Feeling COMPLETELY burned out when it comes to creating content?

Riding the struggle bus with your brand online and feeling like it needs a bit of a refresh?

Let’s talk about it. Here are 5 tips for How to Avoid Content Creation Burnout:

Avoiding Content Burnout Tip #1: Take a Break

Seriously. Take a break. 

If you’ve been putting out content consistently for years…

If your people have been nurtured and taught and inspired with a high level of frequency…

Take a week off. It’s okay. The world won’t stop.

To create meaningful content, you might need a few days off.

I DON’T mean a month.

This ISN’T for people who aren’t consistent. 

If you can have your team keep posting for the time you are taking off, that’s even better. 

Only take a break if you’ve been posting frequently enough to actually need a break, and only for a few days.

During your time off, block off a few hours to ask yourself some questions:

1. What am I MOST excited about right now?
2. What message is burning in my heart? What would I talk about if there were no consequences?
3. What does the market really need to hear?
4. What is my market’s most pressing pain point TODAY?
5. What does my market want most NOW?
6. Who do I want to be in the world? In my industry?
7. What part of my legacy am I creating in this season of life? How can I lean into that in my messaging?
8. Why do I want to build my brand? What’s the why behind what I’m doing? Then… what’s the why behind that why?
9. How do I enjoy creating content?
10. What strengths, stories, expertise, and thoughts have I not been leaning into that I want to bring out in my brand moving forward?

REALLY think through these questions, jot down your responses, and let things FLOW! You’ll be amazed at the content ideas that are just under the surface.

After taking some time off, and answering the above questions, it’s time to start leaning back in.

So, based on the answers to the questions above, list 15 topics (related to your business, your life vision, your calling, your convictions, and your legacy).

Start creating some content around these topics.

Test them on social.

What gets the most engagement in terms of conversation?

What seems to be resonating?

What isn’t quite hitting the mark?

Reflect on the performance of the content you are posting, and think through different angles for what’s doing well, and what ISN’T doing well, but is part of the work you want to do in the world.

Let content have some time to breathe as you are creating it.

Don’t wait for it to be perfect.

Don’t overthink it.

Speak, write, create from your heart, and get it out into the world.

THEN…

Assess, and continue to iterate and create more.

Avoiding Content Burnout Tip #4: Reinventing Your Brand

Once you’ve gotten a few topics that seem to be resonating, it’s time to dive in.

Choose 2-3 you are going all in on (make sure you can relate them back to your business).

Create LOADS of content around those things.

Build your new launch content around those ideas.

Get some new brand pics to freshen things up.

Have conversations with your current clients, leads, and the market about these new ideas.

LISTEN to what people are saying, and use that as fuel for more content and creativity.

Most people struggle rebranding, because they stay stuck in their old messaging, content, and look.

If you want to pivot, then decide on a direction and go all in.

To avoid future burnout, schedule in breaks.

Schedule in content creation blocks.

Schedule in promotional periods.

Schedule in time for new ideas to be born.

LEARN to schedule in both space for your innovation to breathe, and execution time for your ideas to come to life.

Want to learn more about how to grow your personal brand on LinkedIn? Grab a free copy of our guide: Building a Thought Leadership Personal Brand on LinkedIn by clicking HERE!

The Truth About Creating Content to Build Your Personal Brand 

If you are serious about building your personal brand by creating high-level, thought leadership quality content, you CAN’T do a year’s worth in an hour. 

Forget what all the “gurus” and template sellers tell you. 

The truth is, REALLY, building a personal brand requires a significant amount of time and financial investment, but we all have to start somewhere. 

So, here’s a simple plan for creating content in less than 10 hours per week. 

YOU, don’t personally need to be involved in every part of the process,  but there are some places where you are the only one who can do the work required. The rest, feel free to delegate!  

Step 1 to Building your Personal Brand in 10 Hours Per Week: Generating Ideas (1 hour/week) 

Your Role: This is a crucial step that only you can do.

Spend time each week, maybe in one sitting or a few minutes each day, to brainstorm. 

As you absorb new information, interact with clients, and ponder on your experiences, jot down any ideas that come to mind. 

These could be content ideas, questions you’ve been asked, or trends you’ve noticed in the market. 

The key here is to write without filtering your thoughts. 

This list will become a never-ending source of content ideas as you begin to flex this muscle. 

You will soon realize that everything is content when you are looking at it all through the right lens.

Step 2: Creating Long-Form Content For Your Personal Brand(2 hours/week) 

Your Process:

• Choose 2-3 topics from your brainstorming list. Choose topics that are:
• RELEVANT to your audience right now
• Fully developed in your miind, so you have plenty to say
• Helpful and/or inspiring
• Use the Ahrefs Hook Generator to create engaging angles for your content.
• Use these angles as hooks in the first 3 seconds of your video, as the headline in your captions, or as the title of your podcast
• Generate 2-3 hooks per topic to test or use in a variety of contexts
• Outline your main points and a call-to-action (CTA) for each topic.
• If you are doing how-to informational content, make sure you have no more than 5 teaching points. 
• If you are telling a story, make sure there is a lesson or main takeaway for the person consuming the content. 
• List out points that keep things moving. Cut fluff and anything that is not totally relevant. 
• CTA’s can be purely for engagement (subscribe, share, comment, like) or they can lead to an opt-in, workshop, or offer. Jot down ONE thing you want the viewer/listener/reader to make. Not 2, not 5, ONE per topic!

Your Action: Record a 10-20 minute video or audio based on your outline. 

This forms the basis of your long-form content and can be turned into 2-3 pieces each week.

Step 3: Strategic Content Amplification: Repurposing and Distributing Your Brand Message Effectively (4 hours) 

Teamwork Time: Here’s where a team, if you have one, becomes invaluable. Convert your long-form content into:

• Short-form video clips
• Written content for social media platforms
• Graphics and quote cards using tools like Canva
• SEO-optimized blog posts
• Podcast episodes
• YouTube content (if possible)

Pro Tip: Start with a manageable amount of repurposed content to gauge performance before expanding your efforts. You can always go back and pull more out!

Step 4: Optimizing Reach and Interaction: Distributing and Engaging with Your Content (3-Hour Focus)

Use tools like Metricool or native app schedulers to post your content.

 Allocate about 30 minutes for this.

Daily Social Media Engagement Strategy for Personal Brands:

• Spend 30 minutes each weekday engaging on social media.
• Start with commenting on large accounts, and responding to one comment from a commenter on those same accounts (5 minutes)
• Then spend 10 minutes connecting with and engaging on the content of your target market (10 minutes)
• Send a welcome message to all new followers (5-7 minutes)
• Reply to all comments on your posts (3-5 minutes)

Keys to Success When Creating Content for Your Personal Brand

Think about times you are already:

• Teaching
• Coaching
• Doing something interesting

And get someone to record those moments for you. This will save you time and allow you to use the natural content you are already LIVING, be turned into social media content. 

Remember that consistency is CRITICAL. Take some time right now to block out recording time for the next 90 days, and stick to your schedule. 

You CAN do all of this yourself if you don’t have a team yet. There are some great apps that will help you speed up the process and the learning curve. 

Pay attention to the performance of your content, and take cues for future content creation sessions. When something performs well, think of different angles to talk about that same topic. If a certain style of video or audio gets lots of positive feedback, do more content in that style. If something tanks, come at it from a different angle. Content creation is all about testing.

Want to learn more about how to grow your personal brand on LinkedIn? Grab a free copy of our guide: Building a Thought Leadership Personal Brand on LinkedIn by clicking HERE!

Potential customers are out there, ready for you to go out there and just take them on a journey. They’re yours for the taking. You B2B marketers just need to hone in on your lead generation efforts in social media marketing. Yes, search engines will garner great results – especially with effective SEO strategies on your blog posts or a landing page.  Yet, leads on social media (and the inherent ongoing process of social media lead generation) are your ticket to build meaningful relationships, maximize profits, and help people achieve their goals simply by existing on your social media platform of choice. 

Let’s explore three effective techniques to transform your social media content into lucrative opportunities. By employing the right strategies in any lead generation campaign, regardless of your product or service, you can attract leads, generate sales, and enhance brand visibility. 

Let’s delve into three proven lead generation strategies that have yielded impressive results in how to generate leads in sales.

The Indirect Positioning Post:

In this case study, we examine the success of Ashlyn, an account manager in our agency. Despite having a modest following, her post managed to generate four inbound calls, all without a call to action. Let’s analyze the key components behind its effectiveness.

Hook: Ashlyn chose a compelling topic for her post, explicitly stating the value proposition. By revealing how a single post generated $48k, she immediately piques the interest of her audience.

Bullets: Keeping the steps concise and straightforward, Ashlyn presents easily digestible content. The simplicity of her approach makes it accessible and encourages readers to believe in their ability to replicate her success.

The Secret Sauce: Ashlyn’s post stands out because she positioned herself as the source of the success. By starting with the line, “4 things I did,” and complementing it with a powerful tagline in her profile, she establishes credibility and trust. This strategic self-positioning, combined with the agency’s service offerings mentioned in her bio, convinces readers that tangible results can be achieved with their help.

Result: Ashlyn’s well-crafted post resulted in the booking of four calls, validating the effectiveness of her approach.

The Feeling Post:

In this example, we examine a post that generated direct sales for a lower-priced personal branding course. By leveraging emotional connection and expert diagnosis, this post effectively led readers to make a purchase.

Hook: Rather than merely presenting the problem, the post repositions it as a relatable feeling. By tapping into the reader’s emotions and creating a sense of connection, the post immediately captures their attention.

Reposition/Diagnose: The post validates the reader’s emotions while introducing a new problem for consideration. By diagnosing the issue, trust is built, and readers are encouraged to view the post as a means of finding a solution rather than dwelling on the problem.

Offer New Solution: Once the problem is diagnosed, the post presents a quick and simple solution. It avoids complexity and instead focuses on providing actionable steps to address the issue effectively.

Call-to-Action (CTA): The post’s CTA is crafted to maintain curiosity and encourage engagement. A link in the comment section directs interested individuals to a detailed outline of the personal brand intensive course, seamlessly leading them towards conversion.

Result: This carefully designed post resulted in significant sales and contributed to a growing number of individuals successfully building their personal brands.

Honest Scarcity:

In this case, we analyze a post that generated inquiries for a high-priced VIP day offer. By leveraging genuine scarcity and understanding the target audience’s needs, the post effectively attracted qualified leads.

Hook: The post clearly identifies its target audience—those seeking scalable solutions without committing to a long-term coaching program. This tailored approach resonates with a specific subset of the market, addressing their unique requirements.

Casting Vision: The post employs flame bullets to allow readers to envision the potential applications of the VIP day offer. By highlighting specific areas where support is needed, potential clients are compelled to inquire for more information.

Qualifying: The use of little rocket ships in the post acts as a qualifier, attracting individuals who are willing to invest significantly for an intense, all-encompassing plan. The requirement for self-implementation further filters out uninterested parties, ensuring the inquiries received are from ideal prospects.

Frame the Investment: The post reframes the investment as an opportunity for substantial return on investment (ROI), rather than merely emphasizing the cost. This shift in perspective positions the offer as a strategic business decision, appealing to those seeking tangible results.

Result: The post successfully drove inquiries for the exclusive $25k VIP day offer, targeting the right audience and emphasizing the potential ROI.

By implementing these strategies in your social media posts, you can significantly improve their conversion rates. Crafting engaging hooks, presenting solutions clearly, and leveraging audience understanding are key elements for success. 

Remember, effective social media content can not only increase your brand’s reach but also convert leads into valuable customers.