Welcome to Episode 346 of Hit The Mic with The Stacey Harris.
So Facebook launched stories much like we’ve seen on Snapchat for a longer time now and Instagram for quite a while now. We now have the option to share stories on Facebook and so today I wanted to have a little bit of a conversation around this idea of short-term content and its value in our overall marketing plans. Where does this content fit in our big-picture strategy? Does it really hold any value for us from a marketing perspective if it disappears? Goes away so quickly. 24 hours is not that long of a time obviously.
So let’s talk about that. And I encourage you to come into the private community on Backstage and share your thoughts, especially as we go into next week. while on May 1st you guys will get access to the full training on how to use this stuff and how to make this stuff work for you. We’ll do a quick Snapchat review on there, quick Instagram review on there. Facebook stories review and we’ll have some training on how to create content once and share it to the multiple channels in a way that makes sense.
If that’s something you want to do so check that out. I wanted to talk about this kind of theoretically today, kind of strategically how does this fit? So, first of all it’s got to be more than marketing messages. Just like with any other channel the same rules apply when it comes to not being all sales, all promo, all the time. And I think that’s one of the big mistakes we’re seeing people make right now is there is a ton of actual promo content coming through those channels because the promo does disappear. So every day your posting on Instagram stories or Snapchat or Facebook stories or wherever it is that is your medium of choice and saying, “Don’t forget to join this program. Don’t forget to join … ” XYZ and that’s kind of all you’re showing. And so, we need to make sure that we’re mixing that in with personality.
Behind the scenes, those kind of pieces that really prop up the promo so that when the promo does come I’m going, “Oh yes, totally. I want in. Because I see the way he runs his business. I see the opportunity she has because of the things she’s done. I see how he works with his team … ” Whatever it is for that business. So look at how you can make it, again, more than marketing, more than promo and more than sales messages, so that you’re really connecting with the community. Obviously, that’s what we want to do with our social media overall but this becomes a little easier to forget when we talk about short-term content. On the flip-side of that, you’ve got to choose the right space. You don’t need to be on all three. Use the one that makes sense for your community.
For example, a lot of you might be looking at Facebook stories and thinking, “Great, yes here’s another option for me to show this content.” However, I know that I’m not supposed to promote my business on my profile. I’m supposed to do it on my page. And so, I don’t have a lot of business community connections there. I’ve got my colleagues who are not an ideal fit for my customers or I’ve got just friends and family and obviously they are not my customers. So why would I post content there? The answer to that is … don’t. If it doesn’t make sense to you to use that tool because your audience is not there, don’t use it. Don’t freak out about having to use these tools because they’re there. Use the ones that make sense. I’m seeing this a lot, a lot with Snapchat/Instagram. A lot of you said, “Why am I trying to build this audience on Snapchat? Why am I trying to move the needle there when my audience is already on Instagram, loves Instagram, it’s their first open … I’m going to use Instagram.”
And you guys are seeing a lot of success with Instagram stories and that’s powerful. And that is a really good example of using the network where your audience is. Not to say your audience isn’t also on Snapchat, not to say that Instagram stories has replaced Snapchat … I use both. I drive engagement with my community and growth to my business with both but that’s because that works for me. Doesn’t mean it’s going to work for everybody. So look at where your audience is when you’re making these decisions. So we know our network and we know we want us do stuff besides promo but what is that stuff besides promo? What is that other content? I mentioned really briefly earlier behind-the-scenes stuff. That I think is the most popular stuff I do. I get a lot of engagement when I show behind-the-scenes of recording podcasts like this or recording trainings for the Backstage community or when we’re doing office hours and also highlight something and say, “Hey, don’t forget we’re doing office hours.”
Or working away on projects or planning. I did some strategic planning at the beginning of April, end of March and I shared that on Snapchat and I shared them on Instagram stories and it allowed people to kind of connect. What I’m actually finding is I’m using Facebook stories a lot more as my same sort of … “It disappears, oh how fun,” short-term stuff but that’s more casual. It’s more friends and family because I can. The people who I’m connected with on Facebook are friends. Granted they’re business friends mostly but they are the relationships I’ve built in Masterminds and coaching opportunities and with clients etc. So again, I’m sharing behind-the-scenes of my life there. So looking at behind-the-scenes content. I also really like sharing those actual tips that maybe don’t make sense anywhere else. I don’t want to record a podcast that day because maybe it’s not enough content for a whole episode and it just came in up in a coaching call and I just really sort of want to share it with you guys.
I love Snapchat and Instagram stories for that. Absolutely love it. It’s such a quick way for me to say “Hey, you guys need to know this. This is coming up all day on client calls, coaching clients this question came up all over again and in Backstage,” whatever it is, “You guys need to hear this. Here it is.” And that’s been really powerful for me. So look at ways you can do exactly that. Share quick tips, share behind-the-scenes. I think especially for those of us who have home offices, there is a whole lot of desire to see other people’s home offices. It’s a thing. It’s a nerdy thing guys, for real, but it’s a thing. I love on Instagram seeing people’s desks and their workspaces and the way they do the hustle, the way they do their work. And so, I have a lot of fun with that. So I’ll share that behind-the-scenes kind of stuff too and like I say, that stuff always gets me watching when I watch it from other people too. ‘Cause it kind of lets you into their world in a way we don’t normally, we don’t normally see it.
So look at ways you can share content. The last thing I want to talk about from a content perspective is the importance of call-to-action though. Remember, this content does expire in 24 hours. As much as we don’t want to be all promo all the time, we still need to occasionally be promo. We do occasionally need to tell people exactly what we want them to do next. Maybe that’s to send you a message, maybe that’s to click a link, maybe that’s to check out a program, listen to a piece of content, take action on something you shared in a tip. Whatever that is, when the content expires, when the content moves so quickly, when the content very quickly jumps from you right to the next person and you’re totally out of my mind, it’s more critical, it’s more important, it’s more valuable than ever to have that call-to-action, be clear, be concise and be strong.
No sort of, “Yes and if you want to know more there’s I guess a link in my … like my bio may- … ” No. “Your next step is to check the link in the bio, that’s where the … ” XYZ is. It’s got to be clear, concise and strong. And it’s got to be there with some consistency. Because again, this stuff disappears. So make sure you are balancing in, this is a marketing tool and this is how you want to share this stuff. For some of you, this may be just a support piece to the content you share on Instagram and so, in your actual sort of gallery-style posts on Instagram, that’s where you have your strong sales calls action messages and your stories are just behind the scenes fun stuff. That’s cool. That doesn’t mean you can’t also use that space to say, “Here’s the deal, come check this out, this is what we’re doing.”
Utilize those calls to action. Make sure you’re … again, you’re telling people exactly what you want them to do, exactly where they need to go to do it and I’m really excited because Instagram is going to start making this easier. Verified users can do it already, they can actually have a link in the story. I’m really excited to see that roll out more widely. I would love to see Snapchat integrate something like that, I don’t know if it’s going to happen. Snapchat is honestly going to have to do something soon to snap back, no pun intended. I think that’s going to come very quickly and we’ll see what it is but I’m hoping that this linked content idea is how it looks. So definitely make sure that you have your calls to action because the networks are making it easier for us to execute those in a really, really simple way. All right?
So we talked about content, we talked about networks, we talked a little more about calls to action in our content. Remember on May 1st the new training inside of Backstage would be available. You’ll find it in the most recent area that morning and of course you’ll get an email in your inbox saying that it’s ready. And you can come ask questions anytime inside of Hit the Mic Backstage in the private community, just hit that community button. If you’re not yet a member, what are you waiting for? HittheMicBackstage.com is the place to be. It is the next step to take action on all the cool stuff we talk about in this show and learn like way, way more too ’cause it’s got all the things right when it happens. All right? I will see you backstage and of course right here next Tuesday.
Connect with Me
Connect with me on Facebook
Tweet with me and include #HittheMic
Be sure to leave your review on iTunes or Stitcher for a shoutout on a future show
