On my Business Owners and Entrepreneurs – Transition Guy Podcast I interviewed Jay Jay founder of Ace of Spades PR agency. We discussed creating an online presence and how to monetise it. More than half of the world uses social media. 227 million new users have come online within the last 12 months. However, the online world is congested and people are finding it hard to be seen. Video content drives much of social media but finding good content is hard.

How do we make our content visible?

Let’s return to the basics of social media. Consistency is key. Consistency and longevity. Some of the most powerful players on social media took years to build their following and they did it through consistency and longevity. Remember that social media is the long game. Content you make now can gain traction months after it goes live. The value of people re sharing and liking your content can be hard to quantify but very often it is positive. For example, your cupcake making video is uploaded, nothing happens for 6 months and then someone shares it. The person that shares it has a network of followers which includes a producer of Good Morning America. The producer sees the video, remembers it for a cupcake segment they are planning. The producer uses the content on Good Morning America and your personal brand rockets through the exposure gained. Building our network is important. For this we need strong consistent content. So how do we create that?

Think about your purpose

What is the purpose of your content? Do you want to be famous? Do you want more business, more clients, more cash flow? What is your reason for creating social media content? Once you have found the reason behind your desire to create social media content then you can come up with a strategy. That strategy must start with finding where your potential audience hangs out. Which social media platforms do they use? Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Tik Tok. Choose the platform where they are and get to know it. For example Facebook spends a lot of time and money on group pages. The reason is that they want people on the app longer and they want more engagement time. This gives them a greater window to collect data on the users, which they sell to brands. Find the groups where your potential audience are and create content which solves their problems.

Company branding or personal branding?

People aren’t buying the product, they’re buying you. We don’t buy from robots. We buy from a human. You want to get to know the person, you want to get to know what they stand for, what they believe. You need to connect with them. When creating your content you are looking to build relationships with your clients and customers. Think about the language you are using and if it will resonate with your potential client base. They need to trust you and see your product or service as something they need to make their life better or easier. Ultimately your social media content should demonstrate how you can solve their problem. Your content should reflect that in a personal way. Don’t push the company – push the person behind it. Find the story behind your business. Richard Branson is a prime example of an airline owner who has leveraged his personal brand to build his company brand. No one knows who the owner of Qatar Airways or Qantas is. However, we all know who the owner of Virgin is. Richard Branson has built a successful brand through trust and personality.

Treat your content like a business.

You are most likely a subject matter expert when it comes to your business but creating content is a completely different skill. You are unlikely to be an expert in this without having studied what makes good content and how to make it. You can learn how to create good content or you can find someone who is a brilliant social media creator and pay them to do it for you. Treat your content like a business. Find a person who can help you shape your online content. It is important to remember that social media platforms evolve, the expert of today may not be the expert of tomorrow. We have to continue to evolve and ensure that we have the right people doing the right job at the right time.

Don’t send mixed messages.

Be linear, clear and consistent in your social media content otherwise you will confuse people. Don’t try to be all things to all people. Your intention will get lost. If people are confused by your content, they will be confused by what you’re offering and ultimately will lack trust in you. That means they probably won’t buy from you or use your service.

Feedback

Get feedback on your content. For example if you know your local coffee shop worker well, get them to have a look at a draft post. Ask them what it says to them. What do they see? They may not be your target audience but they will give you an honest answer. This then allows you to fix the things that are wrong before it goes out to your audience. In this way you can safeguard your content and ensure that the right content goes out.

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Remember, failing to learn is learning to fail.