How to Create Content that Crushes on Social
Hayden Shearman of Strategy Collective shares insider tips for creating engaging social media content that gets business humming.
Shortly after the GFC, I returned to Auckland from London and struggled to find work amidst a dearth of marketing vacancies at the time. So I turned to one of my passions—running—by starting a running coaching business.
Lacking a huge advertising budget to get it rolling, it was content marketing, in the form of Facebook and blogging, that quickly grew the business into New Zealand’s largest in-person running business (with over 1000 runners training with us each year).
Now, at Strategy Collective, I’m helping other businesses do the same by making the most of today’s democratised media landscape. More Kiwis are active on social media (at 71% of us) than watch free-to-air television (at only 54%) and this levelled playing field presents a huge opportunity for us all, no matter how small your business, to grow loyal audiences (who become loyal customers) through creating great content.
1. Know your audience
It goes without saying that great content should align with your audience’s interests (whether that be coffee, hair, fitness, or property investing) but it should also mirror your audience’s values, language and core motivations.
As marketing guru Seth Godin put it, is your audience’s core motivation a ¼ inch drill bit or is it the sense of fulfilment from having installed a bookcase with the help of a couple of ¼ inch holes drilled with that drill bit?
2. Give your best
The temptation when sharing free content online is to save the gold only for when customers have paid. But that’s not how to build trust. Instead, offer your best upfront. How many free-to-air Jamie Oliver TV shows did it take before you bought one of his books or products? When in doubt, don’t ask, give, give, give.
3. Tell your story
We love stories. It’s why Game of Thrones has held our attention for three full days of screen time! In fact, stories are so powerful that they can trigger hormonal responses like oxytocin (to stories that promote empathy), dopamine (to pleasurable stories) and cortisol (to stressful stories). So, you’re not just telling stories, you’re creating a chemical connection between you and your audience.
4. Be yourself
Avoid sounding like your university lecturer or a textbook at all costs! The best content on social media is just that, it’s social. It looks and feels just like you would if you were interacting with friends at a dinner party. Authentic, passionate, empathetic, caring, engaging.
5. Ask great questions
In that dinner party situation, an engaging person would keep the conversation moving by asking questions and actively listening. Mark Zuckerburg has expressly stated that Facebook’s algorithm prioritises “posts that spark conversations and meaningful interactions between people”. So, how can you be a conduit for those discussions?
6. Love your audience
In recent years, we’ve seen the rise of the micro-influencer—social media profiles with less than 100,000 highly engaged followers. Kim Kardashian has 140 million followers on the Gram, but there’s no way she can keep up with the engagement rates of a passionate content producer with a loyal tribe of just 5000.
Kevin Kelly famously said that all you need to build a business is 1000 true fans. If you’ve nurtured their trust and generously given of yourself, they’ll become customers. And if 1000 fans gave you $3 per day (less than a coffee a day), you’d immediately have a million dollar business. Boom. Building trust and loving your audience goes a long way!
I’d love to chat about getting your content crushing it on social. Plus, our support can be partially funded through NZTE’s capability voucher scheme. Let’s do coffee!
hayden@strategycollective.co.nz | strategycollective.co.nz
