You know your business. You can explain what you do, where you want to take it and why your customers choose you. Then you sit down to write a social media post and somehow none of that comes out.
You might be posting regularly, with a feed full of perfectly reasonable tips and updates. But when you read it back, it could belong to any number of businesses. The part people get when they spend time with you is missing.
That’s something I look for when I start working with a client. What do their customers experience that someone scrolling their feed would never know?
The story behind a shop name
I worked with a growing business that had plenty of followers, but very little engagement. Its posts gave people little sense of the business or its origins.
On our first call, the owner said, ‘I really want you to have a look and see what I’m doing because I’m not really sure that it’s what I should be doing.’
His shop had an unusual name. I asked about it, found out the story behind it and made that the first post I wrote.
People were interested and started engaging. The owner felt the post sounded like him. I don’t remember the exact numbers, so I’m not going to pretend I can put a percentage on it. What I remember is that a story about his own business gave people something they wanted to respond to.
What I noticed when I visited
I later went to the shop. It was cheerful and vibrant, and customers were delighted to see him. They stopped for a chat and asked his advice. His personality was such a part of the experience, yet very little of it had made its way onto social media.
As we got to know each other and built trust, we gradually replaced the generic content with things that reflected the business and interested its followers.
The visit gave me more to notice, but our work had started with a conversation. I can ask those questions and get to know a business over a call too. Often, the owner already has the material. They’ve just never thought of it as something worth posting.
Find three ideas in your own business
Open the Notes app on your phone and create a note called Content Ideas. Give yourself ten minutes to answer these three prompts. Write what actually happens, even if it feels ordinary.
A question customers keep asking
What have you explained more than once recently? Write down the question in the words people use, followed by the answer you would give them in a conversation. Include the detail that helps them make a decision.
The story behind a business decision
Why did you choose your name, introduce a particular service or change the way you work? Pick one decision and write down what prompted it, what you chose and why that matters to your customers.
Something a customer would notice in person
What would they see, hear or experience in five minutes with you? If you work remotely, think about a call or an exchange with a client. Look for a detail that helps someone understand how you work.
Turn one answer into a post
Choose the idea that would be most useful or interesting to the people you want to reach. You don’t need to fit all three into one post.
For a recurring customer question, you could use this structure. The brackets are prompts to replace with your own facts:
‘A question I keep getting asked is [the actual question].
Here’s what I usually explain: [your answer in the words you would use out loud].
The detail to pay attention to is [something that affects their decision], because [why it matters].
If you’re deciding [relevant next step], start by [one useful action].’
Read it aloud. Does it sound like something you would say? Is there a detail that comes from your experience? Would the person you want to work with understand why it matters to them? Adjust it until you can answer yes.
A strategist in your corner
If you know your business but struggle to get it across online, I can help you work through what to say, which platforms deserve your time and how to make your content sound like you.
Through SideKick Consultancy, I offer social media strategy, mentoring and coaching for founders and growing businesses. You can stay involved in creating your own content, with guidance that fits the help you need.