This week is for content curation.
Or, rather, this week I’ve finally proven myself thoroughly commit-able. Find a padded room and get ready to throw away the key, folks; I’m taking Nutcase and Scrum out to visit my dad for the long weekend 😀
Now Scrum and I haven’t seen the little nut since the beginning of summer when his dad moved out east, so I’m EXCITED. And they will be too! Think about the energy level of a category 5 hurricane – it’ll be about like that, but with more running and goofy faces.
Anyway, one would think that the entire weekend would be lost and I wouldn’t get anything done, but here’s my philosophy:
NO EXCUSES.
So! I came up with something I could bring with me. Social media curation! Completely computer-based, and all I’ll need is a set of cohesive photos and corresponding info. Well, the info lives in my head, so that’s covered. Time to snap pictures all week!
The first step was to figure out how I’m going to get a very cohesive look on Instagram, specifically. The look is most obvious on that platform, as it’s meant for visuals, so if I have my aesthetic down on there it’ll transfer to other sites with few to no tweaks.
So, because I’ve never Instagrammed before, I asked Google how to do it! I came back with a couple of very well curated feeds, and I also looked around at some people who have big platforms and got my artsy eyeballs out – it looks like some are very intentional with a color palette and the ‘feel’ photos have (either all of them are fun/spunky, all have a similar ‘chill’ vibe, etc). And some of these big names don’t care much for aesthetic and are going for quality of content instead.
I’m interested in the more polished look, while being thoroughly goofy, because I know that my target market will appreciate it.
So! My main color will be green, obv, and I think that an equal amount of photo-full-of-green (like, border to border leafy awesomeness) and images with graceful plant shapes and a lot of negative space will work really well. For an example of how it’ll be laid out, check out Lisa Bilyeu’s IG feed – it’s exceptionally well-balanced without the visual intensity of either Tracy Dungo’s or Casey Zhang’s feeds. Don’t get me wrong – those two are fabulous at curating a cohesive body of images! I like a little space for my eye to rest, though.
So, what exactly did I do here?
- Figure out my platform.
- What do I sell? Information.
- How do I communicate that info? Video/photo – visuals are necessary for me!
- What platforms are the best for visual marketing? Instagram and Pinterest.
- Figure out my brand’s style for these platforms.
- What will my target market be drawn to?
- What do I have an eye for, so I can make consistent quality content?
- Who has gorgeous feeds that have elements that I want to emulate? Remember, they don’t have to be in your field! The three examples I gave have wildly different feeds – one posts inspirational stuff and a ton of fierce modeling shots, one posts a lot of family and travel photos, the other seems to love her beige couch. But collectively, it gives me an idea of what is possible for the platforms – that’s what you’re looking for!
- Decide on your layout – you don’t want some random mishmash of photos if you’re going for visual cohesion. I want to have an intentional blend of grace in negative space and full, lush plant photos. Your blend should reflect your brand. Are you quirky? Show it! Are you very serious and polished? Make it happen, visually!
- Start gather your info and photos, and start building your feed 🙂 I recommend using platforms like Smarter Queue or Meet Edgar for social media scheduling. Both of these ‘recycle’ your content so you can keep all of your old posts (they’ll sub in those posts if you haven’t added anything new to the top of your queue). They also give you stats on engagement, so you can re-post things that totally kill it. The biggest boon of a scheduling tool is that you won’t have to remember to post all the time – spend a bit of time weekly putting together your posts, pop them into the ‘libraries’ you create, schedule posts to be pulled from the libraries and posted to different accounts at specified times, and BAM. Done. These have integrations for Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, etc.
Anyway! My main point is that this build-your-business-on-the-side lifestyle is hard, and planning ahead is key. There’s always something you can be doing to move yourself forward. If you can bring a notebook with you, you can get something done.
Alright, go kick some ass!