CONTENT is what is delaying your marketing strategy! There I said it!! The key to having a consistent online presence to carry out your marketing strategy is a consistent approach to generating content! If you rely on online sales, you need to be at least photographing, videoing multiple looks, videos, and helpful content once a week — in bulk! This resorts back to the content creator mindset I often mention and have linked below for you, keep reading! If you are not creating content, you are most likely using content that’s not your own and that you don’t really love, you’re rushing last minute, and you misconstrue your intended message about you or your business. Not having a consistent content creating process is what ultimately (in my experience) hinders the full process of your marketing approach.

1. Brand Direction + Niche

Content without wording can help your ideal consumer visualize all the reasons they want work with you and possibly all the reasons they don’t. Being direct and precise within your niche of imagery, whether it be locations or editing style, the products you have in the imagery will sway someone to see if they feel you are the right fit for their lifestyle and needs. If you are not specific with what’s in your image, video, or any content you generate, you leave them guessing and therefore they may not engage because they are unsure on why they should. It’s important that before you begin capturing content, you have your niche locked in and can execute it properly. This will also help save time with your content session for you being able to execute multiple context for your business.

2. Consistency + Brand Awareness

Showing up on a daily and consistent basis with your content shows your ideal consumer and audience that you take your business, brand or product seriously. Creating that strategy with your visual approach will develop the needs or wants from the consumer. That consistency you created helps shape the consumer on how, when, and why they should work with you. The Marketing Rule of 7 states that a prospect needs to hear or see the advertiser’s message at least 7 times before they’ll take action to buy that product or service. (The Marketing Rule of 7 is a marketing maxim developed by the movie industry in the 1930s. Studio bosses discovered that a certain amount of advertising and promotion was required to compel someone to see one of their movies.) The rule of 7 in the Digital Age gives you all the outlets and more opportunity to conquer the rule of 7 on many different outlets, so it’s up to you to take this opportunity to do so with precision, and not complaint. Times have changed for marketing so the old outlets of television advertising are taking a downward dip. Not all platforms are created equally so it’s important that you know what you want your message and brand image to be. I always recommend being a resource and fulfilling a need so that you become less of a spammy sales pitch to a best friend marketing approach.

3. Generating a sustainable and easy call to action message.

I always say that when you create content to become a resource, you create a need, which then creates a sustainable and easy call to action for your audience and consumer. For instance, do not just show me a beautiful sweater. Show me how to style it, what to pair it with, and where I need to wear it. Just like a recipe, don’t show me a delicious cake, tell me where I can buy it from you, or make the tools to make it accessible so I can make it just like you did! There are easy ways to make this happen. When you are generating content for social media, blogs, newsletters, etc. remember that your readers always need to be told WHAT to do. This can be presented in multiple different ways. A “click to read,” “tap to shop,” or follow me on Instagram! Again, simply showing your audience a cake or sweater does not properly give them a call to action — you need to show them how to bake the cake or how to style the sweater. It’s all about being a resource! Do it with a helpful mindset!

4. Don’t be boring: Engage your audience with fun eye grabbing content

Okay okay I think this saying has been said so many times! Step outside of the box… Some of the best marketing approaches are the ones that make someone stop scrolling in their tracks. The idea is to bring emotion to the consumer, make them think “I have to have this,” or “I must read this right now!” Listen to this tip though. Don’t go too outside of the box that it leads the consumer to not know what you’re marketing, but add touches that represent your brand. There are many ways to engage your audience with fun eye grabbing content. Mix up your social feed with images of your team, brand, what you provide, flat lays, etc. Also don’t be afraid to create videos, whether that be on IG Reels or on TikTok. Humor and knowledge are a great way to engage your audience as well. It makes your brand seem less of just an account, and more of a human executing their strategy. Make yourself available too so you can respond and engage with comments, answer DM’s and like and comment on other brands as well.

5. Getting ahead so you can focus on other aspects of your business

As referred to in step one, creating content can be overwhelming without a direction. Tanya Foster, who is a client of mine, always says that for one hour of shooting, is two hours of prepping. The more you prepare and have a shot list ready to convey your marketing strategy, the more you can capture during your photo session. Creating content with ideas in mind, multiple looks ready and any props needed is key to getting ahead so that you can have extra time to spend on other avenues of your business. If you do not generate a plan, you will lose time, money and will have nothing to market your company for more than a week at the most.

Here are some other helpful blog posts that can help with tips and strategies to elevate your business online and on social media:

• How to Make a successful Reel
• How To Capture Branding Content in 20 Minutes
• The Content Creator Mindset
• How To Plan Your Branding Session + Printable Checklist
• 6 Steps How To Create Engaging Flatlays

Much Love,