Operating a business has changed dramatically with the advancement of the social generation! Many business owners are being left in the dust as they refuse to adopt social, using excuses such as:
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I don’t have enough time.
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I wouldn’t know where to start!
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I’m not creative enough.
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It’s not worth our time!
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I prefer other methods of marketing…
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The list really goes on, and to be completely blunt… they’re all full of shit!
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over 70% of people are on some form of social media with numbers much higher in younger generations. This is where the world is going people! Get on board, or be forgotten.
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Social media cuts out the advertising agency and gives you a direct line with the customer that shouldn’t be undervalued in terms of customer service. Now, I used to think that creating lots of social media content would be extremely time-consuming and a drag…
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I mean, how do you think of these ideas? Then you have to create, promote and publish all the content on Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, Twitter, Snapchat, Musical.ly, and whatever other platforms you’re on.
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It’s a daunting thought… That is until I adopted the mentality of Documenting VS Creating.
What is Documenting?
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Simply put, create content surrounding what you’re already doing or planning on doing in the future.
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For example:
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I’ve had my Logo re-designed, I did this all online using a particular company. Throughout this process, I’m recording my computer screen and talking about the process.
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Why? Because lots of people will want to know where to go to get their logo designed inexpensively and professionally.
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Prior to using this company I tried about half a dozen other organizations, they were all inferior. With that info, I can steer people clear of them, and to the better company instead.
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I would have been doing this anyway, and now I have:
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A Youtube video
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A Blog post (could get video transcribed, or type out myself)
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Instagram post or story (if I wanted I could take a screenshot of the video, post with info etc)
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Snap chat story while going through the process (small snippet, directing to Youtube)
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Tweet the video or blog post, or create a tweet linking to either.
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Facebook post linking to any of the above,
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If you’re a solopreneur then above is perfect for you! If you have a team to work with then you need to be creating native content for each platform to take real advantage of everything.
”Social media is not a media. The key is to listen, engage, and build relationships.
David Alston
How to Document?
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It’s really not that hard! You just need to look out for opportunities in your day to day life. Would people enjoy seeing what you’re doing today? Have you learned something that people would benefit from knowing? Try to add value every opportunity you get and eventually it will become second nature.
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If you still need some inspiration here are some practical examples:
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You work at a bakery – show the behind the scenes of how everything’s made – Create tutorials – Take photos of customers with their personalized cakes and tag them etc.
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You work in retail – explain to customers how some of the more premium products are designed – do an internal “catwalk show” on Instagram and Snapchat – Un-boxing of new products – Tour of the store etc.
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Online business – record you’re screen when working on challenges with the business – Do Q & As – Share your progress as you develop the website. (ideas are dependent on the industry)
You get the idea, it’s a simple solution to racking your brain for creative social content. You’ll also find, after documenting for a few months the quality of your content will improve drastically. That’s assuming you’re taking the time to actually think about how you could become better. It’s simple, the best way to learn is to do, then critique and edit.
I implore you to just get started and see where it takes you!
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Thanks for reading, I hope this helped you in some way 🙂
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Comment below with how you’ll document your progress.
