES have those content pieces and they will likely take action elsewhere.
Now that you know why content creation is so important, let’s get into WHAT exactly it is and, more importantly, HOW to do it well!
What is Content Creation?
As simple as this question may seem, it’s honestly so valid because in the past few years, especially with the rise of TikTok, people have taken on the title of “content creator” as their full time job and it’s often used interchangeably for “influencer.”
Because of this, content creation as a business owner might feel fuzzy for you.
What is it? How do you do it? Where do you do it?
All great questions, so let’s break it down. ⬇️
Simply put, content is anything you create to share with your audience. It’s anything that provides value and is usually created with the purpose to educate, motivate, inspire or persuade your audience.
It can be a social media post, including static posts, Reels, Instagram stories, TikTok videos, etc., a blog post like this, podcast episode, YouTube video, LinkedIn post, pin on Pinterest or any other medium that delivers a message of some sort to people.
How you do it and where you do it will vary based on who your ideal audience is, where they spend their time and how they consume content.
Before we get into the how, I think it’s important to note that your content creation style might look very different from other people in your industry or from your business bestie… in fact, it probably should look different.
It seems like lately everyone is trying to do the trendy thing - and by trendy I mean the thing that is popular. The thing that everyone else is doing.
And I really do get it. From the time we were kids, we simply wanted to fit in. So it feels like if we just do the thing that everyone else is doing, we’ll surely see results from it.
But that’s not always the case!
For example, if your ideal customer is a woman in her 50’s, do you think she’s scrolling through TikTok to find the solution to problems she’s facing? Probably not.
That’s not to say that fifty year olds can’t operate TikTok, but that’s probably not the first place she’s going to look for a solution.
Instead, she’ll probably go to Google for that, which means you might be better off putting your TikTok content into blog posts, so that you populate in her searches and she can actually find you.
On the other hand, your ideal customer might be a Gen Z-er and, if that’s the case, TikTok is probably a really safe bet to create your content because we know that that’s currently their app of choice.
The point is that you are choosing to create content on platforms that make sense for YOUR audience - not your business besties.
Chances are you’ll end up choosing multiple platforms and mediums to create content on, but the key is to start with the one that makes the most sense, master it and then add another.
When you try to do them all at once, you’ll become overwhelmed and likely not do anything at all - which is the exact opposite of what we want.
So, first things first pick 1 or 2 platforms/mediums that you feel comfortable creating content on consistently.
If you can, try to pick 1 medium for long form content (typically that will be blogs, podcast episodes or YouTube videos) and 1 platform to share short form content (TikTok, Instagram, etc.).
For me, the two things that I focus on are blogs for long form content and Instagram for short form content.
Once you decide your platforms, let’s dive into what you’re really here for - HOW to create the content.
What Type of Content to Create For Your Business
The burning question that we’ve probably all been faced with: what type of content do I create?
If you struggle with creating content for your business, there’s a chance that you fall into one of two camps:
You have SO MANY ideas and things you want to share that you feel completely frozen and paralyzed when it comes time to actually get it out 🥶
OR your creativity is totally tanked so you have no idea where to start with your content 📉
The cool part is that no matter which camp you fall under, the content creation process happens the same way.
And it all starts with: The Brain Dump 🧠
This is exactly what it sounds like - a list of ideas dumped out of your brain onto paper (or the notes app on your phone or a Google Doc) so that you can take action on the ideas later.
This list will be what you pull from when it comes time to write, record a video or create a social media post, so lay it all out in this step. And don’t worry, it shouldn’t be pretty right now. Whatever is in your head, write it down. ✍🏼
If you’re in camp #1, this step will probably come easy for you. The ideas are probably overflowing and that is a GOOD thing!
If you’re in camp #2 and you’re still struggling with content ideas I have a few tricks to get the ball rolling:
Scroll back through your social media posts and see what has really hit for people in the past. If you posted a video or some other post that received a lot of engagement, this shows that people are interested in the topic and may want more of that.
Ask yourself what questions people ask you - chances are if one person is asking it, 100 others are wondering it.
What problems do you help people solve? Think about how you can relay that through your content. Can you create something that demonstrates a transformation of how someone went from point A to point B when working with you?
What do people come to you for? Whether you realize it right now or not, you are known for something and people know they can come to you for help with _____. Dig into that.
Think about your current clients. Why did they hire you? What did they need to know before hiring you? What problems did they have before hiring you? Speak to those things because chances are your future clients or customers are struggling with something similar.
What objections do people have about buying from you or hiring you? Use those objections to create content so that people see how you truly do have the solution that can make their life easier.
After working through those things, if you’re still struggling with content ideas, look to others in your industry for inspiration.
The reason I suggest doing this last is because it’s so easy to compare yourself to others who do something similar to you and that can leave you feeling totally lost on what to create.
You also want your content to be unique to you - what worked for Susie might not work for you and it’s important to acknowledge that!
After this initial brain dump, it’s time to actually create.
Beside each idea, jot down where or how you’ll create the content and get specific.
Will it be an Instagram tweet graphic? Carousel post with 4-5 points? Maybe a TikTok video/Instagram Reel with a trending sound attached? Does it deserve to be a blog post?
(In my humble opinion, I believe that all larger topics deserve to be blog posts and that each blog post can be repurposed on social media manyyyyyy ways!)
In addition to deciding how you’ll create the content, also consider the tone of each idea.
Should it serve as a motivational or inspirational video? Is the content idea strictly for persuading the audience into a specific action? Is it best fit to educate them on something they don’t know?
You want to have a good mix of all of these things! From this list, you should have a solid starting point and can continue adding to your list.
I think you’ll be shocked at how many ideas start coming to you when you simply START!
Two main things to remember when it comes to content creation:
Some content ideas you have will flop. It’s all about testing to see what sticks with your audience and learning from that.
Don’t create with the goal of going viral. Instead, create with the heart of wanting to truly serve.
Creating something to go viral will feel forced and your audience will be able to tell. Creating from the heart will bring in real connection that will often lead to further action from your audience.
I’d much rather create a post from the heart that receives 100 or less views that brings in multiple DM’s, blog post visits or newsletter subscribers and know that it truly served someone rather than create something that receives thousands of views just because it’s trendy or funny with no real action afterwards.
Overall friend, your content is all about your heart behind it. If you view it like just another to-do that has to be checked off, people will know. Don’t force it and instead let your mission shine!