How to create content that actually leads to clients

You're listening to Episode 39,how to create content that actually leads to clients. If you're sick of wondering whether the content you're creating is actually working. If you're second guessing everything you post and really just wondering whether social media and content creation in general is a waste of time, then you need this episode. This is part two of our social media series, part two of three. And last week, we chatted all about the mindset of social media and things that are really making it stressful and anxiety inducing, grab yourself a notebook, you're going to need one now it is time to dive into the strategy.Welcome to the personal branding project. I'm your host Kat Elizabeth an actor and personal branding coach who is obsessed with helping creative entrepreneurs like you build personal brands that change your life for good from attracting bigger opportunities, more joy and freedom in your life. And the ability to get paid to do the things that you love most.Each week, I'm bringing you inspiration, practical advice and the occasional dose of tough love. So you can stop dreaming and start doing what it takes to make those dreams a reality.Welcome back, my friend. And thank you so much for listening.And also thank you to everyone who reached out about last week's episode and said it was really helpful. I it makes me so happy, honestly. And something that I think a lot of people don't realise is that I do actually read all the feedback,and I respond. I only ignore messages that are clearly spam,like, so if you ever feel like sending me a message on Instagram, please do please don't think I'm just gonna ignore you. I think you're weird. I'm the kind of person that also reaches out to other people to let them know what's on my mind to thank them for things. So yeah, just letting you know that it would be reciprocated.So today's episode, it's it's an important one, because we have been diving into the mindset piece, the self belief piece,but as I mentioned last week, I really believe that no matter what we're approaching in life,and in business, we really want three key areas to make sure that we are setting ourselves up for success. And that is self belief, which we checked off last week where at least we started to I know it's a huge topic. I know it doesn't get solved with one podcast episode.But I am hoping that you at least had one. reframe through that episode that is going to help you approach your content creation and social media differently moving forward.Piece two is strategy, which is the obvious one, it's what everyone is looking for. But when they get the strategy, and then it doesn't work, they blame the strategy instead of looking to whether maybe there's something else missing, ie self belief or support. And then Part Three is the support, like I said, which is next week's episode. And this is all about making sure that we're creating systems and accountability and just ensuring that we have set up to not only be consistent,because you know, consistency for the sake of consistency is not great. Like we need to make sure we're consistently moving in the right direction, which means being able to check in with what we're doing and ensure that we're learning from what we create learning from the results. And then optimising moving forward. So that is what next week is going to be about.Today, though, we're going to just dive into the thing that everybody wants, which is strategy. Because we don't want to just be showing up for the sake of showing up. We don't want to be creating fluffy content. I know that if you know if you're in the head in your head all the time and just going Oh, like is it even worth it?Like, am I doing something wrong, or that just that social media is broken, then we need to tackle some strategy today.But before I get into the main part of the teaching, I wanted to let you know that I am starting something fun, we're going to do a review of the month giveaway. So to encourage you to pay it forward to you know, spread some love about the podcast. What I am going to be doing is that every single month if you submit a review to Apple podcasts or if I don't know if you're listening somewhere else that allows reviews, not sure maybe you can still leave an apple one, the ones that really count, and make sure you screenshot it, share it to your stories, Instagram stories, and tag me at I am Kat Elizabeth now if you're not on Instagram,totally get it if you're a maybe a LinkedIn person, and instead,you can totally tag me over there instead. And it still counts. I'm not going to punish you for not being on Instagram.But I want you to have screenshot the review, share it and tag me so that I actually get a notification otherwise,how will I know? And every single month I'm going to choose one review. It's going to be random And you'll get a $50,Amazon voucher to you know,hopefully maybe reinvest in your business. Or maybe there's just something really fun that you've been wanting, maybe you'll buy a good book. And what will happen is that every single review will stay in the drawer like until you've won. So you still have the chance to win month after month, it's not that you only get one chance, if that makes sense. I feel like I have to just explain that. Enough on that. Should we just dive into the content? Yes, I think we shall. she said to herself.Okay, so there's obviously a lot to strategy, content strategy.And there's only so much we can fit in a podcast episode. So I wanted to give you a piece of it, that is hopefully going to be extremely helpful and actionable today. But what I'm also going to be doing is bringing out a standalone workshop coming up soon, date and details TBC, where we go even deeper into this, and I'm going to give you my exact system, like I'm even gonna include formulas and all of that kind of stuff in this workshop,if you want to take things further.But you may get enough out of this episode that you're like,Nope, I'm set. And great. The focus I guess of today is I want to talk about the five stages of customer awareness. Okay, and this is a, I guess, a framework that's sort of been outlined by Eugene Schwartz, in his book on copywriting called breakthrough advertising. And it is you'll hear it referred to over and over again, by marketers, and copywriters, because it's just like, this is unchanging. So it's really about the stages that a client or customer will go through from when they didn't like they're not even on your radar, or you're not on their radar, their problem is not even on their radar, right through to having worked with you. We need to know this, because at any given point in time, we have people in our audience watching us or listening to us reading our content, who are at different stages of awareness.But what tends to happen is that we often get stuck in a rut of creating content only for one stage of awareness, and might be different depending on who you are like. So some people are really good at talking about one stage, like they just always sharing content that's wonderful, that's impactful, but then it doesn't move people to the next stage. So we need to make sure that what you're creating is covering all bases.So you're reaching people at different points in the journey,and giving them what they need to take that next step.Okay, so we'll quickly outline those five stages. So we've got unaware, we've got problem aware, solution aware, product aware, and most aware. So those are the five stages. Now let's just break them down and talk about the kinds of content you need to be creating at each stage. So the first one being unaware, they're not even aware that they have a problem that needs solving. So I don't want you to worry about these folks.They may end up finding you, or they may not. But we don't need to create anything for them.Because they're just like,honestly, they're not even tuned in like they may, they may be following you and still not even realise they have a problem. So we don't need to worry. So let's just skip those. What actually what I'll explain is that sometimes, you sharing the right content on someone else's podcast, someone else's platform that they're tuned into, may put you on their radar. And they might start following just because they're intrigued, or you may help them realise that they have a problem as they're listening to you talk. But we don't want to chase them, we want them to just find us,because it's exhausting to try and chase people. And there's just no need.However, when we move into problem aware this is where it's a little bit different. So we do, there's kind of two areas that we want to be covering. So number one, if you have a problem, you're probably already searching for answers. One thing we need to do for problem aware people is make sure that we are answering questions that they're already typing in, whether that's to Google, to YouTube,maybe they're looking at hashtags on Instagram, they're looking to join Facebook groups,this is a really great opportunity to get in front of people who know they have a problem, but don't necessarily know there's a solution and don't know that you are a solution. Okay, so that's one thing we want to do. But the other thing is, if they're already following you, we also really want to speak to what they're going through. We want to be really asking questions like okay, so like, what is getting in their way from thinking that they even can solve this problem right now,some people don't even believe their problem can be solved. So we want to speak to the struggles that are in their head stuff that's running through their mind right now and letting them know, I get it. I'm with you here. Yes, this is a challenge. And we want to also help tackle those limiting beliefs. Like there may be things getting in the way of them taking action and even being open to a solution because, they really think that they're stuck with this problem.Okay, so those are the kinds of areas that we want to be speaking to for those problem aware of people.Now, solution aware people, this means they actually do know there is a solution to their problem. But they don't know,like, they haven't decided that you're the solution. They, you know, they may be weighing up all of their options, and they're researching things. So when it comes to SEO, this is where we want to think about,okay, if people are actually searching for the solution, not just typing in a question, but actually searching for a solution like so for me, someone might already know, they need a personal branding coach. So how can I make sure that when they're typing that in somewhere, I am actually going to pop up as a potential solution to their query? Okay,so that is just on the on the SEO side. But essentially,during this solution aware stage of their awareness, they're obviously going to be looking at all potential solutions that land in their lap, or that they seek out, which means we need to now be making sure that they know that we're the right person to help, how will we help them decide that it's us over someone else? And there are so many things that, like so many factors that go into people's decision making processes, so part of it is going to be really making sure that we establish ourselves as an authority. So how can we prove to them that we actually know what we're talking about? So are you sharing social proof? Are you talking about your years of experience? Are you demonstrating your knowledge through helpful content, you know, we believe it or not how to content is less about solving someone's immediate problem, but showing that we're capable of solving that problem, because usually, a 10 minute video for you know, any big problems, I'm not talking about how to change a light bulb, but big meaty problems, we know a 10 minute video is not the solution to that problem. It shows them what's possible, it might walk them through the different steps, but they might need more hand holding. So you know, we do want to make making sure that we are creating some how to content, but really thinking more about showing them the roadmap, and then letting them know, hey, if you want someone to actually walk you through this process each step of the way, then that is what I'm here to do. Something else that we might forget about is we take values into consideration when we're choosing between people we talk we choose people's stories,and the fact whether they relate to us or not. So you know, if it's all business, and you're not actually sharing what you believe in showing up and demonstrating your values, then you're making it really difficult for someone to choose you because they are going to be taking that into consideration.And they're gonna naturally be drawn to people with similar values to them. So have a think,how can you really demonstrate like, yes, there's the obvious is like, my values are this. But even more powerful is how can I show them that these are my values? How can I just lead by example, and coming up with content that will demonstrate that also, I talked about social proof, but I didn't go into much detail like yes, social proof can be testimonials. That's the obvious one logos and pictures of you in action doing what you do is another showing fight like finished product of the work that you have helped create is another one data using actual case studies and a numbers,facts and figures of like, Oh, I help someone go from this to this any sort of before and after for that fact. So there are all kinds of social proof that we can be sharing. And it's not all just about the obvious testimonials, because I know that gets a lot of people really caught up because you're like,Oh, I haven't had many clients yet. I don't have any good testimonials yet. How am I going to have any social proof? Get creative. I'm sure there are other ways of you doing this.And I'm going to interject myself, at this stage of our chat, to say that there is like there's danger in going down a scroll hole on Instagram and getting sucked into just looking what everyone else is doing. But from a place of like, Oh, I'm failing, they're so good. I suck bla bla bla. But if you can go and follow some accounts that are doing really good work. And you can actually approach that from a place of curiosity and research and take note to see Oh, wow, that post that they shared, actually was really clever. Like it looked like it was this but actually what they're really doing is showing this, you know, and start taking notes for yourself and coming up with ideas of how you can do that your way, then, you know,spending time on on Instagram or any social media platform can be really valuable, but it's about setting a timer and having a purpose for that time. So follow people who are doing really well on Instagram, not because they're like Insta famous. I'm not talking about celebrities.I'm talking about people who are genuinely just killing it there because they are creating amazing content. You're allowed to follow them and take inspiration from what they do.Without you know, and you don't have to beat yourself up in the process, like your version of success on on any social media platform is going to look different to theirs. So don't try and emulate them. Don't try and reverse engineer what they're doing. But if you're really stuck for ideas, and you find that you keep creating the same kinds of posts over and over, look to what other people are doing, especially if you can find people in other industries that are doing really well because then you're not going to over analyse too much. Oh, no,does it look like I'm copying them? Like no, like they're from a completely different industries. And now you have to be really creative and figure out, what could this look like for you.So we've talked about unaware,we've talked about problem aware we've talked about solution aware, which means we're up to product aware. So they have been following you for long enough, I mean, or they've done enough research, that they're aware that you actually have a product. And when I say product,I mean an offering. So that could be a service, it could be a digital product, it could be a physical product, could be coaching, you know, that solves their problems. So your product is the solution. So now it's less about whether you're the right person, because hopefully they've already determined that,okay, you do know what you're doing, you have that credibility that like you, they respect you,but is the product right for them. So in this stage of things, we need to be talking about what we need to be showing them behind the scenes. So you can actually show what it looks like working with you. Like we want to see that I mean, if you have actual physical products,then it could be behind the scenes of you making things and talking about the story about how it's created. If you're a service provider or a coach,then this is where you actually show, you know, an example like for instance, if you're doing a VIP day, if you do spend a day doing an intensive with someone share little snippets of the story throughout the day to say so this is how I approach a VIP day. This is what it's like working with me. And if possible, get some before and afters like talk to your client before they start, see how they're feeling. And then check in with them at the end of the day going. Okay, so how are you feeling? You know, have we achieved what we wanted to achieve? You know, it's not a formal testimonial, but it's like, at least they're getting involved in the behind the scenes, we obviously want to also just break down features and benefits. And so when I say features and benefits, I mean,like a feature is like things that are included, like oh, you get a five page, you know, five pages of your website, you get an opt in form, you get, you know, optimised images, benefits are the reason it's so good. So you get five pages, so that you can insert the you know, the thing that's going to help them achieve their we're going to do an opt in form. So that you can be generating, you know, high quality leads while you sleep,we're going to do optimised images so that your website loads fast and get a good score from Google PageSpeed. Okay, so really, don't be afraid to actually have some posts where you actually break down what you do, and explain what's involved and why it's so awesome. We also want some obvious posts on and stories and whatnot, on how they can actually get started with you. And like what your availability is like really obvious stuff that we tend to forget to include. I touched on this last week, because you know, we get scared of selling,we get scared about talking about our services. And I noticed this huge difference when I put up a work with me highlight on Instagram. And we just I just keep it up to date with here are the ways that you can work with me right now. And here's my current availability.And here's to get to how to get started. I get so many more damn inquiries now from total strangers, not saying they will convert, because some of them are probably only in you know,problem aware stage or maybe solution aware stage. And they haven't been convinced yet that I'm the right person for them.But it's generally like I know people are looking at it. And that's important. So make sure it's really clear how people can get started with you. And don't just put that in like a feed post that could then disappear.Make sure you're saving some of that to your highlights. And then we need to tackle objections here. So at this stage, they might be on the fence. They're like, okay,there's this product, or this,you know, this this, there's an actual offering that I can buy.Here are all the reasons why I don't think it's right for me right now. And we need to think about those in advance and go What are those objections? Is it time? I mean, it's always time,it's always money. But there could be questions like, Am I capable of implementing? Is this actually going to work? Is it going to be too stressful, you know, all of those kinds of things. So brainstorm all of those questions, and you could share them individually. You could do like an FAQ type live video, where you actually tackle all of those objections one by one, but we need to just make sure that any final walls that need pulling down to take that person from just being a follower to actually being a client, we have to remove them now. And this is the beauty of you know, also using things like email and stuff to like if someone is interested in they fill out an inquiry You can you have this chance to then make sure that you control the narrative a bit more and send them more information that you know is reaching them. Whereas on social media, it can be a little bit hit and miss, where we know that they're seeing some posts, but not all posts. So that's why we never want to 100%rely on social media for the entire client journey. It can work, you can have people that find you and end up working with you all on social media. But I find that it's usually a mix of a few different points of contact during all of this process, from problem aware, to product aware, I'm still encouraging them to get on my email list to you know, take my quiz to download my freebie, so that I can tackle a lot more of these pieces that we've just been discussing, like all the kinds of content I'm talking about, can be all put into one place, if they download, you know, like, if they take a quiz,you can cover so many of these things, if they download your lead magnet, your PDF lead magnet, you can tackle so much at once. An onboarding, email sequence can check, check, check so many things off the list. So see how that takes the pressure off social media.Anyways, we're moving now to most aware, and this is the fun part, they've already worked with you. At least that's how I interpret it, it may be slightly different in the book, but I seem most aware is like they've actually experienced working with you or buying and using your products. So at this stage,all it's really about is loving on them, like making them feel amazing. So you could actually be shouting them out, featuring them, you know, showing them some love making them feel extra good about themselves, but also making it really easy for them to share. So for instance, like this is where you could actually be coming up with some little promotions, and saying, oh, if you've ever, you know, used my,my product before, like, here's a little post that you can share. And you know, if they use this code, you know, you'll get whatever kind of benefit I'm making this up on the go so it's very messy. But you know, make it really easy for them to share your content to their own feeds.You know, really helpful carousel posts, really fun quotes, anything that's going to help that brand awareness at this point is great for your superfans to then share to their own feeds or to their own stories so that their audience is now seeing you. Because the fact is, if they're a perfect client for you, chances are they've got friends who are just like them, who are also perfect clients for you. So at this stage, it's really just about solidifying that relationship and making sure they turn into genuine superfans who sing your praises, and, and wherever possible, just like showing your appreciation for the fact that they have worked with you, it's you'd be amazed at how how far just a little shout out can go to making someone feel incredible. And then also having them want to reshare it to their own stories.So we've covered a lot. And I know it's like it's a lot to take in, I really hope that you,I hope you had a note book or a notepad during this episode. If you do, then you may want to go back and re listen and just take some extra notes. But essentially, what I want you to take away from this is to know that everyone in your audience is at a different point in the journey. So be creating for all of them. Don't just be creating for that one person, like not everyone is just ready to buy from you, there's so much they need to know about you. So when you're mapping out your strategy, you need to be cycling through different kinds of content at different times, so that you're actually reaching the right people at the right time. One version of this is just you showing up regularly,and you get to kind of scatter your content. And it can just be a bit of everything you can theme it if you'd if you'd like you could have month monthly themes that talk about something in particular, that can be great, or it can just be a bit of everything, you'll have your core pillars, and we'll talk more about this in the workshop when I bring it out your pillars, the things that you really kind of intentionally be rotating through. And then I also talked about how there's different angles for each pillar that we can take to make sure you're kind of tapping into everything that we possibly can to be, you know, impactful on social media. So if you're not in a promotion or launch period,then you're just going to be able to shake things up and show up in different ways at different times. And next month.Sorry, next episode, we'll be talking about how you can you know, read your data and really reuse the best content to keep showing up and optimising. But the other thing that you need to know is that when you are in a particular launch period or promotion period where you're planning, you know, there's something very specific that you want to sell at the end of that period, and maybe you've got a limited number of spaces or there's a limited time that the cart is open. That's when we actually sort of put a bit more order into the content that we're creating. And we're going to make sure that we tackle things in that order to make sure that we're preparing our buyers or preparing our followers to buy, so it's not going to be as random. So it's two different kinds of showing up on social, you may never need to worry about that launch promotion, if you don't kind of do launches, and you don't tend to just like, you know, I know even service providers often will open up their books at a certain time of year or a few certain times of year and try and book up all their spaces,because it can just help you budget and plan ahead. But you might just be someone who's just always always selling, and it's just kind of this steady stream.So you don't have to worry about this, but I just wanted to bring that up so that it's in your awareness to know that there are two very different kinds of social media and content strategies, depending on your approach. I think I should stop talking. Now. I really hope it was helpful, though. And, you know, I really encourage you to have a look at the content that you have been sharing over the last few months, and really look at Okay, how much of that content was for each stage of awareness? You know, and is there one that I'm really lacking in right now. You know,for some people, it's so easy and natural to share, you know,the for that product aware stage where you're sharing behind the scenes, and you're talking about your offering and you're selling for other people, it's terrifying to talk about that.So you'll always be just speaking to problems and you're going to be trying to help them but you're never actually getting to that stage of saying,Hey, here's how you can work with me. So just do that analysis. Don't beat yourself up about what you've been doing so far. Just be like, Okay, cool.Noted. Like, there's a gap here.I'm always looking back and going, Oh, my goodness, why did I do that? What was missing this, this could have been better. But rather than beating myself up, I try and just take notes, and then apply it to my strategy moving forward. Because honestly, life's too short to be constantly beating yourself up.But anyways, I'll announce th workshop details, hopefully on the next episode. If you haven t listened to the first episod in this series yet, make su e you go back and do it becaus these three episodes are designed to work together to elp get you the best results And don't forget, go leave a r view, screenshot it, share it to your stories or to LinkedIn nd tag me so that you can go i the drawer to win that Amazon oucher every single month. Thank you so much for listening, a d I look forward to chatting wit you next week. Bye for now.