The first step to creating meaningful content in your marketing...
I’ve woken to a cold wet day with the a light dusting of snow on our mountains. I am on the couch (my regular “office”) snuggled under a blanket. I have a cup of tea and warmth. It’s quiet with the kids occupied elsewhere. It feels safe, and welcoming like a big hug. Like, this is my favourite place to be ever even if only for a few moments at a time. It fills me up and nourishes me. It helps me to rest and be productive. I can focus and day dream. My overwhelm and anxiety can melt away.
My business does not have a physical brick-and-mortar shop. My business moves with me. Whether I am meeting a client, sitting on the couch or the kitchen table or even the office it can move with me and my laptop. My business is an entity in multiple ways now - online, legal, website, and in and of me. I created it therefore I can create the experience I want my audience and customers to have (or at least provide the opportunity for it). And I can create the experience I want to have in my business, everyday.
It’s an ongoing practice in curation and cultivation of a feeling. I always ask my clients “how do you want to feel?” as one of their success metrics (along with a revenue goal). Because life is about experiencing something, feeling something deeply in your body. Everyday we feel whether we recognise it or not. The body is a multi-brained ecosystem all pieces connected and tuned in even underneath the top line brain workings. To be embodied in your business is to connect, feel and think throughout your whole body. Where do you feel the feels? How do you want to feel in yourself as you manage, grow and love you business over the long term? This helps to create inspired action within the container of your strategy as well.
What I want to feel in my business that same snuggly on the couch feeling - a sense of purpose, the ability to make change, relaxed and calm, the ability to dream and make it happen, connection (to self and others), warmth, nourishment, feeling safe and welcomed and even if I might feel uncomfortable at times (hello online vulnerability) I get a hug - it’s going to be okay. The feeling of “being you is the best thing you can be in your business - honour that” and pure flow, ease, joy and beauty. That I have the space to listen to what my body needs and the confidence to have a voice.
This feel is the best one - the most amazing joyous happy dance when my clients have their “shifts” and get the results they want in their business and life. So so good.
These feelings are the vibes I want for my audience and clients. That they get this feeling from my content, my online “store front” and connecting with me. And then… this is the best bit…they create their own feelings and experiences in their businesses and learn how to create it for their audience and clients either from the content or as my 1:1 private coaching client where we can go deeper and customised. Because, this is where the gold is for your marketing and life.
Recently I have been really deepening my awareness of why I am on social media when I am not scheduling posts or writing content. Why am I scrolling? What am I looking for ?
What are we searching for?
It’s that feeling. For some maybe loneliness is in there, low self-worth, low confidence, wanting to stay on trend (fomo-itis), just checking in what what others are doing (and thinking “maybe that’s what I should be doing too” - comparisonitis), boredom (go deeper with this, there’ll be a reason), looking for the answer to a question they may not know they are asking, or even tapping into a dream that they hold dear (there are many reasons as unique as we are). And yes, the whole thing is set up to take advantage of our searching for this feeling but marketing has been doing that forever. This is just the latest medium. Marketing has always been about promoting a solution to a problem, meeting a desire or need, or creating a feeling that you want in your life and you’re willing to pay for. *
What are you searching for?
Every time I am on socials I keep thinking that so much of this I don’t need to see. Most of this content is content I followed because I felt “less than” and that their content was going to be the content to change everything. It hasn’t. At least it might have given me a few tips like how to use Canva or a new app but mostly something to buy or an inspiration for how to live my life. [Side note - how often do you scroll and see an ad and think “ooh I need that” even though 2 secs before you didn’t know you needed it? Hello marketing]. Mostly they are someone else pedalling their wares. “here are the top 10 ways to grow your email list” or “use this trending audio today for 1000 new followers” or “what if I told you X was the secret to X” yawn….*
I have a personal account too and over there it is completely different. The people I follow give me a feeling through their words or photography or video. It feels like I am snuggling on the couch and it’s safe and warm and welcoming. I will actively go to the accounts I want to catch up on. The people I want to learn from. Yes, some will still be selling something (they’re in business too) but it doesn’t matter. I might buy the book or I might actually spend longer than a micro second and really love the image, read the caption and gosh, engage and reply with a comment! It’s just more authentic. I want to get to know them and be in their space.
Some I do follow for interior design love and have to check myself that I am not comparing my life to theirs and then go out and try and make it happen in my life and get grumpy when it doesn’t work the same [note to self - you can not template someone else’s life onto yours]. And occasionally I go through them all and unfollow those I no longer align with.
So, think…what are you searching for? What are the feelings you are wanting to have in your body that you are trying to get from Instagram or Pinterest or TikTok? A brief respite from the world with entertainment, connection to community, news updates, the latest business advice so you don’t fail at yours, a reminder of the beauty in humans and our Earth, top tips for gardening this Autumn, the perfect bra, a quick dopamine hit. What is it?
Can a social media feed feel like a sanctuary and still be transparent that there are products for sale? Yes, because it has been proven off line too in physical stores. Even offline we are searching for sanctuaries in the businesses that we go to locally. What does it feel like inside? What does it smell like? Where is the parking? The music and staff energy. The colours and layout. The lighting and merchandising. Do you feel safe making a transaction and spending your money?
There are 2 key points to this blog that are going to help you to create content and cultivate a community. But, firstly yes, social media is both a relationship and advertising platform. How you use it is up to you. Being aware of how you use it and doing it anyway is the first step. If it doesn’t make you feel good maybe it’s time to readdress your use of it (or outsource it for your business). Understanding how to use it for your business in a genuine, authentic way and being comfortable with creating relationships and selling at the same time is a dance to practice every day. But, it can be done in a gentle, soft, confident yet feminine way without the hustle and hunt style of marketing.
Firstly, this is an element of self-discovery. Being you as much as you can be in your business and how you “show up” online as you is what will help you to connect to the people that want to work with you - especially if you are the brand (if you are a team behind a product you can still connect with your values and create the vibes through brand elements, content etc). And they want to be in your energy. And ultimately buy the thing you sell. Knowing why you are scrolling will help with this because…
Everyone else is searching too. When it comes to creating content for your audience and customers think about what you search for and then what you offer in your business. Can you show this feeling in your content? That you are safe, welcoming, a sanctuary from the world. That you are fun and energetic and motivating. Or confident, vibrant and happy. Or someone they can talk to and you listen. Or someone that gets them. That really gets them. You know what they are searching for too. And you can help. That your product can help. That your team can help.
And from this point you can create content that feels good to you. Content that you are proud to have out in the world. Content that aligns to your values and business (not someone else’s). How often you create content, where you post it or what the result you want is depends on your business strategy and that’s a whole other blog post. Your content creates the feels.
The ability to create content and to market yourself and your business with ease comes from getting into belief and confidence about what you do, why you do it and who it’s for. And practice. I’ve been in marketing for 20 years so content creation comes relatively easily but many of you don’t have that experience - you just want to do your thing and have customers/clients. Overwhelm and low self-worth are big for many of my clients. They don’t even feel they are worthy of having a voice “why would anyone listen to me?” Or “no one wants what I am selling” or “I don’t know what to say” - these are big thoughts that many of them have. And many also over think it and then do nothing. Or writing and creating is not something they are used to doing. They want it to be perfect. But it doesn’t need to be.
It needs to align with your bigger business strategy (your audience might not even be on social media - remember there is a whole tool kit of marketing tools we used before social media and still can — but social media can get you in front of your people every day a lot easier) and what you are trying to create.
With clarity, a strategy and a big ol’ content session these can go away over time. They still pop up especially when we decide to change our business or go to the next level. And we evolve and grow.
What are your people searching for?
Create a sanctuary for you in your business and create a sanctuary for your audience and customers in your business. Look at all the places they might interact with you and create the vibes there. Take them on a journey, look after them and they will in turn look after you. Because, ultimately marketing (and your brand) and creating content for a marketing channel is about curating a feeling from that exposure over time. Then leading people to build like, know and trust and feel safe in the your unique sanctuary so they want to have a relationship with you whether that’s a one-off purchase or repeat buy/loyal customer. You are in control of this creation.
*many of the accounts I follow in my business feed are clients or connections with people in my community. Those that have actively chosen to follow me. Supporting them through this space is super important - loving their content, seeing their wins, heartfelt content and connection. Switch to focusing on building relationships on social media rather than it being a place to advertise feels more grounding and a positive use of my time and energy in this space.