How to give your team member the confidence to take care of your content marketing, and get better results and a happier human.
Not every business has a dedicated marketing team doing their social media and overall content marketing for them. Nor can they afford an agency to take care of it all. (hint - you shouldn't actually hand over your content marketing anyway, that's YOUR IP). Often it's not something the business needs someone full time for either.
The mistake many businesses make
It's not surprising that many small businesses give current team members the responsibility as part of their larger role. They could be a spouse, the youngest person in the team (the assumption is they'll know how to do it because they use it all the time, right?), OR it's the office manager who does a variety of tasks, so why not add marketing to the mix?
Actually even senior marketing people need a refresh every now and then
But do they really WANT to take on the responsibility? Do they have the skills and know-how? Have they used social media marketing for business before, or just used it personally?
You may have added worry and self doubt to their day by saying - 'can you please take care of LinkedIn and social media for us?'
The danger here is that the content that goes out into the world is not linked to your business goals so it's random at best, is generic so not helping you stand out, and is missing opportunities to truly connect with your ideal clients online and get better results for your time and effort.
Setting up for success - the content marketing training guide
Social media and content marketing can seem relentless to small business owners, I know because I am one of them. Even WITH the skills and know-how it can be a tough ask.
If this sounds like your business, here are some tips for setting the team member up for success using the content marketing training guide, and not leaving your online reputation and credibility up to chance. It's not exhaustive BUT it will definitely be food for thought and get you started.
🙋♀️Remember to ask your team member to add what they need to the list
1.Social Media Policy
Ensure you have a social media policy in place that includes:
a clear purpose for using social media that the whole team know about
guidelines for the types of content you want to post and where
brand guidelines so the team know how keep the brand consistent
2. A Custom Content Plan
A tailored content plan is critical, and needs to include:
Message clarity that links to the mission of the business so there's no guesswork.
Which platforms you want to post to
Your publishing expectations - weekly, monthly, daily?
Types of content and priorities
Ways to repurpose and save time
Links to a library of current content to repurpose or repost
3. Technology & Apps
Provide access to apps as required, for example simple editing apps, Canva.com for simple designs for social media and more
All the logins they need to every platform and your website
4. Training & Support
I'd caution against generic platform training as the starting point. The amount of new information might be overwhelming and unnecessary for your team member, and a confused mind says 'no'
You are better off with custom training and planning linked directly to your business goals and mission to give them momentum and quick wins, then fill in some of the gaps later when you know more clearly what you need.
If you're not sure how to create the above go ahead and book a 15 minute call here and I'll point you in the right direction:
Bonus tip
A great way to do get started is to use your website copy, your mission statement, your current blogs or other content you such as hard copy brochures. They are all good sources of content for posts for your team member.
Go ahead and download the simple training plan for your team member for taking over the social media and content marketing in your business.
Over to you
My only goal is to take away the guesswork and overwhelm from small businesses who want to stand out online and reach the right customers. Your team member is a big part of that so let's set them up for success from the start.
Remember to grab your training guide here: