3 Types of Content You Need to Be Creating Right Now

Right now, as we all sit at home, pondering how people in the Tiger King even exist, there are more eyes on screens than ever before. People are looking to escape, to laugh, to learn and connect with new and interesting brands. And that means there has never been a more perfect time to build trust and connect with your ideal customers.

The brands that show up now to give, are the same ones that people are going to buy from when they have the means to do so.

So now is the perfect time to be creating content— for our blogs, IGTVs, feeds, youtube channels and emails. And in my opinion, there are 3 big types of content that we all need to be creating on the regular if we want to build trust and connection with our audiences.

1. Content that builds trust by showing you know your stuff
2. Content that connects people to your stories and values
3. Content that invites your customers to take action

1. Content that shows you know your stuff

First up, people want to know that you know what you’re talking about. When they meet you, they’re asking themselves, ‘why should I listen to this brand?’

Showing up to give your audience how-to information, explaining how your product is made, offer advice, answer their questions or to show results is the first step in building trust. You don’t have to give away the farm, just give them enough to show them you know your stuff and give them a quick win!

Here are some ideas to get you started—

• What is your ideal customer struggling with at the moment?
• What are the questions you get asked the most?
• What tools do you use that you can educate your customer about?
• What don’t people know about how you build or create your products?
• What quick tips, information or strategies could help your audience take the next step forward towards a goal or desire?
• What quick tips, information or strategies could help your audience get the most out of their purchase/time with you?
• What results have you helped your customer to achieve? 

Need some inspo? Check out how Go-To Skincare and Steph Taylor dish out tips and advice.

2. Content that connects people to your story & values

The second ingredient for getting people on board is to show them who you are and what you stand for. 

Do you have people you follow on instagram that you feel like you’re BFFs with? You know their cavoodle’s name is Ariel and that they love spicy food, but you’ve never actually met them? That’s not just a happy coincidence. That’s good marketing. 

Why? Because people are searching for belonging and connectedness. They want to hear from brands who share their values, interests and lifestyle (or a lifestyle they aspire to have). 

That doesn’t mean that you need to reveal your deepest secrets (save that for therapy), but we need shared experiences in order to connect. That might mean you need to get a little vulnerable (I know it scares me too). The trick is sharing topics that are appropriate and relevant to your brand and always making it relevant to your customer. 

Here are some ideas—

• Why did you decide to build your brand (was there a need that was being unfulfilled or a personal experience that started it all?)
• What do you value as a business? Do you have a set of values that you live out? What does that look like in your business?
• What are some hurdles or obstacles that you’ve had to overcome (personally or professionally) to get to where you are today?
• What are your current business or personal challenges and how are you working to solve them?
• What can you share that will have your customer saying ‘me too’? 

Wondering what this looks like in the wild? Check out how Collabosaurus' post about building resilience as a business owner or how Tarzan Kay talks about investing in your professional development.

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3. Content that invites your audience to take action

There comes a time in every story for the lead character to decide whether they continue to eat chips and salsa on the couch in their trackies, or take action to win the day. Your job is to wipe the Dorito crumbs off their face, push them towards the shower and give them a motivational pep-talk. 

At some point, your audience is going to need to commit more of their time and money with you (or someone like you) in order to achieve their goals. And that means inviting them to take the next big step in their journey. That might mean downloading a free lead magnet, watching a webinar, reading a blog, booking a consultation or buying a product. Whatever it is, show them how it will help them to solve their problem or achieve what they want. 

Here are the key things to include when you make your offer—

• Who is it for? Get the right people to self-identify by sharing the challenge or desire connected to your offer.
• What’s the opportunity? Tell them about your offer— why is it different to everything else they’ve tried before? What are they missing that this offer fills?
• What’s the after picture? Tell them what life will look like after they’ve taken action. What are the results? Paint a picture!
• How do they take action? Invite them to do something and make sure to tell them how to do it (make this dead easy). 
  

Check out how Mindvalley and Stevie Says Social invite their audience to take action.

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The brand who only plugs their offers, only gives tips or only shares vulnerable posts about their life is forgetting that marketing is a balancing act. You want your customers to trust you enough to listen/watch/read, like you enough to want to buy from you and say ‘yes’ when there is an opportunity to take things to the next level. That’s why all 3 types of content work together to build an unstoppable brand. 

Ok, tell me—are you posting all of these types of content across your various platforms? Or is there 1-2 that you’ve kinda been avoiding? For me it’s absolutely #2 because holy cow is it scary to be vulnerable online. But I also want to connect with all of you, so I’m working on it. 

Thanks so much for reading and if you liked this post, you can bookmark it for later, share it with a friend or hey, use it as content for your next post.