Stuck In A Social Media Rut?
- Does your content feel uninspired
- All of your posts feel flat, and engagement is down
- Every post feels like work
- You don't feel anything about what you are posting
Don't panic; we can help you out! Revitalize your spirit and your social media by using one, all, or a combination of these 9 Ways to Get Out of Your Social Media Rut. These tips will help you reframe, refocus, and re-energize your social media posts without having to throw all the things at the wall and see what sticks!
Save all the things, and all the wasted effort, and try these 9 Ways first!
9 Ways to Get Out of Your Social Media Rut: 3 Inspirational Strategies
Plan A Day of Inspiration
The number one recommendation for getting out of your social media rut is to plan a day of inspiration for yourself. Don't think about your social media and the stress this rut is creating. Don't even post anything! Make your inspiration day a day where you focus on things that make you happy. Fill it with stuff that you like to do. It can be things that are a core of your business, or things that are not at all related to your business. The idea is that if you spend a day truly focused on doing things that you love. You are NOT focused on your social media. Not focusing on content creation will help you re-center your energy and efforts on what matters. Content creation should come from the heart; it should be something that highlights the passion you have for your business. Focusing on your love will get the creative juices flowing, and real content that matters will rise to the surface
A Day of Inspiration for JRH Graphics
A day of inspiration for Jonathan at JRH Graphics can take many different forms. If I am stuck in a rut when it comes to creating my content I usually plan a day behind my camera. The only focus is what my camera sees, not what I want it to see. Focusing on what the camera wants is the sole difference for me between a content creation day (I control what the camera sees) and an inspiration day (the camera has control). I don't plan where I will go, I walk and see where I end up. No schedule, no purpose I walk and let the camera lead. The walking clears my head. I am not thinking about creating social media posts, or how I will utilize a photo to tell my story, I am just taking pictures.
Get Unstuck by Looking at Leaders and Others that Inspire Your Brand
Do you follow other leaders, influencers, or brands because you are inspired by their content? Have you followed a brand because you want to be able to create content that is as strong as what they post? Looking at the content of others that inspire and inform your brand is a great way to re-ignite your content creation flame. All it takes is one great post to inspire you and move you out of your rut.
When looking at other content as a way to inspire you, always ask yourself, how would this post work with my brand? How could I do something with this focus for my brand? Asking these questions allows you to look at the objective of the content that inspires you and create a similar post for your brand.
Get Out of Your Social Media Rut by Getting Inspired by Competition
What is your competition posting? Do they have a new product, concept, or campaign? Some of us are inspired by a little friendly rivalry. There is no harm in taking a look at what competitors are doing and utilizing what you see as inspiration. My one caution here is to not compare yourself to your competition, and don't copy what they are doing. Look at all of these sources as inspiration, you are not looking to replicate content and posts. Your goal is to be inspired to create engaging content for your brand.
Get Out of Your Social Media Rut: 4 Content Based Strategies
Those 3 Inspirational Strategies didn't catapult you out of your social media rut? Sometimes it is not the inspiration that is missing, sometimes you just need to mix up the content and engagement strategies If you believe this is the case then try these four strategies to help get you out of your social media rut.
Invest in the Relationships You Have
You have a relationship with every follower. Invest in that relationship by engaging them directly. Make sure you are responding to all comments, acknowledging likes, and answering the questions that your followers ask. The basic engagement strategies will encourage your followers to continue interacting with your posts.
Every time an audience member asks you a question, it is an opportunity. How could you resolve the problem they are facing in a post or a series of posts? The more questions you can answer from your audience, the more content you are able to create. More importantly, the more you become a resource for them. Investing in Relationships is not just an excellent strategy to get you out of your social media rut; it is also a great way to build up your loyal following.
Reframe Your Role
This strategy is closely related to investing in the relationships you have with your customers. Position yourself as a resource and an expert in your niche. Reframing your role on social media can have a dramatic impact on what you can post. As an example, let us look at what Jonathan Howard, Everyday Guy with 2 Puggles could post, and what Jonathan Howard, Owner of JRH Graphics, could post.
Jonathan Howard, Everyday Dog Owner
- I could post about my dogs
- Create content about my house
- Talk about my photos
- Discuss what I ate
- Day to day activities
- Talk about my family
- Where I am going
Jonathan Howard, Owner of JRH Graphics
- All of the things the dog owner can post about
- Content Creation
- Social Media Strategies
- Storytelling
- Branding
- Basic Business Strategies
- Small Business Success Tips
- Photography Tips
Get Unstuck by Changing Up the Post Format
For many of us, a great deal of the content we have posted is shorter form photo and caption style posts. We have touched on a lot of subjects, and we don't always go back to them because we have “done it already!” However, the “been there, done that mentality” may be getting in your way. If the content is still relevant, try changing up the post format.
Taking a photo caption post and making it a video post forces you to reframe the subject so that you can deliver it effectively in video format. In other words, you have created a new relevant post by changing the way you will provide it. Each format requires a slightly different touch, and a Live video is different than a recorded video, which is different from an IGTV or YouTube tutorial and so on. This strategy can lead to an insane amount of content, by merely reframing content you already have created.
Have Your Blog Help You Out of the Rut
I have said this before, and I am sure I will repeat it, Your Blog is a Powerful Social Media Tool! It is one of my favorite strategies to expand your reach on social media because you are making the most out of each piece of content. Your blog is also a great source of content to post on social media. Pair your words, a quote, or an action item with a relevant picture and viola a piece of content for you to post on social media. What is even better about this, you can include a CTA that links back to your blog. A Call to Action that links back to your blog adds some authority to the post and drives your audience to your platform.
Get Out of Your Rut with These Two “Lone Wolf” Strategies
The final two strategies are stand-alone strategies. One of them actually even allows you to sort of, pass off the responsibility of creating content to your followers. The second is focused on expanding your knowledge and reframing your own perspective.
Get Out of Your Rut by Letting the Users Create the Content for You
Social Proof is a wonderful and powerful strategy for social media as it enlists the help of those who use your products or services to tell your story without the bias of the brand. User Generated Content is a form of social proof, and it refers to any content that is created by your followers. While you should encourage the creation of user-generated content by properly reposting the content in your feed or stories, on its own it is not the most effective content creation strategy as it relies on your audience to create.
What it does help you do is gain insight on what your followers are using your product or service for and where it shows up in their day to day. Once you know how your user is utilizing your product or service you can build content that encourages others to share in the same ways. It also allows you to build content that serves the needs of those utilizing your products,
Challenge Yourself with A Challenge
Challenges are a dime a dozen on social media, but there are still great ones available for you to join. You need to find the right one for you. Join a challenge that pushes you outside of your comfort zone. Are you looking for the right challenge experience? Make sure it is something that is within reach but still outside of your comfort zone. You don't want the one you sign up for to be too easy or too far outside your comfort zone because you are more likely to quit. Additionally, look for challenges that have you creating content in some form every day. Look for one that has structure and has a built-in system of accountability.
Something Unexpected
Every challenge I have ever participated in has resulted in an unexpected discovery as well as a revitalized focus on content creation. Challenges are designed to teach you how to do something new; to do this, you need to review what you are currently doing. Examine how this new lesson will fit into your business and where you can utilize what you will learn in the challenge.
Eve Voyevoda — Business & Brand Creator — Visibility Gym
So, I wasn't in a rut, but I did want to stretch myself. I knew I needed to explore different ways to include video in my content strategy. I have always been afraid of video, and when the opportunity to participate in this challenge, I was looking for every reason to not do it. So I signed up before I could talk myself out of it, and I could not have been happier. Not only did I improve my video presentations, but at the end of the experience, I had a ton of fresh content ideas. While this was one of the best challenges I have ever participated in, the lessons and content inspiration is something that comes with every challenge if you make the most of the opportunity
Free of the Rut & Creating Engaging Content with Ease!
Utilize these 9 ways to get out of your social media rut together, or pinpoint your problem and use one to bust the tut. Each one of these strategies works to get you out of your head. Stop comparing yourself to others and create content that feels right for you and your brand. Never doubt that you are the best you can be at that moment, but you always can grow and learn. And if you aren't in a social media rut, use these strategies proactively to keep challenging yourself. Build better content that engages your customers — Foster deeper and more meaningful relationships with followers.
