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There’s a lot of talk these days about the importance of creating content. And for good reason.
Generating content stretches us and gets our creative juices flowing. Content tells a story that otherwise most likely gets lost.
Content allows you to make your voice heard above the noise to the people you want to attract. Content demonstrates your expertise in a particular field.
Now, more than ever, people are “putting it out there” with videos, quotes, blog posts, Facebook posts, #tbt’s, Instagram pics, you name it. Never before has it been easier to join the chorus of content. The barrier to entry is lower than ever.
Last week, I stumbled on the video of the woman with the Chewbacca mask she bought from Kohl’s. If you haven’t seen it, oh my gosh, take 3 minutes to watch because it’s hilarious. Little did she know by creating that very raw video that she’d get 135+ million views and Kohl’s would surprise her with a big thank you.
So, have you joined the crowds? Are you consistently posting content, and establishing your expertise?
Or, are you like many we’ve talked with who only publish content once (maybe twice) a month. To them, creating content feels like a huge hurdle to overcome. An all too common statement we hear, “I know I ’should’, but I can’t seem to get started.”
Creating content doesn’t have to be a task that paralyzes you. You just need to start. For the most part, anything is better than nothing.
To help you get started, we’ve come up with a list of different content creation ideas to get your juices flowing.
Tell your members stories. Believe it or not, you are not the hero of your business’ story. Your customers are (or should be) the hero. Do you know what really makes your folks tick? Where they’ve come from? Why they’ve chosen to make a life change now? The things that really interest them outside of your four walls? Start asking questions, really listen, and begin to unearth the golden nuggets that are right in front of you. Celebrate. Enter in. And publish. As you begin to tell their stories, your business will take on a personal feel that will be infectious.
Capture a quick video of a coach or member. You don’t have to professionalize these videos. Often, the more raw, the better. There are many options for these videos – demonstrating a movement, celebrating a PR, introducing a new member or coach, highlighting an event… the sky’s the limit. Think outside the box.
Answer questions. Start a list on your computer or phone of all the questions the people you impact (and those you’d like to impact) might want to know about. Whatever comes to mind, jot it down. There are no wrong topics. Take 20 minutes and try to write down 50. Then just continue to add to the list as things come to mind. If easier, you can write big categories (nutrition, health, fitness, community, etc.) then break those down into topics. Once you have a good list, step away from it for a bit, then come back to it and choose the ones that stand out. You were new to CrossFit once. Think of the questions you had back then.
Take (and share) lots of pictures. Capture the essence of the kind of business you want to build through pictures. Do you have a gym dog? Is there a place where most congregate? Are there close-up face shots of people mid-workout that you can shoot? Is there a piece of equipment that everyone dreads? Caption these images with sayings your people can connect with.
Pay attention. Start taking notice of things around you. If you are living a life “aware”, you will begin to see blog post after blog post beginning to take shape in your mind. These posts don’t have to be long, just capture what you see to inspire others.
Use Canva to create motivational quotes with images. Everybody loves a little motivational nugget every now and then. Make it good, and it’ll get shared.
Write about you. Certainly not all the time, but if you’re the leader, people do want to know you. They want to be let into your world – to know what makes you happy, to know what your struggles are. To know that you are a real person with real feelings. Let your personality shine through. Sprinkle this into your content calendar like a spice – not too much, but enough to give good flavor.
Content creation is an incredible, inexpensive way to expand your reach. Use it as a tool in your toolbox to build something people are proud to be a part of.
Next week, we’ll show you how to build a dynamic content calendar so that you have a consistent method for keeping you accountable in this big world of content creation.
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