Turning one idea into a month of social media content.
When it comes to creating social media content, one of the biggest obstacles small businesses face is figuring out what to talk about. Constantly coming up with fresh ideas day after day becomes a giant hardship, often stalling progress and causing them to avoid posting all together. Avoid all that stress by picking one major topic, and learn how to make it last all month. That may sound easier said than done, but here’s the secret: think of your social media content as a big tree, and every month your job is to “plant” a topic and grow that tree, with a strong trunk, filling it out with branches and leaves along the way.
The Trunk
Blog post –This is your main topic for the month, and likely your longest piece of content. As you write, keep in mind that you will use this as the basis for the rest of your content for the month, so leave room for the elements that follow. If you don’t have an official blog or newsletter, you can just post it on your social media outlets. We always do ours on the 3rd Wednesday of the month, because that makes the most sense for our workflow. Pick whatever day of the month that works for you and stay consistent.
The Branches
Breakouts-Take an element from your blog (or “main”) post and flesh it out further, adding more detail, further clarifications and specific examples. Once you get the hang of writing the main post, you will start to very easily see what the obvious breakouts are. We aim for three breakout posts a month, but you could certainly do more if your topic is especially meaty.
The Twigs & Leaves:
Vocabulary / Technical Jargon-Educating your consumer makes for great content! In the least complicated way possible, explain a term, process or product in a way that someone outside of your industry can understand.
Employee Profile- Your customer WANTS to know who you are, so take time to introduce yourself & your employees. It could be a basic introduction including name & job title, or it could be something more creative, like your favorite place to travel, or an unusual hobby. Some of our best interaction has been on posts that are about us as individuals!
Soft Post-Soft posts are by far the easiest posts to do, and while the name sounds fluffy, they have a huge impact. Use a quote, a meme, a book or podcast recommendation to simply & clearly drive home your topic for the month & create a personal connection with your clients.
Wild Card-We set aside a “wild card” day every month. Sometimes life happens & you have to shift things around. This placeholder allows you to add extra breakouts, remind clients about an important deadline, or announce a change happening in your business.
Challenge or Poll–It’s so fun to see what your clients are thinking. Have them choose your new product, or tell you about their needs. A poll or a challenge is a great way to interact with your clients and gain insight for future topics.
How many posts you do a month will really be determined by how much time you can commit to the process and what resonates with your audience. More doesn't always mean better, so experiment a bit & see how your interaction is affected. For us, 2-3 times a week is the sweet spot, but that may be different for your audience.
If you're feeling overwhelmed already and just want someone to help take care of all of this for you, we have great news! We will be onboarding new clients for Social Media Management services in the next couple months, so click here: https://www.missoulabookkeeper.com/social-media-management to get your name at the top of the list.
