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Add a Personal Touch In Your Content Plan

We are back with the final part of our segment on creating more client-focused content. If you missed parts one, two, and three, I covered why we want to make sure that our content is client-focused in the first place. And then, I also covered the three first three topics old, new, and borrowed. 

These four words are an easy way to remember how to balance your content plan. Having a content plan, of course, means that you’re not scrambling at the last minute to post silly nonsense or completely off-brand things. And having your content plan fulfill the content strategy that you have put forth with your business brand values means that it all comes together nicely. 

So let’s talk about blue. No, I’m not talking about posting a bunch of blue pictures! (Although, if you wanted to do that, feel free to tag me; I’d be interested to see how someone could creatively do that in an on-brand and client-focused way.) But I am moving that one a little bit outside of the poem and saying that this is more of your out-of-the-blue content; it’s the things that might not be perfectly business-focused. 

But–I want to create a huge caveat here–you have to make it make sense. 

How to Share Non-Business Content That Supports Your Business

What do I mean by that? Well, specifically, what I mean is you have to make sure that it makes sense that your clients are still looking for themselves in your content. 

When I did the podcast episode talking about this entire topic, I entered it by asking a simple question. When you look at a group photo, where do your eyes go first? You look at yourself first; we all a bit self-centered. It’s okay to acknowledge it! But knowing that, how do we ensure that our out-of-the-blue content is client-focused and relevant to their lives? 

Two ways to show your personal life in your content

So, for example, this week, we’ve had really gorgeous weather here in Portland. It is sunny outside in gray Portland in March, and that’s kind of fantastic, right? It’s chilly, but it’s sunny. So I spent a couple of days this week sitting out on our little patio couch on our porch in the backyard with my laptop and a fuzzy blanket. And each day I’ve done that, I’ve just posted, you know, a little pan on my Instagram stories that I’m basking in the sun even if I’m slightly chilly. Yesterday I maybe got too cold, and my hands didn’t warm up for hours. But I made it make sense, right? Hey, I’m working. But I’m enjoying the fresh air and the sun. And it’s gorgeous, right? 

Another way that you could do this is (I’ve seen multiple people do this lately) is reference all the drinks that you have set out when you are going to get working. So I’ve got my water bottle and my tea latte. I always get many comments when I mention the lavender matcha tea lattes that I drink sometimes. They’re not even common for m, but a special treat. I love them. 

So how am I making that make sense? Well, I always make sure I have a fresh tea latte if I’m going to do a “power through an afternoon” work session that’s super techy. 

Those are some like personal things that have nothing to do with my business, but they’re things I do while doing business. Your audience will connect and resonate if it’s something they also do. And this is why I’m saying you have to make it make sense for them. You have to make sure that your audience can see themselves in what you’re doing. 

If you are going to participate in something kind of fun, you know, a giveaway, a summit. Or if you’re going to a conference, you can do behind-the-scenes things. For your audience members who wish they were there, those behind-the-scenes can help them feel involved and a part of it. It’s still about your business. It’s still showing what you were doing for work. Therefore, it’s still on-brand if you’ve chosen your collaborations well. But it’s out of the blue in the sense that you’re not revisiting old content, you’re not producing new content that fits in with your content and buckets, and you’re not borrowing someone else’s content that will further the purpose of your business brand. 

Deviating Slightly With Fun, Creative Content

And the out-of-the-blue category here is where you can be a little more creative and have a little bit of fun. A few weeks ago, I posted a reel that didn’t do a lot honestly for my business, but it was fun to make. I used it to share my “make, measure, and multiply” content strategy. First you make it, then you measure it. Then you go back to the things that performed well, and you multiply your efforts with those things by reposting them, by revisiting your old content. And I did a cool video editing technique.

Was it one of my business things? It was, but I probably spent an hour on this stupid reel. It wasn’t stupid, it was fun, and it got my creative juices flowing. But it was out-of-the-blue in the sense that it was very different than the typical kinds of things that I would be posting. 

Conclusion

I hope that helped you all with the out-of-the-blue content. Remember, it’s all about balance. And while I have four categories, old, new, borrowed, and blue, that doesn’t mean that you’re spending precisely 25% of your time on each category. I would actually argue your out-of-the-blue things are probably going be little things; they’re not going to be your epic blog posts. They’re not going to be your pillar content, but they will be the little things you can insert in stories or tweets as added bonuses. So it’s all about balance and keeping it client-focused so they can see something of themselves in your content. So they resonate with you. So they contact you, and you can help them. 

So what, keep asking yourself, “so what?” again and again. You’ll get really great content that furthers the purpose of your business and helps your people. 

If you have any questions about any of this, or if you’ve heard all of this and think, “Okay, I get how you include things in the content plan. But I do not understand how to create the strategy that leads to all of this.” I am here for you. Reach out. I have Visibility Accelerator, a done-for-you 120-Day content plan with content measurement dashboards to measure the results of the content you are putting up there. I say often, and I will repeat it again. 

What is the point of spending all this time creating content if you don’t know that it’s actually working for you and bringing in actual leads to your business?