Ahhh, the dreaded chore of creating content for social, blogs & emails as a business owner. We KNOW we have to utilize all the free tools for our brands and also… social media can feel really heavy. I have spoken with so many business owners who share my love/hate relationship with social media. It’s overwhelming. It’s always changing. It’s a lot to keep up with.

 

So, let’s get started with a couple of facts…

#1- I do not spend hours on social media.

#2- I do not rely solely on social media ads to grow my business.

#3- I do believe that social plays a role in my business success.

#4- I serve WAY better than I sell.

 

My goal with social media content is pretty straightforward and I typically follow a simple equation that is applicable to ANY genre of business. You can also follow this simple content idea equation, vary your topics from week to week and have a solid social plan in place. 

The ridiculously simple equation is: Serve, Inspire, Value, Sell. Let's break it down…

SERVE: Serve your audience by answering your most commonly asked questions and giving them clarity about your product/service. Example: What does my community want to know about ________? What is my community asking? What are they curious about? How can I help them? Then give them what they need and are asking for. Mind blowing, right?

 

INSPIRE: Inspire your audience with a quote you love. Inspire them with a heart-warming client experience/story/result. Inspire them with WHY you got into this business and/or what fuels you to keep going each day. Inspire them by sharing personal tidbits about YOU so they are reminded that you are human. <3 People buy from people and we follow brands that we like, know & trust. 

 

VALUE: Add value to your social feed by giving your audience free knowledge, free resources and essentially giving back. As a brand photographer, I have received lots of inquiries about social media content ideas. So, I created a social media content calendar and offered it as a freebie (in exchange for an email address). I also, ahem… wrote this email with my trustworthy social equation to share with my people. :)

 

SELL: Now you can throw out an offer. Share a product and/or service to attract a sale. Selling is 100% a part of the job… but it can't be ALL about selling. 

 

I rely heavily on this social equation myself. This equation helps me stay genuine in my branding and lead from the heart. For me, it provides the balance I need to maintain an active presence on social media and feel good about what I'm sharing. Your community is out there looking for the gift you have to share. Speak to them. Serve them. Support them. Repeat forever. <3