Quick Content Tips
- By Lisa Ellison
- •
- 13 May, 2020
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Here are some ideas to help you keep producing content during a pandemic
There are
numerous ways that you can ensure that you continue to produce relevant content
in order to continue engaging with your target audience, even if you’re not
able to actively work as you would normally. Recent conversations with clients
and prospects have highlighted the lack of inspiration and direction people are
suffering due to not being able to go about their usual daily business.
Here I will provide you with some tips and tricks to (hopefully!) help inspire you to produce fresh and relevant content during this pandemic.
Some things I have picked up from my own experiences with social media:
- Your content should be valuable with some added fun
- Throwback Thursday
- People like lists, or ‘listicles’ (?!)
- Behind the scenes photos and insights are popular
- ‘Deskies’ are also popular – ‘this is my home desk’
The #ThrowbackThursday Concept
This is a useful one to use for content at this particular time because it gives you the opportunity to reflect on and highlight past successes. It doesn’t need to be on a Thursday and you don’t need to use that hashtag but use this mindset to help inspire your content. Look back over past social media posts or newsletters and use that content to create new posts, newsletters or blog posts.
Listicles
Use lists to give quick insights and overviews for things like Top 5 Stretches to Do At Home or Top 5 Venues for International Conferences. You can use these on a branded background for a social media post, ideally coupled with a blog post to drive traffic to your website. These could also be used in targeted newsletters to your mailing list. If you have a segmented mailing list, you could target your recipients with relevant content e.g. an estate agent could target people on the 'landlords list' with ‘Top 5 things to check before you can let your property’ or people on the ‘new buyers list’ with ‘Top 5 things to look out for when viewing a property’.
You could also do these as a quick video. Video marketing is a great way to communicate with people. It also helps to build trust and brand personality.
Behind the Scenes
People like to see behind the scenes photos and hear about your world.
- How are you coping in the current Covid lockdown?
- How are you managing to share your house with housemates/family/pets whilst maintaining a professional façade?
- Give tips and ask for tips.
- Keep it interactive.
This is a great way to feed into and strengthen your brand personality and as a result, brand identity. It helps to create bonds and brand loyalty which is incredibly important.
'Deskies'
Apparently, people love a photo of your desk. It is another good way to show a bit of your personality – are you messy or tidy, do you have a penchant for stationery, or do you work on scraps of paper with a broken Bic?
I have given you a small handful of tips which you will hopefully find helpful. It’s important to remain active and present in your usual ways, whether that’s on social media, newsletters or blog posts.
If you would like any further help or support, please get in touch.
Did you see my recent video 'Quick Content Tips'? If not, please visit the Liontooth YouTube channel via the link at the bottom of the page to check it out.
Jamie Laing - before you roll your eyes and scroll on, hear me out. (I know, the photo gave away my cliff hanger!) You may have been one of the 50,000+ people that saw my LinkedIn post last week, very much a throw away passing comment, essentially, to say I drove past Jamie Laing on my way home from the school run whilst he was on his fundraising mission for Children In Need.
I followed the story closely last week, quite hooked on his progress and whether or not he would make it. I'm not a celebrity-obsessed person and I rarely engage with anything celebrities do but last week was different and I'm sure I'm not the only one. I believe that many people didn't know he was even embarking on that challenge until last week - I didn't and I listen to Radio 1 daily! I also believe there's a lot of people that either don't know who Jamie Laing is or do know and don't particularly like him - we can't please everyone!
So, what was it about his fundraising effort that gripped the nation and led to him raising over £2m?! It's all about the story. And *this* is a great example of marketing done well - with an emphasis on storytelling and humanising your brand. His fundraising effort, backed by BBC Radio 1 coverage, provides a perfect case study on the power of storytelling in marketing. His journey emphasised his struggle, determination, vulnerability and honesty and that played a pivotal role in engaging the public emotionally and driving donations. If his personal narrative hadn’t been shared so openly, it’s unlikely that such a significant amount would have been raised.
This is something I've also experienced in fundraising efforts that I've been involved in and it makes all the difference but it takes strength to be vulnerable, and I'll always admire those who found the strength to tell their story (you know who you are 💛).
Here's what we can learn about the value of storytelling in marketing:
Emotional connection drives action : Jamie's story wasn't just about asking for donations; it was about sharing his personal experience and struggles throughout last week. People are more likely to connect with a cause when they can empathise with the storyteller. In marketing, emotional engagement creates a bond between the audience and the brand, making them more likely to engage.
Vulnerability builds trust : By being honest and vulnerable about his efforts and the challenges he faced, Jamie Laing built trust with the Radio 1 listeners. Vulnerability *humanises* a brand. In marketing, being transparent and acknowledging (and addressing!) flaws can enhance credibility and build a stronger, more authentic relationship with consumers.
Narrative creates value : Jamie Laing didn’t just promote an event, he shared a compelling and authentic story about his commitment. In marketing, your story can be the difference betwe en blending in and standing out. Crafting a narrative around your brand or product creates meaning, making it more likely to stick in the minds of consumers.
Great - now how can you implement this in your marketing?
If you have ever worked with me, you'll have heard me going on about the importance of authenticity. This applies to everything from branding to customer service. If a brand is transparent about its processes, challenges and goals, customers are more likely to engage and support it.
Emotion drives engagement - whether it’s a product, service or cause, storytelling can create an emotional connection that compels action.
Consistent storytelling over time, where customers can see growth and commitment, helps keep them invested.
So basically, Jamie Laing’s Children In Need campaign demonstrated that storytelling - driven by vulnerability, determination and honesty, was the key to the level of success in his fundraising last week.
For marketers, it highlights that connecting with people on an emotional level, telling authentic stories and leveraging the right platforms can make all the difference in achieving success.
It can feel difficult to build emotion into corporate marketing but there's ALWAYS room to be human.
Sometimes I'll get a message to my inbox referencing my marketing agency
👀 God no! I'm
not an agency! No
. Sorry, no.
I'm a 1.5-person band. (The other half is my husband who's a silent partner, providing the incredible design skills). I don't want to be thought of as a marketing agency. For me it has connotations of frustration, waiting, chasing, and to be fair, more often than not incredible results but still.
I'm a no-nonsense , to the point communicator .
I like to be efficient and get stuff done and that includes getting results for my clients . I like the fact I'm basically flying solo with this, it's easy. It's straightforward. It's DONE.
Let me give you context and insight...
I have experience with agencies from BOTH sides - I've been the client AND the service provider. Honestly, I had challenges with both. See if anything sounds familiar:
From a client perspective , my biggest frustrations were always...
- The huge bill. Sorry guys, I always found it eye watering even though I wasn't paying!
- Not being able to get hold of my point of contact and waiting whilst others frantically ran around trying to get answers for me.
- I felt bad for (and frustrated about) the person playing piggy in the middle. I couldn't speak to Studio to get answers or explanations about design issues/challenges/restrictions. Information was often lost in transit.
As the service provider , (for me) these were my biggest frustrations...
- There too many systems and processes that got in the way of me just getting on and providing the level of service I wanted to.
- Too many other cogs in the wheel slowing down the process.
- Too many hoops to jump through and restrictions.
