This week has been a biggie for My Open Kitchen – two workshops and one talk/lunch event – all up meeting and working with just shy of 100 inspiring, creative and innovative small businesses from Gundagai to Tumut, Orange, Mudgee, Griffith and Sydney. Thank you so much to every one of you who came along.
I always like to send a follow up email to all workshop participants, full of links and resources and ideas we covered, and just thought that maybe it would be helpful if I shared it here with you guys too.
So. Here goes…my social media primer as a list of 12 things to think about if you want to up your engagement on Instagram (mostly), but also Facebook and other platforms.
The driving idea behind all twelve points is that (I believe) – doing social media well is about creating content that your people want to engage with because it is valuable to them. Content that establishes you as someone to know, like and trust – because as we know, people do business with people they know like and trust.
And also – it’s about being SOCIAL, the clue is in the name.
The pics below are from today’s visual storytelling workshop at Rydal NSW.
1. Social media is a microphone.
Social media really is just one big microphone (thank you so much to Stevie Says Social’s poddy for this fab metaphor) and as we know they are only as good as the voice, joke or story behind it. So before you get behind that microphone, you need to have your story straight. You need to have invested time, consideration and sometimes resources in figuring out what you are doing there in the first place, what you have to say, who you are saying it to and why they should care. You can have all the analytic tools in the world, you can have a shiny website and a fancy logo and SEO optimisation, but if you don’t have a clear voice, purpose and ideal customer in mind, your content will most likely fall flat.
2. Take the time to create useful content that will resonate.
There’s no quick fix here – if you want to gain traction and get good engagement on social media, especially in the age of the algorithm, you have to work at it. You need to invest the time to learn how to take a good photo and create a content plan that tells a useful story.
Get creative with the kinds of photos and videos you use to tell your story.
Post a boomerang of your team on Friday afternoon, post a beautiful photo of one single bloom, loaf of bread, paint brush, whatever, do a flat lay of the tools of your trade, take a photo of your dusty country lane at sunset, a photo through the kitchen window while your kids wash up (wouldn’t that be nice) – always be thinking how can I tell my story differently! How can I make this image a bit special. Your smartphone camera is good – use it to its full advantage!
3. Show up.
Social media is called social for a reason! It’s about people connecting with people, it’s about conversations and community and turning followers into advocates – ambassadors for your product or service. And it’s much easier to create connections with people when you can see their face. So show up in your feed (stories and your grid) every now and then, and consider changing your profile photo to a photo of your face.
4. That said… Its not actually not about you.
It’s about how you can help your ideal customer…. “Modern marketing is the generous act of helping others become who they seek to become, and that cannot happen if you’re simply sharing a message with millions of people.” Seth Godin.
Be specific about the people you want to serve and keep them absolutely front of mind whenever you are posting. Who is your ideal person? Spend some time creating his or her avatar. I call mine ‘Sally’ and I know what she looks like, what keeps her up at night, what are her dreams, hopes, aspirations, concerns and whenever I post something I do try to think to myself – how is this helping Sally, will she care about this post? Does it bring anything to her day?
5. If the label fell off – would people still know it was you? Be consistent.
People do business with people they know like and trust and consistency is a really great way to build that trust – consistency in the kinds of images you post, the times of day you post and the tone of voice you post in.
The goal for me is always to think, when people are scrolling through their feeds, if they came across one of my pictures, would they know it was me if my profile/handle fell off?
6. Lead with empathy!
Which brings me to my next point. Always lead with empathy, again quoting Seth Godin with another, I think powerful marketing adage “people like us do things like this”.
Once you know who you are talking to – hello Sally or Steve! You can create content with their needs in mind. With empathy – because our customers want to be seen, valued and heard.
Brene Brown (US-based researcher and all-round inspiring woman) defines connection as when people feel seen, valued and heard. And we can create this sense of connection by putting empathy at the centre of everything we do. Empathy is the ability to understand and share what our customers are feeling what they’re worried about what they enjoy and when we lead with empathy, that’s where the real connections happen. It’s that really strong sense of I get you I understand you, we are on the same page.
Create connection points, establish a community and a brand that involves Sally and makes her feel seen, valued and heard.
7. Use your words
Write as you would talk to your ideal customer if she was standing right in front of you.
Ok, so now you’ve found your tone of voice – you also need to be aware of word choices. Because the language we use is a powerful tool when it comes to connecting with our readers. And connection is the name of the game.
Here are some tips on building connection through your words;
- Your Sally or Steve wants to see herself or himself reflected on the page; in the wording, they want something to relate to.
- Avoid jargon. Use words they use. For example, if you are a winemaker and wanting to tell your customers (not your peers – important distinction) that you are just about to start picking grapes for vintage, instead of saying ‘Baume is spot on so we will begin picking today’, you could say ‘the grapes are in beautiful shape, lovely and sweet and perfect ripeness for picking so it looks like the 2019 harvest will kick off this afternoon, follow along with us over on IG stories…’
- Use powerful, commanding and welcoming words to inspire action and connection. Here are some good ones to start with;
You – keep it personal, make people feel valued and understood. People want to feel like you are writing to them, just to them, not to a huge faceless mailing list. So instead of ‘we hope you all enjoy our new range’, make this simple change, ‘we hope YOU enjoy our new range’.
Value – Make it very clear what value you are offering to them.
Get – So maybe you have an offer you want to tell people about, instead of ‘click here to buy’ try ‘get your special deal now’.
Because -When asking people to do something, always include a reason. “Visit our cellar door…because it’s the most whatever….’. ‘Come to our event because…..’ As long as people can justify a behaviour in their heads they will do it. For example, have you heard the marketing slogan ‘because you’re worth it!” ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
‘Join’ Become a member’ ‘come along’ – encourage community
Show – ‘Show me outfits I’ll love’ ‘Show me how to…’ ‘Show me how this bottle of cyder will posh up my next dinner party’
ALSO….
Read your posts out loud before you post them – this is a great way to pick up any clucky grammar, bad spelling or overuse of the words great, amazing and passionate!
If you find staring at a blank screen not conducive to writing, dictate your captions into your phone then give them a quick edit before posting.
And if you really don’t have the words, use someone else’s. Collect quotes that fit your story and use them every now and then.
8. Develop a content plan
Think about your social media feeds as a lifestyle publication and you are the editor. Create regular features/topics that you repeat once a week, fortnight or month. Think about and factor in relevant events and dates – Mother’s Day, Christmas, international day of the donut, trade fairs, markets you attend, whatever is relevant to your business, create content around those events/days.
Take your feed seriously and plan it around these events, introducing regular features as you go to hang everything else off – a framework for consistency.
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- INTRODUCE YOURSELF and your team
- Email a weekly tip or piece of advice relevant to your field of expertise.
- Lists and links – people love links and lists!
- Behind the scenes.
- How to….
- Here’s what’s on the farm/in the shop/on the menu this week…
- Recommend a resource of the week and why you like it.
- Showing people cooking/using/sharing your product.
- Sharing the love – profile somebody you admire.
- Say thanks. Sometimes a simple post saying – thank you for your support – is a really lovely post
Picking one or two or three ‘regular’ pieces of content to post is a great way to stay on track, keep your story relevant and valuable.
9. The 80/20 rule
We are not on social media to be sold to all the time – people are there to be inspired, informed and feel connected. So 80% of your posts should be those value ones – tips, recommendations, recipes, tutorials, advice, inspiration, behind the scenes etc. And then 20% of your posts can be sales. For these, be clear about the benefits that this product or service will bring to your Sally or Steve – the value that it will bring to their life and what they might miss out on if they don’t get on board. Make sure there is a clear path to purchase/sign up/whatever it is you want them to do. Too many clicks and they’re gone.
10. Respect your readers time
70% of online content is consumed on tablets so that’s phones or iPads and your contents on a tablet and probably doing so in a micro moments by that I mean what are they waiting for the coffee order to be ready while they’re waiting for the bus to run for the kids while they’re waiting for the bus to come. Snippets of time and they are scrolling so so quickly.
So if you want to beat the scroll and catch their attention – you need to post a good engaging photo and follow up with a story that is relevant useful and or inspiring to them.
They don’t have time to read a big long rant. Don’t dumb your content down but do try and catch their attention first up with clear, honest, engaging content.
11. Spend as much or more time in other people’s feed as your own.
You wouldn’t walk into a networking event, stand in the middle of the room and talk about yourself all night – get out there, make lists of complementary businesses, people whose follower base is full of Sallys and Steves and start commenting (thoughtfully), make friends, have conversations, build your community. Those people will come over and check your feed out and so it goes…
12. Social media is important of course, but your followers here are only rented from Facebook. Your mailing list/blog/website is your bricks and mortar so always be building that too.
9. The 80/20 rule
We are not on social media to be sold to all the time – people are there to be inspired, informed and feel connected. So 80% of your posts should be those value ones – tips, recommendations, recipes, tutorials, advice, inspiration, behind the scenes etc. And then 20% of your posts can be sales. For these, be clear about the benefits that this product or service will bring to your Sally or Steve – the value that it will bring to their life and what they might miss out on if they don’t get on board. Make sure there is a clear path to purchase/sign up/whatever it is you want them to do. Too many clicks and they’re gone.
Resources and links to read/listen to and check out
Writing captions
Grammarly to check spelling and grammar (free app)
Content Sells podcast episode about writing calls to action
This article about injecting more personality in your writing
This podcast episode on writing captions from Hashtag Authentic
On newsletters
This episode of Hashtag Authentic podcast on why every business needs a newsletter
Tiny Letter for easy newsletters
Editing apps
VSCO app for editing photos on your phone
Word Swag for adding great text to images (and sizing for social media platforms)
Canva to create flyers, infographics, social media posts and invitations etc
Plann for curating your Instagram Grid and scheduling posts/captions/hashtags
Unfold, for creating beautiful Instagram Stories
Inspiring things to read and listen to
Kevin Kelly’s 1000 True Fans article
Simon Sinek ‘people don’t buy what you do they buy why you do it’ article
Podcasts to listen to
Of course I’m going to say mine! My Open Kitchen series 1-3 is available on ITunes!
Also…
This episode of Social Media Marketing with Seth Godin
This episode of Amy Porterfield’s Online Marketing Made Easy episode on how to clarify your message (loved this one)
Janet Murray has a wonderful podcast about online marketing, especially social media and these three episodes in particular I found really really helpful;
Episode 264 – How to get more engagement on your FB page
Episode 266 – How to get more engagement on your IG
Another Janet Murray episode – this one a great interview with a headshot photographer about how to get your ideal clients to fall in love with you and why a great headshot is SO important to have.
How to use Instagram Live and Stories to boost engagement and a great ep with step by step advice on how to create video for your socials, both via Stevie Says Social.
And how to approach any small business like a lifestyle brand – cracker of an ep.