Far too often, companies tell me that the reason why they got involved in social media and blogging is because they ‘felt like they had to’.  While that MAY be based in truth – because you probably DO have to – it’s still a bad reason to do anything.

I’m suddenly reminded of the “if he jumped off a bridge… would you?” saying.

Many businesses start blogging and throw themselves into social media in a hurry and for many, the pressures of producing a regular stream of quality content mounts quickly.

In the face of a looming blog or post deadline a lot of people start scrambling to find something to talk about at the last minute. This often leads to the violation of the #1, biggest, most important golden rule of social media.

NO SELF-PROMOTING!

The reason… NO ONE CARES ABOUT YOU.

There I said it! I’m sorry if that hurts your feelings… but people just don’t care about you!

Social media & your company’s blog are not just another venue to dispense P/R. That’s why I rank this one as the WORST possible offense you can make.

Just like while dating… talking about yourself is a huge turn-off. 

This type of content seldom attracts quality visitors and what’s worse is this also discourages people who do visit from coming back, subscribing or participating.

The WORST ways to talk about yourself:

• How long you’ve been in business

• When/where you are open for business

• Your mission statement

• Any mention of “our competitors” or “the competition”

• How qualified, or experienced or friendly your staff is

• How convenient, or clean or comfortable your facility is

• Memberships in professional organizations

• Awards you have won

• Educational background

In fact, I would be VERY, VERY, VERY careful about the inclusion of these types of statements in your marketing AT ALL, period.

While some of this information might be important to your prospects at some point… there is a place and time for it. And it IS NOT “content”.

So… what DO your readers care about?

Well, your readers do care about what you can do for them today. Yes, they do care about how you can solve their problems.

There’s still plenty of room for you in there. But you must make it about them!

People crave information that will inform them or help them.

I’ve got 4 topic brainstorming ideas for you! I recommend that you keep most of your content within one of these areas (I’ve also included a few examples of each):

TOPIC 1: Common mistakes that you can help people avoid.

How it works: You establish trust by teaching them something. People subconsciously associate you with the avoidance of the problems you pointed out.

Examples:

• 3 Mistakes People Make When Treating Their Pool

• 5 Common Things That Cost You Money When You Buy Insurance

• Do You Make These 3 Mistakes When Helping Your Kids with Homework?

TOPIC 2: Frustrations people may have when buying from a competitor.

How it works: The psychology of this one is interesting… you never need to single-out or mention competitors, your reader will automatically associate you with the avoidance of the pain or problem that is so rampant in your industry. (Even if it’s not “rampant”.)

Examples:

• 5 Mistakes Rookie Lawyers Make when Writing Wills

• 3 Important Things to Ask a DJ Before you Hire Them

• 3 Biggest Problems with Most Public Schools

TOPIC 3: Tied directly the underlying goals that your customers have.

How it works: Lots of companies talk about product features or their capabilities. Your consumers don’t really care about the “features” so much as they do the overall desired effect. Play up your end-game and set yourself apart.

Examples:

• 3 Tips for Successfully Publishing Your First Book

• 5 Easy Steps to Copywriting Your Idea or Invention

• 3 Proven Techniques to Wake Up with More Energy

• Top 5 Ways to Get Rid of your Pest Problem One and For All

TOPIC 4: Answers your customers are trying to learn or are curious about.

How it works: When you point out the questions it validates your readers. They think: “hey I must have found the right guy” or “I must be on the right track” because you point out that ‘many other people’ have come to you with the same question they have. This can also be a great way to answer a question that people might be afraid to ask OR make them feel better about not knowing something.

Examples:

• 3 Questions I Get Asked All the Time About Buying Heating Oil

• 5 Things They Should Teach You in High School About Taxes

• 2 Questions You Should have Asked Your Doctor About those Pain Killers

Not only will you see that your visitors find this information useful and compelling but it’ll also have a viral flare to it, encouraging people to share it with others!

Now that you have some topic ideas… get to work! Start writing a few pieces and try to work ahead, creating a backlog of ready-to-go pieces that you can create your own “editorial calendar” around. Not only will this make your blog & social presence AWESOME, but it’ll put you back in control and help put a stop to that running-from-a-giant-bolder-like-Indiana-Jones like feeling.

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