8 proven steps to take one idea and turn it into ten social media posts

Who else FEELS like social media is getting harder?!

I'm not sure if it's just me, but it feels like social media takes more work than it used to. I've been creating content for myself and for clients for over 14 years, and I remember when social media was truly about connections. (You know, being SOCIAL.)

Now, it seems like there's so much pressure to be perfect, to have the most likes and followers, that it's just not enjoyable anymore.

Maybe I'm getting old(er), but I miss the days when social media was about sharing your life with friends and family—even for brands looking to use social media platforms to sell something.

Nowadays, it feels like social media is changing every few weeks. New features, new trends, new algorithms, new competition. It's becoming more difficult to stand out from the crowd and get your content seen by your target audience.

There are so many different platforms to choose from, and each one has its own algorithm that dictates what content is shown to users. Trying to keep up can be overwhelming, and it's easy to get discouraged when your hard work isn't paying off.

Help with social media burnout

Don't get me wrong, I still think social media has a lot of benefits.

And even though it may be more challenging than ever before, I still believe that social media can be a powerful tool for businesses and individuals alike. If you're willing to put in the time and effort, you can still find success on social media. 

You just have to be strategic about how you approach social media marketing.

If you are a small business owner or marketer like me, you understand that it takes a lot of time and creative energy to produce ongoing content for social media marketing. I'm here to help make it a little bit easier.

Back in June, I taught a class for Outshinery about how to take one idea and turn it into ten different pieces of content. This helps YOU (a small business owner or social media marketer) to save both time and energy so you can focus on other aspects of your business.

Getting started with creating content with one idea: answer your customers’ questions

One of the best ways to get started with something both informative and interesting is to answer your customers’ questions. 

You know, those questions that you get over and over (...and over) again.

Really dive into the frequently asked questions about your products. Look at what people ask in the tasting room, online, through social media, or even through events you participate in.

1 - Start with frequently asked questions from your customers.

If you don't have customers yet, or are drawing a blank, here are some to get you started:

• How does your product work?

• What are the benefits of using your product?

• How can your product improve my life?

• Is your product safe to use?

• What are some tips for using your product?

• Can you tell me more about your company’s philosophy?

• Where do you source your ingredients/products from?

Write all of these questions down or any others that pertain to you. 

2 - Circle the top questions

These are the questions that come up the most (or honestly, the ones you get the most excited about). Try to start off with between five and ten. 

3 - Now answer each circled question

Ideally in one sentence. If you don't have the answers, ask people at your company who do. Don’t feel bad about not knowing. 

Ask the people closest to the products, or those who talk to customers the most. Bonus points if you talk to both and possibly notice differences in how they answer the questions. 

Come to an agreement with your team on the best answers. (KEY!)

4 - Create a shared Document for the FAQ

Take the questions and answers and create a Google Doc with all of them. Share it with every employee. 

In addition to being a launching point for content, this serves as a great place for keeping FAQs for all employees, new and old, to refer back to when customers ask these questions. That way, everyone can be on the same page. 

5 - Dive deeper into each answer.

Take each answer and break it down into three different types of content you could create: educational, inspirational, and entertaining. The most popular content on social media falls into one of these three categories, so if engagement is your goal, you should try to adhere to one of them.

Educational content teaches something new; inspirational content motivates people to reach their goals; entertaining content engages people and keeps them coming back for more.

When it comes to educational content, people are always looking to learn new things, whether it's through a tutorial on how to do something or an informative article on a topic they're interested in. If you can teach your audience something thought-provoking, you're sure to get some great engagement.

This can include blog posts, infographics, and articles that provide information on a variety of topics. This type of content can be helpful for people who are looking to learn more about a certain subject or who want to stay up-to-date on current events.

Examples of educational content:

• Go into detail: Provide step-by-step tips for your customers, or you could have an employee make a behind-the-scenes video of the wine-making process.

• Live stream: Host a live video on Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube and invite everyone, or go in-depth with wine club members on a Zoom wine tasting specifically centered on one FAQ. 

• Repurpose content: Create long-form videos for YouTube, and then break them down into smaller chunks for Instagram Reels. This allows you to tell stories with more nuance than strictly short-form content permits, and it provides viewers with an opportunity to dive deeper into any specifics that they're passionate about. 

Inspirational content is all about motivating people to reach their goals. We all have things we want to achieve in life, and sometimes we need a little push to get there. That's where inspirational content comes in. 

When you're authentic with your audience, it builds a deeper connection with them. Telling the stories behind your business can help customers feel like they really know you and appreciate what you do. Being genuine is always the best policy!

Examples of inspirational content:

• Connect on a personal level: Create a video of employees talking about why a certain topic matters to them personally. Why did they become involved in the company? What keeps them motivated day in and day out?

• Tell a story: Find stories that relate to your FAQs. These can be about overcoming adversity, how you started your business, details about why you make the products you do, talking about your values, or other uplifting content.

• Create an inspirational quote: Take quotes from employees or customer testimonials to create inspirational quote images (and encourage customers to share).

Finally, entertaining content is what keeps people coming back for more. If you can make your social media posts fun and engaging, then your audience is going to stick around.

This could include funny memes and videos or interesting articles and quizzes—anything that is designed to make people laugh or smile. This type of content is often shared widely and can brighten people's days.

Examples of entertaining content:

• Have fun: Even if you are educating or inspiring customers, have fun with your content. If you are having fun, people will want to stick around and watch more.

• Create shareable content: Brainstorm ideas for creating relatable and funny quote images related to your FAQs (make sure to keep them on-brand!).

• Don’t take yourself too seriously: Think about the customer experience on social media like someone coming into your wine tasting room for the first time. The experience is really all about connecting with people. It's not all about the vineyards or the flavor profiles. Instead, it's about creating a rapport; this means being personable and engaging, and really listening to what they have to say.

6 - Now it's time to create content.

When it comes to content creation, even the best-laid plans often go out the window. But if you take a step back and focus on creating quality content around these eight core ideas, you'll be miles ahead of your competition who is aimlessly churning out content without a strategy.

One way to ensure you're consistently creating quality content is to utilize a content calendar.

A calendar allows you to sit down and plan out your content in advance so that you can focus on creating captions and ideas for your images and videos. It also allows you to track your progress and see how your posts are performing over time.

I have a 12-month content calendar spreadsheet for sale on my website that is specifically designed for businesses that have multiple people collaborating on social media. It breaks the year down into quarters so you can plan ahead, and it also has space for FAQs and brainstorming. This calendar will help your team stay organized and on track with content creation goals.

Block off time each week to sit down and brainstorm ideas and captions for social media. By utilizing just your FAQs and posting once a week, you’ll have a few months' worth of consistent content (assuming you only post once a week, which I don’t recommend). And since FAQs are designed to provide answers to common questions people have, they make for great evergreen posts that will continue to drive traffic and engagement long after they're published.

7 - Take a look at your analytics.

Pay attention to which posts are being most well-received. What gets the most comments, shares, or clicks? These metrics can give you some insight into what resonates with your audience.

Looking at the data can help you make decisions about what you want to create for social media in the future. If you see that posts about a certain topic tend to perform well, or that there's a type of post that isn't getting much attention, you can tailor your plan accordingly.

8 - Take actionable steps with your data.

Take this info, go back to the first tip, and start over by brainstorming new ideas or different ways to share your current FAQs! You can find new ways of talking about the same FAQ, or look at new ways to answer your customer’s most asked questions. Remember - your FAQ are a living document and as your business and the world changes - so do the questions from your customers.

… A lot of information about creating content for social media.

I know this blog post has a lot of info about creating content for your digital marketing efforts, so my recommendation is to save it somewhere and come back to it when you are ready to get started on your brainstorming.

Oh, and I will be creating several videos on my Instagram page about this, breaking down each step! :) Because the whole idea is helping YOU efficiently create content that connects with your audience so you can see your marketing efforts rewarded, even in today’s social media landscape. 

4 Steps to Create Social Media Captions that Capture Attention & Build Trust

If you're looking to improve your social media game, one of the best places to start is with your captions. A great caption (with a hook) can mean the difference between someone scrolling past your post and someone stopping to read and maybe even engaging with what you have to say.

But creating social media captions can be the most time-consuming part of social media marketing. Not everyone is a copywriter. And this often trips people up to the point they don't want to share anything.

Whether you're sharing a photo, video, or article, your caption is an important part of your post. A great caption will help draw people in, keep them engaged with your content, and can build trust with your audience (which helps YOU sell your product/service).

Think about the last time you read a social media post that really captivated you… Chances are, it was because the story was well told and it drew you in from the very beginning. And kept you wanting to read more because you were invested.

Use this same principle when crafting your social media captions and see how much more engagement and interaction you get from your posts. 

In the most basic terms, here are the 4 steps to creating social media captions:

• Point:

• Description:

• Why it matters:

• CTA:

Much of my own posts for my Instagram pages, LinkedIn, Twitter, and even blog posts have elements of these four steps for social media captions. 

In more detail, here are the 4 steps to creating social media captions:

1. The point is a hook to capture attention: Tell your audience what the point of your post is right away. Honestly, this is one of the most important things to remember because oftentimes the first line is all that shows up under your video or image, usually with a line to “click more” to read the entire caption. If this first line doesn’t capture attention and make your audience want to read more -- well, nothing else matters.

This could be a headline or question. Something super simple and right to the point of what your post is all about. 

2.  A description or short story: Once you've caught your reader's attention with a strong first sentence, it's time to give them more information. This story should be a few sentences, just a paragraph or two where you get into the nitty-gritty of what you're sharing. 

If you're sharing a story, this is where you tell it. If you're promoting a cause, this is where you explain how people can get involved. Share an anecdote about how you got started or what inspired you to create your product or service. Not only will this make for an interesting read, but it will also give people a better understanding of who you are as a brand.

And remember - Most people skim social media captions, so you need to make sure your captions tell the story without all the unnecessary details. Providing a short story that educates or entertains your audience will not only make your posts more enjoyable to read, but it will also give your connections a better sense of who you are and what you're all about.

Pro tip: If you're struggling to come up with the perfect words for your next social media post, try using your phone's dictation feature and the notes app so you can literally vocalize your story in your own words. Then edit it down to be a few sentences. 

Use your social media captions to show the human side of your business and give people a glimpse into what goes on behind the scenes.

3. Say why this matters: in one sentence explain why your readers should care about the topic you're discussing, aka what’s in it for them. 

If you're trying to promote your product or raise awareness about an important issue - simply stating what it is isn't enough. You need to explain why people should care and what THEY stand to gain by purchasing or getting involved. So next time you're crafting a post with the intention of getting people to purchase your product or service, remember to include that key piece of persuasion: why your audience should care about what you're saying! We buy with emotions, not necessarily logic...

4. Include a call-to-action (CTA): Every social media post should have some kind of CTA, whether that's encouraging your readers to like, comment, or share your post, or telling them to visit your website or donate to a cause. 

Your CTA could be as simple as "like if you agree!" or "click the link in my bio for more information." Whatever it is, make sure it's something that will encourage engagement and further discussion around your original idea/photo/story/video/etc.

I’ll share a few examples of how I have used these 4 steps to create my own social media content. Specifically how I created this blog post with these steps aching as a mini-outline at the top of my Google Doc as I wrote out this blog post. 

• Point: There are only 4-steps needed to create a well-crafted social media post. 

• Description: When creating social media captions, it's important to keep four things in mind: a hook (get to the point), a description or story, a sentence on why it matters, and end your post with a call to action.

• Why it matters: Captions create connections and help build trust with your audience. 

• CTA: Check out my 12-month calendar to make sure you utilize these steps in all your social media posts. 

For a recent blog post on showing up in your social media videos, my headline was “Build Confidence With Creating Social Media Videos”. In the body of the post (the description), I provided additional information on each of the tips and why they were effective in helping people build confidence to create more Instagram Reels (explaining why it matters). I also included links to resources where people could find out more information or sign up for my email newsletter (the CTA at the end).

On Twitter, I often share news articles or blog posts using two of the four-step format described above. For example, when sharing an article on Tips On How To Write Engaging FAQ Answers Your Target Audience Will Love, my tweet said “Writing engaging FAQs for social media posts: What Businesses Need To Know https://bit.ly/3v3GR69 #contentcreation #socialmediamarketing ”. This gave people enough information so they could decide whether they wanted to click through and read the article themselves.

In conclusion, following these four steps when creating social media captions can help you produce more engaging and successful posts that will resonate with your audience. Give it a try next time you sit down to write something for your blog or social media channels!

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To help more, check out this 12-month social media content calendar & brainstorm game plan which can help small business owners and marketers save time creating content (and yes, it does have info about the 4-step captions within it also

5 Tips on How to Write Engaging FAQ Answers Your Target Audience Will Love

Your customers are always asking questions. Whether it's about your products, services, or just general information  -- their questions can provide valuable insight into the type of content they're interested in.

These frequently asked questions (FAQs) are literal GOLD when it comes to creating content for your website and social media platforms. 

Oh, and don’t forget Yelp or Facebook. If you are like any of my wine clients, you will notice the same questions or comments over and over again. Then instead of being reactive - write all these questions down so that you can be proactive in responding and answering those questions.

By listening to questions, you can learn what your audience wants to know more about.

This not only saves you time and energy coming up with topics on your own but also ensures that the content you produce is relevant and engaging to your audience. So next time you're feeling stuck, talk to a customer for a little bit and take note of some of the questions they ask. 

Here's an example of what happens when you listen and write down the questions that your customers ask: "This is a great product, but I'm concerned about how long it will take to get here." That's a great question that can be easily answered on your website with information about shipping times. You could also share this response on social media as well.

If you are just starting your business, just write down questions you think you would have about your product or service and answer them the best you can (or Google the questions and see what the internet would answer).  The key is to make sure that you answer these frequently asked questions in a way that is helpful and informative for your potential customers. By doing this, you will build trust with them and establish yourself as an authority figure in your industry or niche.

Personally, my go-to for remembering questions that get asked of me is to:

1. Create a Google Doc

2. Add all the questions to a list

3. Write down the answers.

4. Share with all employees so everyone can be on the same page.

5. Copy and paste (and edit when need be).

Copying this simple strategy will help you keep track of FAQs so you can easily reference them when creating new content or planning new product launches. Plus, your employees can use these questions and answers to generate blog posts, videos, and other types of content for your marketing efforts. 

Last, if you want to save even more time - create a FAQ section on your website. This FAQ page is an ideal place to answer your customers' most common questions. This is a great way to eliminate the time you spend answering each one individually, as well as provide users with a handy reference point for future use.

What's more, FAQ pages can also be used to give potential customers all of the information they need about your product or service before they buy it - bonus points if you link back to your products from this page (for excample, did you know I have a 6-month content calendar and FAQ Google Doc all ready to go for marketers! Check it out here: https://shanabull.com/social-media-resources/six-month-content-calendar-template).

How Much to Post on Instagram in 2021

Did you hear? Apparently, in a private conversation late last year, Instagram told a group of content creators the magic key to posting to boost engagement on Instagram (and you know, making the Instagram algorithm work for them). Note, it is unrealistic and I will tell you why below...

Here is what Instagram recommends for social media marketers & content creators:

✔️ At least 3 in-feed posts a week (including in-feed Reels or IGTV posts).
✔️ 8-10 Stories a week (coming out to 2 a day)
✔️ 4-7 Reels a week.
✔️ 1-3 IGTV posts a week (including at least one time on Instagram Live)

The article from Business Insider is behind a paywall, so I will give you the gist of it. Basically, it says that these full-time content creators that talked to Instagram team members found this amount of content to be "pretty impossible." And this comes from people who create content for Instagram FOR A LIVING.

I think three posts on the feed per week is doable, but then getting into the details about creating 4-7 Instagram Reels and 1-3 IGTV videos is a bit overboard. Each one of these posts should also live on the Instagram feed, so is Instagram telling people to post 3 images, and the 4-7 videos? I am not sure… Also…

.. Let’s talk about what this means to marketers who create social media content as only part of their jobs?

It means that you should all look at the recommendations for Instagram posting, and figure out what makes sense for your OWN BRAND. I will say - consistently in your social media posting efforts is important to keeping your customers engaged, so find a rhyme that works for you and create daily social media habits to keep it going.

“Consistency” is better than perfection

And NO, that doesn’t mean you need to post every day. Make a plan for what works for YOU (*i.e., when you have time to spend a few minutes to engage with comments right after you post) and try to post around the same time each day. And remember - spending more time upfront to create content will help make sure you are posting a mix of content that has a REAL call to action (vs just randomly posting when you remember). If you need help, I created a 12-month and 6-month content template and guidebook to help you plan your social media content ahead of time!

For me - I will be spending more time focusing on creating Instagram Reels because that is the latest shiny new object and we have been hearing over-and-over again how important video creation is to social media. And just note - you do not have to dance on Instagram Reels! So let me know WHAT questions you have about Instagram Reels, or Instagram in general — and I will try to answer all of them - and just note, I am just really learning how to so I may look silly. lol

I also just created a blog post with 10 ideas for Instagram Reels for wine businesses. Hopefully, these prompts can help inspire wineries to create short-form videos and show off their products/and teams to their social media audiences.

Virtual Happy Hour - Keeping People Connected through Video and Wine

I’m not sure if I’ve ever actually written down the story of how I met my husband 9 years ago… it was online. But not in a dating app, or even on Facebook, it was through a virtual happy hour. 

Yep, a virtual happy hour. 

This all started when my friend Ashley Routson, a.k.a. the woman formally known as the beer wench was living in Berkeley, I was in Santa Rosa, Baconator (aka Ryan) was in Austin Texas, Leilani in Napa, many other beer friends across the country, and Jeff (aka my current husband) was living in Reno.

Many of us either met through the wine or beer Twitter world of 2008/2009, either in person at Wine and beer blogger and conferences. And since we were all across the United States, Ashley decided to join everyone together with Skype calls where we could drink a beer or a glass of wine from the comforts of our home, but with some of our closest friends via video. 

Long story short, Jeff and I were both part of these virtual happy hours, and we simply connected. We met in person when he came to Santa Rosa to visit Russian River Brewery, and after three months, I got him to move from Reno to Santa Rosa. A few years later we were married, and then a few years later after that Ryeson was born, and the rest is history. 

Virtual happy hours during a pandemic. 

We are in a situation that requires us to stay at home so we don’t continue to spread the coronavirus. For people in the bay area, the shelter at home is mandatory, except for essential business (like working in certain industries or going out to grocery shop). 

And now that we are more secluded than ever, but I do love seeing is the sense of community. 

Wineries trying to do virtual tastings with their customers, restaurants, and food bloggers sharing live videos of them cooking, and herbalists doing webinars on food that can help boost immunity.  Read more about some creative ways brands are marketing during a pandemic. 

In addition, people getting together through FaceTime, or video conferencing tools to simply connect with each other through video, versus a “sup” text. 

It’s pretty easy to set up a virtual happy hour. 

1. Figure out a time that works for all of your friends (you can invite a select few, or open it up to everyone via a Facebook link). 

2. Open a bottle of wine or grab a beer. 

3. Invite friends to video chat through Facebook messenger (here is a great how-to video chat on Facebook article), or download a free video-conferencing app (my personal preference is not using Zoom, because long story short they have a lot of issues, and my husband works for WebEx, and they have a free version also, here are more details on how to download and get started). 

4. And chat for as long as you want. 

A simple video chat with relatives

I know from experience, being able to use FaceTime on my phone, or video messenger through Facebook has been so great for Ryeson being able to connect with all of his grandparents who live in different areas of California. During the last few days of quarantine, I think we’ve talked to each grandparent at least every other day. Mostly Ryeson has just wanted to show them artwork that he’s drawn over the past weekend. 

No matter how you do a virtual happy hour or video chat - what is important is connecting with loved ones and friends. And hey… if you happen to find a husband out of it, all the better!?!?!

Three Tips for Writing Blog Posts (+ a Bonus Tip)

Over the past few years, I have transitioned from mostly consulting into writing blog posts for myself and more publications. When I was a kid, it was a dream of mine to be a writer, so this is literally my dream job. I get to spend time writing for publications like Sonoma Magazine, SonomaCounty.com, and Wine Country Mom Blog, in addition to a few wine publications here and there. Oh, and my own blog. You are reading this on my blog, so you may have noticed that I'm writing for myself as well.

Through my social media consulting business, I have taught people how to create content for social media as well as through their business blogs. My personal mission has been to inspire marketers to create MORE content for their brands. In order to do that, I need to help them learn that it can be easy and fun.

These are just a few of my personal tips and tricks for writing blog posts:

#1: Dictation is your friend when writing blog posts

The number one thing I tell people when they’re nervous about getting into blogging, wanting to blog more, or finding that they don’t have the time to write: grab your phone and use Siri/Google Assistant. Almost every article I write is completed via talking to my phone (and many times using the Google Doc Voice Typing App through Google Docs on my desktop). This helps me to efficiently express the thoughts in my head - and honestly, it is great for when I don't know how to spell something. 

Yes, you will find that some words are misspelled, the grammar is not perfect, and sometimes Siri gets a word wrong. But, all writers edit their work, so you shouldn't be embarrassed about your first draft.

Using dictation also trains you to be more intentional with your words, which is so helpful for public speaking and feeling more confident about what you have to say in general.

Quick tip: Pay attention to what you’re dictating! Sometimes Siri doesn’t just get things wrong... She gets them REALLY wrong, and then you don’t remember what the hell you were trying to say. It has also occurred that I was talking for a while and didn’t realize that my phone had stopped dictating, so I lost my entire train of thought.

If you use any voice typing app, you can say “comma” between ideas or “period” at the end of a sentence, and instead of writing the word out, it will include the punctuation mark. With voice typing within your Google Docs, you can format much of your writing just with simple voice commands like “next line,” “next paragraph,” etc.

Dictation is like journaling – it allows you to get ideas on “paper” quickly.

My favorite part about dictating my writing is that it allows me to get all of the ideas out of my head when they are fresh in my mind. Whether I’m busy having a conversation with someone, driving, or trying to get my toddler to eat, an idea may just pop into my head. In moments like these when I don't have time to sit in front of a computer, I use my voice to open up a note in my iPhone and just start writing..

This is especially good when I am upset about something that I need to vent. By writing down how I'm feeling, I am able to stop stressing about it anymore. Kind of similar to journaling...but I also hit publish. These have been the types of blog posts I have written for wine country mom blogs – rants for when I am stressed out about being a mom.

#2: Write in outlines first, edit blog posts later

When I’m being a little more intentional (having a clear idea in my mind) with what I want to blog about, I will dictate the main ideas as a list into my phone. This list creates the outline for my topic. From there, I am able to take those ideas and fully flesh out each thought. Most of the time I actually create my outlines and then do my writing on different days, which allows me to take my time with my writing, especially if research is involved.

For example, when creating this blog post, I knew I wanted to talk about dictation, creating outlines, and the idea of hiring an editor, so those were the three original items on my list.

As I started developing my ideas, I realized I also wanted to talk about some other reasons for why dictating my words has helped my clients. So, I added another headline to this article after I transferred the list from my iPhone Notes to Google Docs.

#3 Don't put so much pressure on yourself when writing blog posts.

Whether you are just getting started or writing a blog for your own business, let me take some pressure off of you. Your posts don’t have to be exactly one thousand words or help save the oceans. As I have said before, they just have to be YOU. This is more easily accomplished by dictating your words, and bringing your voice to your writing – something that can be more daunting when you are physically writing the words on your keyboard.

I actually recommend this to people who are writing out Instagram captions for their social media marketing efforts. The more you can connect one-on-one with your community, the more people will know you, like you, and trust you (and eventually buy whatever it is you are selling).

With dictating, you will find that your content is naturally going to be a little bit longer. Although, remember that it doesn't have to be, and in some cases it's better to edit out some of your words. Fortunately, cutting words out of your post is much easier than forcing extra words in.

Bonus: Hire someone to edit your content, and spend your time on what you are good at.

Earlier this year, I decided to allow myself to hire an editor for two hours a week to quickly look over the first drafts of every article I write. I found people through Upwork, and it’s been one of the best decisions I have made for my business. Even the content for my blog that I don’t get paid for gets a once-over from an editor because, frankly, they are better at it than I am. When it comes to my own work, it’s hard to see flaws because I am more connected with the words that I use.

I know this last tip isn't for everyone, but if you find that you're writing four or more blog posts a month (or would like to) and you just don't have time to edit them, hire someone. That way, your time can be spent doing what you're good at. You will quickly find that the stress of writing takes more time and mental energy than just physically sitting at a keyboard and editing your words. The feeling of being overwhelmed has stopped many people from blogging or writing in the first place – myself included.

...And, there is a lot of bad content out there, so hiring someone to help ensure that your content is readable is only going to help your business in the long run.