If you are someone who is:
- Throwing things at the wall to see what sticks, but nothing feels like its working
- Following advice blindly without having much thought into what you’re creating and putting out into the world
- Posting for the sake of keeping up appearances but you’re not inspired by your content
Then this episode should provide some clarity around how you can create your killer content strategy.
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Now before we dive into the tips, I’ve recently found that whenever I speak to new business owners, they think that once they know the strategy, then they will be successful. As if having the perfect strategy is the key to unlocking their dreams.
But if you imagine you’re on one side of shark infested waters and your dream life, your dream business and your dream self is on the other side, a strategy isn’t the bridge that gets you across.
Instead think of it as the timber that makes up the bridge. Having the perfect strategy won’t get you there on its own.
Now I thought it was important to bring that up because I was on a discovery call with a new student of mine recently and she said that she had this vision, she could picture that dream life but didn’t know how to get there, so she was trying so many different strategies.
She followed the advice one person told her, then realised a couple weeks later, that it wasn’t working and then listened to something else and tried that and once again it wasn’t working. When she came to me she was so frustrated and stressed because she didn’t know what she was doing wrong and she felt super confused on what she should be doing.
So if we’re using the bridge analogy, what she was trying to do was use all these different sized planks to put across but what she was missing was the nails that held them together. Sure she could have piled all the planks all up and built a path to make her way across, but it’d be wobbly, unstable and she’d be hesitant and scared to take action because she wouldn’t feel safe crossing it.
The same goes for your business. If your foundation and your path forward isn’t rock solid you will always be hesitant, you’ll second guess and it will be harder for you to get there.
Going back to the bridge, as I said she was missing the nails. The nails is your mindset. Most people who join my program initially come in wanting the hard skills, to learn what programs they need to use as Virtual Assistants, they want the DM scripts to learn how to land clients on sales calls, they want the tips and guidance on how to create good content and stand out online.
But what they actually take away is the mindset and the soft skills that actually ties it all together for them. We work on creating a solid foundation first, so that they feel comfortable trying new things and branching out, because they know that their bridge, their path way is clear, solid and safe to cross. And that feeling of safety comes from having this abundance mindset that you are always supported, and believing that there is always enough.
So the first step when it comes to building a killer content strategy is to understand that a strategy isn’t the key to your success, its only part of the roadmap to get there.
Whilst that might sound soul crushing if you’ve been putting so much energy and effort into crafting it. It actually opens up a whole new perspective and allows you to not take it so seriously and to actually start having more fun with creating content.
It also means theres not only one way to do things. It opens up the possibility that you can be successful regardless of what strategy you are using and that means you can take away the pressure and stress you’re putting on yourself if you feel like nothing is working at the moment.
It’s all good and well for me to tell you that you get to dictate your own rules and it’s ok for you to challenge the way things have always been done and make your own roadmap, but that’s not actually valuable if you are a complete beginner or you feel like you’ve tried everything and you’re at your wits end.
I often use this saying that you need to know the rules first in order to be able to break them. This goes back to my photography days, where I was shooting portraits and if you use the wrong lens you can distort peoples faces and make them have long noses, huge feet, tiny heads, etc. Once I knew that particular lens lengths created that distortion and I could see it in the camera and images. I was able to understand that I could also use that intentionally and instead of the distortions being a mistake, they became an advantage and elevated my photography. So hence the saying you need to understand the rules in order to break them.
So I wanted to share my ABC formula which is the exact formula I teach my students inside Create With Confidence and work on with my students in order to create a customised content strategy for them and their business.
So If you’re a beginner or feeling frustrated at the moment with your content strategy, use it as a guideline and once you understand the idea behind it, as with all rules, feel free to break it and try something new.
UNDerstanding THE ABC FORMULA
It’s called the ABC formula because there are 3 components to it. A stands for Attract, B stands for Build and C stands for Convert and it also works because I like to think of it like the ABC of content creation, you need to learn the letters before you can form sentences, well you need to have a strategy in order to see long term results.
Imagine an upside down triangle (or funnel) that is broken up into 3.
At the top, the widest part, is your Attract section. In the middle, is your Build section, and at the bottom in the slimmest section is your Convert section.
Every piece of content can and should be able to fit into one of these sections.
So the first step with this funnel is to ensure that you have an aim behind every piece of content, and I don’t just mean what value do you want them to take away from it, I mean what is your aim? Are you hoping to attract more people into your funnel? Are you hoping to build connections with your followers? or Are you wanting them to convert into clients from this piece of content?
I know you’re hoping that everyone turns into a client, and remember that each piece of content is helping you do that, but you need to warm them up and guide them down your funnel first.
So, ask yourself this question for every idea you have for content pieces, because you could have the best idea in the world but if you are throwing it out there with no intention behind it, then its hard to track whether what you are doing is working or not.
So now that you’re being really intentional with your content, the second step is to work out the percentages you want to create. The percentages you use should reflect your goals.
For example if you are a new virtual assistant and your current following is filled with only family and friends not potential clients, perhaps your big goal is to attract more people who could be ideal clients.
In your strategy, you would want to have a higher percentage of attraction based content, so that you are drawing more people to your content, to your page and to potentially working with you.
If you are a social media manager but your profile is lacking personality and you feel like the industry is saturated and you’re not standing out as much as you want, maybe your big goal is to build more connections, share relatability and stand out through your personality.
If thats the case, in your strategy, you’d want to prioritise your build content. Yes you wont draw in as many eyes to your profile but the flip side of the coin is that your current followers will warm up and funnel down.
Lastly, if your aim is to land clients, then you’d want to focus on creating more sales and conversion content that shows the transformation, that shows the social proof and that has a strong call to action to show them how to work with you.
Now the reason that I asked you to imagine a funnel is because it gets narrower the further down you get and that is the exact thing that you will see happen when you post these 3 types.
You will get lots of views, and engagement with attraction based content in comparison to conversion content. The aim with this is to cast the net wide in the hopes that people will then funnel down. But people will drop off and they will fall out of your funnel, but the true, soul aligned clients will funnel down.
Because of that, it’s important to always be creating a combination of all three, you cant just create attraction based content. I know that its tempting because all those views and likes and instant gratification and validation that you’re doing a good job, but what that causes is people not knowing who you are, not knowing how to work with you, or everyone dropping off the moment you switch and try something new.
So always create a combination of all three, but the level at which you break that up is completely up to you and where your priorities and goals lie.
CONTENT IDEAS FOR THE ABC FORMULA
So for attract – it could be a trending sound where you are acting out the scene in an entertaining and relatable way. Perhaps its text on the screen with b-roll video and a trending sound. Below is an example:
For build, that could look like an aesthetic vlog or day in the life with a voice over and trending sound. Something that people will watch because it’s eye catching, it shows your personality and allows people access to what it’s like behind the scenes. Below is an example:
For convert – You could do a blatant promo post or you could sell in disguise. So that could look like an educational post sharing 3 tools for a pain point and hiring a VA is the 3rd point. You’re still giving them the in by encouraging them to work with you, but it’s more subtle. Below is an example:
So now we’ve covered, that strategy alone wont get you there, we’ve covered the ABC formula, different types of content and ensuring there is always an aim behind every piece of content.
The only other step, is for you to go out there and start creating. If you want some personalised feedback on your strategy and content, Click here to book a content audit, and I can provide some guidance and support.
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