EPISODE 70 OF THE MARKETING SOLUTIONS PODCAST: SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT & CAPTIONS FOR B2B AND PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

Sonya:
Over on the Kiss Marketing social media channels this month, we've been talking about how to write captions that convert for your business pages. And while some industries can get away with being super fun, friendly, and even a little bit cheeky, others have to toe the line when it comes to presenting their products and services in a professional manner. If the latter sounds like your business, then this is the episode for you.

Sonya:
Welcome to the Boom your Biz podcast, a podcast for the movers, the shakers, and even bigger action takers in business. I'm your host, Sonya McIntyre-Reid, and each week I'll be exploring the question of what really makes businesses and organizations thrive. I'm on a mission to educate, empower, and inspire business owners and myself along the way.

Sonya:
Before we get into the practical side of creating captions for your business, a quick reminder. Many industries have advertising guidelines that lay out the regulations as to what you can and cannot say in your advertising. And social media is not exempt from these guidelines. Abide by industry regulations or potentially face the consequences. Financial service providers, for example, need to be careful about using certain words and should include disclaimers such as, "Past performance is not indicative of future performance," and, "Results may vary."

Sonya:
Allied health professionals, such as podiatrists and osteopaths, have to adhere to appro guidelines when it comes to protecting patient confidentiality. What does that mean? No names, no testimonials, no case studies where the patient could be easily identified and no outlandish claims. Although not technically a qualified healthcare professional, Pete Evans could be considered a cautionary tale here. He was recently fined a bomb for making false and misleading health claims across his social media accounts.

Sonya:
If you run a professional services business, my first recommendation to you would be to get a copy of the industry's advertising guidelines and make yourself familiar with them, particularly if it's been more than a few years since you finished your studies. Guidelines do get reviewed regularly, so it's a good idea to make yourself familiar with the most up-to-date information for your industry. And I might say having read a lot of these guidelines by myself, often there are gray areas, so if in doubt, do get in touch with examples to your industry body.

Sonya:
Now that we have that legal stuff out of the way, let's talk about writing captions that convert. At the end of the day, if you want your business to be taken seriously, you need your content to be informative and educational. If you want people to actually read your content, however, you need to make sure it's not dry or dull. It's a bit of a conundrum, and even though there are quite a few businesses who do this well, there are also a lot of businesses who don't. They usually try too hard to be cool, blatantly rip off a competitor's work, or try to be funny in a situation that's not really funny.

Sonya:
Please, please, please, don't try and be funny if you're creating your own content. I think some businesses can really get away with the tongue-in-cheek captions or risky ad campaigns, but these businesses generally don't create their own content. They work with marketing agencies and these marketing agencies know exactly what they can and can't get away with, and even they sometimes fall short. In recent years, we've seen a number of businesses ruin their professional reputation with one poorly thought out post or response to a comment. And if you know anything about today's social media culture, you know the kids like to pile on when a company takes a misstep. A good rule of thumb, when in doubt, don't. One false step and your business suffers the consequences.

Sonya:
Now I've scared you all off, how do you create content that converts, doesn't offend, doesn't make claims and does not send your audience off to sleep? It takes a bit of work, but it can be done. First things first, we need to identify who are you and what do you do? Those questions that make up your first two content pillars. First up, who are you? Now, I know I said not to try and be funny, but that doesn't mean you can't include facts when introducing your team. Keep it light hearted. Think along the lines of, "Adam is a diehard [inaudible 00:04:31] supporter," so maybe don't mention [inaudible 00:04:33] or, "On the weekend, you'll find Sarah perfecting her drive at the local golf range." Give your followers the opportunity to get you to know your team beyond their role and their responsibilities. You will be surprised at how many clients actually bring it up with something that they saw in a team profile on social media. A good rule of thumb here is to avoid politics, religion, and controversial beliefs. If it causes an argument or induces an eye roll, leave it out.

Sonya:
Secondly, what do you do? If you grew up in regional Australia in the '90s, you may be familiar with the old rivers Ads. I know in my house, it was a bit of a running joke that whenever a Rivers ad came on, we'd all imitate the slow drawl of the voiceover explaining the process of attaching an inner sole to an outer sole. What could have been considered dull content gained a bit of a cult following. Those ads ran for years because people talked about them and they were recognizable. If you have a product or system, why not create an explainer video for what you do? You may not gain the notoriety of a Rivers ad, but customers always appreciate knowing what we expect from the businesses they purchase from.

Sonya:
Here are a few more content pillars you could consider. What to expect [inaudible 00:05:48]. If new clients are often nervous about coming to see you for the first time, you have the perfect opportunity to set their minds at ease with a piece of explainer content. Create a video where you walk your followers through your place of business so they recognize it when they arrive and know where to go. This would work perfectly in a healthcare setting like an optometrist, for example. You can show your followers the reception area and introduce them to your reception team and practitioners. Chat about the services you provide and the products you offer and maybe even demonstrate that machine that looks really scary but just blows a little puff of air into your eye. Content like this takes the unknown out of what to expect and can set you apart from your competitors by building trust and a relationship.

Sonya:
Industry jargon explainers are another great one. Whether you create a static post or a video explaining content .... sorry, explaining commonly used jargon from your industry, this can make current and potential customers view you as wanting to educate them, not just take their money. And it's also a really great way of establishing you as the expert, and again, building trust with your audience. What may seem like common knowledge to you often isn't common knowledge to someone off the street. When a conveyancer, for example, takes the time to explain what an easement is and why it's important, that content provides value to their followers.

Sonya:
Another great one is frequently asked questions. If you have a frequently asked questions page on your website, you have social media content just waiting to be created. Whether you choose to film a quick, straight to the camera chat, create an animated slide show or whip up a textile in Canva, if people are regularly asking you the same questions, addressing them on your social media is a great idea. And the best bit, if you have a roster of frequently asked questions, you can roll them out regularly, generating trust and positioning you as an expert.

Sonya:
Another one to consider is explaining current events. When done well, this type of content can easily go viral. Explainers such as, "Do you qualify for JobKeeper," and, "What Australia's bushfire crisis can teach us about climate change," can take a highly charged topic that is currently in the media and lay out all the facts. Notice I said facts here, though, not opinions. To generate engagement on these posts, a simple, "We'd love to hear your thoughts. What do you think?" can get the conversation going.

Sonya:
There are plenty more different types of posts you can employ and I could sit here for hours talking you through them, but there's one overriding rule of thumb when it comes to creating content that converts. In order to get a conversation, your audience needs to take action. And to get them to take action, you need to tell them where to go. Have you noticed that most YouTube videos and with, "Hit the subscribe button"? Instagram has a, "Click the link in our bio," and Facebook allows you to display a linked posts that directs an audience back to your blog or website. Each of those is called a call-to-action, telling your audience the next step they need to take in order to stay up-to-date with your content and continue the conversation.

Sonya:
Now, it might seem incredibly obvious that you have to tell someone to subscribe, but often it's just that little reminder that will get them to take that action. If you're going to take time to create that quality content and craft a well-written caption, don't waste your effort by leaving your audience wondering what they should do next. Make it so obvious and let them know.

Sonya:
It can take a bit of time for you to find your brand's tone of voice, so don't be too critical of your first few weeks of effort. While you're getting into the swing of things, have someone else read through your captions and make sure you're getting your message across and observe what works. If there's one type of post that does particularly well, consider making a template for that style of post and making it one of your content pillars so it's really easy to refer back to.

Sonya:
We're going to be discussing this further in the Boom Your Biz Facebook group this month, so make sure you come and join us. Just searched for Boom Your Biz in groups on Facebook and request to join. And that is another example of a call-to-action at the end of a content piece. Thanks for listening.