Creating content isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Consuming content is one thing, but it can sometimes negatively impact the volume of content we think we need to create as business owners and marketers. Having a well thought out content plan mapped out can help alleviate any stress behind creating the content we have to create to be seen. I’ve got 3 tips to help create a balanced content plan!
As a service provider, it’s essential to have a marketing strategy that not only generates leads but also fosters relationships and connections, establishes your credibility, and increases visibility to reach your ideal client. Let’s break down what it means to have a balanced content strategy and three things I like to keep in mind when mapping out a content plan.
Like, Know, & Trust
Mapping out your content plan all comes back to the principles of know, like, and trust. The concept in that framework is that you create content that gets you out there and gets people to know who you are and what you do.
It’s important to examine each part of this framework to understand each piece’s individual psychology and, therefore, create a balanced content structure.
The General Understanding
You’re creating content that helps people and makes them want to give you some kind of information in exchange for getting more from you- like an email address or a follow up message.
Then, you create content that gets people to trust you through credibility building content. This could be like a low ticket offer- something where people are willing to trust you enough to give you their credit card information or trust you with their money in order to get what you provide.
When you’re focusing on your own content map, you can categorize your content by three different goals: visibility, credibility, and relationship building.
Visibility
Visibility content falls into the “know” or “like” category. This is content that will get you in people’s faces so they know you exist.
You want to create visibility content that has a short lifespan, is quick to create, and quick to digest. The goal is to say “this is who I am, this is what I do.” This is great because you’ll be able to create a lot of content in not a lot of time. Tik Tok and sometimes Instagram are great places for this content.
The point here is not to give someone all the value in the world. You want to be able to whip something out of your back pocket and leave your audience with a newfound sense of who you are.
Credibility
If you listened to “How to Sell Without Feeling Sleazy” episode of the podcast in season 2, you may know that when we are talking about credibility we are talking about the sales psychology principle of authority (even though we don’t love the word ‘authority’).
When we look at content designed to boost credibility, we are talking about content with a more medium to long lifespan. This could be like a Tik Tok that’s made its way through For You Page circulations or a podcast episode that stays at the top of people’s feeds, or a LinkedIn post. The content is a little more in depth in terms of the topic and talking about the “how” and “why” surrounding it.
Credibility content is more easy to digest because it’s more subtle than visibility content. It’s still more in depth and provides your audience with great takeaways, ultimately establishing you as a voice of authority in your niche.
Relationship Building
Now that you’ve established yourself as an expert with your credibility content, you’re going to want to foster the connection you’ve made with relationship building content to deepen the connection.
Your audience has seen you, they’ve learned about you, and now it’s time to flip the script. The purpose of relationship building content is to get to know who your audience truly is, what they stand for, and to see if they are a good candidate to work with.
By sharing more personal content, the hope is that your audience will feel more inclined to open up to you. Many small businesses really rely on this relationship building aspect and referrals in their business model and there’s nothing wrong with that!
Relationship building and networking are such powerful tools, but they are tools that are really difficult to replace.
How to Build Relationships
A great way to do this is to highlight and celebrate people you already have relationships with online. This can mean someone you’ve collaborated with in the past in some way. Doing this will keep you and your skills at the forefront of people’s minds.
Another way you can do this is by reaching out to that someone you’ve maybe been putting off reaching out to and checking in or even going to a networking event. When you’re in the mood to really build those relationships, lean into that feeling and make it a fun part of your marketing effort!
When you lead with a balance of visibility, credibility and relationship building, you’ll be able to create a marketing environment that is conducive to inquiries, and therefore you won’t have to create as much outright sales content.
Are you ready to create a balanced marketing plan that feels amazing to both you and your potential clients? Hit me up for a vibe check, and we’ll see how I can help you get your content feeling balanced and beneficial!
