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Content isn’t king. CLARITY is. How to figure out what to post

christie Social media tips and tricks, Uncategorized 0 Comment

Here’s the #1 reason your content (and your follower numbers) are stuck. Nobody – not you as a business owner and not your staff (if you have one) – knows what to say. Ask me how I know. 😬

Whenever there is a gap in posting for myself, it is because I have to go back to the drawing board and dig out those ideas that are closely aligned with my current goals and mission AS WELL AS the people who need to hear it. It’s not a content thing, it’s a clarity thing. And it’s not just you – we ALL go through it.

In fact, I’d argue that doing your own content is MUCH HARDER than doing it for someone else because you’re so very close to the project. I’d much more happily do other people’s content before my own. Just as you’d happily serve someone rather else than make content creation a priority for yourself. (Even though we know that ironically content creation IS serving someone else – and at the same time as you’re building your business – but that’s neither here nor there.)

The obstacle of creating content becomes a mountain when we don’t know what to say or what the goal of saying it is. It’s a big confusing cycle to break sometimes, and even when you break through and get clear, the goals are constantly changing and you have to change with it.

HOW TO GET CLEAR ON YOUR BUSINESS SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT

If you’re struggling with your business’ social media content, start here:

  • Get clear on your Q2 goals and where you want to send people. Is there a link in your bio you want people to click? Is reaching more ideal followers a priority? Are you trying to sell more of one specific product? Are you trying to get more bookings? (Conversions?)
  • Look at the TRANSFORMATION your ideal people have gone through with your products/services. SHOW THEM in your content the answers you give them, the life changes they will experience, or the experience they will have. This is where content is more about them than you.
  • Include a call to action that is aligned your Q2 goals.

I have created a full list of places you can find your ideal person’s burning questions and deepest desires and they can be used in any industry (I even show you how to search.) Grab the content creation guide HERE.

Tools to use to create amazing social media posts: What’s in my camera bag?

christie Social media tips and tricks, Uncategorized

Questions people always ask me or in the online groups I’m in:

  1. What do I use to create social media posts?
  2. What camera do I use?
  3. I don’t have a huge budget, what other equipment do I need?

So I’m going to tell you what’s in my camera bag when I cover social media for an event or even just a short shoot, and no, it’s not complicated or expensive! I’m also going to give you some other tips & tricks to covering an event for social media so stay till the end.

  1. Phone. Yes, my phone. I have had clients ask me where’s my fancy camera. And yes, I do have one but I don’t use it that often and I only use it for specific things. Why do I use my phone? Because the platforms mostly require it. I recommend you ALWAYS go live from the event on each platform, Facebook, Instagram, and if you’re on it, TikTok too, and that requires a phone (or a camera with an internet connection, but that’s expensive, phone is fine.) Also, you need to shoot vertical video for Reels & TikToks (and stories), and those platforms work best if you edit your video within the platform (you can edit it elsewhere and upload it to the platforms too, but I find it easier to shoot on my phone and have the video already there to make TikToks and Reels.) If you’re wondering if other people also use their phones, we got TV coverage from a local TV station for one of my clients and they left their fancy camera outside and shot inside the business with their phones…. which is also what I did when I worked in TV, so yes, it’s very common. Make sure it’s fully charged!
  2. A microphone. There are tons of little mics for $7-$40 (I have both), I use a Purple Panda lav mic with an iphone connector to do interviews with people at events because events are usually super loud with music and crowds, so a mic in this situation is helpful. You don’t need it to just get video, but it’s helpful for interviews. It even comes with a cute, fuzzy little wind screen to block out the wind and other noise. If you’re going live for yourself, Air Pods or earbuds with a mic will work too!
  3. A tripod. I have this ring light and tripod, and most times I just bring the tripod (and leave the light at home.) But both are good to have. You can use the tripod to hold the camera steady for a live stream if there’s not closeups you need to get, and you can use it for interviews.
  4. A handheld phone holder helps keep shots steady also when you’re roaming around an event. I have a phone holder/table tripod one kind of like this from 5 Below ($5) but I really want this one called a Gimbal that I used to use when I was in TV (but it’s not necessary, it’s a fun toy.)
  5. Backup external batteries. Your phone being on the whole time WILL ABSOLUTELY drain the battery so always bring one or two backup portable batteries. I have one regular and one solar powered, which can continue to power the phone in the sun. (Don’t forget the phone cord!)
  6. If you want to know which non-phone camera I have, it’s the Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark III. I added a Rode external mic to it so it picks up better audio. Make sure to charge that battery before you leave and that your memory card is in the camera before you leave! (I’ve made that mistake.) Also make sure you have a backup and that your memory card has enough memory on it (or save stuff off it beforehand – I’ve also made that mistake!)
  7. OTHER THINGS: Sunscreen, hair ties, and WATER! It is BRUTAL in Florida so these are must-haves for me. This past weekend I went from presentable to Frankenstein in the heat and forgot my sunscreen so I got a nice little burn on my arms. But think about the environment you will be shooting in and always make sure you’re prepared ahead of time for the weather or if it’s indoors, a mask and/or sweater/sweatshirt, and in either one, you’ll be on your feet a lot so wear comfy shoes. (I’ve also made that mistake).

In my next post, I’ll talk about what content to get at your event and how to prepare for it on social in ways that will actually get some traction organically!

***This post contains contains Amazon affiliate links, but I support you wherever you purchase from! You don’t have to use my links.

How to get started on TikTok and Reels as a business

christie Social media tips and tricks, Uncategorized

I wish I could say businesses could ignore video and just do pictures and statuses on Facebook like the good ol’ days, but things are evolving and they’re changing quickly. In fact, even the changes are changing quickly as the platforms try to copy each other!

Recently, I wrote about how Instagram announced it’s no longer going to be a photo-sharing platform, and as the platforms move even further toward video, it’s becoming clear that it’s time to be on video as a business if you’re trying to reach audiences for your organic social media. It’s time to come out of the shadows.

Yes I know it’s uncomfortable but don’t worry, as a person who usually produces behind the scenes, I’m doing it too.

I’m doing a 30 day video series on TikTok and Reels on how to get your face on those platforms successfully, so it’s a great time to hop on if you’re not! It’s also great even if you’re on it because I’m going to be sharing my tools and tricks that I use to produce content on those platforms. You can follow me on TikTok here and on Instagram here.

Before we get started on how to get started, I want to share why you should consider being on these platforms:

  1. I got one of my clients on Reels for the first time this spring and one of the reels I created went viral, getting nearly 5 million views. That’s great, right?! But what’s greater? Doubling their sales and quadrupling their web traffic. So when people say you can’t make money off organic social media and that organic social media is dead, I can tell you for a fact that it is not!
  2. Because Instagram is pushing Reels so hard, Reels is the best way to grow your Instagram account right now.
  3. Because Reels is similar to TikTok, you can be on both without that much extra effort. However, if you want to pick one platform and do it well, PICK ONE. That’s fine too! To me, it’s more about becoming comfortable on video as a business, how to produce the videos simply and meaningfully, and how to leverage these platforms to make more money.

So let’s not even talk about how to do it well yet, we’ll get there over the next 30 days. Let’s talk about how to feel comfortable there in the first place.

Here are the things you need to do to get started:

  1. Obviously, first you want to get on the platforms, which means downloading the apps and signing up and creating an account. You may already be on there as a consumer. Bonus! A “Creator” account on Instagram give more access to more of the trending sounds and music. A business account with the sub-category “entrepreneur” also gets the same features. Business accounts have limited music & sound access. On TikTok, a regular account gives access to all sounds/music.
  2. Try to have your business name the same across all platforms.
  3. Scroll scroll scroll. Before you get started creating content, get to know the platforms. Press all the buttons! On Instagram, find the Reels tab and start scrolling through and taking note of what creators are doing, short videos, music, talking, what they’ve done to make you watch, what sounds and music keeps popping up over and over again, what’s popular. Save sounds that you like and open up notepad (or whereever you jot down your ideas) and start saving links to Reels you like so you can use them as inspiration later. On TikTok, do the same thing. I like to look through the Discover page to see the hashtags, sounds, and trends that are on there, and I look through the For You Page, which is content that will eventually be curated to show you the stuff you like (algorithms!) Once you start following people, there’s a “following” page where you can see the content only from the people you’re following.
  4. Go look to see if businesses you consider competitors are on there. Look at what they’re doing! See if it’s getting views or likes. See if you can do better! But don’t get caught up in the comparison game. Use it only as a data point! Otherwise, you’ll get overwhelmed and paralyzed and not create content. I’ve been there, don’t do that! Creating is the only way to grow.
  5. If your competitors are on there, that’s your sign to get on there! If they’re not on there, that’s your sign to get on before they do!
  6. Once you feel comfortable, start creating. IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE PERFECT. DO IT ANYWAY. If you don’t want to do it yourself, hire someone – outsource it so you can focus on your business. By now, since you’ve been scrolling, you’ll know you can have a successful 7 second video! It doesn’t take much!
  7. Build in “research” time every day. I say build it in because if you don’t cut yourself off, you’ll find yourself caught in the vortex and scrolling till 4 a.m. Don’t do that! You have a business to run. (ha)

Yes, a lot of this information is super basic, but we are starting at the very beginning and you’d be surprised how many businesses ask me where to get started. So if you’re further ahead, stay tuned, there’s more for you too! I still VERY MUCH do steps 3-7 on a daily basis.

RELATED:

Big news: Instagram says it’s “no longer a photo-sharing app”

christie Social media tips and tricks, The latest in social media, Uncategorized

“We’re no longer a photo-sharing app,” the head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri says.

This is a big deal! So I’m going to break it down for you real quick.

If you’re on Instagram as a business, and you’re not doing videos, it’s no longer an option to ignore it if you want engagement.

In fact, if you’re on any of the platforms, video is going to win in most cases.

For months now, I’ve been talking about how businesses need to get on Reels if they’re on Instagram and this latest announcement from Instagram confirms it.

Instagram has been putting an emphasis on Reels for performance as TikTok’s popularity rises so businesses that have been adapting to Reels have been seeing more engagement from it.

So, here’s what this latest announcement means.

“No longer a photo-sharing app” doesn’t mean you CAN’T share photos on Instagram. It just means that the Instagram algorithm may not show it to as many people as it would show videos to people. So, it works in your favor to put up more videos.

Instagram is competing in a major way with TikTok, so they are putting an emphasis on video for entertainment, helping creators, shopping, and messaging.

Watch here:

Or you can listen to the full announcement here.

Do I personally love this switch? No, actually.

I love Instagram and I have always loved it for the beautiful artistry of photo creation. I love photos! I loved the uniqueness of Instagram being a “photo-sharing platform” because video was already in other places.

So I am sad to see that it is not embracing this and instead chasing after TikTok, to be honest, but… I equally love TikTok in its own uniqueness and I personally get sucked into the TikTok vortex and the brilliance and entertainment of its videos, so I can see how Instagram would be wanting a slice of that.

That being said, I have written about creating TikToks and repurposing them as Reels at length to streamline the workflow (I do still believe in that!) But if you are a business and are only on Instagram right now (and not yet on TikTok) I will be starting a series on how to quickly do Reels for your business – so stay tuned! I have put up a few tutorials on Instagram already so make sure you’re following me there at @christieomedia.

Obviously in social, everything changes ALL.THE.TIME and I’m here to help you stay on top of that.

In fact, TikTok broke this week for a few days (views were all over the place if you noticed that, videos wouldn’t upload, etc. But it’s fixed now.)

Hit me up at christie@christieo.com if you need help! I consult, I coach, I do quick workshops and give thorough audits of your social platforms if you need them, and I also do social media FOR you in some cases.

Talk soon!

Work smarter not harder: How to turn your TikToks into Reels and why you should be doing both as a business

christie Uncategorized

Don’t you love it when people say you should do something but they don’t tell you how?

BUT YOU JUST FOLD IT IN. 🧀😂 (My favorite scene from Schitt’s Creek).

I didn’t mean to but apparently this is now social media explained through Schitt’s Creek.

So here are 10 things you should know and DO right now on TikTok & Reels for your business:

  1. You need to be doing more Reels on Instagram. I can’t stress this enough.
  2. When I do reels for my clients, they get thousands if not millions of views and that, in turn, boosts their follower count. EXAMPLE: One of my clients wasn’t on it at all (one of my bigger clients who already had an established following.) We started Reels and their reach EXPLODED. Millions of views and and an explosion in follower count, within a MONTH AND A HALF. For my smaller clients who are still trying to build, Reels are building views, awareness, and followers, and their Reels get thousands of views (sometimes within minutes.) They are by far the best performing posts and I will tell you why in a minute.
  3. Try to do at least one Reel a day and if you don’t know what to make, watch Reels and take note of trends and types of videos and try to figure out how to apply those ideas for your business. Take some time to do this! Write down your ideas! And then, when you’re ready, make a bunch of Reels in one sitting and try to spread them out in posts during the week. (Keep them evergreen.)
  4. Related but unrelated: TikTok is also an amazing place to be as a business right now- businesses are exploding there because humans are spending HOURS on it.
  5. Totally related: Which is WHY INSTAGRAM IS PUSHING REELS SO HARD and why your videos will get more views RIGHTNOW. Because obviously they want to keep people on their platform.
  6. SO, if you do both TikTok and Instagram you don’t have to work harder, just work smarter.
  7. Put your TikTok on Reels
  8. However, you have to take the TikTok watermark off before you post, this is important. Instagram will penalize your posts for having them (if they’re not already).
  9. This is really easy to do and I’m going to show you how, I’ve already posted it on TikTok and Reels myself (Here’s the video tutorial – and while you’re at it, follow me on TikTok and Instagram for more video tutorials.) You use the free app TikSave, and I walk you through the process in the tutorial.
  10. All I did to create the video was screen record the process and use the voiceover option and a trending song, it took me just a few minutes to put together so if there’s a tutorial or a demo you can provide as a business, brainstorm some ideas, post on TikTok then repost on Reels using that process

BONUS: Use 30 hashtags relevant to your business and ideal client in your Reels post

DOUBLE BONUS: Once you get the TikTok/Reels process down it goes much smoother and quicker and it’s totally worth it to do both.

Are you on these platforms and doing these things? Follow me and comment if you need any help!

MORE:

FREE RESOURCES: All-in-one planning guide for businesses (including content ideas, a content planner

Four mistakes almost every business owner makes in social media (Part One)

christie Uncategorized

These four mistakes almost every business is making in social media may surprise you!

  1. Too much self-promotion. When people don’t know what content to post on their business pages, they turn to what they know the most about: their products and services. BUT, too much self-promotion can come off as sounding like a megaphone. If you want to talk about yourself with complete wreckless abandon, there are ads for that. People get hit with ads all the time, but on social media, they’re looking for fun content to engage with. And since you don’t want your content to be mistaken for ads, how do you find that sweet spot – getting engagement while promoting? Good question! It’s the biggest struggle for every social media content producer, business owner or manager. But it IS POSSIBLE to showcase your products without saying, “Buy my product!” and you can showcase your skills without saying, “HIRE ME!” The number one way to do this is to produce content that visually answers the question for your customer: “What’s in it for me?” Which brings us to….
  2. Not producing enough content surrounding the BENEFITS of your ideal/client customer. Make the following lists:
  • Benefits of my products or services for my clients/customers (You’ll never need another piece of jewelry again, your social media is done, a place for your family to gather.) These benefits have to invoke feelings of things like relief, love, FOMO, happiness and sheer joy, laughter & “wishing” (nothing negative – stay away from anger). Emotions are what cause people to respond to posts, which is why Facebook put all the different emotions on posts. If you look at something you’re about to post and it does none of this, don’t post it.
  • What you love, why you love your business, all the success stories, your *why* – because you CAN showcase your love for your own business and products, and you should. What fueled you to do this? What’s your backstory? How does doing this help you? Help you help others? Help your family? Telling these stories helps your clients and customers to be able to identify with the real you and ultimately engage with your content and your page. You can be a nameless/faceless product if you want to try that, but even we know the guy behind “MyPillow” or Dave, the creator of Wendy’s or Sara Blakely, the creator of Spanx…
  • Any other parallel services/businesses/topics: If you’re in real estate, you can post about interior decorating, Pinterest-worthy holiday decorating, quick DIY upgrades to your house that up the value, think about your industry and what other interests your clients and customers have surrounding it. One of my clients is a cafe and they’re avid runners, they created a run group. Business owners have passions too! Think about visual, creative topics you can take pictures or videos of.
  • NOTE: Post wording is important. Remember, DON’T: MEGAPHONE: “GET THIS CHOCOLATE CAKE!” DO: SHOW BENEFITS: “It’s been a stressful day. Here’s some drippy drizzly chocolate cake to think about. We’re here when you’re ready.”

RELATED: HOW TO BATCH AND PLAN CONTENT

3. Not looking at the posts that performed well and REPLICATING THEM (scrapping the duds). I KNOW you love that post and you worked so hard on it and you’re convinced it’s the best post ever, but numbers don’t lie. If it didn’t resonate with people, just don’t do it again. Look at how many reactions it got, comments, shares, etc. (note: this may be hard in the building phase of your page because you have to start somewhere, so my advice here is to DUPLICATE SUCCESSES ALL THE TIME.) Facebook loves it when you have an engaging post and when you do more of that, Facebook will show your future posts to more people. But what happens if you have a bunch of duds in there? Facebook decides, “This person’s not engaging, I’m not going to show it to people.” So it can ruin future engagement. Get into the algorithm and stay there by producing consistent engaging content.

4. Not doing enough beautiful videos: Videos are just so big right now on every platform, everyone should be doing more of them. Not talking heads (although that’s actually better than no video at all), but pretty videos that make people stop and watch. You have 0-3 seconds to grab someone’s attention, make sure that first 0-3 seconds is the best part of your video. You can always start with the best shot and work backwards. If you want any examples of this, head over to the Tasty Facebook page, they do it every.single.time. You don’t need extravagant editing equipment and cameras, just a phone will do and you can edit on free apps like iMovie or “No Crop,” or get a subscription to Adobe for Spark or Premiere (a little more advanced, but I taught myself on YouTube so it can’t be THAT advanced.)

Stay tuned for the next four mistakes to avoid as a business owner doing social! In the meantime, grab these free resources and tools for you to create amazing content with!

Get free content ideas & favorite tools bundle, subscribe here!

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10 social media post ideas to get engagement for your business during the Super Bowl (Free social posts included)

christie Uncategorized

EDIT: Updated with graphics from the 2022 Super Bowl, enjoy!

The Super Bowl is what I call a two-screen experience – people are watching the Super Bowl on one screen and they’re doing it with their phones in their hands while they’re watching to see what everyone’s saying about it. If you’re a business or brand — THIS IS AN ENGAGEMENT GOLDMINE.

You should consider getting in on the conversation and I’m outlining ten different posts along with when to post them below.

Some of the best ways to engage people are with polls and asking your fans questions throughout the game. Paired up with a cool photo or graphic, these can be (and have been for me) VERY ENGAGING POSTS!

—->GRAB THE SOCIAL POSTS HERE (NOTE: These are plug and play and generic, so anyone can use them. BUT if you want your own branding in there or these are not your style, use my ideas and create your own! (I did mine in Canva!))

Here’s how to post them and when:

Here are some post ideas you can use on your Facebook or Instagram pages — you can use any or all of them throughout the game (just make sure you’re posting at least 15 minutes apart so your posts don’t stomp on each other. Sometimes Facebook won’t show one post over the other if they’re posted too close together.) All times in Eastern.

  • WHO WILL WIN? Post once at 6 p.m. (a half-hour before the game) asking people — WHO’S GOING TO WIN? Post a photo and have them vote for their favorite team in the comments. Make sure to chime in within the comments as your brand yourself, respond with comments and GIFs. People are AMPED UP and anticipating this game, the teams, the commercials, food, all of it, and they’re just sitting there waiting – this is a great time to start engaging. (LINK TO PHOTO)
  • GO TEAM! 6:30 p.m. If you’re a HUGE FAN one way or the other, post right at the start of the Super Bowl, post something rooting for your favorite team. This could be a photo graphic that says “Go Rams!”or you and your family or just you in a jersey, a boomerang or video of you jumping up and down amped up, a GIF – however you want to do this and whatever your personality is. These are the moments you get to bond with your customers over something that’s NOT ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS. (LINK TO PHOTO)
  • “What did you think of the National Anthem?” After the National Anthem: Ask people what they thought. Pair it up with a photo if you want or ask the question and add a fun background. BELIEVE IT OR NOT – This is a very divisive topic! When Lady Gaga sang it and it was asked on social pages how she did – the posts WENT CRAZY! Because she was amazing! This year, it’s country music star Mickey Guyton. People feel very passionate about how our National Anthem is performed, get people talking on your page! (LINK TO PHOTO)
  • “What’s your favorite thing about the Super Bowl?” This always does well for me – Ask people what their favorite part of the Super Bowl is and what they look forward to the most, the commercials, the food, the halftime show, or the actual game. Pair it with a photo that has a picture of all four, or a photo of your personal favorite, or even just the four choices on a fun background and have people answer in the comments! This post works well either before or near the beginning of the game. (LINK TO PHOTO)
  • What’s your favorite Super Bowl commercial? Some brands aren’t going all in on commercials but there are still some funny ones! (YOU CAN WATCH THE SUPER BOWL COMMERCIALS HERE and get a preview!) (LINK TO PHOTO)
  • “Using a GIF, comment below how you think this game is going:” People from both sides will chime in with funny GIFs. (POST A GIF)
  • OMGGGGG THE HALFTIME SHOW! Gen-X-er here so I have some excitement about this year’s halftime show with Mary J. Blige, Eminem, Dr. Dre, Snoop, and Kendrick Lamar. So ask: “What did you think about the halftime show?:” Again – totally controversial topic, believe it or not, people either LOVED IT or HATED IT. Remember JLo wearing her tight onesie at age 50? (My hero.) Janet Jackson’s “costume malfunction?” If the show is boring – it’s STILL a passionate topic. (LINK TO PHOTO)
  • Any standout moments: Post immediately after something crazy happens – whatever that crazy thing is, get into the moment with everyone talking ASAP. This can be just a status update with no photos, it could be a crazy gif, anything. Just start talking.
  • “Comment below with a photo of your Super Bowl party” – Lots of people are going to be home with their own families this year having their own Super Bowl party instead of partying it up and this gives them a chance to party on social and feel like they’re somewhere from the comfort of their own living room.
  • Celebrate the winner! Whatever your celebration looks like – if you’re excited about who won, post about it! Post you and your family or friends jumping up and down! Create an Instagram Reel or TikTok about it. Video of yourself in slow motion jumping up and down. Selfies, whatever.

If you want to go all in, post these on all your social platforms:

  • Post each idea on Facebook, then IG.
  • Have relevant hashtags for IG ready to copy and paste in your notepad in your phone or in a doc on your computer.
  • Start brainstorming now how you can turn some posts into Reels on IG (which is so big right now)
  • Can you do any lives? (Are you running any specials, are you planning any socially-distanced events?) Don’t do this during the game, do it before or after.
  • Take your IG posts and turn them into IG stories, use interactive polls on your stories and send it to your Facebook page stories as well. Polls are REALLY GOOD for stories!
  • Make a TikTok, download it and send it to Reels (Remember to strip off the TikTok watermark and if you need to know how, here’s how.)

Or, you can just pick one platform and stick with it. Either way, be intentional and have a plan.

HOW TO EXECUTE

NOTE: The best time to post about most of these real-time topics are AS THEY HAPPEN. So I’ve included some pre-made graphics for you to download and create posts to put in your “drafts” section of Facebook or IG so you can post them the second they happen. And I MEAN the second they happen. When that last note is sung of the National Anthem – post that post. When the curtain closes on the Halftime Show – post that post. The second it’s over. THAT’S WHEN PEOPLE ARE TALKING. They want a forum to share their opinions like right now! If you wait, they’ll have already engaged on another post. Timing really matters!

If you don’t want to post multiple times because you want to enjoy the Super Bowl, post once at the beginning asking your audience who they want to win, and then continue to engage in the comments throughout the game when you have a second. You can use that post and the comments section to continue onto other topics, like talking about the commercials – if there are any buzzworthy ones (like Baby Mr. Peanut), or the halftime show all within the comments of that one post. That post will continue to get engagement and this will still be a good way to keep people engaged and insert yourself into the conversation.

Social posting during the Super Bowl should be authentic. These posts should absolutely be said in your way, using your voice, and if you could absolutely care less about the actual game or either of the teams and you’re in it for the food – SAY THAT. Be honest! Have fun! If you don’t want to insert yourself or your brand into this conversation online in any way, that’s fine too. But it really is one of those topics that almost any business, brand, industry can get in on.

Grab these free, pre-made graphics for your Super Bowl social posts.

Also check out my Facebook Live where I talk about this very thing.

And enjoy the game!

More free stuff:

GRAB my ALL-in-One Social Media Planning Guide for Businesses, which includes:

  • 56 Ideas and Inspiration for Social Media Gold
  • Simple and Next Level Social Media Tools for Creating Amazing Posts
  • The ABCs of Social Media (How to ALWAYS BANK CONTENT)

And are you on my email list? Get notified of all things social + free social gold here.

“Batch” your content so you can make five posts out of one!

christie Uncategorized

When you’re creating content for your social media platforms, it’s not only important to plan out what you’re going to post ahead of time and schedule it out, it’s also a good idea to “batch” content creating.

What does that mean?

It means taking one piece of content you’ve created and making 5-10 pieces of other content out of it. Here’s a quick example:

@iamchristieo

Social media for businesses: One piece of content 5 ways, one session, iPhone 📱 #socialmediastrategist #businessownwer #businessownertips #fall

♬ This Is Halloween (from The Nightmare Before Christmas) – Jack N Box

Not only does this allow you to have multiple pieces of content to post on different days, it allows you to showcase your products in different ways, and the good (and bad) thing is that not everyone will see all these posts, so it won’t seem redundant.

That’s because Facebook only shows your content to about 10% of your fans, so different people will see different posts.

How can you create 5-10 pieces of content out of one?

Say, for instance, you have a new cheesecake product like one of my current clients.

You can shoot various photos of it, do a slowmo video of someone cutting into it, do a testimonial video of someone trying it, do a Facebook live of making it or someone eating it…

Another example is taking a Facebook live of a demonstration or a tour, then after that is over, download the video and create several smaller videos from it to post on the various platforms.

For example, my client decorated their shop for Halloween, so their Facebook Live included their new product, a demo making a hot foamy latte, a tour of the courtyard where there was live music, a tour of their “graveyard” – ALL VERY VISUAL and engaging. (It continued to get engagement on their page days later.)

Afterward, there were at least three video creation opportunities from that one live: the making of the latte and a shortened video of the tour, along with video of someone trying their products.

Batch content.

Another client does a weekly inspirational podcast, and she is able to not only create YouTube videos using the audio of her podcast, she can also make short videos for Instagram and Facebook along with beautiful graphics with inspirational quotes from the podcast. I’ve been able to create an entire week’s worth of content (and more) from that one show each week.

How can you identify what content to create multiple pieces of content out of?

  • Start with a topic that you want to focus on.
  • Think about what you can create from that topic and what visual elements you can create.

You can create a blog post of that topic, then you can create a “How-to” graphic of the steps to take or you can take photos of the topic/product. You can create a video or a demo of that product, and you can do a live video talking about the creation or function of the product.

All of these can be posts for the various platforms you are on, from Instagram to Facebook and “Stories” on both, plus YouTube, TikTok and Twitter.

Get more bang for your buck and save time by batching your content! Remember, one topic – five ways (or more). Work smarter, not harder!

Questions or want to brainstorm? Email me: christie@christieo.com.