Social Planning with Ease

 

Three ‘e’s to be exact.

Let’s just say it, it’s a weird time to be creating and planning social content.

Regardless of industry, niche or intended audience, we are working within unprecedented circumstances. As a result, many businesses are in a holding pattern; unable to open at all or innovatively pivoting operations to stay afloat. With so many people experiencing financial uncertainty, health anxiety and the fall out of global unease, knowing what to say socially can be overwhelming, to say the least. The good news is, it doesn’t have to be.

The point of all social content is to create connection.

Whether you’re offering advice, telling a story or delivering a call to action, the ultimate goal should be connection. If you haven’t built a relationship with your audience, the ability of your content to convert is very unlikely.

This is why I use the 3 Es of content development in my planning. Each ‘e’ is based on a type of connection.

 

Let’s chat a bit about types of content.

 

Most content will either fall into two buckets: curated or created, with a few variations of each mixed in. Curated content is material sourced externally, meaning you didn’t create it. 80% of your social feeds is likely curated content. User-generated content, where you share content about you that was posted by someone else, is a sub-set of curated content. Created content, on the other hand, is original content, created, generated and written by you. Earned content, where a news source or publication quotes or features you is a sub-set of created content.

In this article, I’m going to take you through the 3 Es of Content Development. The 3 Es are actually a content creation tool I use quite regularly when creating content plans for my clients. I used them in pre-crisis times and will return to them in post-crisis times as well. They take on a bit of a different vibe now, but the concepts behind each one can help build a strong content strategy regardless of the global atmosphere.

Essentially, the 3 Es are based on the Know, Like, Trust principle of running a business.

Now, let’s get into it.

 #1: Emotional Connections

Emotional Connections for social content planning

The Know. Emotional connections are those that elicit a shared emotional response between the viewer and the poster. It is important to note that not all of your audience will connect with everything you post. That is OK.

Look for something that elicits the type of emotion in you that you’re trying to provide for your audience.  

During times of crisis, people are looking to sources they trust to help justify their own feelings. In this particular crisis situation, people can be feeling any number of emotions. These may include fear, sadness, anger, hopelessness, gratitude, feelings of overwhelm, worry or any number of additional emotions within those spectrums.

The types of curated emotional connection content that work best are:

  • Strong and impactful, yet supportive quotes
  • Photos/images that elicit positive responses (beautiful places, happy memories, likeable activities/actions
  • Local and national feel-good stories

If you’re looking for examples of curated emotional content, you can check out my Pinterest board here.

The types of created emotional connection content that work best are:

  • Personal messages via video or photo with caption
  • An impactful and supportive original quote
  • Behind the scenes photos of how your team is supporting each other or others within the community

 

#2: Educational Connections

 

Educational Connections for social content planning

 

The Trust. During this uncertain time, many businesses have adopted a ‘serve, don’t sell’ methodology for their social content planning. In other words, they have opted to deliver content that is aimed at enhancing their audience’s feeds. For many, this will include supplying and directing educational resources.

 

Sharing impactful sources of information can help to establish you, and by extension, your business, as an expert within your niche. Therefore, it is important to ensure that you are sharing from trusted sources. Be sure to thoroughly read and verify sourcing before sharing educational resources. Share direct links, do not make your audience search for content from your source.

The types of curated educational content that work best are:

  • Niche supporting or locally relevant news articles, books, e-books, podcasts, or press releases
  • Infographics
  • User-generated posts showing how a suggested resource was helpful

If you’re looking for examples of curated educational content, you can check out my Pinterest board here.

 

The types of created educational content that work best are:

  • Niche-centric original blog or vlog posts
  • Original infographics
  • Original photos with educational captions/messages
  • Niche focused live videos/segments
  • Earned content pieces where you have been featured as an expert

 

 

#3: Entertainment Connections

 

Entertainment Connections for social content planning

The Like. This final E of social content planning, is the one where you can connect with your audience on a personal level. The type of entertainment content you post will typically reveal a great deal about your personality. Sense of humour is a common source of bonding between people and your connection through social humour is no different.

Many accounts are dedicated solely to this content sub-section. While it isn’t necessary for all of your posts to make your audience laugh, it is worthwhile to include posts that will display your personality.

The goal here is to create relatability with your intended audience.  

Your likability factor will largely depend on how your audience feels when engaging with your content. Specifically, your entertainment connection content. Try to avoid polarizing content.

The types of curated entertainment content that work best are:

  • Funny (but respectful) quotes, stats, comics or memes (static images)
  • Interesting and amusing videos
  • Feel-good amusing stories, local or national

If you’re looking for examples of curated educational content, you can check out my Pinterest board here.

 

The types of created entertainment content that work best are:

  •  Behind the Scenes photos or videos
  • Original infographics with an amusing content base
  • Timely posts based on viral trends

How to implement the 3 Es

Using only the 3Es can make a very impactful social content strategy. To have maximum impact, however, you will need to infuse promotional content and calls to action. Given the current crisis situation and the current status of your business offerings, including sales messaging at this time may not make sense. However, in the absence of a clear sales message, these social content planning branding prompts can prove very helpful in maintaining a relationship with your audience while on temporary hiatus.

If you’d like to discuss how to use the 3Es to build a social content plan for your business, or how to pivot your current strategy, please don’t hesitate to get in touch to book a complimentary meeting, I’d love to hear what you’re up to!  If you do use any of the content in the Pinterest boards, be sure to tag me @everydayimbranding on Instagram or Facebook so I can share your posts!