Know Your Audience: Stop Posting for the Algorithm & Start Posting for People

Have you ever heard that the best defense is a good offense? Well, in case you’re not into sports, it’s essentially saying that having a plan is a great way to set yourself up for success. Creativity can be a fair-weather friend, and in terms of your content, wouldn’t you rather know you have something to use on a day when you’re just not feeling it?12

In case this is your first time tuning in, let me introduce myself. Reporting from my laundry office in small-town Illinois, this is Virginia Kerr. And I’m here to help you stand out and make money by leveraging and up-leveling your social media videos. I’ve been in the TV and video industry for more than 20 years. Four TV newsrooms, hundreds of videos, blogs, and podcasts later, I’m here to share what I’ve learned with women ready to get the most out of their hard work. 

Does video intimidate you? Make you want to hide? I’m excited to help you push through your limiting beliefs and show you that you can shine on video! I’m closing the gap by teaching you easy systems and sharing templates that help your videos get in front of your ideal clients. 

Welcome to This is Virginia Kerr, The Podcast! Let’s get started!

Trends Aren’t Everything

Nothing kills creativity and motivation quite like pressure to crank out content. That’s where a content strategy comes in to save the day. The key here is to create consistent AND quality content, you need to know your audience and remember to post for them; let them and what they’re looking for inform your content, not trends, bells, or whistles.

Nothing against trends, they’re great if you want to get views, but not so great if you want to engage and successfully connect with YOUR audience. Trends should complement your overall message; it shouldn’t be you manipulating your content for a trend. Sprinkle it in if you feel like it’ll make sense or add some levity or visibility, but only if it’s a welcome addition.

Stop With the Life Story and Other Tips

Your clients don’t need to know about the path that set you on your way to create whatever it is you do now. Think anytime you find a recipe and have to scroll through paragraphs of the author’s life-affirming Bali trip; dear god you just want the secret to a solid enchilada bake!

Same thing with your bio- use keywords related to your business to attract ideal clients. Your story will shine through the relevant content you create, and your clients will learn more about you that way. But a 3 paragraph bio? Please don’t. 

You should also know how you feel about your offer (this one feels kind of obvious) and be prepared to draw lines and take a stand in accordance with your beliefs. You want to stand out and make an impression, and highlighting core beliefs and reasons you and your offer are different from all the others is key. 

Remember Your Why: The Bottomline

Your “why” being your audience; this is perhaps the most important part of your content strategy, as it kind of informs everything else. Stop posting for the algorithm; again you’ll get views but not sales.

Instead, take into account the core question of what your audience really needs or expects from you. If you’re creating content for the people you want to attract, it’ll help give you focus and parameters.

This doesn’t mean that you need to showcase your product or offer or “sell” in every video (actually don’t). Instead of forcing your offer or knowledge on your audience, adopt a “show don’t tell” mentality. You can get a bit creative here and showcase your knowledge base in a more subtle, maybe even entertaining way. While you’re brainstorming content, make sure you’ve studied the questions of your audience, their comments on yours and other accounts, even the words they use and make sure to address everything.  

Lastly, I know the age-old question is whether or not you need to batch your content- well, that’s up to you and how you like to do things. I recommend at least having content categories for each day to give yourself a general idea of what you need to post. If you’re feeling inspired maybe go ahead and batch, and if you’re not try and balance that with making sure you’re getting your message out there. But bottom line, making sure you have a strategy and a plan with categories is the best way to avoid content fatigue.

If you liked what you learned here, head on over to Instagram and share it on your IG stories and tag me, @thisisvirginiakerr

For more information about the podcast, or to learn more about This is Video School, visit my website. I would love to connect with you more on social media! You can find me on Instagram or join my free Facebook community, This is Video and Content Strategy, to help you level up your branding, messaging and video so you can grow your audience and convert followers into customers.

I look forward to seeing you there!