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Social media tips and tricks

How to take the TikTok watermark off videos and turn them into Reels

christie Social media tips and tricks

As TikTok takes off for businesses and creators and Reels gets in on that competition, Instagram has made it clear that they don’t want the TikTok watermark on their platform.

So, how can you post the content you’re creating on TikTok on Reels and vice versa (to work smarter, not harder!?) Because it’s all about repurposing and being as resourceful with your time as possible.

NOTE: This information keeps changing, so I will keep this post updated with the latest.

It used to be that you could use the phone apps, TikSave and SaveTok, to strip off the watermark. However, SaveTok has recently stopped working for most people, so that’s out. And while TikSave still works, if you are doing a lip synch video, the words don’t always match up – there’s a little lag, and that can be annoying.

RELATED: 10 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT REPURPOSING YOUR TIKTOKS INTO REELS

So, if you use TikSave, it’s best to use it when you have just a video where you’re using your own audio or just music.

If you are lipsynching a piece of audio for your video, Snaptik.app works on desktop to strip off the watermark and there’s little to no lag on the lipsync.

Another way to do it is to actually create your Reel in your Instagram stories, where you can add music and add captioning also! Then you can download the videos you created and upload them to TikTok.

RELATED: HOW TO ADD CAPTIONS TO YOUR VIDEOS

They also have different fonts on the captioning to use, some of them are a little prettier than TikTok.

But remember, you only get 30 seconds in Reels, so make sure it’s not longer than that. This is great way to create videos for sharing information and for short, educational videos. The only disadvantage is that not all the trending sounds that are in TikTok are on Reels.

So, there are pros and cons to all of these little tips and tricks, and as you get used to the platforms, you will get used to each of the platforms’ nuances.

Remember though, no matter what – keep creating! Get your business on TikTok and Reels!

Increase your watch time ASAP by adding captions to your videos

christie Social media tips and tricks

Here are some important stats for you to know:

80% of people who watch videos are more likely to watch it to completion if there are captions.

Facebook says video watch time increases by 12% with captioned video. And there are billions of Facebook users, so…

These are the top reasons people watch video with captions (according to Verizon):

  • They’re in a public place
  • They didn’t have headphones
  • They were waiting in line somewhere
  • They were multitasking
  • They’re in the bathroom (I added this one)

Pair that up with the fact that you are also helping those who are hearing impaired to enjoy your videos and there’s zero reasons for you to NOT use captions on your video. No matter what, more people watch video when it has words on the screen and people are also encouraged to turn on the sound if the words and the story are compelling to create a more magical experience for themselves.

So, here are some super easy ways to add captions:

  • Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok all have built-in captioning functions. They are auto-generated, all you have to do is enable them and proofread them before you hit publish.
  • Use the Captions app. It’s a free app you can download to your phone. Just upload a vertical video one minute or less to the app and it will autogenerate the captions for you, and you can edit them and customize them. You can use these on TikTok, Reels, Facebook and on YouTube shorts.
  • Use the text overlay on TikTok & Reels (You can do it once in TikTok, then strip the TikTok watermark off to post on Reels which I show you how to do here.)
  • Custom create captions for your video yourself. Yes this takes a little longer, but captions are always worth it. Go into your video editing software, find a nice font, and type in the captions manually. You can dress them up with text boxes if you like. If it’s a long interview that you don’t want to transcribe yourself, you can always hire someone on Fiverr to do that, but, I do it all the time for myself. (Transcribing interviews also gives you a ton of other content like quotes for quote graphics and mini stories you can tell in different ways through other photos or shorter videos. I’m a big fan of making 10 pieces of content out of one.)
  • Add captions to your video files in Google Drive (here’s how). In this one, you have to transcribe the video first, then upload the transcription.

Keep in mind that 75% of the people watching videos are on mobile devices so make sure the words are not too small, and you should be good to go!

How to batch your content as a business

christie Social media tips and tricks

There’s a chance that right now you’re looking back on your week on social media and thinking that you were more “reactive” than “proactive” this week, and wishing it were the other way around.

Sometimes posting and flying by the seat of your pants pays off because you have a vision and you want to execute it right away. Sometimes that means you post only when you feel like it, which gives you no chance to get into the platforms’ algorithm and stay there.

For a longer, big-picture strategy, that’s not sustainable.

Here some ways to build a content strategy that you can create content for:

  1. Begin with WHO you’re creating this content for in mind, first and always. Identify your ideal customers and their biggest pain points, wants, and needs. How do they actually *feel,* who are they?
  2. How can you use the 3 Es of content creation for your business and ultimately “make people feel things?” What content can you create that EDUCATES, creates EMOTION, or ENTERTAINS? Strive for at least one of these with every post you do. (If you can hit all three in one post – that’s magic!)
  3. Brainstorm your educational posts, your emotional posts, and your funny posts.
  4. Pick ONE DAY of each week to content create, then try to create at least seven posts in one day, one sitting. This is called “batching content.” Then, schedule one post for each day. (If you have more, BONUS!)
  5. If you can’t create seven, try five. (Monday through Friday.)
  6. If you can’t create seven, try 3-4 and strive for more each week.

Batching content helps you to be able to actually focus on your business rather than stress out each day because you’re staring at the clock knowing you haven’t posted a single thing yet. Eventually, you will get into a flow and creating content will become easier.

This process may be difficult for you at the beginning because you may not know where to start, but KEEP GOING. You will figure it out and you have to start somewhere.

Once you start posting consistently, pay attention to the likes & shares of your posts and create MORE of what’s been successful.

This process is also good for realizing after a while that you DON’T WANT to be the one person creating content. That’s OK TOO! You may want to outsource this.

If you need help, I do brainstorming & training workshops to get you started, one on one coaching so we can get a system down for your content creation and planning, and in some cases, I can create the content for you. Until then, be sure to follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok where I offer regular tutorials on content producing!

Four mistakes almost every business makes in social media (part two)

christie Social media tips and tricks
How to do social media for your business (and what not to do)

First we’re going to take a look at what people aren’t doing enough of on social media as a business, and then we’re going to dive in deeper into what you can create. These are four MORE mistakes most every business makes on social media.

(Clilck here for part one)

  1. Not enough personal connection. They don’t get personal enough on social media to form a personal connection and vibe with their audience. You don’t have to spill all the tea about yourself and there is always “too much information,” but you’ve gotta give people something to know about you, especially if you’re a small business. This opens up a whole pillar of content you can dive into. I touched on it in the last post, but showing who you are, your passions, your *why*, your background, life stories, help people bond with you. Storytelling is such a big must in social, it can’t be ignored. But you do have to be comfortable with it. You can tell your story through old photos, photos of your favorite things, videos, and sprinkle them in throughout your content about your business. It doesn’t have to be every day. Start with once a week and see how the posts perform over time.
  2. Not going live. Many business owners either don’t feel comfortable on camera or think they’re not good on camera or think they need to be in the shadows and only show their business. But the truth is, very few people actually are comfortable on camera, it’s a work in progress (I am one of them!) Also, there’s a chance you have more gifts than you give yourself credit for (one of my clients says they’re awful on camera when actually they’re magic!) But live video engages more people at one time, and on Facebook, an alert is sent to people telling them you’re live, and the posts performs longer. People see them long after you’re live. There are even little tips and tricks to keep people on your Facebook Live longer. If you’re afraid to go live, here’s a few ways to get around that at first:
  • Have an event and go live from the event, use the emcee to explain to viewers what they’re seeing
  • Rope someone else into being in it with you, interview someone or demonstrate something with someone
  • Go live more often to feel comfortable. Just get comfortable with it. Don’t run away.

3. Not tracking analytics. Grab a spreadsheet and start tracking your likes & followers each month, your top five best posts from the month, your monthly engagement, and your video views. You can access the 7 day or 30 day views in your insights on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. We talked in the last post about going back and looking at how individual posts performed, but you also need to see the big picture. Sometimes things look bleak until you see the numbers and they actually show an upward trend! If the numbers are dipping, you can fix that too. Numbers don’t lie! Set yourself small goals each month to reach and focus on one of those areas, and then track the numbers every 30 days.

4. Not listening to their social media manager’s advice (or consulting with one) to learn about trends or how to connect with people. There are companies without social media experts on staff, and there are companies with a full staff of social media experts. I know there are social media managers who have less experience than others (I’m not one of those), so it’s hard to trust outsiders when it comes to your company and its message, values, and reputation. But try to work with your social media person and really listen to what they’re saying. If you don’t have one, it really is a good idea to consult with one so you’re not wasting time throwing spaghetti at the wall, or if you have a budget for one, bring one on so you can run your business without the stress of social media on your plate. So often, even in large companies with full staffs, businesses operate from a place of fear. They don’t want to try new things. They only want to post their product. They only want to be a megaphone. It doesn’t work. You can ignore trends and conversations that are happening online but the truly successful businesses in social are the ones who are dialed in and can seize upon an opportunity to insert themselves into these conversations that are happening literally all around them. A good social media person will help you do it strategically, so you don’t look out of place, so you can draw people in with your social savviness. You don’t have to say yes to everything. All I ask is that you listen to what they’re trying to tell you.

Need help?

Head over to www.christieomedia.com or email me at christie@christieo.com. (Read about me here).

Synergy: Finding my clients’ gifts for success on social media

christie Social media creativity, Social media tips and tricks

My clients all have incredible gifts, that’s why their businesses are successful and that’s why they’re successful in person.

Business owners and entrepeneurs possess an excitedness and brilliance about their products and their services and I love watching them come alive when they talk about them – it’s TRUE PASSION – and I love helping their products and services come alive through stories on social media.

One of my favorite stories was this past holiday season, in a time when people really needed something to smile about.

One of my clients had an idea – he had a Grinch costume and he wasn’t sure how to incorporate it so he figured, let’s just walk around town.

I, who likes to have a plan, came over to shoot it and decided, “OK then, let’s just scrap the plan,” and I went along with it. He, in his Grinch costume, did just that: walked around and interacted with people as I followed behind and took video.

What I saw was incredible. He BECAME THE GRINCH.

His personality while inside the costume completely changed and he became the Grinch personified.

It was magical. Voice and everything.

As I got video, I took note of all the little moments.

I watched as he skipped his feet up and down the sidewalk. I got video of his feet.

I took video of people’s expressions. Their comments.

He tried to get a haircut. (He wanted to be handsome).

He obstructed traffic (playfully.)

He tried (unsuccessfully and quietly) to disrupt a yoga class.

He tried to order rotton onions at a nearby restaurant.

He thought about getting his green, hairy nails done.

He tried to make lattes. He made an onion latte.

Ideas came up on the fly, and from that moment forward, the Grinch was born.

What I love about working with clients is giving them the space and the support to come alive in their own way. I produced these videos, which, by the way, HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH HIS BUSINESS, and they got thousands of views and caught the attention of all the local media, who then did stories on The Grinch.

At his business.

The Grinch was invited to weddings. The Grinch was invited to holiday parties. People called the shop and messaged the page about The Grinch.

We had to come up with a Grinch schedule so people could come by at certain times to see him.

Grinch food.

Grinch presents (onions and toilet paper.)

We took photos, created videos for Facebook and Instagram and more importantly, Instagram Reels, which has skyrocketed in popularity as it competes with TikTok.

As you can see, social isn’t about advertising your business necessarily. It’s about CONNECTING WITH PEOPLE. And at the time the Grinch came along, it was about making people smile when they needed it most.

Yes, their sales went up – both in store and online. That was an added bonus!

THAT’S how organic social media works. It’s about creativity. Storytelling. Connection.

Last year, I had a client who was a candidate for a local office. He wanted to do more on social but didn’t know what. We outlined a strategy and content together but the real magic came when I saw his natural gift for writing and storytelling. Together, we strategized the tone and content of his posts while using his gift for storytelling. Those were ALWAYS the best performing posts.

As with the Grinch, I cannot take credit for that, that was all my client. My clients have talent! I just helped him, and The Grinch, come alive on social media because that’s what I do.

He had the vision. I helped execute it.

I’d love to help your story and your page come alive, too.

Stay updated and subscribed on my blog and message me at christie@christieo.com to see how we can work together.

Answer to the question: “Should I, as a business, post when the country’s in crisis?”

christie Social media tips and tricks, The latest in social media
Answer to the question: “Should I, as a business, post when the country’s in crisis?”

When the entire nation was glued to their television and social media as rioters stormed the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., I saw businesses in some of my groups online asking: “Should I post now or wait until later?”

This is what I tell my clients, and I know this from pure experience and from experiencing first-hand what happens to a post when you post it during a big event that has the collective attention of the country: WAIT. (I talked about this on Facebook live last week, you can watch it here.)

Why should you wait to post, especially if what is happening does not directly affect you, your area, or your business or clients?

There are two reasons.

The first is because while the entire nation (possibly the world) is captivated by a certain event taking place in real time, your post, which is likely completely off-topic, could appear tone-deaf — as if you have no idea what’s going on in the world or worse, that you don’t care. We all know that not to be true; You probably do care, and even if you don’t, you wouldn’t say that out loud, but actions speak louder than words. What you do online affects your business directly and if you’re still posting about your product, service, or beautiful photos or videos during a tragic, dark day, that can be off-putting for customers.

The second reason is simply because your post will not get the engagement it deserves.

People are consuming the content of a different topic at that moment, which means that your beautiful masterpiece of content will simply not get the attention of the social platform because the social platform will surface more of what people are currently consuming. Your content will get buried. Not only would people not see it, but they won’t be in the mood for it.

For success on social media, it’s important for us to be able to understand the tone or the mood of people online through social listening, the art of understanding what people are talking about and either dialing it in or dialing it down with regard to your own content.

In the example of the Capitol Building being stormed, I myself unscheduled posts that were getting ready to post on my clients’ pages and the content I was going to post I put into drafts so it could be ready to go later when the mood lightens.

Posting it at that time would have been an extreme disservice to my clients.

And any clients who asked me about what to post, I advised them to wait.

When I managed the social pages of the TV station I worked for, as you could imagine we had dozens and hundreds of pieces of content to choose from, create, or post on any given day, and in between, it was imperative for me to know not only what was going on in the world but what the patterns and behaviors were of people consuming content.

When I covered the shooting at the Pulse Nightclub, for example, I can tell you that anything we posted other than information about that tragic day completely flopped – FOR A WEEK. Our audience wanted to know each step of the way what was happening and any other content we posted was of no interest to them whatsoever.

I understood that the mood was somber. Our audience was scared. Our audience was crying.

As a business or small business, you won’t always have to wait for days or weeks for the social mood to lighten. Obviously, different posts and timing works for different industries and audiences (and I can help you figure this out.)

When things calmed down later that day of the Capitol riots, I knew and saw that it was OK to go ahead and post again. But there was a solid period of five-six hours where that was not the case.

I personally waited until the next day to make sure that all the content I produced got maximum visibility, but I did see content being posted later that day and that was OK.

So, keep this handy or message me on Facebook or email me anytime at christie@christieo.com if you ever have a question about what to do and what the climate is. On a day of big events, like the inauguration, which could be a divisive topic among your clients or customers, have that conversation about what to post and when. Be deliberate. Listen.

My advice:

Read the room.
Always be aware of what you have scheduled and when.
Always be ready to unschedule it and save it for later.

Always be ready to pivot.

Fake holidays help people celebrate their everyday mundane days

christie Social media tips and tricks

It’s true. You’ve seen them popping up everywhere, there seems to be a “day” for everything.

“Clean out your refrigerator Day,” “Cat Day,” “Dog Day,” “Rescued Pets Day,” “Ketchup Day,” American Beer Day,” “Pierogi Day,” and today, which happens to be “Garlic Lovers Day,” which I happen to love.

Some people think these days are ridiculous and they’re right. BUT, they do make for extra fun content for social platforms, especially if they’re meaningful to you.

In fact, if you are a restaurant owner, Garlic Day ideas could make for good social content AND good ideas for you to celebrate the day as a business.

Coffee Day? Yes! Specials on coffee! Which make for extra-important, even viral content – since people (like me) LOVE THEIR COFFEE.

Don’t forget Margarita Day.

And everyone in America loves to celebrate the birthdays of our military branches. This is a day we can salute our armed forces and all our veterans.

Where can you find all this information?

A good way to plan social content is to Google “fake holidays” or “what holiday is today” or you can check out these calendars that I use:

DO double check the days and dates through Google to make sure that particular calendar is up to date. Sometimes I’ve found that the day is celebrated on a different day each year, or even there are similar days celebrated throughout the year like for instance, there are multiple donut days. Just double check that you’ve got the right day to save yourself some embarrassment in case the calendar is wrong. (Example: One of the calendars has Amazon Prime Day incorrect.)

DO use the ones that are relevant to you as a human or you as a business. Some can be serious and raise awareness, and if a topic like mental health or breast cancer is important to you and your business or your cause, you can use these calendars to plan out social content well ahead of time, even creating entire social campaigns, fundraisers, or specials around them. You can use them as a chance to honor others, like first responders, teachers, brothers, sisters, even people with red hair (yes there is a holiday for that – and believe it or not, it was one of the MOST POPULAR posts we did at a company I worked for.)

DO feel free to use this as a chance to have fun on your social media pages! You can create polls out of them on Instagram or Facebook stories, you can create video content AND photo content around them, and you can use them as ideas for recipes or blog posts or just REALLY.BEAUTIFUL.PICTURES. If it’s “National Corn Maze Day” and you own a farm, there’s your chance to GO LIVE on Facebook from your maze of maize (see what I did there). (Disclaimer: I do not know if this is an actual holiday but there is a “holiday” for everything basically so I’m not counting it out. Also there should be one in my opinion.)

DON’T do every single fake holiday. People will feel like you’ve gone overboard and bail. Choose wisely, be relevant, and sometimes you can learn a lot about your audience from these. You could have a large audience of people with red hair and not even know it! If you’re a hair salon, that’s valuable information!

What platform should I be on as a small business?

christie Social media tips and tricks

I talked last week on Facebook Live and on Instagram stories about which platforms you should tackle and my answer to businesses and the clients that I coach is: The one you LOVE.

Why?

Because it’s going to be the one you are already connected to emotionally and the one where you’ll be the most genuine and authentic. It will be less work because you already like it.

It seems like a very simple answer, but I know everyone feels like they have to be on every platform to reach every person. However, when you do that, especially on the ones you don’t understand or the ones you’re not comfortable on, you spread yourself too thin. You begin posting on whatever platform you can without knowing the ins and outs of each one, and before you know it, you’re not doing any one of them right and you’re burned out. Completely.

And overwhelmed.

Think about this:

There’s Linked In, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Tik Tok, Snapchat, What’s App, and a company blog on top of that.

And inside these platforms, there are Instagram Stories, and now Reels, and Facebook Stories, and LinkedIn now has “moments.” There are platforms WITHIN platforms now!

You CAN be on all of those, but what if, for now, you just picked one, the one you love, spent all your time on that ONE creating content in a way that resonates with you AND your ideal audience?

THEN, you can move on.

This applies mostly to businesses who are handling their own social media and are trying to figure out where to start or are outsourcing it to someone and they are paying for a certain number of platforms.

If you have a team in-house, obviously, you have more resources to use to create content on more platforms and you have the freedom to allow your in-house experts to roam about the proverbial social media cabin.

Remember, you always want to pick the platform you will be most genuine and authentic on, the one that you gravitate toward naturally. Once you become the master there, you can move on and branch out.

Create content tailored specifically to that platform and THEN, listen to your commenters and your audience. Analyze your posts and your audience, timing of posts and what posts you’re knocking out of the park. Ditch the duds and replicate the successes – over and over again – in different ways. Use the comments, emotions, and shares as an indicator of who your audience is and what they like. LISTEN TO WHAT THEY’RE SAYING.

It’s like holding a seashell up to your ear and hearing the ocean.

So, what platform should you be on?

Pick one. Do one thing. Go for it. Do it well.

PODCAST: Connecting with your customers through service and storytelling

christie Social media tips and tricks

I’m excited and honored this week to be on the Think, Believe, and Manifest Talk Show with my friend and mentor Constance Arnold.

LISTEN HERE: https://ihr.fm/2X6OdoV

I am talking about ideas for you to use as content and how to brainstorm your social media content.

The main thread is to produce content from a place of service and giving. How can you help your customers from the online space?

Think of how you can brainstorm using this list, then think about how you can create social content from those through photos, videos, blog posts, or Facebook Lives.

Photos:

  • Using your phone or camera (you don’t need anything fancy), try to capture the moments when you or someone within your company is serving in some way, capture photos of what you’re seeing at your business or inside your community, and make sure you have a purpose or story to go along with it.
  • You can use quotes for photos or build graphics in the free tool, Canva, where there are templates, designs, and free stock photos. It’s also easy to build these social graphics on the Canva app. Hint: Try to put your logo small in the corner to brand it when you can, and Canva even allows you to reduce the size and opacity of your logo so it’s visible but not obnoxious. Make sure if you create a graphic it’s useful and shareable, not just a title but a complete thought, quote, or list that someone can use.

Videos:

  • Using your phone (again, nothing fancy), take a video of yourself delivering valuable information to you clients or customers, show them your beautiful products or recipes. Create a DIY or make a recipe or a drink from scratch, give them something that would be useful to them while they’re at home whether it’s helping them solve a problem or making them smile. One business took it upon themselves to create an “Easter Egg Hunt” where they asked residents to put an Egg in their windows so kids, while they’re walking around or bike riding with their families, can spot them in the windows. Here are some other examples of what businesses are doing.
  • Live videos: You can go live on Facebook or Instagram to help your customers solve a problem, do your DIY live, or you can give them a place to connect with you one on one. You can even just show them live video of a sunset if they’re not leaving the house. Note: Facebook Lives double and triple your Facebook reach every time you do it so feel free to do them consistently and often so people can get to know you!

GRAB MY FREE BOOK ON HOW TO ROCK A FACEBOOK LIVE HERE

Words matter.

Whatever or however you choose to create social content, make sure you’re not gratuitously putting up a selfie in each post saying Hi! You can do that, but only once in a while.

The majority of your content should be something you give your clients and customers to use. Your stories, your customers’ stories, your employees’ stories. KNOW what purpose and need you’re filling with each post. Then, go back and look at which posts did well (how many likes, comments, shares it got.) This is an indicator of what RESONATED with people. Take that content and do more of that!

Remember, I’m offering a 30 minute free call to brainstorm content your business can create to connect with people, so please email me to set that up. christie@christieo.com.

In case you missed it, here’s a free webinar on keeping small businesses in business during times of crisis!

Talk soon!

6 examples of how businesses are pivoting and leveraging social media during crisis

christie Social media resources you can use, Social media tips and tricks
6 examples of how businesses are pivoting and leveraging social media during crisis

During this incredibly difficult time of COVID-19, many businesses are trying to figure out what they can do online and how to stay relevant while they’re out of business or downsizing.

Social media is everyone’s lifeline to the outside world right now and it’s your lifeline to your customers.

Many businesses feel stuck on social media and don’t know where to start, so I wanted to share some examples of businesses I’ve seen that are pivoting, shifting, rolling with the punches, and finding success both monetarily and through brand awareness so you can use them when you think of which direction you’re going to go in.

  1. Gigglewaters Restaurant in Safety Harbor, FL.
    Gigglewaters shows movies and has a dining room, but obviously both are out of the question right now. So what are they doing instead? Their brunch is legendary (I’m a little biased, I’ve been there), and so are their burgers (award-winning), so, like many restaurants, they’re offering takeout. They are also very involved in the community and their owner takes part in conversations in the local Facebook groups. Instead of just weekend brunch, they offer brunch EVERY DAY – with mimosas. They share photos of their incredible food (food is always great content), and every day at 4:30 p.m., they do a Facebook Live Happy Hour, where they show people how to mix a drink. Also, during this, their audience gets to know their owner and their staff. Facebook Lives double, triple and quadruples your page’s reach if you do them regularly and they’re great for consistent engagement! If you can do them daily, great, find yourself a topic to talk about every day, but if you can do them weekly at least that’s good too. It’s all about brand awareness and reach. One last thing that Gigglewaters has done is begin to help SERVE the community by delivering food to our community helpers like hospital workers and firefighters – and they’re also giving the community an opportunity to help by sponsoring a meal for them. So many people want to help and don’t know how, so this is a perfect opportunity. And also – these deliveries are great social content! They’re serving the community, staying relevant online, and when this is all over, people will remember that.

WATCH: Keeping small businesses in business during crisis, free webinar

2. In Georgia, Wes Sewell Photography decided to go out into his neighborhood and take photos of families’ quarantines (from a safe distance of course.) Even though this is a difficult time, it is unprecedented and will always be something we will remember. Sewell is making it memorable (in a good way) for families. One of the posts from one of the families got 6,000 likes! Talk about brand awareness! He said on his post, “I had so much fun taking these photos.” This is a great example of service. People remember this.

3. The Bushido Karate Academy in Pinellas Park. I originally saw this ad pass through my feed probably because I’m within 10 miles of that city, however, I looked through the comments to see if the ad was successful and they had almost completely booked up! And rightfully so, it’s four weeks of online karate classes for $1. It’s an amazing deal and it will help kids get their physical exercise, plus, and this is a huge plus, PEOPLE WILL REMEMBER THIS WHEN THIS IS ALL OVER. This was a great use of Facebook ads.

4. This is an example that I used when I gave a presentation on this topic: Whatever you’re doing to pivot as a business is very likely newsworthy. So let the news stations know! Two breweries in my area have stopped brewing beer and are filling massive need by making hand sanitizer instead. How can you help? How can you take what your business does and pivot or serve? What need can you fill or how can you comfort your customers who are full of fear? This story was a big deal to the news station and they put a reporter into it to do a story. When it ended up on the station’s social page, it had more than 2,000 shares, 8,000 reactions and hundreds of comments. PEOPLE WILL REMEMBER THIS.

5. Crayola created a campaign to chalk the walk with their sidewalk chalk and guess what?! It became a thing EVERYWHERE. #ChalkTheWalk was all over Facebook feeds with photos of sidewalks with inspiring, hopeful messages. This was a very simple and easy idea for them to talk about their product but also insert art and hope into communities everywhere. Great idea!

6. The Salon People had a brilliant post. Everyone is quarantined, which means roots are going to happen, people are going to need haircuts, and their post is using THEIR EXPERTISE to tell you what not to do. Don’t color it yourself, try new hairstyles, don’t go out and get face wax if you’re not used it (light plucking only for eyebrows!) This is valuable advice. Super simple execution on this.

Even though they’re not currently up and running, they’re talking about when they will be, and sharing things to do while you’re in between appointments. They’re the experts in their field, just like you are – so, what expertise can you offer your clients and customers from afar?

More importantly, how can you share it in a creative and social way, from a point of service and storytelling? What topics can you use to create content from?

Grab a piece of paper and answer these questions, let’s brainstorm:

  • What are your stories?
  • How did you get started in business?
  • What are your most popular products?
  • What are your most VISUAL products (sometimes weird products?)
  • What problems can you help people solve?
  • What precautions are you taking during this pandemic as a business? (Be transparent, let people know what safety precautions you’re taking and also let people know what’s happening with your employees step by step.)
  • What topics in your clients’ lives bother them the most that’s related to your business? Can you do a Facebook live that addresses their concerns in a Q&A fashion, or do a live or video demo?
  • What talents do you or your staff have that can bring smiles to your customers’ faces? (Do you play the guitar or the ukelele, or do you read children’s books? Happiness is a real need right now!)
  • What can you do online – can you hold online yoga classes or workouts, cooking demos, a demo sewing masks perhaps or making homemade sanitizer? Can you show people how to take off that difficult to remove nail polish since no one is getting manicures? Subsequently, how can people pamper themselves at home?
  • What are your good deeds in the neighborhood and how are you helping in this time of crisis? This makes for great pictures and videos that your customers and clients would love to see!
  • Who are your employees, and what are their backstories? Can you profile them? This gives people a way to care about your business and staff and therefore want to support it.

People LOVE STORIES.

So: keep the camera handy. Take photos of your community, your business, your beautiful products, capture moments that resonate with people.
Take videos and plan out Facebook Lives on relevant topics.

Write stories that go along with your photos so you can bond with your clients and customers.

Once you plan out what could be good content, figure out a plan to execute it and put it together. Then, you can schedule it out ahead of time using Facebook’s built in scheduling tools in Creator Studio (under Publishing Tools.)

I’ll have more on “batching content” soon. That’s when you do multiple posts in a day but you don’t post them all at once, you spread them out.

Please message me if you have questions!
Right now, I’m offering a free 30 minute call to any business who needs ideas for their social content during this time. Email me at christie@christieo.com.