I’m not one for resolutions in general. I’m more of a gentle, positive shifts kinda gal. BUT this year I’ve decided to be bolder in my business and push out of my comfort zone. Are you the same? With that in mind, I’m challenging you to set one – or more – of these BRAVE content marketing intentions to spice up your engagement, enquiries, and excitement this year. Who’s in?
What is content marketing and why do I need it?
Before we dive in, let’s quickly refresh on why content marketing is a pivotal part of your business’s marketing strategy. Trust me when I tell you, you should not overlook content marketing this year if you want this to be the year you positively thrive.
Content marketing is the creation and sharing of free stuff like blogs, social media posts, videos, Reels, ebooks, and emails that share information, entertain, and educate your audience without directly selling.
You’re helping, not aggressively forcing people to sign on the dotted line.
Here’s why content marketing is crucial for your business strategy if you want to grow this year:
- It’s generally free if you do it yourself, so only costs your time
- It’s SO effective – being helpful is everything to a customer during the exploratory stages of the buying journey
- It builds your reputation as a good egg
- It amplifies your online presence and visibility in a competitive field
- It sets you apart from others doing similar stuff
So, are you game?
Let’s make some brave steps into the content marketing world with some BOLD resolutions.
Five brave content marketing intentions (to push out of your comfort zone and see your business THRIVE)
Talk on video
I’m starting with this one because it was a BIGGIE for me, in two ways.
One, it was a massive fear. I genuinely thought it was impossible for me to do. I’m naturally introverted and despite the fact I left high school in 1998, I was sure someone from the popular group would see my Insta stories and ridicule me (reality check: they didn’t know who I was then and definitely don’t now!).
Two, it was hugely effective form of content marketing for me when I finally plucked up the courage to start filming my little car videos outside the school gates.
I really believe this was the moment ideal customers started feeling connected to me, which made them engage and want to work together.
Have you done this yet? If you still can’t bring yourself to speak on Insta stories or film a video of yourself, is it time to put on the big girl pants and give it a whirl?
Trust when I say that if I can do it, honestly – you totally can. I’ll do a separate post with some tips for you, but if you need help more urgently, message me.
Write a blog
Do you ever feel like you don’t have the right words to articulate what you want to say? Maybe you get it down in some form but feel it’s not interesting enough to publish.
I’m not really sure if I’m supposed to say this as a content writer, but I genuinely believe most people can write.
Importantly, we’re not talking about busting out that GSCE English essay tone that felt forced and unnatural. This is about writing how you speak, your way, and just f*cking publishing it.
If you really struggle writing, try recording voice memos and either typing them up or using a website like Otter to transcribe them for you (the free package currently offers 300 minutes in 30-minute slots).
You know blogs are my absolute fave form of content marketing.
So, if you’ve been following me a while, you’ll have heard me blabbing on about benefits like having a bank of content to break down into multiple emails, social posts, videos and more from one blog. Or how they help dream customers find you on Google and position you as an expert in your niche.
Need a kick to get going? Start here!
Give something big away for free
OK, so this might not be daunting in the way the first two are, but I’ve spoken to plenty of people who are nervous about giving away all their expertise for free and I used to be the same.
I would worry my audience would use the free tips and never actually need to pay me for anything, defeating the object entirely.
But then a wise woman told me there’s no such thing as giving away too much value, and this shifted something for me and changed my attitude to content marketing entirely.
While running my online course live in February 2022, I used some of the content in short snippets on my social media to give a taster of what we were learning and working on.
Knowing I’d helped people along the way, whether they were here for the odd freebie or investing in the full support, was a lovely feeling. And honestly, most of the info we have to share is available out there on the internet somewhere.
I say, if someone has the time and motivation to scour the web, compile and implement it all, good for them. Most people don’t, and they work with you for accountability and personalised support rather than those free resources.
Does this change your mind?
What could you give away to your audience for free to boost your visibility or build your email database?
Film a Reel
You – yes, you – can film a Reel. Before you start telling me you’re a dinosaur and it’s out of your reach, hear me out.
Reels are designed to be easy to create.
At the most basic level, you literally upload a video of some trees blowing in the wind, click the text button, write something meaningful and hit post.
There are plenty of other things you can add as you go along, but it’s really not as hard as you think. Plus, right now Insta is still pushing Reels as its preferred type of content, so it’s likely to get you more visibility than a grid post or a story.
You can also save the video and use it on your LinkedIn and Facebook, to get more bang for your buck.
I follow a couple of Reels tips accounts and save the trending audios they recommend using, as this raises your chance of being seen. I also go through life filming random clips of said trees, myself, and other things so when I come to create a Reel, the audio and video is already banked and I simply have to add music and text.
So, how about it? Do you dare?
And if you do, will you tag me in your finished Reel so I can go celebrate you?
Show up as YOU
From my three years’ experience of running my own business and putting it out into the world, the most important thing I’ve done to build my visibility and earn trust from my audience is actually showing up as myself.
I used to envy other people’s polished selfies, wistful scenery shots and succinct captions.
But then I realised we’re all different, and the only way we can attract people who share our vibe is to be fully ourselves through the content marketing we put out into our little corner of the internet.
For me, showing up as myself means:
- Filming waffley Insta stories from my messy car
- Being honest when I’m feeling sh*t personally rather than putting on an act
- Sharing that I’m sometimes posting on the fly and haven’t always got a perfectly mapped out plan for my content (this was big – I thought you’d think I was crap at my job, but hey, even content writers are human lol)
- Posting make-up free dog walking selfies with a spontaneous caption because it sprung into my head
- Writing in my own style, even if it’s long-winded and features my weird witticisms and random Taylor Swift lyrics.
So, tell me – how is authenticity going to look for you?
Find your content community this year
If all of this seems scary and you wish you had a circle of mates cheering you on from the sidelines, making you accountable to actually do content marketing properly, giving you confidence, sharing your content, offering you inspiration, posting lovely comments, and generally being your personal hype squad, this is what it’s like to be in my Content Club.
We meet once a month for a Zoom, and this year I’m adding virtual coworking onto it so we can decide what to do with our content and actually get it done there and then, how about that?
Find out more here or drop me a DM to chat.
