Hey hey! It’s Friday, and you know what that means — time for Friday Bullpen Sessions!

Every day I talk to business professionals who are stumped by social media. They know it’s important, they know it’s the way to grow your business and build awareness around your brand now in 2020, but they don’t know where to start. Meanwhile, online entrepreneurship giants like Gary Vanyeurchuk seem to be effortlessly creating tons of fantastic content. Next to guys like him, creating a strong, social media presence online seems like a daunting task.

But here’s the thing: It doesn’t have to be. Building awareness around your personal brand doesn’t have to be painful or difficult, and you can start right now!

Step #1: Stop comparing yourself to other people. I say it all the time — Do not compare your Chapter One to someone else’s Chapter Ten. Gary Vaynerchuk has been doing this a while, and you’re just starting out — and that’s okay! Give yourself permission to take some risks and figure this thing out. You’ll be up there with the big guys in no time.

Step #2: Follow the three strategies I’m about to lay out for you in this episode. You all may remember that last week, for my 50th episode, I considered doing a podcast about how you can create 50 pieces of social media in just one week, but I decided to save that episode. I’m doing it today instead! I won’t be talking about how to create 50 pieces of content specifically, but I AM sharing my top three strategies to help you maximize your content to easily create 20, 30, or more posts every single week. Ready? Let’s get started!

Social Media Strategy #1: Use Multiple Platforms and Media

I want you to do something right now. Take out your iPhone or your Android and record a video of yourself for 90 seconds or two minutes. You can teach something or share a tip or a strategy — whatever you want to do!

Okay, now you have one piece of content, and it only took a couple of minutes. Now, post that video to LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram, and if it’s under two minutes, post it to Twitter. Now you’ve got four pieces of content. You’ve already quadrupled your content output, and we’re just getting started!

You can very quickly multiply the amount of social media content you have just by using three or four platforms because different people use those different platforms to see your content. But what if you switched up the medium too?

Let me explain — go back to that original two-minute video. Upload it to your computer, and find a website like this one where you can convert an .mp4 file to an .mp3. To clarify — a video is an .mp4 file, and this website gives you an .mp3 file, which is just the audio from your video. Now you have a new piece of content — it’s the same message but in a new medium. Now, post that to all four platforms, and you’re up to eight pieces of content, and we’re not done yet!

Go back to that same video, but this time, listen to it yourself through your headphones and type out your message. Now you have an article or blog post. Post that to your four platforms — LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Now you’re up to 12 pieces of content, and the whole thing took just a few minutes.

What if you did that three or four times a week? If you could make three two-minute videos a week and repurpose them in all the ways we’ve talked about, you’d have 36 pieces of social media content, and it would take maybe 20 minutes. See? It’s not so difficult after all!

Social Media Strategy #2: The Five Categories of Social Media Content

Okay, we’ve talked about repurposing one piece of content into several, but if you want to keep expanding your brand voice and varying the types of content you produce, you need to think about creating for five different categories. (And by the way, I can’t totally take credit for this strategy — It’s one I learned from my own coaches and colleagues, but it’s too good not to share with you today!)

#1: Personal Stories

Here’s the bottom line: You have to get comfortable sharing personal stories on social media. I’ve said it over and over — Selling is about who knows you, likes you, and trusts you. When you share personal stories on your social media, you give your audience the opportunity to connect with you. And when your audience knows you and likes you, selling is a hell of a lot easier.

So ask yourself — what personal stories can I share? What valuable lessons have you learned that your audience could benefit from? Don’t be afraid to share them on social media, and trust that the right people will connect with you and your stories.

#2: Pure Value

This category is all about education. You can post a video, audio file, or blog post in which you’re purely teaching. You can share a helpful tip or strategy that you’ve found useful. The “three-step” formula is excellent here. You can share the “Top Three XYZ” or the “Three Best Ways to ________.” Give your audience some quick, practical advice to help them grow their businesses.

#3: Credibility

I like to call this category the “credibility corner.” Have you won any awards? Have you been nominated for anything? Have you written a book or been featured in a magazine or on someone else’s podcast? This is your space to show your credibility. Anything that demonstrates that you are an authority is something you want your audience and potential clients to know about! So make sure to share those credentials on social media.

#4: Testimonials

This category is similar to the previous one, but instead of sharing your street credibility from external sources, you’re sharing directly from your clients. Take this opportunity to show off a little. Share case studies of how people who have worked with you have gone from failing to succeeding and how you helped them get there.

I do this all the time! When I’m coaching, I often take pictures. I want to have photos of the coaching happening as it’s happening. Then later, I share those pictures with some positive reviews from my satisfied clients. All you’re doing here is proving to your audience that you are an authority in your field and demonstrating to them your ability to transform lives and careers.

#5: Calls to Action

This is the toughest category and often the scariest. People are afraid to take that next step and ask their audience to invest in their services. I get it — it’s tough to ask people to trust you enough to invest their time and money on you. Not every post needs to be a call to action, but those posts really do help you generate business.

So don’t be afraid! Ask your audience to schedule a call with you. Ask them to enroll in your upcoming webinar. Encourage them to sign up for your email or text community. Whatever it is, call your audience to take action and invest in some aspect of your business.

Social Media Strategy #3: Schedule Your Content

This final social media strategy is the simplest and the biggest time-saver and money-saver of them all. Here it is: Find a platform that allows you to schedule your social media content. Maybe you have a team of people who can manage your social media accounts, and that’s great. But if you’re in a place where you need to save money, you can find a whole variety of online platforms that allow you to schedule your posts all at once, so you don’t have to worry about them throughout the week.

I recently transitioned to using a platform called Social BU when my previous social media manager, Amanda, had to leave my business. It only costs $8 a month, and it allows me to schedule all my posts across all four of my platforms at the same time. If you’re limited on time and budget, and you don’t have the money to hire people to manage your social media, find a platform that you can use to schedule your social media posts. It’s easy, inexpensive, and time-efficient — a win-win-win!

Grow Your Online Presence to Grow Your Business

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: If you do not have an online presence today in 2020, you are irrelevant. There’s no other way around it. The online space today is all about grabbing attention. If you have a strong and consistent voice on social media, your clients will be much more likely to say “yes” the next time you talk to them. 

So as you’re creating content and building your brand voice, try out these three strategies. And make sure you share this post on Instagram, tag me, @andy_neary, and let me know how it goes! I’d love to hear from you about what worked best and how your business grew.

You can also join my FREE text community! Just text the word “Mindset” to 414-622-1462, and I’ll give you access to a TON of free weekly coaching. If you’re not quite ready to take the plunge and join the Complete Game Mastermind, this text community is a great way to see if my coaching might be right for you.

Until next time — keep hustling, keep showing up with your authentic voice on social media, and keep trusting that your clients are coming to you.

I’ll catch you later!

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