Today’s Quote: Social media is here. It’s not going away; not a passing fad. Be where your customers are: social media. – Lori Ruff
Welcome to another episode of the podcast that teaches you how to be a ridiculously good virtual assistant.
Today we are going to talk about creating content that stands out – from your daily actions and interactions.
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Connect with Tracey D’Aviero, VA Coach and Trainer
Episode Notes:
So everything is content. What do I mean by that?
Well, a lot of VAs tell me that they don’t know what to post about, so it mostly comes from that. And the fact that I see VAs posting about being a VA and how great it is. That’s my reason for talking about this topic as much as I do.
Your content is for your clients. Period. It’s not about you. If you are struggling to get clients from your content, it is either that you aren’t posting enough content (or any at all), or you aren’t posting the right content.
So let’s dig in to that.
Think about what makes you stop the scroll. What are you interested in?
I know what makes me stop.
I like food, travelling, health and wellness stuff. That’s my personal stuff.
I also like social media, how to stuff, inspirational stuff, and things that will make my business run more smoothly and make more money.
That’s a pretty short list, but off the top of my head, I know that I stop at those posts on every social media channel.
That’s what you need to figure out about your target clients.
What THEY want to stop at.
And I can tell you, it’s not about being a VA. Why do I know this? Because my clients will stop at how to be a VA. I’m a VA coach. But when I was a VA, the people who paid me – my clients – 6 and 7 figure business coaches, couldn’t care less about how to become a VA. Or what it’s like to be one.
And yet that’s what I was posting about. Yep, I did it too!
But your clients don’t care. You need to create content that is of interest to THEM. They are the ones you are marketing to.
So figure that out.
And luckily I’m here to give you some tips today on how to do that – much easier than you might doing it now. Are you unsure what to post? Well,…
Everything is content. This is truly great advice- and so true.
When you struggle to create content, you have to look at things differently. And when you do, you need to find the business lessons or the common thread to advice that you can use as a comparison to your business.
People can relate to daily activities and interactions – and while I don’t suggest you write all your content this way, it can be a great boost to adding your personality and some much needed relatability to your content.
Here’s what I mean.
I told a story recently of how I went to Costco and had a crappy customer service experience. Long story short, they told me the debit machines were down as I entered the store, but said they took cash and credit. So I went ahead in, did my shopping, and tried to pay with my Visa or Amex. Nope. They actually only take Mastercard, which the girl at the front didn’t tell me. So I had to find a bank machine and get cash to pay for my stuff. This is relatable, and you can link it directly to how you would have handled the customer service, if that’s a service you offer (even if it’s not – I always give my customers the right information).
When you go to the bank, they spin their monitor around and show you all your stuff and they tell you about the options they have for you – and they recommend what they feel is the best one for you. That’s how you can help your clients decide the best option to with you.
Laundry – we sort it to wash it, and we adjust the water temperature and spin force for different clothing. I also sort it to fold it. This shows people how you organize yourself – how your mind works, and how you use processes.
Client stories are great things to use in content. Tell people what the client was experiencing before they started working with you and how you helped them. The more clients you have, the more you can use this kind of content. You can even inject your humour into these, as a show of how you build relationships and get along with your clients.
Conversations you have with business owners – whether they are potential clients or not. Like the people at Costco or the bank, or a networking event. I tell the story often of a woman who was at a networking event, introduced herself to a fellow and proceeded to talk for 20 minutes about her product – bras for women who have undergone mastectomy. Great product, but he had zero interest in what she was talking to him about – and everyone knew it. She needed to know her audience – which incidentally, there were at least a dozen women in the room that she could have had conversation with, but she couldn’t see that she was talking to a wall.
Something you have learned – talk about it step by step. If you went to a webinar this week, tell people about it! Tell them what made it interesting, and how you will use what you learned. Especially if it’s how you will use it to help your clients. But even still, when we are looking for relatability, if your clients also learn for their business, you will cover that.
Can you see what I mean? There is so much you can do with content from your everyday interactions and actions.
Do you have a morning routine? Talk about it.
Did you learn a lesson? Talk about it.
Did you notice a new trend? Talk about it.
Did your clients ask you questions this week? Talk about it.
Did you see other VAs posting things that you know the answers to ? Talk about it.
When you step out of the marketing mindset, and just share what you are doing and how that relates to your clients and their businesses, you will be creating much more interesting content for your clients to consume.
And when you add your personality, you will stand out.
You don’t have to do endless Tiktok videos, but when you start to just be YOU, people notice. When you are marketing, you want to get noticed. What is your point of view on something? Your perspective? This showcases your opinion and your expertise – but in a relatable way, so it’s not business all the time, or selling.
We spend a lot of time separating business from life and sometimes those are the best places for us to share our expertise.
How do you start your day?
How do you end your day?
How do you stay on track for deadlines and time management?
How do you stay organized?
What do your clients say about working with you?
Write your own content, and curate stuff from others that you follow or trust.
And while we’re on it, figure out how to repurpose content. You can write one weekly blog post and the repurpose that into 10 or 20 pieces of other content. How do you do that?
Simple. Decide on four main topics that your audience is interested in. Rotate the topics every week so you always have something different. Look for content as you surf or in your daily activities that relate to the topic of next week’s blog post. It makes it easier to write, to create. And then break it up into 10 or 20 pieces after you write it. Images, tips, captions, photos .. it’s easy to do especially once you get started.
And once you start it, it gets easier. Especially as you start to get interactions on it, but really when it becomes easier to create. You don’t have to post 10 Instagram stories a day. 1 blog post a week, 3 to 5 other social media posts in one channel – make them good. And keep at it.
Change the way you look at everything all day long. You will see the content when you look for it (within reason). Keep a notepad or use your phone to keep some point form notes if you are out and about. Become inspired by what is going on around you and who is around you. And figure out how you can help people with it. That’s what they will stop scrolling to look at, and that’s what will help them know, like and trust you faster so that they will take action to work with you.
Visibility is everything but you have to be interesting – and to be interesting, you have to be interestED in what they are interested in – there’s the key!
Need Some Help?
If you need some help figuring out how to create better content, reach out to me at tracey@yourvamentor.com. I’ve helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to the next thing. I’d love to do the same for you. I do private coaching, and registration for my new mastermind group The Virtual Circle is open now. Maybe one of those is right for you!
That’s all I’ve got for you this week, thanks for tuning in to learn to become a ridiculously good Virtual Assistant.