Tag: content creation

3 Ways to Make Content Better, Stronger, Faster

Anna PengLeave a comment

When you are deep into your content marketing game, you develop processes that work for your own brand. 

Your processes help you make content better, stronger, and faster each time. 

Here are 3 things I do that help with my content creation process:

  1. Go from inspiration to distribution ASAP. I tend to execute on ideas as soon as I can, because I find that trending songs or filters move on pretty quickly. I don’t want to jump into trends after they’re gone.
  1. Minimize the amount of equipment you need. For me, I almost exclusively keep production and distribution on my phone. This helps with speed and efficiency. 
  1. Always learn from previous posts. If the same kind of post doesn’t do well for the 7th time… well, maybe it just sucks and you should move on. Likewise, if a type of post does exceptionally well compared to your average posts, do more. Mimic new pieces of content off of previous successful ones. 

Everyone has slightly differing processes. The only way to find yours (if you haven’t already) is to post frequently and get into your own rhythm. 

What does climbing a mountain have anything to do with social media?

Anna PengLeave a comment

Earlier this week, I climbed the first peak of the Stawamus Chief in Squamish.

We got to the top sweating, panting, and legs completely sore from the ascent.

I sat  on the rock to catch my breath.

What happens next comes straight out of a fairy tale.

A man with long brown hair comes dashing through 15km/h to the top. Dressed in shorts, a t-shirt, and sneakers as if he gracefully galloped up the entire 1.5 hour climb without a sweat.

He disappeared just as fast as he arrived.

He was a regular. 

What does this have anything to do with social media? 

It’s a practice. 

If you want to build an engaged community and grow your brand, you have to put in the work for it to be successful.

It can take months or years. 

Either way, nobody starts off dashing up the mountains at 15 km/h in shorts, a t-shirt, and sneakers so gracefully without putting in the work.

How might freelancers brand on social media in a way that they love?

Anna PengLeave a comment

This is the question I’ve been trying to answer for the past few months. 

And finally, we’re onto something that might work.

But, in all honesty, it still is an experiment because we haven’t done it before. 

Our team at the Habit Factory is hosting a 21 day Content Club, designed just for freelancers to build their brand while growing with others. 

The first run is totally free, and starts this Monday. 

Sign ups are here.

We’d love to see you join if you’re up for the challenge. 

If you want to create content that performs, here’s the secret

Anna PengLeave a comment

Take a look at your posts up to 2 months ago, and see which got the most shares/comments/likes. 

If those select posts are constructive for your brand, do more of it. 

If it resonated with your specific audience, do more of it. 

That’s all.

How I started my blog

Anna PengLeave a comment

Writing was always an interest of mine.

I’ll never forget the time I wrote a 20 page story for my 8th grade teacher when she only asked for 1.

To be fair, I was already 12 pages in when I realized there was a page limit. Might as well go all out right?

Fast forward a few years later, I found myself writing as a means of self growth and reflection.

Eventually I posted some of these onto Instagram, which didn’t do too well because Instagram isn’t necessarily a text-based platform.

Still, I needed a place to put my words so I bought a domain and published my daily posts on WordPress. 

However, the downside of WordPress is that it isn’t an awareness tool. If you want more attention for your stuff, you have to go to where the people are. 

That’s where social media comes in.

Fortunately for me, LinkedIn is a flexible professional platform that allows long+short text posts, photos, and videos on the feed. 

Now I publish all my posts onto LinkedIn (+ more).

I treat it as part of my blog, and I get to talk and meet with some cool people.

If you’re looking to create content for your own business, read this.

Anna Peng1 Comment

99% of new content creators will burn out and stop entirely within the first few months.

It’s easy to say, “Oh, just don’t burn out!” 

Unfortunately things don’t work that way.

Most people will get caught up in likes and follows.

What they don’t understand is that content creation is simply a tool for brands to build trust. 

Content creation is a positioning tool.

The ultimate key is the conversion rate. 

How many people discovered your brand through social media, and how many have followed through to generate a sale?

This is what most businesses on social want.

If you’re making content for your own business, stay focused on the true goal.

It’s not likes and followers.

Instead, it’s the trust your audience has in you (which will eventually lead to sales down the line)

My biggest challenge in content creation 

Anna Peng1 Comment

Whenever I start a new post, there’s a challenge in deciding what to write about.

My cheat strategy is the following:

  1. Doing so informs me which headline was able to grab attention and/or if readers enjoyed reading the actual post.
  2. I go back into my post history, and look for headlines that performed well.
  1. Once I pick a headline, I’ll rewrite the post so that I now have a clear focus.
  2. Now that I have a new post, I can publish and learn from market feedback (comments and engagement) on how to improve for next time.

P.S. I’m building a content club for people who want to take their brand seriously. Want in? Join the waitlist with 26 others today.

Can you believe we got 19 people on this thing already?

Anna PengLeave a comment

A week ago, I told my friend Daniel that we were going to build a content club.

Here’s the meat:

Everyone knows they should build their brand on social media, but not everyone knows how. 

Tons of resources online, but no community to execute on the plan for those who need it.

The club will be 21 days long.

Just enough for you to get totally invested in your own journey.

And then we’re going to see you fly.

We’re doing it 100% free, out of our own pockets.

Because of that, we need to make this the best workshop possible.

That means we need as many committed, ambitious, proactive folks as possible in one place.

If you are one of those committed, ambitious, proactive people, I think you should sign up for the waitlist.

The content club starts in April.

Sign up for your spot here.

See you there 🙂

My biggest mistake in social media

Anna PengLeave a comment

My biggest mistake in social media is letting my ego get in the way of making a post.

“Will this get a lot of likes?”

“Does this make me look good?”

“Is this cool/edgy enough?”

Not saying that asking these questions are bad.

However, if you want to do social media properly for your business, ask these questions instead.

“Is this helpful?”

“Is this something my audience can relate with?”

“Is this something my audience wants to see more of?”