ow can you gain the attention of your audience and retain it, with real longevity and relationship building in mind? Win them over and gain their love, trust, and attention? Well, read on...
It's really simple
Give them what they most want and/or need. That's it. Nothing special, no magic sauce, no secret ingredient. Just find out what your customers and audience really care about and give it to them.
OK, so how’s do you find this information out and how can you create what's needed?
Firstly, and it's likely you have already done this...ask your customers what their pain points are, or go through your most popular queriers that you get. Find out what the top 10 FAQs are. Chances are you will already know some of this as you have been dealing with your customer base for years. If you are in a new sector, then it’s the perfect time to start some vital research ☀️
This research will offer you a basic platform in which to build your content strategy on. Your customers have needs, it’s just about highlighting what they are and visually representing them in a simple and engaging way.
But what do I need to post then?
Well, here is a list of some ideas for you to get started. Remember, your audience and customer base need this to help them either use your products and services, or get the most out of what they have. You can help them achieve their goals through positive, helpful advice. This will help you to establish your brand as a 'front-of-mind' option for your audience. Here are a few ideas to get you started with zero budget and very little time needed. It is worth nothing, the majority of the ideas below are focused mainly on video and images. The main reason for this is that these are the two easiest mediums for you to really leverage and with very little upfront knowledge and cost required. Options like infographics and motion design, although highly effective, will require a little more budget and expertise to leverage, even if that is in the way of an app. These options and ideas will be explored in future blog posts, so stay tuned for them. If you do have any questions around the use and creation of graphics and motion design content, then just drop me a message on here or on social 🥳
Images & Video
Images and video clips of your day-to-day. This can be as simple as your team working, making, creating, meeting, networking, building, designing, and manufacturing. Showcasing your culture, the people and any team building or training that you may be doing. The truth is, it really doesn't matter what the image is of as long as it represents something to do whit you, your business, your products or service, your team, your customers, or your followers. It might be some product imagery, or a cup of coffee on a desk. You can add context to the image in the copy of the post, or on the landing page that the image is being used on. Just think 'what is happening right now...or today, that I can capture and share'? Remember that there are so many places where these images can go, don't just drop on their main feed, consider using stories too, as these are highly engaging, and people will interact and remember it.
The same can be said about video too, talk to your camera phone as though you are talking to one of your customers. Say hello, tell them why you are making this video, and then go for. "Hi, my name is Tom, from Motion Refind, I just wanted to make this quick video to give you all a few ideas on how to go about posting some great, easy to create content on your social pages". You get the idea. Keep it informal, conversation and REAL! People love authenticity, so don't try and make it something it isn't. It's not about being perfect, it’s about being helpful, supportive, engaging, fun and memorable. Perhaps not all of these things at once, any one of them will do.
Here are a few ideas of the sort of things you can post images and videos about...remember, the only way to really do this wrong, is to not do it at all:
- Advice/Support
- Deals/Offers
- News - New products, events, PR
- Products/Services
- Testimoials and reviews from customers
- General day-to-day, securing new business, designing new products, creating, delivering etc
Remember, that all marketing is about relationship building!
Social media is not media. The key is to listen, engage and build relationships. - David Alston, Author
Here is a great example from one of my clients R&J Machinery and their Instagram profile: Now these guys have not paid me to manage their social pages. They do it all in house and they do a great job too! Although I might need to tell them about naming their highlights lol. The point is, it's brilliant, not too clever, simple, and well received amongst their followers, customer base and sector practitioners.
Another one of my clients is Green Grey. These guys are relatively new to the scene but have a very distinct brand style and tone of voice. I do create all their social content, so this example is more hands on from my point of view. But the two examples in R&J and Green Grey show two different, but very effective ways to approach this. You can manage this yourself, or you can get me (or someone else with my skillset) on a retainer. It really isn't expensive though and as you can see from the R&J example, can easily be managed in-house too.
This is all you need to do, find out what they need, give it them and perhaps most importantly...be CONSISTENT.
This last point about consistency is an important one. Even if you are just posting pics of your team and your products, then keep it up. 2-3 posts a week on Instagram will see a steady growth in engagement. Just make sure you are adding value every now and then. As for that, I will be doing a whole separate post on adding value and how to really do this in a future post. So keep an eye out for it.
For now people, take care, and remember #createwithpurpose ✌🏻
