We all know that it’s still very possible to get attention and engagement on posts that are about silly and/or widely-appealing things.
Like cat videos, your engagement/pregnancy announcement, rants about cold-DMing, and glamorous photos of yourself.
But can you get attention and engagement on things that are actually related to your business?
I maintain that you can. (And I do, every single day!)
But a lot of people tell me that this isn’t true, and that their experience supports it not being true.
I often hear, “When I post about something that I’m riled up about or a picture of my cat, I get tons of engagement. But anything I post about my business or my offer gets nothing – or maybe 1-2 likes. Clearly the algorithm just doesn’t like promotional content.”
Aha… and there’s the key.
The algorithm indeed doesn’t like promotional content because PEOPLE don’t tend to enjoy promotional content.
It gives no value and so they scroll right past.
But, in the Strong Method™ paradigm (which is the body of work I’ve been developing for the past 5 years or so), we actually don’t post promotional content.
Or at least, it’s not promotional in the traditional sense of the word.
What we do post is INSIGHTFUL content.
(or, as some might say, STRONG content 😉 )
With a promotion woven in so seamlessly that it actually feels like part of the insight.
And that is what the vast majority of coaches/consultants/experts out there aren’t doing when they write and post content about their expertise and their offer.
They may not see what they’re missing, but I usually do!
My eyes have gradually been opened to this over my 9.5 total years (whoo-eee!) in the coaching industry – and I can’t un-see what I’ve seen.
Here are a few important points about the Strong Method™ way of writing content that make it NOT seem promotional, and rather seem like the kind of thing that people find interesting and worth engaging with.
Here’s Point #1 about what makes Strong Method™ content seem interesting/engaging rather than promotional:
(1) In the Strong Method™, we’re ruthless about focusing each piece of content on a topic that is actually going through our ideal client’s mind every day – and wording it the way they word it.
I know this is something that everyone has heard that they need to do, and thinks they’re doing – but most actually aren’t!
When you don’t word things in a way that meets your potential client exactly where they are, it sounds (drumroll, please)…. promotional!
When you DO word things in a way that meets your potential client exactly where they are, they’re curious. Intrigued. And they feel like you’re inviting them into a conversation.
I mean, which of the following two posts would YOU keep reading and engage with?
“CHECK OUT EMBODIED SALES ACADEMY, CLOSING TOMORROW!!”
or
“Let’s talk about one reason why your prospects say they need to ‘think about it’ when you get to the end of a sales call.”
(followed by some great insight and then an offer to get help implementing that insight so the “think about it” objections decrease)
Hehehe. Isn’t it so obvious?
If you want a TON of examples of this, check out a video I did a while back with a bunch of case studies of how people aren’t wording the beginning of their post in a way that meets their intended client where they are:
Let’s move to Point #2 about what makes Strong Method™ content seem interesting/engaging rather than promotional:
(2) In the Strong Method™ way of writing content, each post takes at least half the word count – if not more – giving real insight into how to solve the client’s challenge.
A reader of mine once told me that our intense focus on giving true insight is what makes the Strong Method™ different:
“Insight is like salt in the dish. After being introduced to The Strong Method – I feel like every other recipe lacks salt.”
What a huge compliment – and I totally agree. 😎
Most content that I see out there (especially from people who say that they never get visibility/engagement on their posts related to their business) doesn’t give any real insight.
It might give one throwaway sentence like “you need to do the inner work if you want to attract your soulmate” or “you need to have a clearer niche if you want to attract clients.”
But it does no unpacking of that vague statement (which all readers have heard a thousand times before anyway) – no explanation, no examples, nothing.
Or it might promise to unpack/explain more if somebody signs up for a free training, a 5-day challenge, a webinar, etc.
Just think about your own behavior when you scroll social media. Are you likely to comment on or “like” posts that give vague insight and don’t unpack it and try to send you off elsewhere for more information?
Why would you? What’s there to “like”? 😉
Food for thought.
Anyway, I want you to know that I’m not just an anomaly, either. Some people have suggested this – “Eleanore, you do seem to get engagement, but I don’t know why. It’s probably just something mysterious – you’re just lucky. Other people can’t replicate the kind of engagement that you get or the way that you write.”
Oh yes they can!
The way I write is an actual blueprint – there are a few components that are included, and I’ve helped over 200 folks with different kinds of businesses to apply them.
(The main components are: problem, insight about what causes the problem, myth about what causes the problem, insight as to how to solve the problem, contextualizing the problem in terms of the bigger issue that our offer solves, and a CTA for our offer.)
And I’ve had folks in every niche imaginable report increased engagement, leads, AND high-ticket sales after they cleaned up their content to (truly) fit this blueprint.
So it’s not a mystery or an anomaly. We know that this works and we know why.
If you want examples of Strong Method™ style content from lots of different people who’ve learned this method (and most – though not all – have had my 1-on-1 help to learn it), there are lots of posts from these folks in my free FB group Organic High Ticket Sales for Coaches & Experts.
I’ve put links to them all into a spreadsheet so you can find them easily.
If you’re a member of the group, all you need to do check the pinned posts at the top of the group. One of those posts has a link to the spreadsheet.
You’ll also note that almost every single one of these posts got a good amount of engagement.
I’d be interested to know if you can tune in to your own sense of why that is, after reading and thinking about a variety of these posts.
Finally, let’s consider Point #3 about what makes Strong Method™ content seem interesting/engaging rather than promotional:
(3) Even posts that are direct offers to work with us don’t seem super-promotional in the Strong Method™ – they, too, give value because the reader can actually see the full package of what needs to be done to close their gap or solve their problem.
This can seem incredible to those who aren’t familiar with the method – but even though we’re directly promoting something that costs money (and in the Strong Method™ paradigm it’s usually at least 5k-20k), these posts, too, often get likes/loves/comments and SHARES.
Yep – clients even tell me that when they post their direct offer, sometimes people actually share it.
Or tag friends in the comments.
(Once again – this isn’t just something that happens with my offer posts – clients and others who’ve learned this method are able to replicate these kinds of things.)
I believe the reason why even direct offer posts are seen as valuable in this method is because everything about the way we write them meets the client where they are.
We start out these posts with a precise description of the outcome that the offer is aimed at, and who it’s for.
And we’ve actually thought through who it’s for – and it’s for someone very specific!
This is another one of those things that a lot of people think they’re doing, but they’re actually not.
Again, consider two examples, and think about which one sounds promotional and which one actually sounds interesting and valuable because it’s so specific.
“An offer for coaches to work with me to get more clients from Facebook!!”
Or…
“This is an invitation to coaches and other experts who have at least 5 years of experience, great client results, and at least 10 sales of a high-ticket program already under their belt – but still feel like the ‘best kept secret’ in their niche and would love for even more people to experience their life-changing work (ideally 4+ clients per month for a high-ticket offering from organic Facebook posts).”
Hmmm? 🙂
And we’re just getting started! The rest of the Strong Method™ offer post framework is clear, specific, and valuable also.
We lay out what the work will look like in 3-5 bullet-point “chunks” – and the bullet points ACTUALLY say what we’re going to do with someone. And the reader can see how the bullet points “add up” to the outcome we talked about at the beginning.
Once again, many people think they’re writing about the work in a specific and clear way, but they’re actually not.
(Or they’ve been scared by business coaches into writing vaguely or leaving out the “how” altogether because that’ll supposedly keep people from hiring them.)
Consider a couple of examples of a “how” bullet point.
Which one sounds more promotional? Which one sounds more interesting and engaging – like something you’d share with a friend or tag them in the comments?
“I’ll teach you how to use my organic lead generation system to get more clients!!”
OR
“I’ll show you how I use friend-requesting to grow organic Facebook audiences by ~500-800 people per month. We’ll identify the top 3 Facebook groups in which you can find people to request that will fit your business and offer, and you’ll also get my niche-specific criteria to look for on people’s profiles before deciding to send them a request.”
Hmm? 🙂
There’s more to these offer statements, too – but I hope the point is starting to be made – that even making an offer can be valuable in this paradigm because the reader can actually see how their problem will be solved if they join the program that’s being pitched.
If it’s unclear how that’ll happen, then the offer tends to look kind of spammy and annoying. Yes?
(I’d love your thoughts on this.)
And, good news: I have client examples of these wonderful offer statements, too! – so you can get an idea of what this looks like for different niches.
(Obviously, this should go without saying, but please don’t copy or paraphrase or re-engineer anybody else’s offer or post – it’s both wrong and unsophisticated, because their wording is exactly right for their offer but likely isn’t exactly right for yours.)
Here’s where you can find those examples in my Facebook group Organic High Ticket Sales for Coaches & Experts:
CLICK HERE TO READ THE EXAMPLES
Now, I’d like to let you know that I offer a great way to get my support to write your content and offer pitches according to the Strong Method™ framework.
It’s my 30-day 1:1 intensive.
The majority of the work is co-writing these two styles of content with me and getting my feedback as well as a personalized blueprint for how to create this content for your business (including advice on how to overcome your personal blind spots – everyone tends to have at least one!).
In this program I also help with:
–creating or tweaking your high-ticket offer/program if needed,
–refining or tweaking the way you’re describing your outcome and ideal client,
–creating a very simple sales process to qualify and enroll clients (only the right ones!) over DM or a very short call (they don’t tend to have many questions or objections when you pre-sell with this kind of content), and
–if needed – growing your organic audience through my simple method that involves FB groups and friend requests.
This 30-day intensive is, I believe, the best and most comprehensive way to work with me to ensure that all of these pieces gel and work together well.
But I do also offer awesome group workshops a couple of times per month (you can always check this page to find out when the next ones will be) to help people with the wording of the outcome they provide. That piece alone is super valuable for most people.
And I’m also offering a certification program for those who would like to learn all the ins and outs of the Strong Method™ and how it applies to different businesses – and how to teach it to their own clients.
If you’re interested in any of my offers, the next step is to simply send me a DM on Facebook.
(More detail on each is on this page!)
And, if you want to share, I’d love your thoughts on what kind of business-related content grabs your attention and what kind doesn’t. 😉