Take the guess-work out of what to post and drive authentic connection
Do you have a love/hate relationship with social media? I think most people do these days, but as an entrepreneur, it’s pretty much unavoidable. If you want to reach your audience, chances are, they’re on social media. The key to reaching them is by writing authentic social posts that drive connection.
According to Oberlo, 3.78 BILLION people use social media. Billion…with a B. And despite the hollow threats people make about quitting Facebook, it holds strong as the most widely used platform. 68% of all US adults use it. People just can’t quit Zuckerberg, it seems.
Whether your people are on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, or Clubhouse (does anyone use that anymore?), it’s important to make your presence known on social media. Yet for some reason, a lot of entrepreneurs find themselves struggling to put out consistent content.
The one obstacle I hear over and over again is: I just don’t know what to post?!?!
Well, listen up, because I’ve got you. 😉
After more than three years of writing social media captions for a wide variety of industries (woo-woo spiritualists to OBMs to medical professionals), I’ve identified 6 core types of content that every entrepreneur should have on deck.
Once you’ve created these core pieces, you can rinse and repeat, recycling content at regular intervals while sprinkling in your favorite cat memes and miscellaneous thoughts.
The Six Social Media Posts You Need to Write
1. BUSINESS ORIGIN POST
Start with your WHY. What happened in your life to bring you to this point? Think way back to the beginning. As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? Was it wildly different from where you are today?
Apparently, at a very young age, I wanted to be a firefighter. I only know this because my preschool teacher documented this on an art project. Besides that, for as long as I can remember, I wanted to be a teacher. Turns out, that was just one stop on the road to my life as an entrepreneur.
What’s your story? Where did you start? What made you seek a change? How did you land on where you are today? And most importantly, WHY???
2. SUCCESS POST (YOU)
This is one type of content that a lot of entrepreneurs resist at first. I don’t want to be “braggy” or seem boastful. People are going to think I’m an egotistical jerk.
Guess what?? People (in general) LOVE to celebrate success. How many times have you smiled to yourself and felt genuinely happier after reading about a friend or acquaintance’s achievement?
The people who scoff at your success and “judge” you for it? Screw ‘em! They clearly aren’t your people, and if your success triggers negative feelings in them, that’s 100% on them, not you.
This post is all about celebrating achievements and milestones in your business. Did you land a new client? Hit an income goal? Earn an incredible testimonial? Share it!
Describe the following to compose your success post:
- Where you started
- What you dreamed could be possible
- How your skills/experience/tenacity/drive helped you move forward
- What milestone you achieved
- How your achievement makes you feel
- How this milestone will lead you to make more of an impact
Don’t hold back! Your celebration may be exactly what someone else needs to hear.
3. TRANSFORMATION POST (CLIENT)
What amazing results have you helped clients achieve?? I know you’ve got ‘em! Some transformations are quantifiable: did you design a sales funnel that converted at a crazy high percentage? Did your new email sequence increase open rates significantly?
Other transformations can’t be quantified: can your client stop waking up at 5 a.m. now because you helped her streamline her systems? Does your client feel relieved to not be avoiding the project that’s been looming over them for months?
Share the journey of transformation you lead your clients on. You don’t have to share names or specifics (although if a client agrees, share away!), but you do need to give your audience a glimpse into what’s possible when working with you.
Be sure to end with a call-to-action letting your audience know that you are ready and willing to help them too! This is a great place to drop your link to book a call or to check out your services page.
**PS – It’s OKAY (and normal!!) if you haven’t worked through this capacity before. Have you ever helped a client? A customer? A student? How have you helped guide a client from point A to point B (or Z!!) with ease, grace, and mindful encouragement? The key is to give people a glimpse into what it’s like to be in your world 🙂
4. CORE VALUES POST
Do you know what your core values are? What drives the purpose behind your business and allows you to operate with integrity? This looks different for everyone. For me, I decided early on that I would place a stake in the ground by declaring my deeply held values:
Black Lives Matter. Science Is Real. No Human Is Illegal. Women’s Rights Are Human Rights. Love Is Love. Kindness Is Everything.
Anyone who disagrees or “but actuallys” these premises is not an ideal client of mine. Full stop. I don’t want to work for them, and they would not be satisfied working with me.
Your values matter. Name them. Own them. Display them. One of the most beautiful things that comes with being in business for yourself is that YOU get to decide who you do business with. It’s easy as a new entrepreneur to be the eager beaver, working with any client who will have you, but that’s not the kind of energy you want in your life and in your business.
Define your values. Own your values. Share your values.
Your people will come.
5. “CONTROVERSIAL” POST
Everyone loves a good Facebook fight. No? Just me? Regardless of your stance on the merits of healthy (?) debate on your second cousin’s Facebook feed, polarizing topics attract attention.
What belief do you have about your industry that goes against the grain? What do you see others in your space doing that makes you roll your eyes or start internally raging? Speak up! Conventional, “vanilla” posts about your area of expertise are just kind of… blah. People overlook them because it’s the same old, same old.
Be brave enough to put yourself out there with a not-so-popular opinion. And trust that’s it’s okay if your message repels some people, knowing that they aren’t your people anyway!
6. VULNERABILITY POST
People love to know they aren’t alone in the day-to-day mess of life. Show the not-so-picture-perfect reality of your business and/or life! It makes you relatable, REAL, and authentic. People don’t need to see another “flawless” influencer who makes us feel terrible about ourselves.
People crave REALNESS. There are a couple of ways you can peel back the curtain and connect with your audience via vulnerability:
First, don’t hide the low points. Show your messy mom bun. Share about a mistake you made. Offer up some of your struggles, asking your audience for advice or empathy. Let your annoying kid show up to wave on your live. To the right people, it’s endearing and often relieving (OMG someone else deals with the sh*t too!!!).
Second, show them the process you use to get through it. Let your people know that “failure” is normal and action is the way forward, regardless of the outcome. Tried something and it didn’t work? Great! You tried it, and now you have more information to move forward.
Bottom Line?
Be a real human on social media. Share freely. Share fully. Share often. It’s not enough to slam people with ads or generic motivational posts. When you show up as a real person, you will attract the right people. Will all of them become clients? Nope. But each one has the potential to become a connection, an advocate, a referral, and yes…potentially a client.
If you could use more help writing captions that truly connect with your people, join me over in my new Facebook community, The Copy Connection. I offer regular live copy audits and would love to workshop some of these social posts with you!
