Brandmerry Blog Archives
4 Tools To Improve Your Content Creation
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It is no freaking secret that if you want to create a strong personal brand, you need to be showing up consistently online.
There's a lot of information out there on what type of content to create, but we very rarely talk about how you can show up consistently for your audience and I can't stress enough how important this is.
If you currently have no content strategy and you're showing up periodically, if at all, then this blog is going to support you with my four tools that I use to create consistent content.
I absolutely love content creation and I really don't think that you can have a strong social media presence without it. I don't think that you can create a strong bond with your community if you aren’t consistently showing up for them.
Not to mention when you are showing up and delivering amazing content, you are positioning yourself as the expert that you are.
Therefore they know what you offer, why you will be great for them and they want to take advantage of the product or the service that you're laying out for them on the table.
If you aren't showing up for them regularly, how do they know who you are and therefore they probably don't trust you? A really strong content strategy is needed to build trust with your audience.
One of my favorite quotes, you'll probably hear me say it in about a hundred different times, is from Zig Ziglar and he says, “If they like you, they will listen to you. If they trust you, they will do business with you.”
Consistent content is one of the key pieces that you need to build trust with your audience.
If you want more content on content creation, just let me know in the comments below by typing “content please”.
Today we are going to talk about four tools that will help you create consistent content in your business.
1. ORGANIZATION
All right, I'm a Virgo. I get it. We're not all amazing and organization and planning and strategizing and all of that, but I'm telling you, if you are flying by the seat of your pants when it comes to content creation, you're going to keep struggling uphill and not in a good way.
Creating content on the fly is always going to feel like you can't come up with content ideas and you're going to be stressed out in the moment and writing emails. It's going to take like an hour as opposed to eight minutes because you do not have a clear plan in place.
Now I have a big fan of using a content planner and there's a lot of word on the street that planning out your content isn't great because you cannot be inspired. And I say, no, I do not believe that.
When you have a clear plan of when you are showing up for your audience, where you are showing up for your audience, and if you already know the topic, fantastic pencil that in there too, then guess what?
You're less stressed, you're less overwhelmed and it allows for inspiration to come more easily. Here's the beautiful thing about a content calendar.
You are in control of your content calendar so you can move things around as inspiration strikes, but there's not going to be any room for inspiration if you're constantly stressed out about what you're going to say to your community and how you're going to show up.
When creating a content calendar, having that clear organization really is key to a strong content strategy and therefore a strong personal brand.
One of my favorite ways to organize content is using my signature brand containers. Now you might be like, was that Michelle? So I made you a free gift. I have a free downloadable content planner for you, which includes a training video on the core brand container strategy that I use. It shows you how to use that to create content, how to organize content, and I've created, let me just say a very, very cool content planner for you.
You can get your hands on that with the link below or by going to brandmerry.com/contentcalendar.
So the first thing you have to do again is organize your content, have a very clear idea of what you want to say to your audience when you're going to say it, and where you're going to be showing up to relieve that stress and that constant overwhelm of, “oh my gosh, what am I doing today?”
2. GET A SCHEDULER
The second tool that you need to have as an online entrepreneur is some sort of scheduler. This is where you would input to your content and it would push it out onto your social media platforms.
Now I also understand there's a lot of, “oh my gosh, do schedulers work?. Do they not work? Oh my gosh, does it not give me the biggest reach?”
But here's the thing, if you're currently not showing up at all or you're showing up so sporadically that your audience has no idea who you are, then your reach is kinda sucks anyways.
So you need to be using a scheduler, especially in the beginning to get yourself into that routine to regularly show up for your audience and build trust.
Later on if you notice your reach isn't as great or whatever, you can stop using the scheduler if you want.
If you are starting out in your business, and even today I still use schedulers in my business and my reach pretty good. It saves my but time and time again.
My favorite schedule that for this is actually SmarterQueue. We're going to go ahead and link it in the comments below. I love SmarterQueue for a few reasons.
It allows me to post content on multiple platforms.
I particularly use it for my Facebook page and my various Facebook groups, my free one and my one to actually evergreen content.
I can create monthly posts that recycle in each of these groups.
So while there are a ton of schedulers out there, I personally love SmarterQueue because of the evergreen option. And so if I have a really great piece of content, I love to extend the life of it. So why not have a scheduler that does that for me and SmarterQueue is my top pick at the end of the day.
You just need to choose one. There are a ton of options out there. Play with them a little bit. It started with one and start scheduling your content. So you're showing up consistently for your audience.
3. CANVA
Can we, can we get an amen for Canva? Can we just for a second think about what it was like before Canva and how hard it was? I love Canva. I remember one of the very first blog post I wrote was all about Canva cause it was like all the only thing I knew how to do it in my business at the time.
I love Canva for several purposes. Here's the thing. Creating content needs to have a visual component to it. It's just going to make it stand out even better than if you were just to post something blab that just like everyone wants to scroll through. So having some sort of visual component that grabs the attention of your audience and then keeps them really engaged with the actual content, it’s key.
Canva is going to be your best friend there as well. The free option and a paid option. So you can take your pick. I use the paid option because it allows me to seamlessly create branded content, which is so important for me in my business. But y'all, most of my clients use the free version.
Here's why Canva’s so cool. You can create templates for all your different pieces and I'm such a big fan of bulk scheduling, which is why we just talked about the scheduler as tip number two.
But bulk scheduling allows you to sit down for a chunk of time, get in your zone of genius, right out your content, create your graphics and schedule so the rest of the week you can focus on building relationships and nurturing that audience, not coming up with the content, scheduling it and trying to do all of that while running a business.
So I love Canva because as I'm creating my content can go into Canva, find my favorite templates because they have them all laid out for you, customize them and add them to my scheduler. It is so very cool.
If you are not using Canva now, I highly, highly recommend that you check them out. I’m not even affiliated, just obsessed.
4. BULK SCHEDULING
If you struggle with creativity, if you struggle with getting your head in that space, into that zone where you can write and create that beautiful copy that resonates with your audience, you need to embrace bulk scheduling.
Bulk scheduling was a game changer for me at the beginning of my business because I had no other choice while working a nine to five having a new baby and trying to build this business from scratch, I didn't have a ton of time to actually create content, but I knew how important it was.
So along with a scheduler and the use of Canva and obviously the organization told that I made for you for free below, I use bulk scheduling to my advantage.
Back in the old days, I used to book schedule on Sundays. I would carve out three hours of time on a Sunday. I would sit down, I would write out all my content, design it and schedule it, and now I actually do that on Mondays.
Get into the habit of blocking out time in your schedule. You can do this. Whether you work a nine to five have children or full time entrepreneur. It does not matter if you can make it the same time every week even better because it will get your brain kind of in that routine of, “Ooh, tomorrow's content day. I've gotta be on my a game to write amazing content for my community.“
These four tools are so basic, they're so easy to start implementing in your business. I highly recommend you start tomorrow. Creating content is a non-negotiable.
If you want to create a strong personal brand and therefore a profitable brand through your content.
Don't forget to grab your lifesaver tool, the free content planner and my training video on brand containers. You can get that at brandmerry.com/contentcalendar.
Please share your biggest takeaways from this blog post and how you’re going to implement this information in your own business!
P.S. Planning and creating your content doesn't have to be a constant struggle. There is a better way to research, plan, and create your content as an entrepreneur and it's all inside the Content Planning Blueprint!
The Content Planning Blueprint is perfect for online business owners who know the power of content creation but are tired of spending all of their time coming up with ideas, organizing their content, and wondering what will attract their dream clients.
In just a few hours, you'll have 90 days of content planned, a repeatable workflow to save you hours on creating and distributing your content every week, and content topics that will keep performing for your brand for years to come! Get your blueprint now >>
4 Steps to an authentic and revenue-generating personal brand
4 Steps to an authentic and
revenue-generating personal brand
March 7, 2019
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Personal Branding is all about you, right? Or is it? That tends to be the really big question. How much do we share? What do we share? What actually makes up a personal brand?
Personal branding is super hot right now and with good reason, but people struggle all the time with what does a personal brand actually mean? How much do we share? And I really want to lay it out for you in today's blog post.
Through showing up as my true self, I have been able to create a six-figure business in the online space and work with women every single day to lay a strong foundation, tap into their authenticity so that they can show up and make money doing what they truly love to do.
So today I want to break it down for you into some really actionable steps you can walk away, implement and start seeing your personal brand take form. There are four parts to a strong, captivating personal brand and I want to kick it off with a number one, my personal favorite.
1. Your Story
The first thing you really need to do as a personal brand is to actually identify your story. You need to identify the reason behind your brand. You need to identify the mission behind your brand and tap into the different ways that your story, your personality brings that to life.
One of the things that separate a personal brand from a regular brand is the personality behind it and so you want to be able to input you into everything that you do in the online space and there's no better way to do that and set yourself apart from other people than by tapping into your story.
I highly recommend looking at your business, looking at the brand that you want to create, and then look back at your story.
There are various chapters to see which ones connect to where you are now. This is going to help you get started and actually sharing your story in the online space and start to build that trust, like and know factor with your audience.
2. Your Superpower
Now I'm a big fan of the idea of a superpower because this is your little bitty specific niche that sets you apart from everyone else that makes you so irresistible. So for me, my superpower is my ability to support women and help them tap into their story.
Storytelling and branding is what I love to do. Every program, every video, every everything that I talk about always talks about story.
And so you want to find your superpower and you want to play this up through your personal brand. Make this a core element of your brand so you become that person, that go to person in the industry where people are referring you. “Girl, you want to know a story about branding? Go talk to Michelle”. That's ultimately what you want.
3. Know your audience
The third thing that you need to know is who the hell you're talking to. You cannot create a personal brand or you cannot show up in the online space if you don't know who you want to attract to that personal brand. Yes, a big part of branding is you, yourself. That's the big part of the personal brand, but if you cannot effectively communicate to your audience because you don't know who your audience is, then your personal brand will continue to just be you. There will be no community or fans around your personal brand.
So you really need to get in touch with who your audience is. Now, I'm a crazy person for market research. I love it, till the day that I die, it will be my best friend and I encourage you to do the same. But market research does not have to be scary. It can be as simple as having some conversations with people, creating a poll, emailing your list. If you have a list, just even five people and asking them some questions that are gonna help you get in touch with who they are, what they're struggling with, what they desire, and what's keeping them from the life that they dream of.
4. Messaging
And the fourth piece of defining a personal brand comes down to the communication or messaging. Now this is the last piece because you literally can not have this piece until you have one, two, and three.
So just a reminder, number one is your story. Number two is your superpower. Number three is who you're talking to. And now it's about how do you communicate who you are to your audience. In a way that has them wanting to take action.
A lot of people refer to this as the communication or the messaging. At the end of the day it's you showing up talking about what you do in a way that is appealing to your audience.
So I get this question a lot. “How much do I share?” “What parts of my story do I share?” And this is the communication component.
If you have a piece of your story that you think is really amazing, but you cannot connect that to your audience, it's not the right time to share that.
So some of the key things that I love to ask myself are, is this valuable to my audience?And what kind of value do they get?
This allows me to make sure everything that I'm creating with my personal brand, every way that I'm communicating it through my marketing, my email and my social media is always going to resonate with my audience. This is the key.
Make sure your messaging is clearly communicating the benefit of working with you, of your service, of your product, with your audience so they can really see themselves in the outcome of your product.
Now you understand what is needed to create a strong personal brand. It really comes down to these four pieces and I encourage you to take the time to dive into those pieces.
I love talking about storytelling. I love talking about marketing. If you want some more marketing tips that apply to you actually showing up and sharing your personal story then I encourage you to sign up for my free masterclass. I’m sharing How to Build a Better Brand.
If you want to get your hands on that, head to brandmerry.com/brandmasterclass.
Please share your biggest takeaways from this blog post and how you’re going to implement this information in your own business!
P.S. Are we connected on Instagram? No? Well lady what’s happening here we’ve got to fix that. Come hang out with me on my favorite social media platform. Follow for inspiration and send me a DM to know we’re connected.
Must-Read Personal and Professional Books for 2019 + 3 of My All Time Favorites
Must-Read personal and professional Books for 2019
+ 3 of My All Time Favorites
February 4, 2019
I remember a time when the only thing I would read was a Nicholas Sparks book - no joke.
Not to mention the only time I would even pick up said Nicholas Sparks book was on vacation.
I had convinced myself I didn’t have time to read or didn’t need to read (yes, I understand how ridiculous that sounds).
When I dove head first into entrepreneurship I became consumed with personal development, all my entrepreneurs know this feeling, and I became obsessed with learning as much as I could.
It wasn’t until I started seeing results from what I was reading that I realized this is an essential part of growing. Now I make it a priority to read weekly, both a mix of personal development and professional development books.
As we set out on our year-long (heck, maybe longer) journey of full-time travel I’m gearing up to load my Kindle with must reads.
Today, I’m sharing what’s on my reading list for 2019 + some of my personal favorites that I find myself re-reading or quoting on the regular.
MY PERSONAL FAVORITES
Anything Brene Brown, but seriously I’m not even kidding! Some of my personal favorites are Daring Greatly and Braving the Wilderness. If you struggle with perfectionism she is your girl!
The Universe Has Your Back by Gabby Bernstein. Struggle with trusting? I get that and this book changed so much for me in terms of leaning fully into my goals and trusting the process, even if I didn’t always understand it.
Girl Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis. I’m really hoping you have heard of this book, I mean how could you not, it took the world by storm and for good reason. It’s an amazing book and so beautifully told, I highly recommend!
MUST-READS FOR 2019
Clockwork by Mike Michalowicz
I’m halfway through this book and it is blowing my mind. If you’re looking for strategic ways to grow your business without working more this is a must read.
The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
I’m obsessed with creating habits in 2019 and making sure that every single day I’m taking action to get me towards my goal and living a more intentional life. I’ve heard amazing things about this book.
High Performance Habits by Brendan Burchard
Speaking of habits, this book by Brendan Burchard has been a must-read for a while, but this year I’m truly diving into the idea of high performance and studying more of the psychology behind what makes people successful.
The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy
This book dives into what makes people truly successful! Did I mention it is a complete system? Sign this girl up.
Primal Branding by Patrick Hanlon
Branding is my jam, so I’m always excited to learn more not just about branding, but WHY people buy.
Michelle Obama DUH!
I want to know what books are you loving right now or are currently sitting in your Amazing shopping cart? Head over to Instagram and let me know!
PART TWO: 6 Marketing Trends For Your Brand in 2019
PART TWO: 6 Marketing Trends For Your Brand in 2019
January 17, 2019
Welcome back lady for Part Two of 6 Marketing Trends For Your Brand in 2019. Today we are diving right into the final three marketing trends we are seeing for brands in 2019. If you missed Part One you can check it out here.
To recap we chatted about the importance of Story, Video and Consistency in marketing your brand online. The focus in 2019 us all about building trust and making that the main focus for your brand in the New Year.
Now, we’re going a step further with an emphasis on that exact community. How can you show up in 2019, market your business and build a mission-driven brand?
Check out the final three marketing trends below.
#4 Giving Back
This one is HUGE!! A movement has been happening over the past couple of years with online businesses and now entrepreneurs adding in a community-giving component. One of my predictions for 2019 is that this is going to only be heightened, as more and more brand collaborations become popular, your audience is going to want to see how you are giving back.
Again, it all comes back to building trust with your audience and they want to see more of what you’re doing with the success of your business and the impact you’re making. With a focus on mission-driven work and businesses, you’ll only be able to engage your audience on a deeper level. We’re continuing our partnership with CJ’s Journey to raise money for childhood-cancer research.
WHAT YOU CAN DO: Start finding nonprofits you want to collaborate with and build a relationship with them. Invite your audience in and share why you’ve chosen this particular organization and movement. Aside from donating profits from your business at the end of the year, consider donating a portion of sales of a particular program to the mission as well.
TIP: Don’t be shy about talking about the work and impact you are doing. Remember this is a marketing trend, after all, if you don’t share that you do this kind of work then your audience won’t know.
#5 Community
I’m most excited about this because I’ve seen how powerful creating a community has been for my own profitable brand. The focus in 2019 is all about community and building not only a community of “right-now” buyers but also potential buyers. One of the best things brands can do this year is focusing on the bigger picture and mission of their brand and how they can use that to create a community.
This exact community, through trust, nurturing and consistency, is the community that will engage and buy from you. Building community is not just about the place in which you connect, but HOW you connect, which is why story and vulnerability are important.
WHAT YOU CAN DO: Focus on building community through your social media profiles and lead generation. You should always have the next step for your audience on social media (think Instagram, Facebook and Youtube) for people who are interested in being part of your inner circle. Creating Facebook Groups, consistently emailing your list and opening your DM’s are just a few of my favorite ways.
TIP: Community is about YOU showing up, just as much as it is about the size. In fact, I’m going to argue that I’d rather you have an engaged community rather than a BIG community. Focus on showing up for the people you have and building trust there without obsessing over the vanity metrics.
#6 Collaborate
For too long online entrepreneurs have been living in their own little bubble, and I’m 100% guilty of this as anyone else. So often when we get started we are afraid of the “competition,” you know those women online that do what feels like EXACTLY what you do? Well, we’ve entered an exciting time where collaborations are going to move our business forward.
It’s not just about the community you create around your brand, but also the community you create with collaborators. Focusing more on supporting one another in 2019 is where it’s at and once again, you probably see a theme here, it’s all about building trust.
WHAT YOU CAN DO: Start looking for friends! Seriously, stop living in your own little bubble and start reaching out to other entrepreneurs and brands you love and look for opportunities to collaborate. If someone you admire is launching a program, think of how you can come in as a guest expert. If someone you admire is amazing at an area of business you don’t feel 100% confident in or isn’t your niche, reach out to see if they will provide a guest training. The possibilities are endless here.
TIP: We’re going a step further at Brandmerry and just simply shouting out women we love. Every Friday I’m sharing women I truly admire on Insta Stories as a way to build deeper relationships and introduce my audience to some really cool women. Think of ways you can create collaborations and community without getting anything in return.
As you can see with Part One and Part Two, there’s a clear underlying theme around building trust online. Your brand is a beautiful way for you to do just that, but it has to be focused on the brand and mission and not just the business.
What do I mean by this? Focusing on the mission and message of your brand is different than the programs and services/products you offer. When you build a brand over just a business, you get to the heart of your audience and therefore build a deeper connection.
Did you love these tips? Head over to Instagram and let me know if you loved this post and which of these tips you’re most interested in integrating.
Find me on Instagram at @brandmerrycoaching.
PART ONE: 6 Marketing Trends For Your Brand in 2019
PART ONE: 6 Marketing Trends For Your Brand in 2019
January 10, 2019
I’m sorry where the heck did 2018 go?! Seriously, can’t believe we are already strong into 2019 with so many exciting things in store for the year ahead. I’m a big nerd and love staying on top of marketing trends and research and thought, what better way to kick of 2019 than with some marketing/ entrepreneur predictions.
I’ve been in business for almost three years now (2.5 of which where I was actually making money) and I’ve got to say I’m so excited for what’s on the horizon in 2019. We’re seeing a massive shift in terms of transparency, relationships and possibilities and it’s one of the coolest times to be an online entrepreneur, educator and course creator.
So to kick off blog #1 of 2019, I’m sharing Part One of 6 Marketing Trends For Your Brand in 2019 with three non-negotiables for brands this year.
#1 StORY
Well, we all know this one is hands down my favorite! Story has always been there, engrained at the core of so many successful brands, but now in 2019, it’s more important than ever. Audiences are looking for deeper audience connection and nothing does that better than personal story. Story builds trust and as Zig Ziglar said, “If people like you they’ll listen and if they trust you they’ll do business with you!”
We’re seeing this increase mostly on platforms like Instagram, where audiences are looking for more storytelling type posts in real time than too much pre-scheduled and generic content.
WHAT YOU CAN DO: Start right now in getting clear on what parts of your story will engage your audience. Hint: You’ve really got to know your audience so it doesn’t feel like you’re just writing in your diary. Get clear on what parts of your story resonate most with your audience and start sharing them piece by piece and repeat. You can never share a story too many times, seriously, you should always be on a mission to attract new people and if someone hears it more than once it just drives the message home.
TIP: Include at least one sentence of story in each post, but do your best to work in 2 pieces of a long-form story every single week. An example is while this blog post isn’t focused heavily on story I do mention a few lines in the beginning, then I can use that to expand further on social media to connect with my audience and drive them to this post.
#2 Video
My absolute favorite way to share my message with my audience, hey that’s you, is through video. If you’re not already using video for your business NOW IS THE TIME! Seriously, brands not using video for their business are going to quickly get surpassed by those that are. The shift that we are seeing in 2019 is that it’s not as much about live video, although still super helpful to have in your marketing plan, but more about evergreen options like Youtube, pre-recorded video on Facebook and IGTV.
Audiences are looking for content they can consume on their own time and stuff that doesn’t require an hour to watch!
WHAT YOU CAN DO: Start working video into your content creation strategy with at least one video a month, more if you can. Some of my favorite ways to do it are through Insta Stories, especially if you are just starting out, as a way to invite your audience in and work your way up to a longer video. Utilize Instagram Highlights to keep you important messages there for your audience to rewatch after they expire.
TIP: Shorter videos are performing better, hint why Insta Stories are being watched by over 400 million people and growing. If recording content for Youtube and IGTV videos under 15 minutes tend to perform better.
#3 Consistency
If your goal in 2019 is to create a profitable brand then consistency needs to be your word! Remember that trust quote from above? Well, consistency is needed to stay at the front of mind for your audience and nothing breaks trust like freaking disappearing on your audience.
We’re seeing an increase in themes of the week and consistency in posting so your audience knows when your content will be live. We’ve always released blogs on Thursdays and podcast episodes on Tuesday, but we are taking it a step further in 2019 with Youtube videos, specific days of the week for Facebook content and even themed Insta Stories so my audience knows when to watch (hint it’s Monday and Thursday ;))
WHAT YOU CAN DO: Content calendars are a must in business, but there is no one size fits all approach for everyone. Some of my favorite ways to plan content are through Trello, Google Spreadsheets, and a physical planner. What you want to look for here is a clear schedule of when you will be posting your content (remember consistent days is important) and what you’ll be sharing so you can plan.
TIP: I like to plan my content on paper first and then move it to a digital planner to share with my team. I’m also trying something new this year where I have a specific journal for content ideas, since they're always coming to me, and I can go back and pull from that when needed.
See what I mean an exciting year ahead! Next week I’m sharing Part Two and the final three Marketing Trends For Your Brand in 2019 and trust me you don’t want to miss it. This is what I’m most excited about with the year ahead and can’t wait for you to start doing them too.
Head over to Instagram and let me know if you loved this post and which of the top three you’re most interested in integrating.