Tips To Get Out Of Your Content Marketing Rut

We've all been there: you open Instagram knowing that it's prime time to post but all of a sudden you go blank. You stare at a photo which you love but there's no inspiration behind it; there's no thought of a caption; there is nothing that comes to mind when you think about adding value to your audience. You, my dear, are in a content marketing and social media rut! A social media rut simply means you are no longer feeling inspired or motivated to post valuable and engaging content, thus making your social media marketing strategy redundant. Because if you're not feeling the love for your content, then how can you expect others to feel passionate about it?

If you agree with even one of the statements below, you could be dealing with a social media rut:

1. You are hiding away from social media when it comes to marketing your business: simply not even logging on to see what people have commented or messaged you about

2. You feel like you NEED to post but have nothing to post about so you panic post a picture of you on a beach 5 years ago with the caption consistent of only emojis

3. You are making excuses like "I don't have time to post" or "I can't afford to pay for this service"

4. You have simply lost the love and excitement when it comes to posting and checking your business social media accounts

If you have nodded your head to even one of these, you could be facing a social media rut! But not to worry - I have some tips to help you get back into the swing of things and start to fall back in love with content marketing!

1. Take A Break.

As counter productive as this may sound, take a break from social media. I have found that even after taking 24-48 hours away from my social media business accounts, I genuinely wanted to go back and create great content to share with my audience. So the first thing you should do is put up a little 'OOO' message on your social media accounts and tell your audience that you will be back in a couple of days - remember, transparency is key and we all understand needing a break! Then get in your car and go to the seaside - or wherever you feel most relaxed (my pick is always the beach!) When you return, you will have more creativity to create genuinely great content and you'll have the energy to tackle DM's and comments!

2. Collaborate.

This is especially important if you work from home - take some time to co-work or collaborate with a friend or another freelancer/business owner. Often when we're in an office environment we always bounce around ideas, but working from home you tend to get stuck in your own head and that can sometimes stump your creativity. So grab a coffee and your laptop, call your co-worker and enjoy creative wonderful content together! Remember, it's all about the community vibe.

3. Run A Poll.

You have a golden nugget of marketing sitting right in front of you: your audience. So utilise social media polls and quizzes to find out what people want to see from you. I regularly run polls and questions on my accounts to ensure I'm bringing value to my community and sharing content that they will want to engage with. Plus asking your audience what they want to see will make them feel like they're really a part of your journey!

4. 20% Marketing, 80% Personality.

Use this formula when it comes to posting on social media. Your audience have showed up to see and connect with you, so let them get to know you and your brand. Post about the topics you love, behind the scenes, days out even. Then use 20% of your space on social media to sell your products or services. This social media marketing formula will also help you create more content as it's not always about the hard sell, but also things you love!

5. Get Help.

You can do anything, but not everything. It's so true. So if you've been stuck in a social media marketing rut for some time, it could be the right time to get help with this side of your business. Whether you delegate to a member of staff, get a VA, or hire a social media professional/agency this could be the solution to your content marketing problems. At the end of the day, not everyone is a social media whizz and that's perfectly fine!

These are my tested tips on how to get out of a social media rut - trust me, I've been there so many times as a social media manager! And it's especially hard when I'm managing my accounts for social media marketing in Hampshire! But the great news is there's always a way out of a social media rut.

And if you have tried the 4 tips above and now thinking of getting help with your social media marketing, then please don't hesitate to contact me and let's have an informal chat about your social media marketing strategy!