How to stay consistent on social media (without having to post every day)

You're listening to Episode 40, how to stay consistent on social media without having to post every day. This is part three of three in our social media series. And my hope for today's episode is to give you the clarity to understand why you have been inconsistent with social media, as well as reframe what consistency even is about and why it's important in regards to social media. Now, before we dive in, did you hear about my review of the month giveaway. So if you want to get the chance to win an Amazon gift voucher every single month, as well as some quarterly prizes that are gonna be pretty epic, all you need to do is leave a written review of the show, or go find your existing review. Yes, you can have done this in the past, I'm not going to exclude you and punish you for being an early review leaver. And then you need to take a screenshot of it, share it to Instagram stories, and tag me at I am Kat Elizabeth, my link is in the show notes. If you're not on Instagram, you can do the same thing on LinkedIn, don't worry. And you'll go in the draw and you can actually keep like you keep having the chance to win every single month. It's not that you only have one chance to win, so just get your entry in. And yeah, Bob's your uncle. 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. So the most common thing I hear from my audience is that they're not being consistent on social media, like I have these conversations constantly, when I send out surveys and people putting in their responses. When people fill out application forms for coaching. It's just like the thing that comes up over and over again. And I'm hoping at this point that you have listened to part one and part two of this series, if you haven't, just go listen to them after this, like you don't have to listen to them in a particular order. But if you've listened to them, you would know at this point that a lack of self belief and what I mean when I say self belief, I mean confidence in what you're sharing, how you're sharing it, who you're speaking to end, just the fact that you have worth, you know, and and a reason to share. This is all a big reason for that inconsistency. And another one of those reasons is not having a strategy, or at least not taking ownership of the strategy that you have. Okay, so now that we've got those out of the way with the other episodes, it's now time to look at the other reasons that you might be inconsistent, or even why your consistency isn't leading to consistent results. And then we're going to talk about some actual strategies to help you stay consistent. And well, we could turn this into a drinking game. How many times have I said consistent or consistency so far? But anyways, let's just dive straight in. By the way, really sorry, if you can hear like a strange background noise. I've got the dishwasher going and it doesn't pause. And I have a limited window of time to record this episode. So we're just we're going forward with imperfect action. But anyway, so that what I want to start with is just some reframes. I want to talk about what consistency is not. This is obviously through the lens of social media. And I've got three for you. So the first thing you need to know is that consistency is not posting every single day for the sake of it. Like I mean, yeah, that's a kind of consistency. But as my friend Shannon says, she talks about how consistency isn't about being constant. You know, it's not just the act of posting, posting, posting, because the posting, posting posting can lead to absolutely no results, if you are missing these key pieces that we've been talking about in the other episodes. So just remove this pressure, like don't be thinking that Oh, the only way I'm going to be consistent is by showing up every single day and posting like a robot. Okay, we're not actually aiming for that. But we'll get more into that shortly. Another thing, consistency is not following the exact same strategy for months or even years on end. If you create a strategy one day, and then you just keep following it like clockwork, on and on and on, we potentially have a problem because maybe that strategy worked in the beginning, but then things shift, things change, you know, platform. As change, you change, your audience changes, and that strategy may not work anymore. So just being consistency, like don't don't give yourself a badge of honour for just sticking with that one plan you created however long ago, sorry, I'm getting a bit tough love here. You know, consistency is actually also about adjusting and optimising and making sure that you're revisiting your strategy. Before you, you know, continue posting again, and we'll talk a little bit about that at the end of this episode, because I've got a bonus strategy for you. And finally, consistency is not having the perfect, consistent aesthetic. Honestly, if you want to have a consistent aesthetic, fantastic, go for it, if you think your audience really wants you to have one, and it could maybe, you know, do some harm, if you didn't have one, you know, for instance, I know that people look at my feed, if you're looking at a designer's feed like a website designer, photographer, you know, anyone in sort of visual branding, you probably have certain expectations of how their feed should look. So we do want to think about that. But you know, if, if that's not your field, and people don't necessarily expect that, you know, take that pressure off, you know, where did that expectation come from, it probably came from you some stories in your head. And let's think more about consistent messaging, okay, you could have a butt ugly feed. And I mean, I hope you don't, but you know, maybe your audience loves that. And as long as the messages that you are sharing, are consistent in helping people understand what you do, what you're about your value, the way you can help them, showing them that you understand who they are and what they're going through. That is the consistency we want in your content. We're not as concerned about the aesthetic, like we can take or leave the aesthetic. But messaging is where we need that consistency. Okay, so we're going to dive into five strategies that are going to help you create some meaningful consistency now, and I say strategies, but really the focus now, because I talked about how we need self belief, we need strategy. And we need support, support to me, it takes all sorts of different forms, and we will touch on a couple of them. In this episode, I see support as anything that helps keep you going, helps keep you consistent. So support might look like actual, you know, emotional support, it might be practical support, like feedback, you might be having a coach, it might be having a mastermind or an accountable accountability, buddy. It could be systems, like actual systems that help you do things smoothly, you know, and there can be systems for everything we all kind of, I think we tend to think of like systems as automations and we're very literal with what we think a system is but a system can just be anything really that we're going to be able to repeat. So the the two, I guess main kinds of support usually are going to be around you how people supporting you to ensure that you keep showing up, and how the systems you're you're building going or support you. Sometimes those support can look like actually asking for different kind of help like levelling up upskilling, looking for extra help to make sure that you fill in any gaps in your knowledge. But now let's just talk about five different things that you can do that are going to create meaningful consistency, not just consistency, for the sake of it. So the first thing that we should be doing is planning our content ahead of time. Now, a lot of people freak out at this because they go oh, but I'm, I need to wait for inspiration like I can only write when I'm feeling a certain way. So I'm not saying you have to create all your content in advance. In fact, depending on your personality type, this can be a bad thing. Even just about for anyone, if we create too much content way ahead of time, our energy can shift and the content can feel stale, by the time we put it out. So there is a line we need to draw here, it's going to look a little bit different for everyone. So I'm not going to say oh, you have to do it in this timeframe, or you know, you have to be doing it weekly, or you have to do it monthly, I want you to figure that out for yourself. But what I'm talking about with planning is I mean, we want like you're going to have your overarching strategy, and you're going to lock in those pillars and those post ideas. Because we at least want to know what things we have to be touching on week to week, especially if you know that you're gonna be promoting things, in particular with certain timeframes. Like we don't want to just like show up and realise, oh, crap, that's right. I've got all these spots I need to fill next month. And yet, all I've been doing is like sharing random pictures of my dog, you know, so the planning ahead of time does not mean you have to create the content ahead of time, but it means that we are going to think ahead to We are going to be promoting whether we want to have any themes for months, that's going to make it easier for us to sell certain things, we're going to lock in those pillars. And we're going to lock in some post ideas. If you want to then have an alarm that goes off on a certain day saying, hey, it's time to write your post for today or for tomorrow, you know, you can, you can then be writing in the moment. But you've already committed to this post, or at least the theme of this post, because you know that that is a post you have to share. Because your audience needs to hear it in order to get closer to being ready to working with you. That's number one. Number two, utilise software to create workflows for yourself. Next, I want you to design some templates in advance so that you Now, don't panic, this is not about getting super techie. Honestly, it can be as basic as you want. But I really believe that we can make live our life easier for ourselves, if we are utilising some sort of software. Often I would say go with a basic Project Management System, or if it's not that like so when I say project management, I mean, you know, I think a good start a project management system is Asana, or Asana depending on how you pronounce it. And Trello is another one where a lot of people like to start, I think Trello is fine for content creation, I don't like it for real project management. But if you want a workflow, then you know, Trello absolutely does the job. There's clickup. If you don't want, you know, a classic project management system, something else is notion, notion.so, I love it, it's very flexible, it can be a little overwhelming at first, because you've got this blank page in front of you, and you get to decide how the page looks. But you can build in structure for yourself and build out, you know, workflows and content calendars and things like that. So, you know, pick something, don't stress about what it is they all essentially do the same kind of thing. They're all here for the same reason. So pick one that you enjoy using, and really start to think about what are the tasks that I'm repeating every single week, every single month? And how can I start to map them out for myself. So it becomes about just like some checklists. And I can, you know, dump all my ideas in one column. And then if I'm in the process of writing a post will be in this column. And then when I'm ready to find a graphic for it will be in this column. And then once it's published, I'll put it into this column. You know, as simple as that. But that is a workflow that helps you get a visual and immediate visual snapshot of where you're at and what needs creating. And something else that you could be doing is using a software like later.com. In this, there's also planoly, there's so many, I don't know, I just keep I always go back to later, I really like it. And you can then be planning out your grid. Like if you're someone who is wanting that consistent aesthetic, which I'm all about, I'm not saying I'm not, I'm just saying you don't have to, you can find out your grid in later.com as well as write your caption straight in there. And that is already creating a system because then it can send you a notification, and then your post when it's meant to go out and you just kind of stay on top of things. So it's kind of built in accountability really. So and that's so we've got planning save a whole lot of time I say design, you can absolutely buy a your content ahead of time utilising software to create workflows. template, I buy so many templates, I don't even want to think about what my template budget was in the last six months, because I just am obsessed with pretty templates that are pre created. They need customising you don't just take the template and share it because then it's going to start looking like everyone else's feed. But at least it removes some of the guesswork fiddling around. If you're not a designer, you don't have a natural eye for design, then it's a big ask to like sit down and try and create a whole bunch of posts. Find yourself some nice templates, I highly recommend going to creativemarket.com. And just looking like Instagram post or you know Pinterest post whatever posts style that you're looking for. And just finding one that feels closest to your aesthetic, downloading it you can load them straight into Canva or whatever design software you use, and then just customise the fonts and the colours to be like your vibe, then when you sit down each month or each week, you're not going on know what should I create, you've already got your little list, or your little collection of pretty templates that kind of pre approved and you don't have to overthink things. There are also templates subscriptions, which is like if you're wanting a constant stream of next level content. I love your template club. I'll include a link to that as well. But that's you know, it's kind of unnecessary. It's perfect for me because I love a constant stream of template. Is that even a thing? a constant stream of template? Yeah, clearly, I'm on to my third coffee and it's starting to backfire. But anyways, templates are going to save you so much time. So really have a look at what are the kinds of posts you're sharing all the time what would make life easier. Where is ther friction every time you go t share something and try and fil those gaps. All right, let' move on to number four. We need to create some accountability based on what works for you. Okay, accountability is different for everyone. As in we, some of us are really good at holding ourselves accountable. Some of us need external accountability. There's a whole book, I think Gretchen Rubin wrote a book on this, or how I'll see, I'll try and find the link, because there's a quiz to where you can find out what kind of accountability style you require. And I'll include that in the show notes. So you can check it out. But you know, to stay consistent, sometimes you may need some other external accountability factor, you know, what could that look like for you? Is it joining a mastermind? Is it being part of a community? Is it finding a content creation, buddy? Is it getting a coach? There's no right or wrong answer here. Like, I mean, I'm a coach, and I'm here to say, you don't necessarily need a coach, you'll know when you need one. You know, we're here for specific things. But if it's just some accountability you need then that's, that's a really expensive accountability partner. You know, I would say go to a coach when you need more than just accountability. So build that out for yourself and figure out like, where is it the most effective? Where have you noticed that certain accountability works really well, versus the kind that just did nothing for you like, what what has helped you, you know, achieve specific goals in the past what has helped you stay accountable? Sometimes it's really about connecting to your vision, connecting to your why this helps me a lot and making it bigger than myself. Because when we it's just so easy. Okay, I'm going to go off topic slightly, but I feel like it's relevant to absolutely everyone. I realised two weeks ago, that I'd made my business all about me. As in, I had kind of lost track of my big picture. Why? The reason I was doing this in the first place, the reason I've kind of done it anything in the first place, like literally back to when I was wanting to become a professional actor, like my why for wanting to be an actor, believe it or not, it's the same y that I have for doing what I do today, I wanted to build a platform that would help me then make a bigger change and create a legacy in the world. I used to think that becoming an actor was the best way to do it. And then I stumbled across personal branding and was like, Oh, interesting, I can do it this way. And yet, I can do it faster. So anyways, what I'm getting at is I'd kind of gotten so caught up in the day to day in the to do lists in the overwhelm that it always just became about getting through the week, getting through the month getting through the list. And I wasn't aiming for something bigger anymore. And I was kind of just losing a bit of my steam. It's not that I'd lost my love of what I was doing. But I just felt like I was flailing. And I just didn't know exactly where I was aiming. And I remembered my why. And I can't share all the details yet because it's still getting finalised. But I, I reached out to a charity that I have supported in the past that I absolutely adore. And just think they they're just so amazing. And applied to become a business partner with them. So that I can start donating a officially on it like an official capacity. Because again, that's a kind of an accountability for me as well. Whereas just doing it randomly, you know, isn't so donating a percentage of my profits to this charity. And as soon as I'm getting goosebumps, again, as I say this, because as soon as I started filling out the application, the vision came back. And I was like, Oh my goodness, what I'm doing what I'm achieving is going to lead to something bigger. Now, it's not just about me, it's not just about my clients. But for every dollar that I'm making. I'm also having an impact in another country, with people I've never even met before. And it just has put so much in perspective for me. So I know that sounds really big, and it seems random. But the thing is, it all starts with that vision. And the reason we're doing anything it like it's all because of that vision. So if you are being like why am I even showing up on social media, and you're getting really inconsistent, that tells me maybe you're not connected to the reason social media is important the role it plays in you helping you achieve your vision. So that is a different kind of accountability that you can create for yourself is like your, your legacy, your why. And connecting that to social media so that every time you pose every time you have to get a little bit uncomfortable and share your story. You're like all but this is for this is for a big reason, you know, this is leading to something more. So there you go. That was number four. And then number five, I mean, it's kind of circling back to the basics again, but that consistency also is going to come from really understanding your message and your people. So go back and listen to Episode Two, which is a starter like a starting point for that to starting to understand. And really the the customer psychology and their journey. But essentially if, if you're struggling to stay consistent as in because you're like, What am I supposed to be saying, or just feels like I'm showing up, but I'm not necessarily moving forwards, I'm not seeing real meaningful results, it could very well we because your message is either inconsistent or just not even clear. So I'm not going to go into any details now, because we've talked about it in another episode. And this is what I'm going to dive into much deeper in my upcoming workshop as well. I don't have a date locked in for it just yet. But I can tell you that it's going to be called expert status, content. I'm really excited about the name. So stay tuned. If you're on my email list, you will find out about it. So if you're not on the email list, this is now your opportunity to do it. You can do so by downloading a copy of the personal branding blueprint or sorry, the indemand brand blueprint. You can do it by taking my quiz, you could just DM me on Instagram, say hey, can you just email me or send me a message when your workshop is coming up? And I'll let you know. So number five is just really dialling in your messaging. Okay. So I'll quickly recap on these. And then I've got my bonus tip for you, which is not so much about consistency, but consistently optimising and growing. So number one was plan your content ahead of time, not necessarily created ahead of time to utilise software to create workflows, three design templates in advance. So you save a tonne of time for create accountability based on what works for you. And sort of the offshoot of that was reconnect to your vision and your why. And number five is dial in your messaging, know what you're sayingand why you're saying it. Alright, so my final tip, which I'm going to, we're going to scratch the surface of this because again, there is a deeper strategy that needs to go into this. But I want you setting a regular date to do a social media content audit. Okay, and you are going to look at your analytics on Instagram. Ideally Instagrams great for analytics, apparently Facebook business pages is removing analytics. Don't ask me why. And if there are any other platforms that you're on where you know, you can get access to some analytics, that's great as well. Sometimes there's a bit of manual, manual auditing going on, if you don't have some back end analytics, but that's okay, it's enough. And what I want you to be doing every single, ideally quarter, I would say is a nice amount of time to do this. I want you to sit down and look at what comment. So what posts and what content I shared got the most comments got the most replies got the most shares got the most saves has got the most likes, and we need to start taking notes of these things. And we really need to look at what are the really high performing pieces here so that we can do more of them or even potentially repurpose the best stuff. Because you know, this makes life so much easier, like how much easier would it be to be consistent, if you actually knew which posts that you could just reshare instead of having to create more from scratch. And then we also want to look at the ones that are underperforming. And instead of writing them off and going, Oh, this just doesn't work? really look at them and go Hmm, was I kind of phoning this in? Was the you know, if people aren't really commenting, it could be they're not reading the post? So was there a juicy enough hook to get them to read? You know, or was the you know, the graphic just a bit more bit generic, didn't really say much about the post. So they just double tapped and kept on scrolling? You know, so really question those things. And then if you can't, if you're like, No, you know, graphic was on point, you know, hook was on point, maybe they're not particularly interested in this topic. And that's good to know as well. So set that quarterly date for yourself, and use that to not just stay consistent, but make sure that every time you revisit your strategy, which you know, let's do it quarterly since you're doing the audit as well, you're actually making improvements and you're going to see more results in that next quarter instead of plateauing or even worse going backwards. So I tried to keep this one concise because there was a lot to talk about. I hope it was helpful. Before you go anywhere a couple of reminders, the podcast review, giveaway every single month go leave the written review, screenshot it, share it tag me and then you'll go in the in the entry in the draw, I should say you'll get an entry into the draw when I've got expert status content my new mini course cart I've been calling it a workshop. It's actually gonna be a mini course with templates and everything because I can't half arse things. So that will be coming out soon to make sure you're on my email list if you if you want to, you know, get an early bird price. Couple of other things, the Academy is going to be relaunching mid June. So I'm not taking enrollments at the moment as I keep tweaking and improving and prepping for that. So get get yourself on the waitlist, the the link to the waitlist is in the show notes. And if you're still listening to this means you're very keen, which means you may be interested in working with me as a coach, I'm about to open up a couple of spots on my coaching books very limited. And it's the last time at the current pricing as well. So if you're interested in that, I'll include a link to the information. You're also welcome to just DM me on instagram if you have some questions, and we can just do a little bit of voice messaging. So that's my one on one coaching programme. It's four months, it's called Seen, Heard, Paid one on one. And essentially, this is where we break down my entire framework for your brand and your business. And we go through there, get clear, get seen, get heard, get paid repeat. So making sure that you've got your visibility strategy, you've got your messaging dialled in, your content is on point, you actually have a sales strategy and your client experience is amazing. You know what metrics to be tracking, you've got accountability, you've got feedback from me. It's pretty epic. And I've been having some clients with some really wonderful results who are not just kind of feeling more confident in their brand, but are actually saying like, dollars in their bank account, thanks to this work, because this is not about creating a pretty brand for the sake of it. This is making sure you have an impactful, profitable brand because you know, when you make money, that's when you get to make that impact is well like it was the example that I was using of me connecting to my why it's so much more powerful for me to think about are the more money I make, you know, the more people I can actually help and not just in my own backyard, not just in my client base, but you know, really look at the people around the world that can impact as well. So, anyways, I'm rambling now, I'll leave it at that. But if you have any questions, you know where to find me. Thank you so much for listening and I look forward to chatting with you next week.