It always hits me when I’m in the middle of something whether it be a shower, a car ride, a walk with my husband. It’s when my best ideas tend to come (not when I’m sitting in front of a screen willing a magical idea to strike so I can post something “good”).
THE SOCIAL SIP:
How I create built in accountability with themes
Confessions of an off the cuff creative – I struggle to create content that I actually want to hit publish on when I’m not in the moment. That inevitably leads to pressing play on another episode of Big Bang Theory at 9 PM while simultaneously feeling stressed that another day went by and I haven’t hit publish on anything.
The truth is, many of us are off the cuff creatives when it comes to social media. You scroll Instagram for 7 minutes and you’re bound to see someone telling you the key to consistency is batching content. And while it could in fact, make your life easier, it is something that makes you feel a whole lot of pressure and a whole lot unproductive.
So whether you are off the cuff or a super planner, I’m here to share my secret sauce to getting consistent SIMPLY (no batch creating required).
Meet my solution: THEMES.
When I theme something, it builds consistency and keeps my content creative – it’s a win win! It also doubles (or would that be triples?) as BUILT IN accountability. Let me set the scene..
-You’re struggling to CONSISTENTLY send an email to your database every month
-You start each week with a “I have no freaking clue what I’m posting” kind of plan & just see what happens
-Maybe you’re posting consistently but is it feeling kinda stale? Kinda copy & pasted, industry word vomit more than it is creating connection or momentum..
Theme that thing you’re struggling with! A few examples…
1 – NAME your monthly email (ie: The Home Buzz – Your Monthly dose of <insert what subscribers can expect to read in your email>.
Next, theme the topics you’re going to touch on every month (a client story, a current TikTok home trend, a local favorite, a tip or tool, etc).
2 – Theme your days of the week for social media – on Wednesdays we wear pink!
Assign categories to each day so you can come up with a more solid plan. This doesn’t have to be complicated, it can simply be that on Tuesdays, you’re going to talk about real estate and give a valuable tip and on Friday’s you’re going to highlight local.
That way, when you’re mid sip of your iced coffee + splash of almond milk while driving and that great idea strikes, you can simple tell Siri to add it to your notes and then fit it into one of your categories later.
3 – Theme a month OR week of content
My absolute FAVORITE thing about social media is that YOU get to decide what it is you want to be known for by the content you share. How freaking cool is that?!
To make a splash with a specific topic, simply theme a month or week to said topic! We do this all. the. time. at Modern Agent Social Club and it makes content creation so fun! A few ideas: Back to Real Estate School series (a week of posts that ties to this theme & takes your followers to home buying school), Summer Sundays (a weekly post all Summer long that shares a Summer home tip), Hot City Summer (a weekly post highlighting a fav local spot)
4 – Theme your needle moving actions
Got the posting covered but need to do a little more to move the needle? Make Wednesday a face to cam story day, do a day in the life every Tuesday, share a series of polls every Sunday. You can literally theme ANYTHING you want!
My sister even told me she themes her meals every week (on Thursday they have breakfast for dinner – how fun is that)! Once you put it out into the world (your monthly email, your instagram series on xyz, etc) you’ve created BUILT IN accountability. People know it’s coming! This makes it both easier to talk about, write about and show up without overthinking! And it makes it a lot more fun to consume, too!
I created a sample social media calendar for you to use as inspiration! Click here to download and / or customize it for the current month!
-Steal the daily themes if you need some ideas!
-Follow the needle moving action prompts I included
-Make it yours and make your own copy to follow the following month!
TO SIP ON (with AirPods):
My Ride or Die Podcasts Part 2
Marketing Made Simple (my ride or die for exactly what the title says – how simple?!)
Using the StoryBrand Framework in Every Part of Your Business
Business Made Simple (my ride or die for great and simple biz advice – you’ll want to binge this from the beginning)
How to Tell Your Story Without Playing the Hero (most real estate agents get this wrong)!
The Living Easy Podcast (my ride or die life podcast – mostly personal vs business but I listen every Monday)!
I’ll Be Happy When – How to Live Faithfully in an Overachieving World
Social Media Boundaries & Tips for a Cozy Home (all the cozy feels)
THOUGHT TO SIP ON:
(As heard on Ed Mylett’s Podcast with Jenna Kutcher)
“We have to get so crystal clear on what success means to us and what our values are that it’s so easy to come up with solutions to stay in that.” -Jenna Kutcher
BEFORE YOU GO:
And there you have it! I hope you find one little nugget (or 5) takeaways from this blog post. If you want more like this sent straight to your inbox – join my weekly sip list!
