I was privileged enough this week to speak in front of a group of female entrepreneurs at a Mastermind day that was being held by Peakes Private Members Club. (If you’re reading this and you are or know a female entrepreneur/business owner, check this out!).

During my session, I used the words ‘Everything is content’ and asked if anyone had heard that sound on social media. Half the room raised their hands – I made a joke that those who had not clearly hadn’t added TikTok to their phones!

It was funny in the moment, but today as I make my way from sunny Daventry to sunnier Milton Keynes and into London, I am immensely aware of how much we all take our content opportunities for granted!

The usual approach to content

For many of us, and I do include myself in this, when it comes to creating content, we are scheduling time in our diary to sit at our desks in front of a screen with a blank document (or content schedular) and looking to come up with engaging content idea after engaging content idea. We might sit for an hour to only have written three posts and get frustrated that A, we’re not creative, or B, everyone else is ‘so’ much better at this than us… or even C, I’m so slooooooow!

But what are we comparing ourselves as content creators to? 

The comparison is against the output we see of others. Clients and other people in my network say things like ‘Christina, you always have such wonderful ideas!’ not realising that it’s taken me the best part of 10 years to come up with that one good idea!

Also, we forget what we’ve seen. Perhaps I posted something months ago, and you didn’t see it at that time. You see it today and think it’s a good and original idea. It’s just I have a system in place for repurposing the ideas I have that worked!

Mindset of a content creator

One of the biggest challenges around capturing the kind of things that work on social media really come down to mindset. We’re so fixated on creating ‘engaging’ content – but what does that mean? What’s engaging for you and what’s engaging for me are completely different! I’m sat writing this at a venue in London having a coffee between meetings. I was here a few weeks ago and have snapped a selfie, stuck it on Facebook asking if anyone knows where I am and tagging in friends who attended the same event. It’s a photo of me in my sunglasses. Nothing engaging about that, is there?

I posted it after writing the first paragraph of this article, and already I’ve had comments, likes and messages from people reminiscing about the event, asking where I am, and wondering what I’m doing in London… this rather dull post has absolutely engaged them!

The lesson here is that it’s not for us to judge what will or won’t be engaging for others.

Are you content-aware?

The other challenge around content creation relates to the idea of scheduling time to be creative. I really need to create a strategy to teach content-awareness in the same way a coach or therapist might work with you to develop self-awareness! Creating content isn’t something that gets switched on or off or something that only happens when scheduled into the diary, like an appointment. It’s something that should be with us at all times.

As you read this right now, think about the following questions

– What are you doing today?

– Where are you today?

– What are you seeing or experiencing right now?

– How are you feeling?

– What ideas have you had?

– What are you grateful for?

– What are you working on?

– What are you looking forward to?

– What are you reading?

Even if you think it’s dull, I’d put money on the fact that at least two or three of the answers to those questions would make an excellent social media post or blog topic. Remember what I said above, it’s not for you to judge what’s engaging to others! It is your job, however, to give people a window into your world.

Perhaps I should add a little caveat in here – there is such a thing as too much, of course! Posting every tea, coffee, lunch, and dinner could be overkill! I’m not talking about posting every detail of your day. I’m just talking about having the content-awareness to be able to not only acknowledge that the moment you’re in something worth sharing – and take action on it!

Creating content requires taking action!

Again, we create blocks for ourselves. We want to take the perfect photo, take the time to use the filters and editing features to make that video fabulous… and yet, with absolute consistency, I can say the content that works best is the stuff that you just get done and out there! So, my friends, in the words of Nike… Just do it!

Your phone is never that far away from you; it likely has a wonderful camera. You know your stuff, and your opinions are valid. Makeup or no makeup, ladies, shaven or not, gentleman, you are perfectly camera ready to share with complete authenticity and integrity.

You see, everything really is content!