Latest / Black Girls Consult TOO! / Episode 96 The Art of Quality Content: The Consultant's Guide to Simplifying Social Media and Content Strategy [Consulting Simplified Series - Part 3]

Transcript

Episode 96 The Art of Quality Content: The Consultant's Guide to Simplifying Social Media and Content Strategy [Consulting Simplified Series - Part 3] · Black Girls Consult TOO!

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: There's a misconception that we don't exist, that somehow our ability to excel at the highest level of our industry is limited, that overcoming barriers as a woman of color would be insurmountable.
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: But what would happen if we decided to venture out on our own, despite everything we're up against?
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: I'll tell you Welcome to the Black Girls Consult 2 podcast.
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: I'm your host, dr Angelina Davis, a healthcare consultant, consulting coach, high performance fanatic wife and proud girl mom.
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: I help transform female professionals into thriving solo consultants and, just like you, I'm wearing all the hats and doing all the things.
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: So this podcast is to empower the busy female professionals to move past fear to start and grow a successful consulting business, despite the obstacles you may encounter.
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: We'll dive deep into consulting practice, business strategy, mindset and more.
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: So grab your cup of coffee or tea, if that's your thing, and let's get started.
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome back to episode 3 of Consulting Simplified, a podcast series that's being brought to you by Black Girls Consult 2.
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: And today we are going to jump right into talking about content strategy, because this is often a topic that causes a lot of stress and frustration for a number of people when it comes to building their business and thinking about marketing and advertising and really gaining more visibility so that they can sell more of their services, and so I know that this is likely a concern that you have as well, as, I will be honest, it's a concern that many of us, including myself, continue to have and continue to always think about and try and figure out how we can continue to simplify this process.
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: So today we want to talk about simplifying your content strategy, and if you are on social media at all in any capacity, you're very familiar with how difficult it can be to keep up with the way all these platforms work.
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: Whether you're on YouTube or LinkedIn or Instagram or Facebook, whatever it may be, each particular platform has its own algorithm.
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: There are ways that you approach content on each platform that can be very unique from one to the other, and so it actually can be a challenge to try and use an organic or inbound marketing strategy, especially if you do not have the financial means, or at least the budget right now, to invest in large scale advertisement campaigns, and even if you do have the budget for paid marketing.
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: I am an advocate for mastering your organic content in reach, because it is that content or that messaging that is going to sell your services, even when you run ads or use some other type of paid marketing strategy, because when you throw money behind it, all you're doing is amplifying your message, and so if your message is off, then your outcomes or your result of the paid marketing or advertisement is also going to be off.
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: So bottom line is, if we're in business today, we have to have a content strategy.
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: That is just a fact.
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: So whether you're a strategist or a consultant or an advisor whatever title you want to use you are in the business of expertise.
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: That means that you are somebody who is being a source of highly valuable knowledge and insight and you are selling access to your knowledge.
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: So, just like Estee Lauder, who has a fragrance in the mall that anyone is able to go up to the counter and sample and figure out whether or not you want to use this fragrance for Mother's Day or someone's birthday, whatever it may be.
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: Or if you are purchasing the next generation iPhone and you walk into an Apple store and you begin to play around with all the gadgets and then you walk out of there with an iPhone and an iPad and the keyboard and everything to match, you are going to have to create a scenario where you are able to showcase your product for purchase, just like in those cases as we talked about with the iPhone or with the fragrance.
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: It's different, of course, because you are showcasing a service, but the whole point is that you have to build a level of demand and instill trust in the quality of what you have to offer and your ability to actually generate a desired result.
• 4:38
  Speaker 1: So, even as a service-based business, the analogy of shopping in the store works very well, because we have to figure out a way of allowing others to, almost like, test drive our services, test drive our knowledge, so that they can have a level of confidence that we know what we're talking about.
• 4:59
  Speaker 1: So that still has to happen, even in a service-based business or even an expert service-based business.
• 5:05
  Speaker 1: So this happens for us largely through our content strategy and the information that we're putting out into the world.
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: You have to put your thoughts and ideas out there so that they can be received and gained traction and really create a desire for others to work with you.
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: If you're not putting those ideas and thoughts out there, how would anyone know that you can provide the solution to their problem?
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: That's one of the reasons why I feel like a lot of times, people rely heavily on referrals because it helps you to bypass some aspects of doing this level of thought leadership and sharing of your message and more content, because someone is vouching for you.
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: But if you're ever able to take control of your business and generate income on demand, you're going to have to master this whole aspect of putting out content, or actually putting out a message, because that is your way to share your thoughts and ideas with the world and showcase what you know in a way that is a little bit more than just telling somebody that you know a certain topic or maybe you have a degree in that area.
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: People want to see the result of your work.
• 6:18
  Speaker 1: They want to see the impact of what you know.
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: It's not about in this case with content strategy.
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: It's not about mastering a platform.
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: It's not about beating an algorithm.
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: Those are tactics and methods for you to maximize your reach through an organic marketing strategy.
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: Your content is meant for you to showcase your expertise and to help and serve others.
• 6:48
  Speaker 1: That is the whole goal of what you are doing when you're creating content as a consultant.
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: All in all, it's not as much about the volume of content that you put out.
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: I think we worry about that.
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: We think that in order to be on any of these platforms because people talk about posting two or three times a day and having to keep a certain number of posts going at all times, and we in this overwhelming just to think about but it's not as much about the volume of content as it is about the consistency in your messaging around the content you put out.
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: So not necessarily even the consistency of the content, although I will stress and really advocate for you being consistent with putting your content and your message out there.
• 7:40
  Speaker 1: Just because of the, I like to say, like the dwell time, how long it lasts in the digital space, especially if it's a social media platform, versus if it's a longer piece of content that may be on YouTube or your personal blog or if it's a book that you've written okay, that takes a lot of time, but that lasts a lot longer.
• 7:59
  Speaker 1: In whatever meant way that you plan to publish content, there needs to be a level of consistency to make sure that your thoughts and ideas are up to date and that they are relevant to what is happening currently.
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: But overall, the biggest consistency requirement is actually with your messaging, and that's because when your potential client is looking to find out more about you or looking to connect with you, they want to know that you have clarity around what you offer and what you believe.
• 8:35
  Speaker 1: Once again, that builds trust and that helps them to move forward with you.
• 8:39
  Speaker 1: So what I want to talk about is how you can actually simplify your approach, because your job is not to keep up with trends.
• 8:48
  Speaker 1: It's to figure out how you want to gain visibility and then spread your message, and you can do this in a very simple way.
• 8:56
  Speaker 1: But the key here is that you're gonna have to focus.
• 8:59
  Speaker 1: So I want you to focus, and what I wanna do with this episode is really walk you through a way for you to create what I like to think of as your thought leadership starter pack, and so this is something that you can use as a guide or reference for you to easily pull from for talking points or speeches or meetings or blogs, social media content, just so much more.
• 9:24
  Speaker 1: You can really rely on this particular summary of your ideas for a lot of what you would put out to highlight your expertise and showcase your knowledge.
• 9:38
  Speaker 1: A thriving consulting business is built on a solid business foundation and a consulting code that leads you toward your ideal business and your ideal lifestyle.
• 9:49
  Speaker 1: And the great thing about this code is that it works for any type of consulting practice, whether you help clients with professional development, business management, grant writing, it or something entirely different.
• 10:01
  Speaker 1: This consulting code is not rocket science and is not beyond your reach, and when you crack the code, it can jump start the growth of your solo consulting practice.
• 10:10
  Speaker 1: And it's what you need to know to get started and lend your first clients, and nothing more.
• 10:16
  Speaker 1: This is a step by step process I wish I had so many years ago, and that's why I wanted to share this with you and how you can do this too.
• 10:25
  Speaker 1: So if you're interested in starting your consulting business and creating a desirable offer to generate leads for your offer and to make sales, then the consulting code is your solution.
• 10:36
  Speaker 1: Visit wwwexcelatconsultingcom for more information.
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: So here are the five key areas that I want you to focus on, and when you're focusing in each of these areas, think about how you can create a longer form piece of content.
• 10:58
  Speaker 1: So, whether this is a longer blog post, something that we like to call like a cornerstone piece, which is a longer written piece of work that may be for a blog, or if it is meant for an article or a publication on LinkedIn, or maybe just in your own personal files as an essay, in guide or in your Google Drive.
• 11:21
  Speaker 1: I just want this to be a guide for you and something that you can pull from and that you will use over and over again, because it will ensure that your messaging is consistent and you can improve upon this based upon the reactions and the feedback that you get, so that you can continue to hone that messaging and eventually, guess what, when you have this all put together I'm about to simplify your world even more.
• 11:45
  Speaker 1: When you have all of this put together, then you can create a more detailed and in-depth brief or content brief for delegation and outsourcing, so that when someone else helps you in the future with your content strategy and your marketing efforts, you will have your messaging dialed in so that you will not be wasting money.
• 12:12
  Speaker 1: So let's talk about it.
• 12:13
  Speaker 1: There are five different core areas that I want you to focus on when you're thinking about your starter pack and writing these pieces or summarizing your thoughts in these areas, and I want you to go into as much detail, add to them, maybe even spend 10 minutes, 10 to 15 minutes a day for a week or two on each topic, just brainstorming and writing out your thoughts and ideas when it comes to each of these topics, so that then you are able to pull all that together and have a very concrete understanding of where you stand with regards to each of these topics and then how you wanna talk about them as you move forward.
• 12:50
  Speaker 1: This is one of the ways that you're gonna make sure that your messaging is consistent and highlight various aspects of this content in different ways, so that everything sounds fresh and new but still communicates the same message.
• 13:03
  Speaker 1: So the first thing is that you want to talk about your mission.
• 13:07
  Speaker 1: So the first thing you wanna share is your mission.
• 13:09
  Speaker 1: This is you writing about and thinking about why you do what you do, why your business exists, what you're really trying to accomplish, and the reason why you want to share this as a key piece of information is because it helps to build your tribe right.
• 13:28
  Speaker 1: It helps to gather others around you to support a common cause.
• 13:33
  Speaker 1: So this is one of the key things that you want to begin to work through and to think about how you wanna share your mission, how you wanna communicate why this mission is important and why you chose it and what has led to your thought process behind developing this mission and things of that nature.
• 13:54
  Speaker 1: Now, the second thing is that you want to discuss the problem.
• 13:58
  Speaker 1: So if you have a service that you're offering, then that means that you have a problem that you're trying to solve.
• 14:05
  Speaker 1: So you wanna talk about the problem as it pertains to sharing insight on the challenges in your industry.
• 14:13
  Speaker 1: What are those things that you see going on right now that are not right, that you feel as if are not helping the masses?
• 14:23
  Speaker 1: What do you see holding people back?
• 14:25
  Speaker 1: What has held you back in the past?
• 14:27
  Speaker 1: I want you to identify those challenges and then find ways to tie those challenges to your greater mission.
• 14:34
  Speaker 1: How has seeing those challenges allowed your mission to change or to evolve?
• 14:39
  Speaker 1: Has it made you more passionate about a certain area?
• 14:42
  Speaker 1: Has it made you shift your perspective and change course?
• 14:45
  Speaker 1: Help others really understand the problem or the limitations with really following along with the status quo.
• 14:55
  Speaker 1: If they do nothing at all and they don't change this path, let them know what it's gonna cause.
• 15:00
  Speaker 1: Help them to really evoke a level of emotion surrounding this problem so that they will act on it.
• 15:06
  Speaker 1: So this is the second thing.
• 15:08
  Speaker 1: After you've discussed your mission, I want you to think about writing about the problem Now.
• 15:14
  Speaker 1: The third is that you want to focus on the solution.
• 15:18
  Speaker 1: So never highlight a problem without the solution.
• 15:21
  Speaker 1: My mom always taught me that.
• 15:22
  Speaker 1: So if you're going to discuss the problem, you have to discuss the solution.
• 15:26
  Speaker 1: So the solution is a time to really talk about how you can help.
• 15:30
  Speaker 1: Right, it's a discussion about what you have identified as a solution to the problems that you previously mentioned.
• 15:38
  Speaker 1: So the problems and the challenges that you were discussing previously, and that's one of the reasons why it's helpful to do it in this order.
• 15:44
  Speaker 1: Once you've talked about the problems and you've highlighted all the problems that have driven you to develop your mission and why you are really taking the stance that you are, I want you to think critically about how you solve those problems.
• 15:59
  Speaker 1: What are the things that you see as potential solutions?
• 16:02
  Speaker 1: And the solutions don't have to be solely limited to what you can offer, because you want to give yourself room for expansion.
• 16:10
  Speaker 1: So you may tackle one aspect of this problem, but maybe you will evolve over time to be able to address multiple layers.
• 16:18
  Speaker 1: So just know that you want to think about all the various solutions that are out there and, most importantly, because you are in business to make money, make sure you share how you can help now, make sure you tell them that there is a solution that you can provide that will help them, and so this is a way for you to really speak about how they can solve their problem in a way that gives a more global picture and what it will look like to address the problem and how you fit into that picture.
• 16:51
  Speaker 1: Now the next thing, number four, is for you to discuss your authority.
• 16:57
  Speaker 1: So what I mean by discussing your authority, this is how you are going to showcase your expertise.
• 17:03
  Speaker 1: Showcase and your expertise is really built around either allowing someone to experience your impact so that may be things such as webinars, live events, one-on-one sessions, things of that nature where they could actually experience the impact of your advice, your knowledge, your insight or it can also be done through authority stories.
• 17:24
  Speaker 1: So these are ways that you're able to discuss how you utilize the solution that you previously talked about that you can provide, how you utilize aspects of that solution day to day in your life or in ways that you have helped others, so other clients that you've served, how you have utilized these things in just everyday practice and what has resulted from that.
• 17:47
  Speaker 1: Do not think deeply about this.
• 17:50
  Speaker 1: This is literally just a running log.
• 17:52
  Speaker 1: If you have helped a client, maybe you had a meeting on yesterday and you talked through one aspect of your strategy that helped them solve a recent problem.
• 18:03
  Speaker 1: There are ways for you to build in these stories so that your potential clients and prospects can really gain a better understanding as to what you offer and how you can help.
• 18:14
  Speaker 1: So these are the things that you want to build in when you're talking about your authority, but just keep in mind that oftentimes this works best by telling stories.
• 18:23
  Speaker 1: So this is part of the storytelling that really can be utilized here, can be utilized throughout the storytelling can, but definitely when it comes to your authority building your authority, stories can be very helpful.
• 18:36
  Speaker 1: And then, last but not least, you want to share a work on your future perspective.
• 18:41
  Speaker 1: So this is where you are providing a vision for the future.
• 18:45
  Speaker 1: You are sharing with your audience what's possible.
• 18:49
  Speaker 1: You're allowing them to see what they can potentially achieve, what your industry can achieve, where you see things moving in the future, how they can make sure they stay up to speed so that they're able to also take advantage of the advancements that are going to happen in the future and give them something to aspire to.
• 19:06
  Speaker 1: People move forward from one or two things.
• 19:10
  Speaker 1: They either make a decision based upon fear or make one based upon this whole aspect of aspiration and the desire for a better futures.
• 19:18
  Speaker 1: They're allowing someone to experience more pleasure or prevent them from having more pain.
• 19:23
  Speaker 1: You want to ensure that you're also sharing this aspect of the future's perspective and giving them something to aspire to.
• 19:32
  Speaker 1: So I want to just recap really quickly, because it sounds like a lot, but it's really just writing five things, and then you will utilize these five topics and the things that you've written in each category to build out all of the content, in whatever shape, form or fashion, that you're putting out in your space, and you can have this as like your starter pack, your guide to your thought leadership, and you want to include five things, so those include your mission, the problem, the solution, your authority and future perspective.
• 20:08
  Speaker 1: That's it.
• 20:09
  Speaker 1: So if you do this, I promise you will simplify everything when it comes to what should I talk about, what should I write about, what do I need to post?
• 20:20
  Speaker 1: How do I need to post it?
• 20:21
  Speaker 1: How do I need to say it?
• 20:22
  Speaker 1: What's gonna resonate?
• 20:24
  Speaker 1: What are people wanting to hear?
• 20:26
  Speaker 1: You will answer all of those questions by simply focusing on your content in this way and making sure that you are really listening to the response to this messaging.
• 20:40
  Speaker 1: So, as you're sharing it, see what resonates with others, see how people are responding, and then you can modify your messaging accordingly so that you have something that resonates over time.
• 20:53
  Speaker 1: All right, I hope this helps you think about content strategy in a different way, that you can simplify it and you can stop trying to make out this massive catalog of content.
• 21:05
  Speaker 1: You're not an influencer, you are a consultant, you're a thought leader in your space and really what you're trying to do is to share your thoughts, ideas and your knowledge with regards to your industry.
• 21:17
  Speaker 1: You're trying to build your track record and you want to be someone that is seen as the go-to solve a problem and find solutions in your industry, and so if you focus on these five things your mission, the problem, the solution, your authority and future perspective then you will be able to do that.
• 21:34
  Speaker 1: Okay, so this ends episode three.
• 21:37
  Speaker 1: If you have any questions whatsoever, do not hesitate to reach out to me.
• 21:41
  Speaker 1: I am definitely here for you as we go through this podcast series.
• 21:45
  Speaker 1: And don't forget, we have two more episodes coming after this and we will continue to simplify your consulting strategy.
• 21:55
  Speaker 1: All right guys, talk to you soon.
• 21:56
  Speaker 1: Thank you for tuning in to the Black Girls Consult Two podcast.
• 22:02
  Speaker 1: If you enjoyed today's episode, be sure to leave your review on Apple Podcast, subscribe and share it with a friend.
• 22:10
  Speaker 1: We're on a mission to increase the success and longevity of women in consulting and you can help us do that.
• 22:17
  Speaker 1: Also, I'd love to hear from you, so let's connect at Dr Angelina Davis on Instagram or LinkedIn, and don't forget to visit excelatconsultingcom for more information to support your consulting journey.
• 22:29
  Speaker 1: Until next time, take care.