The Social Media Long Game: Posting About Your Everyday Life To Build Trust
When you're not working with a social media consultant, it's easy to reach the end of the week and realize you haven't posted at all.
So you sit down at the computer and stare at a blank caption box. Suddenly it feels like you don't have anything interesting to say.
But when you take a look around you, some of the best content ideas come from your everyday life.
Finding Inspiration In The Everyday
If you've been following along, you know I'm in the middle of moving into our first home. It's been a LOT.
Everyone who's gone through buying their first house before knows there are a surprising number of people you suddenly need to connect with.
We needed to connect with the mortgage broker and real estate lawyer.
We also needed to find a realtor to represent us.
We needed to connect with movers.
I needed a home inspection done on short notice.
I also wanted cleaners to help with the new house and the one that we were leaving.
What struck me throughout the process was that for most of those decisions, I didn't start with a Google search because I already knew who I trusted.
For more than 12 years, I've met once a month for lunch with a group of women I met through business. We've talked about our companies, our family life, things we've been struggling with, and celebrated each other's wins along the way.
When I needed to connect with all these professionals, I already knew exactly who to call. Even when it came to finding someone to inspect the new house and a cleaning company, I looked inside my own circle first.
I knew who to talk to because of trust. It didn't have anything to do with a trending reel or a perfectly designed social media graphic. Some of them have been building a relationship with me for years before I ever needed what they offered.
Building trust on social media is a long game
When we create content, we tend to forget the long game. We post online and think to ourselves, 'Well, no one booked.'
But what if somebody saw that post and remembered your name from it? Maybe they learned something about you and decided to start following you on social media. And then what if in six months from now, a friend asks them for a recommendation? Well, your name might be the one that comes to mind.
Social media marketing doesn't always lead to a direct sale or an immediate lead. Sometimes you are building trust over time for a decision someone won't make for several more years.
The everyday moments are full of content
This whole house-buying experience has made me realize how many content ideas I miss every day. We assume our everyday lives have nothing to do with our business, so we don't post about them, but they actually have everything to do with it.
Think about the last time you decided to go out to eat with friends. The dreaded 'where should we go?' question comes up, and one or more of you probably pulled out your phone to check Instagram or track down a post that you saved from three weeks ago.
The posts you're looking at aren't all from the past week. Most of the time you're looking through a history of posts, and that builds trust.
Next, think about the last time you recommended a business to one of your friends. What made you want to tell your friend about this business? Was it because you saw content posted that very day that just so happened to be for a business that your friend is looking for? Probably not.
Generally, we don't remember the perfectly polished social media posts. Most of the time, we remember things from social media that felt real and connected with us on a personal level.
Your content doesn't always have to be about your business
We get so hung up on making sure our content is educational or informative. Your content doesn't always have to be about 'what can I teach my audience', sometimes it can be what happened today.
A few examples of what I mean
A tourism business posts a quick story, showing them filling out a card and leaving it for a guest arriving that day
A dog walker posts a photo from their daily walk with a regular client, and that client happens to share it on their own feeds
A business owner learns something at a networking event and posts a quick story sharing that information from the car on their way home
All of these examples are memorable and relatable. They don't necessarily have to do with a business's services or what they offer. They're just small glimpses into that business owners life. It makes it easy to trust them because people feel connected with them.
People have hired me without liking a single one of my posts online. It doesn't mean that they're not seeing them, and it doesn't mean that they're not building trust.
Sharing your life builds trust for your business
Sharing personal parts of your life helps your audience get to know you while keeping your social media presence up to date. So the next time you sit down and think you have nothing to post, think about your week.
Where did you go and who did you talk to?
What did you buy, and what made you trust the person selling it?
Did something happen that you found frustrating
Did something happen that impressed you?
There's constant hiding in every part of your business journey. Once you start paying attention, you don't need to manufacture something every time you want to show up on social media.
If you want a weekly nudge to help you catch these opportunities, my social media newsletter is for you. I share tips and tricks to keep your social media presence up to date with tactics. You can implement in minutes. Plus, you'll also get access to a list of networking events in Halifax that I'm attending each month.