Could virtual services for coaches be the answer to your overwhelm? Will hiring a virtual assistant really help you grow your business?

If you aren't new to coaching, you've probably already heard of virtual assistants but are these and other virtual service providers the key to building the business of your dreams?

As you begin to grow your coaching business, it's common to hit that point where you have more on your plate than one person can handle. There's working with clients, managing the day-to-day, and handling future growth. It's easy, and natural, to start to feel overwhelmed. So you start looking into a virtual assistant. Maybe you do a search on the internet or even ask around on some of your social media groups.

But is that the best way to go about getting help? And what are the first things you should outsource?

Virtual services exist that make running a business much simpler. However, it's important to understand how to identify the services that would be better outsourced and those that would be better kept in-house. Here’re some tips that you can follow.

3 Tips for Knowing When to Outsource Virtual Services for Coaches Like You

1. You are spending too much time on tasks unrelated to the core services of your business.

This can often be a tough question to answer because some coaches are stuck on the idea that, “If you want things done right you must do them yourself.”  This is a common mistake in business. Whether you ARE the expert in an area or have no experience at all, hiring and training right can prove that others can do the job as well, and sometimes better, than you can.

The reality is that you’ll spend far more over time trying to do your bookkeeping, marketing, or admin yourself rather than outsourcing those tasks to an experienced virtual services for coaches provider. 

Take some time to identify the tasks that are the biggest time wasters in your business and outsource them to someone who does them better. Time wasters can be things that take you much longer than they should because you don't know the systems or processes well enough to do them quickly. They can also be the things you are constantly procrastinating because you just don't like to do them no matter how good you may be. 

And even if you can do something faster than someone you hire, it doesn't mean you should. The key to overcoming overwhelm and developing a track record of success is letting go so you only do the things that ONLY YOU CAN DO!

 2. Does performing this function highlight your expertise?

The tasks and projects that you outsource may depend heavily on the nature of your coaching business. 

As a coach, there are specific things you have to do yourself. Planning and executing your coaching programs, for instance, is essential for your business’ development. But there are many different moving parts to creating, marketing and executing a coaching program. Yes, you will need a strong website and systems to make it happen. However, that doesn’t mean that you need to hire a team of IT professionals full-time.

On the other hand, if you are a business coach who teaches others how to create a brand, then you may want to do the brand development of your program yourself.

Outsource the parts of projects that don't highlight your expertise to someone who provides virtual services for coaches. 

3. Is it a service that is only needed a few times throughout the year?

Coaches often do annual or semiannual launches. Since these only occur a few times a year, at most, it makes sense to outsource these projects to a virtual services for coaches company. They'll bring a level of knowledge and expertise to the project so you don't have to spend a lot of time learning skills you'll only use once in a while. 

6 Top Virtual Services for Coaches to Delegate

Virtual services are available in a wide variety of skills. There is a service that offers a solution to almost every problem a coach faces. Here are some of the virtual services you can consider when choosing where to get started.

Graphic Design

Attractive visuals form an important part of branding. A graphic designer will, therefore, be an important member of your team.  However, it is highly unlikely that you will have a consistently high volume of work for him or her to complete. This means that hiring a graphic designer as a permanent member of your team won’t be the best use of your funds.

It's tempting to hire a virtual assistant as a generalist to handle everything from your basic admin to things like graphic design. Most virtual assistants, though, won't have that range of skills. It's better to let your virtual assistant do admin related tasks and then find freelance graphic designers who you can hire on an as-needed basis.  You’ll find that you save a lot of money and time without compromising on the quality that you need.

When looking for a good graphic designer, consider these important points:

• Experience - While Canva has come a long way as a graphic design tool for social media posts, experienced graphic designers will have skills in more advanced programs such as Adobe. Graphic designers have a deeper understanding of color theory, font styles and even psychology so that the graphic elements you are asking for will enhance your brand and message.
• Portfolio - Do they do the kind of graphic designs you need? Some graphic designers only do logos while others specialize in websites or print design. What are the types of projects you are looking for and does your graphic designer specialize in those areas.
• Accessibility - There's nothing more frustrating than needing something done by the end of the week and not being able to reach your graphic designer because the power in their country is unpredictable.  (Ask us how we know that one). Make sure you work with someone who's internet and electricity are reliable and they are available based on the hours you need. It's important to understand what you might be getting when someone who provides virtual services for coaches works in other countries.

Task and Appointment Scheduling

Task and appointment scheduling is one of the quickest and easiest virtual services for coaches to delegate when they are just getting started. Virtual Assistants are often one of the first people a coach will hire and they tend to have the core skills for this type of work.

Virtual assistants are often adept at the use of scheduling software and project management tools common in the coaching industry. Your virtual assistant can use these tools to call to confirm client or prospect appointments, follow up on tasks or manage other details on your behalf.

Travel arrangements can also be scheduled. A virtual assistant can schedule flights, accommodations, car rentals…essentially any aspect of traveling.

Content Creation and Management

Content is what establishes you as an expert in your field. This might consist of podcast episodes, blog posts, e-books, free webinars or courses, videos for social media and your website, etc... All successful coaches use a variety of content marketing strategies to make their brand visible to their target audience. And yet, it is a time consuming and often difficult process that requires content creators with deft skills and experience. This makes it excellent virtual services for coaches to delegate.

Marketing forms a huge part of your coaching business. If you aren't already producing consistent content to market your coaching skills, it will be an important next step.

A content marketing manager might be just the right person to add to your team. This person’s role is to make sure that all content pieces (whether written or visual) appropriately depict the brand. They help to create and implement a comprehensive content creation schedule. He or she can also help you get the most out of the content created and ultimately allow you to reach a wider audience. While some content managers can also create the content for you, this typically falls to you as the expert or to an expert content writer.

Social Media Management

If content on your podcast and blog are like the marketing signs IN your store...

Then social media is like the billboard outside enticing people to come in.

If your social media content isn't well managed, it will be like having a billboard in Death Valley, CA. There won't be many visitors.

Social media changes, ALL...THE...TIME! Don't make it your career to keep up on all those changes. These are excellent virtuals service for coaches to delegate so they can free up more of their time and focus on what matters most.

Event Planning

Coaches, regardless of their niche, often host events (whether virtual or in-person) occasionally. Event planning is a highly detail-oriented process that can distract you from the core needs of your business. It may be something that you believe you can do yourself, but carefully consider the time you would lose when you could be spending that time attracting more clients.

You want your events to be the talk of the town for the right reasons. Consequently, your event planner should:

• Have great interpersonal skills
• Be able to manage time effectively
• Make stellar organization a priority
• Be flexible and have a contingency plan
• Have a track record of success in planning and executing similar events
• Be creative and innovative
• Have a passion for planning

Client Relationship Management

Building positive client relationships is crucial to business growth. You may not have a large client list when you start out so it's tempting to handle the management yourself. However, outsourcing the following client relationship management functions can help you establish even stronger relationships and provide a higher level of professionalism to your business:

• Manage invoicing and payments
• Follow up for schedule appointments
• Send thank you cards

What Should you Look for in a Virtual Services for Coaches Provider?

Now that you’ve jumped onto the outsourcing bandwagon, it's time to understand what to look for in an outsourcing partner. Here’re a few things that should be at the top of your checklist:

     1. Experience

Is it OK to hire someone that doesn't have experience with your programs or in your niche?

There's a good chance you'll find a lot of applicants that don't have a lot of experience with your specific tools or in your niche. For example, a content creator that specializes in articles on health and beauty may not be a great fit for your topic of money mindset. Or a website designer who has always used Wix might not be the right hire for your Kajabi website creation. This is often the case when looking at providers with lower hourly rates. Just like in the medical field, it's more expensive to get a specialist. You probably wouldn't get a nose job from someone who's worked in pediatric medicine for a few years and now wants to do plastic surgery too. And, if you decided to, you probably wouldn't pay them the same rate as someone who's specialized in nose jobs for 20 years.

It's totally OK to hire someone with less experience and skill as long as you understand what you are getting. You can't expect them to have the knowledge that a more experienced person will. They also won't be as fast as there is often a steep learning curve (that you are likely paying for). You'll also be investing more of your time to get them up to speed. All of these things will factor into the overall cost.

Now, if you have a routine task that you have already outlined a clear standard operating procedure, it may be perfectly OK to go with someone that isn't highly experienced.

     2. Flexible

Anyone you outsource business to should be flexible enough to meet your unique demands. This makes communication integral to creating a successful working relationship. Your expectations should be made clear from the get-go and you should also make it clear that there may be instances where flexibility must be exercised.

    3. Good reviews and social media presence

Customers paint a clear picture of the true service a company provides. You have to go beyond the fairy tale picture painted on the company’s website. Check out the social media pages and read the discussions people are having about the company or individual. If something doesn’t seem right, they might not be a good fit for your brand.

In this day and age, a person or company that is aligned with yours is a direct reflection of your business. Take some time to review the social media posts and content (just be careful when using this information for hiring individuals) posted by the company. If their values do not align with yours, it could come back to haunt you.

Ready to get started?

If you are finally ready to start outsourcing virtual services for your coaching business, the next logical step is to understand what tasks to outsource and who to outsource to. A great place to start is with these six focus areas:

• Graphic design
• Scheduling
• Content management
• Social media management
• Client management
• Event management

And if you want to say yes to a little bit of all of them, then a one-stop-shop for virtual services like Virtual A Team may be the best option for you.

Note: This article was originally published on April 30th, 2019 and updated February 5th, 2024.

This post was originally published on January 3, 2018 and updated on Dec 16th, 2019.

As you plan for the New Year, are you considering ways to grow your online coaching business? Growth can be intimidating, especially if you don't know where to start.  When it comes to ways to grow your business, it's important to start with the basics.

There are seven tried and true ways to grow your business.

Growing your business this year is as much about identifying what you should be doing as where you should cut back and/or delegate. Eliminate ideas that are flashy or complex. Optimize your time by expanding your virtual team. Focus on what has been proven to get results over and over.

Start a Newsletter

If people can't remember your name when they need your services, you won't be the one they hire. Unfortunately, you cannot be in all places at all times. You may have heard that email is dead. That's just not true. A newsletter is still a great way to expand the reach of your business and stay in touch regularly with your audience.

If, however, your newsletter does't provide value to your readers, they won't take the time to open it. The key to a good newsletter is sharing information that is of value. Whether you realize it or not, you already have the content for an effective newsletter. The stories and scenarios from your interactions with clients can be used to educate and inform your readers. Your newsletter can include testimonials from clients who have benefited from your services.

Don’t overthink it. If you don’t have the time or writing isn’t your primary skill, there are options to hire out virtual assistants who are talented in this area.

Want to learn more about starting a newsletter? Check out these articles.

Start a Podcast

Podcasts are a great way to both network and market your business. You can use a podcast to help people get to know you and your personality even without taking the time to talk to each individual.

And, if you've heard of this thing called though leadership? Well, a podcast is a great way to kick start your own!

Thinking of starting a podcast or already have one? Check out these things you should be delegating.

Create an Evergreen Product

If your business is primarily focused on trading time for money, an evergreen product is a great way to grow your business. Evergreen products are products that are always relevant. They aren't time specific and require very little work on your part to implement.

The simplest form of an evergreen product is a book or an ebook. More advanced ideas might include webinars or classes. There are a lot of tools and programs that can help you set up evergreen products in your business.

Make sure you find options that have as much automation as possible. Do the work once and keep bringing in the money over and over.

Learn how to avoid the overwhelm when launching your online product.

Host a Webinar

That sounds so 2018! The truth is, a webinar provides a great way to engage with your clients from around the world. Webinars can be a great marketing and/or revenue generator with a small investment of time and money. Through this resource, you can meet virtually with multiple members of your audience to share ideas or launch new product lines. There are many ways to structure a webinar that can fit within your vision and growth goals for your coaching business. Once you've created the template for the webinar program, you can repeat it as often as desired.

Become a Speaker

Public speaking can be scary for many. However, if you find it is something you are able to do, it can be a valuable tool to reach new audiences. There are opportunities to speak for free with the agreement that you will promote a product or service. Other opportunities exist for you to be a paid speaker. You will want to create a speaker one sheet and have one or two key presentations ready.

Then you can begin searching for opportunities within your local community or across borders. You can even look for opportunities to be a guest on podcasts or virtual seminars. If you don't love doing this kind of research, a virtual assistant can help put together a list. The VA can even contact organizers on your behalf.

Write a Book

Writing is a fast way to build up your reputation as an expert in your field. It gives you a high level of credibility. If you regularly write for a blog or newsletter, you may already have the content available. If you aren't a writer, consider hiring a ghost writer than can create the content under your name.  The tools to write and publish are readily available and the cost can be relatively low.

Get Serious About Social Media

You might be pretty tired of hearing about this social media thing as a way to grow your business. You might understand that there is value in social media but don't really know how to capitalize on it. Perhaps you've dabbled with posting but haven't seen any significant results. Or you've tried social media platforms that launch but don't really spend time on them yourself.

Understanding that there are different nuances to each social media platform can help you craft your content for these sites. Each of these social mediums can help you expand your reach and boost your promotional efforts in simple and inexpensive ways. However, it is important to master each one and what works to see the most significant results. If that isn't really your thing, delegate this task to the experts. You'll see far better returns when you do.

Read up on some of our top social media tips.

Feeling Overwhelmed?

You really want to grow your business this year but none of these are things that you know anything about. Many of these ideas may sound more complex than they are. Don’t allow fear prevent you from trying new things. We all struggle with having the time to commit to researching and implementing new ideas. Recognize your strengths and where you provide the most value to your growing business. Reach out to professionals such as virtual teams that can help you with the rest. The internet has connected the world for business and productivity. You can reach more people around the world both as clients as well as building your Virtual A Team.

Have you ever walked into a candy store and been mesmerized by the numerous flavors available? Some sweet, some sour but there is always something there to satisfy each person’s taste buds.  

Social media can make you feel like a kid in a candy store. There are so many brands to choose from; something is always available to capture your interests. With so many options for consumers to choose from, brands have to work hard to make their social media pages stand out from their competitors.

Many people claim to be social media experts. However, few have the skills and expertise to help a brand achieve amazing returns from its social media investment. You should, therefore, be very selective about who you choose as your social media manager. 

The hiring process isn’t as simple as visiting a freelancing website, such as UpWork, and hiring the first person who sends a fancy proposal. Virtual A Team has spent years vetting social media manager candidates and we believe that we have created a valuable list of social media manager interview questions to aid in this process.

Social Media Manager Interview Questions

Ask the right questions and understand the answers you are looking for. This will lead you one step closer to weeding out the best person for the job. We’ve separated the interview questions into three categories:

1. Experience
2. Strategy/ Problem-Solving Skills
3. Knowledge Acquisition

Experience

The phrase, “Experience teaches wisdom” never grows old. That doesn’t mean that a newbie social media manager won’t do a good job. Yet, you’ve got a lot riding on the success of your social media strategy. Your business needs more leads and your brand needs a strong voice in the digital arena. 

Anyone you hire should be able to prove their worth. Even this person has only successfully built a social media presence for his or her personal brand, the experience is important. Here are a few social media manager interview questions that you can ask to gauge a candidate’s level of experience. 

Describe your most successful social media campaign. How did the campaign help the brand you were representing?

This question determines whether the candidate has a proven track record. You want to know how the candidate executed the strategy from beginning to end. Most importantly, your social media manager has to be a strategist who can glean insights and use them to improve campaigns. 

Describe your most memorable experience as a social media manager.

Not only does this social media manager interview question test a candidate’s experience level, but it also tests the candidate’s ability to convey a story. Effective storytelling is important for achieving strong results on social media. As a result, someone who provides a drab response may not have the necessary storytelling skills to pack a punch.  

Which social media channel(s) would you recommend for this business? Explain your choice.

This question tests how well the candidate understands social media. Some social media platforms are better suited for certain brands than others. The candidate should also be able to explain how the chosen social media network can work for your brand. Also, the candidate should explain how each platform would be used differently. Social media marketing isn’t a one-size-fits-all strategy.

How do you know whether social media content is successful?

Successful social media campaigns include share-worthy content. A good social media manager has an eye for this type of content. He or she knows how to post it to gain traction. Ask for samples of share-worthy content that the candidate has already posted. The samples will help you see what the candidate considers share-worthy content.

What metrics do you use to measure a successful social media campaign?

Social media managers will be able to show that their campaigns are yielding results. Look for someone who knows to focus on engagement and leads. They are the two most valuable metrics in the social media marketing sphere. Good social media managers know how to find these metrics and how to use them to quantify results. 

What social media management tools do you use?

Efficient social media managers use social media dashboard software.  HootSuite, Buffer, and HubSpot help to monitor multiple campaigns and track metrics. For this reason, your social media manager should have experience using one (or more) of these tools. 

Why are goals important for a social media campaign?

Goals are important for any marketing strategy. They give you something to work towards. Goals also provide a clear picture of what will be done and how success will be measured. You want to make sure that your social media marketing goals and your business goals align. A good social media manager will help you do that.

Strategy/ Problem-Solving Skills

Successful social media management requires strategic planning and strong problem-solving skills. It isn’t about uploading a post, crossing your fingers and hoping for the best. A skilled social media manager is a strong problem-solver and strategic thinker. These questions will help you identify these qualities in the candidates you interview.

Download our Ultimate Guide to Delegating for More Tips & Tools on How to Delegate as a Solopreneur

What would you do to improve our current social media strategy?

In response, you are looking for the candidate to be able to clearly articulate issues. In addition, they should demonstrate strong problem-solving skills designed to help you achieve the best results. An experienced candidate will know what works and what doesn’t. Therefore, they will understand the best strategies to apply to your business.

How do you handle challenges that can occur on social media channels?

Social media is not a perfect world. As a result, there will be many fires that your social media manager will need to put out. An astute social media manager will help you develop best practices to put out these fires and keep your social media strategy on the right course. 

How do you handle negative comments on social media? 

Not all comments warrant a response. Some negative comments require immediate action to address the customer’s grouses. On the other hand, other comments are best left unanswered. A good social media manager knows the difference. 

How do you use social media as a customer service tool?

Many customers reach out to the brands they love via social media. Therefore, the social media manager has to have the patience and knowledge necessary to address customers’ queries. However, some candidates may only want to focus on the marketing aspect and ignore the customer service component.

Have you ever had to handle situations where a brand’s social media presence was being portrayed negatively? 

It’s important to know how the candidate will handle situations where the brand is portrayed negatively on social media. This social media manager interview question tests whether this person thinks critically and is solution-oriented. The answer isn’t to respond with more negativity and belittle the naysayer. It’s critical for your social media manager to know how to counteract these negatives with positive responses.

How do you allocate budgets for social media advertising?

Social media advertising can be pretty expensive if it isn’t properly managed. However, an effective social media manager has a strategy for judiciously spending on social media ads. This strategy includes close monitoring of the ads to determine where too much money is being spent so that adjustments can be made.

Knowledge Acquisition

Finally, you'll want to learn about how your candidate looks at continuous learning. Social media, like any other technology-related industry, is continuously evolving. Specifically, what was relevant two years ago may not be relevant now. You need a social media manager who keeps up with the constantly changing landscape.  

How do you keep up with the changes in the social media management industry?

Strong social media managers remain current and can make recommendations about new social media best practices that will benefit your business. This helps you stay ahead of your competition and remain relevant to customers.

Have you received any noteworthy certification?

Having some form of certification shows that the candidate is interested in continuously seeking knowledge. For instance, someone who has a certification may be more likely to listen to podcasts and take online courses regularly. HubSpot Academy offers free social media management certification. EdX also offers courses where a user can pay for a verified certificate. If they so desire, anyone can easily access up-to-date training and verified certification.

What limitations have you found with social media?

This question uncovers whether the candidate is aware of social media trends and how they affect current digital marketing practices. A knowledgeable social media manager will know that social media isn’t perfect and doesn’t reach all demographics.

Wrapping the Social Media Manager Interview

A social media manager is one of the best investments you can make for your business. However, this investment can be costly if you choose someone inexperienced, lacks problem-solving skills and isn’t interested in keeping up-to-date with the current market trends. The questions described in this article can help you find the right social media manager to take you to new heights.

Every piece of content you create takes time, effort, and sometimes money. 

First, we need to come up with a great idea, write/record/film the idea, edit, publish and promote it.

This goes on and on with content we create and honestly, could get resource-consuming and tiring. But do you know with a little strategy and effort, we can get the most out of every piece of content we create?

How do you get the most out of the content you create? Repurposing.

Repurposing our content can stretch our yield. It’s a work smart, not hard formula. All we need to do is repurpose the content we’ve already created so that it will extend our reach and audience.

This can be done by ensuring every one of our content pieces can be reused across different channels, platforms, formats, and campaigns.

But, before you repurpose content, it has to be great. Let’s start by talking about strategies to make great content.

Ways to Make Great Content

1. Idea Concept

Thinking of an idea is one of the most important parts of the content you create, it is also the first thing.  Let's think up original and intriguing topics that will resonate with our audience. 

Not only that, no one wants to read content they aren’t benefiting from. Therefore, you will want to start with a topic that will be of value to your audience.

Already, we know what our platform is about and who our audiences are and their interests. Therefore, before creating content, it is important to ask yourself questions like, what value will my audience get from this? What does my audience need? What problem can my content solve for them?

Asking questions like these will give you ideas you can work on. And not just any idea, original ideas with the aim of creating content of value, content that converts.

2. Research

The accuracy of our content matters a lot. Imagine the impression you make if a reader finds out there's some kind of inaccuracy in the information you present.

So, once we get the idea for our contents, let's research before working on it. See what other people have done on that topic and add that to the information we already have.

3. Focus On Your Headlines

Many times, people lose their potential audience, because their titles aren’t catching enough. In fact, more people read the headline than the content itself. No, that isn’t such a bad thing. It just means our headlines are as important as the article.

Our headlines will determine how likely the audience will click on the post.  Thus, we should think up catchy and intriguing titles for our posts before publishing them. Also, this guide by Neil Patel on how to create intriguing headlines is very helpful.

4. Engage

Engaging and thought-provoking content will better than content that is dull or repetitive. If you make everything you say or write important, the audience will likely hang onto your every word.

When writing content, consider these points:

• Have a conversational tone, tell stories -- storytelling is an engaging tool.
• Write content that sparks people so they want to leave comments and opinions.
• Leave questions on your posts to generate reactions, answers or make people reflect on how your content has helped them.

Another way to engage readers is by writing short and pointed content. Leave out unnecessary details. Help the readers know how you can help them immediately upon reading the introduction.

5. Share and Distribute

Creating content is king, but sharing and distributing is very important. How else will people see the king if they don’t even know of its existence?

Without proper sharing and distribution, your content may not get the result and reach they deserve.

We should work on this by strategizing our sharing efforts. If we have different platforms for our content, we shouldn't focus on just promoting one platform.

For example, if you have a YouTube channel and a blog, promote both. Promote your blog on YouTube and vice versa. Promote all content on all platforms you have.

Download our Ultimate Guide to Delegating Here for More Tips & Tools on How to Delegate as a Solopreneur

Repurposing Your Content

Repurposing is a very effective way to turn the content you create into something new and unique. This means your old content can be altered and recreated into other pieces of content. It’s like recycling of content.

In return, each piece of content gets more audience and appears on new platforms, while saving time and resources. Below, we will discuss a few things to know about repurposing.

How to Repurpose Your Content

There are multiple platforms for content creation and the beauty of creating content is that we don’t have to stick to one way. Perhaps, you always write your content, you can make that same written content into a video, a slide share, an eBook, an infographic, etc.

The point is, our content doesn’t have to be in one format and platform. We can make use of different formats and platforms. Subsequently, every content can be repurposed to fit every platform.

So once we have an idea for a new post, we should plan how to distribute it on different channels. It doesn’t even have to be a new post; it could be an old one. 

What Contents Should I Repurpose?

As said earlier, we don’t have to come up with new ideas. Old publications are good to go too. We can look for those content that got a wider engagement on any of our platforms.

If it’s on social media, we should check likes and comments. If it’s on a blog, the insights, and analytics. For podcasts and videos; the number of views, for emails newsletters; the number of click rates and so on.

After identifying the content that got the most engagement, we can now start repurposing all that content you create. For example, a twitter post that got a lot of engagement can be posted on your Instagram feed.

A blog post can be turned into a podcast and/or video. Videos aren't even hard to create and they get a lot more engagement. 

Check out this detailed post on how to create DIY videos.

Meanwhile, repurposing shouldn't be exclusive to posts that got high engagement alone. We can also go for;

1. Evergreen contents:

Contents that will continue to provide valuable information and long-lasting value.

2. Long Content

We can dissect long content to a chunk of smaller posts and information.

3. Shallow Content

Contents that were not fully developed or created for small-content platforms can be developed into a new stronger piece.

How to Repurpose Your Content Across Multiple Platforms

Below are some ways to repurpose our content into different platforms and formats;

1. Convert Your Blog Posts into Guides

Old blog posts don’t have to stay old, the knowledge can still be shared and made useful for the audience. We can put together some of our old blog posts after identifying those you want to repurpose.

With this, we can, for example, create a guide by collating information on a particular topic from our blogs.

For instance, if you’ve written several articles on SEO, you can amass all the contents you’ve done on it. Make them into a neat, easy-to-follow guide, re-edit it and start sharing and redistributing.

It could be an e-book or a new blog post with hyperlinks to the original content or more.

2. Chop up Longer Blog Posts

We can promote a new content piece, or extend the visibility of an older one by chopping them into smaller bits. And then share the bits across different channels.

A very long post can be made into smaller variations and shared on small-content platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or other sites like Quora, LinkedIn, SlideShare, etc.

3. Turn Your (Old) Posts into Podcasts

Podcasts are really good and flexible. Contrary to popular opinion, many people listen to podcasts.

The beauty of podcasts is its flexibility and convenience. People can listen while doing laundry, while driving -- they basically choose the time they want to listen, unlike a radio program.

Using this, we can turn some old posts or new ones into podcasts. You can create a podcast channel if you don’t have one already.

Remember, the point is to have more visibility and reach with our contents. Having multiple platforms for our contents is the ideal way to achieve that.

Therefore, we should have podcast channels for our blog posts. Captivate the audience with our content and make something worthwhile. Something that attracts them so they keep coming back.

Also, we could transcribe a podcast to a blog post and/or a video. This is done so that one content in the form of a podcast can be on iTunes, a video of the same content on YouTube and a blog post on our sites.

4. Create a Slide of your post and Upload to SlideShare

We can also turn your content into slides and upload them to sites like SlideShare. To encourage engagement, we should make beautifully designed slides that can easily impress readers.

5. Build Custom Infographics

Infographic is about turning facts, statistics into a visual representation. Also, infographics get more engagement and are the most shared type of content. Pictures get more attention and that’s the concept behind infographics.

Such infographics can then be shared across different platforms, used on slideshows, or added to an email newsletter to engage readers.

A good infographic should show relevant information, be well crafted, catchy and good looking.

Meanwhile, infographics are not that difficult to create. There are templates and tools one can easily use to start one. For example, with Canva, we can create an amazing infographic in a few minutes. This post will show you how.

6. Find Your Strongest Introductions

The snippets of our contents matter too. We can repurpose a previously published content by rewriting a post introduction and sharing across different platforms.

For example, if you are posting a link of your content on social media, you can add an irresistible introduction that makes people want to view the rest of the content.

Identify the top introductions and repurpose them across different platforms: in an email newsletter, a YouTube video/ podcast description or social media posts.

7. Write Guest Post on Topics Related to Your Expertise

We don’t have to be confined to our platforms only, we can widen our reach on others’ platforms too. If we’re good at a particular niche or topic, we can guest post for other content creators who may have a different audience from us. Guest posts will introduce us to their audience.

There are different websites that accept guest posting, Writing Cooperative did a list of 54  sites that accept guest posts.

8. Share The Best of Your Content Through a Newsletter

Newsletters are still as good as they were in the past. Apart from creating content, we need to curate an email list of our audience too.

This can be done by platforms like Active Campaign that allow people to sign up with their emails. Read more about how to get the most out of your email list in our article.

Once we have an email list, we can now work towards using the content we create in other areas as content for our email newsletters.

Newsletters don’t have to be an everyday thing, it could be a once in a week, month, 2 months thing. Next, share the best content in your email newsletters.

9. Pull out Quotes and Paragraphs as Micro Contents

More than videos and blog posts, the internet loves quotes. We should pull out awesome and unique quotes out of original content. Then promote these quotes across different platforms where they can reach our target audiences.

10. Don’t Sleep On the Power of Social Media

As said earlier, distribution and sharing are key to getting your post to a wider audience. If you haven’t been using social media, you should start now and use it effectively. Social media help us promote our brands, get a wider reach and makes it easy to engage with potential audiences.

We can post our content or snippets or links on our social media sites. It could be infographics from a blog post followed with a short introduction, or it could be a short video, a snippet of a podcast.

Social media should be a must for all content creators. Also, it's the number one way to drive traffic to our published contents and make people keep up with your new contents. This detailed blog post explained how to track our social media results.

In Conclusion:

There are different ways to get the most out of the content you create. It all starts with thinking of awesome ideas, sharing and comes down to repurposing.

Why create new contents every time when we can repurpose the existing contents and redistribute them across different platforms?

We can start repurposing content by;

• Creating a list of content that can be repurposed
• Transcribing posts into different formats. For example, from video to audio, from written to audio, etc.
• Using social media efficiently. Creating infographics and use them to get more engagement
• Guest posting for other platforms
• Using strong introductions and pull out quotes to make your contents promotable

It's best to implement these strategies for effective mastery of how we can repurpose our content. This way, we will get the most out of every piece we create without getting exhausted or working too hard.

Are you overwhelmed with constantly brainstorming new content ideas? Most leading food brands have a research and development (R and D) department. These R and D specialists spend hours trying to figure out the next best product that consumers will love. It takes months, maybe even years, or experimenting and testing with focus groups. This is probably the motivation behind Lay’s annual “Do Us a Flavor” competition; having customers suggest and sample possible flavors makes finding new products much easier.

A content creator is the R and D officer for a brand. Consistently creating fresh content that your audience will love is challenging. It isn’t enough to throw it into the hands of the customers (although this is a strategy that has worked for many brands). Here are 10 ways you can up your R and D game and produce content that resonates.

Read the Latest Industry News

What are the latest things happening in your industry that are creating a buzz?  How does your brand fit in with the latest trends? People who are interested in your industry want answers to these questions. These topics are great content ideas.

You can only provide these answers if you’re keeping abreast with industry news. Subscribe to industry blogs and magazines.  Watch the news. Spend less time scrolling on social media and more time following what’s happening in the industry.

Here are some of the best magazines blogs and newsletters to follow in the life coaching business:

• International Coaching News
• Life Coaching Press
• Life Coach Training Institute
• International Coach Federation

Download our Ultimate Guide to Delegating Here for More Tips & Tools on How to Delegate as a Solopreneur

Have Conversations

Verbal conversations unearth new ideas and build relationships. Recently, a magazine creator and editor we know had a conversation with one of the entrepreneurs she was featuring. Her magazine focuses on helping readers start a business in her home country. This entrepreneur highlighted how difficult it is for locals to find everything they need to successfully start a business.

Eureka! The editor instantly came up with a series of videos that could simplify the process and attract more readers. That conversation helped her identify a real need and create a content solution to fill the gap.

You may be pleasantly surprised by the insight you glean from face-to-face and telephone conversations with customers. Viewing and responding to social media comments is great but nothing beats that personalized conversation.

Leverage Social Media

It isn’t realistic to assume that you can have verbal conversations with everyone interested in your brand.  Sure, your life coaching business thrives on the personalization that your small team offers. Client consultations also provide perfect opportunities for you to learn more about what your direct customers want to learn.

However, there is a sea of potential clients that you are trying to reach daily. You need to know the right content to produce for them so that they will be guided through your sales funnel and become paying customers. Some possible ways to get this information include:

• Posting a poll on your social media pages
• Viewing the conversations on your posts
• Identifying the posts that get the most engagement
• Responding to private messages that followers send
• Asking probing questions to stimulate further discussion on an active post

Repurpose Content

Sometimes it isn’t worthwhile teaching an old dog new tricks. Some of the content you posted months ago can be repurposed and posted as new content. There are many ways to repurpose content. Some possibilities include:

• Transforming popular blog articles into podcasts. Chandan Kumar describes how to convert an article into a podcast in this article.
• Combining popular posts on the same topic to create a pillar page. For instance, the Virtual A team posted an article entitled, “How to Cultivate Your Network on LinkedIn”. This article could segue into a series of articles on cultivating a network on each type of social media platform. All of these articles can be combined to create a pillar page like this. It could be called, “The Ultimate Guide for Growing Your Network on Social Media”.
• Expand on the points made in a list-style article to create individual posts.  For instance, this list-style article from Virtual A Team identifies 6 virtual services that can be outsourced. An article can be created to further describe each item on the list.
• Create a SlideShare post on LinkedIn. It would be unwise for a life coach to not have a LinkedIn profile. This social media site for professionals is a great way to meet potential clients. Slide Share is a Power-Point style post unique to Linked In that allows users to succinctly share information on important concepts.
• Create an infographic. People are highly visual and hardly have time to read large blocks of text. Infographics summarize blogs in a highly visual, easily digestible, way.
• Add up-to-date content to an existing post and repost it. This works best when at least 3 months have passed since the post was published.

Plan a Team Brainstorming Session

You may be blessed to work with a small but capable team. Even if you aren’t, there is a group of people who you turn to for advice.  Arrange a content ideas brainst

orming meeting with your team or core group.

Apply caution, however, because a brainstorming session can go off track. Some tips for having an effective brainstorming session include:

• Determine the problem question you’re trying to answer. A possible question is, “What type of content can we use to retain high-value customers?” Everyone should be aware of this question at least a week before the meeting so that they can come with fresh ideas.
• Lay some ground rules. There should be some structure so that each person has an equal opportunity to share an opinion. Respect is paramount; no one should feel stupid for sharing an idea. This doesn’t mean that clear bad ideas shouldn’t be respectfully squashed. You don’t want to spend too much time discussing bad ideas.
• Appoint a facilitator. This doesn’t necessarily have to be you. However, you do need someone who will guide the discussion.
• Choose the right location. You may choose to have a virtual or in-person brainstorming session. If you choose a virtual session, ensure that everyone has a good internet connection and good sound equipment.
• Keep the meeting short. It doesn’t need to be more than 30 minutes.
• Determine whether an in-person meeting is necessary. Sometimes it may be more feasible to get ideas through anonymous submissions or electronically through live software such as Google Docs.

Pay Attention to Your Competitors

Waging war against your competitors can be counterproductive. Oftentimes, your competitors can teach you valuable lessons and be great for collaborations or partnerships. Visit your competitor’s social media pages and website and answer the following questions:

• What is this brand doing well?
• What is this brand not so good at?
• Is it possible for your brand to collaborate with this brand to create new content?
• What distinguishes my brand from this one?
• Which posts do well on this brand’s platform? What special features does the post have that makes it do well?
• What type of content are the top brands in your niche writing?

Look at Topics from Another Angle

Writer’s block can be a real issue especially when you’ve been churning out a high volume of articles consistently covering the same theme. For instance, you may be selling a unique life planner that you’ve designed. You’ve already written 3 articles about the benefits of life planners and feel like you have exhausted the topic.

It helps to break the topic down to its bare bones and then working your way up from there.  Let’s look at the life planner example. Instead of focusing on a life planner, it may help to look at the broader topic of life goals. What content ideas can you create with this broad topic? How can you incorporate your life planner into these new articles?

Create Buyer Personas

Understanding who your buyers are is really the first step for creating good content.  It helps to be highly specific about the groups of buyers you are trying to target and what each group needs. Focusing solely on a broad target audience won’t provide this detailed perspective.  This article sheds more light on this important point.

For instance, you may be a life coach who focuses on women with newborns. Within that group, however, there are many subgroups. Some possible groups are:

• New mothers who have a child with a disability
• Female executives struggling to balance motherhood with corporate life
• Female entrepreneurs with newborns
• New mothers considering furthering their education

...the list is endless.

It’s imperative for you to identify your preferred sub-niches and think about the type of content that would appeal to them. A female executive who has a newborn will have different needs and interests from a female entrepreneur with a newborn. Sure there are some commonalities but there also are some stark differences.

Visit Quora

Quora is the leading question and answer site where people can ask any question and get answers. It’s a great way to see the types of questions people in your industry are asking. You can answer the questions on Quora and include links to content on your website that further elaborates. This helps build the backlinks to your site.

You could also answer these questions directly on your website. Doing this allows you to provide an even more extensive answer to the question. It helps position you as an expert in the field.

Use Social Media Discussion Groups

Each social media site has a community of users with similar interests. LinkedIn has LinkedIn groups, Facebook has Facebook Groups, Instagram has community hashtags and the list continues.  Find a group that relates to your industry and become an active member.

Just like Quora, you’ll see the questions people are asking. You’ll also see the content that interests them and the content they post on their own websites. Essentially, these discussion groups are a gold mine of information.

Some of the top LinkedIn groups for life coaches include:

• International Coach Federation
• International Coaching Network
• Professional Life Coaches Network
• Coaching Zone
• Find a Coach

The I-N-K Strategy for Identifying High-Quality Content

Searching for content ideas is one thing. Ensuring that you consistently post high-quality content based on these ideas is another.  The I-N-K strategy can help you determine if the content you’ve created is high value.

I- Interest

It helps to get a second opinion on the content you create before you post it. A key question to ask the observer is, “On a scale of 1 to 10, how much does this pique your interest?” Although this is just one opinion, it helps you gauge how your audience may respond to the post.  Feel free to get more than one opinion if you can.

N- Nail It

The feedback will help you refine and improve the content. You want to hit the nail on the head and keep your audience intrigued. Get it right at least 80% of the time and you’ll have a loyal lifelong following. 

K- Keep Up

Each post provides an opportunity to identify what really interests your audience. Pay keen attention to how your followers and website visitors respond to each post. Their responses, or lack thereof, speak volumes. Keep up with their demands and you’ll consistently produce the right content.

Final Word

You may be the sole content creator for your business. The task may not be as simple as experienced content creators make it seem. The pressure is high to regularly produce content that your audience will love and it’s often difficult to come up with fresh ideas.

We’ve shown you how to find fresh content ideas. With this knowledge, you can create solid content marketing plans that help you win new customers and retain high-value customers. It’ll take some work but the effort is ultimately worthwhile.

You are stuck, a blank page and no idea what to write. Or, you are overwhelmed by what many ideas, so many topics and you can’t even come out with the ideal topic. If only this was already done and plugged into a social media content calendar.

Totally relatable.

These are the types of scenario content creators experience from time to time. The thing is, if we continue like this, what used to be fun for may become a chore. No, we don’t want that. We want to reap the rewards of what we love doing while enjoying the process.

So what’s the Solution?

There’s no doubt that blogs and social media are essential platforms to create content. This implies that we shouldn’t only worry about creating content, but working on strategies to keep these content organized. From scheduling and timing posts to keeping up and monitoring deadlines, we should keep our contents organized. We can achieve this by creating content calendars.

Why We Need Social Media Content Calendars

A content calendar is arguably the best way to manage and organize your contents online. Some of the challenges we face are planning content, worrying about consistency and doing everything by ourselves. Editing, writing, social media design, marketing and possibly another job and responsibilities that require our time and energy.

But it doesn’t have to be so hard or complicated. There are several successful blogs with fantastic content that people devour at a high rate. These blogs amidst other reasons achieve this because they plan and prepare their content. Thankfully, you can too with a content calendar.

However easy creating a content calendar that schedules and plans our posts may sound like, the point is to stick to it. If we don’t stick to it, it might work out in the end.

Download our Ultimate Guide to Delegating Here for More Tips & Tools on How to Delegate as a Solopreneur

In summary, a content calendar can help grow our blogs and social media. It’s like a system to keep our contents on the track without suffering bumps or oversights that could be avoided.

How Content Calendars Can Help Blogs and Social Media Grow

1.     Keeps Us Organized

How many times did you have a blog post idea and forgot about it after another topic popped up in your heads? Now, imagine if you start writing all your content topics ideas in a place (whether a note and a pen or electronically), won’t it be easy to find and work on them?

Instead of mismanaging content ideas, we can use a content calendar to write down our thoughts and plan. Would I need a graphic designer to execute this topic?

Should I start finding links I’ll be adding to this topic when I write it? This way, we can store topics and plan what we need to execute ahead before it gets overwhelming during a rush.

2.     Helps You Stay Consistent

Research confirms that people achieve their goals when they write them down. Writing down goals is the first way to stick to them and hold ourselves accountable should we lose focus.

A social media content calendar will allow you to plan your posts. We can write down posts ideas and assign dates, set deadlines to them. This reduces blogger’s block or racking our heads at the dying minutes for a new topic.

3.     Can Help Re-strategize Your Type of Content

All content creators want engagements, and having a content strategy is the path to get there. This way we can understand our audience, what they like and how we can improve. To get the results we want, each of our contents needs to be deliberate, organized and optimized for the SEO.

A content calendar can help us work on this. For example, if you're a food blogger and you find that the recipe for seafood got lots of engagement, plan to write another recipe for seafood.

4.     Organize Your Writers and Contributors

If you have people who write and contribute to your blog, a content calendar is a way to track them and organize them. In essence, they're working when you need it. We can write down topics idea, assign topics to writers or collate posts from our contributors and plan how and when you'll post.

Also, a social media content calendar will help us review posts before they’re published and make it convenient to share our strategy with our teams.

5.     Foster Creativity

Content calendars apart from making your works easier and saving time will also improve our creativity. When you aren’t overwhelmed or always in a rush, you'll have space to think up new creative ideas.

Also, it helps us assign a purpose to everything we want to publish or post. We'll be posting because we've planned why we need the post, and how it can help us with engagement.

How to Build a Content Calendar

We can decide to build a content calendar ourselves using tools like Google Sheets. However, there are scheduling and social media management tools that help plan posts ahead. Yet, knowing the basis and need for a calendar is just as important as using the calendar itself.

The following are tips on how to create a social media content calendar;

1.     Conduct a Social Media or Blog Audit

Before using that scheduling tool or template we download, know what channel we're posting on, who our audience is, what they want. Also, we need to know which platform gets the most engagement for your content and what content is best for each platform type.

 For example, a longer content won’t get much engagement on social media compared to a shorter one. People prefer easy-to-read information on social media. Also, we need to decide what format our contents will be in, audio, video, text?

2.     Build a Content Strategy

We need a content strategy. What type of post do you want to produce for your social media channel? How are we sharing them? How frequently do we want to be posting? These are questions that’ll help organize content calendars.

Also, it is helpful to note and plan the type of content we’ll be sharing. It could be blog posts, videos, infographics, news announcements.

Further, we also need a strategy as it can help make our content calendars feasibility. For example, if you know you'll be posting pictures twice a week in the coming week, start finding ways to get a graphic designer or stock images on the internet.

3.     Establish Your Posting Schedule

There is always the best time to post content. For example, a post about the best stores to buy the perfect gift for Christmas will do well in December than in June. We should always try to find the best time that fits our content.

Social media like Facebook, Instagram have in-built analytics that help track the best time to post, which post got the most engagement and information that can help us schedule posts accordingly.

We can use scheduling tools to schedule our posts ahead after writing them. As we go on with our daily activities, the post we planned five days ago has been posted and getting engagement from the audience.

4.     Have a Content Repository

As stated earlier, sometimes you lose and forget topics you want to talk about because you didn’t store them. Apart from that, topics you’ve already worked on can be stored and written down too.

A repository is exactly what it is -- a place to store all topic ideas so that when building a content calendar, we know what content you're choosing from.

It could be a notebook, a Google doc or spreadsheet. We need to make sure it’s detailed. We may include in the repository the following:

•         Title of content
•         Content format
•         Images (this is feasible when you use electronic tools)
•         Snippets (especially for social media posts)

5.     Find out What You Want for Your Calendar

Different content creators with different needs right? While I may need a content calendar with topics and dates only, you may need a calendar with the following:

•         Due dates
•         Publish dates
•         Writers assigned (for those with writers and contributor,
•         SEO keywords, platform (for those with more than one platform)
•         The status of each post (Published, approved, written, edited, draft)
•         Links and so on

Identifying how your social media content calendar will look like will help you create a perfect one or choose a perfect template.

6.     Start Building or Filling out Your Calendar

There are several websites where one can get free calendar templates. Also, we can use tools like DivvyHQ, CoSchedule, Google Calendar and Trello to plan posts and schedule them.

With tools like these, we can easily customize to our taste and brainstorm to our fill. Check this post out for awesome tools to use as content calendars.

Now let's start filling up this calendar, publish and due date, the topics, SEO keywords and other information we want to include.

7.     Stick to It

No doubt, it may be hard to follow our calendars, especially if we're starting. That’s why it’s best to set workable goals, goals we can quickly meet. The point of the calendar is to get rid of the stress and have a space to breathe.

You Don’t Have to Do the Job Yourself

Hiring a social media manager can help our businesses. Apart from being professionals in such areas, they reduce the workload;

•         Improve customer service
•         Help us develop relevant content
•         Schedule our post
•         Understand our analytics and come up with strategies to reach target customers
•         Monitor, listen and engage our audience and much more.

That means all the workload doesn’t have to be on our shoulders. We can hire a social media manager and in return, we have someone monitoring or promoting our business. Someone with professional skills that understands what works and what doesn’t.

Worried about investing in social media? Don't be! You'll reap favorable results from one. Want to know how to hire a social media manager? Click here.

Time to Get Your Blog and Social Media in Order

Hopefully, you’ve now realized the benefits of content calendars – why you need it and how it can help. So what are you waiting for? It’s time to create one!

Having a social media content calendar can help with planning, managing time and reducing workload. It’s best we start considering using one now for positive results. We can build one using Google sheets or use paid tools like Trello and CoSchedule.

Meanwhile, sticking to the content calendar is the goal. Are you meeting our goals? If you have a team, is your calendar clear and comprehensive?

In conclusion, remember success doesn’t happen overnight. Hopefully, the tips above will help create a plan that works well and gives results that make every time and input worthwhile.

Related Articles:

Using Stock Photos for Marketing?

Our Review of the Best Online Scheduling Tools

How to Know When You Need To Hire A Virtual Assistant

We know how important videos for business are, but why? You probably search for a good movie to watch at least once per month.

What jumps out at you when you do this search?

Is it the long, sometimes boring, movie critique article filled with spoilers? Is it the less than 2 minutes long movie trailer video that tells you all you need to know?

Chances are you choose the movie trailer option every time.

Videos speak volumes on social media. Just like movie trailers, they are the content of choice for many social media users. In fact, HubSpot highlights that videos are no longer only a component of a marketing plan, they form the central focus of a social strategy. Being inundated with all types of content daily makes customers yearn for something that immediately grabs their attention. Creating videos for business may seem daunting, but it doesn't have to be.

Let’s be real. Video creation seems like an intimidating process. You want the quality of the videos you produce to be top-notch. However, you don’t have the money to hire a professional and you believe that you have neither the resources nor the knowledge to create these videos yourself.

This is an issue we will address before discussing creative video content that you can post on social media. You don’t have to be a professional videographer to create the right video content. Here’re some basic items and skills you’ll need to create good quality videos for social media.

Equipment and Skills Needed for DIY Video Creators

A Smartphone with Good Camera Quality

Apple and Samsung’s expert marketing skills have fooled us into believing that these are the only smartphones that can produce good quality images and videos. It’s time to reject that fallacy. Budget camera phones exist that produce great quality videos.

Smartphone Gimbal

You can’t trust your hands to shoot steady videos (even with smartphones that have built-in stabilizers).  You will need a smartphone gimbal. The beauty is that you can get a good smartphone gimbal for less than 100 USD.

The Right Environment

Environment matters. Ensure that the area you choose to film videos has no clutter, fits in with the aesthetic of your brand and has adequate lighting. You may need to purchase a budget-friendly lighting kit so that you have the best lighting.

Good Audio

One of the most annoying aspects of some social media videos is the poor audio quality. Depending on your smartphone’s audio is insufficient. You will need a good microphone (preferably one that syncs with your smartphone). Here are a few options.

Download our Ultimate Guide to Delegating Here for More Tips & Tools on How to Delegate as a Solopreneur

Great Screen Presence

Your passion should resonate throughout the video. Think about what your audience wants to hear and how they would want the information to be delivered. The right level of energy will keep the audience engaged throughout the video.

Slideshow creation skills

Not all social media videos for business are filmed. Some are just a few pictures and words put together to some nice music. This type of video is sometimes called a slideshow. It’s a great idea to mix the type of video content you post between slideshows and filmed videos. The types of slideshow videos you can create are described in the next section.

The right software

Whether you’re editing videos you film or creating slideshow videos, you’ll need the right video editing/creation software. The Google PlayStore and Apple App Store have a range of apps that allow you to create and edit videos on your smartphone. One of the best video editing app options can be found here.  Some additional options include:

• Apple iMovie
• Lumen 5
• Nero Video
• Corel Video Studio
• Filmora

If you want to create slideshow videos for business(or videos that don’t require any filming), here are some viable software options:

• Animoto
• WeVideo
• Promo Video
• UseLoom.com

The Best Types of Videos To Create

Blog promo or quote videos

Promo videos are one type of slideshow videos. They are short and don’t require you to do any filming. Just use images and on-screen text relevant to your blog post so that followers get a sneak peek into what the blog is about. Those who are interested will click to read the article.

Blog promo videos should be 15 to 30 seconds long. 

Like blog promo videos, quote videos are short slideshow videos. They highlight appropriate quotes and should be 15 to 30 seconds long. Here is an example from Virtual A team.

Answer customers’ questions

You can create many types of videos. Motivational, technical, behind-the-scenes and so on. However, one of the most impactful types of videos is the how-to video which specifically answers customers’ burning questions. Social media is a great way to learn customers’ pain points. Customers will love your brand even more if you create content that addresses these pain points.

Interview industry experts

It helps when your brand is viewed as a subject-matter expert. Interviewing qualified people in the field can help paint this picture. These interviews could be Facebook or Instagram live posts or regular posts for your social media feed.

Announcements or product reveals

Big announcements or product reveals deserve the right showcase. Short, fun videos are a great way to put these announcements and products in the spotlight. You could do a series of videos that whet consumers’ appetites and a final video of the grand reveal. It’s all about building enough suspense to intrigue customers.

Animated videos for business

Animated videos are a growing trend on social media. Their primary benefit is their ability to break down complex concepts. They work best when they are short and engaging. Think carefully about what appeals to your audience and the type of information they want to hear.

Customer testimonial

No one can sell your brand better than your own customers. You can compile a video that features short customer testimonials to add credibility to your brand. Remember to keep the video short and ensure that key features of your brand are included.

Tips for Creating Impactful Social Media Videos

Don’t neglect the power of live videos.

Live video streaming has been magical for many brands. These videos allow you to interact with your audience while the video is being filmed and have been used to display such things as behind-the-scenes footage and live coverage of events. Here are some examples of live video streaming done right.

Additionally, social media users appreciate opportunities to directly interact with the brands they love. Live videos provide opportunities for question and answer sessions. These sessions are also a good tool for learning customers’ pain points.

Add subtitles

Social media users scroll through their newsfeeds throughout the day. There are times when they may be in places where they can’t play the video’s sound. Adding subtitles will help them enjoy the video without losing the intended message. Additionally, users who are hearing-impaired will still be able to enjoy the video.

Use attention-grabbers early in the video

The purpose of the video should be clear from the get-go.  Social media users attention spans are short. If you don’t grab their attention within the first 10 seconds, chances are they won’t stick around long enough to engage with your video. Your hook should, therefore, be in the first or second frame of your video.

Have a video marketing strategy

Some businesses tend to think that all content used in social media marketing must be a part of paid advertising campaigns. That is far from the truth. You need content on your page that will actively engage your followers and provide them with useful information.

Having a plan for the content that you will post weekly is important for achieving this objective. This plan will help you have a focused approach towards your video content. It can help you organize videos based on themes for each month. Additionally, it will help you link the video content to the other types of content that you post.

Include a call-to-action.

Your videos form an integral part of your sales funnel. A prompt should be given for viewers to complete some action related to the next stage of the sales funnel. That action could be to subscribe to your newsletter, follow your social media page or leave a comment. Whatever the action, it’s important for you to clearly state what you want them to do.

Choose the right platform.

Each platform has different video requirements. Instagram only allows one-minute videos on their main page. However, longer videos can be uploaded on IGTV. Here are the recommended video lengths for each platform from the Women in Business Network:

• Facebook: less than 2 minutes (Note: as of May, 2019, Facebook is now favoring videos 3 minute or longer.)
• Twitter: less than 45 seconds
• Instagram: less than 1 minute
• YouTube: less than 2 minutes
• Linked In: between 30 seconds and 5 minutes

Allowable video length is one criterion for choosing the right social media platform. It’s also important for you to understand the purpose of each platform. Here’re some features of each platform that you should pay attention to:

• Facebook is best for community building.
• Instagram and Pinterest are great for visual content.
• YouTube is the leading site for video content.

Therefore, it’s important for you to understand the purpose of your social media profile and how this purpose fits into your video marketing plan.

The I-C-E Strategy for Creating a Sound Video Marketing Plan

A sound video marketing strategy was mentioned as an important component of impactful social media videos. The I-C-E strategy can help you make that video marketing plan a reality.

I-Ideation

This is where you brainstorm ideas for a possible series of video content that you can post. Choose a theme for the month and consider the best types of videos for business that will help bring that theme across.

For instance, let’s say that you chose “Building Strong Families” as your theme for May since May is Child’s Month and includes Teacher’s Day and Mother’s Day. You are a life coach who wants to sell your most recent online life plan course. Your audience is middle-aged working mothers. Here are a series of videos that could possibly work for the month, week by week.

1st Week: An animated video about how to schedule family time despite having hectic schedules.

2nd Week: A tribute to mother’s video that emphasizes how having the right life plan can help mothers give their best to their families.

3rd Week: A testimonial video from a mother who has benefitted from your life plan course.

4th Week: A Facebook Live interview with a female entrepreneur who has found a way to strike a healthy work-life balance and build a strong family

C- Creation

Brainstorming gives you the ideas. It’s now time to ring those ideas to life. The example above showed different types of videos. Each type of video will require special video creation and editing software. Some will require filming. Be clear about everything that you will need and how you will create the video from the get-go.

Another important consideration for the creation phase is the objective for the videos. What do you want customers to do after watching? Ensure that there is a clear call-to-action so that this goal is achieved.

E-Evaluate

All social media campaigns should have an evaluation phase. There should be a clear indication of whether the videos for business have helped you achieve your objective. If they haven’t, carefully consider what could have been done differently to create success.

Using Your Videos For Business

Videos receive the highest engagement on social media. Savvy life coaches know that they should post a variety of content on social media, but videos take precedence. Several types of video exist. However, the videos used on your social media accounts depend on your video marketing campaign and the nature of the social media site.

The I-C-E strategy will help you create a sound video marketing campaign. However, you may still need assistance creating some of the videos. The Virtual A Team can help you create stunning slideshow and animated videos. Contact us today so that we can help you get started.

Have you ever tried to bake a decadent chocolate cake? Several recipes exist that help novice bakers whip up a basic chocolate cake that tastes…okay. However, those who want to create a mouth-watering cake must kick these recipes up a notch that requires a bit more ingredients. The basic recipe still stands strong, but the proportion of ingredients is put on overdrive. Metrics for social media are like that decadent chocolate cake. Setting up your social media profile and consistently posting content is synonymous to using a basic chocolate cake recipe; doing this lays the foundation but won’t help your social media profile achieve maximum potential.

Metrics help you make informed decisions about how to develop your social media profile. It’s like stepping your game up from a very basic chocolate cake to a chocolate cake that’s oozing with chocolaty goodness….mmmmm.

Your stomach may be turning as you imagine the taste of that decadent chocolate cake in your mouth. Let’s not lose focus. You’ll only be able to experience the sweetness of a high social media ROI for your brand if you actively apply social media metrics.

What are the metrics for social media?

Social media metrics are essentially key performance indicators (KPIs) for your social media posts.  Margaret Rouse from Search Content Management sums it up nicely by saying, “Social media metrics is the use of data to gauge the impact of social media activity on a company’s revenue.”

Understanding the right social media metrics to measure forms the core of using social media to improve your company’s revenue.  The beauty of it is that most social media platforms make it easy to identify these metrics with their easy-to-use analytic tools.

What Social Media Metrics Should You Pay Attention To?

Regardless of the social media platform, there are some core metrics that are important to track.

The top 4 metrics are:

1. Volume/Organic Mentions

How often is your brand being mentioned on social media? What conversations are people having about your brand?

Word-of-mouth advertising is both the best (and the worst) form of advertising. It’s also the type of advertising that potential customers tend to listen to the most. Social media allows customers to share content and express thoughts about the brands they love (and hate) freely.  This makes word-of-mouth advertising a prominent feature of social media.

Netflix capitalized on the power of word-of-mouth social media advertising by reposting Instagram pictures from an adoring fan. Laura Iz took pictures of her daughter, Joey, dressed as characters from Netflix’s Stranger Things. She posted these pictures on Instagram and used the #StrangerThings. Netflix noticed and reposted the picture. The repost created a buzz and gave the Netflix show additional publicity.

Your aim is to be on the “love” spectrum. Understand your customers and followers so that you can create content that they’ll want to share and talk about. The more in tune you are with what they’re looking for, the better the return on your investment.

2. Reach

In social media, reach is a measure of your potential audience’s size. It’s all about how those likes, mentions and shares help you reach a wider audience. Here are some questions you should answer:

•   How many people are sharing this content through retweets, reposts and shares on Facebook or LinkedIn?
•   Can you calculate how many people have added this content to their favorites list?
•   How many people interact with the post?

Stick a pin for a sec. The last question listed is a powerful question. It speaks specifically to the level of engagement in your posts. Looking at the level of engagement extends beyond solely considering the number of likes or shares the post receives.

A better measure is the percentage engagement rate. This is calculated by dividing the number of likes or shares by the total number of followers. For instance, a page with 50,000 followers that gets 30 likes on a post would have an engagement rate of 0.06 percent which is pretty dismal.

Such a low engagement percentage also highlights an important point. The number of followers a page has doesn’t truly measure how well the page is performing. Pay close attention to your page’s reach and, by extension, the level of engagement it receives.

3. Influence

How valuable is your social media page? Can you actually entice your followers to act? It’s one thing to have a lot of followers, but the true test comes in your ability to influence these followers to act.  Influence is one of your most valuable social media metrics.

Influence extends beyond your brand’s social media pages. Influencer marketing has quickly grown into one of the most common social media marketing strategies. In fact, a study conducted by Linqia in 2016 revealed that 94 percent of marketers found influencer marketing to be effective.

Social media influencers build their brands on the power of influence. In turn, they subtly influence their followers to purchase products from the brands their endorse. Sperry, manufacturers of the infamous boat shoes that many men adore, understood the value of influencer marketing and used it to develop visual content for their official Instagram account.

Here’s how the campaign worked.  Sperry identified 100 micro-influencers who were already sharing high quality photos of their shoes on Instagram. They then invited these micro-influencers to develop visual content specifically for the brand’s Instagram account.  The initiative resulted in a major boost in Sperry’s followers.

4. Market Share in Online Discussions

You aren’t operating in isolation in your industry. There are other brands competing with you for the same audience.  These competitors may be doing a better job of getting that audience to share their content and have positive discussions about their brand online. How do you measure up to the competition?

Competitor research helps you identify your brand’s weaknesses, strengths and everything in between. It’s good to determine how your competitors are influencing people to have the right conversations online about their brands. It’ll help you determine what you can mimic and what you can do better so that you can dominate the online conversations in your niche.

This metric should, however, be used with caution. The tools used to track it are expensive. It’s also possible that the metric can be different depending on the source; the PR team may have a different figure from the sophisticated software. Finally, it’s a difficult metric to track.

Download our Ultimate Guide to Delegating Here for More Tips & Tools on How to Delegate as a Solopreneur

What Social Media Metrics Aren’t Worth the Attention?

It’s easy to get caught up in the hype of what you think should be the most important social media metrics. However, there are some social media metrics that can trick you into thinking that you either aren’t doing enough or your social media game is on point.

1. Number of Followers

This is by far the most misunderstood social media metric. It feels good to have a large follower base because it shows that people are interested in your brand. However, it’s more important to measure the engagement rate, reach and how often people visit your page.

It is also more important to look instead at your follower growth rate. This is the percentage of followers you gain each month. Consider Success Lifestyle Magazine, a small digital magazine that started with a measly 92 followers. After a campaign, the number of followers in January 2019 grew to 200. That’s a 117 percent increase!

Tracking this percentage month-on-month will hep you determine how healthy your social media page is. Keeping the percentage at 10 percent and above is good for your brand.

2. Bounce Rate

It’s important to know how many people are leaving your social media page without either interacting with the content or becoming a follower. This information can help you test different types of content to determine what will get the best response.

However, you must remember that social media users have short attention spans. A social media page is more about building brand awareness than it is about making a quick buck. The same people who initially bounce from your site may come back later because they remember something about your brand.

3. Page Views

There are times when you will see a spike in the number of page views. However, this may not necessarily be the result of your marketing efforts. It could be a combination of factors such as organic mentions and increased awareness of your brand through word-of-mouth advertising.  Focusing on the finer details is what ultimately matters.

4. Number of Newsletter Subscribers

Coaches often use social media to expand their newsletter subscriber list. Having a large newsletter subscriber list is good for several reasons. Chief amongst these is being able to introduce new packages and deals to a direct and engaged audience.

The issue with focusing on the number of newsletter subscribers is that this metric doesn’t paint a true picture of people who become paying customers. Therefore, it is more important to pay attention to the conversion rate as a result of newsletter subscriptions.

Platform-specific Metrics

You’ve gotten a glimpse into the most (and least) important social media metrics for any social media platform. Let’s now pay closer attention to platform-specific metrics that you should track. The focus will be on the 4 social media platforms that coaches most often use: Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter.

The Top Metrics to Track on Facebook

Pay attention to the metrics discussed in section 1.1 and these additional metrics:

1.     Click-through Rate

This metric isn’t as important as the others mentioned in section 1.1 but it still packs a punch.  It tells you how many people were interested enough to pay attention to your content.

A low click-through rate may mean that you haven’t completely understood what your audience wants or you haven’t presented content in the right way. It’s an opportunity to go back to fine-tune your content so that it grabs the attention of more followers.

2.     Negative Feedback

There are some followers who won’t like some of the content you post. They express their discontent by hiding a post, hiding all future posts from your page, unliking your page or reporting the content as spam. It’s good to know how many followers use this metric with your posts.

Furthermore, posts with high negative feedback reach less people because of how the Facebook algorithm works. You can find your negative feedback metrics by clicking on the number of engaged users in your Page Insights.

3.     Video Retention

Videos form an integral part of content marketing. According to Render Forest,  “marketers who use video grew revenue 49% faster than non-video users.” Smart coaches use videos on their social media pages.

There is one important thing to monitor when gauging the success of video content; how far into the video do most people watch?  For instance, you post an 8-minute video but people only watch the first 30 seconds. You need to discover how to influence followers to watch the video for a longer period.

The Top Metrics to Track on LinkedIn

Pay attention to the metrics discussed in section 1.1 and this additional metric:

1.     Follower Demographics

This is an important metric to track on any social media platform. However, it’s particularly important to track on LinkedIn. You must determine if you’re reaching the right groups of professionals. Here are some specific features of follower demographics that you should note:

•   The follower’s role in his or her organization. Is he or she a high-level executive, mid-level employee or at an entry-level position?
•   Do your followers primarily work in large, medium or small businesses?
•   Which industry do most of your followers come from?

Using follower demographics with your engagement rate will help you tailor content specifically for the type of professional your brand attracts.

The Top Metrics to Track on Instagram

Pay attention to the metrics discussed in section 1.1 and these additional metrics:

1.     Comments per Post

Comments are very hard to get from followers on social media. Therefore, a follower commenting is an indication that the post is so interesting that something had to be said.  Tracking the number of comments per post helps you measure the impact of your content.

An increase in the average number of comments per post month-on-month is a good indication that you’re doing something right. You need to pinpoint what it is and ensure that you’re consistent. However, if this number decreases you should determine what caused the change and how you can correct it.

2.     Instagram Stories Engagement

Instagram Stories is a unique feature of Instagram. It’s like a merger between SnapChat and Instagram since Instagram Story posts only last for 24 hours. People won’t view your Instagram Story if your brand isn’t interesting enough.

There are 2 metrics that you should pay attention to when looking at Instagram Stories: reach and exits. Reach tells how many followers viewed your story. Exits tell the slide of the Instagram Story where people left. A high number of exits on a slide is a warning sign.

The Top Metrics to Track on Twitter

Pay attention to the metrics discussed in section 1.1 and this additional metric:

1.     Hashtag Performance

Hashtags are prominent features on both Instagram and Twitter. Branded hashtags are often used by companies to generate social media buzz about the brand. It’s important to track the performance of these branded hashtags.

Taste a Piece of the Tantalizing Social Media Metrics Chocolate Cake

Social media metrics are important for the growth of your brand’s online presence. Some of the key metrics for you to consider are:

•   volume/organic mentions
•   reach
•   influence
•   market share in online discussions.

There are other platform-specific metrics that you should also track. Let a capable virtual assistant help you put on your social media A-game.

LinkedIn? Is that still a thing?

Oh, wait, that’s the “social media network” for finding a job, right? Can that even be considered “social media”?

LinkedIn has often been considered a black sheep of the social media networks because it doesn’t really feel, well, social.

But, it does, in fact, check all the boxes on what Wikipedia considers social media. (You can check those out here).

What makes us think less of LinkedIn is that it tends to have a singular purpose and not a place we would regularly “hang out” like we do on Facebook or Instagram or even Twitter.

That being said, LinkedIn is like it’s very own business networking event. It’s not just for job seekers anymore.

LinkedIn has grown up a little and now offers a valuable place to find and connect with new leads.

Is Networking on LinkedIn right for me?

Before deciding if LinkedIn is the right place for you to network, you should know the demographics of who’s there.

According to Omnicoreagency.com:

• There are currently 154 million LinkedIn users in the US.
• 61 million users are senior level or above.
• 40 million users are students or recent college graduates.
• There are 87 million Millenials on the platform.
• 44% of LinkedIn users earn more than $75,000 per year.

What does that mean for you? If you have a product or service that targets professionals of any age or are in a B2B industry, then LinkedIn may be a great place to get new leads!

How to Network on LinkedIn

First, let me say this is not another post telling you how to optimize your profile page. Yes, that’s important, but there are plenty of articles out there that will teach you how to do that. Here’s one of my favorite by the awesome John Nemo.

I find a lot of LinkedIn trainings only focus on how to set up your profile. But what then?

It’s important to have a strategy around what you will do once your profile is created. Unfortunately, “If you build it, they will come” only works in Kevin Costner movies.

This article isn’t focused on what to post in articles or the news feed. Our primary plan to network on Linkedin is to reach out and connect via messages.

Download our Ultimate Guide to Delegating Here for More Tips & Tools on How to Delegate as a Solopreneur

But First: Know your Audience

Working with coaches and speakers for almost 15 years, I’d guess this is probably the number one reason they don’t use LinkedIn more often.

LinkedIn works best when you know who you want to connect with. Need help with this? Check out our article on finding your target audience.

I don’t mean that you have to personally know the head of HR at Zappos. And it doesn’t even mean you would have to know their name.

What it means is knowing the title, interests, and other demographics of the person you want to connect with.

You see, LinkedIn has this really amazing people search.

You can search by name, title, company, college, location, industries and more.

Some of this detail is searchable within the actual search feature and some of it is just a magical thing that happens when people customize their profile headline to contain certain information.

For example, my headline used to read:

I help coaches, consultants, & speakers grow their businesses & have more time by providing virtual assistant services.

Because of this, I would get connection requests on a regular basis from people looking to connect with coaches.

Your first step, then, is to make a list of the types of people you’d like to reach out to.

Then do a search for those types of people!

I recommend targeting your first level connections as a starting point. This is a warmer audience and LinkedIn allows you to message them for free.

Break the Ice

The best Linkedin networking scripts I’ve found are created by John Nemo. If you haven’t heard this guy, you should really check out his podcast, he’s quite entertaining!

The next step is to make that first contact. Here’s where a lot of people go wrong. Their first message is all about them. They want to reach out and instantly share all the details about what they are selling. When someone does this to me, it’s an instant “unfriend”.

Instead, break the ice. Take a little time to check out their profile. Find something in common. It’s Linkedin NETWORKING after all, not Linkedin cold calling!

For example:

• Did you attend the same school?
• Are you from the same town?
• Do their group interests align with yours?

Yes, it takes a little more time to read through each profile to find something you might be able to connect on but it’s well worth your time.

Once you’ve found something, message them and start a conversation around that topic.

Gently Lead In

Your next message will be a soft offer. Perhaps you have a free optin or webinar the prospect may be interested in. Nemo suggests not just sending them a link but inviting them to raise their hand. If they say they are interested, THEN send them a link. It will come across far less spammy that way. It also helps you to track who is actually engaging with your messages.

What’s Next

Nemo has an entire process for Linkedin Networking that he’s outlined in his book, Linkedin Riches. I highly recommend you get the Kindle or paperback version so you can best use the scripts he shares.

Of course, if you’d rather have someone else set up the details and work your initial leads, that’s a great area to outsource when you have the right team in place.

Virtual A Team is actively using the Nemo approach to Linkedin Networking with a few of our clients and our own business. If you’d like some help implementing this approach into your business contact us for a free consultation.

Networking on Social Media

If you aren’t ready or Linkedin isn’t the right fit for your business, check out our other Networking Articles:

How To Network on Facebook

How To Network on Instagram