How to Create Authentic Content
Being Authentic and adding real value is key to social media video content. Together, Jack Delosa (https://www.youtube.com/user/TheEntou…) and I discuss his journey and some tactics you can use to genuinely connect with your audience.
Don’t worry about what others are thinking about you
Very often, the biggest hurdle that people face when filming themselves is their own insecurities. Everyone has what I call “little demons”, which are things they feel self-conscious about. The reality is, other people rarely if ever notice these things.
The first step to producing authentic content is getting over those fears. The sooner you start producing content, the sooner you can start to work through, and overcome, those fears and insecurities. Stop overthinking and this will enable you to start capturing things in the moment.
Jack explained that he is fortunate enough to know many people with a high profile and in his experience when people start to get a profile they tend to become even more self-conscious. As Jack says, “The second after they like your [post] on Instagram, they’re scrolling through that feed and they’ve forgotten about you. So [to answer] this whole fear of ‘what do people think of me?’ A disheartening yet liberating principle is they’re not!”
Fear of what others think should not stop you from being yourself, creating authentic content and genuinely connecting with your ideal audience.
Don’t be afraid to be vulnerable
“Owning your own business is hard. It’s high-risk, high-demand and high-change” Jack states. Therefore it is incredibly important, especially for entrepreneurs, to be vulnerable and open about their challenges. Producing content that romanticises things isn’t going to engage people. Anyone who is experienced in business isn’t going to connect with it because it’s not realistic. When you’re communicating raw, in-the-moment content, people connect with it.
In October 2016 Jack faced a period of immense adversity and stress due to Government changes and lack of funding. This meant his company was on the brink of destruction and in many ways he had to start from scratch and re-engineer everything.
He shared this story with a great deal of openness and vulnerability.
“The more you can speak about your vulnerabilities, your challenges, your failures, your risks, your fears, your doubts, your insecurities” Jack states, “ the more you will resonate with people because the more they will know you’re being real with them.”
You’re always better off being honest and real from the get-go. This is what is going to engage your ideal customers and your target audience. You will attract people who believe what you believe. If you aren’t being authentic then you’re setting the wrong expectation with people.
If you make grandiose claims that you can’t deliver on to compete in a noisy environment, Jack explains, then customers are going to keep jumping ship. I expanded on Jack’s point saying this will also affect your retention rate and your reputation.
In a world where so many people over-promise and under-deliver, being real and genuine is the only thing that cuts through the noise. And as Jack says “ the good news is it will only ever be the thing that cuts through”.
Diversify Through Different Channels
Social Media is not Direct Selling Media, Jack explains, and it’s important to use different platforms in ways that are contextually appropriate. The different channels play different roles and it’s important to know your channels and how to utilise them for the context that the audience is there for.
When advertising through Social Media it’s important to remember that people aren’t using platforms like Facebook or Instagram to search for businesses. They’re on there to see what family and friends are up to, and to be entertained. Therefore, Jack says, “ talk about things that are valuable to your audience. Talk about the kind of things they want to learn. Think about what frequently asked questions do they have, and talk to that. Have a discussion, have a dialogue, be authentic, add value”. Consider what content is native to which platform. For LinkedIn you may want to consider more professional content, whereas interest-based content is better suited to Facebook and Instagram.
Both Jack and I have enjoyed listening to Taki Moore present at one of The Entourage’s early workshops. Taki talked about “future buyers” and “now buyers”.
How I interpreted this for digital marketing is that people searching in Google are “now buyers”; they are the people with high intent to purchase your product or service.
Producing authentic content and promoting it on Facebook or Instagram gives you the advantage of reaching “future buyers”; people who aren’t currently seeking your product or service. This is a unique way of engaging with people which you cannot do on other platforms like Google Search ads.
From there, Jack explains on social media you can “re-target people that are watching your content with ads after they’ve bought into you, and built a relationship with you… that’s the ideal strategy”.
latforms such as emails or Google Ads are ideal for advertising to people who have already connected with you, and who have already begun to like and trust you.
Making sure your content is appropriate to your chosen platform will help you utilise different channels to their true potential. You can authentically connect with customers at the different stages in their buying journey.
If you would like more information or guidance on how to produce authentic content and connect with your “now” and “future” buyers, don’t hesitate to get in touch with myself and my team here